WO2025208622A1

WO2025208622A1 - User equipment, base station, and wireless communication methods of random access in sbfd symbols/slots

Info

Publication number: WO2025208622A1
Application number: PCT/CN2024/086243
Authority: WO
Inventors: Shahid JAN
Original assignee: Shenzhen TCL New Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Shenzhen TCL New Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2024-04-05
Filing date: 2024-04-05
Publication date: 2025-10-09
Anticipated expiration: 2026-10-05

Abstract

A wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, a user equipment (UE), and a base station are disclosed. The wireless communication method of random access in SBFD symbols/slots, executed by the UE includes receiving a configuration relating to time domain resources for transmission of physical random channel access (PRACH) preambles in SBFD symbols/slots and performing the transmission of PRACH preambles in the SBFD symbols/slots. The configuration relating to the time domain resources for the transmission of the PRACH preambles in the SBFD symbols/slots includes a configuration of time domain parameters for random access preamble transmission in the SBFD symbols/slots through a higher layer and/or a table of a time domain resource configuration for the random access preamble transmission through the a higher layer.

Description

USER EQUIPMENT, BASE STATION, AND WIRELESS COMMUNICATION METHODS OF RANDOM ACCESS IN SBFD SYMBOLS/SLOTS

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the field of wireless communication systems, and more particularly, to a wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, a user equipment (UE) , and a base station.

BACKGROUND

In prior art, several issues regarding a configuration of random access channel (RACH) occasions (ROs) . However, there is currently no consensus regarding applicability of current specification rules. Therefore, further studies are needed to solve the issues and other issues of random access in SBFD symbols/slots.

SUMMARY

An object of the present disclosure is to propose a wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, a user equipment (UE) , and a base station, which can solve issues in the prior art and other issues.

In a first aspect of the present disclosure, a wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, executed by a user equipment (UE) , includes: receiving a configuration relating to time domain resources for transmission of physical random channel access (PRACH) preambles in SBFD symbols/slots; and performing the transmission of PRACH preambles in the SBFD symbols/slots; wherein the configuration relating to the time domain resources for the transmission of the PRACH preambles in the SBFD symbols/slots comprises a configuration of time domain parameters for random access preamble transmission in the SBFD symbols/slots through a higher layer and/or a table of a time domain resource configuration for the random access preamble transmission through the a higher layer.

In a second aspect of the present disclosure, a wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, executed by a user equipment (UE) , includes: performing a transmission of physical random channel access (PRACH) in random access channel (RACH) occasions (ROs) based on a synchronization signal block (SSB) to RO mapping for the ROs in SBFD symbols/slots.

In a third aspect of the present disclosure, a wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, executed by a user equipment (UE) , comprising: performing a transmission of physical random channel access (PRACH) in random access channel (RACH) occasions (ROs) based on at least one RO validation rule to ensure a validity of ROs in the SBFD symbols/slots.

In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, executed by a user equipment (UE) , includes: performing a transmission of physical random channel access (PRACH) preambles in SBFD symbols/slots, wherein a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) used to carry hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) of a message is mapped to uplink (UL) resources of a UL sub-band in the SBFD symbols/slots.

In a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, a wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, executed by a base station, comprising: transmitting, to a user equipment (UE) , a configuration relating to time domain resources for transmission of physical random channel access (PRACH) preambles in SBFD symbols/slots; and requesting the UE to perform the transmission of PRACH preambles in the SBFD symbols/slots; wherein the configuration relating to the time domain resources for the transmission of the PRACH preambles in the SBFD symbols/slots comprises a configuration of time domain parameters for random access preamble transmission in the SBFD symbols/slots through a higher layer and/or a table of a time domain resource configuration for the random access preamble transmission through the a higher layer.

In a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, a wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, executed by a base station, includes: requesting a user equipment (UE) to perform a transmission of physical random channel access (PRACH) in random access channel (RACH) occasions (ROs) based on a synchronization signal block (SSB) to RO mapping for the ROs in SBFD symbols/slots.

In a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, a wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, executed by a base station, comprising: requesting a user equipment (UE) to perform a transmission of physical random channel access (PRACH) in random access channel (RACH) occasions (ROs) based on at least one RO validation rule to ensure a validity of ROs in the SBFD symbols/slots.

In an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, a wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, executed by a base station, includes: requesting a user equipment (UE) to perform a transmission of physical random channel access (PRACH) preambles in SBFD symbols/slots, wherein a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) used to carry hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) of a message is mapped to uplink (UL) resources of a UL sub-band in the SBFD symbols/slots.

In a ninth aspect of the present disclosure, a user equipment (UE) comprises a memory, a transceiver, and a processor coupled to the memory and the transceiver. The processor is configured to perform the above method.

In a tenth aspect of the present disclosure, a base station comprises a memory, a transceiver, and a processor coupled to the memory and the transceiver. The processor is configured to perform the above method.

In an eleventh aspect of the present disclosure, a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium has stored thereon instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the above method.

In a twelfth aspect of the present disclosure, a chip includes a processor, configured to call and run a computer program stored in a memory, to cause a device in which the chip is installed to execute the above method.

In a thirteenth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer readable storage medium, in which a computer program is stored, causes a computer to execute the above method.

In a fourteenth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program product includes a computer program, and the computer program causes a computer to execute the above method.

In a fifteenth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program causes a computer to execute the above method.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

In order to illustrate the embodiments of the present disclosure or related art more clearly, the following figures will be described in the embodiments are briefly introduced. It is obvious that the drawings are merely some embodiments of the present disclosure, a person having ordinary skill in this field can obtain other figures according to these figures without paying the premise.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of time domain resources of PRACH configuration indexes from the current specification.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of PUCCH configured PUCCH-ResourceCommon for initial/random access.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of using PUCCH configured in Pucch-ResourceCommon in SBFD symbols/slots (DUD sub-band pattern) .

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of Using PUCCH configured in Pucch-ResourceCommon in SBFD symbols/slots (DU sub-band pattern) .

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of one or more user equipments (UEs) and a base station of communication in a communication network system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6A is a flowchart illustrating a wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, applied to a user equipment (UE) side according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6B is a flowchart illustrating a wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, applied to a user equipment (UE) side according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6C is a flowchart illustrating a wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, applied to a user equipment (UE) side according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6D is a flowchart illustrating a wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, applied to a user equipment (UE) side according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7A is a flowchart illustrating a wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, applied to a base station side to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7B is a flowchart illustrating a wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, applied to a base station side to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7C is a flowchart illustrating a wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, applied to a base station side to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7D is a flowchart illustrating a wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, applied to a base station side to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of slots within a sub-frame with 15KHz SCS according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of number of slots within a frame with 30KHz SCS according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of one to one ROs of SBFD symbols/slots mapping to ROs of non-SBFD symbols/slots according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of PRB offset of PUCCH resources common in SBFD symbols/slots with reference to the starting PRB of UL sub-band according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of PRB offset of PUCCH resources common in SBFD symbols/slots with reference to the initial UL BWP according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a system for wireless communication according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail with the technical matters, structural features, achieved objects, and effects with reference to the accompanying drawings as follows. Specifically, the terminologies in the embodiments of the present disclosure are merely for describing the purpose of the certain embodiment, but not to limit the disclosure.

The diversified use cases and exponential growth of number of UEs in the next generation wireless communication system have increased the data traffic explosively which leads to the high requirements of spectral efficiency. In order to accomplish the requirements of high spectral efficiency, TDD system is widely adopted in commercial NR deployments. TDD system uses a single spectrum (frequency band) for downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) in different time slots, and utilizes the available spectrum more efficiently as compared to the Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system.

In conventional TDD system, the time domain resources are split between the downlink (DL) , uplink (UL) and flexible slots/symbols/slots, where the flexible slots/symbols/slots can be used as DL, UL or as a guard period for DL-UL switching. Allocation of a limited time duration for uplink in conventional TDD would result in reduced coverage, increased latency and reduced capacity. In order to enhance the limitations of conventional TDD operation, 3GPP RAN working group approves a study item [1] in Rel-18, which focus on the feasibility of simultaneous existence of DL and UL, a. k. a. full duplex, or more specifically, sub-band non-overlapping full duplex operation within a conventional TDD band. In SBFD operation, gNB is operated in full duplex, i.e. the simultaneous DL and UL transmission occurs at gNB side only while the UE operates in half duplex. In Rel-18, the baseline for the SBFD operation were established, and the following were agreed in TR 38.858: 1. SBFD at the gNB side. 2. Half duplex operation at the UE side. 3. FR1 and FR2-1.4. The existing TDD slot format can be used to configure the SBFD operation. For instance, an UL sub-bands can be configured in DL or flexible symbols/slots. 5. The semi-static cell common signalling such as TDD-UL-DL ConfigCommon and TDD-UL-DL-ConfigDedicated can be used to indicate/configure the time and frequency location of the SBFD operation to the RRC connected states UEs. 6. SBFD operation Option 4, i.e., both time and frequency locations of sub-bands for SBFD operation are known to SBFD aware UEs. 7. Coexistence between non-SBFD aware UEs (including legacy UEs) and SBFD aware UEs in the cell operating SBFD at gNB side. 8. SBFD scheme within a single configured DL and UL BWP pair with aligned center frequencies. 9. One UL sub-band for SBFD operation in an SBFD symbol (excluding legacy UL symbol/slot) within a TDD carrier.

