WO2025095757A1 - Method and device for configuring transmission of uplink control channel signal in non-terrestrial communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure is for configuring an uplink signal transmission method in a wireless communication system. The method performed by a terminal comprises the steps of: receiving system information block (SIB) configuration information from a base station; determining whether the terminal supports the repetitive transmission of an uplink control channel; determining whether to request the repetitive transmission of the uplink control channel on the basis of the SIB configuration information and the result of determining whether the terminal supports the repetitive transmission of the uplink control channel; transmitting, to the base station, a message including information indicating whether to request the repetitive transmission of the uplink control channel; receiving, from the base station, a message including information about a repetitive transmission operation of the uplink control channel; and transmitting an uplink control channel signal at least once on the basis of the information about the repetitive transmission operation of the uplink control channel. The number of transmissions of the uplink control channel signal is determined on the basis of whether to configure a repetition factor of the uplink control channel on the basis of the SIB configuration information and whether to request the repetitive transmission of the uplink control channel.

Description

Method and device for establishing transmission of uplink control channel signal in non-terrestrial communication system

The present disclosure relates to a device and method for setting up an uplink control channel signal transmission method in a wireless communication system, and more specifically, to a device and method for setting up repeated transmission of an uplink control channel signal to improve coverage.

Communication networks (e.g., 5G communication networks, 6G communication networks, etc.) are being developed to provide improved communication services compared to existing communication networks (e.g., LTE (long term evolution), LTE-A (advanced), etc.). A 5G communication network (e.g., NR (new radio) communication network) can support not only a frequency band below 6 GHz but also a frequency band above 6 GHz. That is, the 5G communication network can support FR1 band and/or FR2 band. A 5G communication network can support various communication services and scenarios compared to an LTE communication network. For example, usage scenarios of a 5G communication network can include eMBB (enhanced Mobile BroadBand), URLLC (Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication), mMTC (massive Machine Type Communication), etc.

6G communication networks can support various communication services and scenarios compared to 5G communication networks. 6G communication networks can satisfy requirements of ultra-performance, ultra-bandwidth, ultra-space, ultra-precision, ultra-intelligence, and/or ultra-reliability. 6G communication networks can support various and wide frequency bands and can be applied to various usage scenarios (e.g., terrestrial communication, non-terrestrial communication, sidelink communication, etc.).

To improve coverage in non-terrestrial communication environments, various discussions have been conducted in the Rel-18 NTN RAN#1 meeting. In RAN1#110, coverage-related performance results of various physical channels and services in a reference NTN environment were reviewed. As a result, it was concluded that repeated transmission of PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel) for Msg4 HARQ-ACK (Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request Acknowledgement) is necessary to meet the coverage requirements.

In this repetitive transmission configuration procedure, if information for configuring the repetitive transmission procedure of the uplink control channel signal is not configured, repetitive transmission of Msg4 HARQ-ACK and PUCCH may not be supported. Nevertheless, even in that situation, the terminal may have to repeatedly transmit Msg4 HARQ-ACK and PUCCH. In contrast, the existing configuration procedure may not be able to cope with this case, and coverage improvement may be limited. Therefore, a configuration method for improved repetitive transmission of the uplink control channel is required.

Meanwhile, the technology that serves as the background for the invention was written to promote understanding of the background for the invention, and may include content that is not a prior art already known to a person with ordinary knowledge in the field to which the technology belongs.

The present disclosure can provide a device and method for setting up repeated transmission of an uplink control channel signal in a communication system even when information required for repeated transmission of an uplink control channel signal is not set.

The technical objectives to be achieved in the present disclosure are not limited to those mentioned above, and other technical tasks not mentioned can be considered by a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the technical configuration of the present disclosure is applied from the embodiments of the present disclosure described below.

As an example of the present disclosure, a method for operating a terminal in a wireless communication system includes the steps of: receiving SIB (system information block) configuration information from a base station; determining whether the terminal supports repeated transmission of an uplink control channel; determining whether to request repeated transmission of an uplink control channel based on a result of the determination of whether the terminal supports repeated transmission of the uplink control channel and the SIB configuration information; transmitting a message including information indicating whether to request repeated transmission of the uplink control channel to the base station; receiving a message including information regarding a repeated transmission operation of the uplink control channel from the base station; and transmitting an uplink control channel signal at least once based on the information regarding the repeated transmission operation of the uplink control channel, wherein the number of transmissions of the uplink control channel signal may be determined based on whether to request repeated transmission of the uplink control channel and whether to set a repetition factor of the uplink control channel based on the SIB configuration information.

Here, the SIB (system information block) configuration information may include information about candidates for a repetition factor indicating the number of times the uplink control channel is repeatedly transmitted.

Here, when the terminal supports repeated transmission of an uplink control channel and an RSRP threshold value is set based on the SIB configuration information, the step of determining whether to request repeated transmission of the uplink control channel may be characterized in that it is determined to request repeated transmission of the uplink control channel when the RSRP value measured by the terminal is smaller than the RSRP threshold value.

Here, if the terminal supports repeated transmission of an uplink control channel and an RSRP threshold value is not set based on the SIB configuration information, the step of determining whether to request repeated transmission of the uplink control channel may be characterized in that it is determined to request repeated transmission of the uplink control channel.

Here, the SIB (system information block) configuration information may be characterized in that it does not include information on candidates for a repetition factor indicating the number of times the uplink control channel is repeatedly transmitted.

Here, when the terminal supports repeated transmission of an uplink control channel and an RSRP threshold value is set based on the SIB configuration information, the step of determining whether to request repeated transmission of the uplink control channel may be characterized in that it is determined to request repeated transmission of the uplink control channel when the RSRP value measured by the terminal is smaller than the RSRP threshold value.

Here, if the terminal supports repeated transmission of an uplink control channel and an RSRP threshold value is not set based on the SIB configuration information, the step of determining whether to request repeated transmission of the uplink control channel may be characterized in that whether to request repeated transmission of the uplink control channel is determined based on at least one of an RSRP value measured by the terminal and a repetition factor of an uplink shared channel signal.

Here, the information regarding the uplink control channel repeat transmission operation may include information indicating whether the uplink control channel repeat transmission operation is performed, and the number of transmissions of the uplink control channel signal may be determined according to a preset criterion.

Here, the information regarding the uplink control channel repeat transmission operation may be characterized by including information indicating the number of times the uplink control channel signal is repeatedly transmitted.

As an example of the present disclosure, a method for operating a base station in a wireless communication system includes the steps of transmitting SIB (system information block) configuration information to a terminal, receiving a message including information indicating whether to request an uplink control channel repeat transmission from the terminal, transmitting a message including information regarding the uplink control channel repeat transmission operation to the terminal, and receiving an uplink control channel signal at least once based on the information regarding the uplink control channel repeat transmission operation, wherein the number of transmissions of the uplink control channel signal may be determined based on whether to request an uplink control channel repeat transmission and whether to set a repetition factor of an uplink control channel based on SIB configuration information.

Here, the SIB (system information block) configuration information may include information about candidates for a repetition factor indicating the number of times the uplink control channel is repeatedly transmitted.

Here, if the terminal supports repeated transmission of an uplink control channel and an RSRP threshold value is set based on the SIB configuration information, the information indicating whether to request repeated transmission of the uplink control channel may be characterized by indicating to request repeated transmission of the uplink control channel if the RSRP value measured by the terminal is smaller than the RSRP threshold value.

Here, if the terminal supports repeated transmission of an uplink control channel and an RSRP threshold value is not set based on the SIB configuration information, the information indicating whether to request repeated transmission of the uplink control channel may be characterized by indicating to request repeated transmission of the uplink control channel.

Here, the SIB (system information block) configuration information may be characterized in that it does not include information on candidates for a repetition factor indicating the number of times the uplink control channel is repeatedly transmitted.

Here, if the terminal supports repeated transmission of an uplink control channel and an RSRP threshold value is set based on the SIB configuration information, the information indicating whether to request repeated transmission of the uplink control channel may be characterized by indicating to request repeated transmission of the uplink control channel if the RSRP value measured by the terminal is smaller than the RSRP threshold value.

Here, if the terminal supports repeated transmission of an uplink control channel and an RSRP threshold value is not set based on the SIB configuration information, the information indicating whether to request repeated transmission of the uplink control channel may be determined based on whether to request repeated transmission of the uplink control channel based on at least one of an RSRP value measured by the terminal and a repetition factor of an uplink shared channel signal.

Here, the information regarding the uplink control channel repeat transmission operation may include information indicating whether the uplink control channel repeat transmission operation is performed, and the number of transmissions of the uplink control channel signal may be determined according to a preset criterion.

Here, the information regarding the uplink control channel repeat transmission operation may be characterized by including information indicating the number of times the uplink control channel signal is repeatedly transmitted.

As an example of the present disclosure, in a wireless communication system, a terminal includes at least one transmitter, at least one receiver, at least one processor, and at least one memory operably connected to the at least one processor and storing instructions that, when executed, cause the at least one processor to perform a specific operation, wherein the specific operation comprises: receiving SIB (system information block) configuration information from a base station, determining whether the terminal supports repeated transmission of an uplink control channel, determining whether to request repeated transmission of an uplink control channel based on a result of the determination of whether the terminal supports repeated transmission of the uplink control channel and the SIB configuration information, transmitting a message including information indicating whether to request repeated transmission of the uplink control channel to the base station, receiving a message including information regarding the repeated transmission operation of the uplink control channel from the base station, and transmitting an uplink control channel signal at least once based on the information regarding the repeated transmission operation of the uplink control channel, wherein the number of transmissions of the uplink control channel signal is determined based on whether to request repeated transmission of the uplink control channel and whether to set a repetition factor of the uplink control channel based on the SIB configuration information. It can be characterized as follows.

As an example of the present disclosure, a base station operating in a wireless communication system may include at least one transmitter, at least one receiver, at least one processor, and at least one memory operably connected to the at least one processor and storing instructions that, when executed, cause the at least one processor to perform a specific operation, wherein the specific operation comprises: transmitting SIB (system information block) configuration information to a terminal, receiving a message including information indicating whether or not to request an uplink control channel repeat transmission from the terminal, transmitting a message including information regarding the uplink control channel repeat transmission operation to the terminal, and receiving an uplink control channel signal at least once based on the information regarding the uplink control channel repeat transmission operation, wherein the number of transmissions of the uplink control channel signal is determined based on whether or not the uplink control channel repeat transmission is requested and whether or not a repetition factor of an uplink control channel based on the SIB configuration information is set.

The above-described aspects of the present disclosure are only some of the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure, and various embodiments reflecting the technical features of the present disclosure can be derived and understood by those skilled in the art based on the detailed description of the present disclosure to be described below.

The following effects may be achieved by embodiments based on the present disclosure.

According to the present disclosure, in a communication system, even when information required for repeated transmission of an uplink control channel signal is not set, repeated transmission of an uplink control channel signal can be set.

The effects obtainable from the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the effects mentioned above, and other effects not mentioned can be clearly derived and understood by a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the technical configuration of the present disclosure is applied, from the description of the embodiments of the present disclosure below. That is, unintended effects resulting from implementing the configuration described in the present disclosure can also be derived by a person having ordinary skill in the art from the embodiments of the present disclosure.

The drawings attached below are intended to aid in understanding the present disclosure and may provide embodiments of the present disclosure together with detailed descriptions. However, the technical features of the present disclosure are not limited to specific drawings, and the features disclosed in each drawing may be combined with each other to form a new embodiment. Reference numerals in each drawing may mean structural elements.

Figure 1a is a conceptual diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a non-terrestrial network.

Figure 1b is a conceptual diagram illustrating a second embodiment of a non-terrestrial network.

Figure 2a is a conceptual diagram illustrating a third embodiment of a non-terrestrial network.

Figure 2b is a conceptual diagram illustrating a fourth embodiment of a non-terrestrial network.

Figure 2c is a conceptual diagram illustrating a fifth embodiment of a non-terrestrial network.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a communication node constituting a non-terrestrial network.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a first embodiment of communication nodes performing communication.

FIG. 5a is a block diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a transmission path.

FIG. 5b is a block diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a receiving path.

FIG. 6a is a conceptual diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a protocol stack of a user plane in a non-terrestrial network based on transparent payload.

FIG. 6b is a conceptual diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a protocol stack of a control plane in a non-terrestrial network based on transparent payload.

FIG. 7a is a conceptual diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a protocol stack of a user plane in a non-terrestrial network based on regenerative payload.

FIG. 7b is a conceptual diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a protocol stack of a control plane in a non-terrestrial network based on regenerative payload.

Figure 8 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an embodiment of a 4-Step RACH (random access channel) procedure.

FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram illustrating one embodiment of a non-repeatedly transmitted uplink control channel and a repetitively transmitted uplink control channel.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a repetitive transmission procedure of an uplink control channel for coverage improvement in an NTN environment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a procedure for setting up repeated transmission of an uplink control channel.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a procedure for setting up repeated transmission of an uplink control channel according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating one embodiment of an operation for setting up repeated transmission of an uplink control channel according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating one embodiment of an operation for setting up repeated transmission of an uplink control channel according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating one embodiment of an operation for setting up repeated transmission of an uplink control channel according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating one embodiment of an operation for setting up repeated transmission of an uplink control channel according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a repeat transmission setting operation of an uplink control channel according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a procedure for setting up repeated transmission of an uplink control channel according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating one embodiment of an operation for setting up repeated transmission of an uplink control channel according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating one embodiment of an operation for setting up repeated transmission of an uplink control channel according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating one embodiment of an operation for setting up repeated transmission of an uplink control channel according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 22 illustrates an example of a procedure for setting up repeated transmission of an uplink control channel according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating one embodiment of an operation of setting up repetitive transmission of an uplink control channel according to the present disclosure and repetitively transmitting an uplink control channel signal.

The present disclosure may have various modifications and various embodiments, and thus specific embodiments are illustrated and described in detail in the drawings. However, this is not intended to limit the present disclosure to specific embodiments, but should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives included in the spirit and technical scope of the present disclosure.

The terms first, second, etc. may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. The terms are only used to distinguish one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, the first component could be referred to as the second component, and similarly, the second component could also be referred to as the first component. The term "and/or" can mean a combination of a plurality of related listed items or any one of a plurality of related listed items.

In the present disclosure, "at least one of A and B" can mean "at least one of A or B" or "at least one of combinations of one or more of A and B." Additionally, in the present disclosure, "at least one of A and B" can mean "at least one of A or B" or "at least one of combinations of one or more of A and B."

In the present disclosure, (re)transmitting can mean “transmitting”, “retransmitting”, or “transmitting and retransmitting”, (re)setting can mean “setting”, “resetting”, or “setting and resetting”, (re)connecting can mean “connecting”, “reconnecting”, or “connecting and reconnecting”, and (re)connecting can mean “connecting”, “reconnecting”, or “connecting and reconnecting”.

When it is said that a component is "connected" or "connected" to another component, it should be understood that it may be directly connected or connected to that other component, but that there may be other components in between. On the other hand, when it is said that a component is "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another component, it should be understood that there are no other components in between.

The terminology used in this disclosure is only used to describe specific embodiments and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure. The singular expression includes the plural expression unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this disclosure, it should be understood that the terms "comprises" or "has" and the like are intended to specify that a feature, number, step, operation, component, part or combination thereof described in the specification is present, but do not exclude in advance the possibility of the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts or combinations thereof.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. Terms defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning they have in the context of the relevant art, and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly defined in this disclosure.

Hereinafter, with reference to the attached drawings, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail. In order to facilitate an overall understanding in describing the present disclosure, the same reference numerals are used for the same components in the drawings, and redundant descriptions of the same components are omitted. In addition to the embodiments explicitly described in the present disclosure, operations according to combinations of embodiments, extensions of embodiments, and/or modifications of embodiments can be performed. The performance of some operations can be omitted, and the order of performing the operations can be changed.

In an embodiment, even if a method (e.g., transmitting or receiving a signal) performed by a first communication node among communication nodes is described, a second communication node corresponding thereto can perform a method (e.g., receiving or transmitting a signal) corresponding to the method performed by the first communication node. That is, if an operation of a UE (user equipment) is described, a base station corresponding thereto can perform an operation corresponding to the operation of the UE. Conversely, if an operation of a base station is described, a UE corresponding thereto can perform an operation corresponding to the operation of the base station.

The base station may be referred to as a NodeB, an evolved NodeB, a gNodeB (next generation node B), a gNB, a device, an apparatus, a node, a communication node, a BTS (base transceiver station), an RRH (radio remote head), a TRP (transmission reception point), a RU (radio unit), an RSU (road side unit), a radio transceiver, an access point, an access node, etc. The UE may be referred to as a terminal, a device, an apparatus, a node, a communication node, an end node, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, a station, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a portable subscriber station, an OBU (on-broad unit), etc.

In the present disclosure, signaling may be at least one of upper layer signaling, MAC signaling, or PHY (physical) signaling. A message used for upper layer signaling may be referred to as an "upper layer message" or an "upper layer signaling message". A message used for MAC signaling may be referred to as a "MAC message" or a "MAC signaling message". A message used for PHY signaling may be referred to as a "PHY message" or a "PHY signaling message". Upper layer signaling may refer to a transmission and reception operation of system information (e.g., a master information block (MIB), a system information block (SIB)) and/or an RRC message. MAC signaling may refer to a transmission and reception operation of a MAC control element (CE). PHY signaling may refer to a transmission and reception operation of control information (e.g., downlink control information (DCI), uplink control information (UCI), sidelink control information (SCI)).

In the present disclosure, "an operation (e.g., a transmission operation) is set" may mean that "setting information for the operation (e.g., an information element, a parameter)" and/or "information instructing performance of the operation" are signaled. "An information element (e.g., a parameter) is set" may mean that the information element is signaled. In the present disclosure, "a signal and/or a channel" may mean a signal, a channel, or "a signal and a channel," and a signal may be used to mean "a signal and/or a channel."

The communication network to which the embodiment is applied is not limited to what is described below, and the embodiment can be applied to various communication networks (e.g., a 4G communication network, a 5G communication network, and/or a 6G communication network). Here, the communication network can be used in the same meaning as the communication system.

Figure 1a is a conceptual diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a non-terrestrial network.

Referring to FIG. 1A, the non-terrestrial network may include a satellite (110), a communication node (120), a gateway (130), a data network (140), etc. A unit including the satellite (110) and the gateway (130) may be a remote radio unit (RRU). The non-terrestrial network illustrated in FIG. 1A may be a transparent payload-based non-terrestrial network. The satellite (110) may be a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite, a medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite, a geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite, a high elliptical orbit (HEO) satellite, or an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) platform. The UAS platform may include a high altitude platform station (HAPS). The non-GEO satellite may be a LEO satellite and/or a MEO satellite.

The communication node (120) may include a communication node located on the ground (e.g., UE, terminal) and a communication node located off the ground (e.g., airplane, drone). A service link may be established between the satellite (110) and the communication node (120), and the service link may be a radio link. The satellite (110) may be referred to as an NTN payload. The gateway (130) may support a plurality of NTN payloads. The satellite (110) may provide a communication service to the communication node (120) using one or more beams. The shape of the reception range (footprint) of the beam of the satellite (110) may be elliptical or circular.

In non-terrestrial networks, three types of service links can be supported as follows:

- Earth-fixed: the service link may be provided by beam(s) that continuously cover the same geographic area at all times (e.g. Geosynchronous Orbit (GSO) satellites).

- Quasi-earth-fixed: the service link may be provided by beam(s) that cover one geographic area for a limited period and another geographic area for another period (e.g., NGSO (non-GSO) satellites producing steerable beams).

- Earth-moving: Service links may be provided by beam(s) moving over the surface of the Earth (e.g., NGSO satellites producing fixed beams or non-steerable beams).

The communication node (120) can perform communication (e.g., downlink communication, uplink communication) with the satellite (110) using 4G communication technology, 5G communication technology, and/or 6G communication technology. Communication between the satellite (110) and the communication node (120) can be performed using an NR-Uu interface and/or a 6G-Uu interface. When DC (dual connectivity) is supported, the communication node (120) can be connected to not only the satellite (110) but also other base stations (e.g., base stations supporting 4G functions, 5G functions, and/or 6G functions), and can perform DC operations based on technologies defined in the 4G standard, the 5G standard, and/or the 6G standard.

The gateway (130) may be located on the ground, and a feeder link may be established between the satellite (110) and the gateway (130). The feeder link may be a wireless link. The gateway (130) may be referred to as a “non-terrestrial network (NTN) gateway.” Communication between the satellite (110) and the gateway (130) may be performed based on an NR-Uu interface, a 6G-Uu interface, or a satellite radio interface (SRI). The gateway (130) may be connected to a data network (140). A “core network” may exist between the gateway (130) and the data network (140). In this case, the gateway (130) may be connected to the core network, and the core network may be connected to the data network (140). The core network may support 4G communication technology, 5G communication technology, and/or 6G communication technology. For example, the core network may include an access and mobility management function (AMF), a user plane function (UPF), a session management function (SMF), etc. Communication between the gateway (130) and the core network may be performed based on a NG-C/U interface or a 6G-C/U interface.

As in the embodiment of Fig. 1b below, in a non-terrestrial network based on transparent payload, a base station and a core network may exist between a gateway (130) and a data network (140).

Figure 1b is a conceptual diagram illustrating a second embodiment of a non-terrestrial network.

Referring to FIG. 1b, a gateway may be connected to a base station, the base station may be connected to a core network, and the core network may be connected to a data network. Each of the base station and the core network may support 4G communication technology, 5G communication technology, and/or 6G communication technology. Communication between the gateway and the base station may be performed based on an NR-Uu interface or a 6G-Uu interface, and communication between the base station and the core network (e.g., AMF, UPF, SMF) may be performed based on an NG-C/U interface or a 6G-C/U interface.

Figure 2a is a conceptual diagram illustrating a third embodiment of a non-terrestrial network.

Referring to FIG. 2a, the non-terrestrial network may include satellite #1 (211), satellite #2 (212), communication node (220), gateway (230), data network (1240), etc. The non-terrestrial network illustrated in FIG. 2a may be a regenerative payload-based non-terrestrial network. For example, each of satellite #1 (211) and satellite #2 (212) may perform a regenerative operation (e.g., a demodulation operation, a decoding operation, a re-encoding operation, a re-modulation operation, and/or a filtering operation) on a payload received from another entity constituting the non-terrestrial network (e.g., a communication node (220), a gateway (230)) and transmit the regenerated payload.

Each of satellite #1 (211) and satellite #2 (212) may be a LEO satellite, a MEO satellite, a GEO satellite, a HEO satellite, or a UAS platform. The UAS platform may include HAPS. Satellite #1 (211) may be connected to satellite #2 (212), and an inter-satellite link (ISL) may be established between satellite #1 (211) and satellite #2 (212). The ISL may operate in a radio frequency (RF) frequency or an optical band. The ISL may be optionally established. The communication node (220) may include a ground-located communication node (e.g., UE, terminal) and a non-ground-located communication node (e.g., an airplane, a drone). A service link (e.g., a wireless link) may be established between satellite #1 (211) and the communication node (220). Satellite #1 (211) may be referred to as an NTN payload. Satellite #1 (211) may provide communication services to a communication node (220) using one or more beams.

The communication node (220) can perform communication (e.g., downlink communication, uplink communication) with satellite #1 (211) using 4G communication technology, 5G communication technology, and/or 6G communication technology. Communication between satellite #1 (211) and the communication node (220) can be performed using an NR-Uu interface or a 6G-Uu interface. When DC is supported, the communication node (220) can be connected to other base stations (e.g., base stations supporting 4G functions, 5G functions, and/or 6G functions) as well as satellite #1 (211), and can perform DC operations based on technologies defined in the 4G standard, the 5G standard, and/or the 6G standard.

The gateway (230) may be located on the ground, and a feeder link may be established between satellite #1 (211) and the gateway (230), and a feeder link may be established between satellite #2 (212) and the gateway (230). The feeder link may be a wireless link. If an ISL is not established between satellite #1 (211) and satellite #2 (212), the feeder link between satellite #1 (211) and the gateway (230) may be established mandatory. Communication between each of satellite #1 (211) and satellite #2 (212) and the gateway (230) may be performed based on an NR-Uu interface, a 6G-Uu interface, or SRI. The gateway (230) may be connected to a data network (240).

As in the embodiments of FIGS. 2b and 2c below, a “core network” may exist between the gateway (230) and the data network (240).

FIG. 2b is a conceptual diagram illustrating a fourth embodiment of a non-terrestrial network, and FIG. 2c is a conceptual diagram illustrating a fifth embodiment of a non-terrestrial network.

Referring to FIGS. 2b and 2c, the gateway may be connected to a core network, and the core network may be connected to a data network. The core network may support 4G communication technology, 5G communication technology, and/or 6G communication technology. For example, the core network may include AMF, UPF, SMF, etc. Communication between the gateway and the core network may be performed based on a NG-C/U interface or a 6G-C/U interface. The function of the base station may be performed by a satellite. That is, the base station may be located on a satellite. The payload may be processed by a base station located on a satellite. Base stations located on different satellites may be connected to the same core network. One satellite may have one or more base stations. In the non-terrestrial network of FIG. 2b, an ISL between satellites may not be established, and in the non-terrestrial network of FIG. 2c, an ISL between satellites may be established.

