WO2024239726A1

WO2024239726A1 - Random access for devices

Info

Publication number: WO2024239726A1
Application number: PCT/CN2024/077055
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jing HAN; Jie Hu; Haiming Wang; Luning Liu; Lihua Yang
Original assignee: Lenovo Beijing Ltd
Current assignee: Lenovo Beijing Ltd
Priority date: 2024-02-08
Filing date: 2024-02-08
Publication date: 2024-11-28
Anticipated expiration: 2026-08-08

Abstract

Various aspects of the present disclosure relate to random access for devices, for example, ambient Internet of Things (IoT) devices. In an aspect, a user equipment (UE) transmits a first message for initiating a random access procedure. The first message comprises information associated with a data size for a second message transmission during the random access procedure. The UE transmits the second message via the transceiver. In this way, multiple purposes may be indicated by the UE to the network, and the network may perform a proper scheduling for an uplink transmission.

Description

RANDOM ACCESS FOR DEVICES

The present disclosure relates to wireless communications, and more specifically to random access for devices, for example, ambient Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

BACKGROUND

A wireless communications system may include one or multiple network communication devices, such as base stations (BSs) , which may be otherwise known as an eNodeB (eNB) , a next-generation NodeB (gNB) , or other suitable terminology. Each network communication devices, such as a base station may support wireless communications for one or multiple user communication devices, which may be otherwise known as user equipment (UE) , or other suitable terminology. The wireless communications system may support wireless communications with one or multiple user communication devices by utilizing resources of the wireless communication system (e.g., time resources (e.g., symbols, slots, subframes, frames, or the like) or frequency resources (e.g., subcarriers, carriers) . Additionally, the wireless communications system may support wireless communications across various radio access technologies including third generation (3G) radio access technology, fourth generation (4G) radio access technology, fifth generation (5G) radio access technology, among other suitable radio access technologies beyond 5G (e.g., sixth generation (6G) ) .

In recent years, Internet of things (IoT) has attracted much attention in the wireless communication world. More “things” are expected to be interconnected for improving productivity efficiency and increasing comforts of life. Further reduction of size, complexity, and power consumption of IoT devices can enable the deployment of tens or even hundreds of billions of IoT devices for various applications and provide added value across the entire value chain. However, it is impossible to power all the IoT devices by battery that needs to be replaced or recharged manually. Thus there are still some issues associated with communication devices, such as ambient IoT (A-IoT) devices, to be addressed.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure relates to methods, apparatuses, and systems that support random access for devices, for example, ambient Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

Some implementations of the method and devices described herein include, transmitting, a first message for initiating a random access procedure, wherein the first message comprises information associated with a data size for a second message transmission during the random access procedure; and transmitting the second message.

In some implementations of the method and devices described herein, the information may comprise one of the following: at least one preamble; a first partial identity (ID) associated with the UE; or a first random number.

In some implementations of the method and devices described herein, the information may comprise the at least one preamble, and the first message may further comprise one of the following: the first partial ID; or the first random number.

In some implementations of the method and devices described herein, the information may be specific to a factor of the following factors: a purpose for initiating the random access procedure, in which the purpose is one of a set of purposes; a paging message received by the UE; or a level of the data size.

In some implementations of the method and devices described herein, the information may be specific to the factor by one of the following: a preamble or a length of the preamble or a preamble set in the information being specific to the factor; a first partial ID in the information being specific to the factor; or a length of a first random number in the information being specific to the factor.

In some implementations of the method and devices described herein, the random access procedure may be for a plurality of purposes among a set of purposes, and wherein the information may comprise one of the following: a preamble associated with a purpose having a maximum data size among the plurality of purposes; a preamble associated with a total data size of the plurality of purposes; a preamble associated with a combination of the plurality of purposes; or a plurality of preambles associated with the plurality of purposes.

In some implementations of the method and devices described herein, the set of purposes may comprise at least one of the following: an inventory purpose; a sensor purpose; a positioning purpose; a command purpose; or at least one sub-purpose associated with at least one category of at least one of: the inventory purpose, the sensor purpose, the positioning purpose or the command purpose.

Some implementations of the method and devices described herein may include, receiving a second random number or a second partial ID in a third message of the random access procedure; and in the case that the second random number is the same as a first random number in the first message, or the second partial ID is the same as a first partial ID in the first message, transmitting the second message.

In some implementations of the method and devices described herein, the first partial ID may be a part of an electronic product code (EPC) ID associated with the UE.

In some implementations of the method and devices described herein, the random access procedure may be for an inventory purpose, and wherein a part of an EPC ID associated with the UE may be transmitted as a first partial ID in the first message, and the rest part of the EPC ID may be transmitted in the second message.

In some implementations of the method and devices described herein, the second message may comprise a first indication including one of the following: a bit indicating whether there is at least one further uplink transmission following the second message; a plurality of bits indicating a remaining data size in the UE to be transmitted; or a plurality of bits indicating information associated with a message to be transmitted.

In some implementations of the method and devices described herein, the information associated with the message may comprise at least one of the following: a message number; a message type; or a message size.

In some implementations of the method and devices described herein, the second message may comprise a second indication including one of the following: at least one bit indicating whether the UE needs to be charged; or a plurality of bits indicating an energy storage level of the UE.

In some implementations of the method and devices described herein, the second message may comprise a third indication indicating at least one capability of the UE, wherein the at least one capability comprises one of the following: a type of the UE; a power consumption of the UE; whether uplink (UL) backscattering is supported; whether UL active signal generation is supported; a device complexity of the UE; a mobility capability of the UE; whether a positioning capability is supported; or a buffer capability of the UE.

Some implementations of the method and devices described herein include, receiving a first message for initiating a random access procedure, wherein the first message comprises information associated with a data size for a second message transmission during the random access procedure; and receiving the second message.

In some implementations of the method and devices described herein, the information comprises one of the following: at least one preamble; a first partial identity (ID) associated with the UE; or a first random number.

In some implementations of the method and devices described herein, the information comprises the at least one preamble, and the first message further comprises one of the following: the first partial ID; or the first random number.

In some implementations of the method and devices described herein, the information is specific to a factor of the following factors: a purpose for initiating the random access procedure, in which the purpose is one of a set of purposes; a paging message transmitted to the UE; or a level of the data size.

Some implementations of the method and devices described herein may include, transmitting a second random number or a second partial ID in a third message of the random access procedure if the base station identifies a UE.

In some implementations of the method and devices described herein, the random access procedure may be for an inventory purpose, and some implementations may include: receiving a part of an EPC ID associated with the UE as a first partial ID in the first message; and receiving the rest part of the EPC ID in the second message.

Some implementations of the method and devices described herein may include, transmitting, to a UE, a request for a transmission of the second message including a first indication by the UE, and wherein the first indication includes one of the following: a bit indicating whether there is at least one further uplink transmission following the second message; a plurality of bits indicating a remaining data size in the UE to be transmitted; or a plurality of bits indicating information associated with a message to be transmitted.

Some implementations of the method and devices described herein may include, transmitting, to a UE, a request for a transmission of the second message including a second indication by the UE, and wherein the second indication includes one of the following: at least one bit indicating whether the UE needs to be charged; or a plurality of bits indicating an energy storage level of the UE.

Some implementations of the method and devices described herein may include, transmitting, to a UE, a request for a transmission of the second message including a third indication by the UE, and wherein the third indication indicates at least one of the following capabilities of the UE: a type of the UE; a power consumption of the UE; whether uplink (UL) backscattering is supported; whether UL active signal generation is supported; a device complexity of the UE; a mobility capability of the UE; whether a positioning capability is supported; or a buffer capability of the UE.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A illustrates an example of a wireless communications system that supports random access for devices, such as A-IoT devices, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1B illustrates an example of topology 1 associated with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1C illustrates an example of topology 2 associated with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1D illustrates an example of topology 3 associated with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1E illustrates another example of topology 3 associated with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1F illustrates an example of topology 4 associated with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example signaling diagram illustrating an example process that supports random access for devices, such as A-IoT devices, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a device that support random access for devices, such as A-IoT devices, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a processor that support random access for devices, such as A-IoT devices, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of a method that supports random access for devices, such as A-IoT devices, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of a method that supports random access for devices, such as A-IoT devices, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some embodiments. It is to be understood that these embodiments are described for the purpose of illustration and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without suggesting any limitation as to the scope of the disclosure. The disclosure described herein may be implemented in various manners other than the ones described below.

