CN117730618A - PDCCH-scheduled random access channel procedure for reduced capability user equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide techniques for a Random Access Channel (RACH) procedure arranged via a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH). The RACH procedure may be associated with a cell definition Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) or a non-cell definition SSB. A method for wireless communication by a User Equipment (UE), comprising: transmitting an indication of one or more capabilities of the UE; receiving a PDCCH that schedules a UE to perform a RACH procedure on an uplink carrier based on one or more capabilities of the UE; determining a minimum gap between a last symbol of the PDCCH and a first symbol of the RACH message, wherein the minimum gap includes a half-duplex (HD) handover delay; and performing a RACH procedure on an uplink carrier when a gap between a last symbol of the PDCCH and a first symbol of the RACH message is equal to or greater than a minimum gap.

Description

PDCCH-scheduled random access channel procedure for reduced capability user equipment

Cross Reference to Related Applications

This application claims priority to U.S. non-provisional application No.17/809,247, filed on 27 at 6 at 2022, which claims the benefit and priority to U.S. provisional application No.63/229,764, filed on 5 at 8 at 2021, both of which are assigned to the present assignee and are hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference in their entirety as if fully set forth herein below for all applicable purposes.

Technical Field

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to wireless communications, and more particularly, to techniques for scheduling reduced capability (RedCap) User Equipment (UE) to perform a Random Access Channel (RACH) procedure.

Background

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, broadcast, or other similar types of services. These wireless communication systems may employ multiple-access techniques that are capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power, or other resources) with the users. The multiple access technique may rely on any of code division, time division, frequency division, orthogonal frequency division, single carrier frequency division, or time division synchronous code division, to name a few examples. These and other multiple access techniques have been employed in various telecommunications standards to provide a common protocol that enables different wireless devices to communicate at the urban, national, regional, and even global levels.

Although wireless communication systems have made tremendous technological progress over many years, challenges remain. For example, complex and dynamic environments may still attenuate or block signals between the wireless transmitter and the wireless receiver, destroying various established wireless channel measurement and reporting mechanisms that are used to manage and optimize the use of limited wireless channel resources. Accordingly, there is a need for further improvements in wireless communication systems to overcome various challenges.

Disclosure of Invention

In one aspect, a method for wireless communication by a UE, comprises: transmitting an indication of one or more capabilities of the UE; receiving a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) that schedules a UE to perform a RACH procedure on an uplink carrier based on one or more capabilities of the UE; determining a minimum gap between a last symbol of the PDCCH and a first symbol of the RACH message, wherein the minimum gap includes a half-duplex (HD) handover delay; and performing a RACH procedure on an uplink carrier when a gap between a last symbol of the PDCCH and a first symbol of the RACH message is equal to or greater than a minimum gap.

In one aspect, a method for wireless communication by a network entity, comprises: outputting, based on one or more capabilities of the at least one UE, a PDCCH that schedules the at least one UE to perform a RACH procedure for transmission to the at least one UE; and obtaining the RACH message from the at least one UE after a minimum gap between a last symbol of the PDCCH and a first symbol of the RACH message, wherein the minimum gap includes the HD-handover delay.

In one aspect, a method for wireless communication by a UE, comprises: transmitting an indication of one or more capabilities of the UE to a network entity; transmitting a report of channel state information to a network entity; receiving a PDCCH, the PDCCH scheduling the UE to perform a type of RACH procedure on an uplink carrier using at least one of a Coverage Enhancement (CE) or an uplink power control scheme of the type of RACH procedure in a manner determined by the indicated UE's capability; and performing the type of RACH procedure on an uplink carrier using a CE or uplink power control scheme of the type of RACH procedure according to the PDCCH.

In one aspect, a method for wireless communication by a network entity, comprises: transmitting, to at least one UE, a PDCCH that schedules the UE to perform a type of RACH procedure using at least one of a CE or a power control scheme in a manner determined by the indicated UE's capability; and participating in a RACH procedure with the type of the UE according to the PDCCH and the indicated capability of the UE.

Other aspects provide an apparatus operable, configured, or otherwise adapted to perform the above-described methods, as well as methods described elsewhere herein; a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform the above-described method and the methods described elsewhere herein; a computer program product embodied on a computer-readable storage medium comprising code for performing the above-described method and the methods described elsewhere herein; and an apparatus comprising means for performing the methods described above and elsewhere herein. For example, an apparatus may comprise a processing system, a device with a processing system, or a processing system cooperating over one or more networks.

For purposes of illustration, the following description and the annexed drawings set forth certain features.

Drawings

The drawings depict certain features of the various aspects described herein and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure.

Fig. 1 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example wireless communication network.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating aspects of an example base station and user equipment.

Fig. 3A-3D depict various example aspects of a data structure for a wireless communication network.

Fig. 4 depicts an example exploded Base Station (BS) architecture.

Fig. 5 depicts a call flow diagram of an example four-step RACH procedure that may be PDCCH scheduled (PDCCH ordered) in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 6 depicts a call flow diagram of a two-step RACH procedure that may be PDCCH scheduled in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 7 depicts a call flow diagram of an example PDCCH-scheduled RACH procedure in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 8 illustrates example operations by a UE for a PDCCH scheduled RACH procedure in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 9 illustrates example operations by a UE for a PDCCH scheduled RACH procedure in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 10 illustrates example operations performed by a network entity for a PDCCH scheduled RACH procedure in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 11 illustrates example operations performed by a network entity for a PDCCH scheduled RACH procedure in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 12 illustrates an example of a communication device in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 13 illustrates an example of a communication device in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

Aspects of the present disclosure provide an apparatus, method, processing system, and computer-readable medium for scheduling a RedCap UE to perform RACH procedures.

RACH is a channel that may be shared by multiple UEs and may be used by UEs to access a network for communication. The RACH procedure may be triggered by a number of events. For example, RACH procedures may be triggered by initial access from idle mode, by connection re-establishment, by downlink or uplink data arrival, by Scheduling Request (SR) failure, and/or by Beam Failure Recovery (BFR).

In some cases, the RACH procedure may be scheduled (triggered/ordered) by the network via a PDCCH prompting a Physical RACH (PRACH) transmission from the UE. For such PDCCH-scheduled PRACH transmissions, the UE may need a minimum gap between the last symbol of the PDCCH and the first symbol of the PRACH transmission in order to give the UE sufficient time for the PRACH transmission. Unfortunately, the minimum gap for a full capability (normal "legacy") UE may not provide enough setup time for a reduced capability UE performing a 4-step RACH or a 2-step RACH. Furthermore, even for full capability UEs, the minimum gap may not provide enough preparation time to support CE in the PDCCH-scheduled 4-or 2-step RACH procedure.

However, aspects of the present disclosure provide techniques for enhancing PDCCH-scheduled 4-step and 2-step RACH procedures to accommodate reduced capability UEs and/or RACH with CE. Such enhancements may include extending the minimum slot time, coverage enhancements, power control enhancements, DCI format enhancements, and extending the PDCCH transmission (RACH-ordering PDCCH transmission) of the scheduled RACH from unicast to multicast and from 4-step RACH to 2-step RACH.

The enhancements presented herein have various potential benefits. For example, extending the minimum gap may help accommodate reduced UE capabilities (e.g., UEs capable of half-duplex communication, UEs with relaxed timelines, and UEs with increased latency for Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurements), while power control and coverage enhancements may help improve link budgets and mitigate intra/inter-cell interference. Furthermore, extending PDCCH transmissions from unicast to multicast may help reduce signaling overhead.

Introduction to wireless communication networks

Fig. 1 depicts an example of a wireless communication system 100 in which aspects described herein may be implemented.

In general, the wireless communication system 100 includes a BS102, a UE 104, one or more core networks, such as an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) 160 and a 5G core (5 GC) network 190, that interoperate to provide wireless communication services.

BS102 may provide an access point for UE 104 to EPC 160 and/or 5gc 190 and may perform one or more of the following functions: transmission of user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection establishment and release, load balancing, distribution for non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, radio Access Network (RAN) sharing, multimedia Broadcast Multicast Services (MBMS), subscriber and device tracking, RAN Information Management (RIM), paging, positioning, delivery of warning messages, and other functions. In various contexts, a base station may include and/or be referred to as a next generation node B (gNB), node B, eNB, ng-eNB (e.g., an eNB that has been enhanced to provide connectivity to both EPC 160 and 5gc 190), an access point, a base station transceiver, a radio base station, a radio transceiver, or a transceiver function, or a transmit receive point.

BS102 communicates wirelessly with UE 104 via communication link 120. Each of BS102 may provide communication coverage for a respective geographic coverage area 110, in some cases these geographic coverage areas 110 may overlap. For example, a small cell 102 '(e.g., a low power base station) may have a coverage area 110' that overlaps with the coverage area 110 of one or more macro cells (e.g., high power base stations).

The communication link 120 between the BS102 and the UE 104 may include Uplink (UL) (also referred to as reverse link) transmissions from the UE 104 to the BS102 and/or Downlink (DL) (also referred to as forward link) transmissions from the BS102 to the UE 104. Communication link 120 may use multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna techniques including, in various aspects, spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and/or transmit diversity.

Examples of UEs 104 include a cellular phone, a smart phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a laptop, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a satellite radio, a global positioning system, a multimedia device, a video device, a digital audio player, a camera, a game console, a tablet, a smart device, a wearable device, a vehicle, an electricity meter, an air pump, a large or small kitchen appliance, a healthcare device, an implant, a sensor/actuator, a display, or other similar devices. Some of the UEs 104 may be internet of things (IoT) devices (e.g., parking timers, air pumps, toasters, vehicles, heart monitors, or other IoT devices), always-on (AON) devices, or edge processing devices. More generally, the UE 104 may also be referred to as a station, mobile station, subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, or client.

Communications using higher frequency bands may have higher path loss and shorter distances than communications at lower frequencies. Thus, some base stations (e.g., BS180 in fig. 1) may utilize beamforming 182 with UE 104 to improve path loss and range. For example, BS180 and UE 104 may each include multiple antennas (such as antenna elements, antenna panels, and/or antenna arrays) to facilitate beamforming.

In some cases, BS180 may transmit the beamformed signals to UE 104 in one or more transmit directions 182'. The UE 104 may receive the beamformed signals from the BS180 in one or more receive directions 182 ". The UE 104 may also transmit the beamformed signals to the BS180 in one or more transmit directions 182 ". BS180 may also receive beamformed signals from UEs 104 in one or more receive directions 182 ". BS180 and UE 104 may then perform beam training to determine the best receive direction and the best transmit direction for each of BS180 and UE 104. It is noted that the transmission direction and the reception direction for BS180 may be the same or may be different. Similarly, the transmit direction and the receive direction for the UE 104 may be the same or may be different.

The wireless communication network 100 includes a PDCCH-scheduled RACH component 199 that may be configured to transmit a PDCCH to schedule RACH procedures. The wireless communication network 100 also includes a PDCCH-scheduled RACH component 198 that can be configured to perform PDCCH-scheduled RACH procedures.

Fig. 2 depicts aspects of an example BS102 and an example UE 104.

In general, BS102 includes: various processors (e.g., 220, 230, 238, and 240), antennas 234a-t (collectively 234), transceivers 232a-t (collectively 232) including modulators and demodulators, and other aspects enable wireless transmission of data (e.g., data source 212) and wireless reception of data (e.g., data sink 239). For example, BS102 may transmit and receive data between itself and UE 104.

BS102 includes a controller/processor 240 that can be configured to implement various functions related to wireless communications. In the depicted example, controller/processor 240 includes PDCCH-scheduled RACH component 241, which may represent PDCCH-scheduled RACH component 199 of fig. 1. It should be apparent that while depicted as an aspect of controller/processor 240, in other implementations PDCCH-arranged RACH component 241 may additionally or alternatively be implemented in various other aspects of base station 102.

In general, the UE 104 includes various processors (e.g., 258, 264, 266, and 280), antennas 252a-r (collectively 252), transceivers 254a-r (collectively 254), including modulators and demodulators, and other aspects, that enable wireless transmission of data (e.g., data source 262) and wireless reception of data (e.g., data sink 260).

The user device 104 includes a controller/processor 280 that can be configured to implement various functions related to wireless communications. In the depicted example, controller/processor 280 includes PDCCH-scheduled RACH component 281, which may represent PDCCH-scheduled RACH component 198 of fig. 1. It should be apparent that while depicted as an aspect of controller/processor 280, in other implementations PDCCH-arranged RACH component 281 may additionally or alternatively be implemented in various other aspects of user equipment 104.

Fig. 3A-3D depict aspects of a data structure for a wireless communication network, such as the wireless communication network 100 of fig. 1. Specifically, fig. 3A is a diagram 300 illustrating an example of a first subframe within a 5G (e.g., 5G NR) frame structure, fig. 3B is a diagram 330 illustrating an example of a DL channel within a 5G subframe, fig. 3C is a diagram 350 illustrating an example of a second subframe within a 5G frame structure, and fig. 3D is a diagram 380 illustrating an example of a UL channel within a 5G subframe.

Fig. 4 depicts an example split BS.

Further discussion regarding fig. 1, 2, 3A-3D, and 4 is provided later in this disclosure.

Introduction to mmWave wireless communication

In wireless communications, the electromagnetic spectrum is typically subdivided into various categories, bands, channels, or other features. Such subdivision is typically provided on the basis of wavelength and frequency, which may also be referred to as carrier, subcarrier, frequency channel, tone or subband.

