CN106303902B

CN106303902B - Method and device for executing device-to-device discovery process and detecting user equipment

Info

Publication number: CN106303902B
Application number: CN201510251518.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 赵亚利; 全海洋
Original assignee: China Academy of Telecommunications Technology CATT
Current assignee: China Academy of Telecommunications Technology CATT; Datang Mobile Communications Equipment Co Ltd
Priority date: 2015-05-15
Filing date: 2015-05-15
Publication date: 2020-01-07
Anticipated expiration: 2035-05-15
Also published as: CN106303902A; WO2016184286A1

Abstract

The invention discloses a method and a device for executing a device-to-device discovery process and detecting user equipment, wherein the method comprises the following steps: at the far-end user equipment side, executing according to a mode during the running period of a timer corresponding to one equipment-to-equipment discovery mode; and when the UE-to-network relay UE cannot be detected before the timer corresponding to the mode is overtime, pressing a device-to-device discovery mode until the corresponding timer runs. At the UE-to-network relay UE side, executing according to the first device-to-device discovery mode during the running of a third timer corresponding to the first device-to-device discovery mode; after the third timer expires, performing in a second device-to-device discovery mode. The invention can ensure that the remote user equipment can discover the user equipment to the network relay user equipment under the condition that the system simultaneously supports the user equipment to network relay discovery modes A and B.

Description

Method and device for executing device-to-device discovery process and detecting user equipment

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of wireless communications technologies, and in particular, to a method and an apparatus for performing a device-to-device discovery process and detecting a user equipment.

Background

In order to expand network coverage, an LTE (Long Term Evolution) system introduces a UE-NW Relay (UE: User Equipment, User Equipment; NW: network, network) technology, where a UE-NW Relay UE in a network coverage is an on-network UE, a UE outside the network coverage is called a Remote UE, and the Remote UE can communicate with a network through the UE-NW Relay UE. Where D2D (Device to Device) communication technology is used between the Remote UE and the UE-NW Relay UE, and traditional cellular communication technology is used between the UE-NW Relay and the network.

A Remote UE may discover UE-NW Relay UEs that may be served for it through a D2D discovery (D2D discovery) mechanism. But the defects of the prior art are as follows: the existing D2D Discovery mechanism does not guarantee that a Remote UE can discover UE-NW Relay UEs that can serve it.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention provides a method for detecting Relay UE in a D2D Discovery process, which is used for ensuring that Remote UE can discover UE-NW Relay UE capable of serving the Remote UE by using a D2D Discovery mechanism.

The embodiment of the invention provides a method for detecting relay UE in a D2D discovery process, which comprises the following steps:

determining a timer corresponding to each D2D discovery mode;

executing a D2D discovery process according to one D2D discovery mode during the running period of a timer corresponding to the D2D discovery mode;

and when the UE-NW Relay UE cannot be detected before the timer corresponding to the mode is overtime, pressing a D2D discovery mode to execute a D2D discovery process during the running period of the timer corresponding to the mode until the UE-NW Relay UE is detected.

Preferably, the D2D discovery pattern includes: UE-NW Relay discovery model A and UE-NW Relay discovery model B;

a timer corresponding to the UE-NW Relay model A is a first timer, and a timer corresponding to the UE-NW Relay model B is a second timer;

and when the UE-NW Relay UE cannot be detected before the timeout of the first timer according to the UE-NW Relay model A, executing a D2D discovery process during the operation period of a second timer according to the UE-NW Relay model B.

Preferably, further comprising:

during the operation of the first timer, stopping the first timer and stopping executing the D2D discovery process after detecting N1 UE-NW Relay UEs, and selecting the UE-NW Relay UEs for relaying, wherein N1 is a natural number greater than 1;

or, during the running of the second timer, stopping the second timer and stopping performing the D2D discovery process after detecting N2 UE-NW Relay UEs, and selecting the UE-NW Relay UE for relaying, wherein N2 is a natural number greater than 1.

Preferably, the values of N1 and N2 are pre-configured or agreed in the protocol.

Preferably, the duration of the first timer and/or the second timer is pre-configured or agreed in a protocol.