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

References in the present disclosure to “one embodiment, ” “an example embodiment, ” “an embodiment, ” “some embodiments, ” and the like indicate that the embodiment (s) described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but it is not necessary that every embodiment includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment (s) . Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

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

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a” , “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” , “comprising” , “has” , “having” , “includes” and/or “including” , when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and/or components etc., but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and/or combinations thereof.

As used herein, the term “communication network” refers to a network following any suitable communication standards, such as, 5G new radio (NR) , Long Term Evolution (LTE) , LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) , Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) , High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) , Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) , and so on. Further, the communications between a user equipment and a network device in the communication network may be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocols, including but not limited to, the first generation (1G) , the second generation (2G) , 2.5G, 2.75G, the third generation (3G) , the fourth generation (4G) , 4.5G, the fifth generation (5G) communication protocols, and/or any other protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied in various communication systems. Given the rapid development in communications, there will also be future type communication technologies and systems in which the present disclosure may be embodied. It should not be seen as limiting the scope of the present disclosure to only the aforementioned systems.

As used herein, the term “network device” generally refers to a node in a communication network via which a user equipment can access the communication network and receive services therefrom. The network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP) , for example, a node B (NodeB or NB) , a radio access network (RAN) node, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB) , a NR NB (also referred to as a gNB) , a Remote Radio Unit (RRU) , a radio header (RH) , an infrastructure device for a V2X (vehicle-to-everything) communication, a transmission and reception point (TRP) , a reception point (RP) , a remote radio head (RRH) , a relay, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a low power node such as a femto a base station (BS) , a pico BS, and so forth, depending on the applied terminology and technology. The network device may further refer to a network function (NF) in the core network, for example, a SMF, an AMF, a PCF, a UPF or devices with same function in future network architectures, and so forth.

As used herein, the term “user equipment (UE) ” generally refers to any end device that may be capable of wireless communications. By way of example rather than a limitation, a user equipment may also be referred to as a communication device, a terminal device, an end user device, a subscriber station (SS) , an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) , a portable subscriber station, a mobile station (MS) , or an access terminal (AT) . The user equipment may include, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a tablet, a wearable user equipment, a personal digital assistant (PDA) , a portable computer, a desktop computer, an image capture user equipment such as a digital camera, a gaming user equipment, a music storage and playback appliance, a vehicle-mounted wireless user equipment, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE) , laptop-mounted equipment (LME) , a USB dongle, a smart device, wireless customer-premises equipment (CPE) , an Internet of Things (loT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD) , a vehicle, a drone, a medical device (for example, a remote surgery device) , an industrial device (for example, a robot and/or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and/or an automated processing chain contexts) , a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial and/or industrial wireless networks, and the like. In the following description, the terms: “user equipment, ” “communication device, ” “terminal, ” “user equipment” and “UE, ” may be used interchangeably.

As used herein, the term “ambient IoT (A-IoT) device” refers to a device without batteries or with limited energy storage capabilities. For the A-IoT device, energy is provided by harvesting radio waves, light, motion, heat, or any other suitable source. A-IoT device can also be called zero-power terminals, near-zero power terminals, passive IoT device, ambient backscatter communication (AmBC) device, tag, etc. Compared with low-power and wide-coverage services, such as narrow band (NB) IoT, enhance machine type communication (eMTC) , A-IoT has lower complexity and lower power consumption, and is suitable for more application scenarios.

Aspects of the present disclosure are described in the context of a wireless communications system.

FIG. 1A illustrates an example of a wireless communications system (or referred to as communication network) 100 that supports carrier wave node determination in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The wireless communications system 100 may include one or more network entities 102 (also referred to as network equipment) , one or more UEs 104, a core network 106, and a packet data network 108. The wireless communications system 100 may support various radio access technologies. In some implementations, the wireless communications system 100 may be a 4G network, such as an LTE network or an LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) network. In some other implementations, the wireless communications system 100 may be a 5G network, such as an NR network. In other implementations, the wireless communications system 100 may be a combination of a 4G network and a 5G network, or other suitable radio access technology including Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi) , IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX) , IEEE 802.20. The wireless communications system 100 may support radio access technologies beyond 5G. Additionally, the wireless communications system 100 may support technologies, such as time division multiple access (TDMA) , frequency division multiple access (FDMA) , or code division multiple access (CDMA) , etc.

The one or more network entities 102 may be dispersed throughout a geographic region to form the wireless communications system 100. One or more of the network entities 102 described herein may be or include or may be referred to as a network node, a base station, a network element, a radio access network (RAN) , a base transceiver station, an access point, a NodeB, an eNodeB (eNB) , a next-generation NodeB (gNB) , or other suitable terminology. A network entity 102 and a UE 104 may communicate via a communication link 110, which may be a wireless or wired connection. For example, a network entity 102 and a UE 104 may perform wireless communication (e.g., receive signalling, transmit signalling) over a communication interface.

A network entity 102 may provide a geographic coverage area 112 for which the network entity 102 may support services (e.g., voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, etc. ) for one or more UEs 104 within the geographic coverage area 112. For example, a network entity 102 and a UE 104 may support wireless communication of signals related to services (e.g., voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, etc. ) according to one or multiple radio access technologies. In some implementations, a network entity 102 may be moveable, for example, a satellite associated with a non-terrestrial network. In some implementations, different geographic coverage areas 112 associated with the same or different radio access technologies may overlap, but the different geographic coverage areas 112 may be associated with different network entities 102. Information and signals described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

The one or more UEs 104 may be dispersed throughout a geographic region of the wireless communications system 100. A UE 104 may include or may be referred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a remote unit, a handheld device, or a subscriber device, or some other suitable terminology. In some implementations, the UE 104 may be referred to as a unit, a station, a terminal, or a client, among other examples. Additionally, or alternatively, the UE 104 may be referred to as an Internet-of-Things (IoT) device, an Internet-of-Everything (IoE) device, or machine-type communication (MTC) device, among other examples. In some implementations, a UE 104 may be stationary in the wireless communications system 100. In some other implementations, a UE 104 may be mobile in the wireless communications system 100.

The one or more UEs 104 may be devices in different forms or having different capabilities. Some examples of UEs 104 are illustrated in FIG. 1A. A UE 104 may be capable of communicating with various types of devices, such as the network entities 102, other UEs 104, or network equipment (e.g., the core network 106, the packet data network 108, a relay device, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, or another network equipment) , as shown in FIG. 1A. Additionally, or alternatively, a UE 104 may support communication with other network entities 102 or UEs 104, which may act as relays in the wireless communications system 100.

A UE 104 may also be able to support wireless communication directly with other UEs 104 over a communication link 114. For example, a UE 104 may support wireless communication directly with another UE 104 over a device-to-device (D2D) communication link. In some implementations, such as vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) deployments, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) deployments, or cellular-V2X deployments, the communication link 114 may be referred to as a sidelink. For example, a UE 104 may support wireless communication directly with another UE 104 over a communication interface.

A network entity 102 may support communications with the core network 106, or with another network entity 102, or both. For example, a network entity 102 may interface with the core network 106 through one or more backhaul links 116 (e.g., via an S1, N2, N2, or another network interface) . The network entities 102 may communicate with each other over the backhaul links 116 (e.g., via an X2, Xn, or another network interface) . In some implementations, the network entities 102 may communicate with each other directly (e.g., between the network entities 102) . In some other implementations, the network entities 102 may communicate with each other or indirectly (e.g., via the core network 106) . In some implementations, one or more network entities 102 may include subcomponents, such as an access network entity, which may be an example of an access node controller (ANC) . An ANC may communicate with the one or more UEs 104 through one or more other access network transmission entities, which may be referred to as a radio heads, smart radio heads, or transmission-reception points (TRPs) .

In some implementations, a network entity 102 may be configured in a disaggregated architecture, which may be configured to utilize a protocol stack physically or logically distributed among two or more network entities 102, such as an integrated access backhaul (IAB) network, an open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) (e.g., a network configuration sponsored by the O-RAN Alliance) , or a virtualized RAN (vRAN) (e.g., a cloud RAN (C-RAN) ) . For example, a network entity 102 may include one or more of a central unit (CU) , a distributed unit (DU) , a radio unit (RU) , a RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) (e.g., a Near-Real Time RIC (Near-RT RIC) , a Non-Real Time RIC (Non-RT RIC) ) , a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) system, or any combination thereof.