In 5G, two initial operating bands have been identified by frequency range names FR1 (410 MHz-7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz-52.6 GHz). The frequency between FR1 and FR2 is often referred to as the mid-band frequency. Although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6GHz, FR1 is commonly referred to in various documents and articles as the (interchangeably) "sub-6GHz" band. Similar naming problems sometimes occur with respect to FR2, which is sometimes (interchangeably) referred to in documents and articles as the "millimeter wave" ("mmW" or "mmWave") band, although it is different from the Extremely High Frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz-300 GHz) identified by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) as the "millimeter wave" band (because the wavelengths at these frequencies are between 1 millimeter and 10 millimeters). The radio waves in this band may be referred to as millimeter waves. Near mmWave can extend down to a frequency of 3GHz with a wavelength of 100 mm. The ultra-high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3GHz and 30GHz, also known as centimetre waves.

In view of the above, unless specifically stated otherwise, it is to be understood that the term "sub-6GHz" or the like (if used herein) may broadly represent frequencies that may be below 6GHz, frequencies that may be within FR1, or frequencies that may include mid-band frequencies. Furthermore, unless specifically stated otherwise, it should be understood that the term "millimeter wave" or the like (if used herein) may broadly represent frequencies that may include mid-band frequencies, frequencies that may be within FR2, or frequencies that may be within the EHF band.

Communications using the mmWave/near mmWave radio frequency band (e.g., 3GHz-300 GHz) may have higher path loss and shorter range than lower frequency communications. Thus, in fig. 1, mmWave BS180 may utilize beamforming 182 with UE 104 to improve path loss and range. To this end, BS180 and UE 104 may each include multiple antennas, such as antenna elements, antenna panels, and/or antenna arrays, to facilitate beamforming.

In some cases, BS180 may transmit the beamformed signals to UE 104 in one or more transmit directions 182'. The UE 104 may receive the beamformed signals from the BS180 in one or more receive directions 182 ". The UE 104 may also transmit the beamformed signals to the BS180 in one or more transmit directions 182 ". BS180 may receive the beamformed signals from UEs 104 in one or more receive directions 182'. BS180 and UE 104 may then perform beam training to determine the best receive direction and the best transmit direction for each of BS180 and UE 104. It is noted that the transmission direction and the reception direction for BS180 may be the same or may be different. Similarly, the transmit direction and the receive direction for the UE 104 may be the same or may be different.

Introduction to reduced capability (RedCAP) devices

Various technologies may be the focus of current wireless communication standards. For example, release 15 (Rel-15) and/or Rel-16 of the 3GPP technical standard releases may focus on advanced smart phones, e.g., support enhanced mobile broadband (emmbb), ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC), and/or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications. Some wireless communication standards, such as 3GPP TS Rel-17 and beyond, focus on efficient and cost-effective scalability and deployment of New Radios (NRs). New UEs with reduced capabilities have been introduced. Such UEs with reduced capabilities may be referred to as RedCap UEs. Specifically, the RedCap Ue may support relaxed peak throughput (e.g., about 20 MHz), latency, and/or reliability requirements. The RedCap UE may have a compact form factor. The RedCap UE may support all NR Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) bands and Time Division Duplex (TDD) bands.

Design goals of NR RedCap UEs may include scalable resource allocation, coverage enhancements for DL and/or UL, power savings in all Radio Resource Control (RRC) states, and coexistence with other UEs. For example, a RedCap UE may coexist with a non-RedCap UE (such as an NR advanced UE). As used herein, advanced UEs may refer to non-RedCap UEs. NR advanced UEs may refer to legacy non-RedCaP NR UEs.

The NR-RedCap UE may be a smart wearable device, a sensor/camera (e.g., a smart city device), or any device configured for loose internet of things (IoT) communication.

The wearable device may include devices such as smart watches, augmented Reality (AR) glasses, virtual Reality (VR) glasses, electronic health (eHealth) monitoring devices, medical monitoring devices, and the like. The wearable device may use a data rate of approximately 5-50Mbps on the downlink and 2-5Mbps on the uplink. The wearable device may have a peak rate of about 150Mbps on the downlink and 50Mbps on the uplink. The wearable device may have latency and reliability goals similar to those of an eMBB device. The wearable may have a battery life of up to 1-2 weeks.

IoT devices may include connected industrial devices such as pressure sensors, humidity sensors, motion sensors, thermal sensors, accelerometers, actuators, and the like. The connected industrial device may use a data rate of approximately 2Mbps on the uplink. Typically, connected industrial devices may have a latency target of less than 100ms and a latency target of about 5-10ms for safety-related sensors. The connected industrial equipment may have a high reliability target, such as about 99.99%. The connected industrial equipment may have a battery life of at least several years.

The smart city device may include a video surveillance device or the like. Smart city devices may use data rates of approximately 2-4Mbps for economy devices and approximately 7.5-25Mbps for high-end devices. Typically, smart city devices may have latency targets of less than 500 ms. Smart city devices may have high reliability targets, such as about 99% -99.99%.

The RedCap UE functionality and/or capabilities may overlap with the functionality and/or capabilities of Long Term Evolution (LTE) and/or fifth generation (5G) devices (e.g., advanced 5G devices). For example, both the RedCap IoT device and the advanced 5G device may support URLLC. Furthermore, both the RedCap smart wearable device and the LTE UE may support Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) large-scale machine type communication (mctc). Both the RedCap sensor/camera and the advanced 5G device can support eMBB.

Example RACH procedure

RACH is a radio channel (medium) that can be shared by multiple UEs and used by UEs to (randomly) access the network for communication. For example, RACH may be used for call setup and access to a network for data transmission. In some cases, RACH may be used by UEs for initial access to the network when the UE switches from RRC connected idle mode to active mode. In some cases, the RACH may be used by the UE for initial access to the network when the UE is handed over in RRC connected mode. Furthermore, RACH may be used for downlink and/or uplink data arrival when the UE is in RRC idle or RRC inactive mode, and when connection with the network is re-established.

RACH may be used during a RACH procedure. There are different types of RACH procedures including a two-step RACH procedure and a four-step RACH procedure shown in fig. 5-6, respectively.

Fig. 5 is a call flow diagram illustrating an example four-step RACH procedure 500 in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. As shown, at 510, a first message (MSG 1) may be sent from a UE (e.g., such as UE 104 in wireless communication network 100) to a BS (e.g., such as BS102 in wireless communication network 100) over a PRACH. In the four-step RACH procedure 500, the first message (MSG 1) may include only the RACH preamble. At 520, BS102 may respond with a Random Access Response (RAR) message (MSG 2). The RAR message may include an Identifier (ID) of the RACH preamble, a Timing Advance (TA), an uplink grant, a cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI), and a backoff indicator. The RAR message may include a PDCCH communication including control information for subsequent communications on a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH). At 530, in response to the RAR message, the UE 104 sends a third message (MSG 3) to the BS102 on a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH). The third message (MSG 3) may include one or more of an RRC connection request, a Tracking Area Update (TAU) request, a system information request, a location fix or location signal request, or a Scheduling Request (SR). BS102 then responds with a fourth message (MSG 4) that may include a contention resolution message.

In some cases, to speed up access, a two-step RACH procedure may be supported. The two-step RACH procedure 600 may effectively "collapse" (collapse) the four messages of the four-step RACH procedure 500 into two messages.

Fig. 6 is a call flow diagram illustrating an example two-step RACH procedure 600 in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. As shown, a first enhanced message (MSG a) may be sent from the UE 104 to the BS102 at 610. In certain aspects, MSG a includes some or all of the information from MSG1 and MSG3 from the four-step RACH procedure 500, effectively combining MSG1 and MSG3 into a single message. For example, MSG a may include MSG1 and MSG3 multiplexed together using, for example, time Division Multiplexing (TDM) or Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM). In certain aspects, MSG a comprises a RACH preamble (e.g., MSG 1) and a payload (e.g., MSG 3) for random access. The MSG A payload may include, for example, a UE-ID, a Buffer Status Report (BSR), or an SR. BS102 may respond with an enhanced RAR message (MSG B) at 620, which may effectively combine MSG2 and MSG4 of the four-step RACH procedure 500 described above. For example, MSG B may include an ID of RACH preamble, TA, backoff indicator, contention resolution message, uplink grant, downlink grant, and Transmit Power Control (TPC) command. Aspects related to PDCCH scheduled RACH procedure for a RedCAP UE

Aspects of the present disclosure provide techniques for enhancing PDCCH-scheduled RACH procedures. In some aspects, the enhanced PDCCH-scheduled RACH procedure is based on the capabilities of the UE. For example, the enhanced PDCCH scheduled RACH procedure may be used for reduced capability UEs. In certain aspects, the PDCCH-scheduled RACH procedure extends the minimum gap time. In certain aspects, the PDCCH-scheduled RACH procedure includes power control enhancements. In certain aspects, the PDCCH-scheduled RACH procedure includes coverage enhancement. In certain aspects, the PDCCH-scheduled RACH procedure includes DCI format enhancements. In certain aspects, the PDCCH that schedules RACH is multicast. In certain aspects, the enhanced PDCCH-scheduled RACH procedure is a 2-step RACH procedure.

The PRACH transmission from the UE may be triggered by a higher layer or by a PDCCH arrangement as described above. The PDCCH scheduling PRACH transmission may transmit DCI with multiple fields. In some aspects, the DCI in the PDCCH that schedules the RACH includes a field for indicating a type of RACH procedure, a field with an uplink carrier indicator, a field with PRACH resource mapping information, a field with power control parameters, a field with coverage enhancement scheme, and/or a field with other scheduling information. The DCI may be for one or more UEs.

In some aspects, a contention-based random access (CBRA) procedure or a contention-free random access (CFRA) procedure may be arranged by DCI format 1_0 scrambled by a C-RNTI. The DCI may include a Frequency Domain Resource Allocation (FDRA) field, an uplink/secondary uplink (UL/SUL) indicator field, a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) index field, a PRACH mask index field, and one or more reserved bit fields. The FDRA field may include a bit set to a special value (e.g., all '1') to indicate that the DCI will schedule the RACH procedure.

As described above, for a PDCCH scheduled PRACH transmission, the UE may need a minimum gap between the last symbol received by the PDCCH schedule and the first symbol of the PRACH transmission of the 4-step RACH to provide sufficient processing time. The minimum gap may be defined as:

G _min ＝N _T,2 +Δ _BWPSwitching +Δ _Delay +T _switch ,

wherein N is _T,2 Is N corresponding to PUSCH preparation time for UE processing capability ₂ The duration of the individual symbols (assuming that the subcarrier spacing (SCS) (μ) corresponds to the smaller SCS configuration of the PDCCH arrangement and the SCS configuration of the corresponding PRACH transmission); if the active UL bandwidth part (BWP) is unchanged (e.g., between PDCCH and PRACH where RACH is scheduled) and can be defined in the standard, Δ _BWPSwitching May be set to 0; delta _Delay The value of (a) may depend on the operating frequency range (e.g., for FR1, delta _Delay =0.5 ms, and for FR2, Δ _Delay =0.25 ms); and T is _switch Is the switching gap duration, which may be defined in the standard.

As described above, a RedCap UE may have reduced capabilities relative to a "normal" capability UE (e.g., a non-RedCap UE). For example, the RedCap UE may have a reduced maximum UE bandwidth, a reduced number of transmit/receive (TX/RX) antennas, reduced antenna efficiency (e.g., for devices with size limitations, such as wearable devices), HD operation in the FDD band, and/or a relaxed processing timeline at various layers (L1/L2/L3).

According to certain aspects, a minimum gap between the PDCCH of the RACH and the RACH message (e.g., MSG 1 transmission in a 4-step RACH procedure or MSG a transmission in a 2-step RACH procedure) is arranged. For PDCCH scheduled RACH procedure for a RedCap UE, the minimum gap between the last symbol of PDCCH scheduling RACH and the first symbol of RACH message transmission can be extended. According to certain aspects, the extended minimum gap (G _min,ext ) Can be defined as:

G _min,ext ＝α·N _T,ext +Δ _{BWPSwitching,ext} +Δ _HD-Switching +Δ _Delay,ext +T _switch,ext

the parameter α is a scaling factor (α≡1) greater than 1, which depends on the type of RACH procedure and CE level (k) used for RACH message transmission. For example, if the PDCCH schedules a type 1 (four step) RACH procedure and the CE level for PDCCH scheduled MSG 1 is k, α may be set to k (α=k). On the other hand, if the PDCCH schedules a type 2 (two-step) RACH procedure and the CE level for PDCCH scheduled MSG a is k, α may be set to 2k (α=2k). Parameter N _T,ext Is N corresponding to PRACH/PUSCH preparation time _ext The duration of the individual symbols, which may depend on the UE capability, as well as the minimum of SCS configuration for PDCCH and reference SCS for PRACH. The parameter delta may be used if the UE does not change the active UL BWP when transmitting the PDCCH-scheduled RACH message (e.g., MSG 1 or MSG a) _{BWPSwitching,ext} Set to zero, otherwise, delta _{BWPSwitching,ext} May depend on the UE capabilities. Parameter delta _HD-Switching Is the DL-to-UL (i.e., DL received UL transmissions) switching time for HD-FDD operation, which depends on UE capabilities. Parameter delta _Delay,ext May depend on the UE capability and the operating frequency rangeDelay duration of the cycle around (FR) and SSB. Parameter T _switch,ext Is the UL handover gap, which may depend on UE capability and also on UL TX handover options.

