CN117155720A

CN117155720A - Communication method and device

Info

Publication number: CN117155720A
Application number: CN202210726875.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 何泓利; 李雪茹
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-05-23
Filing date: 2022-06-24
Publication date: 2023-12-01
Also published as: WO2023226759A1

Abstract

The application provides a communication method and a communication device, relates to the technical field of wireless communication, and can accurately and timely control the working state of a forwarding channel of relay equipment. The method comprises the following steps: the first network device determines that a first condition is satisfied. Wherein the first condition comprises at least one of: the first terminal equipment is switched from a first cell to a target cell, or the first terminal equipment initiates random access in the target cell; the network equipment corresponding to the target cell is first network equipment; the first network device receives first request information from the first terminal device, and the first request information requests to open a forwarding channel in the relay device. The first network device sends first indication information to the relay device to indicate the relay device to open a forwarding channel. The relay device comprises a forwarding channel, and the relay device is associated with the first terminal device.

Description

Communication method and device

The present application claims priority from the chinese patent application filed at month 23 2022, month 05, filed with the national intellectual property agency, application number 202210562194.9, entitled "an NCR control method, network device, terminal device", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of wireless communications, and in particular, to a communication method and apparatus.

Background

The relay device can provide a signal enhanced service to improve coverage of the wireless network. If the terminal equipment is in the signal coverage range of the relay equipment, the relay equipment needs to start a forwarding channel of the relay equipment, and signal enhancement service is provided for the terminal equipment. If the signal coverage of the relay device does not have the terminal device associated with the relay device, the relay device needs to close a forwarding channel of the relay device, so that the power consumption of the relay device and the interference to other communication devices are reduced. How to accurately and timely control the working state of the forwarding channel of the relay device is a problem to be solved.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a communication method and a communication device, which can accurately and timely control the working state of a forwarding channel of relay equipment. In order to achieve the above purpose, the application adopts the following technical scheme:

in a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The execution subject of the method may be the first network device or a chip applied in the first network device. The following describes an example in which the execution subject is the first network device. The method comprises the following steps:

The first network device determines that a first condition is satisfied, wherein the first condition includes at least one of:

the first item, the first terminal equipment is switched from the first cell into the target cell, or the first terminal equipment initiates random access in the target cell. The network equipment corresponding to the target cell is first network equipment. The first cell is a cell other than the target cell.

The second item, the first network device receives the first request information from the first terminal device. The first request information requests to open a forwarding channel in the relay device.

The first network device sends first indication information to the relay device. The first indication information indicates the relay device to open a forwarding channel. The forwarding channel is used for forwarding uplink information from the first terminal device to the first network device, and/or the forwarding channel is used for forwarding downlink information from the first network device to the first terminal device. The relay device is associated with the first terminal device.

That is, when the first condition is met, the first network device can determine that the first terminal device enters the coverage area of the first network device, so that the first terminal device also enters the coverage area of the relay device or is about to enter the coverage area of the relay device, and therefore, the first indication information can be sent to the relay device to indicate that the relay device opens the forwarding channel in advance to provide services for the first terminal device; when the second condition is met, the first network device can determine that the first terminal has a requirement of opening a forwarding channel of the relay device, so that the first indication information can be sent to the relay device to indicate the relay device to open the forwarding channel, and service is provided for the first terminal device. The first request information is information sent by the first terminal equipment to the first network equipment, and the first indication information is information sent by the first network equipment to the relay equipment, so that the first request information and the first indication information are independent of short-distance connection between the first terminal equipment and the relay equipment, generally, the available power between the first terminal equipment and the first network equipment is higher, and the transmission module capability is stronger, so that the problem that a forwarding channel is not opened timely due to poor signal quality of the short-distance connection is avoided, and the working state of the forwarding channel is timely and accurately controlled.

It should be understood that, after the relay device opens the forwarding channel, the relay device may also provide a service for forwarding signals for other terminal devices.

In one possible design, before the first network device sends the first indication information to the relay device, the method further includes: the first network equipment determines that the relay equipment is associated with the first terminal equipment according to a first identifier and a first association relation, wherein the first identifier is used for identifying the first terminal equipment, and the first association relation indicates that the relay equipment is associated with the first terminal equipment so that the first network equipment can know the association relation between the relay equipment and the first terminal equipment. That is, the first network device sends the first indication information to the relay device to instruct the relay device to open the forwarding channel after determining that the relay device has an association relationship with the first terminal device.

In one possible design, the method further comprises: the first network device receives the first identifier from the first terminal device, so that the first network device obtains the first identifier.

In one possible design, the first request information includes a first identification. The first identifier is used for identifying the first terminal device.

That is, the first request information carries the first identifier, and the first network device can acquire the first identifier at the same time as acquiring the first request information.

In one possible design, before the first network device determines that the relay device is associated with the first terminal device according to the first identifier and the first association relationship, the method further includes: the first network device receives second indication information from the relay device. The second indication information at least indicates that the relay device and the first terminal device have an association relationship.

That is, the relay device reports the association relationship between itself and the first terminal device to the first network device, so that the first network device learns that the relay device is associated with the first terminal device.

In one possible design, the second indication information includes at least the first identification. Alternatively, the second indication information includes at least a first identifier and a second identifier. Wherein the second identification is used to identify the relay device.

In one possible design, before the first network device determines that the relay device is associated with the first terminal device according to the first identifier and the first association relationship, the method further includes: the first network device receives identification information from the relay device. The identification information includes at least a first identification, or the identification information includes at least a first identification and a second identification. The second identifier is used for identifying the relay device, so that the first network device knows the association relationship between the relay device and the first terminal device based on the identification information.

In one possible design, the first identifier is the international mobile subscriber identity IMSI of the first terminal device. Or, the first identifier is a media access control MAC address of the network card of the first terminal device.

In one possible design, the second identity is the IMSI of the relay device. Or, the second identifier is the MAC address of the network card of the relay device.

In one possible design, the first identifier and/or the second identifier may be other stable identifiers that are not assigned by the network device.

In one possible design, after the first network device sends the first indication information to the relay device, the method further includes: the first network device determines that a second condition is satisfied, wherein the second condition includes at least one of:

the first item, the first terminal device is handed over from the target cell to the first cell.

The second item, the first network device receives second request information from the first terminal device. Wherein the second request information requests to close the forwarding channel.

The first network device sends the third indication information to the relay device, or if the third condition is satisfied, the first network device sends the third indication information to the relay device. Wherein the third condition comprises: among all the terminal devices associated with the relay device, the terminal device other than the first terminal device is handed over from the target cell to a cell other than the target cell. The third indication information indicates the relay device to close the forwarding channel.

That is, when the first condition is satisfied, the first network device can determine that the first terminal device has left its coverage area, so that the first terminal device also leaves the coverage area of the relay device, and therefore, may send third indication information to the relay device, indicating that it closes the forwarding channel; when the second condition is met, the first network device can determine that the first terminal has a requirement of closing the forwarding channel of the relay device or no requirement of opening the forwarding channel of the relay device, so that third indication information can be sent to the relay device to indicate that the first terminal closes the forwarding channel. The second request information is information sent by the first terminal equipment to the first network equipment, and the third indication information is information sent by the first network equipment to the relay equipment, so that the second request information and the third indication information are independent of short-distance connection between the first terminal equipment and the relay equipment, generally, the available power between the first terminal equipment and the first network equipment is higher, and the transmission module capability is stronger, so that the problem that a forwarding channel is not closed timely due to poor signal quality of the short-distance connection is avoided, and the working state of the forwarding channel is timely and accurately controlled.

In one possible design, before the first network device receives the second indication information from the relay device, the method further includes: the first network device transmits first capability information. Wherein the first capability information indicates at least one of the following functions: the first network device is capable of receiving and processing the second indication information. Alternatively, the first network device can receive and process the first request information. Alternatively still, the first network device is capable of receiving and processing the second request information. Thus, the communication device, such as the first terminal device, the relay device, etc., within the signal coverage of the first network device can learn the device capability of the first network device.

In one possible design, before the first network device receives the second indication information from the relay device, the method further includes: the first network device receives at least one of the following information from the relay device: device type information, or second capability information. Wherein the device type information is used to indicate a device type of the relay device. The second capability information indicates that the relay device can report the second indication information, so that the first network device knows the device capability of the relay device.

In one possible design, before the first network device receives the first identification from the first terminal device, the method further comprises: the first network device receives third capability information from the first terminal device. The third capability information indicates that the first terminal device can report the first identifier, so that the first network device can acquire the device capability of the first terminal device.

In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. The execution subject of the method may be the first network device or a chip applied in the first network device. The following describes an example in which the execution subject is the first network device. The method comprises the following steps:

the first network device determines that a second condition is satisfied, wherein the second condition includes at least one of:

The first network device sends the third indication information to the relay device, or if the third condition is satisfied, the first network device sends the third indication information to the relay device. Wherein the third condition comprises: among all the terminal devices associated with the relay device, the terminal device other than the first terminal device is handed over from the target cell to a cell other than the target cell. The third indication information indicates the relay device to close the forwarding channel. The forwarding channel is used for forwarding uplink information from the first terminal device to the first network device, and/or the forwarding channel is used for forwarding downlink information from the first network device to the first terminal device. The relay device is associated with the first terminal device.

In one possible design, before the first network device sends the third indication information to the relay device, the method further includes: the first network device determines that the relay device is associated with the first terminal device according to a first identifier and a first association relationship, wherein the first identifier is used for identifying the first terminal device, and the first association relationship indicates that the relay device is associated with the first terminal device.

In one possible design, before the first network device determines that the relay device is associated with the first terminal device according to the first identifier and the first association relationship, the method further includes: the first network device receives identification information from the relay device. The identification information includes at least a first identification, or the identification information includes at least a first identification and a second identification. The second identification is used to identify the relay device.

Any implementation manner of the second aspect corresponds to a part of the implementation manners of the first aspect. The technical effects corresponding to the second aspect and any implementation manner of the second aspect may be referred to the technical effects corresponding to the corresponding implementation manner of the first aspect, which are not described herein.

In a third aspect, a communication method is provided. The execution subject of the method can be a relay device or a chip applied to the relay device. The following describes an example in which the execution subject is a relay device. The method comprises the following steps: the relay device receives first indication information from the first network device. And the relay equipment starts a forwarding channel according to the first indication information. Wherein the relay device comprises a forwarding channel. The forwarding channel is used for forwarding uplink information from the first terminal device to the first network device, and/or the forwarding channel is used for forwarding downlink information from the first network device to the first terminal device. The relay device is associated with the first terminal device.

That is, the first indication information is information sent by the first network device to the relay device, so that the first indication information is independent of the short-range connection between the first terminal device and the relay device, and the problem that the forwarding channel is not opened timely due to poor signal quality of the short-range connection is avoided, so that the working state of the forwarding channel is timely and accurately controlled.

In one possible design, before the relay device receives the first indication information from the first network device, the method further includes: the relay device transmits the second indication information to the first network device. The second indication information at least indicates that the relay device and the first terminal device have an association relationship so as to report the association relationship between the relay device and the first terminal device to the first network device.

In one possible design, the second indication information includes at least the first identification. Alternatively, the second indication information includes at least a first identifier and a second identifier. The first identifier is used for identifying the first terminal equipment, and the first identifier is an identifier acquired by the relay equipment from the first terminal equipment. The second identification is used to identify the relay device.

In one possible design, before the relay device receives the first indication information from the first network device, the method further includes: the relay device transmits the identification information to the first network device. The identification information at least comprises a first identification, or the identification information at least comprises the first identification and a second identification. The first identifier is used for identifying the first terminal equipment, and the second identifier is used for identifying the relay equipment so as to report the association relationship between the first terminal equipment and the first network equipment.

In one possible design, before the relay device sends the second indication information to the first network device, the method further includes: the relay device transmits a broadcast message. The relay device receives a response message from the first terminal device. Wherein the response message includes the first identification. Or, the response message is used for determining to establish a first connection by the relay device, where the first connection is a connection between the relay device and the first terminal device, and the first connection is used for transmitting the first identifier, so that the relay device obtains the first identifier.

In one possible design, after the first connection is established before the relay device sends the second indication information to the first network device, the method further includes: the relay device receives the first identifier from the first terminal device through the first connection, so that the relay device obtains the first identifier.

In one possible design, the response message is also used by the relay device to determine that itself is associated with the first terminal device.

In one possible design, after the relay device opens the forwarding channel according to the first indication information, the method further includes: the relay device receives third indication information from the first network device. And the relay equipment closes the forwarding channel according to the third indication information.

That is, the third indication information is information sent by the first network device to the relay device, so that the third indication information is independent of the short-range connection between the first terminal device and the relay device, and the problem that the forwarding channel is not closed timely due to poor signal quality of the short-range connection is avoided, so that the working state of the forwarding channel is timely and accurately controlled.

In one possible design, before the relay device sends the second indication information to the first network device, the method further includes: the relay device receives first capability information from the first network device. The first capability information indicates that the first network device can receive and process the second indication information, so that the relay device obtains the device capability of the first network device.

In one possible design, the method further comprises: the relay device sends second indication information to the second network device so as to report the association relationship between the relay device and the first terminal device to other network devices.

In one possible design, before the relay device sends the second indication information to the first network device, the method further includes: the relay device transmits to the first network device at least one of the following information: device type information, or second capability information. Wherein the device type information is used to indicate a device type of the relay device. The second capability information indicates that the relay device can report the second indication information to report its own device capability to the first network device.

In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided. The execution subject of the method can be a relay device or a chip applied to the relay device. The following describes an example in which the execution subject is a relay device. The method comprises the following steps: the relay device receives third indication information from the first network device. And the relay equipment closes the forwarding channel according to the third indication information. Wherein the relay device comprises a forwarding channel. The forwarding channel is used for forwarding uplink information from the first terminal device to the first network device, and/or the forwarding channel is used for forwarding downlink information from the first network device to the first terminal device. The relay device is associated with the first terminal device.

In one possible design, before the relay device receives the third indication information from the first network device, the method further includes: the relay device transmits the second indication information to the first network device. The second indication information at least indicates that the relay device and the first terminal device have an association relationship.