Meanwhile, entities (e.g., satellites, base stations, UEs, communication nodes, gateways, etc.) constituting the non-terrestrial network illustrated in FIG. 1a, FIG. 1b, FIG. 2a, FIG. 2b, and/or FIG. 2c may be configured as follows. In the present disclosure, entities may be referred to as communication nodes.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a communication node constituting a non-terrestrial network.

Referring to FIG. 3, a communication node (300) may include at least one processor (310), a memory (320), and a transceiver device (330) that is connected to a network and performs communication. In addition, the communication node (300) may further include an input interface device (340), an output interface device (350), a storage device (360), etc. Each component included in the communication node (300) may be connected by a bus (370) and communicate with each other.

However, each component included in the communication node (300) may be connected through an individual interface or individual bus centered around the processor (310), rather than a common bus (370). For example, the processor (310) may be connected to at least one of a memory (320), a transceiver (330), an input interface device (340), an output interface device (350), or a storage device (360) through a dedicated interface.

The processor (310) can execute program commands stored in at least one of the memory (320) and the storage device (360). The processor (310) may mean a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or a dedicated processor on which methods according to the embodiments are performed. Each of the memory (320) and the storage device (360) may be configured with at least one of a volatile storage medium or a nonvolatile storage medium. For example, the memory (320) may be configured with at least one of a read only memory (ROM) or a random access memory (RAM).

Meanwhile, communication nodes performing communication in a communication network (e.g., a non-terrestrial network) may be configured as follows. The communication node illustrated in Fig. 4 may be a specific embodiment of the communication node illustrated in Fig. 3.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a first embodiment of communication nodes performing communication.

Referring to FIG. 4, each of the first communication node (400a) and the second communication node (400b) may be a base station or a UE. The first communication node (400a) may transmit a signal to the second communication node (400b). The transmission processor (411) included in the first communication node (400a) may receive data (e.g., a data unit) from a data source (410). The transmission processor (411) may receive control information from the controller (416). The control information may include at least one of system information, RRC configuration information (e.g., information configured by RRC signaling), MAC control information (e.g., MAC CE), or PHY control information (e.g., DCI, SCI).

The transmitting processor (411) can perform a processing operation (e.g., an encoding operation, a symbol mapping operation, etc.) on data to generate data symbol(s). The transmitting processor (411) can perform a processing operation (e.g., an encoding operation, a symbol mapping operation, etc.) on control information to generate control symbol(s). In addition, the transmitting processor (411) can generate synchronization/reference symbol(s) for a synchronization signal and/or a reference signal.

The Tx MIMO processor (412) can perform spatial processing operations (e.g., a precoding operation) on data symbol(s), control symbol(s), and/or synchronization/reference symbol(s). An output (e.g., a symbol stream) of the Tx MIMO processor (412) can be provided to modulators (MODs) included in the transceivers (413a to 413t). The modulators (MODs) can perform processing operations on the symbol streams to generate modulation symbols and perform additional processing operations (e.g., an analog conversion operation, an amplification operation, a filtering operation, an upconversion operation) on the modulation symbols to generate signals. The signals generated by the modulators (MODs) of the transceivers (413a to 413t) can be transmitted via the antennas (414a to 414t).

The signals transmitted by the first communication node (400a) may be received by the antennas (464a to 464r) of the second communication node (400b). The signals received by the antennas (464a to 464r) may be provided to the demodulators (DEMODs) included in the transceivers (463a to 463r). The demodulator (DEMOD) may perform a processing operation (e.g., a filtering operation, an amplification operation, a down-conversion operation, a digital conversion operation) on the signal to obtain samples. The demodulator (DEMOD) may perform an additional processing operation on the samples to obtain symbols. The MIMO detector (462) may perform a MIMO detection operation on the symbols. The receiving processor (461) may perform a processing operation (e.g., a deinterleaving operation, a decoding operation) on the symbols. The output of the receiving processor (461) may be provided to a data sink (460) and a controller (466). For example, data may be provided to the data sink (460) and control information may be provided to the controller (466).

Meanwhile, the second communication node (400b) can transmit a signal to the first communication node (400a). The transmitting processor (468) included in the second communication node (400b) can receive data (e.g., data units) from a data source (467) and perform a processing operation on the data to generate data symbol(s). The transmitting processor (468) can receive control information from the controller (466) and perform a processing operation on the control information to generate control symbol(s). In addition, the transmitting processor (468) can perform a processing operation on a reference signal to generate reference symbol(s).

The Tx MIMO processor (469) can perform spatial processing operations (e.g., precoding operations) on data symbol(s), control symbol(s), and/or reference symbol(s). An output (e.g., a symbol stream) of the Tx MIMO processor (469) can be provided to modulators (MODs) included in the transceivers (463a to 463t). The modulators (MODs) can perform processing operations on the symbol streams to generate modulation symbols and can perform additional processing operations (e.g., an analog conversion operation, an amplification operation, a filtering operation, an upconversion operation) on the modulation symbols to generate signals. The signals generated by the modulators (MODs) of the transceivers (463a to 463t) can be transmitted via the antennas (464a to 464t).

The signals transmitted by the second communication node (400b) may be received by the antennas (414a to 414r) of the first communication node (400a). The signals received by the antennas (414a to 414r) may be provided to the demodulators (DEMODs) included in the transceivers (413a to 413r). The demodulator (DEMOD) may perform a processing operation (e.g., a filtering operation, an amplification operation, a down-conversion operation, a digital conversion operation) on the signal to obtain samples. The demodulator (DEMOD) may perform an additional processing operation on the samples to obtain symbols. The MIMO detector (420) may perform a MIMO detection operation on the symbols. The receiving processor (419) may perform a processing operation (e.g., a deinterleaving operation, a decoding operation) on the symbols. The output of the receiving processor (419) may be provided to a data sink (418) and a controller (416). For example, data may be provided to the data sink (418) and control information may be provided to the controller (416).

Memories (415 and 465) can store data, control information, and/or program code. Scheduler (417) can perform scheduling operations for communications. The processors (411, 412, 419, 461, 468, 469) and controllers (416, 466) illustrated in FIG. 4 may be the processor (310) illustrated in FIG. 3 and may be used to perform the methods described in the present disclosure.

FIG. 5a is a block diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a transmission path, and FIG. 5b is a block diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a reception path.

Referring to FIGS. 5A and 5B, a transmission path (510) may be implemented in a communication node that transmits a signal, and a reception path (520) may be implemented in a communication node that receives a signal. The transmission path (510) may include a channel coding and modulation block (511), an S-to-P (serial-to-parallel) block (512), an N IFFT (Inverse Fast Fourier Transform) block (513), a P-to-S (parallel-to-serial) block (514), a CP (cyclic prefix) addition block (515), and an UC (up-converter) (UC) (516). The receiving path (520) may include a DC (down-converter) (521), a CP removal block (522), an S-to-P block (523), an N FFT block (524), a P-to-S block (525), and a channel decoding and demodulation block (526). Here, N may be a natural number.

In the transmission path (510), information bits may be input to a channel coding and modulation block (511). The channel coding and modulation block (511) may perform a coding operation (e.g., a low-density parity check (LDPC) coding operation, a polar coding operation, etc.) and a modulation operation (e.g., a quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), a quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), etc.) on the information bits. An output of the channel coding and modulation block (511) may be a sequence of modulation symbols.

The S-to-P block (512) can convert modulation symbols in the frequency domain into parallel symbol streams to generate N parallel symbol streams. N can be an IFFT size or an FFT size. The N IFFT block (513) can perform an IFFT operation on the N parallel symbol streams to generate signals in the time domain. The P-to-S block (514) can convert the output (e.g., parallel signals) of the N IFFT block (513) into a serial signal to generate a serial signal.

The CP addition block (515) can insert a CP into a signal. The UC (516) can up-convert the frequency of the output of the CP addition block (515) to an RF (radio frequency) frequency. Additionally, the output of the CP addition block (515) can be filtered at baseband before up-conversion.

A signal transmitted from the transmit path (510) may be input to the receive path (520). An operation in the receive path (520) may be an inverse operation of the operation in the transmit path (510). The DC (521) may down-convert the frequency of the received signal to a frequency of a baseband. The CP removal block (522) may remove a CP from the signal. An output of the CP removal block (522) may be a serial signal. The S-to-P block (523) may convert the serial signal into parallel signals. The NFFT block (524) may perform an FFT algorithm to generate N parallel signals. The P-to-S block (525) may convert the parallel signals into a sequence of modulation symbols. The channel decoding and demodulation block (526) may perform a demodulation operation on the modulation symbols and perform a decoding operation on the result of the demodulation operation to restore data.

In FIGS. 5A and 5B, Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) and Inverse DFT (IDFT) can be used instead of FFT and IFFT. Each of the blocks (e.g., components) in FIGS. 5A and 5B can be implemented by at least one of hardware, software, or firmware. For example, some of the blocks in FIGS. 5A and 5B can be implemented by software, and the remaining blocks can be implemented by hardware or a “combination of hardware and software.” In FIGS. 5A and 5B, one block can be subdivided into multiple blocks, multiple blocks can be integrated into one block, some blocks can be omitted, and blocks supporting other functions can be added.

Meanwhile, NTN reference scenarios can be defined as shown in [Table 1] below.

In the non-terrestrial network illustrated in FIG. 1a and/or FIG. 1b, if the satellite (110) is a GEO satellite (e.g., a GEO satellite supporting the transparent function), this may be referred to as “Scenario A.” In the non-terrestrial network illustrated in FIG. 2a, FIG. 2b, and/or FIG. 2c, if each of satellite #1 (211) and satellite #2 (212) is a GEO satellite (e.g., a GEO supporting the regeneration function), this may be referred to as “Scenario B.”

If the satellite (110) in the non-terrestrial network illustrated in FIG. 1a and/or FIG. 1b is a LEO satellite having steerable beams, this may be referred to as “Scenario C1”. If the satellite (110) in the non-terrestrial network illustrated in FIG. 1a and/or FIG. 1b is a LEO satellite having beams move with satellite, this may be referred to as “Scenario C2”. If each of satellite #1 (211) and satellite #2 (212) in the non-terrestrial network illustrated in FIG. 2a, FIG. 2b, and/or FIG. 2c is a LEO satellite having steerable beams, this may be referred to as “Scenario D1”. In the non-terrestrial network illustrated in FIG. 2a, FIG. 2b, and/or FIG. 2c, where each of satellite #1 (211) and satellite #2 (212) are LEO satellites having beams that travel together with the satellites, this may be referred to as “Scenario D2.”

Parameters for NTN reference scenarios defined in [Table 1] can be defined as shown in [Table 2] below.

Additionally, in the NTN reference scenario defined in [Table 1], the delay constraint can be defined as in [Table 3] below.

FIG. 6a is a conceptual diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a protocol stack of a user plane in a non-terrestrial network based on transparent payload, and FIG. 6b is a conceptual diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a protocol stack of a control plane in a non-terrestrial network based on transparent payload.

Referring to FIGS. 6A and 6B, user data may be transmitted and received between a UE and a core network (e.g., UPF), and control data (e.g., control information) may be transmitted and received between the UE and a core network (e.g., AMF). Each of the user data and the control data may be transmitted and received via a satellite and/or a gateway. The protocol stack of the user plane illustrated in FIG. 6A may be applied identically or similarly to a 6G communication network. The protocol stack of the control plane illustrated in FIG. 6B may be applied identically or similarly to a 6G communication network.

FIG. 7a is a conceptual diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a protocol stack of a user plane in a non-terrestrial network based on regenerative payload, and FIG. 7b is a conceptual diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a protocol stack of a control plane in a non-terrestrial network based on regenerative payload.

Referring to FIGS. 7A and 7B, user data and control data (e.g., control information) may be transmitted and received through an interface between a UE and a satellite (e.g., a base station), respectively. The user data may mean a user PDU (protocol data unit). A protocol stack of a satellite radio interface (SRI) may be used to transmit and receive user data and/or control data between a satellite and a gateway. The user data may be transmitted and received through a GTP (GPRS (general packet radio service) tunneling protocol)-U tunnel between the satellite and a core network.

Meanwhile, in a non-terrestrial network, a base station can transmit system information (e.g., SIB19) including satellite assistance information for NTN access. A UE can receive system information (e.g., SIB19) from a base station, check satellite assistance information included in the system information, and perform communication (e.g., non-terrestrial communication) based on the satellite assistance information. SIB19 can include information element(s) defined in [Table 4] below.

NTN-Config defined in [Table 4] may include information element(s) defined in [Table 5] below.

EphemerisInfo defined in [Table 5] may include information element(s) defined in [Table 6] below.