Fig. 7 depicts a call flow diagram of an example PDCCH-scheduled RACH procedure in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

As shown, at 710, a network entity 702 (e.g., BS102 in wireless communication network 100) may send a request (query) for UE capabilities to a UE 704 (e.g., UE 104 in wireless communication network 100). At 720, in response to the query, the UE 704 reports its capabilities to the network entity 702. The content of the UE capability report related to the PDCCH scheduled RACH may include an indication of whether the UE supports or does not support: type 2 (2 steps) RACH, HD-FDD, SUL and/or CE for MSG 1 or MSG a, UE processing capability for PDCCH, PDSCH and/or PUSCH, and Radio Frequency (RF) retuning capability of the UE (e.g., for BWP handover, carrier handover, etc.).

Optionally, at 730, the network entity 702 sends one or more downlink reference signals (DL RSs) to the UE 704. The downlink reference signals may include SSBs, channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), tracking Reference Signals (TRS), and/or Positioning Reference Signals (PRS). The UE 704 may measure the downlink reference signals to generate CSI feedback. Optionally, at 740, the UE 704 may send CSI reports with CSI feedback to the network entity 702. The content of CSI reports related to PDCCH-scheduled RACH may include information such as Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurements and/or preferred beam indices associated with downlink reference signals.

At 750, the network entity 702 sends a PDCCH to the UE 704 that schedules RACH. In some aspects, the network entity 702 determines a DCI payload and a minimum gap G for a PDCCH scheduling RACH based at least in part on the reported UE capabilities and CSI _min,ext . The network entity 702 can ensure that the timing of the scheduled RACH transmission satisfies G _min,ext . In some aspects, the network entity 702 determines RACH message resources for the UE 704 that satisfy a minimum gap between PDCCH and RACH messages that schedule RACH. In some aspects, the network entity 702 determines that A downlink reference signal resource configuration, a downlink reference signal period configuration, an association between a downlink reference and RACH message resources, CBRA or CFRA mode, and/or RACH procedure type (type 1 or type 2).

The UE 704 may decode the PDCCH scheduling RACH and prepare a RACH message (e.g., MSG 1 or MSG a) transmission. The UL carrier and/or BWP may be indicated explicitly or implicitly by the DCI payload of the PDCCH arranging the RACH. At 760, the UE 704 sends a RACH message to the network entity 702. At 770, the network entity 702 sends a RAR message (e.g., MSG 2 or MSG B) to the UE 704.

The duration DeltaT between the last symbol of PDCCH (at 750) scheduling RACH and the first symbol of RACH message (at 760) is greater than the minimum gap (DeltaT. Gtoreq.G) _min,ext )。

According to certain aspects, PDCCH signaling may be enhanced to support PDCCH-scheduled RACH procedures for a RedCap UE, PDCCH-scheduled RACH procedures with uplink power control, and PDCCH-scheduled RACH procedures with CE.

In some aspects, both the PDCCH scheduling type 1RACH and the PDCCH scheduling type 2RACH may include UL BWP IDs (e.g., in the NUL/SUL field).

The additional signaling information may be mapped to a PDCCH scheduling RACH. For example, for both the PDCCH scheduling type 1RACH and the PDCCH scheduling type 2RACH, the additional signaling information may include a PRACH preamble index, a PRACH preamble group index, a UL/SUL indicator, a downlink reference index, and/or a PRACH mask index in addition to the FDRA field. In some cases, the indication of RACH type may be mapped to an FDRA field (e.g., all '1' or all '0' may indicate type 1RACH, while the opposite value indicates type 2 RACH) or a PRACH preamble index, PRACH group index, or PRACH mask index.

In addition, for both the PDCCH scheduling a type 1RACH and the PDCCH scheduling a type 2RACH, the additional signaling information may include a RACH type indicator, one or more power control parameters, and/or one or more CE parameters. The RACH type indicator may indicate a type 1RACH or a type 2RACH. The PDCCH scheduling RACH may also indicate whether the RACH procedure is a CBRA or CFRA procedure. The one or more CE parameters may include repetition parameters, frequency hopping parameters, etc. for the RACH message. The CE parameter for the PDCCH scheduling the type 1RACH may indicate a CE for MSG 1, and the CE parameter for the PDCCH scheduling the type 2RACH may indicate a CE for MSG PRACH.

The power control parameters may depend at least on the type of RACH procedure (type 1 or type 2), the power control scheme (closed loop or open loop), and the contention resolution (CFRA or CBRA). In some cases, the PDCCH power control parameters of the scheduled RACH include an indicator of ul-fullpower transmission for the PRACH preamble and/or PUSCH, TPC commands for the PRACH preamble and/or PUSCH, transmit (TX) power ramp up for the PRACH preamble and/or PUSCH, and/or TX power offset between the PRACH preamble and PUSCH.

In some aspects, the PDCCH scheduling type 2RACH also includes additional parameters for MSG a PUSCH. The additional parameters may include one or more power control parameters for MSG a PUSCH, hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) parameters, modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) parameters, CE parameters (e.g., transport Block (TB) scaling parameters, repetition parameters, slot aggregation parameters, and/or frequency hopping parameters), and/or demodulation reference signal (DMRS) bundling parameters.

According to certain aspects, the PDCCH arranging the RACH may be unicast and/or multicast to support UE multiplexing. For example, for a single UE, the DCI of the PDCCH that schedules the RACH may be scrambled and unicast with a UE-specific RNTI. For multiple UEs, the DCI of the PDCCH that schedules the RACH may be scrambled by a group RNTI and multicast to one or more UEs of a group, which may reduce signaling overhead when triggering the RACH procedure for a group of UEs.

Example method

Fig. 8 illustrates an example of a method 800 for performing a PDCCH scheduled RACH procedure in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some aspects, a UE (such as UE 104 in fig. 1 and 2 or processing system 1205 of fig. 12) may perform method 800.

At operation 805, the system sends an indication of one or more capabilities of the UE to the network entity. In some cases, the operations of this step refer to or may be performed by UE capability circuitry as described with reference to fig. 12.

At operation 810, the system sends a report of channel state information to a network entity. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to CSI reporting circuitry 1222 as described with reference to fig. 12, or may be performed by CSI reporting circuitry 1222.

At operation 815, the system receives a PDCCH that schedules the UE to perform a type of RACH procedure on an uplink carrier using at least one of a CE or an uplink power control scheme of the type of RACH procedure in a manner determined by the indicated capability of the UE. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to PDCCH receiver circuitry 1223 as described with reference to fig. 12, or may be performed by PDCCH receiver circuitry 1223.

At operation 820, the system performs the RACH procedure of the type on the uplink carrier according to the CE or uplink power control scheme of the PDCCH using the RACH procedure of the type. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to RACH procedure circuitry 1224 as described with reference to fig. 12, or may be performed by RACH procedure circuitry 1224.

In some aspects, the PDCCH indicates whether the RACH procedure includes a first type of RACH procedure in which the UE transmits a first type of RACH message including a PRACH preamble or a second type of RACH procedure in which the UE transmits a second type of RACH message including a composite PRACH preamble and PUSCH, and the first type of RACH message or the second type of RACH message may be transmitted on a regular (e.g., normal) or supplemental uplink carrier signaled by the PDCCH.

In some aspects, the PDCCH indicates whether the RACH procedure includes a first type of RACH procedure or a second type of RACH procedure via a bit in at least an FDRA field, a DMRS configuration of the PDCCH, an index of a PRACH preamble or preamble group, or an index of a PRACH mask.

In some aspects, the indicated capabilities of the UE include at least one of: the capability of the UE to support RACH procedures of the second type, the capability of the UE to support CE, the capability of the UE to support HD FDD, the capability of the RF retuning of the UE, or the capability of the UE to handle PDCCH, PUSCH or PUSCH transmissions.

In some aspects, the method 800 includes determining a minimum gap based at least in part on the indicated capabilities of the UE. In some aspects, the method 900 further includes performing the RACH procedure only if the time between the last symbol of the PDCCH and the first symbol of the first type RACH message or the second type RACH message is equal to or greater than a minimum gap.

In some aspects, the minimum gap is determined based on at least one of: the type of RACH procedure, CE capability of the UE, UE processing capability for PDCCH, PRACH or PUSCH, and minimum SCS configuration for PDCCH, PRACH or PUSCH. In some aspects, the minimum gap is determined based on at least one of a UE-capability-dependent BWP handover delay or a UE-capability-dependent HD FDD handover delay. In some aspects, the minimum gap is determined based on at least one of an uplink handover gap or a delay spread, the uplink handover gap being dependent on the UE capability and the uplink transmission handover option, the delay spread being dependent on the UE capability, the operating FR, QCL or TCI state, and the SSB or downlink reference signal configuration of the serving cell.

In some aspects, the at least one CE includes at least one of: repetition for PRACH, repetition for PUSCH, frequency hopping for PRACH, frequency hopping for PUSCH, or DMRS bundling for PUSCH.

In some aspects, the PDCCH indicates whether the RACH procedure includes a first type of RACH procedure in which the UE transmits a first type of RACH message including a PRACH preamble or a second type of RACH procedure in which the UE transmits a second type of RACH message including a composite PRACH preamble and PUSCH. In some aspects, the PDCCH indicates at least one of: one or more power control parameters for the first or second type of RACH message, or one or more CE schemes for the first type of RACH message or the second type of RACH message, and a set of PUSCH modulation, coding and HARQ processing parameters for the second type of RACH message.

In some aspects, the power control parameter is dependent on at least one of: the type of RACH procedure, power control scheme, TCI or QCL state, or contention resolution for the RACH procedure type. In some aspects, the power control parameters include at least one of: an indicator of an uplink full power transmission parameter, a TCI or QCL state, a TPC command, a transmit power ramp-up parameter, or a transmit power offset between PRACH and PUSCH.

In some aspects, the PDCCH includes a multicast PDCCH transmitted in a CSS set, and the payload or CRC bits of the payload are scrambled by a group RNTI.

Fig. 9 illustrates an example of a method 900 for performing a PDCCH scheduled RACH procedure in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some aspects, a UE (such as UE 104 in fig. 1 and 2 or processing system 1205 of fig. 12) may perform method 900.

At 902, the method 900 includes transmitting an indication of one or more capabilities of a UE.

Optionally, at 904, method 900 may include: transmitting a CSI report; and receiving a CE configuration for the RACH procedure based on the CSI report.

At 906, method 900 includes: a PDCCH is received that schedules a UE to perform RACH procedures on an uplink carrier based on one or more capabilities of the UE.

At 908, method 900 includes: a minimum gap between the last symbol of the PDCCH and the first symbol of the RACH message is determined. The minimum gap may include HD switching delay.

At 910, method 900 includes: the RACH procedure is performed on the uplink carrier when a gap between a last symbol of the PDCCH and a first symbol of the RACH message is equal to or greater than a minimum gap.

Fig. 10 illustrates an example of a method 1000 for scheduling RACH procedures in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some aspects, a BS (such as BS102 in fig. 1 and 2 or processing system 1305 of fig. 13) may perform method 1000.

At operation 1005, the system transmits a PDCCH to at least one UE, the PDCCH scheduling the UE to perform a type of RACH procedure using at least one of a CE or a power control scheme in a manner determined by the indicated capabilities of the UE. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to PDCCH circuit 1321 as described with reference to fig. 13, or may be performed by PDCCH circuit 1321.

At operation 1010, the system participates in a RACH procedure with the type of UE according to the PDCCH and the indicated capabilities of the UE. In some cases, the operations of this step refer to RACH procedure circuitry 1322 as described with reference to fig. 13, or may be performed by RACH procedure circuitry 1322.

In some aspects, the PDCCH indicates whether the RACH procedure includes a first type of RACH procedure in which the UE transmits a first type of RACH message including a PRACH preamble or a second type of RACH procedure in which the UE transmits a second type of RACH message including a composite PRACH preamble and PUSCH, and wherein the first type of RACH message or the second type of RACH message may be transmitted on a regular (e.g., normal) or supplemental uplink carrier signaled by the PDCCH.

In some aspects, the PDCCH indicates whether the RACH procedure includes a first type of RACH procedure or a second type of RACH procedure via at least a bit in an FDRA field of DCI conveyed over the PDCCH, a DMRS configuration of the PDCCH, an index of a PRACH preamble or preamble group, or an index of a PRACH mask.

In some aspects, the indicated capabilities of the UE include at least one of: the capability of the UE to support RACH procedures of the second type, the capability of the UE to support CE, the capability of the UE to support HD FDD, the capability of the RF retuning of the UE, or the capability of the UE to handle PDCCH, PUSCH or PUSCH transmissions.

In some aspects, the method 1000 includes determining a minimum gap based at least in part on the indicated capabilities of the UE. In some aspects, the method 1000 further comprises: the UE is scheduled to perform a RACH procedure via the PDCCH such that a time between a last symbol of the PDCCH and a first symbol of the first type RACH message or the second type RACH message is equal to or greater than a minimum gap.

In some aspects, the minimum gap is determined based on at least one of: the type of RACH procedure, CE capability of the UE, UE processing capability for PDCCH, PRACH or PUSCH, or minimum SCS configuration for PDCCH, PRACH or PUSCH. In some aspects, the minimum gap is determined based on at least one of a UE-capability-dependent BWP handover delay or a UE-capability-dependent HD FDD handover delay. In some aspects, the minimum gap is determined based on at least one of an uplink handover gap or a delay spread, the uplink handover gap being dependent on the UE capability and the uplink transmission handover option, the delay spread being dependent on the UE capability, the operating FR, QCL or TCI state, and the SSB or downlink reference signal configuration of the serving cell.