In one possible design, before the relay device receives the third indication information from the first network device, the method further includes: the relay device transmits the identification information to the first network device. The identification information at least comprises a first identification, or the identification information at least comprises the first identification and a second identification. The first identifier is used for identifying the first terminal device, and the second identifier is used for identifying the relay device.

In one possible design, before the relay device sends the second indication information to the first network device, the method further includes: the relay device transmits a broadcast message. The relay device receives a response message from the first terminal device. Wherein the response message includes the first identification. Or, the response message is used for determining that the relay device establishes a first connection, the first connection being a connection between the relay device and the first terminal device, the first connection being used for transmitting the first identification.

Any implementation manner of the fourth aspect corresponds to part of the implementation manners of the third aspect. The technical effects corresponding to any implementation manner of the fourth aspect and the fourth aspect may refer to the technical effects corresponding to the corresponding implementation manner of the third aspect, which are not described herein.

In a fifth aspect, a communication method is provided. The execution subject of the method may be the first terminal device or may be a chip applied to the first terminal device. The following describes an example in which the execution subject is the first terminal device. The method comprises the following steps:

the first terminal device determines that a third condition is satisfied, wherein the third condition includes at least one of:

in the first item, the first terminal device can receive a first synchronization signal block SSB from the first network device, and the cell identifier corresponding to the first SSB is the same as the identifier of the target cell.

The second item, the distance between the location where the first terminal device is located and the target location is less than or equal to the first threshold.

The first terminal device sends first request information to the first network device. The first request information is used for requesting the first network device to open a forwarding channel in the relay device. The forwarding channel is used for forwarding uplink information from the first terminal device to the first network device, and/or the forwarding channel is used for forwarding downlink information from the first network device to the first terminal device. The first terminal device is associated with the relay device.

In one possible design, the first request information includes a first identification identifying the first terminal device. The first identification is used by the first network device to determine that the first terminal device is associated with the relay device.

In one possible design, the first terminal device also fulfils the fourth condition. Wherein the fourth condition comprises: the first terminal device has traffic data transmission requirements.

In one possible design, before the first terminal device determines that the third condition is met, the method further includes: the first terminal device receives the broadcast message from the relay device. The first terminal device sends a response message to the relay device. Wherein the response message includes the first identification. Or, the response message is used for determining that the relay device establishes a first connection, the first connection being a connection between the relay device and the first terminal device, the first connection being used for transmitting the first identification.

In one possible design, after the first connection is established before the first terminal device determines that the third condition is met, the method further comprises: the first terminal device transmits the first identifier to the relay device through the first connection, so that the relay device obtains the first identifier.

In one possible design, after the first connection is established, the method further comprises: the first terminal equipment receives a second SSB from the first network equipment, and the first terminal equipment determines the current cell as a target cell according to the second SSB.

In one possible design, after the first connection is established, the method further comprises: the first terminal equipment determines a target position according to the position of the first terminal equipment. For example, the first terminal device takes the current own position as the target position.

Any implementation manner of the fifth aspect corresponds to some implementation manners of the first aspect and the third aspect. Technical effects corresponding to any implementation manner of the fifth aspect may be referred to technical effects corresponding to corresponding implementation manners of the first aspect and the third aspect, and are not described herein.

In a sixth aspect, a communication method is provided. The execution subject of the method may be the first terminal device or may be a chip applied to the first terminal device. The following describes an example in which the execution subject is the first terminal device. The method comprises the following steps:

The first terminal device sends a first identification to the first network device. The first identifier is used for identifying the first terminal device, and the first identifier is used for determining that the first terminal device is associated with the relay device by the first network device.

In one possible design, before the first terminal device sends the first identification to the first network device, the method further comprises: if the first terminal equipment does not establish the access layer connection with the first network equipment, the first terminal equipment initiates the access layer connection to the first network equipment. The access layer connection is used for sending the first identification.

In one possible design, after the first connection is established before the first terminal device determines that the third condition is met, the method further comprises: the first terminal device transmits the first identification to the relay device over the first connection.

Any implementation manner of the sixth aspect corresponds to some implementation manners of the first aspect and the third aspect. Technical effects corresponding to any implementation manner of the sixth aspect may be referred to technical effects corresponding to corresponding implementation manners of the first aspect and the third aspect, and are not described herein.

In a seventh aspect, a communication method is provided. The execution subject of the method may be the first terminal device or may be a chip applied to the first terminal device. The following describes an example in which the execution subject is the first terminal device. The method comprises the following steps:

The first terminal device determines that a fifth condition is satisfied, wherein the fifth condition includes at least one of:

in the first item, a cell in which the first terminal device resides is about to reselect from a target cell to a cell other than the target cell, where the target cell is a cell corresponding to the first network device.

The second item, the distance between the location where the first terminal device is located and the target location is greater than or equal to the first threshold.

The first terminal device sends second request information to the first network device. The second request information is used for requesting the first network device to close a forwarding channel in the relay device. The forwarding channel is used for forwarding uplink information from the first terminal device to the first network device, and/or the forwarding channel is used for forwarding downlink information from the first network device to the first terminal device. The first terminal device is associated with the relay device.

In one possible design, the second request information includes the first identification. Wherein the first identifier is used for identifying the first terminal device. The first identification is used by the first network device to determine that the first terminal device is associated with the relay device.

In one possible design, before the first terminal device determines that the fifth condition is met, the method further includes: the first terminal device receives the broadcast message from the relay device. The first terminal device sends a response message to the relay device. Wherein the response message includes the first identification. Or, the response message is used for determining that the relay device establishes a first connection, the first connection being a connection between the relay device and the first terminal device, the first connection being used for transmitting the first identification.

In one possible design, after the first connection is established, the method further comprises: the first terminal device receives a second physical broadcast channel block SSB from the second network device, and the first terminal device determines the current cell as a target cell according to the second SSB.

In one possible design, after the first connection is established, the method further comprises: the first terminal equipment determines a target position according to the position of the first terminal equipment.

Any implementation manner of the seventh aspect corresponds to some implementation manners of the first aspect and the third aspect. Technical effects corresponding to any implementation manner of the seventh aspect may be referred to technical effects corresponding to corresponding implementation manners of the first aspect and the third aspect, and are not described herein.

In an eighth aspect, a communication method is provided. The execution subject of the method may be the first terminal device or may be a chip applied to the first terminal device. The following describes an example in which the execution subject is the first terminal device. The method comprises the following steps:

the first item, the cell in which the first terminal device resides, is about to reselect from the target cell to a cell other than the target cell. The target cell is a cell corresponding to the first network device.

Any implementation manner of the eighth aspect corresponds to some implementation manners of the first aspect and the third aspect. Technical effects corresponding to any implementation manner of the eighth aspect and the eighth aspect may refer to technical effects corresponding to corresponding implementation manners of the first aspect and the third aspect, and are not described herein.

In a ninth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided. The communication device includes: a processor and a memory; the memory is configured to store computer instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the communication apparatus to perform the method performed by the first network device in any one of the above aspects or any one of the possible designs of any one of the above aspects. The communication means may be the first network device in the above-mentioned first aspect or any of the possible designs of the first aspect, or the communication means may be the first network device in the above-mentioned second aspect or any of the possible designs of the second aspect, or a chip implementing the functions of the first network device.

In a tenth aspect, a communication device is provided. The communication device includes: a processor; the processor is coupled to the memory for reading the instructions in the memory and executing to cause the communication device to perform the method performed by the first network device as in any one of the above aspects or any one of the possible designs of any one of the aspects. The communication means may be the first network device of the above-described first aspect or any of the possible designs of the first aspect, or the first network device of the above-described second aspect or any of the possible designs of the second aspect, or a chip implementing the functionality of the first network device.

In an eleventh aspect, a chip is provided. The chip includes a processing circuit and an input-output interface. Wherein the input-output interface is for communication with a module outside the chip, which may be, for example, a chip implementing the functionality of the first network device in the first aspect or any of the possible designs of the first aspect. The processing circuitry is arranged to run a computer program or instructions to implement the method of the first aspect above or any of the possible designs of the first aspect. As another example, the chip may be a chip implementing the first network device function in the second aspect or any of the possible designs of the second aspect. The processing circuitry is configured to run a computer program or instructions to implement the method of the second aspect above or any of the possible designs of the second aspect.

In a twelfth aspect, a communication device is provided. The communication device includes: a processor and a memory; the memory is configured to store computer instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the communication apparatus to perform the method performed by the relay device in any one of the above aspects or any one of the possible designs of the aspect. The communication apparatus may be a relay device in any one of the possible designs of the third aspect or the third aspect, or the communication apparatus may be a relay device in any one of the possible designs of the fourth aspect or the fourth aspect, or a chip implementing the functions of the relay device.

In a thirteenth aspect, a communication device is provided. The communication device includes: a processor; the processor is coupled to the memory for reading the instructions in the memory and executing the instructions to cause the communication device to perform the method performed by the relay device in any one of the above aspects or any one of the possible designs of the above. The communication apparatus may be a relay device in any one of the possible designs of the third aspect or the third aspect, or a relay device in any one of the possible designs of the fourth aspect or the fourth aspect, or a chip implementing the functions of the relay device.

In a fourteenth aspect, a chip is provided. The chip includes a processing circuit and an input-output interface. Wherein the input-output interface is for communication with a module outside the chip, which may be, for example, a chip implementing the relay device function in any of the above-mentioned third aspect or any of the possible designs of the third aspect. The processing circuitry is arranged to run a computer program or instructions to implement the method of any one of the above third aspects or any one of the possible designs of the third aspect. As another example, the chip may be a chip implementing the relay device function in any of the possible designs of the fourth aspect or the fourth aspect. The processing circuitry is arranged to run a computer program or instructions to implement the method in any of the above fourth or any of the possible designs of the fourth aspect.

In a fifteenth aspect, a communication device is provided. The communication device includes: a processor and a memory; the memory is for storing computer instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the communications apparatus to perform the method performed by the first terminal device in any one of the above aspects or any one of the possible designs of any one of the aspects. The communication apparatus may be the first terminal device in any one of the possible designs of the fifth aspect or the fifth aspect, or the communication apparatus may be the first terminal device in any one of the possible designs of the sixth aspect or the sixth aspect, or the communication apparatus may be the first terminal device in any one of the possible designs of the seventh aspect or the seventh aspect, or the communication apparatus may be the first terminal device in any one of the possible designs of the eighth aspect or the eighth aspect, or a chip implementing the functions of the first terminal device.

In a sixteenth aspect, a communication device is provided. The communication device includes: a processor; the processor is coupled to the memory for reading the instructions in the memory and executing the instructions to cause the communication device to perform the method performed by the first terminal device as in any one of the above aspects or any one of the possible designs of any one of the aspects. The communication device may be the first terminal device in the fifth aspect or any one of the possible designs of the fifth aspect, or the first terminal device in the sixth aspect or any one of the possible designs of the sixth aspect, or the first terminal device in the seventh aspect or any one of the possible designs of the seventh aspect, or the first terminal device in the eighth aspect or any one of the possible designs of the eighth aspect, or a chip implementing the functions of the first terminal device.

Seventeenth aspect, a chip is provided. The chip includes a processing circuit and an input-output interface. Wherein the input-output interface is for communication with a module outside the chip, which may be, for example, a chip implementing the functionality of the first terminal device in the fifth aspect or any of the possible designs of the fifth aspect. The processing circuitry is configured to run a computer program or instructions to implement the method of the fifth aspect or any one of the possible designs of the fifth aspect above. As another example, the chip may be a chip implementing the function of the first terminal device in the sixth aspect or any one of the possible designs of the sixth aspect. The processing circuitry is configured to run a computer program or instructions to implement the method of the sixth aspect above or any one of the possible designs of the sixth aspect. As another example, the chip may be a chip implementing the function of the first terminal device in any of the above seventh or seventh possible designs. The processing circuitry is configured to run a computer program or instructions to implement the method of any one of the above seventh or seventh possible designs. As another example, the chip may be a chip implementing the function of the first terminal device in any of the above-mentioned eighth or eighth possible designs. The processing circuitry is configured to run a computer program or instructions to implement the method of any one of the above eighth or eighth aspects of the possible designs.

In an eighteenth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided. The computer readable storage medium having instructions stored therein which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any of the above aspects.

In a nineteenth aspect, there is provided a computer program product containing instructions that, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any of the above aspects.

In a twentieth aspect, a circuit system is provided. The circuitry comprises processing circuitry configured to perform the method of any of the above aspects.

The technical effects of any one of the designs of the ninth aspect to the twentieth aspect may refer to the advantages of the corresponding methods provided above, and are not described herein.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2a is a schematic structural diagram of a forwarding channel according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2b is a schematic structural diagram of a relay device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3a is a schematic diagram of a scenario of a signal enhancement service according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3b is a schematic diagram of a scenario of a signal enhancement service according to an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 4 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a flow chart of another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a flow chart of another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a flow chart of another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 8a is a flowchart illustrating another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 8b is a flowchart illustrating another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 8c is a flowchart illustrating another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 8d is a flowchart illustrating another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 8e is a flowchart illustrating another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is a flow chart of another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 is a flow chart of another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 11a is a flowchart illustrating another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 11b is a flowchart illustrating another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 11c is a flowchart illustrating another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 11d is a flowchart illustrating another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 12a is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 12b is a schematic structural diagram of still another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The terms "first" and "second" and the like in the description and in the drawings are used for distinguishing between different objects or between different processes of the same object and not for describing a particular order of objects. Furthermore, references to the terms "comprising" and "having" and any variations thereof in the description of the present application are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of steps or elements is not limited to only those listed but may optionally include other steps or elements not listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. It should be noted that, in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "such as" are used to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any embodiment or design described herein as "exemplary" or "e.g." in an embodiment should not be taken as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "such as" is intended to present related concepts in a concrete fashion. In an embodiment of the present application, two or more include two themselves. The plurality may include two, three, or more.

Fig. 1 is a schematic architecture diagram of a communication system 1000 to which an embodiment of the application applies. As shown in fig. 1, the communication system 1000 includes a terminal device 11, a relay device 12, and a network device 13.