Preferably, further comprising:

and when the UE-NW Relay UE cannot be detected, informing the higher layer that the UE-NW Relay UE is not found, and starting to execute a D2D discovery process according to a trigger instruction of the higher layer.

The embodiment of the invention provides a method for executing a D2D discovery process, which comprises the following steps:

performing a D2D discovery procedure in the first D2D discovery mode during a third timer run corresponding to the first D2D discovery mode;

after a third timer corresponding to the first D2D discovery mode expires, the D2D discovery procedure is performed in the second D2D discovery mode.

Preferably, the first D2D discovery mode is UE-NW Relay discovery mode a, and the second D2D discovery mode is UE-NW Relay discovery mode B.

Preferably, in the D2D discovery process executed by the UE-NW Relay discovery model B, the method further includes:

restarting the third timer when a Relay discovery request or a UE-NW Relay connection establishment request is received, and executing a D2D discovery process according to a UE-NW Relay discovery model A during the running period of the third timer;

and after the third timer times out according to the UE-NW Relay model A, executing a D2D discovery process according to the UE-NW Relay model B.

Preferably, the D2D discovery procedure is performed in one of the D2D discovery modes, and is started after the Relay function of the UE is activated.

Preferably, the Relay function of the UE is activated by the UE, and/or the base station is activated by signaling, and the signaling includes one or a combination of the following signaling: physical layer signaling, MAC signaling, RRC signaling.

The embodiment of the invention provides a device for detecting relay UE in a D2D discovery process, which comprises the following steps:

a first determining module, configured to determine a timer corresponding to each D2D discovery mode;

a first executing module, configured to execute the D2D discovery procedure according to the D2D discovery mode during a timer operation period corresponding to one of the D2D discovery modes, and when the UE-NW Relay UE cannot be detected before a timer corresponding to the mode expires, execute the D2D discovery procedure during the timer operation period corresponding to the mode until the UE-NW Relay UE is detected according to one of the D2D discovery modes.

Preferably, the first determining module is further configured to determine the D2D discovery pattern includes: UE-NW Relay discovery model A and UE-NW Relay discovery model B; a timer corresponding to the UE-NW Relay model A is a first timer, and a timer corresponding to the UE-NW Relay model B is a second timer;

the first execution module is further to execute a D2D discovery procedure during operation of the second timer by the UE-NW Relay discovery model B when the UE-NW Relay UE cannot be detected by the UE-NW Relay discovery model a before the first timer times out.

An embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus for performing a D2D discovery process, including:

a second determining module, configured to determine a third timer corresponding to the first D2D discovery mode;

and the second execution module is configured to execute the D2D discovery process in the first D2D discovery mode during the running of the third timer corresponding to the first D2D discovery mode, and execute the D2D discovery process in the second D2D discovery mode after the time-out of the third timer corresponding to the first D2D discovery mode.

Preferably, the second determining module is further configured to determine that the first D2D discovery mode is UE-NW Relay discovery mode a, and the second D2D discovery mode is UE-NW Relay discovery mode B;

the second execution module is further configured to execute the D2D discovery procedure per UE-NW Relay discovery model B after the third timer per UE-NW Relay discovery model a expires.

Preferably, the second executing module is further configured to restart the third timer when a Relay discovery request or a UE-NW Relay connection establishment request is received in the D2D discovery process performed by the UE-NW Relay discovery model B, and perform the D2D discovery process by the UE-NW Relay discovery model a during the third timer operation; and after the third timer times out according to the UE-NW Relay discovery model A, executing a D2D discovery process according to the UE-NW Relay discovery model B.

Preferably, the second performing module is further configured to start performing the D2D discovery procedure in one of the D2D discovery modes after a Relay function of the UE is activated.

The invention has the following beneficial effects:

in the scheme for detecting Relay UE in the discovery process of the Remote UE side D2D provided in the embodiment of the present invention, each mode is switched to the next mode for execution after being executed for a period of time, so that no matter what discovery mode is executed by the Relay UE, the Remote UE can be ensured to be able to detect the Relay UE.