In some aspects, at least one UE comprises a group of UEs; and the PDCCH includes a multicast PDCCH transmitted in a CSS set, and the payload or CRC bits of the payload are scrambled by a group RNTI.

In some aspects, the CE includes at least one of: repetition for PRACH, repetition for PUSCH, frequency hopping for PRACH, frequency hopping for PUSCH, or DMRS bundling for PUSCH.

In some aspects, the PDCCH indicates whether the RACH procedure includes a first type of RACH procedure in which the UE transmits a first type of RACH message including a PRACH preamble or a second type of RACH procedure in which the UE transmits a second type of RACH message including a composite PRACH preamble and PUSCH, and wherein the PDCCH indicates at least one of: one or more power control parameters for the first type of RACH message or the second type of RACH message, or one or more CE schemes for the first type of RACH message or the second type of RACH message, or a set of modulation, coding and HARQ process parameters for the msgAPUSCH.

In some aspects, the power control parameter is dependent on at least one of: the type of RACH procedure, QCI or TCI status, CSI reports, power control scheme, or contention resolution for the RACH procedure type. In some aspects, the power control parameters include at least one of: an indicator of an uplink full power transmission parameter, a QCL or TCI, a TPC command, a transmit power ramp-up parameter, or a transmit power offset between PRACH and PUSCH.

Fig. 11 illustrates an example of a method 1100 for scheduling RACH procedures in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some aspects, a BS (such as BS102 in fig. 1 and 2 or processing system 1305 of fig. 13) may perform method 1100.

Optionally, at 1102, the method 1100 includes: an indication of one or more capabilities of the at least one UE is obtained from the at least one UE. The indication of the one or more capabilities includes at least one of: at least one UE is an indication of a RedCap UE, or at least one UE's HD-capable capability.

Optionally, at 1104, the method 1100 includes: determining a minimum gap based at least in part on one or more capabilities of at least one UE; and scheduling at least one UE to perform a RACH procedure via the PDCCH such that a time between a last symbol of the PDCCH and a first symbol of the RACH message is equal to or greater than a minimum gap.

At 1106, method 1100 includes: a PDCCH scheduling the at least one UE to perform the RACH procedure is output for transmission to the at least one UE based on one or more capabilities of the at least one UE.

At 1108, method 1100 includes: the RACH message is obtained from the at least one UE after a minimum gap between a last symbol of the PDCCH and a first symbol of the RACH message. The minimum gap includes HD switching delay.

Example Wireless communication device

Fig. 12 depicts an example communication device 1200 that includes various components operable, configured, or adapted to perform operations for the techniques disclosed herein, such as the operations depicted and described with respect to fig. 8 and 9. In some examples, the communication device 1200 may be the UE 104 as described, for example, with respect to fig. 1 and 2.

The communication device 1200 includes a processing system 1202 coupled to a transceiver 1208 (e.g., transmitter and/or receiver). The transceiver 1208 is configured to transmit (or send) and receive signals for the communication device 1200, such as the various signals as described herein, via the antenna 1210. The processing system 1202 may be configured to perform processing functions for the communication device 1200, including processing signals received by the communication device 1200 and/or to be transmitted by the communication device 1200.

The processing system 1202 includes one or more processors 1220 coupled to a computer-readable medium/memory 1230 via a bus 1206. In certain aspects, the computer-readable medium/memory 1230 is configured to store instructions (e.g., computer-executable code) that, when executed by the one or more processors 1220, cause the one or more processors 1220 to perform the operations shown in fig. 8 and 9, or other operations for performing the various techniques discussed herein.

The various components of the communication device 1200 may provide means for performing the methods described herein, including the methods with respect to fig. 8 and 9.

In some examples, the means for transmitting or sending (or means for outputting for transmission) may include the transceiver 254 and/or antenna 252 of the UE 104 shown in fig. 2, and/or the transceiver 1208 and antenna 1210 of the communication device in fig. 12.

In some examples, the means for receiving (or means for obtaining) may include the transceiver 254 and/or antenna 252 of the UE 104 shown in fig. 2, and/or the transceiver 1208 and antenna 1210 of the communication device in fig. 12.

In some examples, the means for executing and/or participating may include various processing system 1202 components, such as: one or more processors 1220 in fig. 12, or aspects of UE 104 shown in fig. 12, include a receive processor 258, a transmit processor 264, a TX MIMO processor 266, and/or a controller/processor 280.

In one aspect, the one or more processors 1220 include UE capability circuitry 1221, CSI reporting circuitry 1222, PDCCH receiver circuitry 1223, and RACH procedure circuitry 1224.

According to some aspects, the UE capability circuitry 1221 sends an indication of one or more capabilities of the UE to the network entity. In some examples, the indicated capabilities of the UE include at least one of: the capability of the UE to support RACH procedures of the second type, the capability of the UE to support CE, the capability of the UE to support HD FDD, the capability of the RF retuning of the UE, or the capability of the UE to handle PDCCH, PUSCH or PUSCH transmissions. In some examples, UE capability circuitry 1221 determines a minimum gap based at least in part on the indicated capabilities of the UE. In some examples, the minimum gap is determined based on at least one of: the type of RACH procedure, CE capability of the UE, UE processing capability for PDCCH, PRACH or PUSCH, and minimum SCS configuration for PDCCH, PRACH or PUSCH. In some examples, the minimum gap is determined based on at least one of a UE-capability-dependent BWP handover delay or a UE-capability-dependent HD FDD handover delay. In some examples, the minimum gap is determined based on at least one of an uplink handover gap or a delay spread, the uplink handover gap being dependent on the UE capability and the uplink transmission handover option, the delay spread being dependent on the UE capability, the operating FR, QCL or TCI state, and the SSB or downlink reference signal configuration of the serving cell.

According to some aspects, CSI reporting circuitry 1222 transmits reports of channel state information to a network entity.

According to some aspects, a PDCCH circuit receives a PDCCH that schedules a UE to perform a type of RACH procedure on an uplink carrier using at least one of a CE or an uplink power control scheme of the type of RACH procedure in a manner determined by an indicated capability of the UE. In some examples, the PDCCH indicates whether the RACH procedure includes a first type of RACH procedure in which the UE transmits a first type of RACH message including a PRACH preamble or a second type of RACH procedure in which the UE transmits a second type of RACH message including a composite PRACH preamble and PUSCH, and the first type of RACH message or the second type of RACH message may be transmitted on a regular (e.g., normal) or supplemental uplink carrier signaled by the PDCCH. In some examples, the PDCCH indicates whether the RACH procedure includes a first type of RACH procedure or a second type of RACH procedure via a bit in at least an FDRA field, a DMRS configuration of the PDCCH, an index of a PRACH preamble or preamble group, or an index of a PRACH mask. In some examples, the at least one CE includes at least one of: repetition for PRACH, repetition for PUSCH, frequency hopping for PRACH, frequency hopping for PUSCH, or DMRS bundling for PUSCH.

In some examples, the PDCCH indicates whether the RACH procedure includes a first type of RACH procedure in which the UE transmits a first type of RACH message including a PRACH preamble or a second type of RACH procedure in which the UE transmits a second type of RACH message including a composite PRACH preamble and PUSCH, and wherein the PDCCH indicates at least one of: a set of one or more power control parameters for a first type of RACH message or a second type of RACH message, or one or more CE schemes for a first type of RACH message or a second type of RACH message, and modulation, coding and HARQ processing parameters for PUSCH of a second type of RACH message. In some examples, the power control parameter depends on at least one of: the type of RACH procedure, power control scheme, TCI or QCL state, or contention resolution for the RACH procedure type. In some examples, the power control parameters include at least one of: an indicator of an uplink full power transmission parameter, a TCI or QCL state, a TPC command, a transmit power ramp-up parameter, or a transmit power offset between PRACH and PUSCH. In some examples, the PDCCH includes a multicast PDCCH transmitted in a CSS set, and the payload or CRC bits of the payload are scrambled by a group RNTI.

According to some aspects, RACH procedure circuitry 1224 performs this type of RACH procedure on an uplink carrier according to a CE or uplink power control scheme where the PDCCH uses this type of RACH procedure. In some examples, RACH procedure circuitry 1224 performs RACH procedures only if the time between the last symbol of the PDCCH and the first symbol of the first type of RACH message or the second type of RACH message is equal to or greater than a minimum gap.

In one aspect, the computer-readable medium/memory 1230 includes (e.g., stores) a UE capability code 1231, a CSI report code 1232, a PDCCH receiver code 1233, and a RACH procedure code 1234.

It is noted that fig. 12 is only one example, and that many other examples and configurations of communication devices are possible.

Fig. 13 depicts an example communication device 1300 that includes various components operable, configured, or adapted to perform operations for the techniques disclosed herein, such as the operations depicted and described with respect to fig. 13. In some examples, the communication device may be BS102 as described, for example, with respect to fig. 1 and 2.

The communication device 1300 includes a processing system 1302 coupled to a transceiver 1308 (e.g., a transmitter and/or receiver). The transceiver 1308 is configured to transmit (or send) and receive signals for the communication device 1300, such as the various signals described herein, via the antenna 1310. The processing system 1302 may be configured to perform processing functions for the communication device 1300, including processing signals received by and/or to be transmitted by the communication device 1300.

The transceiver 1308 may communicate bi-directionally via the antenna 1310, wired or wireless links as described above. For example, a transceiver 1308 may represent a wireless transceiver 1308, and may communicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver 1308. The transceiver 1308 may also include or be connected to a modem to modulate packets and provide modulated packets for transmission, and demodulate received packets. In some examples, transceiver 1308 may be tuned to operate at a specified frequency. For example, the modem may configure the transceiver 1308 to operate at a specified frequency and power level based on the communication protocol used by the modem.

The processing system 1302 includes one or more processors 1320 coupled to a computer-readable medium/memory 1330 via a bus 1306. In certain aspects, the computer-readable medium/memory 1330 is configured to store instructions (e.g., computer-executable code) that, when executed by the one or more processors 1320, cause the one or more processors 1320 to perform the operations shown in fig. 13, or other operations for performing the various techniques discussed herein.

The various components of the communications device 1300 may provide means for performing the methods described herein, including the methods related to fig. 13.

In some examples, the means for transmitting or sending (or means for outputting for transmission) may include transceiver 232 and/or antenna 234 of BS102 shown in fig. 2, and/or transceiver 1308 and antenna 1310 of the communication device in fig. 13.

In some examples, the means for receiving (or means for obtaining) may include the transceiver 232 and/or the antenna 234 of the base station shown in fig. 2, and/or the transceiver 1308 and the antenna 1310 of the communication device in fig. 13.

In some examples, the means for participating may include various processing system 1302 components, such as: one or more processors 1320 in fig. 13, or aspects of BS102 shown in fig. 2, include a receive processor 238, a transmit processor 220, a TXMIMO processor 230, and/or a controller/processor 240.

In some examples, the one or more processors 1320 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices (e.g., general purpose processing components, digital Signal Processors (DSPs), central Processing Units (CPUs), graphics Processing Units (GPUs), microcontrollers, application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic components, discrete hardware components, or any combinations thereof). In some cases, the one or more processors 1320 are configured to operate the memory array using a memory controller. In other cases, the memory controller is integrated into the one or more processors 1320. In some cases, the one or more processors 1320 are configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in the memory to perform various functions. In some aspects, the one or more processors 1320 include dedicated components for modem processing, baseband processing, digital signal processing, or transmission processing.

In one aspect, the one or more processors 1320 include PDCCH circuitry 1321, RACH procedure circuitry 1322, and UE capability management circuitry 1323.

According to some aspects, PDCCH circuitry 1321 transmits a PDCCH to at least one UE, the PDCCH scheduling the UE to perform a type of RACH procedure using at least one of a CE or a power control scheme in a manner determined by the indicated capabilities of the UE. In some examples, the PDCCH indicates whether the RACH procedure includes a first type of RACH procedure in which the UE transmits a first type of RACH message including a PRACH preamble or a second type of RACH procedure in which the UE transmits a second type of RACH message including a composite PRACH preamble and PUSCH, and the first type of RACH message or the second type of RACH message may be transmitted on a regular (e.g., normal) or supplemental uplink carrier signaled by the PDCCH. In some examples, the PDCCH indicates whether the RACH procedure includes a first type of RACH procedure or a second type of RACH procedure via at least a bit in an FDRA field of DCI conveyed over the PDCCH, a DMRS configuration of the PDCCH, an index of a PRACH preamble or preamble group, or an index of a PRACH mask.

In some examples, PDCCH circuit 1321 schedules the UE to perform the RACH procedure via the PDCCH such that a time between a last symbol of the PDCCH and a first symbol of the first type of RACH message or the second type of RACH message is equal to or greater than a minimum gap. In some examples, the at least one UE includes a group of UEs; and the PDCCH includes a multicast PDCCH transmitted in a CSS set, and the payload or CRC bits of the payload are scrambled by a group RNTI. In some examples, the CE includes at least one of: repetition for PRACH, repetition for PUSCH, frequency hopping for PRACH, frequency hopping for PUSCH, or DMRS bundling for PUSCH.

In some examples, the PDCCH indicates whether the RACH procedure includes a first type of RACH procedure in which the UE transmits a first type of RACH message including a PRACH preamble or a second type of RACH procedure in which the UE transmits a second type of RACH message including a composite PRACH preamble and PUSCH, and wherein the PDCCH indicates at least one of: one or more power control parameters for the first type of RACH message or the second type of RACH message, or one or more CE schemes for the first type of RACH message or the second type of RACH message, or a set of modulation, coding and HARQ process parameters for the msgAPUSCH. In some examples, the power control parameter depends on at least one of: the type of RACH procedure, QCI or TCI status, CSI reports, power control scheme, or contention resolution for the RACH procedure type. In some examples, the power control parameters include at least one of: an indicator of an uplink full power transmission parameter, a QCL or TCI, a TPC command, a transmit power ramp-up parameter, or a transmit power offset between PRACH and PUSCH.

