Patent Description:
"Considerations on <NUM>-step RACH physical channel design" by MEDIATEK INC, R1-<NUM>, XP051176096, discloses that a user equipment (UE) can transmit "not only a preamble sequence but also -a data signal", where the RACH data can be multiplexed using an orthogonal multiple access scheme. "<NPL>, discloses that a first message transmitted by a UE includes a preamble signal and a data signal, and that "the parameters of the reference signals for the data demodulation, such as the cyclic shift and OOC, etc., could be derived by the selected preamble sequence".

Random access (RA) procedure is discussed for new radio (NR) in <NUM>rd generation partnership project (3GPP). There are two types of RA procedures, one is four-step (<NUM>-step) RA procedure and the other is two-step (<NUM>-step) RA procedure. As per RAN1 agreement, similar <NUM>-step random access procedure as in long term evolution (LTE) is to be at least supported by NR.

<FIG> is a diagram which shows four-step RA procedure. As shown in <FIG>, a user equipment (UE) may transmit a random access preamble to a network device (such as New Radio base station, also referred to as gNB) in step <NUM> on a physical random access channel (PRACH). Then, the gNB may transmit a random access response (RAR) to the UE in step <NUM>, for example, an uplink-grant for a transmission in step <NUM> may be included in the RAR. The UE may perform a scheduled transmission to transmit data, such as UE-ID and status buffer, in step <NUM>. Then the gNB may response with a contention resolution at step <NUM>, for example, the UE-ID may be included in a response message for indicating a random access to the UE.

Besides, a two-step approach is also under study in RAN1. For the two-step approach, network (NW) may configure (e.g., via system information signaling) random access preambles, resources for PRACH transmission and associated contention based data resources. For example, in LTE (Long Term Evolution), there are up to <NUM> preambles be configured in a cell's region for contention based access and it is allowed to multiplex multiple PRACH transmission over one time-frequency resource for PRACH.

<FIG> is a diagram which shows two-step RA procedure. As shown in <FIG>, in step <NUM>, the UE may transmit a PRACH preamble (also referred to as a random access preamble) and data that at least identify the UE itself by means of a UE ID on resource that associated to the preamble. In step <NUM>, a contention resolution message is transmitted by the gNB. Hence, the two-step approach may pare down the round trip required for the gNB to transmit RAR and UE to transmit the data and consequently reduce latency of the RA procedure.

<FIG> is a diagram which shows an example of step <NUM> in two-step RA procedure. As shown in <FIG>, the data is transmitted following the PRACH preamble for the two-step RA procedure without waiting for the RAR from the network device (such as gNB).

It has been found that in the two-step RA procedure, for N PRACH preambles, N time-frequency resources are preconfigured correspondingly. That is to say, the associated data transmission stick with the PRACH transmission requires pre-allocated data resources.

If different data resource is allocated for each PRACH preamble and there are multiple PRACH preambles configured for two-step RA procedure, it requires to reserve multiple data resources. Because there may be at most a few terminal devices that initiate the two-step RA in one PRACH slot, the reserved data resources may be of low utilization, which means waste of resources.

For instance, if there are <NUM> PRACH preambles and <NUM> blocks of data resources need to be reserved, it is a large resource waste if there are only <NUM> or <NUM> users initiating the two-step RA procedure in one PRACH slot.

In order to solve at least part of the above problems, methods, devices and computer programs are provided in the present disclosure. It can be appreciated that embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to a wireless system operating in NR network, but could be more widely applied to any application scenario where similar problems exist.

Various embodiments of the present disclosure mainly aim at providing methods, devices and computer programs for controlling a transmission between a transmitter and a receiver, for example, in a shared frequency band. Either of the transmitter and the receiver could be, for example, a terminal device or a network device. Other features and advantages of embodiments of the present disclosure will also be understood from the following description of specific embodiments when reading in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of embodiments of the present disclosure. Aspects of the invention are set out in the independent claims appended hereto.