An RU may also be referred to as a radio head, a smart radio head, a remote radio head (RRH) , a remote radio unit (RRU) , or a transmission reception point (TRP) . One or more components of the network entities 102 in a disaggregated RAN architecture may be co-located, or one or more components of the network entities 102 may be located in distributed locations (e.g., separate physical locations) . In some implementations, one or more network entities 102 of a disaggregated RAN architecture may be implemented as virtual units (e.g., a virtual CU (VCU) , a virtual DU (VDU) , a virtual RU (VRU) ) .

Split of functionality between a CU, a DU, and an RU may be flexible and may support different functionalities depending upon which functions (e.g., network layer functions, protocol layer functions, baseband functions, radio frequency functions, and any combinations thereof) are performed at a CU, a DU, or an RU. For example, a functional split of a protocol stack may be employed between a CU and a DU such that the CU may support one or more layers of the protocol stack and the DU may support one or more different layers of the protocol stack. In some implementations, the CU may host upper protocol layer (e.g., a layer 3 (L3) , a layer 2 (L2) ) functionality and signalling (e.g., RRC, service data adaption protocol (SDAP) , Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) ) . The CU may be connected to one or more DUs or RUs, and the one or more DUs or RUs may host lower protocol layers, such as a layer 1 (L1) (e.g., physical (PHY) layer) or an L2 (e.g., radio link control (RLC) layer, MAC layer) functionality and signalling, and may each be at least partially controlled by the CU.

Additionally, or alternatively, a functional split of the protocol stack may be employed between a DU and an RU such that the DU may support one or more layers of the protocol stack and the RU may support one or more different layers of the protocol stack. The DU may support one or multiple different cells (e.g., via one or more RUs) . In some implementations, a functional split between a CU and a DU, or between a DU and an RU may be within a protocol layer (e.g., some functions for a protocol layer may be performed by one of a CU, a DU, or an RU, while other functions of the protocol layer are performed by a different one of the CU, the DU, or the RU) .

A CU may be functionally split further into CU control plane (CU-CP) and CU user plane (CU-UP) functions. A CU may be connected to one or more DUs via a midhaul communication link (e.g., F1, F1-c, F1-u) , and a DU may be connected to one or more RUs via a fronthaul communication link (e.g., open fronthaul (FH) interface) . In some implementations, a midhaul communication link or a fronthaul communication link may be implemented in accordance with an interface (e.g., a channel) between layers of a protocol stack supported by respective network entities 102 that are in communication via such communication links.

The core network 106 may support user authentication, access authorization, tracking, connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. The core network 106 may be an evolved packet core (EPC) , or a 5G core (5GC) , which may include a control plane entity that manages access and mobility (e.g., a mobility management entity (MME) , an access and mobility management functions (AMF) ) and a user plane entity that routes packets or interconnects to external networks (e.g., a serving gateway (S-GW) , a Packet Data Network (PDN) gateway (P-GW) , or a user plane function (UPF) ) . In some implementations, the control plane entity may manage non-access stratum (NAS) functions, such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management (e.g., data bearers, signal bearers, etc. ) for the one or more UEs 104 served by the one or more network entities 102 associated with the core network 106.

The core network 106 may communicate with the packet data network 108 over one or more backhaul links 116 (e.g., via an S1, N2, N2, or another network interface) . The packet data network 108 may include an application server 118. In some implementations, one or more UEs 104 may communicate with the application server 118. A UE 104 may establish a session (e.g., a protocol data unit (PDU) session, or the like) with the core network 106 via a network entity 102. The core network 106 may route traffic (e.g., control information, data, and the like) between the UE 104 and the application server 118 using the established session (e.g., the established PDU session) . The PDU session may be an example of a logical connection between the UE 104 and the core network 106 (e.g., one or more network functions of the core network 106) .

In the wireless communications system 100, the network entities 102 and the UEs 104 may use resources of the wireless communications system 100 (e.g., time resources (e.g., symbols, slots, subframes, frames, or the like) or frequency resources (e.g., subcarriers, carriers) ) to perform various operations (e.g., wireless communications) . In some implementations, the network entities 102 and the UEs 104 may support different resource structures. For example, the network entities 102 and the UEs 104 may support different frame structures. In some implementations, such as in 4G, the network entities 102 and the UEs 104 may support a single frame structure. In some other implementations, such as in 5G and among other suitable radio access technologies, the network entities 102 and the UEs 104 may support various frame structures (i.e., multiple frame structures) . The network entities 102 and the UEs 104 may support various frame structures based on one or more numerologies.

One or more numerologies may be supported in the wireless communications system 100, and a numerology may include a subcarrier spacing and a cyclic prefix. A first numerology (e.g., μ=0) may be associated with a first subcarrier spacing (e.g., 15 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix. In some implementations, the first numerology (e.g., μ=0) associated with the first subcarrier spacing (e.g., 15 kHz) may utilize one slot per subframe. A second numerology (e.g., μ=1) may be associated with a second subcarrier spacing (e.g., 30 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix. A third numerology (e.g., μ=2) may be associated with a third subcarrier spacing (e.g., 60 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix or an extended cyclic prefix. A fourth numerology (e.g., μ=3) may be associated with a fourth subcarrier spacing (e.g., 120 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix. A fifth numerology (e.g., μ=4) may be associated with a fifth subcarrier spacing (e.g., 240 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix.

A time interval of a resource (e.g., a communication resource) may be organized according to frames (also referred to as radio frames) . Each frame may have a duration, for example, a 10 millisecond (ms) duration. In some implementations, each frame may include multiple subframes. For example, each frame may include 10 subframes, and each subframe may have a duration, for example, a 1 ms duration. In some implementations, each frame may have the same duration. In some implementations, each subframe of a frame may have the same duration.

Additionally or alternatively, a time interval of a resource (e.g., a communication resource) may be organized according to slots. For example, a subframe may include a number (e.g., quantity) of slots. The number of slots in each subframe may also depend on the one or more numerologies supported in the wireless communications system 100. For instance, the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth numerologies (i.e., μ=0, μ=1, μ=2, μ=3, μ=4) associated with respective subcarrier spacings of 15 kHz, 30 kHz, 60 kHz, 120 kHz, and 240 kHz may utilize a single slot per subframe, two slots per subframe, four slots per subframe, eight slots per subframe, and 16 slots per subframe, respectively. Each slot may include a number (e.g., quantity) of symbols (e.g., OFDM symbols) . In some implementations, the number (e.g., quantity) of slots for a subframe may depend on a numerology. For a normal cyclic prefix, a slot may include 14 symbols. For an extended cyclic prefix (e.g., applicable for 60 kHz subcarrier spacing) , a slot may include 12 symbols. The relationship between the number of symbols per slot, the number of slots per subframe, and the number of slots per frame for a normal cyclic prefix and an extended cyclic prefix may depend on a numerology. It should be understood that reference to a first numerology (e.g., μ=0) associated with a first subcarrier spacing (e.g., 15 kHz) may be used interchangeably between subframes and slots.

In the wireless communications system 100, an electromagnetic (EM) spectrum may be split, based on frequency or wavelength, into various classes, frequency bands, frequency channels, etc. By way of example, the wireless communications system 100 may support one or multiple operating frequency bands, such as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz –7.125 GHz) , FR2 (24.25 GHz –52.6 GHz) , FR3 (7.125 GHz –24.25 GHz) , FR4 (52.6 GHz –114.25 GHz) , FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz –71 GHz) , and FR5 (114.25 GHz –300 GHz) . In some implementations, the network entities 102 and the UEs 104 may perform wireless communications over one or more of the operating frequency bands. In some implementations, FR1 may be used by the network entities 102 and the UEs 104, among other equipment or devices for cellular communications traffic (e.g., control information, data) . In some implementations, FR2 may be used by the network entities 102 and the UEs 104, among other equipment or devices for short-range, high data rate capabilities.

FR1 may be associated with one or multiple numerologies (e.g., at least three numerologies) . For example, FR1 may be associated with a first numerology (e.g., μ=0) , which includes 15 kHz subcarrier spacing; a second numerology (e.g., μ=1) , which includes 30 kHz subcarrier spacing; and a third numerology (e.g., μ=2) , which includes 60 kHz subcarrier spacing. FR2 may be associated with one or multiple numerologies (e.g., at least 2 numerologies) . For example, FR2 may be associated with a third numerology (e.g., μ=2) , which includes 60 kHz subcarrier spacing; and a fourth numerology (e.g., μ=3) , which includes 120 kHz subcarrier spacing.