Coverage Enhancement in a Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) environment has been selected as a Rel-18 Work Item and has been discussed extensively in the Rel-18 NTN RAN#1 meeting. In RAN1#110, coverage-related performance results of various physical channels and services in a reference NTN environment were reviewed. As a result, it was concluded that the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) for Msg4 HARQ-ACK (Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request Acknowledgement) needs to be enhanced to satisfy the coverage requirement. The PUCCH transmission operation for Msg4 HARQ-ACK can be set and performed according to the procedure described below.

Figure 8 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an embodiment of a 4-Step RACH (random access channel) procedure.

Referring to FIG. 8, Msg4 HARQ-ACK may be a signal transmitted by a terminal to a base station to notify that an uplink 4-Step RACH (Random Access Procedure) has been successfully performed. The situation illustrated in FIG. 8 may be a situation in which a normal RRC connection establishment procedure has not been completed. In order to transmit Msg4 HARQ-ACK of FIG. 8, a common PUCCH resource may be used instead of a dedicated PUCCH resource dedicated to each terminal.

Although only the performance verification for Msg4 HARQ-ACK in 4-Step RACH was performed in the Rel-18 RAN1 meeting. However, the common PUCCH resource used to transmit Msg4 HARQ-ACK can be continuously used until the dedicated PUCCH resource is allocated to the terminal. Therefore, a method to improve the coverage for the subsequent common PUCCH resource-based transmission was also agreed upon. As a specific technique for improving the coverage, it was agreed to apply repetitive transmission. The repetitive transmission technique for improving the coverage can be as described below.

FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram illustrating one embodiment of a non-repeatedly transmitted uplink control channel and a repetitively transmitted uplink control channel.

Referring to Fig. 9, when transmitting 4 PUCCH symbols per slot, examples of normal transmission (repeated transmission not applied) and examples of repeated transmission twice are illustrated. When repeated transmission is performed as in Fig. 2, the same symbols are repeatedly transmitted temporally using additional slots.

The procedures for setting up repeat transmissions to improve NTN coverage as agreed upon at the Rel-18 meeting may be as described below.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a repetitive transmission procedure of an uplink control channel for coverage improvement in an NTN environment.

Referring to Fig. 10, first, in the SIB (System Information Block), 1) the RSRP (Reference Signal Received Power) threshold value, which is the criterion for repeated transmission, and 2) the repetition factor candidates that can be supported by each base station can be set. Here, the repetition factors that can be supported for NR NTN in Rel-18 are agreed to be {1,2,4,8}.

If repetition factor candidates are set in SIB, each terminal can transmit a repetition request message through Msg3 depending on whether it supports repetition transmission (capability), whether an RSRP threshold is set in SIB, and the comparison result between the measured RSRP and the RSRP threshold.

And, the base station that receives the information related to the repetition request from the terminal can determine the number of repetitions to be performed by each terminal and transmit the repetition factor information regarding the number of repetitions through the DAI (Downlink Assignment Index) field of the DCI (Downlink Control Information). Here, the transmitted repetition factor can be selected from the repetition factor candidates transmitted in the SIB. The terminal can perform repeated transmission from the Msg4-HARQ ACK depending on whether it supports it or not based on the DAI field of the DCI.

On the other hand, if the repetition factor candidates are not set in the SIB, the legacy operation up to Rel-17 is performed, and the operation related to the repeated transmission of the uplink control channel signal may not be performed. In this case, the repetition request may be conveyed as 2 state information. Here, the first state (State 1) may indicate a repetition request, and the 0th state (State 0) may indicate a repetition no request (No indication). The repetition request and the support availability report (Capability Report) may not be distinguished in signaling.

In this repetitive transmission setup procedure, if the repetition factor candidates are not set in the SIB, the legacy operation for transmitting the uplink control channel may be performed. That is, it is discussed that Msg4 HARQ-ACK and common PUCCH resource-based repetitive transmission are not supported. However, even if the base station does not set the repetition factor candidates of the SIB, the terminal may need to perform repetitive transmission of Msg4 HARQ-ACK and common PUCCH resource-based PUCCH. In contrast, the current procedure may not be able to cope with this case. Therefore, the improvement of coverage may be limited.

Accordingly, the present disclosure newly proposes a procedure for setting repeated transmission of an uplink control channel between a base station and a terminal for coverage enhancement in an NTN environment. In the present disclosure, a terminal that does not support repeated transmission may mean a terminal that does not support repeated transmission of PUCCH based on Msg4 HARQ-ACK and common PUCCH resources, and a terminal that supports repeated transmission may mean a terminal that supports repeated transmission of PUCCH based on Msg4 HARQ-ACK and common PUCCH resources.

Also, repetition factor candidates and RSRP thresholds can be set in the SIB at the base station for Msg4 HARQ-ACK and common PUCCH resource-based repeated transmission. Finally, S ₁ indicates a case corresponding to the first state in the 2-state information for conveying whether a repeated transmission is requested, which may mean that repeated transmission is requested or repeated transmission is supported. On the other hand, S ₀ indicates a case corresponding to the 0th state in the 2-state information for conveying whether a repeated transmission is requested, which may mean that repeated transmission is not requested or repeated transmission is not supported. A terminal that cannot transmit the 2-state information for conveying whether a repeated transmission is requested through Msg3 may correspond to the 0th state.

Additionally, R _total can be a set of repetition factors that can be assigned for Msg4 HARQ-ACK and common PUCCH resource-based repeated transmission defined in the specification. R _total = {1, 2, 4, 8} according to Rel-18. R _SIB (⊂ R _total ) represents a set of repetition factor candidates set in SIB by the base station. R _B can be a set including 1 to 2 ^B elements that can be assigned according to the bit length B of the field. Since the DAI field of DCI used according to Rel-18 has B=2, R _B can be {1, 2, 3, 4}.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a procedure for setting up repeated transmission of an uplink control channel.

Referring to FIG. 11, the terminal can determine whether repeat factor candidates are set in the SIB. Whether repeat factor candidates are set in the SIB can be used to generate a message including information about the repeat factor.

If repeat factor candidates are not set in the SIB, the terminal may not perform repeat transmission operation of the uplink control channel.

When repeat factor candidates are set in SIB, the terminal can determine whether repeat transmission of the uplink control channel is supported.

As a result of the judgment, a terminal that does not support repeat transmission can generate Msg3 including repeat request information of S ₀ state and transmit Msg3. Accordingly, the terminal may not perform repeat transmission operation of the uplink control channel.

On the other hand, as a result of the judgment, a terminal supporting repeated transmission can determine whether to set the RSRP threshold in the SIB.

If the RSRP threshold is set in the SIB, the terminal can compare the measured RSRP with the RSRP threshold. If the measured RSRP is less than the RSRP threshold, the terminal can generate Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₁ state and transmit Msg3. Then, the terminal can receive Msg4 including a repetition factor from the base station. Here, the repetition factor can be one of repetition factor candidates set in the SIB.

On the other hand, if the measured RSRP is greater than or equal to the RSRP threshold, the terminal may generate Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₀ state and transmit Msg3. Therefore, the terminal may not perform a repetition transmission operation of the uplink control channel.

As illustrated in FIG. 11, if repetition factor candidates are not set in SIB, Msg4 HARQ-ACK and common PUCCH resource-based repeated transmission procedures may not be supported.

In contrast, the configuration procedure for PUCCH transmission according to the present disclosure can be designed to support repetitive transmission depending on the support and necessity of base stations and terminals even when repetition factor candidates are not configured in the SIB. Therefore, according to the present disclosure, it can contribute to additional NTN coverage enhancement.

Additionally, as illustrated in FIG. 11, the setup procedure for PUCCH transmission may require signaling to exchange repetition request information via Msg3 and repetition factor information via Msg4.

In contrast, the setup procedure for PUCCH transmission according to the present disclosure may require signaling for exchanging repetition request information via Msg3 and repetition indication information (requiring 2-state information such as 1 bit) via Msg4. Alternatively, the setup procedure for PUCCH transmission according to the present disclosure may require signaling for exchanging repetition request information via Msg3 and repetition factor information via Msg4.

That is, the setup procedure for PUCCH transmission according to the present disclosure can operate without additional signaling overhead required compared to the existing setup procedure. Meanwhile, the difference in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be derived from the procedure for determining a repetition factor according to a repetition request status. Accordingly, in the setup procedures for PUCCH transmission of the present disclosure, the process until transmitting the repetition request information may be the same.

Among the configuration procedures for PUCCH transmission provided by the present disclosure, the applicable configuration procedure may be signaled through a Cell-Specific Message obtainable prior to performing the overall process for the main repeat transmission such as SIB1, SIB19, etc. Alternatively, which type of configuration procedure to apply may be signaled or predefined through a standard specification, etc.

The procedure for setting up repeat transmission of an uplink control channel through signaling of repetition request information through Msg3 and repetition indication information through Msg4 according to the present disclosure may be as described below.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a procedure for setting up repeated transmission of an uplink control channel according to the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 12, the terminal can determine whether repeat factor candidates are set in the SIB. Whether repeat factor candidates are set in the SIB can be used to generate a message including information about the repeat factor.

When repeat factor candidates are set in SIB, the terminal can determine whether repeat transmission of the uplink control channel is supported.

As a result of the judgment, a terminal that does not support repeat transmission can generate Msg3 including repeat request information of S ₀ state and transmit Msg3. Accordingly, the terminal may not perform repeat transmission operation of the uplink control channel.

On the other hand, as a result of the judgment, a terminal supporting repeated transmission can determine whether to set the RSRP threshold in SIB.

If the RSRP threshold is set in the SIB, the terminal can compare the measured RSRP with the RSRP threshold. If the measured RSRP is less than the RSRP threshold, the terminal can generate Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₁ state and transmit Msg3. Then, the terminal can receive Msg4 including a repetition factor from the base station. Here, the repetition factor can be one of repetition factor candidates set in the SIB.

On the other hand, if the measured RSRP is greater than or equal to the RSRP threshold, the terminal may generate Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₀ state and transmit Msg3. Therefore, the terminal may not perform a repetition transmission operation of the uplink control channel.

If the RSRP threshold is not set in the SIB, the terminal can generate Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₁ state and transmit Msg3. Then, the terminal can receive Msg4 including a repetition factor from the base station. Here, the repetition factor can be one of the repetition factor candidates set in the SIB.

If no repetition factor candidates are set in the SIB, the terminal can determine whether to support repeated transmission of the uplink control channel.

As a result of the judgment, a terminal that does not support repeat transmission can generate Msg3 including repeat request information of S ₀ state and transmit Msg3. Accordingly, the terminal may not perform repeat transmission operation of the uplink control channel.

On the other hand, as a result of the judgment, a terminal supporting repeated transmission can determine whether to set the RSRP threshold in the SIB.

If the RSRP threshold is set in the SIB, the terminal can compare the measured RSRP with the RSRP threshold. If the measured RSRP is less than the RSRP threshold, the terminal can generate Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₁ state and transmit Msg3. Then, the terminal can receive Msg4 including a repetition factor from the base station. Here, the repetition factor can be one of candidates of repetition factors defined by the standard specification.

On the other hand, if the measured RSRP is greater than or equal to the RSRP threshold, the terminal may generate Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₀ state and transmit Msg3. Therefore, the terminal may not perform a repetition transmission operation of the uplink control channel.

If the RSRP threshold is not set in the SIB, the terminal can determine whether repeated transmission of the uplink control channel is necessary. Here, the terminal can determine whether repeated transmission of the uplink control channel is necessary based on the measured RSRP value and/or the repetition factor value of Msg3 PUSCH.

When it is determined that repeated transmission of the uplink control channel is necessary, the terminal can generate Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₁ state and transmit Msg3. Then, the terminal can receive Msg4 including repetition transmission instruction information indicating whether to perform repeated transmission from the base station. The terminal and the base station can determine a repetition factor according to preset rules.

On the other hand, if it is determined that repeated transmission of the uplink control channel is not necessary, the terminal may generate Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₀ state and transmit Msg3. Accordingly, the terminal may not perform repeated transmission operation of the uplink control channel.

That is, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, each terminal can signal repetition request information via Msg3 as follows.

Terminals that do not support repeat transmission can transmit repeat request information in the S ₀ state.

When the RSRP threshold is set in the SIB, the terminal supporting repeated transmission can set the state of the repetition request information based on the measured RSRP value, regardless of whether the repetition factor candidates of the SIB are set. Here, if the measured RSRP value is lower than the threshold, the terminal can transmit the repetition request information of the S ₁ state. On the other hand, if the measured RSRP value is equal to or greater than the threshold, the terminal can transmit the repetition request information of the S ₀ state.

If the RSRP threshold is not set in the SIB and repetition factor candidates are set, a terminal supporting repeated transmission can transmit repetition request information in the S ₁ state.

If RSRP threshold and repetition factor candidates are not set in SIB, a terminal supporting repeated transmission can set the state of the repetition request information based on whether a repeated transmission request is necessary. If it is determined that a repeated transmission request is necessary, the terminal can transmit repetition request information in the S ₁ state. On the other hand, if it is determined that a repeated transmission request is not necessary, the terminal can transmit repetition request information in the S ₀ state.