In general, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for random accessing. A random access preamble and a data block on a time-frequency resource are transmitted. The data block is encoded with an orthogonal cover code (OCC), and the data block includes data information and a reference signal associated with the data information.

The above and other aspects, features, and benefits of various embodiments of the disclosure will become more fully apparent, by way of example, from the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals or letters are used to designate like or equivalent elements.

The embodiments related to <FIG>, <FIG>, <FIG>, <FIG>, <FIG>, <FIG>, and <FIG> are within the scope of the claims.

The present disclosure will now be discussed with reference to several example embodiments.

As used herein, the term "wireless communication network" refers to a network following any suitable communication standards, such as LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), LTE, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA), and so on. Furthermore, the communications between a terminal device and a network device in the wireless communication network may be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocols, including, but not limited to, the first generation (<NUM>), the second generation (<NUM>), <NUM>, <NUM>, the third generation (<NUM>), the fourth generation (<NUM>), <NUM>, the future fifth generation (<NUM>) communication protocols, and/or any other protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future.

The term "network device" refers to a device in a wireless communication network via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services therefrom. The network device refers a base station (BS), an access point (AP), or any other suitable device in the wireless communication network. The BS may be, for example, a node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), or gNB, a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), a radio header (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, a low power node such as a femto, a pico, and so forth.

Yet further examples of the network device may include multi-standard radio (MSR) radio equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes. More generally, however, the network device may represent any suitable device (or group of devices) capable, configured, arranged, and/or operable to enable and/or provide a terminal device access to the wireless communication network or to provide some service to a terminal device that has accessed the wireless communication network.

The term "terminal device" refers to any end device that can access a wireless communication network and receive services therefrom. By way of example and not limitation, the terminal device refers to a mobile terminal, user equipment (UE), or other suitable devices. The UE may be, for example, a Subscriber Station (SS), a Portable Subscriber Station, a Mobile Station (MS), or an Access Terminal (AT). The terminal device may include, but not limited to, portable computers, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback appliances, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a tablet, a wearable device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a vehicle, and the like.

As used herein, the terms "first" and "second" refer to different elements. The terms "comprises," "comprising," "has," "having," "includes" and/or "including" as used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and/or components and the like, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and/or combinations thereof. The term "based on" is to be read as "based at least in part on. " The term "one embodiment" and "an embodiment" are to be read as "at least one embodiment. " The term "another embodiment" is to be read as "at least one other embodiment. " Other definitions, explicit and implicit, may be included below.

Now some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the figures.

<FIG> shows a schematic diagram of a wireless communication network <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, it illustrates a network device <NUM> and a terminal device <NUM> in the wireless communication network. In the example of <FIG>, the network device <NUM> may provide services to the terminal device <NUM>. The traffic between the network device <NUM> and the terminal device <NUM> may be URLLC (ultra-reliable and low latency communication) traffic, eMBB (enhanced mobile broadband) traffic, mMTC (massive machine type communication) traffic, and so on.

It is to be understood that the configuration of <FIG> is described merely for the purpose of illustration, without suggesting any limitation as to the scope of the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art would appreciate that the wireless communication network <NUM> may include any suitable number of terminal devices and/or network devices and may have other suitable configurations.

In this disclosure, considering the two-step RA procedure is mainly used in a cell with small coverage and good fallback solution from two-step RA to four-step RA, it gives room for multiplexing of data of multiple UEs in a same time-frequency resource. By reserving less data resources and enhancing the multiplexing of the data following the PRACH preamble, the utilization efficiency of the reserved data resources can be clearly improved and more resources can be saved for regular service data transmission.

According to such multiplexing, different data could be multiplexed over one resource using such as OCCs, CSs and scrambling codes. Considering the two-step RA procedure is mainly used for small cell coverage and it is usually in good radio condition, there is still high probability to correctly decode the multiplexed data.

A method for two-step random accessing is provided in an embodiment. The method is implemented at a terminal device as an example.

