CN108924962B

CN108924962B - Information indication method and device

Info

Publication number: CN108924962B
Application number: CN201710184256.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 张向东; 常俊仁; 冯淑兰
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2017-03-24
Filing date: 2017-03-24
Publication date: 2021-05-04
Anticipated expiration: 2037-03-24
Also published as: WO2018171514A1; CN108924962A; CN113316167A

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a method and a device for indicating information, wherein the method comprises the following steps: the method comprises the steps that a first terminal device determines first indication information according to the current link state between the first terminal device and a network device, wherein the current link state is link reconfiguration failure, link switching failure, switching, radio link failure or radio resource control connection reestablishment failure; the first terminal device sends the first indication information to a second terminal device, wherein the first indication information is used for informing the second terminal device of the current link state between the first terminal device and the network device; the first terminal device is a device capable of assisting the second terminal device to communicate with the network device. And determining a coping strategy by the second terminal equipment according to the current link state between the first terminal equipment and the network equipment, thereby reducing the communication delay of the second terminal equipment and improving the communication efficiency.

Description

Information indication method and device

Technical Field

The embodiment of the invention relates to the field of mobile communication, in particular to a method and a device for information indication in the field of mobile communication.

Background

Taking a mobile communication network as an example, in order to save air interface resources of the network, most terminal devices of the internet of things do not directly access the network device, but access the network device through another terminal device (e.g., a Relay UE). Direct long-distance communication between the terminal equipment of the Internet of things and the network equipment is avoided, so that short-distance communication is carried out between the terminal equipment of the Internet of things and the Relay UE, and the power consumption of the terminal equipment of the Internet of things is saved. Meanwhile, the terminal device of the internet of things is accessed to the network device through the Relay UE (i.e., is not directly connected to the network device), so that the air interface connection required to be maintained by the network device is greatly reduced, and therefore, the method is very beneficial to air interface resources and processing resources of the network device.

However, when the Relay UE fails to switch from the current serving network device to the target network device in the process that the terminal device of the internet of things accesses the network device through the Relay UE; or, when the link between the Relay UE and the current serving network device is interrupted, the Relay UE enters an idle state on the cellular direct link, that is, the cellular direct link of the Relay UE is unavailable, and the terminal device of the internet of things cannot access the network through the Relay UE.

Disclosure of Invention

Embodiments of the present invention provide an information indicating method, which can support a second terminal device to determine a countermeasure policy according to a current link state between a first terminal device and a network device (for example, the second terminal device determines whether to reselect the first terminal device or whether to fallback to an original serving base station according to the current link state), thereby reducing a communication delay of the second terminal device and improving communication efficiency.

In one aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a method for information indication. The method comprises the following steps: the first terminal device determines first indication information according to a current link state between the first terminal device and the network device, and sends the first indication information to the second terminal device, wherein the first indication information is used for informing the second terminal device of the current link state between the first terminal device and the network device. The current link state is a link reconfiguration failure, a link handover failure, a handover, a radio link failure, or a radio resource control connection reestablishment failure, and the first terminal device is a device capable of assisting the second terminal device in communicating with the network device.

When any one of a handover failure, a link reconfiguration failure, a handover, a radio link failure, or a radio resource control connection reestablishment failure occurs in a first terminal device, first indication information is sent to a second terminal device by the first terminal device, where the first indication information is used to notify the second terminal device of a current link state between the first terminal device and a network device, so that the second terminal device determines a countermeasure policy according to the current link state between the first terminal device and the network device (for example, the second terminal device determines whether to reselect the first terminal device or whether to return to an original serving base station according to the current link state), thereby reducing a communication delay of the second terminal device and improving communication efficiency.

In one possible design, the determining, by the first terminal device, the first indication information according to the current link state between the first terminal device and the network device includes: when the current link state between the first terminal device and the network device is a link reconfiguration failure, the first terminal device determines that the first indication information is link reconfiguration failure information; or when the current link state between the first terminal device and the network device is a link switching failure, the first terminal device determines that the first indication information is link switching failure information; or when the current link state between the first terminal device and the network device is switching, the first terminal device determines that the first indication information is link switching information; or when the current link state between the first terminal device and the network device is radio link failure, the first terminal device determines that the first indication information is radio link failure information; or when the current link state between the first terminal device and the network device is the radio resource control connection reestablishment failure, the first terminal device determines that the first indication information is the radio resource control connection reestablishment failure information.