That is, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal can obtain information on repetition factor and/or repeated transmission instruction from the base station through DCI of Msg4 as follows.

If the status of the repetition request information is S ₀ , the base station may stop the repetition transmission setup procedure and may not perform signaling to the terminal regarding the uplink control channel repetition transmission.

When the status of the repetition request information is S ₁ and a repetition factor candidate is set in the SIB, the base station can determine a repetition factor by considering the repetition factor candidates set in the SIB. Then, the base station can transmit information indicating the determined repetition factor candidate to the terminal.

If the status of the repetition request information is S ₁ or a repetition factor candidate is not set in the SIB, the base station can determine whether Msg4 HARQ-ACK and common PUCCH resource repeated transmission is possible and/or whether uplink control channel repeated transmission of the corresponding UE is necessary. If Msg4 HARQ-ACK and common PUCCH resource-based uplink control channel repeated transmission is impossible or the corresponding UE determines that uplink control channel repeated transmission is not necessary, the base station can stop the repeated transmission setup procedure and transmit information instructing the UE not to perform uplink control channel repeated transmission.

If repeated transmission of Msg4 HARQ-ACK and common PUCCH resources is possible, or if repeated transmission of an uplink control channel is determined to be necessary by the terminal, the base station may set repeated transmission of the uplink control channel and transmit information instructing the terminal to perform repeated transmission of the uplink control channel.

That is, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, each terminal can determine a repetition factor as follows and perform an uplink control channel transmission operation.

A terminal whose status of the repetition request information is S ₀ may not perform uplink control channel repetition transmission.

When repetition factor candidates are set in SIB, a terminal whose repetition request information has a status of S ₁ can perform uplink control channel repetition transmission based on a repetition transmission factor acquired from a base station. For example, the base station can signal information indicating one repetition factor candidate among repetition factor candidates to the terminal. Then, the terminal can perform uplink control channel repetition transmission based on the information acquired from the base station.

If repetition factor candidates are not set in the SIB and the repeat transmission indication information acquired from the base station indicates not to perform repeat transmission, the terminal and the base station may not perform an uplink control channel repeat transmission operation.

If repetition factor candidates are not set in the SIB and the repeat transmission instruction information acquired from the base station indicates to perform repeat transmission, the terminal and the base station can determine the repetition factor according to a predefined rule and perform an uplink control channel repeat transmission operation.

That is, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, even if repetition factor candidates are not set in SIB (i.e., R _SIB = φ), the terminal can transmit a message including repetition request information of S ₁ state requesting repeated transmission according to judgment. The base station can determine whether to perform repeated transmission and transmit 2-state information indicating whether to perform repeated transmission. Here, the determined repetition factor can be determined by a rule defined in advance according to the state of the repeated transmission indication information. Therefore, signaling for transmission of the repetition factor may not be required.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, if a repetition factor is not set in the SIB, the base station can determine the repetition factor according to a predefined rule after transmitting information on whether to instruct repeat transmission to the terminal through DCI. On the other hand, according to another embodiment, even if the repetition factor is not set in the SIB, the base station can determine the repetition factor together in the process of determining whether to instruct repeat transmission. Then, the terminal that has received the information on whether to instruct repeat transmission can determine the repetition factor according to a predefined rule.

When the repetition factor is not set in SIB, the predefined rules for determining the repetition factor of Msg4 HARQ-ACK and common PUCCH resource based PUCCH transmission can be as described below.

If the repeat transmission status information indicates not to perform uplink control channel repeat transmission, the base station and terminal may set the repetition factor to 1 and not perform uplink control channel repeat transmission operation.

When the repeat transmission information indicates that uplink control channel repeat transmission is to be performed, the base station and terminal may set the repetition factor according to the preset rules described below.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the repetition factor may be set to use a predefined value. The base station and the terminal may be set to use one defined value among repetition factors (R _total ) supported by the standard. According to Rel-18, R _total = {1, 2, 4, 8}. Accordingly, when the repetition transmission status information indicates to perform uplink control channel repetition transmission, the repetition factor may be predefined to be set to one of 2, 4, and 8.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a repetition factor can be set using a Msg3 PUSCH repetition factor. If the repetition factor in Msg3 PUSCH repeated transmission is not 1, the value of the Msg3 PUSCH repetition factor or a value determined according to a predefined rule based on the Msg3 PUSCH repetition factor value can be set as the repetition factor for Msg4 HARQ-ACK and common PUCCH resource based transmission. Alternatively, the Msg3 PUSCH repetition factor value is set as the repetition factor as it is according to the predefined rule, but if the Msg3 PUSCH repetition factor value is not supported in Msg4 HARQ-ACK and common PUCCH resource based repeated transmission, a value closest to the Msg3 PUSCH repetition factor value among the supported values can be set as the repetition factor for Msg4 HARQ-ACK and common PUCCH resource based PUCCH transmission. If the Msg3 PUSCH repetition factor value is 1 or Msg3 PUSCH repeated transmission is not supported (i.e., the UE or the base station does not support Msg3 PUSCH repeated transmission but supports Msg4 HARQ-ACK and common PUCCH resource-based repeated transmission), the repetition factor may be predefined to be used as a value exceeding 1 among the repetition factors (R _total ) supported by the standard.

That is, the predefined rule according to the first embodiment may be a way to set the repetition factor using a predefined value. And, the predefined rule according to the second embodiment may be a way to set the repetition factor based on the Msg3 PUSCH repetition factor.

If the repetition factor is not set in SIB, the repetition factor of Msg4 HARQ-ACK and PUCCH transmission based on common PUCCH resource can be determined as follows according to the information on whether to repeat transmission. According to the table below, the repetition factor can be set by utilizing the Msg3 PUSCH repetition factor value.

Here, in a situation where the RSRP threshold is not set in the SIB, if a terminal supporting repeated transmission determines on its own whether to request repeated transmission, the terminal can determine whether to request repeated transmission based on whether to request repeated transmission of Msg3 PUSCH and the measured RSRP value. Meanwhile, if repeated transmission indication information is transmitted through Msg4, the repeated transmission indication information can be transmitted in the form of 2-state (e.g., 1-bit) information indicating repeated transmission performance or non-performance information. Accordingly, in Rel-18, the repeated transmission indication information can be transmitted using the DAI field of the DCI used to transmit the repetition factor. Alternatively, the repeated transmission indication information can be transmitted using another field or an additional field of the DCI.

Embodiments for setting the uplink control channel to be repeatedly transmitted may be as described below. In the embodiments below, R _total = {1, 2, 4, 8}, i.e., the repetition factor supported in the Msg4 HARQ-ACK and common PUCCH resource-based repeated transmission according to the standard, similar to Rel-18, may be set to {1,2,4,8}.

FIGS. 13 to 17 are diagrams illustrating an embodiment of a repeat transmission setting operation of an uplink control channel according to the present disclosure.

Referring to Figure 13, the repeated argument candidates in SIB can be set to {1, 2, 4, 8}.

According to Case 1 of Fig. 13, the repeated argument candidates in SIB are set to {1, 2, 4, 8}, and the RSRP threshold value can be set.

At step S1311, the base station may transmit SIB configuration information to the terminal. The SIB configuration information may include configuration information of repetition factor candidates and RSRP threshold values.

At step S1312, the terminal may determine that it does not support repeated transmission of the uplink control channel.

At step S1313, the terminal can transmit Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₀ state to the base station. Therefore, the base station and the terminal can not perform a repetition transmission operation of the uplink control channel.

According to Case 2 of Fig. 13, the repeated argument candidates in SIB are set to {1, 2, 4, 8}, but the RSRP threshold value may not be set.

At step S1321, the base station may transmit SIB configuration information to the terminal. The SIB configuration information may include configuration information regarding repetition factor candidates.

At step S1322, the terminal may determine that it supports repeated transmission of the uplink control channel.

At step S1323, the terminal can transmit Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₁ state to the base station.

If Msg3 including repetition request information of S ₁ state is received, in step S1324, the base station can determine the value of the repetition factor. Here, the base station can determine the repetition factor as 2, which is one of the values of repetition factor candidates set in the SIB.

And, at step S1325, the base station can transmit Msg4 including repetition factor information. A terminal receiving Msg4 can perform a repetition transmission operation of an uplink control channel based on the repetition factor information.

According to Case 3 of Fig. 13, the repeated argument candidates in SIB are set to {4, 8}, and the RSRP threshold value can be set.

At step S1331, the base station may transmit SIB configuration information to the terminal. The SIB configuration information may include configuration information of repetition factor candidates and RSRP threshold values.

At step S1332, the terminal determines that it supports repetitive transmission of the uplink control channel, and the terminal may determine that it requests repetitive transmission of the uplink control channel by comparing the RSRP threshold value with the measured RSRP value. Here, the measured RSRP value may be a value less than the RSRP threshold value.

If the measured RSRP value is less than the RSRP threshold, in step S1313, the terminal can transmit Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₁ state to the base station.

If Msg3 including repetition request information of S ₁ state is received, in step S1314, the base station can determine the value of the repetition factor. Here, the base station can determine the repetition factor as 8, which is one of the values of repetition factor candidates set in the SIB.

And, at step S1315, the base station can transmit Msg4 including repetition factor information. A terminal receiving Msg4 can perform a repetition transmission operation of an uplink control channel based on the repetition factor information.

Referring to FIG. 14, the repetition factor candidates in the SIB may not be set, and the RSRP threshold value may be set. And, the predefined repetition factor may be set to 4.

According to Case 1 of Fig. 14, at step S1411, the base station may transmit SIB configuration information to the terminal. The SIB configuration information may include configuration information of an RSRP threshold value.

At step S1412, the terminal may determine that it does not support repeated transmission of the uplink control channel. Or, the terminal may determine that it does not request repeated transmission of the uplink control channel by comparing the RSRP threshold value with the measured RSRP value. Here, the measured RSRP value may be a value greater than or equal to the RSRP threshold value.

If the measured RSRP value is greater than or equal to the RSRP threshold, in step S1413, the terminal may transmit Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₀ state to the base station. Accordingly, the base station and the terminal may not perform a repetition transmission operation of the uplink control channel.

According to case 2 of Fig. 14, at step S1421, the base station may transmit SIB configuration information to the terminal. The SIB configuration information may include configuration information of an RSRP threshold value.

At step S1422, the terminal may determine that it supports repetitive transmission of the uplink control channel, and may determine to request repetitive transmission of the uplink control channel by comparing the RSRP threshold value with the measured RSRP value. Here, the measured RSRP value may be a value less than the RSRP threshold value.

If the measured RSRP value is less than the RSRP threshold, in step S1423, the terminal can transmit Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₁ state to the base station.

However, if a certain condition is satisfied, at step S1424, the base station may determine that repeated transmission of the uplink control channel is not necessary.

In step S1425, the base station can generate repeat transmission instruction information that instructs not to perform uplink repeat transmission, and transmit Msg4 including the repeat transmission instruction information to the terminal. Accordingly, the base station and the terminal can not perform repeat transmission operation of the uplink control channel.

According to case 3 of Fig. 14, at step S1431, the base station may transmit SIB configuration information to the terminal. The SIB configuration information may include configuration information of an RSRP threshold value.

At step S1432, the terminal may determine that it supports repetitive transmission of the uplink control channel, and may determine to request repetitive transmission of the uplink control channel by comparing the RSRP threshold value with the measured RSRP value. Here, the measured RSRP value may be a value less than the RSRP threshold value.

If the measured RSRP value is less than the RSRP threshold, in step S1433, the terminal can transmit Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₁ state to the base station.

If Msg3 including repetition request information of S ₁ state is received, at step S1434, the base station can determine that repetition transmission of the uplink control channel is necessary.

In step S1435, the base station can generate repeat transmission instruction information indicating whether to perform uplink repeat transmission, and transmit Msg4 including the transmission instruction information to the terminal. The base station and the terminal can set a repetition factor to a predefined value of 4. Accordingly, the base station and the terminal can perform a repeat transmission operation of the uplink control channel according to the set repetition factor.

Referring to FIG. 15, the repetition factor candidates in the SIB may not be set, and the RSRP threshold value may be set. And, the predefined repetition factor may be set to 4.

According to case 1 of Fig. 15, at step S1511, the base station may transmit SIB configuration information to the terminal. The SIB configuration information may include configuration information of an RSRP threshold value.

At step S1512, the terminal may determine that it supports repetitive transmission of the uplink control channel, and may determine to request repetitive transmission of the uplink control channel by comparing the RSRP threshold value with the measured RSRP value. Here, the measured RSRP value may be a value less than the RSRP threshold value.

If the measured RSRP value is less than the RSRP threshold, in step S1513, the terminal may transmit Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₁ state to the base station. Here, the terminal may repeatedly transmit Msg3 twice. That is, the repetition factor of the Msg3 uplink shared channel may be 2.