In recent years, IoT has attracted much attention in the wireless communication world. More ‘things’ are expected to be interconnected for improving productivity efficiency and increasing comforts of life. Most of the wireless IoT devices are powered by battery that need to be replaced or recharged manually. The automation and digitalization of various industries open numbers of new markets requiring new IoT technologies of supporting battery-less devices with no energy storage capability or devices with energy storage that do not need to be replaced or recharged manually.

In 3GPP, TR 22.840 is being developed by 3GPP Technical Specification Group (TSG) SA WG1 (SA1) to capture use cases, traffic scenarios, device constraints of ambient power-enabled Internet of Things and identify new potential service requirements as well as new key performance indicators (KPIs) . And TSG Radio Access Network (RAN) has completed a Rel-18 RAN-level study item (SI) on Ambient IoT, which provides a terminological and scoping framework for future discussions of Ambient IoT. In RAN#102 meeting, a new SID was approved for continuous study for such kind of wireless IoT device, which called Ambient IoT device. One of the objectives is to design the compact protocol stack and corresponding procedures e.g. paging, random access, data transmission etc.

For AIoT UEs, carry uplink data during random access procedure e.g. in Msg3 is very important for the efficiency of small data transmission (SDT) and for ultra-simplified battery-less AIoT devices. However, depending on different use cases (or referred to as purposes) , the uplink data size may vary largely e.g. for inventory use case, UE needs to report tag id, EPC id etc., which usually hundreds of bits. While for other use cases e.g. positioning, tens of bits are enough. This gives challenge for Msg3 scheduling.

One issue is how the AIoT UE indicates to network about such information so that network can perform a properly scheduling for Msg3. When initiate random access, the AIoT UE may have multiple purposes e.g. AIoT UE can initiate random access for both inventory and sensor results report. This also impact the Msg3 size. Another issue is how the AIoT UE indicates multiple purposes to the network. Some contention resolution during random access is based on partial content in the Msg3 and solved in Msg4. For the AIoT UEs, a further issue is how to perform contention resolution besides existing solution. Some other information of the UE needs to be acquired by network to facilitate the scheduling and data transmission. For example, whether there has followed uplink data, whether the UE has enough energy storage for decoding and for transmission (especially for the AIoT UE with active RF) , whether the UE has capability to generate signal or rely on backscattering. It is also an issue that how the AIoT UE indicates all the information to network.

The SDT mentioned above is a procedure allowing data and/or signalling transmission while remaining in RRC_INACTIVE state (i.e. without transitioning to RRC_CONNECTED state) . SDT is enabled on a radio bearer basis and is initiated by the UE only if less than a configured amount of UL data awaits transmission across all radio bearers for which SDT is enabled, the DL RSRP is above a configured threshold, and a valid SDT resource is available as specified in clause 5.27.1 of TS 38.321 [6] . Maximum duration the SDT procedure can last is dictated by a SDT failure detection timer that is configured by the network (see clause 6.2.2 of TS 38.331 [12] ) . SDT procedure is initiated with either a transmission over RACH (configured via system information) or over Type 1 CG resources (configured via dedicated signalling in RRCRelease) . The SDT resources can be configured on initial BWP for both RACH and CG. RACH and CG resources for SDT can be configured on either or both of NUL and SUL carriers. The CG resources for SDT are valid only within the PCell of the UE when the RRCRelease with suspend indication is received. CG resources are associated with one or multiple SSB (s) . For RACH, the network can configure 2-step and/or 4-step RA resources for SDT. When both 2-step and 4-step RA resources for SDT are configured, the UE selects the RA type according to clause 9.2.6. CFRA is not supported for SDT over RACH.

Two sets or levels of grouping were defined for some representative use cases (or called purposes) , in which grouping A is on the basis of the deployment environment (s) described for a use case in TR 22.840, and grouping B is on the basis of functionality/application described in TR 22.840. Grouping A may comprise: indoor, outdoor, and indoor/outdoor. Grouping B may comprise: inventory, sensors, positioning, and command. These two groupings are then used to form representative use cases (rUCs) as follows, which are used in Clause 4.2 –Deployment scenarios and connectivity topologies. For example, rUC1 is indoor inventory, rUC2 is indoor sensors, rUC3 is indoor positioning, rUC4 is indoor command, rUC5 is outdoor inventory, rUC6 is outdoor sensors, rUC7 is outdoor positioning, and rUC8 is outdoor command.

Several connectivity topologies for Ambient IoT networks and devices may be defined, as shown in FIG. 1B to FIG. 1F. In all these topologies, the Ambient IoT device may be provided with a carrier wave from other node (s) either inside or outside the topology. The links in each topology may be bidirectional or unidirectional. BS, UE, assisting node, or intermediate node could be multiple BSs or UEs, respectively. The mixture of indoor and outdoor placement of such nodes is regarded as a network implementation choice. Account would need to be taken of potential impact on device or node complexity. In the connectivity topologies, this does not imply the existence of multi-hop assisting or intermediate nodes.

FIG. 1B illustrates an example scenario of topology 1 associated with aspects of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1B, in topology 1, the ambient IoT device 121 communicates with a base station (BS) 122 directly and bi-directionally. The communication between the BS 122 and the ambient IoT device 121 includes ambient IoT data and/or signalling. This topology includes the possibility of a transmission from the BS 122 to the ambient IoT device 121 and a different possibility of a transmission from the ambient IoT device 121 to the BS 122. An example of the ambient IoT device 121 may be a user equipment (UE) 201 below. An example of the BS 122 may be a base station 202 below.

FIG. 1C illustrates an example scenario of topology 2 associated with aspects of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1C, in topology 2, the ambient IoT device 131 communicates bi-directionally with an intermediate node 132 (or referred to as an intermediate device) between the ambient IoT device 131 and base station 133. In this topology, the intermediate node 132 can be a relay node, an IAB node, a UE, a repeater, etc., which is capable of ambient IoT. The intermediate node 132 transfers ambient IoT data and/or signalling between the BS 133 and the ambient IoT device 131.

FIG. 1D illustrates an example of topology 3 associated with aspects of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1D, the ambient IoT device 141 receives data and/or signalling from the assisting node 142 and transmits data and/or signalling to the BS 143. FIG. 1E illustrates another example of topology 3 associated with aspects of the present disclosure. The ambient IoT device 141 receives data and/or signalling from the BS 143 and transmits data/signalling to the assisting node 142. The assisting node 142 can be a relay node, an IAB node, a UE, a repeater, etc., which is capable of ambient IoT.

FIG. 1F illustrates an example of topology 4 associated with aspects of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1F, in the topology 4, the ambient IoT device 151 communicates with a UE 152 bi-directionally. The communication between UE 152 and the ambient IoT device 151 includes ambient IoT data and/or signalling.

Ambient IoT devices, according to their energy storage capacity, and capability of generating RF signals for their transmissions, may be categorized as no energy storage at all or limited energy storage. Relying on these storage capacities, the following set of Ambient IoT devices (device A, B, and C) may be considered. Device A has no energy storage, and has no independent signal generation/amplification, i.e. backscattering transmission. Device B has an energy storage, and has no independent signal generation, i.e. backscattering transmission. Use of stored energy can include amplification for reflected signals. Device C has an energy storage, and has independent signal generation, i.e., active RF components for transmission. A limited energy storage can be different among implementations within the device B or implementations within the device C, and different between the device B and the device C. Such storage is expected to be order (s) of magnitude smaller than an NB-IoT device would typically include. Devices A, B, and C are able to demodulate control, data, etc. from the relevant entity in a RAN according to connectivity topology. The design target of maximum message size is approximately 1000 bits to be received by the Ambient IoT device, and approximately 1000 bits to be transmitted from the Ambient IoT device, based on the maximum application layer packet size. RAN1/RAN2 can refine as needed for transport block (TB) size design. There may other types of Ambient IoT devices, such as devices (i) and (ii) as below. Device (i) , which has a peak power consumption of approximately 1 μW, energy storage, initial sampling frequency offset (SFO) up to 10^X ppm, neither downlink (DL) nor uplink (UL) amplification in the device. The UL transmission of the device (i) is backscattered on a carrier wave provided externally. Device (ii) , which has a peak power consumption of no more than a few hundred μW, energy storage, initial sampling frequency offset (SFO) up to 10^X ppm, both DL and/or UL amplification in the device. The UL transmission of the device (ii) may be generated internally by the device (ii) , or be backscattered on a carrier wave provided externally.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example signaling diagram illustrating an example process that supports random access for devices, such as A-IoT devices, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The process 200 as shown in FIG. 2 involves a user equipment (UE) 201 and a base station (BS) 202. In other embodiments, the UE 201 may correspond to the UE 104, the ambient IoT device 121, the ambient IoT device 131, the ambient IoT device 141, or the ambient IoT device 151, etc. Specifically, an example of the UE 201 may be an AIoT UE. The base station 202 may correspond to one of the network entities 102, the BS 122, the BS 133, or the BS 143, etc. With reference to FIGs 1B to 1F, in some examples, the communication between the UE 201 and the BS 202 may be directly or indirectly (e.g. via an intermediate node) .