The first terminal device determines first indication information corresponding to the current link state according to the current link state between the first terminal device and the network device (i.e. different first indication information represents the currently different link state between the first terminal device and the network device). And the second terminal equipment determines the current link state between the first terminal equipment and the network equipment according to the received different first indication information. The second terminal device determines the coping strategy according to the current link state between the first terminal device and the network device determined by the first indication information, for example, the second terminal device learns that the first terminal device is switching according to the first indication information, and then the second terminal device may stop sending data to the first terminal device. For example, if the second terminal device learns that the link between the first terminal device and the network device is unavailable (e.g., a link reconfiguration failure, a link handover failure, a radio link failure, or a radio resource control connection reestablishment failure) according to the first indication information, the second terminal device may reselect the first terminal device to reduce a communication delay caused by reselecting the first terminal device when data transmission is required in the future, or the second terminal device may enter an idle state to avoid energy consumption caused by being in an active state.

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for information indication. The method comprises the following steps: the second terminal device receives first indication information sent by the first terminal device, and the second terminal device determines a current link state between the first terminal device and the network device according to the first indication information, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating the current link state between the first terminal device and the network device, the current link state is a link reconfiguration failure, a link switching failure, a handover, a radio link failure or a radio resource control connection reestablishment failure, and the second terminal device is a device capable of communicating with the network device via the first terminal device.

In one possible design, the determining, by the second terminal device, the current link state between the first terminal device and the network device according to the first indication information includes: when the first indication information is link reconfiguration failure information, the second terminal device determines that the current link state between the first terminal device and the network device is a link reconfiguration failure state according to the first indication information; or when the first indication information is link switching failure information, the second terminal device determines that the current link state between the first terminal device and the network device is a link switching failure state according to the first indication information; or when the first indication information is link switching information, the second terminal device determines that the current link state between the first terminal device and the network device is a switching state according to the first indication information; or when the first indication information is radio link failure information, the second terminal device determines that the current link state between the first terminal device and the network device is a radio link failure state according to the first indication information; or when the first indication information is the radio resource control connection reestablishment failure information, the second terminal device determines that the current link state between the first terminal device and the network device is the radio resource control connection reestablishment failure state according to the first indication information.

The first terminal device determines first indication information corresponding to the current link state according to the current link state between the first terminal device and the network device (i.e. different first indication information represents different current link states between the first terminal device and the network device). And the second terminal equipment determines the current link state between the first terminal equipment and the network equipment according to the received different first indication information. Meanwhile, the second terminal device determines the coping strategy according to the current link state between the first terminal device and the network device determined by the first indication information, for example, the second terminal device learns that the first terminal device is switching according to the first indication information, and then the second terminal device may stop sending data to the first terminal device. For example, if the second terminal device learns that the link between the first terminal device and the network device is unavailable (e.g., a link reconfiguration failure, a link handover failure, a radio link failure, or a radio resource control connection reestablishment failure) according to the first indication information, the second terminal device may reselect the first terminal device in time to reduce communication delay caused by reselecting the first terminal device when data transmission is required in the future, or the second terminal device may enter an idle state to avoid energy consumption caused by being in an active state.

In the above embodiment, the link reconfiguration failure status includes reconfiguration failure information in a link handover procedure or reconfiguration failure information in a non-link handover procedure.

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an apparatus for information indication, where the apparatus is capable of assisting a second terminal device to communicate with a network device, and the apparatus includes: a processing unit, configured to determine first indication information according to a current link state between the apparatus and the network device, where the current link state is a link reconfiguration failure, a link handover failure, a handover, a radio link failure, or a radio resource control connection reestablishment failure; a sending unit, configured to send the first indication information determined by the processing unit to a second terminal device, where the first indication information is used to notify the second terminal device of a current link state between the first terminal device and a network device. The advantageous effects of this embodiment refer to the advantageous effects of the corresponding method embodiment described above.