<FIG> is a diagram which shows a method <NUM> for two-step random accessing in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure, and illustrates the method for two-step random accessing by taking a terminal device as an example.

As shown in <FIG>, the method <NUM> includes transmitting, by a terminal device to a network device, a random access preamble and a data block at block <NUM>. The data block is encoded with an orthogonal cover code and/or a cyclic shift, and the data block includes data information and a reference signal associated with the data information.

As shown in <FIG>, the method <NUM> further includes receiving, by the terminal device from the network device, a response message for the two-step random accessing at block <NUM>.

In an embodiment, the random access preamble belongs to a plurality of random access preambles which are associated with the time-frequency resource.

For example, N random access preambles and M time-frequency resources are preconfigured for the two-step random accessing, where M < N; and each preconfigured time-frequency resource is corresponding to a plurality of preconfigured random access preambles.

<FIG> is a diagram which shows an example in two-step RA procedure in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in <FIG>, data blocks from up to <NUM> different terminal devices can be multiplexed over one block of time-frequency resource. Compared to the <FIG>, the block number of reserved data resources is decreased from N to N/<NUM> (assuming N is integer times of <NUM>).

For example, if there are <NUM> PRACH preambles configured for the two-step random accessing, only <NUM> blocks of time-frequency resources need to be reserved to be associated with the <NUM> PRACH preambles.

Relationships between a random access preamble and the OCC, the CS, a block of time-frequency resource and a scrambling code are predefined.

For example, there are four relationships, such as relationship <NUM> between the random access preamble and the OCC, relationship <NUM> between the random access preamble and the CS, relationship <NUM> between the random access preamble and the block of time-frequency resource, relationship <NUM> between the random access preamble and the scrambling code. Part or all of the four relationships is/are predefined.

<FIG> is a diagram which shows an example of the relationship between the preambles and data resources in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in <FIG>, it is assumed up to <NUM> different data blocks from different terminal devices can be multiplexed using OCCs and/or CSs.

For example, when a PRACH preamble <NUM> is randomly selected by a terminal device <NUM>, then the time-frequency resource <NUM> is determined to transmit a data block of the terminal device <NUM>. Furthermore, OCC (and/or CS) <NUM> is/are determined to be applied on the data block of the terminal device <NUM>.

It should be appreciated that the OCC and/or CS is/are only an example in this disclosure, but it is not limited thereto, other codes may also be further adopted, such as a scrambling code for data information included in the data block. Furthermore, the reference signal associated with the data information may be a de-modulation reference signal (DM-RS), but it is not limited thereto, other reference signals may also be adopted.

In an embodiment, OCC may be adopted to enable the multiplexing of data of different terminal devices.

<FIG> shows a diagram of random accessing in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure, and illustrates the method for random accessing from a viewpoint of a terminal device.

As shown in <FIG>, the method <NUM> is entered at block <NUM>, in which a random access preamble is selected by the terminal device from preconfigured random access preambles. At block <NUM>, an OCC and a block of time-frequency resource are determined by the terminal device according to the selected random access preamble.

As shown in <FIG>, at block <NUM>, in which data information is encoded using the OCC by the terminal device. At block <NUM>, a reference signal, such as a de-modulation reference signal (DM-RS), associated with the data information is encoded using the OCC by the terminal device. It is noted that there is no requirement to the sequence of block <NUM> and block <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, at block <NUM>, in which the random access preamble and the encoded data block are transmitted by the terminal device to a network device on the determined time-frequency resource. At block <NUM>, a response message for random accessing is received by the terminal device from the network device.

It should be appreciated that <FIG> is only an example of the disclosure, but it is not limited thereto. For example, the order of operations at blocks <NUM>-<NUM> may be adjusted and/or some blocks may be omitted. Moreover, some blocks not shown in <FIG> may be added.

Next the OCC is illustrated as an example in time domain and frequency domain.