In the scheme provided by the embodiment of the invention, in which the UE-NW Relay UE side executes the D2D discovery process, after executing for a period of time in one mode, the next mode is executed, so that regardless of which discovery mode is executed by the Relay UE, the Relay UE can actively announce and respond to the request of the Relay UE, thereby ensuring that the Relay UE can detect the Relay UE.

Further, by the scheme that the UE-NW Relay model a and the UE-NW Relay model B cooperatively operate according to the embodiment of the present invention, it can be ensured that the Remote UE can discover the UE-NW Relay model when the system simultaneously supports the Relay model a and the UE-NW Relay model B.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the invention and not to limit the invention. In the drawings:

fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication manner of network centralized control according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of D2D Discovery/Communication (D2D Discovery/Communication) according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a UE-NW Relay communication network structure according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic flow chart of a Discovery model A according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic flow chart of a Discovery model B implementation in an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a schematic flow chart illustrating an implementation of a method for detecting Relay UE in a discovery process of a Remote UE side D2D according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic flow chart illustrating an implementation of a method for detecting UE in a discovery process of a UE-NW Relay UE side D2D according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a device for detecting relay UE in the discovery process of the Remote UE side D2D according to the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of an apparatus for detecting UE in a UE-NW Relay UE side D2D discovery process according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a Remote UE in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a diagram of a UE-NW Relay UE structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The following describes embodiments of the present invention with reference to the drawings.

The inventor notices in the process of invention that:

the existing D2D Discovery mechanism does not guarantee that a Remote UE can discover a UE-NW Relay UE that can serve it, for the following reasons:

fig. 1 is a schematic view of a communication mode of network centralized control, and as shown in the figure, a conventional communication system adopts a network centralized control mode, that is, uplink and downlink data of a UE are both sent and received under the control of a network. Communication data between the UE and the UE is forwarded through the network, and no direct communication link exists between the two.

In order to improve network transmission efficiency and reduce UE power consumption, 3GPP introduced a new mechanism for direct communication between UEs, i.e., D2D. Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of D2D Discovery/Communication (D2D Discovery/Communication) in which a UE is connected to a network by a dotted line, and the dotted line indicates that the UE using D2D may be on-network or off-network (i.e., D2D is not controlled by the network). As shown, D2D includes two parts of content:

1. D2D discovery: the UE uses D2D discovery to discover if another UE is in its vicinity. For example, the D2D UE may use the service to find nearby taxis, find friends nearby, etc.;

2. D2D communication (device-to-device communication): UEs close to each other, by directly establishing a link (as shown in D2D (Discovery or Communication)) between the two UEs, convert the Communication link originally transmitted through the network into a local direct Communication link, thereby saving a lot of bandwidth and network efficiency; or two UEs close to each other, can obtain stable, high-speed and low-cost communication services by using direct link communication. Proximity service communication is generally performed under control or assistance of a network side, and an eNB (evolved base station) may dynamically allocate resources even for a UE performing the proximity service communication.

The UE performing D2D may be on-network or off-network, and in order to support that the off-network UE can communicate with the network, a UE-NW Relay mechanism is introduced in the prior art. Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a UE-NW Relay communication network structure, in which a UE that is off-line is called a Remote UE, and an on-line UE supporting a Relay function is a UE-NW Relay. As shown, the UE-NW relay UE is responsible for relaying data between the Remote UE and the network.

To communicate using UE-NW Relay, the Remote UE first needs to perform the UE-NW Relay discovery procedure. Currently, the UE-NW Relay discovery supports two discovery models: model A and model B. The main differences between the two are:

in the model A mode, the method is initiated by Relay UE, the Relay UE only needs to send announcement (announcement) information, and the Remote UE does not need to feed back response information; in the model B mode, initiated by the Remote UE, the Remote UE needs not only to send a request (Solicitation) but also to receive a Response (Response) message sent by the UE-NW Relay, so as to complete the Relay discovery process. Fig. 4 is a schematic flow chart of implementation of Discovery model a, fig. 5 is a schematic flow chart of implementation of Discovery model B, and as shown in the figure, two specific flows of UE-NW Relay models are as follows:

in fig. 4, UE1 is Relay UE, UE2-5 is Remote UE, Type carried in message (message) sent by UE1 to UE2-5 is notification, and Disco Type is UE-NW Relay Discovery.