However, if a certain condition is satisfied, in step S1514, the base station may determine that repeated transmission of the uplink control channel is not necessary.

In step S1515, the base station can generate repeat transmission instruction information that instructs not to perform uplink repeat transmission, and transmit Msg4 including the repeat transmission instruction information to the terminal. Accordingly, the repetition factor is set to 1, and the base station and the terminal can not perform repeat transmission operation of the uplink control channel.

According to Case 2 of Fig. 15, the repetition factor of the uplink control channel repetition transmission can be set according to the repetition factor of the Msg3 uplink shared channel.

At step S1521, the base station may transmit SIB configuration information to the terminal. The SIB configuration information may include configuration information of an RSRP threshold.

At step S1522, the terminal may determine that it supports repetitive transmission of the uplink control channel, and may determine to request repetitive transmission of the uplink control channel by comparing the RSRP threshold value with the measured RSRP value. Here, the measured RSRP value may be a value less than the RSRP threshold value.

If the measured RSRP value is less than the RSRP threshold value, in step S1523, the terminal may transmit Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₁ state to the base station. Here, the terminal may repeatedly transmit Msg3 twice. That is, the repetition factor of the Msg3 uplink shared channel may be 2.

If Msg3 including repetition request information of S ₁ state is received, at step S1524, the base station can determine that repetition transmission of the uplink control channel is necessary.

In step S1525, the base station can generate repeat transmission instruction information that instructs to perform uplink repeat transmission, and transmit Msg4 including the transmission instruction information to the terminal. The base station and the terminal can set the repetition factor to 2, which is the value of the repetition factor of the Msg3 uplink shared channel. Accordingly, the base station and the terminal can perform a repeat transmission operation of the uplink control channel according to the set repetition factor.

According to Case 3 of Fig. 15, the repetition factor of the uplink control channel repetition transmission may be set to a value closest to the repetition factor of the Msg3 uplink shared channel among the supportable repetition transmission factors.

At step S1531, the base station may transmit SIB configuration information to the terminal. The SIB configuration information may include configuration information of an RSRP threshold.

At step S1532, the terminal may determine that it supports repetitive transmission of the uplink control channel, and may determine to request repetitive transmission of the uplink control channel by comparing the RSRP threshold value with the measured RSRP value. Here, the measured RSRP value may be a value less than the RSRP threshold value.

If the measured RSRP value is less than the RSRP threshold value, in step S1533, the terminal may transmit Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₁ state to the base station. Here, the terminal may repeatedly transmit Msg3 16 times. That is, the repetition factor of the Msg3 uplink shared channel may be 16.

If Msg3 including repetition request information of S ₁ state is received, at step S1534, the base station can determine that repetition transmission of the uplink control channel is necessary.

In step S1535, the base station can generate repeat transmission instruction information that instructs to perform uplink repeat transmission, and transmit Msg4 including the transmission instruction information to the terminal. The base station and the terminal can set the repetition factor to 8, which is the closest value to 16, which is the repetition factor value of the Msg3 uplink shared channel, among the repetition factor candidates {1,2,4,8}. Accordingly, the base station and the terminal can perform a repeat transmission operation of the uplink control channel according to the set repetition factor.

Referring to Fig. 16, the repetition factor candidates and RSRP threshold values in the SIB may not be set. And, the predefined repetition factor may be set to 8.

According to case 1 of Fig. 16, at step S1611, the base station can transmit SIB configuration information to the terminal.

At step S1612, the terminal may determine that it does not support repeated transmission of the uplink control channel. Or, the terminal may determine that it does not request repeated transmission of the uplink control channel.

At step S1613, the terminal may transmit Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₀ state to the base station. Accordingly, the base station and the terminal may not perform a repetition transmission operation of the uplink control channel.

According to case 2 of Fig. 16, at step S1621, the base station can transmit SIB configuration information to the terminal.

At step S1622, the terminal may determine that it supports repeated transmission of the uplink control channel and may determine that it requests repeated transmission of the uplink control channel.

At step S1623, the terminal can transmit Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₁ state to the base station.

However, if a certain condition is satisfied, at step S1624, the base station may determine that repeated transmission of the uplink control channel is not necessary.

In step S1625, the base station can generate repeat transmission instruction information that instructs not to perform uplink repeat transmission, and transmit Msg4 including the repeat transmission instruction information to the terminal. Accordingly, the base station and the terminal can not perform repeat transmission operation of the uplink control channel.

According to case 3 of Fig. 16, at step S1631, the base station can transmit SIB configuration information to the terminal.

At step S1632, the terminal may determine that it supports repeated transmission of the uplink control channel and may determine that it requests repeated transmission of the uplink control channel.

At step S1633, the terminal can transmit Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₁ state to the base station.

If Msg3 including repetition request information of S ₁ state is received, at step S1634, the base station can determine that repetition transmission of the uplink control channel is necessary.

In step S1635, the base station can generate repeat transmission instruction information that instructs not to perform uplink repeat transmission, and transmit Msg4 including the repeat transmission instruction information to the terminal. The base station and the terminal can set the repetition factor to a predefined value of 8. Accordingly, the base station and the terminal can perform repeat transmission operation of the uplink control channel according to the set repetition factor.

Referring to Fig. 17, the repetition factor candidates and RSRP threshold values in the SIB may not be set. And, the predefined repetition factor may be set to 2.

According to case 1 of Fig. 17, at step S1711, the base station can transmit SIB configuration information to the terminal.

At step S1712, the terminal may determine that it supports repeated transmission of the uplink control channel and may determine that it requests repeated transmission of the uplink control channel.

In step S1713, the terminal can transmit Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₁ state to the base station. Here, the terminal can transmit Msg3 once. That is, the repetition factor of the Msg3 uplink shared channel can be 1.

If Msg3 including repetition request information of S ₁ state is received, at step S1714, the base station can determine that repetition transmission of the uplink control channel is necessary.

In step S1715, the base station can generate repeat transmission instruction information that instructs to perform uplink repeat transmission, and transmit Msg4 including the transmission instruction information to the terminal. Since the Msg3 uplink shared channel is not repeatedly transmitted, the base station and the terminal can set the repetition factor to a preset value of 2. Accordingly, the base station and the terminal can perform a repeat transmission operation of the uplink control channel according to the set repetition factor.

According to Case 2 of Fig. 17, the repetition factor of the uplink control channel repetition transmission can be set according to the repetition factor of the Msg3 uplink shared channel.

At step S1721, the base station can transmit SIB configuration information to the terminal.

At step S1722, the terminal may determine that it supports repeated transmission of the uplink control channel and may determine that it requests repeated transmission of the uplink control channel.

At step S1723, the terminal may transmit Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₁ state to the base station. Here, the terminal may repeatedly transmit Msg3 four times. That is, the repetition factor of the Msg3 uplink shared channel may be 4.

If Msg3 including repetition request information of S ₁ state is received, at step S1724, the base station can determine that repetition transmission of the uplink control channel is necessary.

In step S1725, the base station can generate repeat transmission instruction information that instructs to perform uplink repeat transmission, and transmit Msg4 including the transmission instruction information to the terminal. The base station and the terminal can set the repetition factor to 4, which is the value of the repetition factor of the Msg3 uplink shared channel. Accordingly, the base station and the terminal can perform a repeat transmission operation of the uplink control channel according to the set repetition factor.

According to Case 3 of Fig. 17, the repetition factor of the uplink control channel repetition transmission may be set to a value closest to the repetition factor of the Msg3 uplink shared channel among the supportable repetition transmission factors.

At step S1731, the base station can transmit SIB configuration information to the terminal.

At step S1732, the terminal may determine that it supports repeated transmission of the uplink control channel and may determine that it requests repeated transmission of the uplink control channel.

In step S1733, the terminal may transmit Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₁ state to the base station. Here, the terminal may repeatedly transmit Msg3 32 times. That is, the repetition factor of the Msg3 uplink shared channel may be 32.

If Msg3 including repetition request information of S ₁ state is received, at step S1734, the base station can determine that repetition transmission of the uplink control channel is necessary.

In step S1735, the base station can generate repeat transmission instruction information that instructs to perform uplink repeat transmission, and transmit Msg4 including the transmission instruction information to the terminal. The base station and the terminal can set the repetition factor to 8, which is the closest value to 32, which is the repetition factor value of the Msg3 uplink shared channel, among the repetition factor candidates {1,2,4,8}. Accordingly, the base station and the terminal can perform a repeat transmission operation of the uplink control channel according to the set repetition factor.

On the other hand, the procedure for setting up uplink control channel repetition transmission through signaling of repetition request information through Msg3 and repetition factor information through Msg4 according to the present disclosure may be as described below.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a procedure for setting up repeated transmission of an uplink control channel according to the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 18, the terminal can determine whether repeat factor candidates are set in the SIB. Whether repeat factor candidates are set in the SIB can be used to generate a message including information about the repeat factor.

When repeat factor candidates are set in SIB, the terminal can determine whether repeat transmission of the uplink control channel is supported.

As a result of the judgment, a terminal that does not support repeat transmission can generate Msg3 including repeat request information of S ₀ state and transmit Msg3. Accordingly, the terminal may not perform repeat transmission operation of the uplink control channel.

On the other hand, as a result of the judgment, a terminal supporting repeated transmission can determine whether to set the RSRP threshold in the SIB.

If the RSRP threshold is set in the SIB, the terminal can compare the measured RSRP with the RSRP threshold. If the measured RSRP is less than the RSRP threshold, the terminal can generate Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₁ state and transmit Msg3. Then, the terminal can receive Msg4 including a repetition factor from the base station. Here, the repetition factor can be one of repetition factor candidates set in the SIB.

On the other hand, if the measured RSRP is greater than or equal to the RSRP threshold, the terminal may generate Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₀ state and transmit Msg3. Therefore, the terminal may not perform a repetition transmission operation of the uplink control channel.

If the RSRP threshold is not set in the SIB, the terminal can generate Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₁ state and transmit Msg3. Then, the terminal can receive Msg4 including a repetition factor from the base station. Here, the repetition factor can be one of the repetition factor candidates set in the SIB.

If no repetition factor candidates are set in the SIB, the terminal can determine whether to support repeated transmission of the uplink control channel.

As a result of the judgment, a terminal that does not support repeat transmission can generate Msg3 including repeat request information of S ₀ state and transmit Msg3. Accordingly, the terminal may not perform repeat transmission operation of the uplink control channel.

On the other hand, as a result of the judgment, a terminal supporting repeated transmission can determine whether to set the RSRP threshold in the SIB.

If the RSRP threshold is set in the SIB, the terminal can compare the measured RSRP with the RSRP threshold. If the measured RSRP is less than the RSRP threshold, the terminal can generate Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₁ state and transmit Msg3. Then, the terminal can receive Msg4 including a repetition factor from the base station. Here, the repetition factor can be one of candidates of repetition factors defined by the standard specification.

On the other hand, if the measured RSRP is greater than or equal to the RSRP threshold, the terminal may generate Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₀ state and transmit Msg3. Therefore, the terminal may not perform a repetition transmission operation of the uplink control channel.

If the RSRP threshold is not set in the SIB, the terminal can determine whether repeated transmission of the uplink control channel is necessary. Here, the terminal can determine whether repeated transmission of the uplink control channel is necessary based on the measured RSRP value and/or the repetition factor value of Msg3 PUSCH.

When it is determined that repeated transmission of the uplink control channel is necessary, the terminal may generate Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₁ state and transmit Msg3. Then, the terminal may receive Msg4 including a repetition factor from the base station. Here, the repetition factor may be one of candidates for repetition factors defined by the standard specification.

On the other hand, if it is determined that repeated transmission of the uplink control channel is not necessary, the terminal may generate Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₀ state and transmit Msg3. Accordingly, the terminal may not perform repeated transmission operation of the uplink control channel.

That is, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, each terminal can signal repetition request information via Msg3 as follows.

Terminals that do not support repeat transmission can transmit repeat request information in the S ₀ state.

When the RSRP threshold is set in the SIB, the terminal supporting repeated transmission can set the state of the repetition request information based on the measured RSRP value and transmit the repetition request information regardless of whether the repetition factor candidates of the SIB are set. Here, if the measured RSRP value is lower than the threshold, the terminal can transmit the repetition request information of the S ₁ state. On the other hand, if the measured RSRP value is equal to or greater than the threshold, the terminal can transmit the repetition request information of the S ₀ state.

If the RSRP threshold is not set in the SIB and repetition factor candidates are set, a terminal supporting repeated transmission can transmit repetition request information in the S ₁ state.

If RSRP threshold and repetition factor candidates are not set in SIB, a terminal supporting repeated transmission can set the state of repetition request information based on whether a repeated transmission request is necessary and transmit repetition request information. If it is determined that a repeated transmission request is necessary, the terminal can transmit repetition request information in the S ₁ state. On the other hand, if it is determined that a repeated transmission request is not necessary, the terminal can transmit repetition request information in the S ₀ state.