<FIG> is a diagram which shows an example of time domain format with the OCC of length <NUM> in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in <FIG>, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols transmitted from UE <NUM> are not the same as the OFDM symbols transmitted from UE <NUM>.

For UE <NUM>, W<NUM> = [<NUM><NUM>] is used in time domain and for UE <NUM>, W<NUM> = [<NUM> -<NUM>] is used in time domain. As shown in <FIG>, for UE <NUM>, the OFDM symbols are added pairwise in order to suppress transmitted signal from UE <NUM>. In the same manner, the difference is taken between pairwise OFDM symbols for UE <NUM>.

For each UE, only half number of different OFDM symbols, numbered as S0 to S6, are used to transmit the different data information for each UE as compared to that not using OCC. On the other hand, the received signal to noise ratio is increased by approximately <NUM> dB by adding (or subtracting) OFDM symbols pairwise.

For example, an OCC of length <NUM> may be with the following weight factors: W<NUM>=[<NUM><NUM>] and W<NUM>=[<NUM> -<NUM>]. an OCC of length <NUM> may be with the following weight factors: W<NUM>=[<NUM><NUM>], <MAT> and <MAT>.

In general, an OCC number k of length N can be constructed by
<MAT>.

<FIG> is a diagram which shows an example of frequency domain format with the OCC of length <NUM> in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in <FIG>, subcarriers transmitted from UE <NUM> are not the same as the subcarriers transmitted from UE <NUM>.

For UE <NUM>, W<NUM> = [<NUM><NUM>] is used in frequency domain and For UE <NUM>, W<NUM> = [<NUM> -<NUM>] is used in frequency domain. As shown in <FIG>, for UE <NUM>, the subcarriers are added pairwise in order to suppress interference from UE <NUM>. In the same manner, the difference is taken between pairwise subcarriers for UE <NUM>.

It should be appreciated that a longer OCC in frequency domain may also be possible. Furthermore, a frequency domain OCC may be combined with a time domain OCC.

With frequency offsets or time varying channels, the interference between terminal devices is increased when using the time domain OCC. This interference increases with the length of the OCC. Thus, in scenarios with high speed or large frequency offsets, a shorter, or no time domain OCC may be used. In the same manner, the length of the frequency domain OCC may not be too long since a channel which is frequency selective will introduce interference between the terminal devices.

Also, depending on reliability requirements, the OCC length in both time domain and frequency domain can be adjusted. For example, in ultra-high reliability use cases, the use of OCC may be avoided unless the channel is very slow time varying and the frequency offset is very small.

In an embodiment, the use of the OCC, or the length of the OCC may be configured by a control channel before starting the <NUM>-step RA procedure. This control channel may be a physical broadcast control channel (PBCH).

In an embodiment, CS may be adopted to enable the multiplexing of data of different terminal devices.

<FIG> shows another diagram of random accessing in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure, and illustrates the method for random accessing from a viewpoint of a terminal device.

As shown in <FIG>, the method <NUM> is entered at block <NUM>, in which a random access preamble is selected by the terminal device from preconfigured random access preambles. At block <NUM>, a CS, a scrambling code and a block of time-frequency resource are determined by the terminal device according to the selected random access preamble.

As shown in <FIG>, at block <NUM>, in which a reference signal (such as DM-RS) associated with data information included in a data block to be transmitted following the selected preamble is encoded with the cyclic shift by the terminal device. At block <NUM>, the data information is scrambled using the scrambling code by the terminal device.

As shown in <FIG>, at block <NUM>, in which the random access preamble and the data block are transmitted by the terminal device to a network device. At block <NUM>, a response message for random accessing is received by the terminal device from the network device. For example, the UE ID of the terminal device is included in the response as an indication of access grant by the network device.

It should be appreciated that <FIG> is only an example of the disclosure, but it is not limited thereto. For example, the order of operations at blocks <NUM>-<NUM> may be adjusted and/ or some blocks may be omitted. Moreover, some blocks not shown in <FIG> may be added.