The UE 201 may transmit (210) , for example via its transceiver, a first message 205 for initiating a random access procedure. The first message 205 may comprise information associated with a data size for a second message 215 during the random access procedure. On the base station 202 side, the base station 202 may receive (212) the first message 205 for example via its transceiver. In some examples, based the first message 205, the base station 202 may allocate resource (s) for a transmission of the second message 215. On the UE 201 side, the UE 201 may transmit (214) the second message 215 for example via its transceiver. On the base station 202 side, the base station 202 may receive (216) the second message 215 for example via its transceiver. In some examples, the first message 205 may be a message 1 (Msg1) for initiating the random access procedure. The second message 215 may be a message 3 (Msg3) during the random access procedure. In this way, size of the message 3 or size of data which will be included in the message 3 may be indicated by the UE to the network, and the network may perform a proper scheduling for an uplink transmission.

In some examples, the information included in the first message 205 may comprise one or more preambles. Specifically, in some examples, the first message 205 may comprise the information including the one or more preambles, and may also comprise a partial identity (ID) (referred to as a first partial ID) or a random number (referred to as a first random number) . In some other examples, the first message 205 may comprise the information including the one or more preambles, but may comprise neither the first partial ID nor the first random number. In some examples, the first message 205 may comprise no preamble. For instance, the first message 205 may comprise the information including the first random number or the first partial ID associated with the UE 201, but no preamble is included in the information. In some examples, the first partial ID may be a part of an electronic product code (EPC) ID associated with the UE 201. As mentioned above, the UE 201 may be the AIoT UE, then the first partial ID may be a part of the EPC ID of a product. The AIoT UE may be inside/on the product, or associated with the product.

In some examples, the information included in the first message 205 is specific to a factor. As an example, in the case that the information includes the one or more preambles, a preamble or a length of the preamble or a preamble set in the information may be specific to the factor. As another example, in the case that the information includes the first partial ID, then a length of the first partial ID may be specific to the factor. As a further example, in the case that the information includes the first random number, then a length of the first random number in the information may be specific to the factor. In some examples, the factor may be a purpose (may be referred to as a use case) for initiating the random access procedure. The purpose may be one of a set of purposes, and the set of purposes may comprise: an inventory purpose (inventory for short) , or a sensor purpose (sensor for short) , or a positioning purpose (positioning for short) , a command purpose (command for short) , or at least one sub-purpose, or any combination thereof. The at least one sub-purpose above may be associated with at least one category of one or more of the following: the inventory purpose, the sensor purpose, the positioning purpose or the command purpose. In some other examples, the factor may be a paging message received by the UE 201. In some further examples, the factor may be a level of the data size for the second message 215 during the random access procedure.

For example, for the AIoT UE to random access to the network, multiple preambles or multiple preamble sets may be specified or configured. Multiple preambles may be specified or configured based on multiple use cases (or multiple purposes) . Multiple preambles may be defined and each of them is associated with a kind of use case, as shown in Table 1.

Table 1

As mentioned above, a preamble or a length of the preamble or a preamble set in the information may be specific to the factor. For example, the AIoT UE may use different preamble or different set of preambles for different use cases (or purposes, as an example of the factor) for initiating the random access procedure. The different use cases may be, e.g. inventory, sensor, positioning, command, etc. All AIoT UEs with the same use case to initiate random access will use the same preamble, or same set of preambles. Alternatively, the AIoT UE may use preamble with different length for different use cases. In some exemplary scenarios, for the purpose of inventory, e.g., the UE 201 may initiate the random access procedure for reporting inventory data to the network (e.g. the base station 202) . Alternatively, for the purpose of sensor, e.g., the UE 201 may initiate the random access procedure for reporting sensor data to the network. Alternatively, for the purpose of positioning, e.g., the UE 201 may initiate the random access procedure for reporting positioning data. Alternatively, for the purpose of command, e.g., the UE 201 may initiate the random access procedure for receiving the command for performing some operations. It is noted that the exemplary scenarios above are just some examples, and the application of the use cases or purposes of the present disclosure are not limited by the exemplary scenarios mentioned above.

In some examples, the purpose may be the sub-purpose mentioned above, for example, the use cases may also be some detail use cases for each category, such as Automated warehousing, Medical instruments inventory management, Non-Public Network for logistics, Automobile manufacturing, Airport terminal /shipping port, etc. Table 2 shows some examples of the sub-purposes. In Table 2, each applicable SA1 UC (i.e. the sub-purpose) may be associated with one specific preamble.

Table 2

As mentioned above, the at least one preamble may specific to the paging message received by the UE 201 (e.g. the AIoT UE) . For example, multiple preambles may be specified or configured based on multiple pagings. As an example, in a time period, the BS 202 may send four different paging messages to AIoT UEs, and each of paging messages may be associated with one preamble, as shown in Table 3. In some examples, the AIoT UE may use a different preamble or preamble length to initiate random access to respond a different paging message. Which preamble is used, or which preamble length is used to respond the paging message may be indicated in the paging message or paging associated control signaling or MAC CE together with paging. All AIoT UEs that respond to the same paging message will use the same preamble. When the AIoT UE determine to initiate random access, the AIoT UE select a preamble that associated with the paging message that it intends to respond.

Table 3

In the above examples, the at least preamble is specific to the purpose or the paging message, in which the purpose or the paging message is associated with the data size for the second message 215 during the random access procedure, so after the network, e.g. the base station 202 has received the first message 205 including the at least preamble, the base station 202 may know the data size. In some examples, as mentioned above, the information, for example the at least one preamble, may be specific to the level of the data size. In such examples, based on the level of the data size, the base station 202 may know the data size directly. For example, multiple preambles are specified or configured based on the data size. The AIoT UE may use different preamble or preamble length for different data size that intended for uplink transmission (e.g. a transmission of the second message 215) . Multiple preambles may be associated with multiple uplink data size. The AIoT UE will select a preamble based on the uplink data size (i.e., the data size for the second message 215) that it intends to transmit. For example, there are 16 preambles which corresponding to 16 data size level in the following Table 4. After the AIoT UE initiates the random access procedure, the AIoT UE will select a preamble from Table 4 based on the data size it intends to transmit. For example, if the AIoT UE has 850-bits data for transmission, then it can select preamble#12 which is to request resource (s) corresponding to 900 bits from network for the uplink transmission.

Table 4

In some examples above, an example of the information is at least one preamble. However, it should be noted that, the information being the first partial ID or the first random number is also suitable for the above examples, that is, the preamble in above examples may be substituted with the first random number or the first partial ID. For example, the UE 201 may generate a 16-bit random number (an example of the first random number) or a part of the EPC ID (an example of the first partial ID) . The 16-bit random number may be specific to a use case in the Table 1, or specific to a sub-use case in the Table 2, or specific to a paging message in the Table 3, or specific to a data size in the Table 4.

In some examples, the random access procedure is for a plurality of purposes among the set of purposes above, for example, the AIoT UE may have more than one use cases (or purposes) to initiate the random access procedure. As an example, the more than one use cases (or purposes) may be, inventory and positioning which has different uplink message size. In such examples, the information may comprise a preamble associated with a purpose having a maximum data size among the plurality of purposes, or a preamble associated with a total data size of the plurality of purposes, or a preamble associated with a combination of the plurality of purposes, or a plurality of preambles associated with the plurality of purposes.

In some examples as mentioned above, the information may comprise a preamble associated with a purpose having the maximum data size, that is, the UE 201 may select a preamble that corresponds to the maximum data size among those use cases that initiate random access. For example, the AIoT UE has two use cases (e.g. inventory and positioning) to initiate the random access procedure. The AIoT UE then may select the preamble that associated with inventory to initiate the random access procedure, which corresponding to a larger data size that the AIoT UE intends to transmit.