Furthermore, in RAN plenary #102, the work item on NR duplex operation, Sub-Band Full Duplex (SBFD) [1] , was approved. The objective of this work item is to specify SBFD operation at the gNB side within a TDD carrier. One of the objectives is to define SBFD operation to enable random access in SBFD symbols/slots for UE in RRC-connected state, while also studying the potential benefits of extending the random access operation in SBFD symbols/slots to UE (s) in RRC idle and inactive states as given below: Specify SBFD operation to support random access in SBFD symbols/slots by UEs in RRC CONNECTED mode.

The main objective of supporting random access in SBFD symbols/slots by UEs in RRC connected mode is to: 1. Enhance cell coverage. 2. Enhance PRACH capacity, by allowing more ROs. 3. Reduce the random access latency, by introducing more ROs.

The main objective of random access in SBFD symbols/slots is to improve the cell coverage, enhance the PRACH capacity and reduce the latency of the initial/random access. However, random access in SBFD symbols/slots/slot/period may face the following issues.

Issue 1: How to enhance the existing random access configuration tables for unpaired spectrum:

For random access, a UE is configured by the higher layer with a "PRACH configuration Index" for preamble transmission. These indexes indicate the preamble format sequence (e.g., long sequence and short sequence) and the time domain resources for the transmission of preambles. In current specification, there are three tables (Table 6.3.3.2-2 to, Table 6.3.3.2-4 in TS 38.211) which defines the PRACH configuration indices and its time domain resources based on the frequency range (FR1 and FR2) and duplexing type (unpaired spectrum, paired spectrum/supplementary uplink) [TS 38.211] . According to the specification, “random access preambles can only be transmitted in the time domain resources obtained from Tables 6.3.3.2-3 to 6.3.3.2-4 and depends on FR1 or FR2 and the spectrum type as defined in [8, TS38.104] . The PRACH configuration index in Tables 6.3.3.2-3 to 6.3.3.2-4 is for Table 6.3.3.2-3 given by the higher-layer parameter prach-ConfigurationIndex, or by msgA-PRACH-ConfigurationIndex if configured; and for Tables 6.3.3.2-2 and 6.3.3.2-4 given by the higher-layer parameter prach-ConfigurationIndex, or by msgA-PRACH-ConfigurationIndex if configured. ”

The time domain resources (sub-frame indices) in the existing specification table [TS 38.211 Tables 6.3.3.2-2 to 6.3.3.2-4] were designed to align the transmission time domain resources with the uplink slots in the TDD-UL-DL pattern. These tables were specifically created for PRACH configuration and transmission in FR1/FR2 unpaired spectrum. However, when it comes to SBFD random access operation in RRC-connected UEs or the RRC idle/inactive UEs on a TDD carrier in unpaired spectrum, using the same tables for PRACH transmission in the SBFD symbols/slots (UL sub-band) is not suitable. This is because the SBFD symbols/slots are configured in TDD D/F symbols/slots, whereas the current tables are designed for locating the PRACH in the UL symbols/slots. An illustrative example of this situation is shown in FIG. 1, where the PRACH configuration indexes 4, and 5 used with a common slot pattern of DDDSUDDSUU. Therefore, a different approach is required for accurately allocating the time domain resources for PRACH transmission in SBFD symbols/slots.

Issue 2: SSB to ROs mapping in SBFD symbols/slots:

In NR, SSB is associated with different beam and UE select a certain beam and send PRACH using that beam. In order for NW to figure out which beam UE has selected, the current specification defines mapping between SSB and RACH Occasion (RO) . By detecting which RO UE send PRACH to, NW can figure out which SSB Beam that UE has selected. The rules for SSB to RO mapping are defined in [TS 38.213] as given below: “SS/PBCH block indexes provided by ssb-PositionsInBurst in SIB1 or in ServingCellConfigCommon are mapped to valid PRACH occasions in the following order where the parameters are described in [4, TS 38.211] : 1. First, in increasing order of preamble indexes within a single PRACH occasion. 2. Second, in increasing order of frequency resource indexes for frequency multiplexed PRACH occasions. 3. Third, in increasing order of time domain resource indexes for time multiplexed PRACH occasions within a PRACH slot. 4. Fourth, in increasing order of indexes for PRACH slots” .

This mapping between SSB and RACH Occasion is defined by the following two RRC parameters [TS 38.331] msg1-FDM, and ssb-perRACH-OccasionAndCB-PreamblesPerSSB, and configured to the UE by ssb-perRACH-OccasionAndCB-PreamblesPerSSB.

In the case of separate RACH configurations for SBFD symbols/slots and non-SBFD symbols/slots, the number of msg1-FDM in SBFD symbols/slots is determined based on the UL sub-band's bandwidth. The mapping between the RACH Occasions (ROs) configured in SBFD symbols/slots and the SSB is defined in the existing specifications. However, this mapping can potentially impact the SSB to ROs mapping for legacy UEs that do not support the ROs configured in SBFD symbols/slots. Legacy UEs may not be aware of the specific mapping used for SBFD symbols/slots, which could lead to confusion. Furthermore, SBFD-aware UEs have the capability to utilize ROs configured in both SBFD symbols/slots (within the UL sub-band) and non-SBFD UL symbols/slots. Using the same mapping between ROs and SSB for both SBFD symbols/slots and non-SBFD symbols/slots may cause confusion for SBFD-aware UEs.

Issue 3: RO validation in SBFD symbols/slots:

The RACH occasion (ROs) are configured for a longer period of time, there is a possibility that the ROs may overlapped with the SSB, or the ROs may overlap with the DL symbols/slots, in case TDD-UL-DL is configured. In order to avoid such situation, the current specification defined several rules to specify that which ROs are valid (can be used by UE transmit msg1) . Based on TS 38.311 the ROs validation rules are given below: For unpaired spectrum, if a UE is not provided tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationCommon, a PRACH occasion in a PRACH slot is valid if it does not precede a SS/PBCH block in the PRACH slot and starts at least N_gap symbols/slots after a last SS/PBCH block reception symbol, where N_gap is provided in TS 38.213 Table 8.1-2 and, if channelAccessMode = "semiStatic" is provided, does not overlap with a set of consecutive symbols/slots before the start of a next channel occupancy time where the UE does not transmit [15, TS 37.213] . The candidate SS/PBCH block index of the SS/PBCH block corresponds to the SS/PBCH block index provided by ssb- PositionsInBurst in SIB1 or in ServingCellConfigCommon , as described in clause 4.1. If a UE is provided tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationCommon, a PRACH occasion in a PRACH slot is valid if it is within UL symbols/slots, or it does not precede a SS/PBCH block in the PRACH slot and starts at least N_gap symbols/slots after a last downlink symbol and at least N_gap symbols/slots after a last SS/PBCH block symbol, where N_gap is provided in TS 38.213 Table 8.1-2, and if channelAccessMode = "semiStatic" is provided, does not overlap with a set of consecutive symbols/slots before the start of a next channel occupancy time where there shall not be any transmissions, as described in [15, TS 37.213] . The candidate SS/PBCH block index of the SS/PBCH block corresponds to the SS/PBCH block index provided by ssb-PositionsInBurst in SIB1 or in ServingCellConfigCommon, as described in clause 4.1. For preamble format B4 [4, TS 38.211] , N_gap=0. Ngap is the time gap in symbols between the ROs and SBB or between the ROs and DL symbols. The values are given in TS 38.213 table 8.1-2.

TS 38.213 Table 8.1-2: N_gap values for different preamble SCS μ:

Since the above mentioned rules are defined for the ROs configured in legacy UL symbols/slots, which may not be applied to the ROs configured in SBFD symbols/slots. The reason is that, the bandwidth of the UL sub-band, and time location of the UL sub-band is different from the legacy UL symbols/slots. Furthermore, the Ngap values mentioned of TS 38.213 Table 8.1-2 of the current specification, as given above, is designed according to the slot format of the TDD-UL-DL which may not be suitable to consider for the ROs validation configured in SBFD symbols/slots.

Issue 4: PUCCH carrying HARQ-ACK information of Msg4/MsgB:

During initial access procedure, the HARQ-ACK information for Msg4 (4-step initial access) or MsgB (2-step initial access) is carried in the PUCCH using the UCI. As per specification 38.211, “If a UE does not have dedicated PUCCH resource configuration, provided by PUCCH-ResourceSet in PUCCH-Config, a PUCCH resource set is provided by pucch-ResourceCommon through an index to a row of TS 38.213 Table 9.2.1-1 for transmission of HARQ-ACK information on PUCCH in an initial UL BWP ofPRBs. For operation in FR2-2, pucch-ResourceCommon can also provide a number of N_RB RBs for the PUCCH resource set; otherwiseN_RB=1. ”

In summary, before the UE is provided with a dedicated PUCCH resource configuration, it utilizes one of the cell-specific PUCCH resource sets, provided in the PUCCH-Common configuration as given in Table 1 [TS 38.213 Table 9.2.1-1] for the transmission of HARQ-ACK information. The UE transmits a PUCCH using frequency hopping at both edges of the UE initial UL-BWP, where the frequency offsets of the first and second hop are determined based on the BWP size, the PUCCH resource index, and a PRB offset from TS 38.213 Table 9.2.1-1 (TS 38.213) as illustrated in FIG. 2.