As an improvement, a minimum distance between two adjacent cyclic shifts may be configured to be maximized. That is to say, when multiple CSs are used for enabling the multiplexing of data blocks from different UEs, the minimum distance between selected CSs may be maximized to mitigate possible interference.

For instance, if there are <NUM> candidate CSs as in LTE and data blocks of up to <NUM> different terminal devices can be multiplexed using different CSs, the network configures up to <NUM> terminal devices to use CSs with index <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>.

In an embodiment, a set of scrambling codes may be predefined. The set size may be equal to a maximum multiplexing level. For PRACHs whose corresponding data transmission are multiplexed over one block of time-frequency resource, there is one to one mapping between the PRACH preambles and the scrambling codes. Once a PRACH preamble is selected by a terminal device for <NUM>-step RA procedure, the CS for DMRS and the scrambling code for scrambling data information can also be determined accordingly. The terminal device may use the determined CS for DMRS encoding and the determined scrambling code for data scrambling.

In another embodiment, CS and OCC may be adopted to enable the multiplexing of data of different terminal devices.

<FIG> shows another diagram of random accessing in accordance with the embodiment of the present disclosure, and illustrates the method for random accessing from a viewpoint of a terminal device.

As shown in <FIG>, the method <NUM> is entered at block <NUM>, in which a random access preamble is selected by the terminal device from preconfigured random access preambles. At block <NUM>, a CS, an OCC and a time-frequency resource are determined by the terminal device according to the selected random access preamble.

As shown in <FIG>, at block <NUM>, in which a reference signal (such as DM-RS) associated with data information included in a data block to be transmitted is encoded with the CS by the terminal device. At block <NUM>, the data information is encoded using the OCC by the terminal device.

As shown in <FIG>, at block <NUM>, in which the random access preamble and the data block are transmitted by the terminal device to a network device. At block <NUM>, a response message for random accessing is received by the terminal device from the network device.

In this embodiment, for example, the DMRS of the associated data may be encoded with the CS and the data information may be encoded with the OCC to provide orthogonality with data block from other possible terminal device. According to the predefined mapping relationship between the PRACH preamble to the CS and OCC, the terminal device can determine the CS and OCC once the PRACH preamble is randomly selected. The network device may firstly detect the PRACH preamble, and then according to the mapping between the PRACH preamble to OCC and CS, the network device can decode the data block.

A maximum multiplexing level may be determined by the terminal device according to configuration information of the two-step random accessing.

In an embodiment, transmission power boost of the data block to be transmitted may be determined by the terminal device according to the maximum multiplexing level (i.e. the maximum number of data blocks multiplexed over a block of time-frequency resource).

In this embodiment, power boost table can be pre-configured for the data block transmission according to the maximum multiplexing level. For example, higher multiplexing level requires larger power boost. After maximum multiplexing level is determined, the terminal device determine power offset for power boost according to the maximum multiplexing level by looking up the table. After then, the power offset for the transmission power boost is applied for transmission.

Alternatively, power offset for the transmission power boost may be configured by a system message to the terminal device without firstly determining the maximum multiplexing level by the terminal device.

As can be seen from the above embodiments, data blocks of two more terminal devices are enabled to be multiplexed in a time-frequency resource with OCC and/or CS in step <NUM> of a two-step RA procedure. Therefore, resource efficiency is improved significantly for an associated data message following a random access preamble with endurable minor performance degradation.

A method for two-step random accessing is provided in an embodiment. The method is implemented at a network device as an example, and the same contents as those in the first aspect of embodiments are omitted.

<FIG> shows a flowchart of a method <NUM> for two-step random accessing in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure, and illustrates the method for two-step random accessing by taking a network device as an example.

As shown in <FIG>, the method <NUM> includes receiving, by a network device from a terminal device, a random access preamble and a data block on a block of time-frequency resource at block <NUM>. The data block is encoded with an orthogonal cover code and/or a cyclic shift, and the data block comprises data information and a reference signal associated with the data information.