In some examples as mentioned above, the information may comprise a preamble associated with the total data size of the plurality of purposes, that is, the UE 201 may select preamble that corresponding to the total data size among those use cases that initiate random access. For example, the AIoT UE has two use cases (e.g. inventory and positioning) to initiate the random access procedure. The AIoT UE then may select a preamble that is associated with the total data size for inventory and positioning response to initiate the random access procedure. In some examples, the total data size may be associated with a further use case different from the two use cases above.

In some examples as mentioned above, the information may comprise a preamble associated with a combination of the plurality of purposes. In such examples, preamble may be associated with the plurality of purposes at the same time. For example, the AIoT UE may select a preamble that represents the combination of multiple purposes. Different preambles are defined for different combination of use cases. For example, preamble#1 is associated with combination of inventory and command response; preamble#2 is associated with combination of inventory and positioning; preamble#3 is associated with combination of sensor and positioning etc.

In some examples as mentioned above, the information may comprise a plurality of preambles associated with the plurality of purposes. In such examples, more than one preamble is included in the first message 205. For example, the AIoT UE may select multiple preambles corresponding to different uses cases/purposes. After initiating the random access procedure, the AIoT UE may select multiple time-frequency resources for multiple preambles, and transmit multiple preambles on selected multiple time-frequency resources. On the BS 202 side, the BS 202 may determine, based on the multiple preambles, the data size for the second message 215. For example, the BS 202 may determine the data size corresponding to the maximum data size, or the total size. The implements on the BS side are not limited by the examples above.

In some examples above, the first message 205 may comprise the first random number or the first partial ID. In such examples, the first random number or the first partial ID may also be used for contention resolution, i.e. for the network to differentiate AIoT UEs during the random access procedure. Some solutions for contention resolution for the AIoT UE are proposed in the present disclosure. In some examples, the base station 202 may transmit, and the UE 201 may receive, a random number (referred to as a second random number) or a partial ID (referred to as a second partial ID) in a third message of the random access procedure. In some examples, if the base station 202 identifies a UE and then it may transmit the second random number or a second partial ID. The third message may be a message 2 (Msg2) during the random access procedure in some examples. In the case that the second random number is the same as the first random number in the first message 205, or the second partial ID is the same as the first partial ID in the first message 205, the UE 201 may transmit the second message 215 and the base station 202 may receive the second message 215.

Specifically, as an example, the AIoT UE may generate a random number (i.e. the first random number, e.g. a 16-bit/24-bit/32-bit random number) for contention resolution. This generated random number may be transmitted together with preamble in an Msg1 (an example of the first message 205) . Alternatively, this generated random number may be Msg1 itself. The network (e.g. the BS 202) may respond with the same random number (i.e. the second random number) in the Msg2 for contention resolution. When the AIoT UE receives the same random number in corresponding the Msg2 as in the Msg1, in other words, the generated first random number is the same as the received second random number, the AIoT UE may determine the random access is success. Then the AIoT UE may continue to transmit an Msg3 (an example of the second message 215) according to UL grant in the Msg2. Otherwise, if the AIoT UE receives a different random number in corresponding the Msg2, the AIoT UE may determine that the random access is failed and will retransmit the Msg1.

As another example, the AIoT UE may transmit a partial ID (i.e. the first partial ID, e.g. a 16 bits/24 bits/32 bits Least Significant Bit (LSB) of EPC ID) for contention resolution. This partial ID can be transmitted together with the preamble in the Msg1. Alternatively, the partial ID may be the Msg1 itself. The network (e.g. the BS 202) may respond with the same partial ID in the Msg2 for contention resolution. When the AIoT UE receives the same partial ID in corresponding Msg2 as in the Msg1, the AIoT UE may determine the random access is success. Then the AIoT UE may continue to transmit the Msg3 according to UL grant in the Msg2. Otherwise, if the AIoT UE receives the different partial ID in a corresponding Msg2, the AIoT UE may determine that the random access is failed and will retransmit the Msg1. In some examples, the random access procedure is for an inventory purpose. In such examples, the part of the EPC ID associated with the UE 201 may be transmitted as the first partial ID in the first message 205, and the rest part of the EPC ID may be transmitted in the second message 215. On the BS 202 side, the BS 202 may receive the part of an EPC ID in the first message 205, and may receive the rest part of the EPC ID in the second message 215. For example, if the random access procedure is initiated by the inventory use case, the AIoT UE may transmit rest part of the ID in following message, e.g. the Msg3. In some examples, the AIoT UE transmits a paging id included in the paging message, i.e., depends on received paging message. The NW (i.e., the network) responds with same ID or draw a new temporary ID.

In some examples, one or more indications (such as a first indication, or a second indication, or a third indication below, or any combination thereof) may be transmitted via the second message 215. For example, the AIoT UE report UE information in the Msg3. In this way, UE information may be acquired by the network, so that the scheduling and data transmission is facilitated. Specifically, in some examples, the second message 215 may comprise the first indication. The first indication may include a bit indicating whether there is at least one further uplink transmission following the second message. For example, the AIoT UE may indicate, in the Msg3, to network, whether there has followed uplink data for transmission, after uplink data transmitted in the Msg3. As an example, 1 bit may be used to indicate there has or has no uplink data in the following, e.g. value “1” means that there has followed data and request network to allocate uplink resource (s) for the transmission of the followed uplink data. Value “0” means that there has no followed data to be transmitted. In some examples, the first indication may include a plurality of bits indicating a remaining data size in the UE to be transmitted. For example, multiple bits may be used to indicate remaining data size in the UE 201 to be transmitted to the network. For example, 4 bits mapped to 16 kinds of data size level from [0, 1000] bits. In some examples, the first indication may include a plurality of bits indicating information associated with a message to be transmitted. In some examples, the information associated with the message may comprise a message number, or a message type, or a message size, or any combination thereof. For example, several bits may be used to indicate message number that to be transmitted, e.g. 4 bits may be used to indicate [0, 15] number for the message. Meanwhile, another several bits may be used to indicate a message type, or a message size together with the message number.

In some examples, the second message 215 may comprise the second indication. In some examples, the second indication may be used for indicating to network (e.g. the BS 202) about an energy storage status of the UE 201. Specifically, in some examples, the second indication may include at least one bit (e.g. a bit) indicating whether the UE 201 needs to be charged. For example, 1 bit may be used to indicate whether the AIoT UE needs to be charged from the network. As an example, value “1” means that the AIoT UE needs the network to schedule charging for the AIoT UE, while value “0” means no need. In some examples, the second indication may include a plurality of bits indicating an energy storage level of the UE. For example, several bits (e.g. 2 bits) may be used to indicate the energy storage level, for example, to indicate four levels which are very low, low, medium, high, etc.

In some examples, the second message 215 may comprise the third indication. In some examples, the third indication may indicate at least one capability of the UE 201. In some examples, the at least one capability may comprise a type of the UE 201, or a power consumption of the UE 201, or whether uplink (UL) backscattering is supported, or whether UL active signal generation is supported, or a device complexity of the UE 201, or a mobility capability of the UE 201, or whether a positioning capability is supported, or a buffer capability of the UE 201, or any combination thereof. For example, the AIoT UE may indicate, in Msg3, at least one UE capability which may include one or more of the following: an AIoT UE type (e.g., Type B, Type C etc. ) , an AIoT UE power consumption (e.g., 1uw, 10uw, 100uw etc. ) , UL backscattering being supported or not supported, UL active signal generation being supported or not supported, an AIoT UE complexity (e.g. low, medium, high, etc. ) , a mobility capability being supported or not supported, a positioning capability being supported or not supported, a buffer size capability (e.g. a buffer size level) .

In some examples, the base station 202 may transmit a request for a transmission of the second message including at least one of the first indication, the second indication or the third indication above. In other words, the base station 202 may request the UE 201 to transmit the second message including the at least one of the first indication, the second indication or the third indication above.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a device 300 that supports random access for devices, such as A-IoT devices, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device 300 may be an example of a UE 104 as described herein. The device 300 may support wireless communication with one or more network entities 102, UEs 104, or any combination thereof. The device 300 may include components for bi-directional communications including components for transmitting and receiving communications, such as a processor 302, a memory 304, a transceiver 306, and, optionally, an I/O controller 308. These components may be in electronic communication or otherwise coupled (e.g., operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) via one or more interfaces (e.g., buses) .