In FIG. 5, UE1 is Remote UE, UE2-5 is Relay UE, Type carried in message sent by UE1 to UE2-5 is Solicitation, Disco Type is UE-NW Relay Discovery.

The Type carried in the Response messages returned by the UE2 and the UE3 is Response, and the Disco Type is UE-NW Relay Discovery.

Currently, 3GPP requirements require support for UE-NW Relay discovery, discovery model A and model B.

However, for a communication system simultaneously supporting UE-NW Relay Discovery model a and UE-NW Relay Discovery model B, how to coordinate two UE-NW Relay Discovery models and ensure that Remote UE can discover UE-NW Relay UE, there is no solution at present, and this also makes the existing D2D Discovery mechanism unable to ensure that Remote UE can discover UE-NW Relay UE that can serve for it. For example, when two UEs are operating in different modes, the D2D discovery procedure will not be able to be completed. The specific reasons are as follows:

assuming that the Remote UE operates with model A and the Relay UE operates with model B, the Relay UE will not receive Solicitation of the Remote UE and the Remote UE will not receive notification, which will result in that the D2D discovery procedure cannot start;

or, assuming that the Remote UE operates with model B and the Relay UE operates with model a, even if the Remote UE initiates Solicitation, the Relay UE will not respond to the Solicitation initiated by the Remote UE, the Relay UE will not send notification, and the Remote UE will not process the message due to different modes, which will also result in that the D2D discovery process cannot start.

Based on this, the embodiment of the present invention provides a scheme in which the UE-NW Relay model a and the UE-NW Relay model B work in coordination. The following description is made.

In the description, the UE-NW Relay UE and the Remote UE will be described separately, but this does not mean that they must be implemented in combination, and actually, when the UE-NW Relay UE and the Remote UE are implemented separately, they also solve the problems on the UE-NW Relay UE side and the Remote UE side, and when they are used in combination, a better technical effect is obtained.

Fig. 6 is a schematic flow chart of an implementation of a method for detecting Relay UE in a discovery process of a Remote UE side D2D, as shown in the figure, the method may include:

step 601, determining a timer corresponding to each D2D discovery mode;

step 602, during the running period of the timer corresponding to one of the D2D discovery modes, executing a D2D discovery process according to the D2D discovery mode;

step 603, when the UE-NW Relay UE cannot be detected before the timer corresponding to the mode times out, pressing a D2D discovery mode to execute the D2D discovery process during the timer running period corresponding to the mode until the UE-NW Relay UE is detected.

In an implementation, when the execution of each D2D discovery mode is controlled by setting a timer, the D2D discovery process is started, the timer also starts counting time, and when the timer expires, the D2D discovery process is stopped.

In implementation, the D2D discovery pattern may include: UE-NW Relay discovery model A and UE-NW Relay discovery model B;

UUE-NW Relay discovery model A is a first timer, and UE-NW Relay discovery model B is a second timer;

For ease of understanding, the control of the UE-NW Relay model a will be embodied by the timer T1, and the control of the UE-NW Relay model B will be embodied by the timer T2. Then in a specific implementation:

for Remote UEs, its timers T1 and T2 may be maintained as follows:

during the operation of the timer T1, the Remote UE stops the timer T1 after detecting N1 (N1 ≧ 1) UE-NW relays and performs UE-NW Relay selection.

During the timer T2 running, the Remote UE may stop the timer T2 and make a UE-NW Relay selection after detecting N2 (N2 ≧ 1) UE-NW relays.

In a specific implementation, the values of the timers T1, T2, N1, and N2 may be pre-configured lengths or their lengths are agreed in the protocol.

In an implementation, if each D2D discovery mode is executed once in one execution cycle, the method may further include:

and when the UE-NW Relay UE cannot be detected in one execution cycle, starting the next execution cycle after waiting for a preset time length or a random time length.