According to some aspects, RACH procedure circuitry 1322 participates in this type of RACH procedure with a UE based on the PDCCH and the indicated capabilities of the UE. In some examples, the indicated capabilities of the UE include at least one of: the capability of the UE to support RACH procedures of the second type, the capability of the UE to support CE, the capability of the UE to support HD FDD, the capability of the RF retuning of the UE, or the capability of the UE to handle PDCCH, PUSCH or PUSCH transmissions. In some examples, the UE capability management circuitry 1323 determines the minimum gap based at least in part on the indicated capabilities of the UE. In some examples, the minimum gap is determined based on at least one of: the type of RACH procedure, CE capability of the UE, UE processing capability for PDCCH, PRACH or PUSCH, or minimum SCS configuration for PDCCH, PRACH or PUSCH. In some examples, the minimum gap is determined based on at least one of a UE-capability-dependent BWP handover delay or a UE-capability-dependent HD FDD handover delay. In some examples, the minimum gap is determined based on at least one of an uplink handover gap or a delay spread, the uplink handover gap being dependent on the UE capability and the uplink transmission handover option, the delay spread being dependent on the UE capability, the operating FR, QCL or TCI state, and the SSB or downlink reference signal configuration of the serving cell.

In one aspect, computer-readable medium/memory 1330 includes (e.g., stores) PDCCH code 1331, RACH procedure code 1332, and UE capability management code 1333.

Examples of computer readable media/memory 1330 include Random Access Memory (RAM), read Only Memory (ROM), or a hard disk. Examples of memory devices include solid state memory and hard drives. In some examples, computer readable medium/memory 1330 is used to store computer readable, computer executable software that includes instructions that, when executed, cause a processor to perform the various functions described herein. In some cases, the memory contains, among other things, a Basic Input Output System (BIOS) that controls basic hardware or software operations, such as interactions with peripheral components or devices. In some cases, the memory controller operates the memory cells. For example, the memory controller may include a row decoder, a column decoder, or both. In some cases, the memory cells within the memory store information in the form of logical states.

It is noted that fig. 13 is only one use case, and that many other examples and configurations of communication devices are possible.

Example clauses

Implementation examples are described in the numbered clauses below.

Clause 1: a method for wireless communication by a UE, comprising: transmitting an indication of one or more capabilities of the UE to a network entity; transmitting a report of channel state information to a network entity; receiving a PDCCH, the PDCCH scheduling the UE to perform a type of RACH procedure on an uplink carrier using at least one of a CE or an uplink power control scheme of the type of RACH procedure in a manner determined by the indicated UE's capability; and performing the type of RACH procedure on an uplink carrier using a CE or uplink power control scheme of the type of RACH procedure according to the PDCCH.

Clause 2: the method of clause 1, wherein: the PDCCH indicates whether the RACH procedure includes a first type of RACH procedure in which the UE transmits a first type of RACH message including a PRACH preamble or a second type of RACH procedure in which the UE transmits a second type of RACH message including a composite PRACH preamble and PUSCH, and wherein the first type of RACH message or the second type of RACH message may be transmitted on a regular or supplemental uplink carrier signaled by the PDCCH.

Clause 3: the method of any one of clauses 1 and 2, wherein: the at least one CE includes at least one of: repetition for PRACH, repetition for PUSCH, frequency hopping for PRACH, frequency hopping for PUSCH, or DMRS bundling for PUSCH.

Clause 4: the method of clause 2, wherein: the PDCCH indicates whether the RACH procedure includes a first type of RACH procedure or a second type of RACH procedure via a bit in at least an FDRA field, a DMRS configuration of the PDCCH, an index of a PRACH preamble or preamble group, or an index of a PRACH mask.

Clause 5: the method of clause 2, wherein: the PDCCH indicates whether the RACH procedure includes a first type of RACH procedure or a second type of RACH procedure via a bit in at least an FDRA field, a DMRS configuration of the PDCCH, an index of a PRACH preamble or preamble group, or an index of a PRACH mask.

Clause 6: the method of clause 5, further comprising: determining a minimum gap based at least in part on the indicated capabilities of the UE; and performing the RACH procedure only if a time between a last symbol of the PDCCH and a first symbol of the first type RACH message or the second type RACH message is equal to or greater than a minimum gap.

Clause 7: the method of clause 6, wherein: the minimum gap is determined based on at least one of: the type of RACH procedure, CE capability of the UE, UE processing capability for PDCCH, PRACH or PUSCH, and minimum SCS configuration for PDCCH, PRACH or PUSCH.

Clause 8: the method of clause 6, wherein: the minimum gap is determined based on at least one of a UE-capability-dependent BWP handover delay or a UE-capability-dependent HD FDD handover delay.

Clause 9: the method of clause 6, wherein: the minimum gap is determined based on at least one of: uplink handover gaps, which depend on UE capabilities and uplink transmission handover options; or delay spread depending on UE capability, operating FR, QCL or TCI status, and SSB or serving cell downlink reference signal configuration.

Clause 10: the method of any of clauses 1-9, wherein: PDCCH indication: the RACH procedure includes a first type RACH procedure in which the UE transmits a first type RACH message including a PRACH preamble or a second type RACH procedure in which the UE transmits a second type RACH message including a composite PRACH preamble and PUSCH, and at least one of: a set of one or more power control parameters for a first type of RACH message or a second type of RACH message, or one or more CE schemes for a first type of RACH message or a second type of RACH message, and modulation, coding and HARQ processing parameters for PUSCH of a second type of RACH message.

Clause 11: the method of clause 10, wherein: the power control parameter is dependent on at least one of: the type of RACH procedure, power control scheme, TCI or QCL state, or contention resolution for the RACH procedure type.

Clause 12: the method of clause 11, wherein: the power control parameters include at least one of: an indicator of an uplink full power transmission parameter, a TCI or QCL state, a TPC command, a transmit power ramp-up parameter, or a transmit power offset between PRACH and PUSCH.

Clause 13: the method of any of clauses 1-12, wherein: the PDCCH includes a multicast PDCCH transmitted in the CSS set; and the payload or CRC bits of the payload are scrambled by the group RNTI.

Clause 14: a method for wireless communication by a network entity, comprising: transmitting, to at least one UE, a PDCCH that schedules the UE to perform a type of RACH procedure using at least one of a CE or a power control scheme in a manner determined by the indicated UE's capability; and participating in a RACH procedure with the type of the UE according to the PDCCH and the indicated capability of the UE.

Clause 15: the method of clause 14, wherein: the PDCCH indicates whether the RACH procedure includes a first type of RACH procedure in which the UE transmits a first type of RACH message including a PRACH preamble or a second type of RACH procedure in which the UE transmits a second type of RACH message including a composite PRACH preamble and PUSCH, and wherein the first type of RACH message or the second type of RACH message may be transmitted on a regular or supplemental uplink carrier signaled by the PDCCH.

Clause 16: the method of clause 14, wherein: the CE includes at least one of: repetition for PRACH, repetition for PUSCH, frequency hopping for PRACH, frequency hopping for PUSCH, or DMRS bundling for PUSCH.

Clause 17: the method of clause 15, wherein: the PDCCH indicates whether the RACH procedure includes a first type RACH procedure or a second type RACH procedure via at least a bit in an FDRA field of DCI conveyed through the PDCCH, a DMRS configuration of the PDCCH, an index of a PRACH preamble or preamble group, or an index of a PRACH mask.

Clause 18: the method of clause 15, wherein: the indicated capabilities of the UE include at least one of: the capability of the UE to support RACH procedures of the second type, the capability of the UE to support CE, the capability of the UE to support HD FDD, the capability of the RF retuning of the UE, or the capability of the UE to handle PDCCH, PUSCH or PUSCH transmissions.

Clause 19: the method of clause 15, further comprising: determining a minimum gap based at least in part on the indicated capabilities of the UE; and scheduling the UE to perform the RACH procedure via the PDCCH such that a time between a last symbol of the PDCCH and a first symbol of the first type RACH message or the second type RACH message is equal to or greater than a minimum gap.

Clause 20: the method of clause 19, wherein: the minimum gap is determined based on at least one of: the type of RACH procedure, CE capability of the UE, UE processing capability for PDCCH, PRACH or PUSCH, or minimum SCS configuration for PDCCH, PRACH or PUSCH.

Clause 21: the method of clause 19, wherein: the minimum gap is determined based on at least one of a UE-capability-dependent BWP handover delay or a UE-capability-dependent HD FDD handover delay.

Clause 22: the method of clause 19, wherein: the minimum gap is determined based on at least one of: uplink handover gaps, which depend on UE capabilities and uplink transmission handover options; or delay spread depending on UE capability, operating FR, QCL or TCI status, and SSB or serving cell downlink reference signal configuration.

Clause 23: the method of any of clauses 14-22, wherein: PDCCH indication: the RACH procedure includes a first type RACH procedure in which the UE transmits a first type RACH message including a PRACH preamble or a second type RACH procedure in which the UE transmits a second type RACH message including a composite PRACH preamble and PUSCH, and at least one of: one or more power control parameters for the first type of RACH message or the second type of RACH message, or one or more CE schemes for the first type of RACH message or the second type of RACH message, or a set of modulation, coding and HARQ processing parameters for the msgA PUSCH.

Clause 24: the method of clause 23, wherein: the power control parameter is dependent on at least one of: the type of RACH procedure, QCI or TCI status, CSI reports, power control scheme, or contention resolution for the RACH procedure type.

Clause 25: the method of clause 24, wherein: the power control parameters include at least one of: an indicator of an uplink full power transmission parameter, a QCL or TCI, a TPC command, a transmit power ramp-up parameter, or a transmit power offset between PRACH and PUSCH.

Clause 26: the method of clause 15, wherein: at least one UE comprises a group of UEs; and the PDCCH includes a multicast PDCCH transmitted in a CSS set, and the payload or CRC bits of the payload are scrambled by a group RNTI.

Clause 27: a method for wireless communication by a User Equipment (UE), comprising: transmitting an indication of one or more capabilities of the UE; receiving a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) that schedules a UE to perform a Random Access Channel (RACH) procedure on an uplink carrier based on one or more capabilities of the UE; determining a minimum gap between a last symbol of the PDCCH and a first symbol of the RACH message, wherein the minimum gap includes a half-duplex (HD) handover delay; and performing a RACH procedure on an uplink carrier when a gap between a last symbol of the PDCCH and a first symbol of the RACH message is equal to or greater than a minimum gap.

Clause 28: the method of clause 27, wherein the type of RACH procedure includes: a first type RACH procedure in which the UE transmits a first type RACH message including a Physical RACH (PRACH) preamble; or a second type RACH procedure, in which the UE transmits a second type RACH message including a composite of a PRACH preamble and a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH).

Clause 29: the method of clause 28, wherein the PDCCH indicates an uplink carrier, and wherein the uplink carrier is a normal uplink carrier or a Supplementary Uplink (SUL) carrier within an uplink bandwidth part (BWP) less than or equal to a maximum BWP capability of the UE.

Clause 30: the method of any one or more of clauses 28-29, wherein: the RACH procedure is performed using Coverage Enhancement (CE) based on one or more capabilities of the UE; and the CE includes at least one of: repetition of PRACH preamble, repetition of PUSCH, frequency hopping for PRACH preamble, frequency hopping for PUSCH, or demodulation reference signal (DMRS) bundling for PUSCH.

Clause 31: the method of any one or more of clauses 28-30, wherein the PDCCH indicates a type of RACH procedure and a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) index, wherein an uplink bandwidth portion (BWP) for the RACH procedure is associated with a downlink BWP comprising the SSB, and wherein the SSB comprises a cell-defined SSB (CD-SSB) or a non-cell-defined SSB (NCD-SSB).

Clause 32. The method of clause 31, wherein the PDCCH indicates the type of RACH procedure via a bit in at least one of: a Frequency Domain Resource Allocation (FDRA) field, DMRS configuration of PDCCH, index of PRACH preamble group, or index of PRACH mask.

Clause 33: the method of any one or more of clauses 27-32, wherein determining the minimum gap is based on at least one of: UE processing capability for Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurements, PDCCH, physical RACH (PRACH), or Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH); minimum subcarrier spacing (SCS) configuration of PDCCH, PRACH or PUSCH; bandwidth part (BWP) switching delay; a delay spread based on an operating Frequency Range (FR); or a switching gap between downlink reception and uplink transmission.

Clause 34: the method of clause 33, wherein: the BWP handover delay depends on the UE capability; and the handover gap depends on the UE's capability.

Clause 35: the method of any one or more of clauses 27-34, wherein determining the minimum gap is based on at least one of: uplink handover gap depending on UE capability; uplink transmission switching options; quasi co-location (QCL); a Transport Configuration Indicator (TCI) state; a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB); or downlink reference signal configuration of the serving cell.

Clause 36: the method of any one or more of clauses 27-35, wherein the indication of one or more capabilities of the UE comprises an indication of at least one of: the UE is a reduced capability (RedCap) UE, or a UE's capability to support Half Duplex (HD).

Clause 37: the method of any one or more of clauses 27-36, wherein the one or more capabilities of the UE comprise at least one of: the ability of the UE to support the type of RACH procedure; the UE supports Coverage Enhancement (CE) capability; the UE supports Half Duplex (HD) Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) capability; radio Frequency (RF) retuning capability of the UE; or the UE's capability to handle PDCCH, physical RACH (PRACH), or Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH).