That is, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal can obtain information on repetition factor and/or repeated transmission instruction from the base station through DCI of Msg4 as follows.

If the status of the repetition request information is S ₀ , the base station may stop the repetition transmission setup procedure and may not perform signaling to the UE regarding the uplink control channel repetition transmission.

When the status of the repetition request information is S ₁ and a repetition factor candidate is set in the SIB, the base station can determine a repetition factor as one of the repetition factor candidates set in the SIB. Then, the base station can transmit information indicating the determined repetition factor candidate to the terminal.

If the status of the repetition request information is S ₁ or a repetition factor candidate is not set in the SIB, the base station can determine a repetition factor as one of the repetition factors supported by the standard, that is, one of the values belonging to R _total . Then, the base station can transmit information indicating the determined repetition factor to the base station. Here, the bit mapping method for transmitting the repetition factor value can be as follows. For example, if R _total = R _SIB , the base station can directly use the bit mapping method in the case where all candidates of repetition factors supported by the standard are set in the SIB. Alternatively, the base station can determine a repetition factor as one of the values from 1 to 2 ^B , that is, one of the values belonging to R _B , according to the length B of the field used to transmit the repetition factor information, and transmit the corresponding repetition factor information to the terminal.

That is, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal can determine the repetition factor as follows and perform an uplink control channel transmission operation. At this time, the criterion used in bit mapping of the repetition factors among R _total or R _B may have been determined in advance.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, in a situation where repetition factor candidates are not set in a SIB, the operation can be changed from the existing uplink control channel repetition transmission setting procedure as follows.

Terminals that do not support repeat transmission can transmit repeat request information in S0 state.

When the RSRP threshold is set in the SIB, the terminal supporting repeated transmission can set the state of the repetition request information based on the measured RSRP value and transmit the repetition request information regardless of whether the repetition factor candidates of the SIB are set. Here, if the measured RSRP value is lower than the threshold, the terminal can transmit the repetition request information of the S1 state. On the other hand, if the measured RSRP value is equal to or higher than the threshold, the terminal can transmit the repetition request information of the S0 state.

If the RSRP threshold is not set in the SIB and repeat factor candidates are set, a terminal supporting repeat transmission can transmit repeat request information in the S1 state.

If the status of the repetition request information is S0, the base station may stop the repetition transmission setup procedure and may not perform signaling to the UE regarding the uplink control channel repetition transmission.

If the status of the repetition request information is S1 or a repetition factor candidate is not set in the SIB, the base station can determine a repetition factor as one of the repetition factors supported by the standard, that is, one of the values belonging to R _total . Then, the base station can transmit information indicating the determined repetition factor to the base station. Here, the bit mapping method for transmitting the repetition factor value can be as follows. For example, if R _total = R _SIB , the base station can use the bit mapping method as it is when all candidates of repetition factors supported by the standard are set in the SIB. Alternatively, the base station can determine a repetition factor as one of the values from 1 to 2 ^B , that is, one of the values belonging to R _B , according to the length B of the field used to transmit the repetition factor information, and transmit the corresponding repetition factor information to the UE.

That is, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal can determine the repetition factor as follows and perform an uplink control channel transmission operation. At this time, the criterion used in bit mapping of the repetition factors among R _total or R _B may have been determined in advance.

That is, even if the repetition factor candidates are not set in the SIB (i.e., R _SIB = φ), the terminal can transmit the repetition request information of the S ₁ state according to the judgment result. In this case, the base station can perform the same operation as R _SIB = R _total , i.e., all repetition factors supportable by the standard are set in the SIB. Or, the base station can perform the same operation as R _SIB = R _B , i.e., repetition factors corresponding to decimal numbers convertible to a B-bit field are set in the SIB.

Here, it can be defined that the repetition factor can be transmitted even when R _SIB = R _total . For example, as defined in Rel-18, the repetition factor can be transmitted using a 2-bit Msg4 DCI DAI field that can carry 4 values corresponding to the repetition factor candidates R _SIB = R _total ={1, 2, 4, 8}.

Alternatively, if R _B is used, the field of the B bit originally used can be used as it is, so additional signaling may not be required since the same field as the existing method is used. For example, if up to 4 repetition factor candidates are defined like Rel-18 and R _total is used, the repetition factor information can be transmitted using the DAI field (B=2) of Msg4 DCI, the same as Rel-18. Alternatively, if R _B is used, R _B = {1, 2, 3, 4} can be applied, so additional signaling fields may not be required.

Here, the criteria for selecting R _B or R _total can be known through a Cell-Specific Message that can be acquired before the entire process for repeated transmissions such as SIB1, SIB19, etc. Alternatively, the criteria for selecting R _B or R _total can be set in a manner similar to the method for determining repeated transmissions of Msg3 PUSCH by determining which one to use through the presence or absence of a specific field, etc.

Here, the bit mapping scheme for transmitting the repetition factor in a situation where no repetition factor candidates are set in the SIB can be as described below. When R _total is used, the repetition factors can be bit-mapped as if the repetition factors supported by the specification are set in the SIB. For example, when no repetition factor candidates are set in the SIB, each of the repetition factors can be transmitted using the bit mapping scheme between the Msg4 DCI DAI field and the repetition factor candidates in the case of R _SIB = R _total = {1, 2, 4, 8}. That is, 2 bits are always used to signal the repetition factor, and codepoints '00', '01', '10', and '11' can be assigned to the first/second/third/fourth set repetition factor candidates, respectively.

Meanwhile, when using R _B , the binary-to-decimal conversion values of B bits can be used to map the repetition candidate factors. For example, if B = 2, R _B = {1, 2, 3, 4} is set, so code points '00', '01, '10', and 11' can be assigned to repetition factors 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively.

The operation of setting up repeated transmission of an uplink control channel according to the above embodiment of the present disclosure may be as described below.

FIGS. 19 to 22 are diagrams illustrating an embodiment of an operation for setting up repeated transmission of an uplink control channel according to the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 19, repeat factor candidates and RSRP threshold values can be set in SIB.

According to Case 1 of Fig. 19, the repetition factor candidates in SIB are set to {1, 2, 8}, and the RSRP threshold value can be set.

In step S1911, the base station may transmit SIB configuration information to the terminal. The SIB configuration information may include configuration information of repetition factor candidates and RSRP threshold values.

At step S1912, the terminal may determine that it does not support repeated transmission of the uplink control channel.

At step S1913, the terminal may transmit Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₀ state to the base station. Accordingly, the base station and the terminal may not perform a repetition transmission operation of the uplink control channel.

According to Case 2 of Figure 19, the repeated argument candidates in SIB are set to {4, 8}, but the RSRP threshold value may not be set.

At step S1921, the base station may transmit SIB configuration information to the terminal. The SIB configuration information may include configuration information regarding repetition factor candidates.

At step S1922, the terminal may determine that it supports repeated transmission of the uplink control channel.

At step S1923, the terminal can transmit Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₁ state to the base station.

If Msg3 including repetition request information of S ₁ state is received, in step S1324, the base station can determine the value of the repetition factor. Here, the base station can determine the repetition factor as 4, which is one of the values of repetition factor candidates set in the SIB.

And, at step S1925, the base station can transmit Msg4 including repetition factor information. The terminal receiving Msg4 can perform a repetition transmission operation of the uplink control channel based on the repetition factor information.

According to Case 3 of Fig. 19, the repeated argument candidates in SIB are set to {2, 8}, and the RSRP threshold value can be set.

At step S1931, the base station may transmit SIB configuration information to the terminal. The SIB configuration information may include configuration information of repetition factor candidates and RSRP threshold values.

At step S1932, the terminal determines that it supports repetitive transmission of the uplink control channel, and the terminal may determine that it requests repetitive transmission of the uplink control channel by comparing the RSRP threshold value with the measured RSRP value. Here, the measured RSRP value may be a value less than the RSRP threshold value.

If the measured RSRP value is less than the RSRP threshold, in step S1933, the terminal can transmit Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₁ state to the base station.

If Msg3 including repetition request information of S ₁ state is received, in step S1934, the base station can determine the value of the repetition factor. Here, the base station can determine the repetition factor as 2, which is one of the values of repetition factor candidates set in the SIB.

And, at step S1935, the base station can transmit Msg4 including repetition factor information. The terminal receiving Msg4 can perform a repetition transmission operation of the uplink control channel based on the repetition factor information.

Referring to FIG. 20, repeat factor candidates in SIB may not be set, and an RSRP threshold value may be set.

According to case 1 of Fig. 20, at step S2011, the base station may transmit SIB configuration information to the terminal. The SIB configuration information may include configuration information of an RSRP threshold value.

At step S2012, the terminal may determine that it does not support repeated transmission of the uplink control channel.

At step S2013, the terminal may transmit Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₀ state to the base station. Accordingly, the base station and the terminal may not perform a repetition transmission operation of the uplink control channel.

According to case 2 of Fig. 20, at step S2021, the base station may transmit SIB configuration information to the terminal. The SIB configuration information may include configuration information of an RSRP threshold value.

At step S2022, the terminal may determine that it supports repeated transmission of the uplink control channel.

At step S2023, the terminal can transmit Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₁ state to the base station.

If Msg3 including repetition request information of S ₁ state is received, in step S2024, the base station can determine the value of the repetition factor. Here, the base station can determine the repetition factor as 4, which is one of the values of repetition factor candidates supported in the standard specification.

And, at step S2025, the base station can transmit Msg4 including repetition factor information. A terminal receiving Msg4 can perform a repetition transmission operation of an uplink control channel based on the repetition factor information.

According to case 3 of Fig. 20, at step S2031, the base station may transmit SIB configuration information to the terminal. The SIB configuration information may include configuration information of an RSRP threshold value.

At step S2032, the terminal may determine that it supports repetitive transmission of the uplink control channel, and may determine to request repetitive transmission of the uplink control channel by comparing the RSRP threshold value with the measured RSRP value. Here, the measured RSRP value may be a value less than the RSRP threshold value.

If the measured RSRP value is less than the RSRP threshold, in step S2033, the terminal can transmit Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₁ state to the base station.

If Msg3 including repetition request information of S ₁ state is received, at step S2034, the base station can determine that repetition transmission of the uplink control channel is necessary.

In step S2035, the base station can generate repeat transmission instruction information that instructs to perform uplink repeat transmission, and transmit Msg4 including the transmission instruction information to the terminal. Here, the base station can determine the repetition factor as 8, which is one of the repetition factor candidates supported in the standard specification. Accordingly, the base station and the terminal can perform a repeat transmission operation of the uplink control channel according to the set repetition factor.

Referring to FIG. 21, the repeat factor candidates and RSRP threshold values in the SIB may not be set.

According to case 1 of Fig. 21, at step S2111, the base station can transmit SIB configuration information to the terminal.

At step S2112, the terminal may determine that it does not support repeated transmission of the uplink control channel.

At step S2113, the terminal can transmit Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₀ state to the base station. Therefore, the base station and the terminal can not perform a repetition transmission operation of the uplink control channel.

According to case 2 of Fig. 21, at step S2121, the base station can transmit SIB configuration information to the terminal.

At step S2122, the terminal may determine that it supports repeated transmission of the uplink control channel, but does not request repeated transmission of the uplink control channel.

At step S2123, the terminal can transmit Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₀ state to the base station. Therefore, the base station and the terminal can not perform a repetition transmission operation of the uplink control channel.

According to case 3 of Fig. 21, at step S2131, the base station can transmit SIB configuration information to the terminal.

At step S2132, the terminal may determine that it supports repeated transmission of the uplink control channel and may determine that it requests repeated transmission of the uplink control channel.

At step S2133, the terminal can transmit Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₁ state to the base station.

If Msg3 including repetition request information of S ₁ state is received, in step S2134, the base station may determine that repeated transmission of the uplink control channel is necessary and determine a repetition factor. The base station may determine the repetition factor as 8, which is one of the values of repetition factor candidates (R _total ) supported in the standard specification.

In step S2135, the base station can generate repeat transmission instruction information instructing to perform uplink repeat transmission, and transmit Msg4 including the transmission instruction information to the terminal. Here, therefore, the base station and the terminal can perform a repeat transmission operation of the uplink control channel according to the set repetition factor.

Referring to FIG. 22, the repeat factor candidates and RSRP threshold values in the SIB may not be set.

According to case 1 of Fig. 22, at step S2211, the base station can transmit SIB configuration information to the terminal.

At step S2212, the terminal may determine that it does not support repeated transmission of the uplink control channel.

At step S2213, the terminal can transmit Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₀ state to the base station. Therefore, the base station and the terminal can not perform a repetition transmission operation of the uplink control channel.