The terminal device 11 comprises, among other things, a device for providing voice and/or data connectivity to a user, in particular, a device for providing voice to a user, or a device for providing data connectivity to a user, or a device for providing voice and data connectivity to a user. For example, may include a handheld device having wireless connectivity, or a processing device connected to a wireless modem. The terminal device may communicate with the core network via a radio access network (radio access network, RAN) to exchange voice or data with the RAN. The terminal device may include a User Equipment (UE), a wireless terminal device, a mobile terminal device, a device-to-device (D2D) terminal device, a vehicle-to-device (V2X) terminal device, a machine-to-machine/machine-type communication (M2M/MTC) terminal device, an internet of things (internet of things, ioT) terminal device, a subscription unit (subscriber unit), a subscription station (subscriber station), a mobile station (mobile station), a remote station, an Access Point (AP), a remote terminal (remote terminal), an access terminal (access terminal), a user terminal (user terminal), a user agent (user agent), or a user equipment (user device), etc. For example, mobile telephones (or "cellular" telephones) computers with mobile terminal devices, portable, pocket, hand-held, computer-built mobile devices, and the like may be included. Such as personal communication services (personal communication service, PCS) phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (session initiation protocol, SIP) phones, wireless local loop (wireless local loop, WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (personal digital assistant, PDAs), and the like. But also limited devices such as devices with lower power consumption, or devices with limited memory capabilities, or devices with limited computing capabilities, etc. Examples include bar codes, radio frequency identification (radio frequency identification, RFID), sensors, global positioning systems (global positioning system, GPS), laser scanners, and other information sensing devices.

While the various terminal devices described above, if located on a vehicle (e.g., placed in a vehicle or mounted in a vehicle), may be considered as in-vehicle terminal devices, for example, also referred to as in-vehicle units (OBUs).

In the embodiment of the present application, the device for implementing the function of the terminal device may be the terminal device, or may be a device capable of supporting the terminal device to implement the function, for example, a chip system, and the device may be installed in the terminal device. In the embodiment of the application, the chip system can be composed of chips, and can also comprise chips and other discrete devices. In the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application, the device for implementing the function of the terminal device is taken as an example of the terminal device, and description is made.

The relay device 12 is one or more devices added between the terminal device 11 and the network device 13, and is responsible for forwarding the wireless signal one or more times, that is, the wireless signal of the network device 13 may reach the terminal device 11 through multiple hops, and the wireless signal of the terminal device 11 may reach the network device 13 through multiple hops. Taking a simpler two-hop relay as an example, a link from a network device 13 to a terminal device 11 is divided into a link from a network device 13 to a relay device 12, and the relay device 12 is connected to the terminal device 11, and the relay device 12 can amplify a received signal, so that a link with poor quality is replaced by a link with good quality, so as to obtain a higher link capacity or better coverage. Illustratively, the relay device 12 may be a Radio Frequency (RF) repeater, a network control repeater (network controlled repeater, NCR), or an intelligent repeater. The specific technology and specific device configuration employed by the relay device in the embodiments of the present application are not limited.

Illustratively, as shown in fig. 2a, the relay device receives the downlink signal of the network device 13 through a donor antenna (donor antenna), then performs operations of filtering, amplifying, and the like, and finally forwards the amplified signal to the terminal device 11 through a service antenna (service antenna). The donor antenna may also be referred to as a forward antenna, and the service antenna may also be referred to as a backward antenna, a retransmission antenna, or a coverage antenna. This mode may be referred to as a downstream forwarding mode. In the downlink forwarding mode, the channel between the donor antenna and the service antenna may also be referred to as a downlink forwarding channel. On the other hand, the relay device may receive the uplink signal from the terminal device 11 through the service antenna, and then, after performing operations such as filtering and amplifying, the amplified signal is finally forwarded to the network device 13 through the donor antenna. This mode may be referred to as an upstream forwarding mode. In the uplink forwarding mode, the channel between the service antenna and the donor antenna may also be referred to as an uplink forwarding channel. Optionally, the upstream forwarding channel and the downstream forwarding channel may further include mixers. As shown in fig. 2a, taking the uplink forwarding channel as an example, the relay device 12 firstly down-converts the high-frequency signal to an intermediate frequency (or baseband) through a mixer, filters the intermediate frequency (or baseband), and then up-converts the high-frequency signal back to the high frequency through a mixer to forward the signal. Optionally, the upstream forwarding channel and the downstream forwarding channel further include a power amplifier, such as a low-noise amplifier (LNA), and the like. Wherein the donor antenna may also be referred to as a forward antenna. The traffic antennas, also known as backward antennas or retransmission antennas.

The uplink forwarding channel may also be described as an uplink forwarding module, and in the embodiment of the present application, the uplink forwarding channel is taken as an example to be described. The downlink forwarding channel may also be described as a downlink forwarding module, and in the embodiment of the present application, the downlink forwarding channel is taken as an example to describe the present application.

By way of example, fig. 2b shows a schematic diagram of a relay device. The relay device comprises a control signal receiving and processing module, a forwarding module and an antenna. The control signal receiving and processing module is connected with the forwarding module. The forwarding module comprises an RF device (such as the device performing the filtering operation in fig. 2 a) and a Power Amplifier (PA) connected in sequence. And under the condition that the relay equipment is in a downlink forwarding mode, the antenna at the network equipment side is communicated with the RF device of the downlink forwarding channel, and the antenna at the terminal equipment side is communicated with the PA of the downlink forwarding channel, so that the relay equipment forwards downlink information from the network equipment to the terminal equipment. And under the condition that the relay equipment is in an uplink forwarding mode, the antenna at the network equipment side is communicated with the PA of the uplink forwarding channel, and the antenna at the terminal equipment side is communicated with the RF of the uplink forwarding channel, so that the relay equipment forwards uplink information from the terminal equipment to the network equipment. The control signal receiving and processing module may receive a control signal sent by the network device and utilize a connection with the forwarding module to adjust parameters of the forwarding module, such as an orientation of an antenna beam, a switch of the forwarding module, an amplification gain of the forwarding module, and so on. It should be appreciated that the forwarding module may also be described as a Radio Unit (RU) or a forwarding unit or repeater, and the control signal receiving and processing module may also be described as a Mobile Terminal (MT).

The network device 13 may be an access point for wireless communication or wired communication, such as a base station (base station), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission and reception point (transmission reception point, TRP), a next generation NodeB (gNB) in a fifth generation (5th generation,5G) mobile communication system, a next generation base station in a sixth generation (6th generation,6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a wireless fidelity (wireless fidelity, wiFi) system; the present application may also be a module or unit that performs a function of a base station part, for example, a Central Unit (CU) or a Distributed Unit (DU). The CU can complete the functions of a radio resource control protocol and a packet data convergence layer protocol (packet data convergence protocol, PDCP) of the base station and can also complete the functions of a service data adaptation protocol (service data adaptation protocol, SDAP); the DU performs the functions of the radio link control layer and the medium access control (medium access control, MAC) layer of the base station, and may also perform the functions of a part of the physical layer or the entire physical layer, and for a detailed description of the above protocol layers, reference may be made to the relevant technical specifications of the third generation partnership project (3rd generation partnership project,3GPP). The network device may be a macro base station, a micro base station, an indoor station, or the like. The embodiment of the application does not limit the specific technology and the specific equipment form adopted by the network equipment.

In order to facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the following description will briefly describe the scenario in which the present application relates.

In the case where the relay device is purchased and installed by a consumer, the relay device needs to serve as much as possible the consumer's terminal device. For example, as shown in fig. 3a and 3b, when the consumer a purchases the relay device 12 and at the same time, the consumer a also has its own terminal device, such as the mobile phone device 11a, the notebook computer device, the tablet device, etc., the relay device provides the signal enhancement service to the terminal device of the consumer a (such as the mobile phone device 11a, the notebook computer device, the tablet device) as much as possible. When at least one terminal device of the consumer a is in the coverage area of the relay device 12, as in fig. 3a, the mobile phone device 11a is in the coverage area of the relay device 13, and the relay device 1 opens a forwarding channel (such as the uplink forwarding channel and/or the downlink forwarding channel in fig. 2 a) to amplify and forward the uplink and downlink signals, so as to avoid the problem of poor service quality caused by weak signals at the terminal device side. When any one of the terminal devices of the consumer a is not in the coverage area of the relay device 1, as shown in fig. 3b, the relay device 1 closes the forwarding channels (such as the uplink forwarding channel and the downlink forwarding channel in fig. 2 a), and no signal enhancement service is provided any more, or only the broadcast channel (such as a synchronization signal physical broadcast channel block or a random access channel) is provided, so as to avoid interference caused by the signal transmitted by the relay device to other communication devices. In addition, as shown in fig. 3a and 3B, the mobile phone device 11B belongs to the terminal device of the consumer B, and the relay device 12 does not provide the signal enhancement service for the mobile phone device 11B. Wherein the consumer a may include an individual, a household, a company, etc.

In this case, the relay device 12 is associated with the mobile phone device 11a, the notebook computer device, and the tablet device, respectively. That is, in the embodiment of the present application, the relay device and the terminal device belonging to the same consumer may be referred to as a relay device being associated with the terminal device. Conversely, a relay device and a terminal device belonging to different consumers may be referred to as a relay device being unassociated with a terminal device.

Next, a procedure of the relay device controlling the forwarding path is described by the related art 1:

fig. 4 shows the steps of the related art 1 as follows:

and step 1, the terminal equipment and the relay equipment establish short-distance connection.

The relay device further comprises a short-distance receiving and transmitting module. The short-range transceiver module comprises at least one of the following: bluetooth (BL) module, wi-Fi module, or Sidelink (SL) module. The relay device may communicate with the terminal device through the short-range transceiver module. In a default state, the relay device may close the forwarding channel and open the short-range transceiver module.

Illustratively, the implementation of step 1 includes:

when the terminal device is associated with the relay device and the terminal device is in the coverage area of the relay device, the terminal device is able to establish a short-range connection with the relay device.

For example, the short-range connection established in step 1 includes a Wi-Fi short-range connection, and the terminal device associated with the relay device can acquire a password of the Wi-Fi short-range connection. In this case, the terminal device sends the password of the Wi-Fi short-range connection to the relay device. Correspondingly, the relay device receives the Wi-Fi short-distance connection password from the terminal device through the short-distance receiving and transmitting module, and establishes Wi-Fi short-distance connection with the terminal device based on the received Wi-Fi short-distance connection password.

For another example, the short-range connection established in step 1 includes a bluetooth short-range connection, and the terminal device associated with the relay device can obtain a password of the bluetooth short-range connection. In this case, the terminal device sends a password for the bluetooth short-range connection to the relay device. Correspondingly, the relay equipment receives the Bluetooth short-distance connection password from the terminal equipment through the short-distance receiving and transmitting module, and establishes the Bluetooth short-distance connection with the terminal equipment based on the received Bluetooth short-distance connection password.

Thus, step 1 can ensure that only terminal devices associated with the relay device can establish a short-range connection with the relay device.

After the short-range connection is established with the relay device, if the terminal device has service data to be transmitted, step 2 is executed:

And 2, the terminal equipment sends request information 1 to the relay equipment. Accordingly, the relay device receives the request information 1 from the terminal device.

The request information 1 is used for requesting to open a forwarding channel of the relay device. For example, request information 1 may be denoted as Trigger ON request information.

And 3, the relay equipment opens a forwarding channel according to the request information 1.

For the relay device, after the relay device opens the forwarding channel, a signal enhancement service may be provided for the terminal device, for example, after receiving and amplifying a cellular downlink signal of the network device, the signal is forwarded to the terminal device, or after receiving and amplifying a cellular uplink signal of the terminal device, the signal is forwarded to the network device.

After the relay device opens the forwarding channel, the relay device may further perform the following steps:

and 4, the terminal equipment sends a heartbeat (heartbeat) signal 1 to the relay equipment. Accordingly, the relay device receives the heartbeat signal 1 from the terminal device.

The heartbeat signal 1 can be transmitted through the short-range connection established in the step 1.

And 5, the terminal equipment sends the heartbeat signal 2 to the relay equipment. Accordingly, the relay device receives the heartbeat signal 2 from the terminal device.

The heartbeat signal 2 can be transmitted via the short-range connection established in step 1. The duration of the interval between the heartbeat signal 2 and the heartbeat signal 1 may be preset. That is, the terminal device periodically transmits a heartbeat signal to the relay device. Accordingly, the relay device periodically receives the heartbeat signal from the terminal device.

For the relay device, the relay device starts or restarts a timer each time it receives a heartbeat signal, and the timing duration of the timer is preset. If the relay device can receive the heartbeat signal, the relay device considers that the terminal device associated with the relay device exists in the coverage area of the relay device, and a forwarding channel of the relay device needs to be opened. Otherwise, if the timer runs out, the relay device still does not receive the heartbeat signal from the terminal device, and the relay device considers that the terminal device associated with the relay device does not exist in the coverage area of the relay device, and the relay device executes step 6:

and 6, the relay equipment closes the forwarding channel.

Note that, the heartbeat signal may be replaced by a heartbeat response signal. That is, the relay device transmits a heartbeat request signal to the terminal device. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the heartbeat request signal from the relay device. And the terminal equipment sends a heartbeat response signal to the relay equipment according to the heartbeat request signal. Accordingly, the relay device receives the heartbeat response signal from the terminal device.

In summary, the forwarding channel control of the relay device is dependent on the short-range connection between the terminal device and the relay device. However, the coverage area of the short-range connection is limited. For example, in a scenario where an obstacle exists between the terminal device and the relay device, such as a wall, a short-range connection may not be established between the terminal device and the relay device in time, or information (such as request information 1, a heartbeat signal, etc.) transmitted through the short-range connection may not be received and demodulated in time, which results in that the forwarding channel is not opened or closed in time.

For example, after the consumer a returns home from outdoors, the terminal device carried by the consumer a transmits the request information 1 to the relay device. However, there is an obstacle between the terminal device and the relay device, such as a signal that needs to pass through the wall, so that the relay device cannot successfully receive the request information 1 from the terminal device. Therefore, the relay device cannot timely open the forwarding channel, and cannot provide a service with enhanced signal coverage for the terminal device.