As shown in <FIG>, the method <NUM> further includes decoding, by the network device, the data information transmitted on the time-frequency resource at block <NUM>; and transmitting, by the network device to the terminal device, a response message for random accessing at block <NUM>.

In an embodiment, the random access preamble belongs to a plurality of random access preambles which are associated with the time-frequency resource for data.

For example, N random access preambles and M time-frequency resources are preconfigured for random accessing, where M < N; and each block of preconfigured time-frequency resource is corresponding to a plurality of preconfigured random access preambles.

In an embodiment, a multiplexing level is determined by the network device according to a detection of the random access preamble; and data blocks of the different terminal devices can be decoded by the network device with the help of the multiplexing level.

For example, a proper receiving scheme, such as MRC (Maximum Ratio Combining), IRC (Interference Rejection Combining), MUD (Multiple Users Detection), SIC (Serial Interference Cancellation) schemes, can be conditionally selected for decoding the associated data according to the multiplexing level determined based on the detection of PRACH preambles.

If multiple preambles with data blocks multiplexed over a same block of time frequency resource are detected, an advanced receiving scheme with good interference suppression/cancellation performance can be used, such as MUD or SIC. If only one data block is transmitted over the block of time-frequency resource, a simple receiving scheme can be used, such as MRC or IRC.

For example, the network device detects that there are two random access preambles in a PRACH slot, the network device determines the multiplexing level is <NUM>. Therefore, the MUD or SIC may be adopted to de-multiplex the data.

It should be appreciated that the multiplexing level is only an example of the disclosure, but it is not limited thereto. For example, the network device may decode the data information without the multiplexing level.

As can be seen from the above embodiments, with the handling of the received random access preamble and data block by the network device, multiplexed data blocks of two or more terminal devices transmitted in a same block of time-frequency resource with OCC and/or CS can be decoded within a two-step RA procedure. Therefore, resource efficiency is improved significantly for an associated data message following a random access preamble with endurable minor performance degradation.

An apparatus for two-step random accessing is provided in an embodiment. The apparatus may be configured in the terminal device <NUM>, and the same contents as those in the first aspect of embodiments are omitted.

<FIG> shows a block diagram of an apparatus <NUM> for two-step random accessing in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in <FIG>, the apparatus <NUM> includes a transmitting unit <NUM> configured to transmit a random access preamble and a data block on a block of time-frequency resource to a network device; and a receiving unit <NUM> configured to receive a response message for random accessing from the network device. The data block is encoded with an orthogonal cover code and/or a cyclic shift, and the data block comprises data information and a reference signal associated with the data information.

For example, N random access preambles and M time-frequency resources are preconfigured for random accessing, where M < N; and each preconfigured time-frequency resource is corresponding to a plurality of preconfigured random access preambles.

As shown in <FIG>, the apparatus <NUM> may further include a selecting unit <NUM> configured to select the random access preamble from preconfigured random access preambles; a determining unit <NUM> configured to determine the orthogonal cover code and the time-frequency resource according to the selected random access preamble; and an encoding unit <NUM> configured to encode the data information using the orthogonal cover code.

In an embodiment, the encoding unit <NUM> is further configured to encode the reference signal associated with the data information using the orthogonal cover code.

In an embodiment, the selecting unit <NUM> is further configured to select the random access preamble from preconfigured random access preambles; the determining unit <NUM> is further configured to determine the orthogonal cover code, the cyclic shift and the time-frequency resource according to the selected random access preamble.

In this embodiment, the encoding unit <NUM> is further configured to encode the data information using the orthogonal cover code. the encoding unit <NUM> is further configured to encode the reference signal associated with the data information using the cyclic shift.