The processor 302, the memory 304, the transceiver 306, or various combinations thereof or various components thereof may be examples of means for performing various aspects of the present disclosure as described herein. For example, the processor 302, the memory 304, the transceiver 306, or various combinations or components thereof may support a method for performing one or more of the operations described herein.

In some implementations, the processor 302, the memory 304, the transceiver 306, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in hardware (e.g., in communications management circuitry) . The hardware may include a processor, a digital signal processor (DSP) , an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) , a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof configured as or otherwise supporting a means for performing the functions described in the present disclosure. In some implementations, the processor 302 and the memory 304 coupled with the processor 302 may be configured to perform one or more of the functions described herein (e.g., executing, by the processor 302, instructions stored in the memory 304) .

For example, the processor 302 may support wireless communication at the device 300 in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, the processor 302 may be configured to operable to support a means for transmitting a first message for initiating a random access procedure, wherein the first message comprises information associated with a data size for a second message transmission during the random access procedure; and a means for transmitting the second message. The processor 302 may be configured to operable to support other means for other implementations of method 500. In some other examples, the processor 302 may be configured to operable to support a means for receiving a first message for initiating a random access procedure, wherein the first message comprises information associated with a data size for a second message transmission during the random access procedure; and a means for receiving the second message. The processor 302 may be configured to operable to support other means for other implementations of method 600.

The processor 302 may include an intelligent hardware device (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof) . In some implementations, the processor 302 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In some other implementations, a memory controller may be integrated into the processor 302. The processor 302 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., the memory 304) to cause the device 300 to perform various functions of the present disclosure.

The memory 304 may include random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM) . The memory 304 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code including instructions that, when executed by the processor 302 cause the device 300 to perform various functions described herein. The code may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as system memory or another type of memory. In some implementations, the code may not be directly executable by the processor 302 but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform functions described herein. In some implementations, the memory 304 may include, among other things, a basic I/O system (BIOS) which may control basic hardware or software operation such as the interaction with peripheral components or devices.

The I/O controller 308 may manage input and output signals for the device 300. The I/O controller 308 may also manage peripherals not integrated into the device M02. In some implementations, the I/O controller 308 may represent a physical connection or port to an external peripheral. In some implementations, the I/O controller 308 may utilize an operating system such as or another known operating system. In some implementations, the I/O controller 308 may be implemented as part of a processor, such as the processor 302. In some implementations, a user may interact with the device 300 via the I/O controller 308 or via hardware components controlled by the I/O controller 308.

In some implementations, the device 300 may include a single antenna 310. However, in some other implementations, the device 300 may have more than one antenna 310 (i.e., multiple antennas) , including multiple antenna panels or antenna arrays, which may be capable of concurrently transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions. The transceiver 306 may communicate bi-directionally, via the one or more antennas 310, wired, or wireless links as described herein. For example, the transceiver 306 may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 306 may also include a modem to modulate the packets, to provide the modulated packets to one or more antennas 310 for transmission, and to demodulate packets received from the one or more antennas 310. The transceiver 306 may include one or more transmit chains, one or more receive chains, or a combination thereof.

A transmit chain may be configured to generate and transmit signals (e.g., control information, data, packets) . The transmit chain may include at least one modulator for modulating data onto a carrier signal, preparing the signal for transmission over a wireless medium. The at least one modulator may be configured to support one or more techniques such as amplitude modulation (AM) , frequency modulation (FM) , or digital modulation schemes like phase-shift keying (PSK) or quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) . The transmit chain may also include at least one power amplifier configured to amplify the modulated signal to an appropriate power level suitable for transmission over the wireless medium. The transmit chain may also include one or more antennas 310 for transmitting the amplified signal into the air or wireless medium.

A receive chain may be configured to receive signals (e.g., control information, data, packets) over a wireless medium. For example, the receive chain may include one or more antennas 310 for receive the signal over the air or wireless medium. The receive chain may include at least one amplifier (e.g., a low-noise amplifier (LNA) ) configured to amplify the received signal. The receive chain may include at least one demodulator configured to demodulate the receive signal and obtain the transmitted data by reversing the modulation technique applied during transmission of the signal. The receive chain may include at least one decoder for decoding the processing the demodulated signal to receive the transmitted data.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a processor 400 that supports random access for devices, such as A-IoT devices, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The processor 400 may be an example of a processor configured to perform various operations in accordance with examples as described herein. The processor 400 may include a controller 402 configured to perform various operations in accordance with examples as described herein. The processor 400 may optionally include at least one memory 404. Additionally, or alternatively, the processor 400 may optionally include one or more arithmetic-logic units (ALUs) 406. One or more of these components may be in electronic communication or otherwise coupled (e.g., operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) via one or more interfaces (e.g., buses) .

The processor 400 may be a processor chipset and include a protocol stack (e.g., a software stack) executed by the processor chipset to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, obtaining, retrieving, transmitting, outputting, forwarding, storing, determining, identifying, accessing, writing, reading) in accordance with examples as described herein. The processor chipset may include one or more cores, one or more caches (e.g., memory local to or included in the processor chipset (e.g., the processor 400) or other memory (e.g., random access memory (RAM) , read-only memory (ROM) , dynamic RAM (DRAM) , synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM) , static RAM (SRAM) , ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM) , magnetic RAM (MRAM) , resistive RAM (RRAM) , flash memory, phase change memory (PCM) , and others) .

The controller 402 may be configured to manage and coordinate various operations (e.g., signaling, receiving, obtaining, retrieving, transmitting, outputting, forwarding, storing, determining, identifying, accessing, writing, reading) of the processor 400 to cause the processor 400 to support various operations in accordance with examples as described herein. For example, the controller 402 may operate as a control unit of the processor 400, generating control signals that manage the operation of various components of the processor 400. These control signals include enabling or disabling functional units, selecting data paths, initiating memory access, and coordinating timing of operations.

The controller 402 may be configured to fetch (e.g., obtain, retrieve, receive) instructions from the memory 404 and determine subsequent instruction (s) to be executed to cause the processor 400 to support various operations in accordance with examples as described herein. The controller 402 may be configured to track memory address of instructions associated with the memory 404. The controller 402 may be configured to decode instructions to determine the operation to be performed and the operands involved. For example, the controller 402 may be configured to interpret the instruction and determine control signals to be output to other components of the processor 400 to cause the processor 400 to support various operations in accordance with examples as described herein. Additionally, or alternatively, the controller 402 may be configured to manage flow of data within the processor 400. The controller 402 may be configured to control transfer of data between registers, arithmetic logic units (ALUs) , and other functional units of the processor 400.

The memory 404 may include one or more caches (e.g., memory local to or included in the processor 400 or other memory, such RAM, ROM, DRAM, SDRAM, SRAM, MRAM, flash memory, etc. In some implementation, the memory 404 may reside within or on a processor chipset (e.g., local to the processor 400) . In some other implementations, the memory 404 may reside external to the processor chipset (e.g., remote to the processor 400) .

The memory 404 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code including instructions that, when executed by the processor 400, cause the processor 400 to perform various functions described herein. The code may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as system memory or another type of memory. The controller 402 and/or the processor 400 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in the memory 404 to cause the processor 400 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting transmit power prioritization) . For example, the processor 400 and/or the controller 402 may be coupled with or to the memory 404, the processor 400, the controller 402, and the memory 404 may be configured to perform various functions described herein. In some examples, the processor 400 may include multiple processors and the memory 404 may include multiple memories. One or more of the multiple processors may be coupled with one or more of the multiple memories, which may, individually or collectively, be configured to perform various functions herein.

The one or more ALUs 406 may be configured to support various operations in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementation, the one or more ALUs 406 may reside within or on a processor chipset (e.g., the processor 400) . In some other implementations, the one or more ALUs 406 may reside external to the processor chipset (e.g., the processor 400) . One or more ALUs 406 may perform one or more computations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division on data. For example, one or more ALUs 406 may receive input operands and an operation code, which determines an operation to be executed. One or more ALUs 406 be configured with a variety of logical and arithmetic circuits, including adders, subtractors, shifters, and logic gates, to process and manipulate the data according to the operation. Additionally, or alternatively, the one or more ALUs 406 may support logical operations such as AND, OR, exclusive-OR (XOR) , not-OR (NOR) , and not-AND (NAND) , enabling the one or more ALUs 406 to handle conditional operations, comparisons, and bitwise operations.