According to case 2 of Fig. 22, at step S2221, the base station can transmit SIB configuration information to the terminal.

At step S2222, the terminal may determine that it supports repeated transmission of the uplink control channel and may determine that it requests repeated transmission of the uplink control channel.

At step S2223, the terminal can transmit Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₁ state to the base station.

If Msg3 including repetition request information of S ₁ state is received, in step S2224, the base station may determine that repeated transmission of the uplink control channel is necessary and determine a repetition factor. The base station may determine the repetition factor as 2, which is one of the repetition factor candidate groups (R _B ) set based on the bit value of the DAI field.

In step S2225, the base station can generate repeat transmission instruction information instructing to perform uplink repeat transmission, and transmit Msg4 including the transmission instruction information to the terminal. Here, therefore, the base station and the terminal can perform a repeat transmission operation of the uplink control channel according to the set repetition factor.

According to case 3 of Fig. 22, at step S2231, the base station can transmit SIB configuration information to the terminal.

At step S2232, the terminal may determine that it supports repeated transmission of the uplink control channel and may determine that it requests repeated transmission of the uplink control channel.

At step S2233, the terminal can transmit Msg3 including repetition request information of the S ₁ state to the base station.

If Msg3 including repetition request information of S ₁ state is received, in step S2234, the base station may determine that repeated transmission of the uplink control channel is necessary and determine a repetition factor. The base station may determine the repetition factor as 3, which is one of the repetition factor candidate groups (R _B ) set based on the bit value of the DAI field.

In step S2235, the base station can generate repeat transmission instruction information instructing to perform uplink repeat transmission, and transmit Msg4 including the transmission instruction information to the terminal. Here, therefore, the base station and the terminal can perform a repeat transmission operation of the uplink control channel according to the set repetition factor.

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating one embodiment of an operation of setting up repetitive transmission of an uplink control channel according to the present disclosure and repetitively transmitting an uplink control channel signal.

At step S2310, the terminal can receive SIB (system information block) configuration information from the base station.

At step S2320, the terminal can determine whether repeated transmission of the uplink control channel is supported.

At step S2330, the terminal can determine whether to request repeated transmission of an uplink control channel based on the result of the determination on whether repeated transmission of an uplink control channel is supported and SIB configuration information.

At step S2340, the terminal may transmit to the base station a message including information indicating whether to request repeat transmission of an uplink control channel.

At step S2350, the terminal can receive a message including information regarding an uplink control channel repetition transmission operation from the base station.

At step S2360, the terminal may transmit an uplink control channel signal at least once based on information about an uplink control channel repeat transmission operation.

Here, the number of transmissions of the uplink control channel signal may be determined based on whether a request for repeated transmission of the uplink control channel is made and whether a repetition factor of the uplink control channel is set based on SIB setting information.

Here, the SIB (system information block) configuration information may include information about candidates for a repetition factor indicating the number of times an uplink control channel is repeatedly transmitted.

Here, if the terminal supports repeated transmission of an uplink control channel and an RSRP threshold is set based on SIB configuration information, the step of determining whether to request repeated transmission of an uplink control channel may be determined to request repeated transmission of an uplink control channel if the RSRP value measured by the terminal is smaller than the RSRP threshold.

Here, if the terminal supports repeated transmission of an uplink control channel and an RSRP threshold is not set based on SIB configuration information, the step of determining whether to request repeated transmission of an uplink control channel may be determined to request repeated transmission of an uplink control channel.

Here, the SIB (system information block) configuration information may not include information on candidates for a repetition factor indicating the number of times an uplink control channel is repeatedly transmitted.

Here, if the terminal supports repeated transmission of an uplink control channel and an RSRP threshold is set based on SIB configuration information, the step of determining whether to request repeated transmission of an uplink control channel may be determined to request repeated transmission of an uplink control channel if the RSRP value measured by the terminal is smaller than the RSRP threshold.

Here, if the terminal supports repeated transmission of an uplink control channel and an RSRP threshold is not set based on SIB configuration information, the step of determining whether to request repeated transmission of an uplink control channel may be characterized in that whether to request repeated transmission of an uplink control channel is determined based on at least one of an RSRP value measured by the terminal and a repetition factor of an uplink shared channel signal.

Here, information regarding an uplink control channel repeat transmission operation may include information indicating whether an uplink control channel repeat transmission operation is performed, and the number of transmissions of an uplink control channel signal may be determined according to a preset criterion.

Here, information regarding an uplink control channel repeat transmission operation may be characterized by including information indicating the number of times an uplink control channel signal is repeatedly transmitted.

The operation of the method according to the present disclosure can be implemented as a computer-readable program or code on a computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium includes all types of recording devices that store information that can be read by a computer system. In addition, the computer-readable recording medium can be distributed over network-connected computer systems so that the computer-readable program or code can be stored and executed in a distributed manner.

Additionally, the computer-readable recording medium may include hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions, such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, etc. The program instructions may include not only machine language codes produced by a compiler, but also high-level language codes that can be executed by the computer using an interpreter, etc.

While some aspects of the present disclosure have been described in the context of an apparatus, they may also represent a description of a corresponding method, wherein a block or device corresponds to a method step or a feature of a method step. Similarly, aspects described in the context of a method may also be described as a feature of a corresponding block or item or a corresponding device. Some or all of the method steps may be performed by (or using) a hardware device, such as, for example, a microprocessor, a programmable computer, or an electronic circuit. In some embodiments, at least one or more of the most significant method steps may be performed by such a device.

A programmable logic device (e.g., a field-programmable gate array) may be used to perform some or all of the functions of the methods described in the present disclosure. The field-programmable gate array may operate in conjunction with a microprocessor to perform one of the methods described in the present disclosure. In general, the methods are preferably performed by some hardware device.

Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes may be made to the present disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as set forth in the claims below.

The present invention can be used in a device for transmitting and receiving a signal and a transmitter/receiver.

Claims (20)

In a method of operating a terminal in a wireless communication system, A step of receiving SIB (system information block) setting information from a base station; A step for determining whether the terminal supports repeated transmission of the uplink control channel; A step of determining whether to request repeated transmission of an uplink control channel based on the result of determining whether repeated transmission of an uplink control channel of the terminal is supported and the SIB setting information; A step of transmitting a message including information indicating whether to request repeat transmission of the uplink control channel to the base station; A step of receiving a message including information regarding the uplink control channel repeat transmission operation from the base station; and A step of transmitting an uplink control channel signal at least once based on information about the above uplink control channel repeat transmission operation, The number of transmissions of the above uplink control channel signal is: A method characterized in that it is determined based on whether the above uplink control channel repetition transmission request is made and whether the repetition factor of the uplink control channel is set based on SIB setting information. In claim 1, The above SIB (system information block) setting information is: A method comprising information about candidates for a repetition factor indicating the number of times the uplink control channel is repeated. In claim 2, If the above terminal supports repeated transmission of the uplink control channel and the RSRP threshold is set based on the SIB configuration information, The step of determining whether to request repeated transmission of the above uplink control channel is: A method characterized in that it is determined to request repeated transmission of the uplink control channel when the RSRP value measured by the terminal is smaller than the RSRP threshold value. In claim 2, If the above terminal supports repeated transmission of the uplink control channel and the RSRP threshold is not set based on the SIB configuration information, The step of determining whether to request repeated transmission of the above uplink control channel is: A method, characterized in that it is determined to request repeated transmission of the above uplink control channel. In claim 1, The above SIB (system information block) setting information is: A method characterized in that it does not include information about candidates for a repetition factor indicating the number of repeated transmissions of the above uplink control channel. In claim 5, If the above terminal supports repeated transmission of the uplink control channel and the RSRP threshold is set based on the SIB configuration information, The step of determining whether to request repeated transmission of the above uplink control channel is: A method characterized in that it is determined to request repeated transmission of the uplink control channel when the RSRP value measured by the terminal is smaller than the RSRP threshold value. In claim 5, If the above terminal supports repeated transmission of the uplink control channel and the RSRP threshold is not set based on the SIB configuration information, The step of determining whether to request repeated transmission of the above uplink control channel is: A method characterized in that it determines whether to request repeated transmission of the uplink control channel based on at least one of the RSRP value measured by the terminal and the repetition factor of the uplink shared channel signal. In claim 5, Information about the above uplink control channel repeat transmission operation is: Contains information indicating whether to perform the above uplink control channel repeat transmission operation, A method, characterized in that the number of transmissions of the above uplink control channel signal is determined according to a preset criterion. In claim 5, Information about the above uplink control channel repeat transmission operation is: A method, characterized in that it includes information indicating the number of times the uplink control channel signal is repeatedly transmitted. In a method of operating a base station in a wireless communication system, A step for transmitting SIB (system information block) configuration information to a terminal; A step of receiving a message including information indicating whether to request repeat transmission of an uplink control channel from the terminal; A step of transmitting a message including information regarding the above uplink control channel repeat transmission operation to the terminal; and A method comprising: receiving an uplink control channel signal at least once based on information about the above uplink control channel repeat transmission operation; The number of transmissions of the above uplink control channel signal is: A method characterized in that it is determined based on whether the above uplink control channel repetition transmission request is made and whether the repetition factor of the uplink control channel is set based on SIB setting information. In claim 10, The above SIB (system information block) setting information is: A method comprising information about candidates for a repetition factor indicating the number of times the uplink control channel is repeated. In claim 11, If the above terminal supports repeated transmission of the uplink control channel and the RSRP threshold is set based on the SIB configuration information, Information indicating whether to request repeat transmission of the above uplink control channel is: A method characterized in that it instructs to request repeated transmission of the uplink control channel when the RSRP value measured by the terminal is smaller than the RSRP threshold value. In claim 11, If the above terminal supports repeated transmission of the uplink control channel and the RSRP threshold is not set based on the SIB configuration information, Information indicating whether to request repeat transmission of the above uplink control channel is: A method characterized by instructing to request repeated transmission of the above uplink control channel. In claim 10, The above SIB (system information block) setting information is: A method characterized in that it does not include information about candidates for a repetition factor indicating the number of repeated transmissions of the above uplink control channel. In claim 14, If the above terminal supports repeated transmission of the uplink control channel and the RSRP threshold is set based on the SIB configuration information, Information indicating whether to request repeat transmission of the above uplink control channel is: A method characterized in that it instructs to request repeated transmission of the uplink control channel when the RSRP value measured by the terminal is smaller than the RSRP threshold value. In claim 15, If the above terminal supports repeated transmission of the uplink control channel and the RSRP threshold is not set based on the SIB configuration information, Information indicating whether to request repeat transmission of the above uplink control channel is: A method characterized in that it is determined based on whether or not a request for repeated transmission of the uplink control channel is made based on at least one of the RSRP value measured by the terminal and the repetition factor of the uplink shared channel signal. In claim 14, Information about the above uplink control channel repeat transmission operation is: Contains information indicating whether to perform the above uplink control channel repeat transmission operation, A method, characterized in that the number of transmissions of the above uplink control channel signal is determined according to a preset criterion. In claim 14, Information about the above uplink control channel repeat transmission operation is: A method, characterized in that it includes information indicating the number of times the uplink control channel signal is repeatedly transmitted. In a wireless communication system, at a terminal, At least one transmitter; At least one receiver; at least one processor; and At least one memory operably connected to said at least one processor and storing instructions that, when executed, cause said at least one processor to perform a specific operation; The above specific actions are: Receive SIB (system information block) configuration information from the base station; Determine whether the terminal supports repeated transmission of the uplink control channel; Based on the result of determining whether the terminal supports repeated transmission of the uplink control channel and the SIB setting information, a decision is made as to whether to request repeated transmission of the uplink control channel; Transmitting to the base station a message including information indicating whether to request repeat transmission of the uplink control channel; Receive a message including information regarding the uplink control channel repeat transmission operation from the base station; and Based on the information about the above uplink control channel repeat transmission operation, the uplink control channel signal is transmitted at least once, The number of transmissions of the above uplink control channel signal is: A terminal characterized in that the determination is made based on whether the above uplink control channel repetition transmission request is made and whether the repetition factor of the uplink control channel is set based on SIB setting information. In a base station operating in a wireless communication system, At least one transmitter; At least one receiver; at least one processor; and At least one memory operably connected to said at least one processor and storing instructions that, when executed, cause said at least one processor to perform a specific operation; The above specific actions are: Transmits SIB (system information block) configuration information to the terminal; Receive a message including information indicating whether to request repeat transmission of an uplink control channel from the terminal; Transmitting a message including information about the above uplink control channel repeat transmission operation to the terminal; and Based on the information about the above uplink control channel repeat transmission operation, the uplink control channel signal is received at least once, The number of transmissions of the above uplink control channel signal is: A base station, characterized in that the determination is made based on whether the above uplink control channel repetition transmission request is made and whether the repetition factor of the uplink control channel is set based on SIB setting information.

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