In one possible design, the processing unit is specifically configured to: when the current link state between the device and the network equipment is link reconfiguration failure, determining that the first indication information is link reconfiguration failure information; or when the current link state between the device and the network equipment is link switching failure, determining the first indication information as link switching failure information; or when the current link state between the device and the network equipment is switching, determining the first indication information as link switching information; or when the current link state between the device and the network equipment is radio link failure, determining the first indication information as radio link failure information; or when the current link state between the device and the network equipment is the radio resource control connection reestablishment failure, determining that the first indication information is the radio resource control connection reestablishment failure information. The beneficial effects of this embodiment please refer to the corresponding method embodiment described above.

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an apparatus for information indication, where the apparatus is a device capable of communicating with a network device via a first terminal device, and the apparatus includes: a receiving unit, configured to receive first indication information sent by the first terminal device, where the first indication information is used to indicate a current link state between the first terminal device and the network device, and the current link state is a link reconfiguration failure, a link handover failure, a handover in progress, a radio link failure, or a radio resource control connection reestablishment failure; and the processing unit is used for determining the current link state between the first terminal equipment and the network equipment according to the first indication information received by the receiving unit. The beneficial effects of this embodiment please refer to the corresponding method embodiment described above.

In one possible design, the processing unit is specifically configured to: when the first indication information is link reconfiguration failure information, determining that the current link state between the first terminal equipment and the network equipment is a link reconfiguration failure state according to the first indication information; or when the first indication information is link switching failure information, determining that the current link state between the first terminal equipment and the network equipment is a link switching failure state according to the first indication information; or when the first indication information is link switching information, determining that the current link state between the first terminal equipment and the network equipment is a switching state according to the first indication information; or when the first indication information is radio link failure information, determining that the current link state between the first terminal equipment and the network equipment is a radio link failure state according to the first indication information; or when the first indication information is the radio resource control connection reestablishment failure information, determining that the current link state between the first terminal equipment and the network equipment is the radio resource control connection reestablishment failure state according to the first indication information. The beneficial effects of this embodiment please refer to the corresponding method embodiment described above.

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for indicating information, where the method includes: the network equipment determines indication information for indicating whether the second terminal equipment performs group operation or not; the network equipment sends the indication information to the first terminal equipment; or the network equipment sends the indication information to the second terminal equipment through the first terminal equipment; the first terminal device is a device for assisting the network device to communicate with the second terminal device.

The network device sends indication information for indicating whether the second terminal device performs group operation to the first terminal device, or the network device sends the indication information to the second terminal device through the first terminal device, so that the first terminal device and/or the second terminal device, before sending the group operation request to the network device, can agree with the network device as to whether to send the group operation request information to the network device according to the indication information, and avoid sending invalid group operation request information to the network device, and avoid when the network device does not allow the first terminal device and/or the second terminal device to perform group tracking area update, and the network device does not send feedback information to the first terminal device and/or the second terminal device (which results in the network device losing the tracking area information of the first terminal device and/or the second terminal device), the difficulty of the network equipment in subsequently paging the first terminal equipment and/or the second terminal equipment is avoided being increased.

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for indicating information, where the method includes: a first terminal device receives indication information sent by a network device, wherein the indication information is used for indicating whether a second terminal device performs group operation, and the first terminal device is a device for assisting the second terminal device to communicate with the network device; and the first terminal equipment determines whether to perform group operation according to the indication information.

The method comprises the steps that indicating information for indicating whether a second terminal device performs group operation or not is sent to a first terminal device through a network device, so that before the first terminal device sends a group operation request to the network device, according to the indicating information, the first terminal device can be consistent with the network device as to whether the group operation request information is sent to the network device or not, invalid group operation request information is prevented from being sent to the network device, meanwhile, the difficulty of the network device in paging the first terminal device subsequently is avoided being increased under the condition that the network device does not allow the first terminal device to perform group tracking area updating, and the network device does not send feedback information to the first terminal device (the tracking area information of the first terminal device is caused to be lost).

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for indicating information, where the method includes: the method comprises the steps that a second terminal device receives indication information sent by a network device, wherein the indication information is used for indicating whether the second terminal device carries out group operation or not, and the second terminal device is a device capable of communicating with the network device through a first terminal device; and the second terminal equipment determines whether to perform group operation according to the indication information.