The processor 400 may support wireless communication in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples the processor 402 may be configured to or operable to support a means for transmitting a first message for initiating a random access procedure, wherein the first message comprises information associated with a data size for a second message transmission during the random access procedure; and a means for transmitting the second message. The processor 400 may be configured to or operable to support other means for other implementations of method 500. In some other examples, the processor 402 may be configured to or operable to support a means for receiving a first message for initiating a random access procedure, wherein the first message comprises information associated with a data size for a second message transmission during the random access procedure; and a means for receiving the second message. The processor 400 may be configured to or operable to support other means for other implementations of method 600.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of a method 500 that supports random access for devices, such as A-IoT devices, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 500 may be implemented by a device or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 500 may be performed by the UE 201 or the UE 104 as described herein. In some implementations, the device may execute a set of instructions to control the function elements of the device to perform the described functions. Additionally, or alternatively, the device may perform aspects of the described functions using special-purpose hardware.

At 505, the method includes transmitting a first message for initiating a random access procedure, in which the first message comprises information associated with a data size for a second message transmission during the random access procedure. The operations of 505 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 505 may be performed by a device as described with reference to FIG. 1A or FIG. 2.

At 510, the method includes transmitting the second message. The operations of 510 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 510 may be performed by a device as described with reference to FIG. 1A or FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of a method 600 that supports random access for devices, such as A-IoT devices, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 600 may be implemented by a device or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 600 may be performed by the BS 202 or the network entity 102 as described herein. In some implementations, the device may execute a set of instructions to control the function elements of the device to perform the described functions. Additionally, or alternatively, the device may perform aspects of the described functions using special-purpose hardware.

At 605, the method includes receiving a first message for initiating a random access procedure, in which the first message comprises information associated with a data size for a second message transmission during the random access procedure. The operations of 605 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 605 may be performed by a device as described with reference to FIG. 1A or FIG. 2.

At 610, the method may include receiving the second message. The operations of 610 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 610 may be performed by a device as described with reference to FIG. 1A or FIG. 2.

It should be noted that the methods described herein describes possible implementations, and that the operations and the steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified and that other implementations are possible. Further, aspects from two or more of the methods may be combined.

The various illustrative blocks and components described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a CPU, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, 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 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, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of the disclosure and appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, functions described herein may be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or combinations of any of these. Features implementing functions may also be physically located at various positions, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical locations.

Computer-readable media includes both non-transitory computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A non-transitory storage medium may be any available medium that may be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer. By way of example, non-transitory computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM) , flash memory, compact disk (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transitory medium that may be used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of instructions or data structures and that may be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor.

As used herein, including in the claims, an article “a” before an element is unrestricted and understood to refer to “at least one” of those elements or “one or more” of those elements. The terms “a, ” “at least one, ” “one or more, ” and “at least one of one or more” may be interchangeable. As used herein, including in the claims, “or” as used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items prefaced by a phrase such as “at least one of” or “one or more of” or “one or both of” ) indicates an inclusive list such that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C) . Also, as used herein, the phrase “based on” shall not be construed as a reference to a closed set of conditions. For example, an example step that is described as “based on condition A” may be based on both a condition A and a condition B without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase “based on” shall be construed in the same manner as the phrase “based at least in part on. Further, as used herein, including in the claims, a “set” may include one or more elements.

The description herein is provided to enable a person having ordinary skill in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be apparent to a person having ordinary skill in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

A user equipment (UE) comprising:

a processor; and

a transceiver coupled to the processor,

wherein the processor is configured to:

transmit, via the transceiver, a first message for initiating a random access procedure, wherein the first message comprises information associated with a data size for a second message transmission during the random access procedure; and

transmit the second message via the transceiver.
The UE of claim 1, wherein the information comprises one of the following:

at least one preamble;

a first partial identity (ID) associated with the UE; or

a first random number.
The UE of claim 2, wherein the information comprises the at least one preamble, and the first message further comprises one of the following:

the first partial ID; or

the first random number.
The UE of claim 1, wherein the information is specific to a factor of the following factors:

a purpose for initiating the random access procedure, wherein the purpose is one of a set of purposes;

a paging message received by the UE; or

a level of the data size.
The UE of claim 4, wherein the information is specific to the factor by one of the following:

a preamble or a length of the preamble or a preamble set in the information being specific to the factor;

a first partial ID in the information being specific to the factor; or

a length of a first random number in the information being specific to the factor.
The UE of claim 2, wherein the random access procedure is for a plurality of purposes among a set of purposes, and wherein the information comprises one of the following:

a preamble associated with a purpose having a maximum data size among the plurality of purposes;

a preamble associated with a total data size of the plurality of purposes;

a preamble associated with a combination of the plurality of purposes; or

a plurality of preambles associated with the plurality of purposes.
The UE of claim 4 or claim 6, wherein the set of purposes comprise at least one of the following:

an inventory purpose;

a sensor purpose;

a positioning purpose;

a command purpose; or

at least one sub-purpose associated with at least one category of at least one of: the inventory purpose, the sensor purpose, the positioning purpose or the command purpose.
The UE of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:

receive, via the transceiver, a second random number or a second partial ID in a third message of the random access procedure; and

in the case that the second random number is the same as a first random number in the first message, or the second partial ID is the same as a first partial ID in the first message, transmit the second message.
The UE of any of claims 2, 3, 5 and 8, wherein the first partial ID is a part of an electronic product code (EPC) ID associated with the UE.
The UE of claim 1, wherein the random access procedure is for an inventory purpose, and wherein a part of an EPC ID associated with the UE is transmitted as a first partial ID in the first message, and the rest part of the EPC ID is transmitted in the second message.
The UE of claim 1, wherein the second message comprises a first indication including one of the following:

a bit indicating whether there is at least one further uplink transmission following the second message;

a plurality of bits indicating a remaining data size in the UE to be transmitted; or

a plurality of bits indicating information associated with a message to be transmitted.
The UE of claim 11, wherein the information associated with the message comprises at least one of the following:

a message number;

a message type; or

a message size.
The UE of claim 1, wherein the second message comprises a second indication including one of the following:

at least one bit indicating whether the UE needs to be charged; or

a plurality of bits indicating an energy storage level of the UE.
The UE of claim 1, wherein the second message comprises a third indication including at least one capability of the UE, wherein the at least one capability comprises one of the following:

a type of the UE;

a power consumption of the UE;

whether uplink (UL) backscattering is supported;

whether UL active signal generation is supported;

a device complexity of the UE;

a mobility capability of the UE;

whether a positioning capability is supported; or

a buffer capability of the UE.
A base station comprising:

a processor; and

a transceiver coupled to the processor,

wherein the processor is configured to:

receive, via the transceiver, a first message for initiating a random access procedure, wherein the first message comprises information associated with a data size for a second message transmission during the random access procedure; and

receive the second message via the transceiver.
The base station of claim 15, wherein the processor is further configured to:

transmit, via the transceiver and to a UE, a request for a transmission of the second message including a first indication by the UE, and wherein the first indication includes one of the following:

a bit indicating whether there is at least one further uplink transmission following the second message;

a plurality of bits indicating a remaining data size in the UE to be transmitted; or

a plurality of bits indicating information associated with a message to be transmitted.
The base station of claim 15, wherein the processor is further configured to:

transmit, via the transceiver and to a UE, a request for a transmission of the second message including a second indication by the UE, and wherein the second indication includes one of the following:

at least one bit indicating whether the UE needs to be charged; or

a plurality of bits indicating an energy storage level of the UE.
The base station of claim 15, wherein the processor is further configured to:

transmit, via the transceiver and to a UE, a request for a transmission of the second message including a third indication by the UE, and wherein the third indication indicates at least one of the following capabilities of the UE:

a type of the UE;

a power consumption of the UE;

whether uplink (UL) backscattering is supported;

whether UL active signal generation is supported;

a device complexity of the UE;

a mobility capability of the UE;

whether a positioning capability is supported; or

a buffer capability of the UE.
A processor for wireless communication, comprising:

at least one memory; and

a controller coupled with the at least one memory and configured to cause the controller to:

transmit a first message for initiating a random access procedure, wherein the first message comprises information associated with a data size for a second message transmission during the random access procedure; and

transmit the second message.
A method performed by a user equipment (UE) , the method comprising:

transmitting a first message for initiating a random access procedure, wherein the first message comprises information associated with a data size for a second message transmission during the random access procedure; and

transmitting the second message.