That is, in the above-described related art 1, the forwarding path control of the relay device is excessively dependent on the short-range connection between the terminal device and the relay device. In view of the above processing manner, there are certain problems in transmitting information for controlling the forwarding channel through the short-range connection, such as that the short-range connection fails to transmit information for controlling the forwarding channel, resulting in untimely opening of the forwarding channel. Therefore, how to better control the working state of the forwarding channel of the relay device is a technical problem to be solved.

In view of this, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be applied to the communication system of fig. 1. In an embodiment of the present application, the first network device determines that a condition a is satisfied, where the condition a includes at least one of: the first terminal equipment is switched from a first cell to a target cell, or the first terminal equipment initiates random access in the target cell; the network equipment corresponding to the target cell is first network equipment; the first network device receives first request information from the first terminal device, and the first request information requests to open a forwarding channel in the relay device. Then, the first network device transmits the first indication information to the relay device. The first indication information indicates the relay equipment to start a forwarding channel; the forwarding channel is used for forwarding uplink information from the first terminal device to the first network device, and/or the forwarding channel is used for forwarding downlink information from the first network device to the first terminal device. The relay device is associated with the first terminal device. In this way, in the case that the first terminal device switches to the target cell or initiates random access in the target cell, or in the case that the first terminal device requests to open a forwarding channel of the relay device to the first network device, the first network device sends first indication information to the relay device to instruct the relay device to open the forwarding channel. Because the first request information is information sent by the first terminal equipment to the first network equipment, and the first indication information is information sent by the first network equipment to the relay equipment, the first request information and the first indication information are independent of short-distance connection between the first terminal equipment and the relay equipment, and the problem that a forwarding channel is not opened timely due to poor signal quality of the short-distance connection is avoided, so that the working state of the forwarding channel is timely and accurately controlled.

It should be noted that, in the following embodiments of the present application, names of messages between devices or names of parameters in a message are merely examples, and may be other names in specific implementations, which are not limited in particular by the embodiments of the present application.

The following describes in detail the communication method 500 according to the embodiment of the present application with reference to fig. 5 to 11 d. The communication method 500 provided in the embodiment of the present application includes the following three stages: a preprocessing stage, a forwarding channel opening stage and a forwarding channel closing stage.

Stage one, pretreatment stage

The pretreatment stage is mainly used for achieving the purpose 1 and the purpose 2:

and (1) acquiring a first association relation by the first network equipment. The first association relationship indicates that the first terminal equipment is associated with the relay equipment.

And 2, the first terminal equipment acquires the information of the target cell and/or the information of the target position so as to acquire the positions where the first terminal equipment can be provided with the signal enhancement service by the relay equipment. The network device corresponding to the target cell includes a first network device, and the target location may be a part of a coverage area of the target cell.

As shown in fig. 5, the pretreatment stage includes the steps of:

S501, the relay device sends a first broadcast message.

Wherein the first broadcast message is for indicating the presence of the relay device to the terminal device.

Illustratively, the relay device includes a short-range transceiver module. The short-range transceiver module may be referred to in step 1 of fig. 4, and will not be described herein. The first broadcast message may be transmitted through the short-range transceiver module. For example, in the case where the short-range transceiver module includes a bluetooth module, S501 includes: the relay device transmits a beacon (beacon) message through the bluetooth module. For another example, in the case where the short-range transceiver module includes a Wi-Fi module, S501 includes: the relay device sends the beacon message through the Wi-Fi module. As another example, in the case where the short-range transceiver module includes a SL communication module, S501 includes: the relay device transmits a discovery (discovery) message through the SL communication module.

Correspondingly, if the first terminal device is in the coverage area of the relay device, the first terminal device receives the first broadcast message from the relay device.

For the first terminal device, after the first terminal device receives the first broadcast message, S502 is executed:

s502, the first terminal equipment sends a first response message to the relay equipment. Accordingly, the relay device receives the first response message from the first terminal device.

Wherein the first response message includes at least one of:

the first item, the first identification. Wherein the first identifier is used for identifying the first terminal device. The first identifier may refer to the description of S504, which is not repeated herein.

The second item, the password information of the first connection. Illustratively, the first connection includes a short-range connection, such as a Bluetooth connection, a Wi-Fi connection, or the like. It should be understood that, in the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device associated with the relay device can obtain the password information.

For example, the first connection comprises a bluetooth connection. In this case, the first terminal device acquires the password information of the bluetooth connection in advance. After the first terminal equipment receives the first broadcast message, the sent first response message carries the password information of the Bluetooth connection, so that the relay equipment obtains the password information of the Bluetooth connection. The relay device then determines itself to associate with the first terminal device based on the cryptographic information of the bluetooth connection.

For another example, the first connection includes a Wi-Fi connection. In this case, the first terminal device acquires password information of the Wi-Fi connection in advance. After the first terminal equipment receives the first broadcast message, the sent first response message carries the Wi-Fi connection password information, so that the relay equipment obtains the Wi-Fi connection password information. Then, the relay device determines that the relay device is associated with the first terminal device based on the Wi-Fi connection password information.

In S502, the first identifier and the password information are transmitted through the same message (i.e., the first response message), and the description is given. Of course, the first identifier and the password information may also be transmitted through different messages, which is not limited by the embodiment of the present application.

For the relay device, after receiving the first response message, the relay device performs S503:

s503, the first terminal device establishes a first connection with the relay device.

For example, in the case where the first connection includes a bluetooth connection, the first terminal device establishes the bluetooth connection with the relay device, and the specific process may refer to the related art, which is not described herein. In the case that the first connection includes a Wi-Fi connection, the first terminal device establishes the Wi-Fi connection with the relay device, and the specific process may refer to the related art, which is not described herein.

In some embodiments, after the first terminal device performs S503, the first terminal device transmits the first service confirmation information to the relay device. Accordingly, the relay device receives the first service confirmation information from the first terminal device. Wherein the first service confirmation information indicates that the first connection is used for transmitting information related to a forwarding function of the relay device. Alternatively, after the relay apparatus performs S503, the relay apparatus transmits the second service confirmation information to the first terminal apparatus. Accordingly, the first terminal device receives the second service confirmation information from the relay device. Wherein the second service confirmation information indicates that the first connection is used for transmitting information related to a forwarding function of the relay device. Exemplary, the information transmitted by the first connection includes, but is not limited to, the first identifier, see the description of S504 for details, which are not repeated herein.

In some embodiments, after the relay device performs S503, the relay device opens its own forwarding channel, thereby providing a signal enhancement service for the first terminal device. The forwarding channel is used for forwarding uplink information from the first terminal equipment to the first network equipment, and/or the forwarding channel is used for forwarding downlink information from the first network equipment to the first terminal equipment. For example, the forwarding channels of the relay device may be referred to in detail in fig. 2a, and will not be described herein.

It should be noted that S501 and S502 may be replaced by the following steps: the first terminal device transmits a second broadcast message. Wherein the second broadcast message is for indicating the presence of the first terminal device to the relay device. For the relay device, if the relay device is within the signal coverage of the first terminal device, the relay device receives the second broadcast message from the first terminal device. The relay device determines that itself is associated with the first terminal device based on the password information of the first connection acquired by itself, and establishes the first connection between itself and the first terminal device, that is, performs S503.

For the first terminal device, after the first connection is established, if the first response message does not include the first identifier, the first terminal device performs S504:

S504, the first terminal equipment sends a first identification to the relay equipment. Accordingly, the relay device receives the first identification from the first terminal device.

Wherein the first identification is transmitted over the first connection. The first connection in S504 is identical to the first connection in S503, and will not be described here.

The first identifier is introduced as follows: the first identity is a device identity that does not dynamically change over a period of time. For example, the first identity is an international mobile subscriber identity (international mobile subscriber identity, IMSI) of the first terminal device. The IMSI used for identifying the terminal equipment can distinguish different terminal equipment in the cellular network, and any two IMSI are not repeated in different cellular networks. For another example, the first identifier is an international mobile equipment identity (international mobile equipment identity, IMEI) of the first terminal device. Wherein the IMEI is used to distinguish between different terminal devices in the mobile telephone network. As another example, the first identifier is a MAC address of a network card of the first terminal device.

For the relay device, after the relay device acquires the first identification, S505 is executed:

s505, the relay device sends second indication information to the first network device. Accordingly, the first network device receives the second indication information from the relay device.

The second indication information at least indicates that the relay device and the first terminal device have an association relationship.

Illustratively, the second indication information includes at least the first identification. Alternatively, the second indication information includes a first identification and a second identification. The first identifier may refer to the description of S504, which is not described herein. The second identification is used to identify the relay device. The second identifier is described as follows: the second identifier is also a device identifier that does not dynamically change for a certain period of time. For example, the second identity is the IMSI of the relay device. Wherein the IMSIs used to identify relay devices can distinguish between different relay devices in a cellular network, and any two IMSIs do not repeat in different cellular networks. For another example, the second identifier is the MAC address of the network card of the relay device.

It should be understood that in the case that the relay device also receives the identifier of the other terminal device, for example, the relay device also receives the identifier of the second terminal device, the second instruction information also indicates that the relay device has an association relationship with the second terminal device. The second indication information also comprises, for example, an identification of the second terminal device.

It should be noted that, in the case where there are a plurality of network devices (e.g., the first network device and the second network device) in the vicinity of the relay device, the relay device may send the second instruction information to other network devices (e.g., the second network device) in addition to the first network device (i.e., perform S505). For example, the relay device transmits the second indication information to the second network device. Correspondingly, the second network device receives the second indication information from the relay device, so that the second network device obtains the association relationship between the relay device and the first terminal device. The relay device may send the second indication information to the first network device first, and then send the second indication information to the second network device; or the relay device sends the second indication information to the second network device and then sends the second indication information to the first network device; or, the relay device sends the second indication information to the first network device and the second network device at the same time, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

It is easy to understand that the second instruction information itself has an instruction function. Of course, the second indication information may be replaced with identification information. For example, the relay device transmits the identification information to the first network device. Accordingly, the first network device receives the identification information from the relay device. The identification information at least comprises a first identification, or the identification information at least comprises the first identification and a second identification. In this case, after the first network device receives the identification information, it is determined that the relay device has an association relationship with the first terminal device based on the identification information.

For the first network device, after the first network device receives the second indication information, S506 is performed:

s506, the first network equipment stores the first association relation according to the second indication information.

The second indication information in S506 is consistent with the second indication information in S505, and will not be described herein.

Wherein the first association relationship indicates that the relay device is associated with the first terminal device.

For the first terminal device, after the first terminal device performs S503, the first terminal device further performs S507 and/or S508:

s507, after the first terminal device and the first relay device establish the first connection, the first terminal device determines that the current cell is the target cell according to the second synchronization signal physical broadcast channel block (synchronization signal/physical broadcast channel block, SSB).

Wherein the second SSB is an SSB sent by the first network device. After the first connection is established between the first terminal device and the first relay device, the first terminal device is able to receive the second SSB from the first network device when the first terminal device is within signal coverage of the first network device. For example, as one possible implementation, the first terminal device may receive the second SSB directly from the first network device. As another possible implementation, the first terminal device may receive the SSB forwarded by the relay device.

Illustratively, the first terminal device determines the current cell as the target cell based on the reference signal received power (reference signal received power, RSRP) of the second SSB, e.g., when the RSRP of the second SSB is greater than a threshold. In this case, the network device corresponding to the target cell determined in S507 includes the first network device. In the embodiment of the present application, the network device corresponding to the target cell may be understood as a network device for managing the target cell, for example, time-frequency resources are allocated to the target cell, and admission control of a user is performed. In addition, each cell may correspond to an identity, which may include a physical cell identity (physical cell identifier, PCI). The identification of the target cell is related to the second SSB, and may be specifically referred to the 3GPP related technical specification, which is not described herein.

In addition, when the first terminal device and the relay device have a plurality of network devices (e.g., the first network device and the second network device) in the vicinity, the first terminal device may receive SSBs from other network devices (e.g., the second network device) in addition to the second SSB of the first network device. For example, the second network device sends a third SSB. Correspondingly, the first terminal device receives the third SSB from the second network device through forwarding of the relay device or directly receives the third SSB from the second network device, so that the first terminal device determines another target cell based on the acquired third SSB. It may be appreciated that the number of target cells determined by the first terminal device may be one or more, which is not limited by the embodiment of the present application.

S508, after the first terminal device and the first relay device establish the first connection, the first terminal device determines the target position according to the position of the first terminal device.

The first terminal device may obtain its own position by means of a global positioning system (global positioning system, GPS), for example, and take its own position as a target position. In an embodiment of the present application, the target location may be a point identified by a three-dimensional coordinate or a two-dimensional coordinate (e.g., latitude and longitude).

The first terminal device may obtain its own position by positioning through the first network device, and take its own position as the target position.

It should be understood that in case the first terminal device performs S507 and S508, the target location may be part of the coverage area of the target cell.

After the first terminal device performs S503, S504 may be performed first, S507 may be performed second, S507 may be performed first, S504 may be performed second, and S504 and S507 may be performed simultaneously. Similarly, after the first terminal device performs S503, S504 may be performed first, then S508 may be performed first, then S504 may be performed, and S504 and S508 may be performed simultaneously.

In some embodiments, the communication method 500 of the embodiment of the present application further includes the following steps:

s509, the first network device sends the first capability information.

Wherein the first capability information indicates functions supported by the first network device. Illustratively, the first capability information includes at least one of:

the first item, the first network device is capable of receiving and processing the second indication information. The second indication information may refer to the description of S505, and will not be described herein.

The second item, the first network device is capable of receiving and processing the first request information. The first request information may refer to the description of S5212a, which is not repeated herein.

The third item, the first network device is capable of receiving and processing the second request information. The second request information may refer to the description of S5412a, which is not repeated herein.

The first capability information may be carried in a system message block (system information block, SIB) or SIB extension (SIB-extension), for example. SIB and SIB extension may be referred to in 3GPP related technical specifications, and are not described here in detail.

If the relay device is within the signal coverage of the first network device, the relay device receives the first capability information from the first network device. After the relay apparatus receives the first capability information, S505 is performed according to the first capability information.

If the first terminal device is within the signal coverage range of the first network device, the first terminal device receives the first capability information from the first network device. After the first terminal device receives the first capability information, S5212a and/or S5412a are performed according to the first capability information.

S510, the relay device sends device type information to the first network device. Accordingly, the first network device receives device type information from the relay device.