In a specific implementation, when the UE-NW Relay UE cannot be detected within one execution period, the higher layer may notify that the UE-NW Relay UE is not found, the higher layer may randomly wait for a period of time, and then trigger the Remote UE to restart the UE-NW Relay detection again.

An example of cooperative operation of the UE-NW Relay model A/B on the Remote UE side will be described below.

In this embodiment, for a Remote UE, when it desires to discover a UE-NW Relay, a timer T1 is started, and UE-NW Relay discovery according to the UE-NW Relay discovery model a is started, and if the T1 times out, if the UE-NW Relay has not been detected, a timer T2 is started, and UE-NW Relay discovery according to the UE-NW Relay discovery model B is performed. When the timer T2 times out, if the UE-NW Relay has not been detected, the higher layer is notified that no UE-NW Relay is found. The method specifically comprises the following steps:

for Remote UEs, when it desires to discover the UE-NW Relay, a timer T1 is started and UE-NW Relay discovery is started according to the UE-NW Relay discovery model a.

During the operation of the timer T1, the Remote UE detects N1 (N1 ≧ 1) UE-NW relays, stops the timer T1, and performs UE-NW Relay selection.

If the Remote UE does not detect the UE-NW Relay after T1 times out, then a timer T2 is started when a timer T1 times out. During the running of the timer T2, if a UE-NW Relay is detected, the Remote UE may stop the timer T2 after detecting N2 (N2 ≧ 1) UE-NW relays and make the UE-NW Relay selection.

The timer T2 times out, and if the Remote UE has not detected a UE-NW Relay, the Remote UE informs its higher layer that no UE-NW Relay is found.

For a Remote UE, if it informs the higher layer that no UE-NW Relay is found, the higher layer may randomly wait for a period of time and then again trigger the Remote UE to restart UE-NW Relay detection as per the previous procedure.

The values of the timers T1, T2 and N1, N2 in the embodiments may be preconfigured or their lengths agreed in the protocol.

Fig. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an implementation of a method for performing a D2D discovery procedure on the UE-NW Relay UE side, where as shown in the figure, the method may include:

step 701, executing a D2D discovery process according to the first D2D discovery mode during the running period of a third timer corresponding to the first D2D discovery mode;

step 702, after the third timer corresponding to the first D2D discovery mode times out, the D2D discovery process is executed according to the second D2D discovery mode.

In an implementation, the first D2D discovery mode is UE-NW Relay discovery model a, and the second D2D discovery mode is UE-NW Relay discovery model B.

In specific implementation, for the execution sequence of the UE-NW Relay discovery model a and the UE-NW Relay discovery model B, the Relay UE uses the mode a, which is beneficial to save power for the Remote UE.

In practice, the D2D discovery process is performed in one of the D2D discovery modes, and is started after the Relay function of the UE is activated.

In a specific implementation, the activation of the UE-NW Relay function may be self-activation of the Relay, or may be activation of the base station through signaling, where the signaling may be physical layer signaling, MAC (Media Access Control) signaling, RRC (Radio Resource Control) signaling, or higher layer signaling.

For ease of understanding, a specific implementation of the timer T3 will be described below. Then in a specific implementation:

for the UE-NW Relay UE, when the Relay function is activated, a timer T3 is started immediately and works according to the UE-NW Relay discovery model A. When T3 times out, it starts to operate according to UE-NW Relay discovery model b.

In a specific implementation, the value of the timer T3 may be a pre-configured length or its length is agreed in the protocol.

In an implementation, in performing the D2D discovery process according to the UE-NW Relay discovery model B, the method may further include:

In specific implementation, the UE-NW Relay model A can be started to execute only by simply adopting a timer restarting operation.

Specifically, the UE-NW Relay UE operates in the UE-NW Relay discovery model B, and if a Relay discovery request of the Remote UE or a UE-NW Relay connection establishment request sent by the Remote UE is received, the timer T3 may be restarted and converted into the UE-NW Relay discovery model a.

An example of the coordinated operation of the UE-NW Relay model A/B on the UE-NW Relay UE side will be described below.