In an embodiment, the selecting unit <NUM> is further configured to select the random access preamble from preconfigured random access preambles; the determining unit <NUM> is further configured to determine the cyclic shift, the time-frequency resource and a scrambling code according to the selected random access preamble. The encoding unit <NUM> is further configured to the reference signal associated with the data information using the cyclic shift.

As shown in <FIG>, the apparatus <NUM> may further include a scrambling unit <NUM> configured to scramble the data information using the scrambling code.

In an embodiment, a maximum multiplexing level may be determined by the terminal device according to configuration information of the two-step random accessing; and a transmission power boost of the data may be determined by the terminal device according to the maximum multiplexing level.

In this embodiment, a power offset for the transmission power boost may be configured by a system message, or may be predefined.

Relationships between the random access preamble and the orthogonal cover code, the cyclic shift, the time-frequency resource and a scrambling code are predefined.

In an embodiment, a minimum distance between two adjacent cyclic shifts is configured to be maximized.

It should be appreciated that components included in the apparatus <NUM> correspond to the operations of the method <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> or <NUM>. Therefore, all operations and features described above with reference to <FIG>, <FIG>, <FIG> or <FIG> are likewise applicable to the components included in the apparatus <NUM> and have similar effects. For the purpose of simplification, the details will be omitted.

It should be appreciated that the components included in the apparatus <NUM> may be implemented in various manners, including software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof.

In an embodiment, one or more units may be implemented using software and/or firmware, for example, machine-executable instructions stored on the storage medium. In addition to or instead of machine-executable instructions, parts or all of the components included in the apparatus <NUM> may be implemented, at least in part, by one or more hardware logic components.

For example, and without limitation, illustrative types of hardware logic components that can be used include Field-programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Application-specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Application-specific Standard Products (ASSPs), System-on-a-chip systems (SOCs), Complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLDs), and the like.

The apparatus <NUM> may be a part of a device. But it is not limited thereto, for example, the apparatus <NUM> may be the terminal device <NUM>, other parts of the terminal device <NUM>, such as transmitter and receiver, are omitted in the <FIG>.

As can be seen from the above embodiments, data of one or more terminal devices may be multiplexed in a time-frequency resource with OCC and/or CS within a two-step RA procedure. Therefore, resource efficiency is improved significantly for an associated data message following a random access preamble with endurable minor performance degradation.

An apparatus for two-step random accessing is provided in an embodiment. The apparatus may be configured in the network device <NUM>, and the same contents as those in the first or second aspect of embodiments are omitted.

As shown in <FIG>, the apparatus <NUM> includes a receiving unit <NUM> configured to receive a random access preamble and a data block on a block of time-frequency resource from a terminal device; a decoding unit <NUM> configured to decode the data information transmitted on the time-frequency resource; and a transmitting unit <NUM> configured to transmit a response message for the random accessing to the terminal device. The data block is encoded with an orthogonal cover code and/or a cyclic shift, and the data block comprises data information and a reference signal associated with the data information.

In an embodiment, as shown in <FIG>, the apparatus <NUM> may further include a determining unit <NUM> configured to determine a multiplexing level according to a detection of the random access preambles.

It should be appreciated that components included in the apparatus <NUM> correspond to the operations of the method <NUM>. Therefore, all operations and features described above with reference to <FIG> are likewise applicable to the components included in the apparatus <NUM> and have similar effects. For the purpose of simplification, the details will be omitted.

The apparatus <NUM> may be a part of a device. But it is not limited thereto, for example, the apparatus <NUM> may be the network device <NUM>, other parts of the network device <NUM>, such as transmitter and receiver, are omitted in the <FIG>.

A communications system is provided, as shown in <FIG>, the communication system <NUM> includes a terminal device <NUM> configured to transmit a random access preamble and a data block on a time-frequency resource and a network device <NUM> configured to transmit a response message for random accessing.

The data block is encoded with an orthogonal cover code and/or a cyclic shift, and the data block comprises data information and a reference signal associated with the data information.