Wherein the device type information is used to indicate a device type of the relay device.

The device type information is used to indicate itself as a relay device to the first network device, or the device type information is used to indicate itself as a relay device of a consumer type to the first network device. It should be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the consumer type relay device may be understood that the relay device has a requirement associated with other terminal devices, or that the relay device has an associated terminal device.

The device type information may be transmitted through a radio resource control layer (radio resource control, RRC) message, or may be transmitted through other messages, which is not limited by the embodiment of the present application.

S511, the relay device sends the second capability information to the first network device. Accordingly, the first network device receives the second capability information from the relay device.

Wherein the second capability information indicates functions supported by the relay device. Illustratively, the second capability information indicates at least one of:

the first item, the second capability information indicates that the relay device is capable of reporting the second indication information. The second indication information may refer to the description of S505, and will not be described herein.

The second item, the second capability information indicates that the relay device is capable of receiving control information from the first network device. Illustratively, the control information includes spatial parameters for controlling the relay device to forward the beam.

The second capability information may be transmitted through an extension field of the UE capability message, or may be transmitted through other messages, which is not limited by the embodiment of the present application.

It should be understood that the device type information and the second capability information may be carried in the same message or may be carried in different messages, which is not limited by the embodiment of the present application.

And S512, the first terminal equipment sends the third capability information to the first network equipment. Accordingly, the first network device receives third capability information from the first terminal device.

The third capability information indicates that the first terminal device can report the first identifier. The process of reporting the first identifier to the first network device by the first terminal device may refer to the description of S5211a, which is not repeated herein.

The communication devices (e.g., the first terminal device, the relay device, and the first network device) may execute the step of the first phase once. For example, after the consumer purchases and installs the relay device, the relevant usage instructions of the relay device may guide the consumer to actively carry the terminal device thereof to approach the relay device, and complete the above steps under the condition of good short-range connection quality such as bluetooth. In the use process after the first stage, the short-range connection is not relied on, so that the quality requirement of the short-range connection between the relay equipment and the first terminal equipment is reduced. For example, after the short-range connection between the first terminal device and the relay device is established, the first terminal device does not need to feed back the first response message even if it receives the broadcast message of the relay device again. For another example, after the short-range connection between the first terminal device and the relay device is established, the first terminal device starts and maintains a timer, and before the timer expires, the first terminal device does not need to feed back the first response message even if it receives the broadcast message of the relay device again. As another example, after the short-range connection between the first terminal device and the relay device is established, the first terminal device does not need to feed back the first response message by default even if it receives the broadcast message of the relay device again. And when the first terminal equipment determines that the signal quality is poor, the first response message is fed back to the relay equipment again, for example, when the first terminal equipment determines that the first terminal equipment is positioned in a target cell or a target position but the signal quality is still poor, a prompt message of software can prompt a consumer to actively carry the first terminal equipment to approach the relay equipment again, and the relevant steps in the stage one are executed again.

It should be understood that the processing procedure for achieving the object 1 and the object 2 is given as an example in the step one, and of course, the object 1 and the object 2 may be achieved by other processing manners, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

It should be understood that the method for letting the first network device determine that the first terminal device and the relay device have an association relationship in the first stage may also be applied to other scenarios, for example, the relay device may use a beam to forward a reference signal to the first terminal device, or use the beam to receive a reference signal sent by the first terminal device, and when the beam may be dynamically adjusted, the first network device may control the relay device to align the sending/receiving beam to the first terminal device according to the association relationship between the first terminal device and the relay device, so as to implement that the relay device provides coverage service for only the terminal device having an association relationship as far as possible.

Stage two, forwarding channel opening stage

The forwarding channel opening stage is mainly used for realizing: and the first network equipment sends first indication information to the relay equipment when the first network equipment determines that the condition A is met. Wherein condition a is associated with the first terminal device. The first indication information indicates the relay device to open the forwarding channel, so that the relay device provides the signal enhancement service for the first terminal device.

As shown in fig. 6, the forwarding channel opening phase includes the following steps:

s521, the first network device determines that the condition a is satisfied.

Wherein condition a comprises at least one of the following (i.e., condition a comprises condition a1 and/or condition a 2):

the first terminal equipment is switched from the first cell to the target cell under the condition a1, or initiates random access in the target cell. The first cell is a cell other than the target cell, for example, the network device corresponding to the first cell may be the second network device. The network device corresponding to the target cell is a first network device. The "network device corresponding to the target cell" may refer to the description of S507, which is not repeated herein. Exemplary, S521 includes S5211. Wherein S5211 includes: the first network device determines that the condition a1 is satisfied, which is not described in detail herein. It should be appreciated that when the condition a1 is satisfied, the first network device can determine that the first terminal device enters its coverage area, so that the first terminal device may also or will enter the coverage area of the relay device, and therefore, the first network device may send the first indication information to the relay device to instruct the relay device to open the forwarding channel in advance, so as to provide services for the first terminal device.

The condition a2, the first network device receives the first request information from the first terminal device. The first request information requests to open a forwarding channel in the relay device. Exemplary, S521 includes S5212. Wherein S5212 includes: the first network device determines that the condition a2 is satisfied, which is not described in detail herein. It should be appreciated that when the condition a2 is satisfied, the first network device can determine that the first terminal has a need to open the forwarding channel of the relay device, and therefore, the first network device may send the first indication information to the relay device to instruct the first network device to open the forwarding channel and provide services for the first terminal device.

The first terminal device and the first relay device have an association relationship.

For the first network device, after the first network device determines that the condition a is satisfied, S522 is executed:

s522, the first network device sends the first indication information to the relay device. Accordingly, the relay device receives the first indication information from the first network device.

The first indication information indicates the relay device to open a forwarding channel. The forwarding channel of the relay device is used for forwarding the uplink information from the first terminal device to the first network device, and/or the forwarding channel of the relay device is used for forwarding the downlink information from the first network device to the first terminal device, which can be specifically referred to the description of fig. 2a, and will not be repeated here.

The implementation procedure of S522 may be described as: and the first network equipment determines to send the first indication information to the relay equipment according to the first association relation. Accordingly, the relay device receives the first indication information from the first network device. Wherein the first association relationship indicates that the relay device is associated with the first terminal device. The first network device also illustratively executes S524. Wherein S524 includes: the first network device determines that the relay device is associated with the first terminal device according to the first identifier and the first association relationship, which is not described herein.

For the relay apparatus, after receiving the first instruction information, the relay apparatus performs S523:

s523, the relay device opens a forwarding channel according to the first indication information.

Illustratively, the forwarding channels of the relay device include an upstream forwarding channel and/or a downstream forwarding channel, as described in detail in fig. 2 a. After the relay device opens the forwarding channel, the signal enhancement service can be provided for the first terminal device.

That is, the first request information is information sent by the first terminal device to the first network device, and the first indication information is information sent by the first network device to the relay device, so that the first request information and the first indication information are independent of short-distance connection between the first terminal device and the relay device, and the transmission module capability is stronger due to higher available power between the first terminal device and the first network device generally, so that the problem that a forwarding channel is not opened timely due to poor signal quality of the short-distance connection is avoided, and the working state of the forwarding channel is timely and accurately controlled.

Next, as shown in fig. 7, from the perspective of the first network device, S5211, S5212, and S524 will be described in detail:

s5211, the first network device determines that the condition a1 is satisfied.

Wherein the condition a1 includes: the first terminal device is switched from the first cell into the target cell, or the first terminal device initiates random access in the target cell.

Exemplary, S5211 includes S5211a and S5211b:

s5211a, the first terminal device sends a first identifier to the first network device. Accordingly, the first network device receives a first identification from the first terminal device.

The first identifier is used to identify the first terminal device, and the first identifier may refer to the description of S504 and is not described herein.

For example, the transmission timing of the first identifier may be referred to the following descriptions of fig. 8b and fig. 8c, which are not repeated herein.

The first identification may be transmitted over an access layer connection, for example. That is, the first terminal device sends the first identification to the first network device over the access stratum connection. Correspondingly, the first network device receives the first identification from the first terminal device through the access layer connection. The process of establishing the access layer connection may refer to the description of S525, which is not repeated herein.

For the first network device, after the first network device receives the first identification, S5211b is performed:

s5211b, the first network device determines that the condition a1 is satisfied according to the first identifier of the first terminal device and the first signaling.

For example, in the case that the first signaling includes related signaling for switching the first terminal device into the target cell, the first network device determines that the first terminal device is switched from the first cell into the target cell according to the first identifier of the first terminal device and the related signaling for switching the cell, that is, the condition a1 is satisfied.

For another example, in the case that the first signaling includes a related signaling that the first terminal device initiates random access, the first network device determines that the first terminal device initiates random access in the target cell according to the first identifier of the first terminal device and the related signaling of random access, that is, the condition a1 is satisfied.

S5212, the first network device determines that the condition a2 is satisfied.

Wherein the condition a2 includes: the first network device receives first request information from the first terminal device. The first request information requests to open a forwarding channel in the relay device.

Exemplary, S5212 includes S5212a:

s5212a, the first terminal device sends first request information to the first network device. Accordingly, the first network device receives the first request information from the first terminal device.

The first request information requests to open a forwarding channel in the relay device.

The first request information includes a first identifier, where the first identifier is used to identify the first terminal device, and the first identifier may refer to the description of S504 and is not described herein.

For example, the transmission timing of the first request information may be referred to the following descriptions of fig. 8d and fig. 8e, which are not repeated herein.

Illustratively, the first request information is transmitted after completion of the access stratum connection.

That is, for the first network device, the first network device can receive the first request information, that is, can determine that the condition a2 is satisfied.

It should be noted that, for the first network device, the first network device may perform S5211a, not S5212a, or the first network device may not perform S5211a, but perform S5212a, or the first network device may perform S5211a and S5212a, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. Further, in the case where S5211a and S5212a are executed, the first network device may execute S5211a first and then S5212a, or may execute S5211a and S5212a simultaneously, which is not limited by the embodiment of the present application.

For the first network device, after the first network device acquires the first identifier, the first network device performs S524:

and S524, the first network equipment determines that the relay equipment is associated with the first terminal equipment according to the first identifier and the first association relation.

Wherein the first association relationship indicates that the relay device is associated with the first terminal device. The first association relationship may be described in S506, and will not be described herein.

It should be understood that, in the forwarding channel opening phase, the description of the first network device obtaining the first identifier is as follows: the first network device may perform S5211a, or the first network device may perform S5212a, and the first request information in S5212a includes the first identity, thereby causing the first network device to acquire the first identity.

Illustratively, in the case where the first network device acquires the first identifier by executing S5211a, the first identifier of S5211a coincides with the first identifier of S524. Alternatively, in the case where the first request information includes the first identifier, the first identifier of S5212a coincides with the first identifier of S524 in the case where the first network device acquires the first identifier through S5212 a. The first network device can determine an association relationship between the relay device and the first terminal device based on the first identifier.

It should be noted that, for the first network device, in the forwarding channel opening stage (i.e., stage two), the first network device may execute S524 before executing S522.

Next, as shown in fig. 8a to 8e, from the perspective of the first terminal device, the steps performed by the first terminal device will be described:

first, a detailed description will be given of a scheme one and a scheme two that can be executed by the first terminal device:

in the first scheme, the first terminal equipment sends a first identifier every time the access layer connection is established. That is, the first terminal device sends the first identification of the first terminal device to a network device each time or after an access stratum connection is established with the network device. Specifically, as shown in fig. 8a, scheme one includes S525 and S526:

s525, the first terminal device establishes access layer connection with the network device.

The network device in S525 may include only the first network device in the stage one (or understood as a network device corresponding to the target cell), or may include any network device, which is not limited by the embodiment of the present application.

By way of example, S525 is described in three ways (way 1, way 2, and way 3 below):

Mode 1, as shown by the dashed box in fig. 8a where "mode 1" is located, S525 includes S525a:

and S525a, the first terminal equipment establishes RRC connection with the network equipment through an RRC connection establishment process.

Wherein the access layer connection comprises an RRC connection. The RRC connection establishment procedure may be denoted as RRC connection establishment, and specific procedures may be referred to in the 3GPP related technical specifications, and will not be described herein. In this case, the first terminal device is in an idle state.

For example, in case the first terminal device determines that the RRC establishment condition is satisfied, the first terminal device performs S525a.

Mode 2, as shown in the dashed box of "mode 2" in fig. 8a, S525 includes S525b:

and S525b, the first terminal equipment establishes RRC connection with the network equipment through an RRC connection reestablishment process.

Wherein the access layer connection comprises an RRC connection. The RRC connection reestablishment procedure may be denoted as RRC connection reestablishment, and specific procedures may be referred to in the 3GPP related technical specifications, and will not be described herein. In this case, the first terminal device is in an idle state.

For example, in case the first terminal device determines that the RRC reestablishment condition is met, the first terminal device performs S525b.

Mode 3, as shown by the dashed box where "mode 3" is located in fig. 8a, S525 includes S525c:

and S525c, the first terminal equipment is switched to a cell corresponding to the network equipment through a cell switching process.

The cell handover procedure may be referred to in the 3GPP related technical specifications, and will not be described herein. In this case, the first terminal device is in a connected state.

The cell corresponding to the network device may be understood as a cell management of the network device, for example, time-frequency resource allocation for the cell, admission control of the user, and the like.

It should be understood that, in the case where the network device in S525c is the first network device, the first terminal device switches to the target cell corresponding to the first network device through the cell switching procedure. The process of determining the target cell by the first terminal device may refer to the description of S507, which is not repeated herein.

That is, the first terminal device may establish an access layer connection with the network device through an RRC connection establishment procedure, an RRC connection re-establishment procedure, or a cell handover procedure.

For the first terminal device, the first terminal device further performs S526:

s526, the first terminal device sends the first identification to the network device. Accordingly, the network device receives a first identification from the first terminal device.

The first identifier in S526 is identical to the first identifier in S504, and will not be described herein.