The network device sends indication information for indicating whether the second terminal device performs group operation to the second terminal device, so that before the second terminal device sends a group operation request to the network device, according to the indication information, the second terminal device agrees with the network device on whether the group operation request information is sent to the network device, invalid group operation request information is prevented from being sent to the network device, and meanwhile, the difficulty of the network device in subsequently paging the second terminal device is prevented from being increased under the condition that the network device does not allow the second terminal device to perform group tracking area update and the network device does not send feedback information to the second terminal device (the network device loses tracking area information of the second terminal device).

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an apparatus for information indication, including: a processing unit configured to determine instruction information for instructing whether the second terminal device performs the group operation; a sending unit, configured to send the indication information to the first terminal device; or the sending unit is further configured to: sending the indication information to the second terminal equipment through the first terminal equipment; the first terminal device is a device for assisting the apparatus to communicate with the second terminal device. Please refer to the corresponding method embodiment above.

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an apparatus for information indication, including: the apparatus is a device for assisting a second terminal device to communicate with a network device, and the apparatus includes: a receiving unit, configured to receive indication information sent by the network device, where the indication information is used to indicate whether the second terminal device performs a group operation; and the processing unit is used for determining whether to perform group operation according to the indication information. Please refer to the corresponding method embodiment above.

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an apparatus for information indication, where the apparatus is a device capable of communicating with a network device via a first terminal device, and the apparatus includes: a receiving unit, configured to receive indication information sent by the network device, where the indication information is used to indicate whether the apparatus performs a group operation; and the processing unit is used for determining whether to perform group operation according to the indication information. Please refer to the corresponding method embodiment above.

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for indicating information, where the method includes: the method comprises the steps that a first terminal device determines indication information used for indicating a second terminal device to request a network device to perform group operation; the first terminal equipment sends the indication information to the network equipment; the first terminal device is a device that assists the second terminal device in communicating with the network device.

Sending indication information for indicating whether a second terminal device requests to perform group operation to the network device by the first terminal device, so that the first terminal device sends the group operation request to the network device, whether to agree with the network device with respect to whether to transmit the group operation request information to the network device, to avoid transmitting invalid group operation request information to the network device, while avoiding that the first terminal device and/or the second terminal device is not allowed to perform group tracking area updates at the network device, and the difficulty of the network device in subsequently paging the first terminal device and/or the second terminal device is avoided increasing under the condition that the network device does not send feedback information to the first terminal device and/or the second terminal device (which results in the network device losing the tracking area information of the first terminal device and/or the second terminal device).

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for indicating information, where the method includes: the second terminal equipment determines indication information for indicating that the network equipment is requested to perform group operation; the second terminal equipment sends the indication information to the network equipment; the second terminal device is a device capable of communicating with the network device via the first terminal device.

Sending indication information for indicating whether the second terminal equipment requests to perform group operation to the network equipment by the second terminal equipment, so that the second terminal equipment sends the group operation request to the network equipment, whether to agree with the network device with respect to whether to transmit the group operation request information to the network device, to avoid transmitting invalid group operation request information to the network device, while avoiding that the first terminal device and/or the second terminal device is not allowed to perform group tracking area updates at the network device, and the difficulty of the network device in subsequently paging the first terminal device and/or the second terminal device is avoided increasing under the condition that the network device does not send feedback information to the first terminal device and/or the second terminal device (which results in the network device losing the tracking area information of the first terminal device and/or the second terminal device).

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for indicating information, where the method includes:

the network equipment receives indication information sent by the first terminal equipment, wherein the indication information is used for indicating the second terminal equipment to request the network equipment to carry out group operation; or the network equipment receives the indication information sent by the second terminal equipment through the first terminal equipment; and the network equipment determines whether the request of the second terminal equipment passes according to the indication information.

Sending indication information for indicating whether the second terminal equipment requests to perform group operation to the network equipment through the first terminal equipment and/or the second terminal equipment, so that before the first terminal device and/or the second terminal device sends a group operation request to the network device, whether to agree with the network device with respect to whether to transmit the group operation request information to the network device, to avoid transmitting invalid group operation request information to the network device, while avoiding that the first terminal device and/or the second terminal device is not allowed to perform group tracking area updates at the network device, and the difficulty of the network device in subsequently paging the first terminal device and/or the second terminal device is avoided increasing under the condition that the network device does not send feedback information to the first terminal device and/or the second terminal device (which results in the network device losing the tracking area information of the first terminal device and/or the second terminal device).