Clause 38: the method of any one or more of clauses 27-37, wherein determining the minimum gap is based on at least one of: the type of RACH procedure, or Coverage Enhancement (CE) of RACH procedure.

Clause 39: the method of any one or more of clauses 27-38, wherein PDCCH indicates a set of modulation, coding, and hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processing parameters for a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) RACH message.

Clause 40: the method of any one or more of clauses 27-39, wherein the PDCCH indicates one or more power control parameters for a Physical RACH (PRACH) message based on one or more capabilities of the UE.

Clause 41: the method of clause 40, wherein the one or more power control parameters depend on at least one of: the type of RACH procedure, power control scheme, transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state, quasi co-sited (QCL) state, or contention resolution for RACH procedure.

Clause 42: the method of clause 41, wherein the one or more power control parameters include at least one of: an indicator of an uplink full power transmission parameter, a TCI state, a QCL state, a Transmission Power Control (TPC) command, a transmission power ramp-up parameter, or a transmission power offset between a Physical RACH (PRACH) and a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) transmission.

Clause 43: the method of any one or more of clauses 27-42, wherein: the PDCCH includes a multicast PDCCH transmitted in a Common Search Space (CSS) set; and the payload or Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) bits of the payload are scrambled by a group Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI).

Clause 44: the method of any one or more of clauses 27-43, further comprising: transmitting a Channel State Information (CSI) report; and receiving a Coverage Enhancement (CE) configuration for the RACH procedure based on the CSI report.

Clause 45: the method of any one or more of clauses 27-44, wherein the half-duplex (HD) handover delay comprises a first delay for a UE to switch from uplink transmission to downlink reception, or a second delay for a UE to switch from downlink reception to uplink transmission.

Clause 46: a method for wireless communication by a network entity, comprising: outputting a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) scheduling at least one User Equipment (UE) to perform a Random Access Channel (RACH) procedure for transmission to the at least one UE based on one or more capabilities of the at least one UE; and obtaining the RACH message from the at least one UE after a minimum gap between a last symbol of the PDCCH and a first symbol of the RACH message, wherein the minimum gap includes a Half Duplex (HD) handover delay.

Clause 47: the method of clause 46, wherein the type of RACH procedure comprises: a first type RACH procedure in which the UE transmits a first type RACH message including a Physical RACH (PRACH) preamble; or a second type RACH procedure in which the UE transmits a second type RACH message including a composite PRACH preamble and a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH).

Clause 48: the method of clause 47, wherein: the RACH procedure is performed using Coverage Enhancement (CE); and the CE includes at least one of: repetition for PRACH preamble, repetition for PUSCH, frequency hopping for PRACH preamble, frequency hopping for PUSCH, or demodulation reference signal (DMRS) bundling for PUSCH.

Clause 49. The method of any one or more of clauses 47-48, further comprising: obtaining, from at least one UE, an indication of one or more capabilities of the at least one UE, wherein the indication of the one or more capabilities comprises at least one of: at least one UE is an indication of a reduced capability (RedCap) UE or at least one UE supports Half Duplex (HD) capability.

Clause 49. The method of any one or more of clauses 47-49, further comprising: determining a minimum gap based at least in part on one or more capabilities of at least one UE; and scheduling at least one UE to perform a RACH procedure via the PDCCH such that a time between a last symbol of the PDCCH and a first symbol of the RACH message is equal to or greater than a minimum gap.

Clause 49. The method of any one or more of clauses 46-49, wherein determining the minimum gap is based on at least one of: UE processing capability for Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurements, PDCCH, physical RACH (PRACH), or Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH); minimum subcarrier spacing (SCS) configuration for PDCCH, PRACH or PUSCH; bandwidth part (BWP) switching delay; a delay spread based on an operating Frequency Range (FR); or a switching gap between downlink reception and uplink transmission.

Clause 50. The method of any one or more of clauses 46-49, wherein the PDCCH indicates one or more power control parameters for a Physical RACH (PRACH) message based on one or more capabilities of the device.

Clause 51. The method of any one or more of clauses 46-50, wherein the half-duplex (HD) handover delay comprises a first delay for a UE to switch from uplink transmission to downlink reception, or a second delay for at least one UE to switch from downlink reception to uplink transmission.

Clause 52. The method of any one or more of clauses 46 to 51, wherein: at least one UE comprises a group of UEs; the PDCCH includes a multicast PDCCH transmitted in a Common Search Space (CSS) set; and the payload of the PDCCH or Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) bits of the payload of the PDCCH are scrambled by a group Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI).

Clause 53: a processing system, comprising: a memory including computer-executable instructions; one or more processors configured to execute the computer-executable instructions and cause the processing system to perform the method of any of clauses 1-52.

Clause 54: a processing system comprising means for performing the method according to any of clauses 1-52.

Clause 55: a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a processing system, cause the processing system to perform the method of any of clauses 1-52.

Clause 56: a computer program product embodied on a computer-readable storage medium, comprising code for performing the method of any of clauses 1-52.

Additional wireless communication network considerations

The techniques and methods described herein may be used for various wireless communication networks (or Wireless Wide Area Networks (WWANs)) and Radio Access Technologies (RATs). Although aspects are described herein using terms commonly associated with 3G, 4G, and/or 5G (e.g., 5G New Radio (NR)) wireless technologies, aspects of the present disclosure may be equally applicable to other communication systems and standards not explicitly mentioned herein.

The 5G wireless communication network may support various advanced wireless communication services, such as eMBB, mmWave, MTC and/or mission critical target URLLC. These services and other services may include latency and reliability requirements.

Returning to fig. 1, various aspects of the present disclosure may be performed within an example wireless communication network 100.

In 3GPP, the term "cell" can refer to a coverage area of a node B and/or a narrowband subsystem serving the coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used. In an NR system, the terms "cell" and BS, gNB, AP, distributed Unit (DU), carrier wave or transmission reception point may be used interchangeably. The BS may provide communication coverage for macro cells, pico cells, femto cells, and/or other types of cells.

A macro cell may typically cover a relatively large geographical area (e.g., a few kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscription. The pico cell may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a gym) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscription. A femto cell may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a residence) and may allow restricted access by UEs having an association with the femto cell (e.g., UEs in a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG) and UEs for users in the residence). The BS for the macro cell may be referred to as a macro BS. The BS for the pico cell may be referred to as a pico BS. The BS for the femto cell may be referred to as a femto BS, a home BS, or a home NodeB.

BS102 configured for 4G LTE, commonly referred to as evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN), may interface with EPC 160 over a first backhaul link 132 (e.g., S1 interface). BS102 configured for 5G (e.g., 5G NR or next generation RAN (NG-RAN)) may interface with 5gc 190 over second backhaul link 184 BS102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., over EPC 160 or 5gc 190) over third backhaul link 134 (e.g., an X2 interface).

The small cell 102' may operate in licensed and/or unlicensed spectrum. When operating in unlicensed spectrum, the small cell 102' may employ NR and use the same 5GHz unlicensed spectrum as used by Wi-Fi AP 150. The use of NR small cells 102' in unlicensed spectrum may improve coverage of the access network and/or increase capacity of the access network.

Some BSs, such as the gNB180, may operate in the conventional sub-6GHz spectrum, in mmWave frequencies, and/or near mmWave frequencies to communicate with the UE 104. When the gNB180 operates in mmWave or near mmWave frequencies, the gNB180 may be referred to as a mmWave BS.

The communication link 120 between the BS102 and, for example, the UE 104 may be over one or more carriers. For example, BS102 and UE 104 may use a spectrum allocated in carrier aggregation up to a total of yxmhz (x component carriers) for transmission in each direction, up to Y MHz (e.g., 5, 10, 15, 20, 100, 400, and other MHz) bandwidth per carrier. The carriers may or may not be adjacent to each other. The allocation of carriers may be asymmetric with respect to DL and UL (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated for DL than UL). The component carriers may include a primary component carrier and one or more secondary component carriers. The primary component carrier may be referred to as a primary cell (PCell) and the secondary component carrier may be referred to as a secondary cell (SCell).

The wireless communication system 100 also includes a Wi-Fi AP 150 that communicates with Wi-Fi Stations (STAs) 152 via a communication link 154 in an unlicensed spectrum, such as 2.4GHz and/or 5 GHz. When communicating in the unlicensed spectrum, STA 152/AP 150 may perform Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) to determine whether a channel is available prior to communicating.

Some UEs 104 may communicate with each other using a device-to-device (D2D) communication link 158. The D2D communication link 158 may use the DL/UL WWAN spectrum. The D2D communication link 158 may use one or more sidelink (sidelink) channels, such as a Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH), a Physical Sidelink Discovery Channel (PSDCH), a Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH), and a Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH). D2D communication may be through various wireless D2D communication systems, such as, for example, flashLinQ, wiMedia, bluetooth, zigBee, wi-Fi based on the IEEE 802.11 standard, 4G (e.g., LTE), or 5G (e.g., NR), to name a few options.

EPC 160 may include a Mobility Management Entity (MME) 162, other MMEs 164, a serving gateway 166, a Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS) gateway 168, a broadcast multicast service center (BM-SC) 170, and a Packet Data Network (PDN) gateway 172.MME 162 may communicate with a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 174. The MME 162 is a control node that handles signaling between the UE 104 and the EPC 160. In general, MME 162 provides bearer and connection management.

Typically, user Internet Protocol (IP) packets are transmitted through the serving gateway 166, which serving gateway 166 itself is connected to the PDN gateway 172. The PDN gateway 172 provides UE IP address allocation as well as other functions. The PDN gateway 172 and BM-SC 170 are connected to IP services 176, and the IP services 176 may include, for example, the internet, intranets, IP Multimedia Subsystems (IMS), PS streaming services, and/or other IP services.

The BM-SC 170 may provide functionality for MBMS user service provisioning and delivery. The BM-SC 170 may act as an entry point for content provider MBMS transmissions, may be used to authorize and initiate MBMS bearer services within a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), and may be used to schedule MBMS transmissions. The MBMS gateway 168 may be used to distribute MBMS traffic to base stations 102 belonging to a Multicast Broadcast Single Frequency Network (MBSFN) area broadcasting a particular service and may be responsible for session management (start/stop) and collecting charging information related to eMBMS.

The 5gc 190 may include an access and mobility management function (AMF) 192, other AMFs 193, a Session Management Function (SMF) 194, and a User Plane Function (UPF) 195. The AMF 192 may communicate with a Unified Data Management (UDM) 196.

The AMF 192 is typically a control node that handles signaling between the UE 104 and the 5gc 190. In general, AMF 192 provides QoS flows and session management.

All user IP packets are transported through the UPF 195, where the UPF 195 connects to the IP service 197 and provides UE IP address assignment and other functions of the 5gc 190. The IP services 197 may include, for example, the internet, an intranet, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), PS streaming services, and/or other IP services.

Returning to fig. 2, this figure depicts various example components of BS102 and UE 104 (e.g., wireless communication network 100 of fig. 1) that may be used to implement aspects of the present disclosure.

At BS102, transmit processor 220 may receive data from data sources 212 and control information from controller/processor 240. The control information may be for a Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH), a Physical Control Format Indicator Channel (PCFICH), a physical hybrid ARQ indicator channel (PHICH), a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), group common PDCCH (GC PDCCH), and the like. In some examples, the data may be for PDSCH.

A Medium Access Control (MAC) -control element (MAC-CE) is a MAC layer communication structure that may be used for control command exchange between wireless nodes. The MAC-CE may be carried in a shared channel such as PDSCH, physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), or PSSCH.

Processor 220 may process (e.g., encode and symbol map) the data and control information to obtain data symbols and control symbols, respectively. The transmit processor 220 may also generate reference symbols, such as for a Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS), SSS, PBCH demodulation reference signal (DMRS), and CSI-RS.

A Transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 230 may perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on the data symbols, the control symbols, and/or the reference symbols, if applicable, and may provide output symbol streams to Modulators (MODs) 232a-232t in the transceiver. Each modulator 232a-232t in the transceiver may process a respective output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator may also process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and upconvert) the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. Downlink signals from modulators in transceivers 232a-232t may be transmitted through antennas 234a-234t, respectively.

At the UE 104, antennas 252a-252r may receive the downlink signals from BS102 and provide the received signals to demodulators (DEMODs) in transceivers 254a-254r, respectively. Each demodulator in transceivers 254a-254r may condition (e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, and digitize) a corresponding received signal to obtain input samples. Each demodulator may further process the input samples (e.g., for OFDM) to obtain received symbols.

MIMO detector 256 may obtain received symbols from all demodulators in transceivers 254a-254r, perform MIMO detection on the received symbols (if applicable), and provide detected symbols. The receive processor 258 may process (e.g., demodulate, deinterleave, and decode) the detected symbols, provide decoded data for the UE 104 to a data sink 260, and provide decoded control information to a controller/processor 280.

On the uplink, at the UE 104, the transmit processor 264 may receive and process data (e.g., for PUSCH) from the data source 262, as well as receive control information (e.g., for Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH)) from the controller/processor 280. The transmit processor 264 may also generate reference symbols for reference signals (e.g., for Sounding Reference Signals (SRS)). The symbols from transmit processor 264 may be precoded by a TX MIMO processor 266 if applicable, further processed by modulators in transceivers 254a-254r (e.g., for SC-FDM), and transmitted to BS102.