Table 1: (TS 38.213 Table 9.2.1-1: PUCCH resource sets before dedicated PUCCH resource configuration) :

In case the HARQ-ACK of Msg4/MsgB is transmitted in SBFD symbols/slots, and the above mentioned table 1 (TS 38.213 Table 9.2.1-1: PUCCH resource sets before dedicated PUCCH resource configuration) from the existing specification is utilized, the PUCCH for HARQ-ACK of Msg4/MsgB is located in the frequency resources outside of the UL sub-band as shown in FIG. 3. Similarly if the frequency hopping of PUCCH is enabled, the second hop of the PUCCH may located in the frequency resources outside of the UL sub-band as illustrated in figure 3 for DUD sub-band pattern, and FIG. 4 for DU/UD sub-band pattern.

In 3GPP RAN1#116 meeting, several issues of random access in SBFD symbols/slots for SBFD aware UEs in RRC connected state were discussed and agreed as given below agreement:

In prior art, several issues regarding the configuration of ROs, the validity of ROs in SBFD symbols/slots, and the transmission of Msg2, Msg3, and Msg4 in SBFD symbols/slots have been identified and agreed upon. However, there is currently no consensus regarding the applicability of the current specification rules and configuration for random access in SBFD symbols/slots. Further studies are needed to address issues related to enhancing several physical layer parameters of the current specification which is used for the configuration of ROs, in SBFD symbols/slots, defining separate SSB to RO mapping for ROs in SBFD symbols/slots, and carrying the Msg-B/Msg-4 HARQ-ACK in the PUCCH which is located in UL sub-band in the SBFD symbols/slots.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure propose SBFD operation in idle/inactive UE in order to improve the PRACH and Msg3 coverage, reduce the initial/random access latency and improve the flexibility of initial/random access by offloading the random access from fixed UL slots to the SBFD symbols/slots. The proposed solutions are summarized as below: 1. Definition of time domain resources for UEs transmission of PRACH preambles in SBFD symbols/slots. 2. New tables targeting the time domain resources where the UE transmits PRACH preambles in the SBFD UL sub-band are introduced. 3. Introduction of new indexes to the current specification PRACH time domain tables to allocate time domain resources for the transmission of PRACH preambles in the SBFD UL sub-band. 4. Several SSB to ROs mapping are introduced in order to distinguish between the existing specification SSB to ROs mapping and the SSB to ROs mapping for the ROs configured in semi-continuous transmission symbols/slots. 5. ROs validation rules are introduced to ensure the validity of ROs in SBFD symbols/slots. 6. Several solutions are proposed which focus on locating the PUCCH and its frequency hopping within the bandwidth of the UL sub-band in SBFD symbols/slots, which can be used for carrying the Msg4/MsgB HARQ-ACK in random access.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure discusses random access in SBFD symbols/slots and have the following advantages: 1. Enhance cell coverage. 2. Enhance PRACH capacity, by allowing more ROs. 3. Reduce the random access latency, by introducing more ROs. 4. Improve the PRACH and MSG3 coverage.

FIG. 5 illustrates that, in some embodiments, one or more user equipments (UEs) 10 and a base station 20 such as gNB for communication in a communication network system 40 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure are provided. The communication network system 40 includes one or more UEs 10 and a base station 20. The UE 10 is configured to receive a SBFD configuration from the base station 20 through a system information block (SIB) . For example, through receiving the SBFD configuration from the base station through the SIB, wherein the SBFD configuration comprises time/frequency resources of the SBFD operation in TDD DL or flexible symbols/slots for the TDD period, such that at least one idle/inactive UE is configured to perform either DL or UL transmissions based on the SBFD configuration. This can solve issues in the prior art and other issues. For example, this can improve a physical random channel access (PRACH) and/or a MSG3 coverage and/or reduce a latency of an initial/random access. The one or more UEs 10 may include a memory 12, a transceiver 13, and a processor 11 coupled to the memory 12 and the transceiver 13. The base station 20 may include a memory 22, a transceiver 23, and a processor 21 coupled to the memory 22 and the transceiver 23. The processor 11or 21 may be configured to implement proposed functions, procedures and/or methods described in this description. Layers of radio interface protocol may be implemented in the processor 11 or 21. The memory 12 or 22 is operatively coupled with the processor 11 or 21 and stores a variety of information to operate the processor 11 or 21. The transceiver 13 or 23 is operatively coupled with the processor 11 or 21, and the transceiver 13 or 23 transmits and/or receives a radio signal.

In this disclosure, the base station 20 can be an entity which is used to transmit or receive information, such as gNB. The base station 20 can also be eNodeB, transmission reception point, TRP, the NodeB in next generation communication or access point in WIFI. The UE 10 is an entity which is used to transmit or receive information at user side, such as cell phone UE. UE 10 can also be called as terminal, UE, mobile station, mobile terminal. UE 10 can mobile phone, pad, VR, AR, wireless terminal of industrial control, wireless terminal of self-driving, wireless terminal of remote medical surgery, wireless terminal of smart grid, wireless terminal of transport safety, wireless terminal of smart city, wireless terminal of smart home, etc. Furthermore, the terminal and base station can be deployed in land, include indoor, outdoor, handheld, on-board, it can also deploy on the water, air, plane, drone or satellite.

FIG. 6A to FIG. 6D illustrate wireless communication methods of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, applied to a user equipment (UE) side, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 7A to FIG. 7D illustrate wireless communication methods of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, applied to a user equipment (UE) side, applied to a base station, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6A illustrates wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, applied to a user equipment (UE) side, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, applied to the UE side includes an operation 601A, receiving a configuration relating to time domain resources for transmission of physical random channel access (PRACH) preambles in SBFD symbols/slots, and an operation 602A, performing the transmission of PRACH preambles in the SBFD symbols/slots; wherein the configuration relating to the time domain resources for the transmission of the PRACH preambles in the SBFD symbols/slots comprises a configuration of time domain parameters for random access preamble transmission in the SBFD symbols/slots through a higher layer and/or a table of a time domain resource configuration for the random access preamble transmission through the a higher layer. The processor 11 is also configured to perform the wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, applied to the UE side in the following some embodiments.

In some embodiments, an explicit configuration of the time domain parameters for the random access preamble transmission in the SBFD symbols/slots is provided to the UE, wherein the explicit configuration comprise one or more of following parameters: a preamble format used for the random access in the SBFD symbols/slots; a frame number/sub-frame numbers containing an SBFD operation or the SBFD symbols/slots; a starting symbol within a slot, wherein the starting symbol within the slot is configured according to a starting duration of the SBFD operation within the slot; a number of PRACH slots within a sub-frame, wherein the number of the PRACH slots within the sub-frame depends on a number or duration of the SBFD operation within the sub-frame, and the number of the PRACH slots within the sub-frame is configured according to a SBFD period in time domain; a number of time domain PRACH occasions within a PRACH slot; and a PRACH duration. In details, in some examples, there are two different methods. First method includes an explicit configuration of time domain parameters. In this method there is no table. Second method includes a configuration of PRACH configuration index, where each index is associated to a specific row in the table, and the table contains the time domain parameters as mentioned in some embodiments.

In some embodiments, in the table of the time domain resource configuration for the random access preamble transmission, a PRACH configuration index associates to sub-frames in a time division duplex (TDD) pattern containing the SBFD symbols/slots. In some embodiments, the table of the time domain resource configuration for the random access preamble transmission is a table where each PRACH configuration index is associated with the time domain resources. In some embodiments, each PRACH configuration index is associated with the preamble format, the frame number/sub-frame numbers, the starting symbol within the slot, the number of PRACH slots within the sub-frame, the number of time domain PRACH occasions within the PRACH slots, and the PRACH duration.

In some embodiments, in the table of the time domain resource configuration for the random access preamble transmission, there are PRACH configuration indexes 0-262 targeting the time domain resources for PRACH preamble transmission in the SBFD symbols/slots. In some embodiments, in the table of the time domain resource configuration for the random access preamble transmission, there are PRACH configuration indexes 262-524 targeting the time domain resources for PRACH preamble transmission in the SBFD symbols/slots.

FIG. 6B illustrates wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, applied to a user equipment (UE) side, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, applied to the UE side includes an operation 601B, performing a transmission of physical random channel access (PRACH) in random access channel (RACH) occasions (ROs) based on a synchronization signal block (SSB) to RO mapping for the ROs in SBFD symbols/slots. The processor 11 is also configured to perform the wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, applied to the UE side in the following some embodiments.