Illustratively, as one possible implementation, the first identity is transmitted over an access layer connection. That is, the first terminal device sends the first identity to the network device over the access stratum connection. Correspondingly, the network device receives the first identification from the first terminal device through the access layer connection. For example, taking the RRC connection establishment procedure as an example, the access layer connection comprises an RRC connection. The first terminal device sends the first identity over the RRC connection after the RRC connection establishment procedure. For another example, taking the RRC connection reestablishment procedure as an example, the first terminal device sends the first identifier through the RRC connection after the RRC connection reestablishment procedure. For another example, taking cell handover as an example, the first terminal device sends the first identity through the access layer connection after the cell handover procedure.

It will be appreciated that in the case of the first identity being transmitted over the access stratum connection, the first terminal device performs S525 first and then S526 for the first terminal device.

Illustratively, as another possible implementation, the first identity is transmitted during the access stratum connection establishment procedure. For example, taking the RRC connection establishment procedure as an example, the access layer connection comprises an RRC connection. The first terminal device sends the first identity during the RRC connection setup procedure, e.g. the first identity is carried in an RRC connection setup complete (RRC Setup Complete) message. For another example, the access layer connection includes an RRC connection, taking an RRC connection reestablishment procedure as an example. The first terminal device sends the first identity during RRC connection reestablishment, e.g. in an RRC connection setup complete (RRC Setup Complete) message. For another example, taking cell handover as an example, the first terminal device sends the first identifier in the cell handover process.

It should be appreciated that in case the first identity is transmitted during the access stratum connection establishment procedure, the first terminal device performs S525 and S526 simultaneously for the first terminal device.

It should be noted that S526 is an optional step. For example, the first terminal device may not report the first identifier in the RRC connection reestablishment procedure. Specifically, before the RRC connection reestablishment procedure, if the first terminal device has performed the RRC connection initial establishment procedure, if the first terminal device has sent the first identifier to the network device during the RRC connection initial establishment procedure and the network device stores the first identifier of the first terminal device, the first terminal device does not need to repeatedly send the first identifier, that is, does not need to perform S526. Similarly, the first terminal device may not report the first identifier in the cell handover process. Specifically, in the case where the first terminal device has performed the RRC connection initial establishment procedure before the cell handover procedure, if the first terminal device has transmitted the first identity to the network device a in the RRC connection initial establishment procedure, and the network device a stores the first identity of the first terminal device, the network devices corresponding to the two cells include the first identity in the context information in the context exchange procedure of the first terminal device even if the first terminal device is handed over from cell a (the cell corresponding to the network device a) to cell B (the cell corresponding to the network device B). That is, the network device a is also able to provide the first identification to the network device B through the context information, and the first terminal device does not need to repeatedly transmit the first identification, i.e., does not need to perform S526.

For the network device, as a possible implementation manner, the network device may determine the association relationship between the relay device and the first terminal device based on the first identifier, and the description of S524 may be specifically referred to, which is not repeated herein.

Scheme II: the first terminal device sends the first identifier and establishes the access layer connection without binding relation, i.e. in the second scheme, the first terminal device is allowed to send no first identifier after initiating the access layer connection to the first network device or other network devices in some cases (e.g. after RRC connection). Specifically, as shown in fig. 8a, the scheme two includes S527:

s527, the first terminal device sends a first identification to the network device. Accordingly, the network device receives a first identification from the first terminal device.

The first identifier in S527 is identical to the first identifier in S504, and will not be described herein.

In the second scenario, the first terminal device executes S527 in case of a need of the first terminal device itself, and the description of fig. 8b, fig. 8c, fig. 11a or fig. 11b may be referred to hereinafter, which is not repeated here.

It should be noted that, in the executing process of S527, if there is no access layer connection between the first terminal device and the network device, or if the access layer connection between the first terminal device and the network device is disconnected, the first terminal device actively initiates random access to the network device, and establishes the access layer connection, so that there is an access layer connection between the first terminal device and the network device, and after the access layer connection is completed, the first identifier is transmitted; or the first identification is sent by way of packet transmission in the random access process.

It should be understood that, compared to the first terminal device of the second aspect, even if the first terminal device and the network device perform the access layer connection establishment procedure before the execution of S527, the first terminal device does not transmit the first identification to the network device, but does perform S527 in the case where the trigger condition is satisfied (as described in fig. 8b, 8c, 11a or 11b below).

Then, in combination with the forwarding channel opening stage, the scheme one and the scheme two executed by the first terminal device are elaborated:

mode a: the first network device uses scheme one according to condition a1 and the first terminal device. That is, the mode a includes S525, S526, S524, and S522.

As shown in fig. 8b, for the first terminal device, description is made in two cases:

if the first terminal device is in a connected state, when the first terminal device is handed over from a cell other than the target cell to the target cell, the first terminal device sends a first identifier to the first network device, which can be seen in the description related to the first scheme.

If the first terminal device is in an idle state, when the first terminal device determines that the condition B and/or the condition C are met, the first terminal device executes S525 and S526, that is, the first terminal device initiates random access to the first network device, establishes an access layer connection, and sends the first identifier to the first network device through the access layer connection, which can be see, for example, the description related to the scheme one.

Wherein the condition B includes: the first terminal device can receive a first SSB from the first network device, and the cell identifier corresponding to the first SSB is the same as the identifier of the target cell. The target cell may refer to the description of S507, and will not be described here again. The first network device sends a first SSB. The first terminal device moves, e.g. from position a to position B. The first terminal equipment cannot receive the first SSB at the position A and can receive the first SSB at the position B. In the case that the first terminal device is in signal coverage of the first network device (e.g., location B is in signal coverage of the first network device), the first terminal device in idle state receives the first SSB from the first network device. When the RSRP of the first SSB is greater than the first threshold, the cell identifier determined by the first terminal device based on the first SSB is the same as the identifier of the target cell. In this case, the first terminal device may determine the cell in which the first terminal device is located as the target cell. The first terminal device resides in the target cell and initiates random access, and establishes an access layer connection with the first network device. It should be appreciated that when condition B is met, the first terminal device is able to determine that it enters the coverage of the first network device, and may also enter the coverage of the relay device. Therefore, the first terminal device sends the first identifier to the first network device, so that the first network device determines the association relationship between the relay device and the first terminal device, and further instructs the relay device to open the forwarding channel.

Wherein, the condition C includes: the distance between the position of the first terminal device and the target position is smaller than or equal to a first threshold value. For example, the scenario corresponding to the condition C may include: the first terminal device moves and the distance between the position where the first terminal device is located and the target position is from greater than a first threshold value to less than the first threshold value. The process of determining the target position by the first terminal device may refer to the description of S508, which is not repeated herein. In an exemplary case where the target location is a residence area of a consumer, the first terminal device determines that the current own location coincides with the target location, or the first terminal device determines that an interval between the current own location and the target location is smaller than a first threshold, and the first terminal device may not be in a signal coverage area of the relay device yet, the first terminal device sends a first identifier to the first network device, so that the first network device determines an association relationship between the first terminal device and the relay device based on the first identifier, and the first network device controls the relay device to open a forwarding channel in advance. In this case, after the first terminal device enters the target position, the first terminal device can be provided with the signal enhancement service by the relay device, so that the problem of poor signal quality caused by the fact that the relay device does not timely open the forwarding channel after the first terminal device enters the target position is avoided. It will be appreciated that when condition C is met, the first terminal device is able to determine that it is entering the coverage of the relay device. Therefore, the first terminal device sends the first identifier to the first network device, so that the first network device determines the association relationship between the relay device and the first terminal device, and further instructs the relay device to open the forwarding channel.

In some embodiments, the first terminal device further satisfies condition D. Wherein condition D includes: the first terminal device has traffic data transmission requirements. That is, the first terminal device needs to send uplink information to the first network device. In this case, it may be understood that, in the case where the first terminal device determines that the condition B and the condition D are satisfied, and/or in the case where the first terminal device determines that the condition C and the condition D are satisfied, the first terminal device performs S525 and S526, that is, the first terminal device initiates random access to the first network device, establishes an access layer connection, and transmits the first identifier to the first network device through the access layer connection.

As shown in fig. 8b, for the first network device, after the first network device receives the first identifier, the first network device determines that the first terminal device has an association relationship with the first relay device through the first association relationship obtained in the first stage, and then, the first network device sends the first indication information to the relay device based on the condition a 1. That is, after the first network device receives the first identification, S524 and S522 are performed.

In embodiment a, S526 and S5211a correspond to the steps.

Mode B: the first network device uses scheme two according to condition a1 and the first terminal device. That is, the mode B includes S527, S524, and S522.

As shown in fig. 8C, for the first terminal device, when the first terminal device determines that the condition B and/or the condition C are satisfied, the first terminal device performs S527, that is, the first terminal device sends the first identifier to the first network device, which can be seen in detail from the description related to the scheme two.

Wherein the condition B includes: the first terminal device can receive the first SSB from the first network device, and the cell identifier corresponding to the first SSB is the same as the identifier of the target cell, which can be specifically referred to the description of the above mode a, and will not be repeated herein. It should be appreciated that when condition B is met, the first terminal device is able to determine that it enters the coverage of the first network device, and may also enter the coverage of the relay device. Therefore, the first terminal device sends the first identifier to the first network device, so that the first network device determines the association relationship between the relay device and the first terminal device, and further instructs the relay device to open the forwarding channel.

Wherein, the condition C includes: the distance between the location where the first terminal device is located and the target location is less than or equal to the first threshold, and specifically, reference may be made to the description of the above manner a, which is not repeated herein. It will be appreciated that when condition C is met, the first terminal device is able to determine that it is entering the coverage of the relay device. Therefore, the first terminal device sends the first identifier to the first network device, so that the first network device determines the association relationship between the relay device and the first terminal device, and further instructs the relay device to open the forwarding channel.

In some embodiments, the first terminal device further satisfies condition D. Wherein condition D includes: the first terminal device has traffic data transmission requirements. That is, the first terminal device needs to send uplink information to the first network device. In this case, it may be understood that, in the case where the first terminal device determines that the condition B and the condition D are satisfied, and/or in the case where the first terminal device determines that the condition C and the condition D are satisfied, the first terminal device performs S527, that is, the first terminal device transmits the first identification to the first network device.

As shown in fig. 8c, for the first network device, after the first network device receives the first identifier, it is determined that the first terminal device has an association relationship with the first relay device through the first association relationship obtained in the first stage, and then the first network device sends the first indication information to the relay device based on the condition a 1. That is, after the first network device receives the first identification, S524 and S522 are performed.

It should be noted that when the first terminal device does not establish an access layer connection with the first network device before sending the first identifier, the first terminal device needs to actively initiate random access to the first network device, send the first identifier to the first network device by using a packet (for example, msgA or msg3 that carries the first identifier in a random access procedure) transmission method, or send the first identifier to the first network device after the establishment of the access layer connection (such as RRC connection) is completed.

In embodiment B, S527 and S5211a correspond to the steps.

Mode C: the first network device uses scheme one according to condition a2 and the first terminal device. That is, the pattern C includes S525, S526, S5212a, S524, and S522.

As shown in fig. 8d, for the first terminal device, when the first terminal device determines that the condition B and/or the condition C are satisfied, the first terminal device performs S5212a, i.e., the first terminal device transmits the first request information to the first network device.

Wherein the condition B includes: the first terminal device can receive the first SSB from the first network device, and the cell identifier corresponding to the first SSB is the same as the identifier of the target cell, which can be specifically referred to the description of the above mode a, and will not be repeated herein. It should be appreciated that when condition B is met, the first terminal device is able to determine that it enters the coverage of the first network device, and may also enter the coverage of the relay device. Therefore, the first terminal device sends first request information to the first network device to request to open a forwarding channel of the relay device.

Wherein, the condition C includes: the distance between the location where the first terminal device is located and the target location is less than or equal to the first threshold, and specifically, reference may be made to the description of the above manner a, which is not repeated herein. It will be appreciated that when condition C is met, the first terminal device is able to determine that it is entering the coverage of the relay device. Therefore, the first terminal device sends first request information to the first network device to request to open a forwarding channel of the relay device.

In some embodiments, the first terminal device further satisfies condition D. Wherein condition D includes: the first terminal device has traffic data transmission requirements. That is, the first terminal device needs to send uplink information to the first network device. In this case, it may be understood that, in the case where the first terminal device determines that the condition B and the condition D are satisfied, and/or in the case where the first terminal device determines that the condition C and the condition D are satisfied, the first terminal device performs S5212a, that is, the first terminal device transmits the first request information to the first network device.

It should be noted that, when the first terminal device has established an access layer connection with the first network device, through the description related to the first scheme, the first terminal device has sent the first identifier to the first network device at the time of the access layer connection establishment or after the access layer connection establishment. In this case, the first terminal device may first send the first identifier to the first network device, and then send the first request information to the first network device if the condition B and/or the condition C are met, as shown by the dashed box where "mode one" is located in fig. 8 d. When the first terminal equipment does not establish the access layer connection with the first network equipment, under the condition that the first terminal equipment determines that the condition B and/or the condition C are met before sending first request information to the first network equipment, initiating a random access process to the first network equipment and establishing the access layer connection, and sending a first identification to the first network equipment according to the related description of the scheme I. Then, the first terminal device sends the first request information to the first network device, as shown by the dashed box where "mode two" is located in fig. 8 d.

As shown in fig. 8d, for the first network device, after the first network device receives the first identifier and the first request information, the first network device determines that the first terminal device has an association relationship with the first relay device based on the first identifier and the first association relationship acquired in the stage one, and then, the first network device sends the first indication information to the relay device based on the condition a 2. That is, after the first network device receives the first request information, S524 and S522 are performed.

In embodiment C, S526 and S5211a correspond to the steps. In the communication method 500 according to the embodiment of the present application, S5212a may be executed first, S524 may be executed first, S5212a may be executed second, and S5212a and S524 may be executed simultaneously.

Mode D: the first network device uses scheme two according to condition a2 and the first terminal device. That is, the mode D includes S527, S5212a, S524, and S522.

As shown in fig. 8e, for the first terminal device, when the first terminal device determines that the condition B and/or the condition C are satisfied, the first terminal device performs S5212a, i.e., the first terminal device transmits the first request information to the first network device. Wherein the first request information includes a first identification.

For the first network device, after the first network device receives the first request information (the first request information includes the first identifier), the first network device determines that the first terminal device has an association relationship with the first relay device based on the first identifier in the first request information and the first association relationship acquired in the stage one, and then the first network device sends the first indication information to the relay device based on the condition a 2. That is, after the first network device receives the first request information, S524 and S522 are performed.