At BS102, uplink signals from UE 104 may be received by antennas 234a-t, processed by demodulators in transceivers 232a-232t, detected by a MIMO detector 236 (if applicable), and further processed by a receive processor 238 to obtain decoded data and control information sent by UE 104. The receive processor 238 may provide the decoded data to a data sink 239 and the decoded control information to a controller/processor 240.

Memories 242 and 282 may store data and program codes for BS102 and UE 104, respectively.

The scheduler 244 may schedule UEs for data transmission on the downlink and/or uplink.

The 5G may utilize Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) with Cyclic Prefix (CP) on uplink and downlink. 5G may also support half duplex operation using TDD. OFDM and single carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) divide the system bandwidth into a plurality of orthogonal subcarriers, which are also commonly referred to as tones and bins. Each subcarrier may be modulated with data. The modulation symbols may be transmitted with OFDM in the frequency domain and SC-FDM in the time domain. The interval between adjacent subcarriers may be fixed and the total number of subcarriers may depend on the system bandwidth. In some examples, the minimum resource allocation, referred to as a Resource Block (RB), may be 12 consecutive subcarriers. The system bandwidth may also be divided into sub-bands. For example, a subband may cover multiple RBs. The NR may support a basic subcarrier spacing (SCS) of 15KHz, and other SCS may be defined with respect to the basic SCS (e.g., 30KHz, 60KHz, 120KHz, 240KHz, etc.).

As described above, fig. 3A-3D depict various example aspects of a data structure for a wireless communication network, such as wireless communication network 100 of fig. 1.

In various aspects, the 5G frame structure may be FDD, where in the case of FDD, for a particular set of subcarriers (carrier system bandwidth), the subframes within the set of subcarriers are dedicated to DL or UL. The 5G frame structure may also be TDD, where in the TDD case, for a particular set of subcarriers (carrier system bandwidth), the subframes within the set of subcarriers are dedicated to both DL and UL. In the example provided by fig. 3A and 3C, it is assumed that the 5G frame structure is TDD, where subframe 4 is configured with a slot format 28 (most of which are DL), where D is DL, U is UL, and X is flexible for use between DL/UL, and subframe 3 is configured with a slot format 34 (most of which are UL). Although subframes 3, 4 are shown having slot formats 34, 28, respectively, any particular subframe may be configured with any of a variety of available slot formats 0-61. The slot formats 0, 1 are full DL, full UL, respectively. Other slot formats 2-61 include a mix of DL symbols, UL symbols, and flexible symbols. The UE is configured with a slot format (dynamically configured by DCI or semi-statically/statically configured by RRC signaling) through a received Slot Format Indicator (SFI). Note that the following description also applies to a 5G frame structure that is TDD.

Other wireless communication technologies may have different frame structures and/or different channels. A frame (10 ms) may be divided into 10 equally sized subframes (1 ms). Each subframe may include one or more slots. A subframe may also include a minislot, which may include 7, 4, or 2 symbols. In some examples, each slot may include 7 or 14 symbols, depending on the slot configuration.

For example, for slot configuration 0, each slot may include 14 symbols, and for slot configuration 1, each slot may include 7 symbols. The symbols on DL may be Cyclic Prefix (CP) OFDM (CP-OFDM) symbols. The symbols on the UL may be CP-OFDM symbols (for high throughput scenarios) or Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) -spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) symbols (also known as single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) symbols) (for power limited scenarios; limited to single stream transmission).

The number of slots within a subframe is based on slot configuration and digital scheme (numerology). For slot configuration 0, different digital schemes (μ) 0 through 5 allow 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32 slots per subframe, respectively. Different digital schemes for slot configurations 1,0 to 2 allow 2, 4 and 8 slots per subframe, respectively. Accordingly, for slot configuration 0 and digital scheme μ, there are 14 symbols/slot and 2 μ slots/subframe. The subcarrier spacing and symbol length/duration are functions of the digital scheme. The subcarrier spacing may be equal to 2 μ 15kHz, where μ is the digital scheme 0 through 5. Thus, the digital scheme μ=0 has a subcarrier spacing of 15kHz, and the digital scheme μ=5 has a subcarrier spacing of 480 kHz. The symbol length/duration is inversely related to the subcarrier spacing. Fig. 3A-3D provide examples of a slot configuration 0 having 14 symbols per slot and a digital scheme μ=2 having 4 slots per subframe. The slot duration is 0.25ms, the subcarrier spacing is 60kHz and the symbol duration is approximately 16.67 mus.

The resource grid may be used to represent a frame structure. Each slot includes RBs (which are also referred to as Physical RBs (PRBs)) that extend for 12 consecutive subcarriers. The resource grid is divided into a plurality of Resource Elements (REs). The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

As shown in fig. 3A, some of the REs carry reference (pilot) signals (RSs) for UEs (e.g., UE 104 of fig. 1 and 2). The RSs may include DMRS (indicated as Rx for one particular configuration, where 100x is the port number, but other DMRS configurations are possible) and CSI-RS for channel estimation at the UE. The RSs may also include beam measurement RSs (BRSs), beam Refinement RSs (BRRSs), and phase tracking RSs (PT-RSs).

Fig. 3B shows an example of various DL channels within a subframe of a frame. The PDCCH carries DCI within one or more Control Channel Elements (CCEs), each CCE including nine RE groups (REGs), each REG including four consecutive REs in an OFDM symbol.

The PSS may be within symbol 2 of a particular subframe of a frame. The PSS is used by the UE (e.g., 104 of fig. 1 and 2) to determine the subframe/symbol timing and physical layer identity.

SSS may be within symbol 4 of a particular subframe of a frame. SSS is used by the UE to determine the physical layer cell identification group number and radio frame timing.

Based on the physical layer identity and the physical layer cell identity group number, the UE may determine a Physical Cell Identifier (PCI). Based on the PCI, the UE may determine the location of the DMRS described above. The PBCH, which carries a Master Information Block (MIB), may be logically grouped with PSS and SSS to form a Synchronization Signal (SS)/PBCH block. The MIB provides the number of RBs in the system bandwidth and a System Frame Number (SFN). PDSCH carries user data, broadcast system information not transmitted over PBCH, such as System Information Blocks (SIBs), and paging messages.

As shown in fig. 3C, some of the REs carry DMRS for channel estimation at the BS (indicated as R for one particular configuration, but other DMRS configurations are possible). The UE may transmit DMRS for PUCCH and DM-RS for PUSCH. The PUSCH DMRS may be transmitted in the previous or two symbols of the PUSCH. The PUCCH DMRS may be transmitted in different configurations according to whether a short PUCCH or a long PUCCH is transmitted and according to a specific PUCCH format used. The UE may transmit a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS). The SRS may be transmitted in the last symbol of the subframe. The SRS may have a comb structure, and the UE may transmit the SRS on one of the combs. The BS may use SRS for channel quality estimation to enable frequency-based scheduling on UL.

Fig. 3D shows examples of various UL channels within a subframe of a frame. The PUCCH may be located as indicated in one configuration. The PUCCH carries Uplink Control Information (UCI) such as a scheduling request, a Channel Quality Indicator (CQI), a Precoding Matrix Indicator (PMI), a Rank Indicator (RI), and HARQ ACK/NACK feedback. PUSCH carries data and may additionally be used to carry Buffer Status Reports (BSR), power Headroom Reports (PHR), and/or UCI.

Fig. 4 depicts an example exploded base station architecture 400. The split base station architecture 400 may include one or more Central Units (CUs) 410 that may communicate directly with the core network 420 via a backhaul link, or indirectly with the core network 420 through one or more split base station units, such as a near real-time (near RT) RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) 425 via an E2 link, or a non-real-time (non-RT) RIC 415 associated with a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) framework 405, or both. CU 410 may communicate with one or more DUs 430 via a corresponding medium range link, such as an F1 interface. The DUs 430 may communicate with one or more Radio Units (RUs) 440 via respective forward links. RU 440 may communicate with corresponding UEs 104 via one or more Radio Frequency (RF) access links. In some implementations, the UE 104 may be served by multiple RUs 440 simultaneously.

Each unit, such as CU 410, DU 430, RU 440, and near RT RIC 425, non-RT RIC 415, and SMO framework 405, may include or be coupled to one or more interfaces configured to receive or transmit signals, data, or information (collectively referred to as signals) via wired or wireless transmission media. Each unit, or an associated processor or controller that provides instructions to the communication interface of the unit, may be configured to communicate with one or more other units via a transmission medium. For example, the unit may comprise a wired interface configured to receive or transmit signals over a wired transmission medium to one or more of the other units. Additionally or alternatively, the units may include a wireless interface that may include a receiver, transmitter, or transceiver (such as an RF transceiver) configured to receive signals over a wireless transmission medium or transmit signals to one or more of the other units, or both.

In some aspects, the CU 410 may host one or more higher layer control functions. Such control functions may include RRC, packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), etc. Each control function may be implemented with an interface configured to communicate signals with other control functions hosted by CU 410. CU 410 may be configured to handle user plane functionality (e.g., central unit-user plane (CU-UP)), control plane functionality (e.g., central unit-control plane (CU-CP)), or a combination thereof. In some implementations, CU 410 may be logically divided into one or more CU-UP units and one or more CU-CP units. When implemented in an O-RAN configuration, the CU-UP unit may communicate bi-directionally with the CU-CP unit via an interface such as an E1 interface. CU 410 may be implemented to communicate with DU 430 as needed for network control and signaling.

DU 430 may correspond to a logical unit that includes one or more base station functions to control the operation of one or more RUs 440. In some aspects, the DU 430 may host one or more of a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, a MAC layer, and one or more high Physical (PHY) layers, such as modules for Forward Error Correction (FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation and demodulation, etc., at least in part according to a functional split, such as a functional split defined by the 3 rd generation partnership project (3 GPP). In some aspects, the DU 430 may also host one or more lower PHY layers. Each layer (or module) may be implemented with interfaces configured to communicate signals with other layers (and modules) hosted by DU 430 or with control functions hosted by CU 410.

Lower layer functionality may be implemented by one or more RUs 440. In some deployments, RU 440 controlled by DU 430 may correspond to a logical node hosting either the RF processing function or the lower PHY layer function (e.g., performing a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), inverse FFT (ift), digital beamforming, PRACH extraction and filtering, etc.), or both, based at least in part on a functional split (such as a lower layer functional split). In such an architecture, RU 440 may be implemented to handle over-the-air (OTA) communications with one or more UEs 104. In some embodiments, the real-time and non-real-time aspects of control and user plane communications with RU 440 may be controlled by the corresponding DU 430. In some scenarios, this configuration may enable DUs 430 and CUs 410 to be implemented in a cloud-based RAN architecture (such as a vRAN architecture).

SMO framework 405 may be configured to support RAN deployment and provisioning for non-virtualized network elements and virtualized network elements. For non-virtualized network elements, SMO framework 405 may be configured to support deployment of dedicated physical resources for RAN coverage requirements, which may be managed via an operation and maintenance interface (such as an O1 interface). For virtualized network elements, SMO framework 405 may be configured to interact with a cloud computing platform, such as open cloud (O-cloud) 490, to perform network element lifecycle management (such as to instantiate the virtualized network elements) via a cloud computing platform interface, such as an O2 interface. Such virtualized network elements may include, but are not limited to, CU 410, DU 430, RU 440, and near RT RIC 425. In some implementations, SMO framework 405 may communicate with hardware aspects of the 4G RAN, such as open eNB (O-eNB) 411, via an O1 interface. Additionally, in some implementations SMO framework 405 may communicate directly with one or more RUs 440 via an O1 interface. SMO framework 405 may also include a non-RT RIC 415 configured to support the functionality of SMO framework 405.

The non-RT RIC 415 may be configured to include logic functions that enable non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) workflows including model training and updating, or policy-based guidance of applications/features in the near-RT RIC 425. The non-RT RIC 415 may be coupled to or in communication with a near RT RIC 425 (e.g., via an A1 interface). Near RT RIC 425 may be configured to include logic functions that enable near real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources via data collection and actions over interfaces connecting one or more CUs 410, one or more DUs 430, or both, and an O-eNB with near RT RIC 425, such as via an E2 interface.

In some implementations, to generate the AI/ML model to be deployed in the near RT RIC 425, the non-RT RIC 415 may receive parameters or external rich information from an external server. Such information may be utilized by near RT RIC 425 and may be received at SMO framework 405 or non-RT RIC 415 from a non-network data source or from a network function. In some examples, the non-RT RIC 415 or near-RT RIC 425 may be configured to tune RAN behavior or performance. For example, the non-RT RIC 415 may monitor long-term trends and patterns of performance and employ AI/ML models to perform corrective actions through SMO framework 405 (such as via reconfiguration of O1) or via creation of RAN management policies (such as A1 policies).

Additional considerations

The foregoing description provides an example of PDCCH scheduled RACH procedure for reduced capability UEs. The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. The examples discussed herein are not limited in scope, applicability, or aspect to the description set forth in the claims. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects as well. For example, changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements discussed without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Various examples may omit, replace, or add various procedures or components as appropriate. For example, the described methods may be performed in an order different from the order described, and various steps may be added, omitted, or combined. Furthermore, features described with respect to some examples may be combined into some other examples. For example, an apparatus may be implemented or a method may be practiced using any number of the aspects set forth herein. In addition, the scope of the present disclosure is intended to cover such an apparatus or method that is practiced using other structure, functionality, or both in addition to or other than the aspects of the present disclosure set forth herein. It should be understood that any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein may be embodied by one or more elements of the claims.