In this embodiment, after the UE-NW Relay function is activated, the UE-NW Relay UE immediately starts the timer T3 and operates according to the UE-NW Relay model a. Where the UE-NW Relay function activation may be Relay self activation (e.g. based on a higher layer indication) or the base station activation by signaling (signaling may be physical layer signaling, MAC signaling, RRC signaling or higher layer signaling).

When T3 times out, the UE-NW Relay may switch to UE-NW Relay model B operation for power saving.

Further, the UE-NW Relay operates during the UE-NW Relay model B, and if a Relay discovery request (Solicitation) of the Remote UE or a UE-NW Relay connection establishment request sent by the Remote UE is received, the timer T3 may be restarted and converted into the UE-NW Relay model a to operate.

The value of the timer T3 in this embodiment may be pre-configured or its length agreed in the protocol.

Based on the same inventive concept, embodiments of the present invention further provide an apparatus for detecting relay UEs in a D2D discovery process, and an apparatus for performing a D2D discovery process, and because the principles of solving the problems of these apparatuses are similar to a method for detecting relay UEs in a D2D discovery process, and a method for performing a D2D discovery process, the implementation of these apparatuses may refer to the implementation of the methods, and repeated details are not repeated.

Fig. 8 is an apparatus for detecting a relay UE in a Remote UE side D2D discovery process, where as shown, the apparatus may include:

a first determining module 801, configured to determine a timer corresponding to each D2D discovery mode;

a first performing module 802, configured to perform a D2D discovery procedure according to the D2D discovery mode during a timer operation period corresponding to one of the D2D discovery modes, and when the UE-NW Relay UE cannot be detected before the timer corresponding to the mode expires, perform a D2D discovery procedure during the timer operation period corresponding to the mode until the UE-NW Relay UE is detected according to the next D2D discovery mode.

In an implementation, the first determining module may be further configured to determine the D2D discovery pattern including: UE-NW Relay discovery model A and UE-NW Relay discovery model B; a timer corresponding to the UE-NW Relay model A is a first timer, and a timer corresponding to the UE-NW Relay model B is a second timer;

the first execution module may be further configured to execute a D2D discovery procedure during operation of the second timer by the UE-NW Relay module B when the UE-NW Relay UE cannot be detected by the UE-NW Relay module a before the first timer times out.

Fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of an apparatus for performing a D2D discovery procedure on the UE-NW Relay UE side, where as shown, the apparatus may include:

a second determining module 901, configured to determine a third timer corresponding to the first D2D discovery mode;

a second executing module 902, configured to execute the D2D discovery procedure in the first D2D discovery mode during the running of the third timer corresponding to the first D2D discovery mode, and execute the D2D discovery procedure in the second D2D discovery mode after the timeout of the third timer corresponding to the first D2D discovery mode.

In an implementation, the second determining module may be further configured to determine that the first D2D discovery mode is a UE-NW Relay discovery model a, and the second D2D discovery mode is a UE-NW Relay discovery model B;

the second performing module may be further configured to perform a D2D discovery procedure per UE-NW Relay discovery model B after the third timer expires per UE-NW Relay discovery model a.

In an implementation, the second performing module may be further configured to restart the third timer when a Relay discovery request or a UE-NW Relay connection establishment request is received in a process of performing D2D discovery per UE-NW Relay discovery model B, and perform D2D discovery per UE-NW Relay discovery model a during operation of the third timer; and after the third timer times out according to the UE-NW Relay discovery model A, executing a D2D discovery process according to the UE-NW Relay discovery model B.

In an implementation, the second performing module may be further configured to start performing the D2D discovery procedure in one of the D2D discovery modes after a Relay function of the UE is activated.

For convenience of description, each part of the above-described apparatus is separately described as being functionally divided into various modules or units. Of course, the functionality of the various modules or units may be implemented in the same one or more pieces of software or hardware in practicing the invention.

When the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the invention is implemented, the implementation can be carried out as follows.

Fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a Remote UE, and as shown in the figure, the UE includes:

the processor 1000, which is used to read the program in the memory 1020, executes the following processes:

determining a timer corresponding to each D2D discovery mode;

when the UE-NW Relay UE cannot be detected before the timer corresponding to the mode is overtime, pressing a D2D discovery mode to execute a D2D discovery process during the running period of the timer corresponding to the mode until the UE-NW Relay UE is detected;

a transceiver 1010 for transmitting data under the control of the processor 1000.

In practice, the D2D discovery pattern includes: UE-NW Relay discovery model A and UE-NW Relay discovery model B;

In an implementation, the method further comprises the following steps:

In implementation, the values of N1 and N2 are pre-configured or agreed in a protocol.

In an implementation, the duration of the first timer and/or the second timer is pre-configured or agreed in a protocol.

In an implementation, the method further comprises the following steps:

Where in fig. 10, the bus architecture may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, with various circuits being linked together, particularly one or more processors represented by processor 1000 and memory represented by memory 1020. The bus architecture may also link together various other circuits such as peripherals, voltage regulators, power management circuits, and the like, which are well known in the art, and therefore, will not be described any further herein. The bus interface provides an interface. The transceiver 1010 may be a number of elements including a transmitter and a receiver that provide a means for communicating with various other apparatus over a transmission medium. The user interface 1030 may also be an interface capable of interfacing with a desired device for different user devices, including but not limited to a keypad, display, speaker, microphone, joystick, etc.

The processor 1000 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and the memory 1020 may store data used by the processor 1000 in performing operations.

Fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of UE-NW Relay UE, as shown in the figure, the UE includes:

the processor 1100, which reads the program in the memory 1120, performs the following processes:

after a third timer corresponding to the first D2D discovery mode expires, performing a D2D discovery procedure in the second D2D discovery mode;

a transceiver 1110 for transmitting data under the control of the processor 1100.

In an implementation, the first D2D discovery mode is a UE-NW Relay discovery model a, and the second D2D discovery mode is a UE-NW Relay discovery model B.

In the implementation, in the process of performing D2D discovery by UE-NW Relay discovery model B, the method further includes:

In an implementation, the duration of the third timer is pre-configured or agreed upon in a protocol.

In an implementation, the Relay function of the UE is activated by the UE, and/or the base station is activated by signaling, where the signaling includes one or a combination of the following signaling: physical layer signaling, MAC signaling, RRC signaling.

Where in fig. 11, the bus architecture may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, with one or more processors, represented by processor 1100, and various circuits, represented by memory 1120, being linked together. The bus architecture may also link together various other circuits such as peripherals, voltage regulators, power management circuits, and the like, which are well known in the art, and therefore, will not be described any further herein. The bus interface provides an interface. The transceiver 1110 may be a number of elements including a transmitter and a receiver that provide a means for communicating with various other apparatus over a transmission medium. For different user devices, the user interface 1130 may also be an interface capable of interfacing with a desired device, including but not limited to a keypad, display, speaker, microphone, joystick, etc.

The processor 1100 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and the memory 1120 may store data used by the processor 1100 in performing operations.

In summary, in the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present invention, for a Remote UE, when it desires to discover a UE-NW Relay, the timer T1 is started, and UE-NW Relay discovery is started according to the UE-NW Relay discovery model a, and when T1 times out, if the UE-NW Relay has not been detected yet, the timer T2 is started, and UE-NW Relay discovery is performed according to the UE-NW Relay discovery model B.

In this process, maintenance may be performed as follows:

If it informs the higher layer that no UE-NW Relay is found, the higher layer may randomly wait for a period of time, triggering the Remote UE to restart UE-NW Relay detection again.

For the UE-NW Relay, when the Relay function is activated, a timer T3 is started immediately and works according to the UE-NW Relay model A. When T3 times out, the UE-NW Relay model B starts to work.

Further, the UE-NW Relay operates in the UE-NW Relay discovery model B, and if a Relay discovery request of the Remote UE or a UE-NW Relay connection establishment request sent by the Remote UE is received, the timer T3 may be restarted and converted into the UE-NW Relay discovery model a.