In some embodiments, the SSB to RO mapping for the ROs in the SBFD symbols/slots re-uses existing specification rules, and separate SSB to ROs mapping are defined for the ROs configured in the SBFD symbols/slots and non-SBFD symbols/slots. In some embodiments, the ROs in the SBFD symbols/slots are grouped with ROs in non-SBFD symbols/slots, and the groups of ROs are mapped to the SSBs. In some embodiments, the ROs in the SBFD symbols/slots are grouped with at least one RO in the non-SBFD symbols/slots based on a RO index in an ascending order. In some embodiments, the ROs in the SBFD symbols/slots are grouped to at least one RO in the non-SBFD symbols/slots based on ROs frequency division multiplexed (FDMed) in a time instance. In some embodiments, the ROs in the SBFD symbols/slots are mapped to at least one RO in the non-SBFD symbols/slots. In some embodiments, the ROs in the SBFD symbols/slots are mapped to the at least one RO in the non-SBFD symbols/slots in a one-to-one mapping, a one-to-many mapping, a many-to-one mapping, or a many-to-many mapping.

FIG. 6C illustrates wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, applied to a user equipment (UE) side, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, applied to the UE side includes an operation 601C, performing a transmission of physical random channel access (PRACH) in random access channel (RACH) occasions (ROs) based on at least one RO validation rule to ensure a validity of ROs in the SBFD symbols/slots. The processor 11 is also configured to perform the wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, applied to the UE side in the following some embodiments.

In some embodiments, at least one RO validation rule comprises one or more of the following rules: wherein the ROs configured within a bandwidth of an uplink (UL) sub-band is valid; wherein the ROs which cross a boundary of the SBFD symbols/slots and non-SBFD symbols/slots are considered as valid when the ROs are configured within the bandwidth of the UL sub-band; wherein the ROs which cross the boundary of the SBFD symbols/slots and non-SBFD symbols/slots are considered as invalid when a bandwidth of ROs is beyond a limit of the UL sub-band; wherein the ROs within the SBFD symbols/slots and within the UL sub-band are not considered as valid ROs if the ROs overlap with a synchronization signal block (SSB) ; an RO in the SBFD symbols/slots is valid when when the RO does not precede a synchronization signal/physical broadcast channel (SS/PBCH) block in a PRACH slot and starts at least N_gap symbols/slots after a last non-SBFD downlink symbol and at least N_gap symbols/slots after a last SS/PBCH block symbol. In some examples, N_gap is the time gap in symbols between the ROs and SBB or between the ROs and DL symbols. The values are given in TS 38.213 table 8.1-2.

FIG. 6D illustrates wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, applied to a user equipment (UE) side, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, applied to the UE side includes an operation 601D, performing a transmission of physical random channel access (PRACH) preambles in SBFD symbols/slots, wherein a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) used to carry hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) of a message is mapped to uplink (UL) resources of a UL sub-band in the SBFD symbols/slots. The processor 11 is also configured to perform the wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, applied to the UE side in the following some embodiments.

In some embodiments, the message is a message 4 (Msg4) or a message B (MsgB) . In some embodiments, the cell-specific PUCCH for SBFD symbols/slots is configured to the UE through a higher layer signaling, and the higher layer signaling indicates the indexes in a table, where each index is associated to PUCCH format, First symbol, Number of symbols, PRB offset, and set of initial CS indexes. In some examples, the higher layer signaling is a separate signaling which is used to configured cell-specific PUCCH resoruces which for the SBFD symbols. In some embodiments, a physical resource block (PRB) offset of a cell-specific/common PUCCH resource set through a higher layer is defined based on a bandwidth of the UL sub-band.

In some embodiments, the PRB offset of a cell-specific/common PUCCH resource set is within the bandwidth of the UL sub-band, and a set of PRB offset (RB offset UL sub-band) comprises [0, 3, 2, 4, (size of UL sub-band) /4} . In some embodiments, a PRB offset is defined according to a bandwidth of an initial UL bandwidth part (BWP) in accordance with the UL sub-band. In some embodiments, PUCCH resources are within the bandwidth of the UL sub-band, and a set of PRB offset comprises { (size of BWP) /3, (size of BWP) /3 + 3, (size of BWP) /3+2, (size of BWP) /3 +4, (size of BWP) /2} for Downlink, Uplink, Downlink (DUD) SBFD sub-band pattern. In some embodiments, PUCCH resources are within the bandwidth of the UL sub-band, and a set of PRB offset comprises { (size of BWP) /2, (size of BWP) /2+ 3, (size of BWP) /2+2, (size of BWP) /2 +4, (size of BWP) /2} for Downlink, Uplink, Downlink (DU) or Uplink, Downlink (UD) SBFD sub-band pattern. In some embodiments, a starting point of the PUCCH is configured through a higher layer. In some embodiments, a first intra slot frequency hopping is enabled for the PUCCH in cell-specific/common resources in the SBFD symbols/slots, and a separate intra slot frequency hopping is configured through a higher layer for the PUCCH in cell-specific/common resources in the SBFD symbols/slots.

FIG. 7A illustrates a wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, applied to a base station side, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, applied to the base station side includes an operation 701A, transmitting, to a user equipment (UE) , a configuration relating to time domain resources for transmission of physical random channel access (PRACH) preambles in SBFD symbols/slots; and an operation 702A, requesting the UE to perform the transmission of PRACH preambles in the SBFD symbols/slots; wherein the configuration relating to the time domain resources for the transmission of the PRACH preambles in the SBFD symbols/slots comprises a configuration of time domain parameters for random access preamble transmission in the SBFD symbols/slots through a higher layer and/or a table of a time domain resource configuration for the random access preamble transmission through the a higher layer. The processor 21 is also configured to perform the wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, applied to the base station side in the following some embodiments.

In some embodiments, an explicit configuration of the time domain parameters for the random access preamble transmission in the SBFD symbols/slots is provided to the UE, wherein the explicit configuration comprise one or more of following parameters: a preamble format used for the random access in the SBFD symbols/slots; a frame number/sub-frame numbers containing an SBFD operation or the SBFD symbols/slots; a starting symbol within a slot, wherein the starting symbol within the slot is configured according to a starting duration of the SBFD operation within the slot; a number of PRACH slots within a sub-frame, wherein the number of the PRACH slots within the sub-frame depends on a number or duration of the SBFD operation within the sub-frame, and the number of the PRACH slots within the sub-frame is configured according to a SBFD period in time domain; a number of time domain PRACH occasions within a PRACH slot; and a PRACH duration.

FIG. 7B illustrates a wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, applied to a base station side, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, applied to the base station side includes an operation 701B, requesting a user equipment (UE) to perform a transmission of physical random channel access (PRACH) in random access channel (RACH) occasions (ROs) based on a synchronization signal block (SSB) to RO mapping for the ROs in SBFD symbols/slots. The processor 21 is also configured to perform the wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, applied to the base station side in the following some embodiments.

In some embodiments, the SSB to RO mapping for the ROs in the SBFD symbols/slots re-uses existing specification rules, and separate SSB to ROs mapping are defined for the ROs configured in the SBFD symbols/slots and non-SBFD symbols/slots. In some embodiments, the ROs in the SBFD symbols/slots are grouped with ROs in non-SBFD symbols/slots, and the groups of ROs are mapped to the SSBs. In some embodiments, the ROs in the SBFD symbols/slots are grouped with at least one RO in the non-SBFD symbols/slots based on a RO index in an ascending order.

In some embodiments, the ROs in the SBFD symbols/slots are grouped to at least one RO in the non-SBFD symbols/slots based on ROs frequency division multiplexed (FDMed) in a time instance. In some embodiments, the ROs in the SBFD symbols/slots are mapped to at least one RO in the non-SBFD symbols/slots. In some embodiments, the ROs in the SBFD symbols/slots are mapped to the at least one RO in the non-SBFD symbols/slots in a one-to-one mapping, a one-to-many mapping, a many-to-one mapping, or a many-to-many mapping.

FIG. 7C illustrates a wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, applied to a base station side, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, applied to the base station side includes an operation 701C, requesting a user equipment (UE) to perform a transmission of physical random channel access (PRACH) in random access channel (RACH) occasions (ROs) based on at least one RO validation rule to ensure a validity of ROs in the SBFD symbols/slots. The processor 21 is also configured to perform the wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, applied to the base station side in the following some embodiments.

In some embodiments, at least one RO validation rule comprises one or more of the following rules: wherein the ROs configured within a bandwidth of an uplink (UL) sub-band is valid; wherein the ROs which cross a boundary of the SBFD symbols/slots and non-SBFD symbols/slots are considered as valid when the ROs are configured within the bandwidth of the UL sub-band; wherein the ROs which cross the boundary of the SBFD symbols/slots and non-SBFD symbols/slots are considered as invalid when a bandwidth of ROs is beyond a limit of the UL sub-band; wherein the ROs within the SBFD symbols/slots and within the UL sub-band are not considered as valid ROs if the ROs overlap with a synchronization signal block (SSB) ; an RO in the SBFD symbols/slots is valid when when the RO does not precede a synchronization signal/physical broadcast channel (SS/PBCH) block in a PRACH slot and starts at least N_gap symbols/slots after a last non-SBFD downlink symbol and at least N_gap symbols/slots after a last SS/PBCH block symbol.