It should be noted that, when the first terminal device does not establish an access layer connection with the first network device before sending the first request information, the first terminal device needs to actively initiate a random access procedure to the first network device, send the first request information to the first network device by using a packet (for example, msgA or msg3 that carries the first request information in the random access procedure) transmission method, or send the first request information to the first network device after the establishment of the access layer connection (such as RRC connection) is completed.

In embodiment D, S527 and S5212a correspond to the steps.

Stage three, forwarding channel closing stage

The forwarding channel closing phase is mainly used for realizing: and the first network equipment sends third indication information to the relay equipment when the first network equipment determines that the condition E is met. Wherein condition E is associated with the first terminal device. The third indication information indicates the relay device to close the forwarding channel, so that the relay device stops providing the signal enhancement service for the first terminal device, and interference caused by signals transmitted by the relay device to other communication devices is avoided.

As shown in fig. 9, the forwarding channel shutdown phase includes the steps of:

s541, the first network device determines that the condition E is satisfied.

Wherein condition E comprises at least one of the following (i.e., condition E comprises condition E1 and/or condition E2):

and e1, the first terminal equipment is switched from the target cell to the first cell. Wherein the first cell is a cell other than the target cell. The first cell in S541 and the first cell in S521 may be the same or different, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited to this. The target cell may refer to the description of S521, and will not be described here again. Exemplary, S541 includes S5411. Wherein S5411 includes: the first network device determines that the condition e1 is satisfied, which is not described herein in detail. It will be appreciated that when the condition e1 is met, the first network device is able to determine that the first terminal device has left its coverage area, and thus also left the coverage area of the relay device, and thus the first network device may send a third indication information to the relay device indicating that it closes the forwarding channel.

And e2, the first network equipment receives the second request information from the first terminal equipment. Wherein the second request information requests to close the forwarding channel in the relay device. Exemplary, S541 includes S5412. Wherein S5412 includes: the first network device determines that the condition e2 is satisfied, which is not described in detail herein. It should be understood that when the condition e2 is satisfied, the first network device can determine that the first terminal has a requirement of closing the forwarding channel of the relay device or no requirement of opening the forwarding channel of the relay device any more, and therefore, the first network device may send third indication information to the relay device, to indicate that the first network device closes the forwarding channel.

After the first network device determines that the condition E is satisfied, if the terminal device associated with the relay device is the first terminal device, (that is, if the terminal device associated with the relay device is one), the first network device performs S542a, as shown by a dashed box where "scene 1" in fig. 9 is located, or if the terminal device associated with the relay device is a plurality of terminal devices, the first network device performs S542b, as shown by a dashed box where "scene 2" in fig. 9 is located. The descriptions of S542a and S542b are as follows:

S542a, the first network device sends third indication information to the relay device. Accordingly, the relay device receives the third indication information from the first network device.

The third indication information indicates the relay device to close the forwarding channel. The forwarding channel of the relay device is used for forwarding the uplink information from the first terminal device to the first network device, and/or the forwarding channel of the relay device is used for forwarding the downlink information from the first network device to the first terminal device, which can be specifically referred to the description of fig. 2a, and will not be repeated here.

Wherein, there is an association between the relay device and the first terminal device. Accordingly, the implementation procedure of S542a may also be described as: and the first network equipment determines to send third indication information to the relay equipment according to the first association relation. Accordingly, the relay device receives the third indication information from the first network device. Wherein the first association relationship indicates that the relay device is associated with the first terminal device. For example, the first network device determines that an association relationship exists between the relay device and the first terminal device, which may be specifically referred to the description of S524, which is not repeated herein.

S542b, in the case that the condition I is satisfied, the first network device sends third indication information to the relay device. Accordingly, the relay device receives the third indication information from the first network device.

Wherein, the condition I includes: among all the terminal devices associated with the relay device, the terminal device other than the first terminal device is handed over from the target cell to a cell other than the target cell.

For example, in the case where the terminal devices associated with the relay device are the first terminal device and the second terminal device, the first terminal device satisfies the above condition E, and the second terminal device is also handed over from the target cell to a cell other than the target cell. Accordingly, a cell other than the target cell may be referred to as a cell.

For another example, in the case that the terminal devices associated with the relay device are the first terminal device, the second terminal device, and the third terminal device, the first terminal device satisfies the above condition E, and the second terminal device and the third terminal device are also handed over from the target cell to a cell other than the target cell. The second terminal device and the third terminal device may be switched to the same cell, or may be switched to different cells, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. Correspondingly, the cell other than the target cell may refer to one cell or two cells. It should be understood that in case the relay device associates more terminal devices, cells other than the target cell may also refer to more cells.

For the relay apparatus, after receiving the third instruction information, the relay apparatus performs S543:

s543, the relay device closes the forwarding channel according to the third indication information.

Illustratively, the forwarding channels of the relay device include an upstream forwarding channel and a downstream forwarding channel, as described in detail in fig. 2 a. And the relay equipment closes the uplink forwarding channel and the downlink forwarding channel according to the third indication information, and does not provide signal enhancement service for the first terminal equipment.

That is, the second request information is information transmitted by the first terminal device to the first network device, and the third indication information is information transmitted by the first network device to the relay device, so that the second request information and the third indication information are independent of the short-range connection between the first terminal device and the relay device, and the problem that the forwarding channel is not closed timely due to poor signal quality of the short-range connection is avoided, so that the working state of the forwarding channel is timely and accurately controlled.

Next, as shown in fig. 10, from the perspective of the first network device, S5411 and S5412 are explained in detail:

s5411, the first network device determines that the condition e1 is satisfied.

Wherein the condition e1 includes: the first terminal device is handed over from the target cell into the first cell.

Exemplary, S5411 includes S5411a and S5411b:

s5411a, the first terminal device performs a cell handover procedure with the first network device.

For example, the first network device sends a handover command to the first terminal device to instruct the first terminal device to perform cell handover, which may be specifically referred to the 3GPP related technical specification, and will not be described herein.

For the first network device, after the first network device receives the first identification, S5411b is performed:

s5411b, the first network device determines that the condition e1 is satisfied according to the second signaling.

For example, in case the first signaling comprises a related signaling for the first terminal device to switch from the target cell into the first cell, the first network device determines that the first terminal device switches from the target cell into the first cell, i.e. the condition e1 is met, according to the related signaling for the cell switch of the first terminal device.

That is, the first network device may determine that the condition e1 is satisfied based on the related signaling of the cell handover.

S5412, the first network device determines that the condition e2 is satisfied.

Wherein the condition e2 includes: the first network device receives the second request information from the first terminal device. Wherein the second request information requests to close the forwarding channel in the relay device.

Exemplary, S5412 includes S5412a:

s5412a, the first terminal device sends the second request information to the first network device. Accordingly, the first network device receives the second request information from the first terminal device.

Wherein the second request information requests to close the forwarding channel in the relay device.

The second request information includes a first identifier, where the first identifier is used to identify the first terminal device, and the first identifier may refer to the description of S504 and is not described herein.

For example, the transmission timing of the second request information may be referred to the following descriptions of fig. 11c and 11d, which are not repeated herein.

Illustratively, the second request information is transmitted after the access stratum connection. That is, for the first network device, the first network device can receive the second request information, that is, can determine that the condition e2 is satisfied.

Next, in conjunction with the forwarding channel closing phase, a detailed description is given of the scheme one and the scheme two executed by the first terminal device:

mode E: the first network device uses scheme one according to condition e1 and the first terminal device. That is, the mode E includes S525, S526, S524, and S542.

As shown in fig. 11a, for the first terminal device, when there is no access layer connection between the first terminal device and the first network device, or when the access layer connection between the first terminal device and the first network device is disconnected, in the case that the first terminal device determines that the condition F and/or the condition H are satisfied, the first terminal device performs S525 and S526, that is, the first terminal device initiates random access to the first network device, establishes an access layer connection, and sends the first identifier to the first network device through the access layer connection, which may be specifically referred to as description related to the first scheme.

Wherein, the condition F includes: the cell in which the first terminal device resides is about to reselect from the target cell to a cell other than the target cell. The target cell may refer to the description of S507, and will not be described here again.

Illustratively, the first network device transmits the first SSB. The first terminal device in an idle state receives a first SSB from the first network device in case the first terminal device is within signal coverage of the first network device. When the RSRP of the first SSB is less than or equal to the first threshold, and the RSRP of the first cell corresponding to the SSB is greater than the first threshold, the first terminal device determines that the cell, such as the first cell, is about to be reselected from the target cell to a cell other than the target cell. In this case, the first terminal device performs S525 and S526, which are described in detail in the first embodiment, and are not described here again. It should be understood that when the condition F is satisfied, the first terminal device can determine that the first terminal device is about to leave the coverage area of the first network device, so that the first terminal device may leave the coverage area of the relay device, and therefore, the first terminal device sends the first identifier to the first network device, so that the first network device determines the association relationship between the relay device and the first terminal device, and further instructs the relay device to close the forwarding channel.

Wherein, the condition H includes: the distance between the position of the first terminal device and the target position is greater than or equal to a first threshold value. The process of determining the target position by the first terminal device may refer to the description of S508, which is not repeated herein. For example, in the case where the target location is a residence area of a consumer, the first terminal device determines that the current own location is outside the target location and the interval between the first terminal device and the target location is greater than the first threshold, and then the first terminal device performs S525 and S526, which are described in detail in the first aspect, and are not described herein. It should be understood that when the condition H is satisfied, the first terminal device can determine that the first terminal device leaves the coverage area of the relay device, so that the first terminal device sends the first identifier to the first network device, so that the first network device determines the association relationship between the relay device and the first terminal device, and further instructs the relay device to close the forwarding channel.

As shown in fig. 11a, for the first network device, after the first terminal device actively establishes an access layer connection with the first network device, in case the first terminal device is about to leave the target cell, a cell handover procedure is performed between the first network device, the third network device and the first terminal device. Wherein the third network device is a network device to which the first terminal device is connected after the cell handover procedure. After the first network device receives the first identifier, according to the first identifier of the first terminal device and the first association relationship in the first stage, determining that the first terminal device has the association relationship with the first relay device, determining that the condition e1 is met according to the cell switching process, and then sending third indication information to the relay device. That is, after the first network device receives the first identification, S524 and S542 are performed.

Mode F: the first network device uses scheme two according to condition e1 and the first terminal device. That is, the mode F includes S527, S524, and S542.

As shown in fig. 11b, for the first terminal device, when the first terminal device determines that the condition F and/or the condition H are satisfied, the first terminal device performs S527, that is, the first terminal device sends the first identifier to the first network device, which can be seen in detail from the description related to the scheme two.

Wherein, the condition F includes: the cell in which the first terminal device resides will be reselected from the target cell to a cell other than the target cell, and specifically, reference may be made to the description of the above manner E, which is not repeated herein. It should be understood that when the condition F is satisfied, the first terminal device can determine that the first terminal device is about to leave the coverage area of the first network device, so that the first terminal device may leave the coverage area of the relay device, and therefore, the first terminal device sends the first identifier to the first network device, so that the first network device determines the association relationship between the relay device and the first terminal device, and further instructs the relay device to close the forwarding channel.

Wherein, the condition H includes: the distance between the location where the first terminal device is located and the target location is greater than or equal to the first threshold, and specifically, reference may be made to the description of the above manner E, which is not repeated herein. It should be understood that when the condition H is satisfied, the first terminal device can determine that the first terminal device leaves the coverage area of the relay device, so that the first terminal device sends the first identifier to the first network device, so that the first network device determines the association relationship between the relay device and the first terminal device, and further instructs the relay device to close the forwarding channel.

When the first terminal device and the first network device have no access layer connection, or the access layer connection between the first terminal device and the first network device is disconnected, the first terminal device actively initiates random access to the first network device and establishes the access layer connection under the condition that the condition F and/or the condition H are determined to be met, so that the first terminal device and the first network device have the access layer connection. After completing the access stratum connection, the first terminal device sends a first identification to the first network device.

As shown in fig. 11b, for the first network device, after the first terminal device actively establishes an access layer connection with the first network device, in case the first terminal is about to leave the target cell, a cell handover procedure is performed between the first network device, the third network device and the first terminal device. Wherein the third network device is a network device to which the first terminal device is connected after the cell handover procedure. After the first network device receives the first identifier, the first network device determines that the first terminal device has an association relationship with the first relay device through the first association relationship obtained in the first stage, and then the first network device sends third indication information to the relay device based on the condition e 1. That is, after the first network device receives the first identification, S524 and S542 are performed.

Mode G: the first network device uses scheme one according to condition e2 and the first terminal device. That is, the pattern G includes S525, S526, S5412a, S524, and S542.

As shown in fig. 11c, for the first terminal device, when the first terminal device determines that the condition F and/or the condition H are satisfied, the first terminal device performs S5412a, that is, the first terminal device transmits the second request information to the first network device.

Wherein, the condition F includes: the cell in which the first terminal device resides will be reselected from the target cell to a cell other than the target cell, and specifically, reference may be made to the description of the above manner E, which is not repeated herein. It should be appreciated that when the condition F is satisfied, the first terminal device is able to determine that it is about to leave the coverage of the first network device, and may also leave the coverage of the relay device, so that the first terminal device sends second request information to the first network device to request the first network device to instruct the relay device to close the forwarding channel.

Wherein, the condition H includes: the distance between the location where the first terminal device is located and the target location is greater than or equal to the first threshold, and specifically, reference may be made to the description of the above manner E, which is not repeated herein. It should be appreciated that when the condition H is satisfied, the first terminal device can determine that it leaves the coverage of the relay device, and thus, the first terminal device sends second request information to the first network device to request the first network device to instruct the relay device to close the forwarding channel.