The techniques described herein may be used for various wireless communication techniques such as 5G (e.g., 5G NR), 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-advanced (LTE-a), code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA), time division-synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA), and other networks. The terms "network" and "system" are often used interchangeably. A CDMA network may implement radio technologies such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), CDMA2000, and the like. UTRA includes Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) and other variations of CDMA. CDMA2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95 and IS-856 standards. TDMA networks may implement radio technologies such as global system for mobile communications (GSM). An OFDMA network may implement radio technologies such as NR (e.g., 5G RA), evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, flash-OFDMA, and so forth. UTRA and E-UTRA are parts of Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). LTE and LTE-a are versions of UMTS that use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE-a and GSM are described in documents provided from an organization named "third generation partnership project" (3 GPP), and cdma2000 and UMB are described in documents from an organization named "third generation partnership project 2" (3 GPP 2). NR is an emerging wireless communication technology being developed.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other Programmable Logic Device (PLD), discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any commercially available processor, controller, microcontroller or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, a system-on-a-chip (SoC), or any other such configuration.

If implemented in hardware, an example hardware configuration may include a processing system in a wireless node. The processing system may be implemented using a bus architecture. The bus may include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges depending on the specific application of the processing system and the overall design constraints. The bus may link together various circuits including processors, machine-readable media, and bus interfaces. A bus interface may be used to connect network adapters and the like to the processing system via the bus. The network adapter may be used to implement the signal processing functions of the PHY layer. In the case of a user device (see fig. 1), a user interface (e.g., keyboard, display, mouse, joystick, touch screen, biometric sensor, proximity sensor, light emitting element, etc.) may also be connected to the bus. The bus also links various other circuits such as clock sources, peripherals, voltage regulators, power management circuits, and the like, which are well known in the art, and therefore, will not be described any further. A processor may be implemented with one or more general-purpose processors and/or special-purpose processors. Examples include microprocessors, microcontrollers, DSP processors, and other circuitry that can execute software. Those skilled in the art will recognize how best to implement the described functionality for the processing system depending on the particular application and overall design constraints imposed on the overall system.

If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or other terminology, should be broadly interpreted to mean instructions, data, or any combination thereof. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. The processor may be responsible for managing the bus and general-purpose processing, including the execution of software modules stored on a machine-readable storage medium. A computer readable storage medium may be coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. By way of example, machine-readable media may comprise a transmission line, a carrier wave modulated by data, and/or a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions separate from the wireless node, all of which may be accessed by a processor through a bus interface. Alternatively or additionally, the machine-readable medium, or any portion thereof, may be integrated into the processor, such as may be the case with a cache and/or general purpose register file. By way of example, a machine-readable storage medium may comprise RAM (random access memory), flash memory, ROM (read only memory), PROM (programmable read only memory), EPROM (erasable programmable read only memory), EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read only memory), registers, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a hard drive, or any other suitable storage medium, or any combination thereof. The machine-readable medium may be embodied in a computer program product.

A software module may comprise a single instruction, or many instructions, and may be distributed over several different code segments, among different programs, and across multiple storage media. The computer readable medium may include several software modules. The software modules include instructions that, when executed by an apparatus, such as a processor, cause the processing system to perform various functions. The software modules may include a transmission module and a reception module. Each software module may reside in a single storage device or be distributed across multiple storage devices. By way of example, when a trigger event occurs, the software module may be loaded from the hard disk drive into RAM. During execution of the software module, the processor may load some of the instructions into the cache to increase access speed. One or more cache lines may then be loaded into a general purpose register file for execution by the processor. When reference is made hereinafter to the function of a software module, it will be understood that such function is carried out by the processor upon execution of instructions from the software module.

As used herein, a phrase referring to "at least one item in a list of items" refers to any combination of these items, including single members. For example, "at least one of a, b, or c" is intended to encompass a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, and a-b-c, as well as any combination of multiples of the same element (e.g., a-a-a, a-b, a-a-c, a-b-b, a-c-c, b-b-b, b-c, c-c, and c-c, or any other ordering of a, b, and c).

As used herein, the term "determining" may include a wide variety of actions. For example, "determining" may include calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up (e.g., looking up in a table, a database or another data structure), ascertaining and the like. Also, "determining" may include receiving (e.g., receiving information), accessing (e.g., accessing data in memory), and so forth. Further, "determining" may include parsing, selecting, establishing, and so forth.

The methods disclosed herein comprise one or more steps or actions for achieving the respective method. Method steps and/or actions may be interchanged with one another without departing from the scope of the claims. In other words, unless a specific order of steps or actions is specified, the order and/or use of specific steps and/or actions may be modified without departing from the scope of the claims. Furthermore, the various operations of the methods described above may be performed by any suitable unit capable of performing the corresponding functions. The units may include various hardware and/or software components and/or modules including, but not limited to, circuits, application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), or processors. Generally, where there are operations shown in the figures, those operations may have corresponding paired functional unit components with like numbers.

The appended claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but are to be accorded the full scope consistent with the literal scope of the claims. Within the claims, reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean "one and only one" unless explicitly so stated, but rather "one or more. The term "some" means one or more unless specifically stated otherwise. No claim element is to be construed in accordance with the provisions of 35u.s.c. ≡112 (f) unless the element is explicitly recited using the phrase "unit for..once again, or in the case of method claims, the element is recited using the phrase" step for..once again. All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the various aspects described throughout this disclosure that are expressly incorporated herein by reference and intended to be encompassed by the claims are known to or will be later known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Furthermore, the disclosures herein are not intended to be dedicated to the public, regardless of whether such disclosures are explicitly recited in the claims.

Claims (30)

1. A method for wireless communication by a User Equipment (UE), comprising:

transmitting an indication of one or more capabilities of the UE;

receiving a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) that schedules the UE to perform a Random Access Channel (RACH) procedure on an uplink carrier based on the one or more capabilities of the UE;

determining a minimum interval between a last symbol of the PDCCH and a first symbol of a RACH message, wherein the minimum interval includes a Half Duplex (HD) handover delay; and

the RACH procedure is performed on the uplink carrier when a gap between the last symbol of the PDCCH and the first symbol of the RACH message is equal to or greater than the minimum gap.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the type of RACH procedure comprises:

a first type RACH procedure, wherein the UE transmits a first type RACH message including a Physical RACH (PRACH) preamble; or alternatively

A second type RACH procedure, wherein the UE transmits a second type RACH message including a composite of the PRACH preamble and a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH).

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the PDCCH indicates the uplink carrier, and wherein the uplink carrier is a normal uplink carrier or a Supplementary Uplink (SUL) carrier within an uplink bandwidth part (BWP) less than or equal to a maximum BWP capability of the UE.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein:

the RACH procedure is performed with Coverage Enhancement (CE) based on the one or more capabilities of the UE; and

the CE includes at least one of: repetition of the PRACH preamble, repetition of the PUSCH, frequency hopping for the PRACH preamble, frequency hopping for the PUSCH, or demodulation reference signal (DMRS) bundling for the PUSCH.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the PDCCH indicates the type of the RACH procedure and a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) index, wherein an uplink bandwidth portion (BWP) for the RACH procedure is associated with a downlink BWP containing the SSB, and wherein the SSB comprises a cell-defined SSB (CD-SSB) or a non-cell-defined SSB (NCD-SSB).

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the PDCCH indicates the type of the RACH procedure via a bit in at least one of: a Frequency Domain Resource Allocation (FDRA) field, a DMRS configuration of the PDCCH, an index of the PRACH preamble, an index of a PRACH preamble group, or an index of a PRACH mask.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the minimum gap is based on at least one of: UE processing capability for Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurements, PDCCH, physical RACH (PRACH), or Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH); a minimum subcarrier spacing (SCS) configuration of the PDCCH, the PRACH, or the PUSCH; bandwidth part (BWP) switching delay; a delay spread based on an operating Frequency Range (FR); or a switching gap between downlink reception and uplink transmission.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein:

the BWP handover delay depends on the capability of the UE; and

the handover gap depends on the UE's capability.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the minimum gap is based on at least one of: an uplink handover gap depending on the capability of the UE; uplink transmission switching options; quasi co-location (QCL); a Transport Configuration Indicator (TCI) state; a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB); or downlink reference signal configuration of the serving cell.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication of the one or more capabilities of the UE comprises an indication of at least one of: the UE is a reduced capability (RedCap) UE, or the UE supports Half Duplex (HD) capability.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more capabilities of the UE comprise at least one of: the UE supporting the capability of the type of RACH procedure; the UE supporting Coverage Enhancement (CE) capabilities; the UE supporting Half Duplex (HD) Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) capability; radio Frequency (RF) retuning capability of the UE; or the UE's capability to process the PDCCH, physical RACH (PRACH), or Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH).

12. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the minimum gap is based on at least one of: the type of RACH procedure, or Coverage Enhancement (CE) of the RACH procedure.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the PDCCH indicates a set of modulation, coding, and hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processing parameters for a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) RACH message.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the PDCCH indicates one or more power control parameters for a Physical RACH (PRACH) message based on the one or more capabilities of the UE.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the one or more power control parameters depend on at least one of: the type of RACH procedure, a power control scheme, a Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state, a quasi co-located (QCL) state, or a contention resolution scheme for the RACH procedure.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the one or more power control parameters comprise at least one of: an indicator of an uplink full power transmission parameter, a TCI state, a QCL state, a Transmission Power Control (TPC) command, a transmission power ramp-up parameter, or a transmission power offset between a Physical RACH (PRACH) and a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) transmission.

17. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

the PDCCH includes a multicast PDCCH transmitted in a Common Search Space (CSS) set;

the payload or Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) bits of the payload are scrambled by a group Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI).

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting a Channel State Information (CSI) report; and

a Coverage Enhancement (CE) configuration for the RACH procedure is received based on the CSI report.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the half-duplex (HD) handover delay comprises a first delay for the UE to switch from uplink transmission to downlink reception or a second delay for the UE to switch from downlink reception to uplink transmission.

20. A method for wireless communication by a network entity, comprising:

outputting, based on one or more capabilities of at least one User Equipment (UE), a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) that schedules the at least one UE to perform a Random Access Channel (RACH) procedure for transmission to the at least one UE; and

the RACH message is obtained from the at least one UE after a minimum gap between a last symbol of the PDCCH and a first symbol of the RACH message, wherein the minimum gap includes a Half Duplex (HD) handover delay.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the type of RACH procedure comprises:

a first type RACH procedure, wherein the UE transmits a first type RACH message including a Physical RACH (PRACH) preamble; or alternatively

A second type RACH procedure, wherein the UE transmits a second type RACH message including a composite PRACH preamble and a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH).

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein:

the RACH procedure is performed using Coverage Enhancement (CE); and

the CE includes at least one of: repetition for PRACH preamble, repetition for the PUSCH, frequency hopping for PRACH preamble, frequency hopping for the PUSCH, or demodulation reference signal DMRS bundling for the PUSCH.

23. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

obtaining an indication of the one or more capabilities of the at least one UE from the at least one UE, wherein the indication of one or more capabilities comprises at least one of: the at least one UE is an indication of a reduced capability (RedCap) UE or the at least one UE supports Half Duplex (HD) capability.

24. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

determining the minimum gap based at least in part on the one or more capabilities of the at least one UE; and

the at least one UE is scheduled to perform the RACH procedure via the PDCCH such that a time between the last symbol of the PDCCH and the first symbol of the RACH message is equal to or greater than the minimum gap.

25. The method of claim 20, wherein the minimum gap is based on at least one of: UE processing capability for Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurements, the PDCCH, physical RACH (PRACH), or Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH); a minimum subcarrier spacing (SCS) configuration for the PDCCH, the PRACH, or the PUSCH; bandwidth part (BWP) switching delay; a delay spread based on an operating Frequency Range (FR); or a switching gap between downlink reception and uplink transmission.

26. The method of claim 20, wherein the PDCCH indicates one or more power control parameters for a Physical RACH (PRACH) message based on the one or more capabilities of the apparatus.

27. The method of claim 20, wherein the half-duplex (HD) handover delay comprises a first delay for the UE to switch from uplink transmission to downlink reception or a second delay for the at least one UE to switch from downlink reception to uplink transmission.

28. The method according to claim 20, wherein:

the at least one UE includes a set of UEs;

the PDCCH includes a multicast PDCCH transmitted in a Common Search Space (CSS) set; and

the payload of the PDCCH or Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) bits of the payload of the PDCCH are scrambled by a group Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI).

29. An apparatus, comprising:

a memory comprising computer-executable instructions; and

one or more processors configured to execute the computer-executable instructions and cause the apparatus to:

transmitting an indication of the one or more capabilities of the apparatus to a network entity;

receiving a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) that schedules the apparatus to perform a Random Access Channel (RACH) procedure on an uplink carrier based on one or more capabilities of the apparatus;

Determining a minimum interval between a last symbol of the PDCCH and a first symbol of a RACH message, wherein the minimum interval includes a Half Duplex (HD) handover delay; and

the RACH procedure is performed on the uplink carrier when a gap between the last symbol of the PDCCH and the first symbol of the RACH message is equal to or greater than the minimum gap.

30. A processing system, comprising:

a memory comprising computer-executable instructions; and

one or more processors configured to execute the computer-executable instructions and cause the processing system to:

outputting, based on one or more capabilities of at least one User Equipment (UE), a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) that schedules the at least one UE to perform a Random Access Channel (RACH) procedure for transmission to the at least one UE; and

the RACH message is obtained from the at least one UE after a minimum gap between a last symbol of the PDCCH and a first symbol of the RACH message, wherein the minimum gap includes a Half Duplex (HD) handover delay.