FIG. 7D illustrates a wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, applied to a base station side, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, applied to the base station side includes an operation 701D, requesting a user equipment (UE) to perform a transmission of physical random channel access (PRACH) preambles in SBFD symbols/slots, wherein a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) used to carry hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) of a message is mapped to uplink (UL) resources of a UL sub-band in the SBFD symbols/slots. The processor 21 is also configured to perform the wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, applied to the base station side in the following some embodiments.

In some embodiments, the message is a message 4 (Msg4) or a message B (MsgB) . In some embodiments, the cell-specific PUCCH for SBFD symbols/slots is configured to the UE through a higher layer signaling, and the higher layer signaling indicates the indexes in a table, where each index is associated to PUCCH format, First symbol, Number of symbols, PRB offset, and set of initial CS indexes. In some embodiments, a physical resource block (PRB) offset of a cell-specific/common PUCCH resource set through a higher layer is defined based on a bandwidth of the UL sub-band.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure focus on random access in the sub-band full duplex (SBFD) time duration for UEs in the RRC connected state. The objective is to offer more UL opportunities for UEs to transmit PRACH, in the SBFD time duration, thereby reducing the latency associated with initial/random access. In addition, the solutions outlined below can also be applied to random access for UE in RRC idle/inactive state in the SBFD time duration.

Embodiment 1: Time domain resources for transmission of random access preambles in SBFD symbols/slots:

Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide the time domain resources for transmission of random access preambles in SBFD symbols/slots. In other words, this embodiment of the present disclosure proposes enhancement to the current specification time domain resources to make it suitable for the random access preambles transmission in SBFD symbols/slots. The following enhancement can be made.

Explicit configuration of time domain parameters for random access preamble transmission:

In this embodiment, it is proposed that the time domain resources for UE transmission of random access preambles in SBFD symbols/slots are configured explicitly to the UE through higher layer signaling. This means that the UE is not restricted to using the time domain resources defined in the existing specification TS 38.211 [Tables 6.3.3.2-3 to 6.3.3.2-4] for random access preamble transmission.

To enable this, the following time domain parameters can be configured to the UE for random access preamble transmission in SBFD symbols/slots through higher layers:

Preamble format: Since there is no new preamble format for random access in SBFD symbols/slots therefore the existing specification format can be indicated.

Frame number/sub-frame numbers: This parameter is confined to those frame/sub-frame numbers which contains SBFD operation or SBFD symbols/slots.

Starting symbol within a slot: This parameter can be configured according to the starting duration of SBFD operation within a slot.

Number of PRACH slots within a sub-frame: This parameter depends on number or duration of SBFD operation within a sub-frame, and it can be configured according to SBFD period in time domain.

Number of time domain PRACH occasion within a PRACH slot.

PRACH duration (in symbols/slots) :

The explicit configuration of time domain resources for the transmission of random access preambles is not limited to the PRACH configuration index of the existing specification. Instead, it can be explicitly configured according to the duration of SBFD symbols/slots within a TDD) . This approach effectively addresses the issue defined in the problem section. However, this approach may increase the higher layer signalling overhead.

New Table of time domain resources configuration for random access preamble transmission:

In this embodiment, the present disclosure proposes that random access preambles in SBFD symbols/slots can be transmitted using time domain resources obtained from table 2 or table 3, which are configured through the higher layer parameter prach-configurationIndex-V19 (anew configuration in PRACH-ConfigGeneric) . By using this approach, the PRACH configuration index associates to those the sub-frames in the TDD pattern that contain SBFD symbols/slots. This allows for greater flexibility in allocating time domain resources for random access preamble transmission in SBFD symbols/slots.

The time domain resources for random access preamble transmission in SBFD symbols/slots are affected by the slot pattern and the subcarrier spacing. For example, in the commonly used slot pattern DDDSUDDSUU in a 10 ms radio frame with an SCS of 15 kHz as illustrated in FIG. 8, the sub-frames that can be configured for SBFD symbols/slots are Sub-frames {0, 1, 2, 5, and 6} . Therefore, the PRACH configuration index should correspond to those sub-frames which can contain SBFD symbols/slots to ensure proper allocation of time domain resources.

Furthermore, in the case of a 30 kHz SCS and the slot pattern DDDSUDDSUU, the sub-frames that can be configured for SBFD operation are Sub-frames {#0, #1, #2, #3, #5, #6, #7, and #8} , as shown in FIG. 9. These sub-frames can be considered as time domain resources in table 3 and table 4, indicating the possible slots where the UE can transmit the random access preambles in SBFD symbols/slots.

To define the table of time domain resources for random access preambles associated with SBFD symbols/slots (i.e., in the UL sub-band) , this embodiment proposes the following two options:

Option 1:

Define a new table where each PRACH configuration index is associated with the time domain resources such as preamble format, frame/sub-frame number, starting symbols/slots, number of PRACH slots within a sub-frame, number of time domain PRACH occasions within a PRACH slots, and PRACH duration.

For instance, for the PRACH configuration index for random access of FR1 and unpaired spectrum in the SBFD symbols/slots, a long PRACH sequence based on format 0 can be defined in table 2. This table would provide the necessary information for the UE to correctly allocate and transmit the random access preambles in SBFD symbols/slots using the specified time domain resources.

Table 2: Random access configurations for FR1 and unpaired spectrum in SBFD duration:

Higher layer indication of PRACH configuration time domain resources:

In the case of defining new tables for PRACH configuration indexes, a new PRACH configuration index can be configured in RACH configGeneric to indicate the associated PRACH-Configuration index for the SBFD aware UE. Here is an example configuration:

Option 2:

In this option, the proposal is to include new PRACH configuration indexes in the current specification tables targeting the time domain resources for PRACH preamble transmission in SBFD symbols/slots (i.e in UL sub-band) . The example of this option is shown in table 3.

Table 3: Random access configurations for FR1 and unpaired spectrum in SBFD duration:

Higher layer signaling:

In case new PRACH configuration are defined and included in the current tables, a new PRACH configuration index can be configured in RACH configGeneric in such a way to indicate the associated PRACH-Configuration indexes to the UE. The example configuration is shown below:

Embodiment 2: SSB to RO mapping for ROs in SBFD symbols/slots:

During the initial access procedure, when a UE transmits the PRACH in the configured ROs, the network is unaware of which beam the UE used for the transmission. In order for the network to determine which beam the UE has selected, the current specification defines a specific mapping between SSB and RACH Occasions (ROs) . By detecting which RO the UE has used to send the PRACH, the network can understand the SSB beam that the UE has chosen. However, the current SSB to RO mapping is based on the ROs configured in UL symbols/slots, which means that it may not be utilized when the ROs are configured in SBFD symbols/slots. To address these issues, this embodiment proposes the following solutions:

SSB to ROs mapping for ROs in SBFD symbols/slots by re-using the current legacy rules (for reference) :

This embodiment of the present disclosure proposes to re-use the existing specification rules to define SSB to ROs mapping for the ROs configured in SBFD symbols/slots. In this way, there will be two SSB to ROs mapping: one is associated to the SSB to ROs mapping in SBFD symbols/slots, and the other is associated to the SSB to ROs mapping in non-SBFD symbols/slots (ROs in legacy UL symbol) . In this embodiment we assume that separate ROs are configured in SBFD symbols/slots and non-SBFD symbols/slots.

Group ROs of SBFD and non-SBFD symbols/slots and map to SSB according to the current rules:

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the ROs configured in SBFD symbols/slots can be grouped with the ROs configured in non-SBFD symbols/slots, and the existing specification rules can be reused to map the SSB to ROs group mapping. The ROs can be grouped in the following ways:

ROs groups based on ROs index:

The ROs in SBFD symbols/slots are grouped with the ROs in non-SBFD symbols/slots based on ROs index in ascending order. These groups of ROs then map each SSB in a SSB burst based on ascending order. For instance, 4 ROs configured in SBFD symbols/slots are grouped together with 4 ROs configured in non-SBFD symbols/slots and the group of ROs are mapped to the SSBs as given in table 4.

Table 4: Mapping of SBFD ROs and non-SBFD ROs group to SSB based on Indexes:

Generally, the number of ROs configured in SBFD symbols/slots may be less than the number of ROs configured in non-SBFD symbols/slots. In this case where the number of ROs configured in SBFD symbols/slots is less than the number of ROs configured in non-SBFD symbols/slots, it is possible to group multiple ROs in SBFD symbols/slots together with one RO in non-SBFD symbols/slots based on their index in ascending order. These groups of ROs can then be mapped to SSB groups according to the existing specification. The illustration example is given in table 5.