A device (such as a terminal device <NUM> or a network device <NUM>) is provided in an embodiment, and the same contents as those in the first aspect and the second aspect of embodiments are omitted.

<FIG> shows a simplified block diagram of a device <NUM> that is suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. It would be appreciated that the device <NUM> may be implemented as at least a part of, for example, the network device <NUM> or the terminal device <NUM>.

As shown, the device <NUM> includes a communicating means <NUM> and a processing means <NUM>. The processing means <NUM> includes a data processor (DP) <NUM>, a memory (MEM) <NUM> coupled to the DP <NUM>. The communicating means <NUM> is coupled to the DP <NUM> in the processing means <NUM>. The MEM <NUM> stores a program (PROG) <NUM>. The communicating means <NUM> is for communications with other devices, which may be implemented as a transceiver for transmitting/receiving signals.

In some embodiments where the device <NUM> acts as a network device. For example, the memory <NUM> stores a plurality of instructions; and the processor <NUM> coupled to the memory <NUM> and configured to execute the instructions to: receive a random access preamble and a data block on a time-frequency resource from a terminal device; and transmit a response message for the random accessing to the terminal device. The data block is encoded with an orthogonal cover code and/or a cyclic shift, and the data block comprises data information and a reference signal associated with the data information.

In some other embodiments where the device <NUM> acts as a terminal device. For example, the memory <NUM> stores a plurality of instructions; and the processor <NUM> coupled to the memory <NUM> and configured to execute the instructions to: transmit a random access preamble and a data block on a time-frequency resource to a network device; and receive a response message for the random accessing from the network device. The data block is encoded with an orthogonal cover code and/or a cyclic shift, and the data block comprises data information and a reference signal associated with the data information.

The PROG <NUM> is assumed to include program instructions that, when executed by the associated DP <NUM>, enable the device <NUM> to operate in accordance with the embodiments of the present disclosure, as discussed herein with the method <NUM> or <NUM>. The embodiments herein may be implemented by computer software executable by the DP <NUM> of the device <NUM>, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. A combination of the data processor <NUM> and MEM <NUM> may form processing means <NUM> adapted to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure.

The MEM <NUM> may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory, as non-limiting examples. While only one MEM is shown in the device <NUM>, there may be several physically distinct memory modules in the device <NUM>. The DP <NUM> may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment, and may include one or more of general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on multicore processor architecture, as non-limiting examples.

Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing devices. While various aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other pictorial representation, it will be appreciated that the blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques or methods described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

By way of example, embodiments of the present disclosure can be described in the general context of machine-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, being executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, or the like that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired in various embodiments. Machine-executable instructions for program modules may be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

These program codes may be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that the program codes, when executed by the processor or controller, cause the functions/operations specified in the flowcharts and/or block diagrams to be implemented.

The above program code may be embodied on a machine-readable medium, which may be any tangible medium that may contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The machine-readable medium may be a machine-readable signal medium or a machine-readable storage medium. The machine-readable medium may include but not limited to an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

More specific examples of the machine-readable storage medium would include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

In the context of this disclosure, the device may be implemented in the general context of computer system-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by a computer system. Generally, program modules may include routines, programs, objects, components, logic, data structures, and so on that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The device may be practiced in distributed cloud computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed cloud computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote computer system storage media including memory storage devices.

Claim 1:
A method (<NUM>) of a terminal device for performing <NUM>-step random access to a network, comprising:
transmitting (<NUM>), to a network device a random access preamble on a first time-frequency resource, and a data block on a second time-frequency resource; wherein the data block comprises data information and a reference signal associated with the data information, the data information is scrambled with a scrambling code and the reference signal is coded with an orthogonal cover code, OCC; and
receiving (<NUM>), from the network device, a response message, wherein a relationship between the random access preamble and the scrambling code is predefined; and wherein for preambles whose corresponding data transmission is multiplexed over one block of the second time-frequency resource, there is one to one mapping between the preambles and the scrambling codes.