It should be noted that, when the first terminal device has established an access layer connection with the first network device, through the description related to the first scheme, the first terminal device has sent the first identifier to the first network device at the time of the access layer connection establishment or after the access layer connection establishment. In this case, the first terminal device may first send the first identifier to the first network device, and then send the second request information to the first network device if the condition F and/or the condition H are satisfied, as shown by the dashed box where "mode one" is located in fig. 11 c. When the first terminal equipment does not establish access layer connection with the first network equipment, the first network equipment initiates a random access process to the first network equipment and establishes access layer connection under the condition that the first terminal equipment determines that the condition F and/or the condition H are met before sending the second request information, and sends a first identification to the first network equipment according to the related description of the scheme I. After the access layer connection is established, the first terminal device sends a second request message to the first network device, as indicated by the dashed box in fig. 11c where "mode two" is located.

As shown in fig. 11c, for the first network device, after the first network device receives the first identifier and the second request information, the first network device determines that the first terminal device has an association relationship with the first relay device based on the first identifier and the first association relationship acquired in the stage one, and then, the first network device sends third indication information to the relay device based on the condition e 2. That is, after the first network device receives the second request information, S542 is performed.

Mode H: the first network device uses scheme two according to condition e2 and the first terminal device. That is, the pattern H includes S527, S5412a, S524, and S542.

As shown in fig. 11d, for the first terminal device, when the first terminal device determines that the condition F and/or the condition H are satisfied, the first terminal device performs S5412a, i.e., the first terminal device transmits the second request information to the first network device. Wherein the second request information includes the first identification.

As shown in fig. 11d, for the first network device, after the first network device receives the second request information (the second request information includes the first identifier), the first network device determines that the first terminal device has an association relationship with the first relay device based on the first identifier in the second request information and the first association relationship acquired in the stage one, and then, the first network device sends third indication information to the relay device based on the condition e 2. That is, after the first network device receives the second request information, S542 is performed.

It should be appreciated that the communication method 500 of the present embodiment may be applicable to three scenarios:

as a first scenario, the scenario may include a stage one and a stage two. In this scenario, the forwarding channel of the relay device is turned off by default in the initial working state, and the opening of the forwarding channel is implemented through each step of the second stage, that is, the communication method 500 in the embodiment of the present application can accurately and timely open the forwarding channel of the relay device.

As a second scenario, the scenario may include stage one, stage two, and stage three. In this scenario, the forwarding channel of the relay device is closed by default in the initial working state, the opening of the forwarding channel is achieved through each step of the second stage, and when no terminal device associated with the forwarding channel exists in the signal coverage area of the relay device, the closing of the forwarding channel is achieved through each step of the third stage, that is, the communication method 500 of the embodiment of the present application can accurately and timely open and close the forwarding channel of the relay device.

As a third scenario, the scenario may include a phase one and a phase three. In this scenario, the forwarding channel of the relay device is opened by default in the initial working state, and when no terminal device associated with the forwarding channel exists in the signal coverage area of the relay device, the forwarding channel is closed through each step of the third stage, that is, the communication method 500 in the embodiment of the present application can accurately and timely close the forwarding channel of the relay device.

The scheme provided by the embodiment of the application is mainly introduced from the interaction angle among the network elements. Correspondingly, the embodiment of the application also provides a communication device, which can be the network element in the embodiment of the method, or a device containing the network element, or a component applicable to the network element. It will be appreciated that the communication device, in order to achieve the above-described functions, comprises corresponding hardware structures and/or software modules performing the respective functions. Those of skill in the art will readily appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as hardware or combinations of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is implemented as hardware or computer software driven hardware depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.

Fig. 12a and 12b show exemplary structural diagrams of a communication device 1200. The communication apparatus 1200 includes: a processor 1201, a communication interface 1202, and a memory 1203. Optionally, the communication device may also include a bus 1204. Wherein the communication interface 1202, the processor 1201 and the memory 1203 may be interconnected via a bus 1204; bus 1204 may be a peripheral component interconnect standard (peripheral component interconnect, PCI) bus or an extended industry standard architecture (extended industry standard architecture, EISA) bus, or the like. The bus 1204 may be classified as an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, or the like. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is shown in fig. 12a and 12b, but not only one bus or one type of bus.

The processor 1201 may be a CPU, general purpose processor, application specific integrated circuit (application specific integrated circuit, ASIC), field programmable gate array (field programmable gate array, FPGA) or other programmable logic device, transistor logic device, hardware components, or any combination thereof. Which may implement or perform the various exemplary logic blocks, modules and circuits described in connection with this disclosure. A processor may also be a combination that performs computing functions, e.g., including one or more microprocessors, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, and so forth.

For example, the communication apparatus 1200 of fig. 12a may be a first terminal device in the communication method 500 according to the embodiment of the present application, and the processor 1201 is configured to support the first terminal device to perform a processing operation. The communication interface 1202 is configured to support the first terminal device to perform transceiving operations. Alternatively, the communication apparatus 1200 of fig. 12a may be a relay device in the communication method 500 according to the embodiment of the present application, and the processor 1201 is configured to support the relay device to perform the processing operation. The communication interface 1202 is used to support the relay device to perform transceiving operations. Alternatively, the communication apparatus 1200 of fig. 12a may be a first network device in the communication method 500 according to the embodiment of the present application, and the processor 1201 is configured to support the first network device to perform a processing operation. The communication interface 1202 is configured to support a first network device to perform transceiving operations.

In another possible example, taking the communication apparatus 1200 of fig. 12b as a relay device, description is given:

in contrast to the communication device 1200 shown in fig. 12a, the communication device 1200 shown in fig. 12b further comprises a transponder 1205. The processor 1201, the communication interface 1202, the memory 1203 and the bus 1204 may be referred to in the description of fig. 12a, and will not be described herein.

In fig. 5, 6 or 9, the repeater 1205 is used to repeat uplink information from the first terminal device to the first network device, and/or the repeater 1205 is used to repeat downlink information from the first network device to the first terminal device. That is, the foregoing opening the forwarding channel is understood to mean opening the repeater 1205. The previously described closing of the forwarding channel is understood to be the closing of the repeater 1205. The repeater 1205 may include RF devices, power amplifiers, etc., and is described in detail with respect to the repeater module of fig. 2b, and will not be described again here.

Optionally, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product carrying computer instructions that, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method described in the above embodiment.

Optionally, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer readable storage medium, where computer instructions are stored, which when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method described in the above embodiment.

Optionally, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip, including: processing circuitry and transceiver circuitry for implementing the methods described in the above embodiments. Wherein the processing circuit is used for executing the processing actions in the corresponding method, and the transceiver circuit is used for executing the receiving/transmitting actions in the corresponding method.

In the above embodiments, it may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When loaded and executed on a computer, produces a flow or function in accordance with embodiments of the present application, in whole or in part. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable apparatus. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center by a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (digital subscriber line, DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device including one or more servers, data centers, etc. that can be integrated with the available medium. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., digital video disc (digital video disc, DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., solid state disk (solid state drive, SSD)), etc.

In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices, and methods may be implemented in other manners. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative, and for example, the division of the modules is merely a logical function division, and there may be additional divisions when actually implemented, for example, multiple modules or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted or not performed. Alternatively, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed with each other may be an indirect coupling or communication connection via some interfaces, devices or modules, which may be in electrical or other forms.

The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed on a plurality of devices. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

From the above description of embodiments, it will be clear to a person skilled in the art that the present application may be implemented by means of software plus necessary general purpose hardware, but of course also by means of hardware, the former being in many cases a preferred embodiment. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present application may be embodied essentially or contributing part in the form of a software product stored in a readable storage medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, or an optical disk of a computer, etc., including several instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute the method according to the embodiments of the present application.

The foregoing is merely illustrative of specific embodiments of the present application, and the present application is not limited to these embodiments, but is intended to cover modifications and alternatives within the technical scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method of communication, comprising:

the method comprises the steps that first terminal equipment is switched from a first cell to a target cell, or the first terminal equipment initiates random access in the target cell; the network equipment corresponding to the target cell is the first network equipment;

the first network equipment receives first request information from the first terminal equipment, wherein the first request information requests to start a forwarding channel in the relay equipment;

the first network device sends first indication information to the relay device; the first indication information indicates the relay equipment to open the forwarding channel; the forwarding channel is used for forwarding uplink information from the first terminal equipment to the first network equipment, and/or the forwarding channel is used for forwarding downlink information from the first network equipment to the first terminal equipment; the relay device is associated with the first terminal device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein prior to the first network device sending the first indication information to the relay device, the method further comprises:

the first network device determines that the relay device is associated with the first terminal device according to a first identifier and a first association relationship, wherein the first identifier is used for identifying the first terminal device, and the first association relationship indicates that the relay device is associated with the first terminal device.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the method further comprises:

the first network device receives the first identification from the first terminal device.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of determining the position of the substrate comprises,

the first request information includes the first identification.

5. The method according to any of claims 2-4, wherein before the first network device determines that the relay device is associated with the first terminal device according to the first identity and a first association relationship, the method further comprises:

the first network device receives second indication information from the relay device;

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of determining the position of the probe is performed,

the second indication information at least comprises the first identification; or,

the second indication information at least comprises the first identification and the second identification;

the first identifier is used for identifying the first terminal equipment, and the second identifier is used for identifying the relay equipment.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the step of providing the first layer comprises,

the first identifier is an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) of the first terminal equipment; or,

the first identifier is a Media Access Control (MAC) address of a network card of the first terminal equipment; or,

the second identifier is the IMSI of the relay device; or,

and the second identifier is the MAC address of the network card of the relay equipment.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein,

after the first network device sends the first indication information to the relay device, the method further includes:

The first terminal equipment is switched from the target cell to a first cell;

the first network device receives second request information from the first terminal device, wherein the second request information requests to close the forwarding channel;

the first network device sends third indication information to the relay device, or if a third condition is met, the first network device sends the third indication information to the relay device;

wherein the third condition includes: among all the terminal devices associated with the relay device, terminal devices other than the first terminal device are switched from the target cell to cells other than the target cell; the third indication information indicates the relay device to close the forwarding channel.

9. A method of communication, comprising:

the relay device receives first indication information from the first network device;

the relay equipment starts a forwarding channel according to the first indication information; wherein the relay device comprises the forwarding channel; the forwarding channel is used for forwarding uplink information from a first terminal device to the first network device, and/or the forwarding channel is used for forwarding downlink information from the first network device to the first terminal device; the relay device is associated with the first terminal device.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein prior to the relay device receiving the first indication information from the first network device, the method further comprises:

the relay device sends second indication information to the first network device;

11. The method of claim 10, wherein prior to the relay device sending the second indication information to the first network device, the method further comprises:

the relay device sends a broadcast message;

the relay device receives a response message from the first terminal device; wherein the response message includes the first identification; or the response message is used for determining to establish a first connection by the relay device, wherein the first connection is a connection between the relay device and the first terminal device, and the first connection is used for transmitting the first identification.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the response message is further used by the relay device to determine that itself is associated with the first terminal device.

13. A method of communication, comprising:

the first terminal equipment can receive a first synchronization signal block SSB from first network equipment, and the cell identifier corresponding to the first SSB is the same as the identifier of a target cell; or,

the distance between the position of the first terminal equipment and the target position is smaller than or equal to a first threshold value;

the first terminal equipment sends first request information to the first network equipment; the first request information is used for requesting the first network equipment to start a forwarding channel in the relay equipment; the forwarding channel is used for forwarding uplink information from a first terminal device to the first network device, and/or the forwarding channel is used for forwarding downlink information from the first network device to the first terminal device; the first terminal device is associated with the relay device.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of determining the position of the probe is performed,

the first request information comprises a first identifier, and the first identifier is used for identifying the first terminal equipment; the first identification is used by the first network device to determine that the first terminal device is associated with the relay device.

15. A method of communication, comprising:

the first terminal device sends a first identifier to the first network device; the first identifier is used for identifying the first terminal device, and the first identifier is used for determining that the first terminal device is associated with a relay device by the first network device.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein prior to the first terminal device transmitting the first identification to the first network device, the method further comprises:

and if the first terminal equipment does not establish access layer connection with the first network equipment, the first terminal equipment initiates access layer connection to the first network equipment, wherein the access layer connection is used for sending the first identifier.

17. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 16, wherein,

the first terminal device also satisfies a fourth condition;

wherein the fourth condition includes: the first terminal device has a traffic data transmission requirement.

18. A method of communication, comprising:

the cell in which the first terminal equipment resides is to be reselected from a target cell to a cell other than the target cell, wherein the target cell is a cell corresponding to the first network equipment; or,

the distance between the position of the first terminal equipment and the target position is larger than or equal to a first threshold value;

the first terminal equipment sends second request information to the first network equipment; the second request information is used for requesting the first network device to close a forwarding channel in the relay device, the forwarding channel is used for forwarding uplink information from the first terminal device to the first network device, and/or the forwarding channel is used for forwarding downlink information from the first network device to the first terminal device; the first terminal device is associated with the relay device.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the step of providing the first information comprises,

the second request information comprises a first identifier, wherein the first identifier is used for identifying the first terminal equipment; the first identification is used by the first network device to determine that the first terminal device is associated with the relay device.

20. A method of communication, comprising:

the first terminal device sends a first identifier to the first network device; the first identifier is used for identifying the first terminal device, and the first identifier is used for determining that the first terminal device is associated with the relay device by the first network device.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein prior to the first terminal device sending the first identification to the first network device, the method further comprises:

And if the first terminal equipment does not establish the access layer connection with the first network equipment, the first terminal equipment initiates the access layer connection to the first network equipment, wherein the access layer connection is used for sending the first identifier.

22. The method according to any one of claims 13-21, further comprising:

the first terminal device receives a broadcast message from the relay device;

the first terminal equipment sends a response message to the relay equipment, wherein the response message comprises the first identifier; or the response message is used for determining to establish a first connection by the relay device, wherein the first connection is a connection between the relay device and the first terminal device, and the first connection is used for transmitting the first identification.

23. A communication device, comprising: a processor and a memory, the processor and the memory being coupled, the memory storing program instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the communication device to perform the method of any of claims 1-22.

24. A chip comprising a processor and an input-output interface for receiving signals from other devices than the chip and transmitting signals from the processor to the processor or sending signals from the processor to other devices than the chip, the processor being configured to implement the method of any of claims 1-22 by logic circuitry or execution of code instructions.

25. A computer readable storage medium, characterized in that the computer readable storage medium stores a computer program which, when run on a communication device, causes the communication device to perform the method according to any of claims 1-22.