Table 5: Mapping of multiple SSB ROs group with one non-SBFD RO to SSB based on indexes:

ROs group based on the number of ROs FDMed in a time instance:

ROs in SBFD symbols/slots are grouped to the ROs in non-SBFD symbols/slots based ROs FDMed in a time instance. In current specification msg1-FDM have the choice of {1, 2, 4, and 8} ROs in a time instance. For example, if there are two ROs FDMed in SBFD symbols/slots and 4 ROs FDMed in non-SBFD symbols/slots, they can be combined into a group and mapped to the SSBs as shown in table 6.

Table 6: ROs Group based on FDMed ROs in SBFD and non-SBFD symbols/slots and mapping to SSB:

SBFD ROs are mapped to the non-SBFD ROs:

In this embodiment, the ROs configured in SBFD symbols/slots can be mapped to the ROs configured in non-SBFD symbols/slots (legacy UL symbols/slots) . Since the ROs configured in legacy UL symbols/slots can be mapped to the SSB according to the existing specification, the ROs in SBFD symbols/slots mapped to the ROs in non-SBFD symbols/slots can be assumed to be mapped to the similar ROs to SSB mapping.

For example, consider 4 ROs configured in SBFD symbols/slots and 4 ROs configured in non-SBFD symbols/slots. Each RO of the SBFD symbol can be mapped to each RO of the non-SBFD mapping (e.g. one-one mapping) , as shown in FIG. 10. In this way, the SSB which is mapped to the ROs in non-SBFD symbol (legacy UL symbol) can be considered for the ROs in the SBFD symbol, as shown in FIG. 10.

In some embodiments, the mapping of ROs in SBFD symbols/slots to the ROs in non-SBFD symbols/slots can be performed without any specific association to their index or the number of ROs FDMed in a time instance. This means that the mapping can be one-to-one, one-to-many, many-to-one, or many-to-many, without constraints based on the index or FDM.

It is worthy to note that, in case one RO is non-SBFD symbols/slots (legacy UL symbol) is used by the SBFD aware UE and legacy UE, and the ROs is mapped to the SSB according to the existing specification. The same SSB to RO mapping can be considered for both SBFD aware UE and legacy UE.

Embodiment 3: RO validation rules:

This embodiment of the present disclosure proposes the following validation rules for the configuration of ROs in SBFD symbols/slots: 1. The ROs configured within the bandwidth of the UL sub-band are valid. 2. The ROs which crosses the boundary of the SBFD and non-SBFD symbols/slots are considered as valid, when the ROs are within the bandwidth of the UL sub-band. 3. The ROs which crosses the boundary of SBFD and non-SBFD symbols/slots is considered as invalid when a bandwidth of ROs is beyond a limit of the UL sub-band. 4. The ROs within SBFD symbols/slots and within the UL sub-band are not considered as valid ROs if the ROs overlap with the SSB. 5. An RO in SBFD symbols/slots is valid, when it does not precede a SS/PBCH block in the PRACH slot and starts at least N_gap symbols/slots after a last non-SBFD downlink symbol and at least N_gap symbols/slots after a last SS/PBCH block symbol. For the N_gap values can be used the existing specification values given in TS 38.213 Table 8.1-2.

Embodiment 4: PUCCH carrying HARQ-ACK of MsgB/Msg4 in SBFD symbols/slots:

In order to address the issues related to the transmission of HARQ-ACK of Msg4/MsgB in SBFD symbols/slots, this section of the present disclosure proposes the following solutions, which can accommodate the PUCCH into the UL resources of the UL sub-band: The PUCCH, which is used to carry the HARQ-ACK of Msg4/MsgB, can be mapped to the UL resources of the UL sub-band.

Note: A UE is not provided with a dedicated PUCCH resource configuration, and it utilizes one of the cell-specific PUCCH resource sets, provided in the PUCCH-ResourceCommon.

Define frequency resources for cell-specific/common PUCCH with reference to UL sub-band:

This embodiment of the present disclosure proposes defining frequency resources for cell-specific/common PUCCH according to the bandwidth, and frequency location of the UL sub-band that can be utilized by a UE during initial access in SBFD symbols/slots for carrying the HARQ-ACK of Msg4/MsgB. To specify the cell-specific/common resources for PUCCH in SBFD symbols/slots, a new table can be introduced that indicates the frequency resources within the UL sub-band. This embodiment proposes the following two options:

Option 1:

The RB offset of the cell-specific/common PUCCH resource set is defined based on the UL sub-band's bandwidth, as illustrated in FIG. 11. In other words, the starting point of the RB offset is the starting RB of the UL sub-band in D/F symbols/slots. By doing so, when a UE in SBFD symbols/slots uses the cell-specific/common PUCCH for transmitting the HARQ-ACK of Msg4/MsgB, the PUCCH will be situated within the UL sub-band's bandwidth.

The proposed PRB offset within the bandwidth of the UL sub-band for PUCCH in cell-specific/common resources during initial access are illustrated in table 7.

Table 7: PRB offset of PUCCH resources common with reference to UL sub-band in SBFD symbols/slots:

Higher layer Indication of the cell-specific/common PUCCH resources to UE:

In addition, to the defined starting point of the RB offset and the new table for cell-specific/common PUCCH resource sets for the transmission of Msg4/MsgB HARQ-ACK in SBFD symbols/slots, this disclosure proposes the new table can be configured through higher layer signalling to the SBFD aware UE i.e. PUCCH-ConfigCommon. This configuration is important to distinguish the cell-specific/common PUCCH resources for SBFD-aware UEs, and legacy UEs during initial access. This PUCCH cell-specific/common configuration would include the indication of PUCCH cell-specific/common resources specifically for SBFD-aware UEs. The UE can be informed about the specific PUCCH resources to be used for SBFD symbols/slots during initial access, ensuring HARQ-ACK transmission within the UL sub-band.

Explanation:

pucch-ResourceCommonSBFD:

This field in higher layer indicates a 16 row indexes of a table where each row configures a set of cell specific/common PUCCH resources/parameters for UEs in SBFD symbols/slots. The UE uses those PUCCH resources during initial access on the UL sub-band located in the initial DL BWP. When the network provides a dedicated PUCCH-Configuration for that SBFD symbols/slots the SBFD aware UE applies that one instead of the one provided in the table for SBFD aware UE.

Option 2:

The RB offset is defined according to the bandwidth of the initial UL BWP in accordance with the UL Sub-band. In this embodiment a set of RB offset for the cell-specific/common PUCCH resources according to the bandwidth of the initial UL BWP in such a way to locate the PUCCH resources within the bandwidth of the UL sub-band as shown in FIG. 12.

The new values of RB offset within the bandwidth of the UL sub-band for PUCCH in cell-specific/common resources during initial access are illustrated in table 8, and it is defined according to the initial UL bandwidth as illustrated in table 8 for DUD sub-band pattern and illustrated in table 9 for DU sub-band pattern.

Table 8: PRB offset of PUCCH resources common with reference to UL sub-band in SBFD symbols/slots (DUD sub-band pattern) :

Table 9: PRB offset of PUCCH resources common with reference to UL sub-band in SBFD symbols/slots (DU sub-band pattern) :

Higher layer Indication of the cell-specific/common PUCCH resources to UE:

In this case the index of cell-specific/common PUCCH for the transmission of HARQ-ACK in SBFD symbols/slots can be used as the same, with legacy UE. However, an additional RB offset can be configured to the SBFD aware UE for cell-specific/common PUCCH resources in order to locate the PUCCH cell specific/common resources within the bandwidth of the UL sub-band. The configuration of the new RB offset for SBFD aware UE for cell-specific/common PUCCH resources is given below:

Explanation:

SBFD_PRBOffset:

This parameter is used to indicate the PRB offset for cell-specific/common PUCCH associated to the initial UL BWP in order to locate the PUCCH in SBFD UL sub-band. The values {n1, n2, n3, n4, n5, n6, n7, n8, n9, n10, n11, n12, n13, n14} corresponds to the PUCCH location as shown in table 10.

Table 10: PRB offset values in PUCCH resource Common in SBFD symbols/slots:

Explicit starting point of PUCCH in PUCCH configCommon:

This embodiment of the present disclosure proposes to configure an explicit starting point of the PUCC which is used to carry the Msg4/MsgB HARQ-ACK in SBFD symbols/slots. The gNB can configure this starting point of the PUCCH in PUCCH-configCommon. In this way, the PUCCH during initial access for SBFD aware UE to transmit Msg4/MsgB HARQ-ACK will locate within the bandwidth of the UL sub-band. The example of explicit starting point of PUCCH is shown below. In case, the starting point of PUCCH is explicitly configured by higher layers, then the PRB offset defined in the existing specification can be used for PUCCH in common resources during random access.