The activation of the UE-NW Relay function may be the Relay self-activation, or the base station activation through signaling, and the signaling may be physical layer signaling, MAC signaling, RRC signaling, or higher layer signaling.

The values of the timers T1, T2, T3, and N1, N2 may be preconfigured or their lengths agreed in the protocol.

By adopting the scheme that the UE-NW Relay model A and the UE-NW Relay model B work cooperatively, the invention can ensure that the Remote UE can discover the UE-NW Relay and can save power as much as possible for both the Remote UE and the UE-NW Relay UE under the condition that the system simultaneously supports the Relay model A and the UE-NW Relay model B.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, embodiments of the present invention may be provided as a method, system, or computer program product. Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, optical storage, and the like) having computer-usable program code embodied therein.

The present invention is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each flow and/or block of the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and/or blocks in the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the present invention fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention and their equivalents, the present invention is also intended to include such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A method for detecting a relay User Equipment (UE) in a device-to-device (D2D) discovery process, the method comprising:

determining a timer corresponding to each D2D discovery mode;

the D2D discovery mode comprises a UE-NW Relay discovery mode A and a UE-NW Relay discovery mode B.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the timer for UE-NW Relay discovery model a is a first timer and the timer for UE-NW Relay discovery model B is a second timer;

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the values of N1, N2 are pre-configured or agreed upon in a protocol.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the duration of the first timer and/or the second timer is pre-configured or agreed upon in a protocol.

6. The method of any of claims 1 to 5, further comprising:

7. A method of performing a D2D discovery process, comprising:

wherein the first D2D discovery mode is a UE-NW Relay discovery model A, and the second D2D discovery mode is a UE-NW Relay discovery model B.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein performing D2D discovery per UE-NW Relay discovery model B further comprises:

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the duration of the third timer is pre-configured or agreed upon in a protocol.

10. The method according to any of the claims 7 to 9, wherein performing the D2D discovery procedure in one of the D2D discovery modes is started after the Relay function of the UE is activated.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the Relay function of the UE is activated by the UE, and/or the base station is activated by signaling, wherein the signaling comprises one or a combination of the following signaling: physical layer signaling, Media Access Control (MAC) signaling, and Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

12. An apparatus for detecting a relay UE in a D2D discovery process, comprising:

a first executing module, configured to execute a D2D discovery process according to the D2D discovery mode during a timer operation period corresponding to one of the D2D discovery modes, and when a UE-NW Relay UE cannot be detected before the timer corresponding to the mode expires, execute a D2D discovery process until the UE-NWRelay UE is detected during the timer operation period corresponding to the mode according to the next D2D discovery mode;

wherein the first determining module is further configured to determine that the D2D discovery mode includes a UE-NW Relay discovery model A and a UE-NW Relay discovery model B.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the timer for UE-NW Relay discovery model a is a first timer and the timer for UE-NW Relay discovery model B is a second timer;

14. An apparatus that performs a D2D discovery process, comprising:

a second executing module, configured to execute the D2D discovery process in the first D2D discovery mode during operation of a third timer corresponding to the first D2D discovery mode, and execute the D2D discovery process in the second D2D discovery mode after the third timer corresponding to the first D2D discovery mode times out;

wherein the second determining module is further configured to determine that the first D2D discovery mode is a UE-NW Relay discovery model a, and the second D2D discovery mode is a UE-NW Relay discovery model B.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the second performing module is further configured to perform the D2D discovery procedure per UE-NW Relay discovery model B after timeout of the third timer per UE-NW Relay discovery model a.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the second performing module is further configured to, in performing D2D discovery per UE-NW Relay discovery model B, restart the third timer upon receiving a Relay discovery request or a UE-NWRelay connection establishment request, and perform D2D discovery per UE-NW Relay discovery model a during operation of the third timer; and after the third timer times out according to the UE-NW Relay model A, executing a D2D discovery process according to the UE-NW Relay model B.

17. The apparatus of any of claims 14 to 16, wherein the second performing module is further configured to start performing the D2D discovery procedure in one of the D2D discovery modes after a Relay function of the UE is activated.