The example of explicit starting point of PUCCH is shown below:

Intra slot frequency hopping for PUCCH in cell-specific/common resources in SBFD symbols/slots:

During initial access, if the intra slot frequency hopping is enabled for PUCCH in cell-specific/common resources in SBFD symbol for HARQ-ACK of Msg4/MsgB, the second hop of PUCCH will locate outside the bandwidth of the UL BWP as explained in problem section in details. In order to keep the 2nd hop of PUCCH within the frequency resources of the UL sub-band in SBFD symbols/slots, this embodiment of the present disclosure proposes to configure a separate intra slot frequency hopping in PUCCH-configCommon for cell-specific/common PUCCH in SBFD symbols/slots as shown in below example:

In summary, some embodiments of the present disclosure propose SBFD operation in idle/inactive UE 10 in order to improve the PRACH and/or MSG 3 coverage, reduce the initial/random access latency, and/or improve the flexibility of initial/random access by offloading the random access from fixed UL slots to the SBFD symbols/slots. The proposed solutions are summarized as below. 1. Several rules are proposed to avoid the overlapping of PO and SBFD symbols/slots. In addition, dynamic conversion of SBFD symbols/slots to legacy symbols/slots, and flexible subbands are used to solve the issues of paging overlapping with the SBFD symbols/slots. 2. New limits of maximum ROs FDMed in frequency domain and new offset of the lowest RO from the PRB#0 are proposed in order to place the MSG 1 within the UL subband. In addition, separate parameters of the RO configuration such as separate frequency resources, offset, and UL power control parameters are proposed in SIB1 for the ROs in the SBFD symbols/slots. 3. SBFD pattern in time domain and flexible subbands are proposed to allow the timely transmission of MSG 2.4. New frequency hopping range and/or separate parameters in the RAR UL grant can be proposed to allow the accurate transmission of MSG 3 in the SBFD symbols/slots. Some embodiments of the present disclosure discuss the SBFD operation in idle/inactive and may have at least one of the following advantages. 1. Reduce the latency of the initial/random access. 2. Improve the PRACH and/or MSG3 coverage. 3. Improve the flexibility of random/initial access by offloading random access from fixed UL slots to SBFD symbols/slots.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of an example system 700 for wireless communication according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Embodiments described herein may be implemented into the system using any suitably configured hardware and/or software. FIG. 13 illustrates the system 700 including a radio frequency (RF) circuitry 710, a baseband circuitry 720, an application circuitry 730, a memory/storage 740, a display 750, a camera 760, a sensor 770, and an input/output (I/O) interface 780, coupled with each other at least as illustrated. The application circuitry 730 may include a circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processors may include any combination of general-purpose processors and dedicated processors, such as graphics processors, application processors, or digital signal processor. The processors may be coupled with the memory/storage and configured to execute instructions stored in the memory/storage to enable various applications and/or operating systems running on the system.

While the present disclosure has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements made without departing from the scope of the broadest interpretation of the appended claims.

Claims

A wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, executed by a user equipment (UE) , comprising:

receiving a configuration relating to time domain resources for transmission of physical random channel access (PRACH) preambles in SBFD symbols/slots; and

performing the transmission of PRACH preambles in the SBFD symbols/slots;

wherein the configuration relating to the time domain resources for the transmission of the PRACH preambles in the SBFD symbols/slots comprises a configuration of time domain parameters for random access preamble transmission in the SBFD symbols/slots through a higher layer and/or a table of a time domain resource configuration for the random access preamble transmission through the a higher layer.
The wireless communication method of claim 1, wherein an explicit configuration of the time domain parameters for the random access preamble transmission in the SBFD symbols/slots is provided to the UE, wherein the explicit configuration comprise one or more of following parameters:

a preamble format used for the random access in the SBFD symbols/slots;

a frame number/sub-frame numbers containing an SBFD operation or the SBFD symbols/slots;

a starting symbol within a slot, wherein the starting symbol within the slot is configured according to a starting duration of the SBFD operation within the slot;

a number of PRACH slots within a sub-frame, wherein the number of the PRACH slots within the sub-frame depends on a number or duration of the SBFD operation within the sub-frame, and the number of the PRACH slots within the sub-frame is configured according to a SBFD period in time domain;

a number of time domain PRACH occasions within a PRACH slot; and

a PRACH duration.
The wireless communication method of claim 1, wherein in the table of the time domain resource configuration for the random access preamble transmission, a PRACH configuration index associates to sub-frames in a time division duplex (TDD) pattern containing the SBFD symbols/slots.
The wireless communication method of claim 3, wherein the table of the time domain resource configuration for the random access preamble transmission is a table where each PRACH configuration index is associated with the time domain resources.
The wireless communication method of claim 4, wherein each PRACH configuration index is associated with the preamble format, the frame number/sub-frame numbers, the starting symbol within the slot, the number of PRACH slots within the sub-frame, the number of time domain PRACH occasions within the PRACH slots, and the PRACH duration.
The wireless communication method of claim 3, wherein in the table of the time domain resource configuration for the random access preamble transmission, there are PRACH configuration indexes 0-262 targeting the time domain resources for PRACH preamble transmission in the SBFD symbols/slots.
The wireless communication method of claim 3, wherein in the table of the time domain resource configuration for the random access preamble transmission, there are PRACH configuration indexes 262-524 targeting the time domain resources for PRACH preamble transmission in the SBFD symbols/slots.
A wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, executed by a user equipment (UE) , comprising:

performing a transmission of physical random channel access (PRACH) in random access channel (RACH) occasions (ROs) based on a synchronization signal block (SSB) to RO mapping for the ROs in SBFD symbols/slots.
The wireless communication method of claim 8, wherein the SSB to RO mapping for the ROs in the SBFD symbols/slots re-uses existing specification rules, and separate SSB to ROs mapping are defined for the ROs configured in the SBFD symbols/slots and non-SBFD symbols/slots.
The wireless communication method of claim 8, wherein the ROs in the SBFD symbols/slots are grouped with ROs in non-SBFD symbols/slots, and the groups of ROs are mapped to the SSBs.
The wireless communication method of claim 10, wherein the ROs in the SBFD symbols/slots are grouped with at least one RO in the non-SBFD symbols/slots based on a RO index in an ascending order.
The wireless communication method of claim 8, wherein the ROs in the SBFD symbols/slots are grouped to at least one RO in the non-SBFD symbols/slots based on ROs frequency division multiplexed (FDMed) in a time instance.
The wireless communication method of claim 8, wherein the ROs in the SBFD symbols/slots are mapped to at least one RO in the non-SBFD symbols/slots.
The wireless communication method of claim 13, wherein the ROs in the SBFD symbols/slots are mapped to the at least one RO in the non-SBFD symbols/slots in a one-to-one mapping, a one-to-many mapping, a many-to-one mapping, or a many-to-many mapping.
A wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, executed by a user equipment (UE) , comprising:

performing a transmission of physical random channel access (PRACH) in random access channel (RACH) occasions (ROs) based on at least one RO validation rule to ensure a validity of ROs in the SBFD symbols/slots.
The wireless communication method of claim 15, wherein at least one RO validation rule comprises one or more of the following rules:

wherein the ROs configured within a bandwidth of an uplink (UL) sub-band is valid;

wherein the ROs which cross a boundary of the SBFD symbols/slots and non-SBFD symbols/slots are considered as valid when the ROs are configured within the bandwidth of the UL sub-band;

wherein the ROs which cross the boundary of the SBFD symbols/slots and non-SBFD symbols/slots are considered as invalid when a bandwidth of ROs is beyond a limit of the UL sub-band;

wherein the ROs within the SBFD symbols/slots and within the UL sub-band are not considered as valid ROs if the ROs overlap with a synchronization signal block (SSB) ;

an RO in the SBFD symbols/slots is valid when when the RO does not precede a synchronization signal/physical broadcast channel (SS/PBCH) block in a PRACH slot and starts at least N_gap symbols/slots after a last non-SBFD downlink symbol and at least N_gap symbols/slots after a last SS/PBCH block symbol.
A wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, executed by a user equipment (UE) , comprising:

performing a transmission of physical random channel access (PRACH) preambles in SBFD symbols/slots, wherein a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) used to carry hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) of a message is mapped to uplink (UL) resources of a UL sub-band in the SBFD symbols/slots.
The wireless communication method of claim 17, wherein the message is a message 4 (Msg4) or a message B (MsgB) .
The wireless communication method of claim 17, wherein the cell-specific PUCCH for SBFD symbols/slots is configured to the UE through a higher layer signaling, and the higher layer signaling indicates the indexes in a table, where each index is associated to PUCCH format, First symbol, Number of symbols, PRB offset, and set of initial CS indexes.
The wireless communication method of claim 17, wherein a physical resource block (PRB) offset of a cell-specific/common PUCCH resource set through a higher layer is defined based on a bandwidth of the UL sub-band.
The wireless communication method of claim 20, wherein the PRB offset of a cell-specific/common PUCCH resource set is within the bandwidth of the UL sub-band, and a set of PRB offset (RB offset UL sub-band) comprises [0, 3, 2, 4, (size of UL sub-band) /4} .
The wireless communication method of claim 17, wherein a PRB offset is defined according to a bandwidth of an initial UL bandwidth part (BWP) in accordance with the UL sub-band.
The wireless communication method of claim 22, wherein PUCCH resources are within the bandwidth of the UL sub-band, and a set of PRB offset comprises { (size of BWP) /3, (size of BWP) /3 + 3, (size of BWP) /3+2, (size of BWP) /3 +4, (size of BWP) /2} for Downlink, Uplink, Downlink (DUD) SBFD sub-band pattern.
The wireless communication method of claim 22, wherein PUCCH resources are within the bandwidth of the UL sub-band, and a set of PRB offset comprises { (size of BWP) /2, (size of BWP) /2+ 3, (size of BWP) /2+2, (size of BWP) /2 +4, (size of BWP) /2} for Downlink, Uplink, Downlink (DU) or Uplink, Downlink (UD) SBFD sub-band pattern.
The wireless communication method of claim 17, wherein a starting point of the PUCCH is configured through a higher layer.
The wireless communication method of claim 17, wherein a first intra slot frequency hopping is enabled for the PUCCH in cell-specific/common resources in the SBFD symbols/slots, and a separate intra slot frequency hopping is configured through a higher layer for the PUCCH in cell-specific/common resources in the SBFD symbols/slots.
A wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, executed by a base station, comprising:

transmitting, to a user equipment (UE) , a configuration relating to time domain resources for transmission of physical random channel access (PRACH) preambles in SBFD symbols/slots; and

requesting the UE to perform the transmission of PRACH preambles in the SBFD symbols/slots;

wherein the configuration relating to the time domain resources for the transmission of the PRACH preambles in the SBFD symbols/slots comprises a configuration of time domain parameters for random access preamble transmission in the SBFD symbols/slots through a higher layer and/or a table of a time domain resource configuration for the random access preamble transmission through the a higher layer.
The wireless communication method of claim 27, wherein an explicit configuration of the time domain parameters for the random access preamble transmission in the SBFD symbols/slots is provided to the UE, wherein the explicit configuration comprise one or more of following parameters:

a preamble format used for the random access in the SBFD symbols/slots;

a frame number/sub-frame numbers containing an SBFD operation or the SBFD symbols/slots;

a starting symbol within a slot, wherein the starting symbol within the slot is configured according to a starting duration of the SBFD operation within the slot;

a number of PRACH slots within a sub-frame, wherein the number of the PRACH slots within the sub-frame depends on a number or duration of the SBFD operation within the sub-frame, and the number of the PRACH slots within the sub-frame is configured according to a SBFD period in time domain;

a number of time domain PRACH occasions within a PRACH slot; and

a PRACH duration.
The wireless communication method of claim 27, wherein in the table of the time domain resource configuration for the random access preamble transmission, a PRACH configuration index associates to sub-frames in a time division duplex (TDD) pattern containing the SBFD symbols/slots.
The wireless communication method of claim 29, wherein the table of the time domain resource configuration for the random access preamble transmission is a table where each PRACH configuration index is associated with the time domain resources.
The wireless communication method of claim 30, wherein each PRACH configuration index is associated with the preamble format, the frame number/sub-frame numbers, the starting symbol within the slot, the number of PRACH slots within the sub-frame, the number of time domain PRACH occasions within the PRACH slots, and the PRACH duration.
The wireless communication method of claim 29, wherein in the table of the time domain resource configuration for the random access preamble transmission, there are PRACH configuration indexes 0-262 targeting the time domain resources for PRACH preamble transmission in the SBFD symbols/slots.
The wireless communication method of claim 29, wherein in the table of the time domain resource configuration for the random access preamble transmission, there are PRACH configuration indexes 262-524 targeting the time domain resources for PRACH preamble transmission in the SBFD symbols/slots.
A wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, executed by a base station, comprising:

requesting a user equipment (UE) to perform a transmission of physical random channel access (PRACH) in random access channel (RACH) occasions (ROs) based on a synchronization signal block (SSB) to RO mapping for the ROs in SBFD symbols/slots.
The wireless communication method of claim 34, wherein the SSB to RO mapping for the ROs in the SBFD symbols/slots re-uses existing specification rules, and separate SSB to ROs mapping are defined for the ROs configured in the SBFD symbols/slots and non-SBFD symbols/slots.
The wireless communication method of claim 34, wherein the ROs in the SBFD symbols/slots are grouped with ROs in non-SBFD symbols/slots, and the groups of ROs are mapped to the SSBs.
The wireless communication method of claim 36, wherein the ROs in the SBFD symbols/slots are grouped with at least one RO in the non-SBFD symbols/slots based on a RO index in an ascending order.
The wireless communication method of claim 34, wherein the ROs in the SBFD symbols/slots are grouped to at least one RO in the non-SBFD symbols/slots based on ROs frequency division multiplexed (FDMed) in a time instance.
The wireless communication method of claim 34, wherein the ROs in the SBFD symbols/slots are mapped to at least one RO in the non-SBFD symbols/slots.
The wireless communication method of claim 39, wherein the ROs in the SBFD symbols/slots are mapped to the at least one RO in the non-SBFD symbols/slots in a one-to-one mapping, a one-to-many mapping, a many-to-one mapping, or a many-to-many mapping.
A wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, executed by a base station, comprising:

requesting a user equipment (UE) to perform a transmission of physical random channel access (PRACH) in random access channel (RACH) occasions (ROs) based on at least one RO validation rule to ensure a validity of ROs in the SBFD symbols/slots.
The wireless communication method of claim 41, wherein at least one RO validation rule comprises one or more of the following rules:

wherein the ROs configured within a bandwidth of an uplink (UL) sub-band is valid;

wherein the ROs which cross a boundary of the SBFD symbols/slots and non-SBFD symbols/slots are considered as valid when the ROs are configured within the bandwidth of the UL sub-band;

wherein the ROs which cross the boundary of the SBFD symbols/slots and non-SBFD symbols/slots are considered as invalid when a bandwidth of ROs is beyond a limit of the UL sub-band;

wherein the ROs within the SBFD symbols/slots and within the UL sub-band are not considered as valid ROs if the ROs overlap with a synchronization signal block (SSB) ;

an RO in the SBFD symbols/slots is valid when when the RO does not precede a synchronization signal/physical broadcast channel (SS/PBCH) block in a PRACH slot and starts at least N_gap symbols/slots after a last non-SBFD downlink symbol and at least N_gap symbols/slots after a last SS/PBCH block symbol.
A wireless communication method of random access in sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols/slots, executed by a base station, comprising:

requesting a user equipment (UE) to perform a transmission of physical random channel access (PRACH) preambles in SBFD symbols/slots, wherein a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) used to carry hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) of a message is mapped to uplink (UL) resources of a UL sub-band in the SBFD symbols/slots.
The wireless communication method of claim 43, wherein the message is a message 4 (Msg4) or a message B (MsgB) .
The wireless communication method of claim 43, wherein the cell-specific PUCCH for SBFD symbols/slots is configured to the UE through a higher layer signaling, and the higher layer signaling indicates the indexes in a table, where each index is associated to PUCCH format, First symbol, Number of symbols, PRB offset, and set of initial CS indexes.
The wireless communication method of claim 43, wherein a physical resource block (PRB) offset of a cell- specific/common PUCCH resource set through a higher layer is defined based on a bandwidth of the UL sub-band.
The wireless communication method of claim 46, wherein the PRB offset of a cell-specific/common PUCCH resource set is within the bandwidth of the UL sub-band, and a set of PRB offset (RB offset UL sub-band) comprises [0, 3, 2, 4, (size of UL sub-band) /4} .
The wireless communication method of claim 43, wherein a PRB offset is defined according to a bandwidth of an initial UL bandwidth part (BWP) in accordance with the UL sub-band.
The wireless communication method of claim 48, wherein PUCCH resources are within the bandwidth of the UL sub-band, and a set of PRB offset comprises { (size of BWP) /3, (size of BWP) /3 + 3, (size of BWP) /3+2, (size of BWP) /3 +4, (size of BWP) /2} for Downlink, Uplink, Downlink (DUD) SBFD sub-band pattern.
The wireless communication method of claim 48, wherein PUCCH resources are within the bandwidth of the UL sub-band, and a set of PRB offset comprises { (size of BWP) /2, (size of BWP) /2+ 3, (size of BWP) /2+2, (size of BWP) /2 +4, (size of BWP) /2} for Downlink, Uplink, Downlink (DU) or Uplink, Downlink (UD) SBFD sub-band pattern.
The wireless communication method of claim 43, wherein a starting point of the PUCCH is configured through a higher layer.
The wireless communication method of claim 43, wherein a first intra slot frequency hopping is enabled for the PUCCH in cell-specific/common resources in the SBFD symbols/slots, and a separate intra slot frequency hopping is configured through a higher layer for the PUCCH in cell-specific/common resources in the SBFD symbols/slots.
A user equipment (UE) , comprising:

a memory;

a transceiver; and

a processor coupled to the memory and the transceiver;

wherein the UE is configured to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 26.
A base station, comprising:

a memory;

a transceiver; and

a processor coupled to the memory and the transceiver;

wherein the base station is configured to perform the method of any one of claims 27 to 52.