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an apparatus for information indication, where the apparatus is a device that assists a second terminal device to communicate with a network device, and the apparatus includes: the processing unit is used for determining indication information for indicating the second terminal equipment to request the network equipment to perform group operation; a sending unit, configured to send the indication information to the network device. Please refer to the corresponding method embodiment above.

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an apparatus for information indication, where the apparatus is a device capable of communicating with a network device via a first terminal device, and the apparatus includes: a processing unit, configured to determine indication information indicating that a group operation is requested from the network device; a sending unit, configured to send the indication information to the network device. Please refer to the corresponding method embodiment above.

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an apparatus for information indication, including:

the device comprises a receiving unit, a sending unit and a processing unit, wherein the receiving unit is used for receiving indication information sent by first terminal equipment, and the indication information is used for indicating second terminal equipment to request the device to perform group operation; or the receiving unit is further configured to: receiving the indication information sent by the second terminal equipment through the first terminal equipment; a processing unit, configured to determine whether to pass the request of the second terminal device according to the indication information; the first terminal device is a device for assisting the apparatus to communicate with the second terminal device. Please refer to the corresponding method embodiment above.

The group operations involved in embodiments of the above described methods and apparatus include group switching operations or group tracking area update operations.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic architecture diagram of one possible communication system of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic interaction diagram of an information indication method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is another exemplary schematic interaction diagram of an information indication method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a further schematic interaction diagram of an information indication method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a further schematic interaction diagram of an information indication method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a schematic block diagram of an information indicating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is another schematic block diagram of an information indicating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a further schematic block diagram of an information indicating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 9 is a further schematic block diagram of an information indicating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 10 is a further schematic block diagram of an information indicating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 11 is a further schematic block diagram of an information indicating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 12 is a further schematic block diagram of an information indicating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 13 is a further schematic block diagram of an information indicating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The technical solution in the embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As used in this specification, the terms "component," "module," "system," and the like are intended to refer to a computer-related entity, either hardware, firmware, a combination of hardware and software, or software in execution. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or a computer. By way of illustration, both an application running on a computing device and the computing device can be a component. One or more components can reside within a process and/or thread of execution and a component can be localized on one computer and/or distributed between 2 or more computers. In addition, these components can execute from various computer readable media having various data structures stored thereon. The components may communicate by way of local and/or remote processes such as in accordance with a signal having one or more data packets (e.g., data from two components interacting with another component in a local system, distributed system, and/or across a network such as the internet with other systems by way of the signal).

It should be understood that the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention can be applied to various communication systems, for example: a Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) System, a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) System, a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) System, a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), a Long Term Evolution (LTE) System, an Advanced Long Term Evolution (LTE-a) System, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), or a next generation communication System, etc.

Among other things, the next generation mobile Communication system will support not only conventional Communication but also, for example, Machine to Machine (M2M) Communication or Vehicle to Vehicle (V2V) Communication, wherein M2M Communication may also be called Machine Type Communication (MTC).

The embodiments of the present invention have been described in connection with terminal devices. A terminal device may also be referred to as a User Equipment (UE), User Equipment, access terminal, subscriber unit, subscriber station, mobile station, remote terminal, mobile device, User terminal, wireless communication device, User agent, or User Equipment. The terminal device may be a station (station, ST) in a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), and may be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) device, a handheld device with Wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a Wireless modulation encoder, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, and a next-generation communication system, for example, a terminal device in a fifth-generation communication (5G) Network or a terminal device in a future-evolution Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) Network, and the like.

Furthermore, various embodiments of the present invention are described in connection with a network device. The network device may be a device such as a network device for communicating with a mobile device, and the network device may be an ACCESS POINT (AP) in a WLAN, a Base Transceiver Station (BTS) in GSM or CDMA, a Base Station (NodeB, NB) in WCDMA, an evolved Node B (eNB or eNodeB) in LTE, a relay Station or an ACCESS POINT, or a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, and a network device in a future 5G network or a network device in a future evolved PLMN network.

The method and the device provided by the embodiment of the invention can be applied to terminal equipment or network equipment, and the terminal equipment or the network equipment comprises a hardware layer, an operating system layer running on the hardware layer and an application layer running on the operating system layer. The hardware layer includes hardware such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Memory Management Unit (MMU), and a Memory (also referred to as a main Memory). The operating system may be any one or more computer operating systems that implement business processing through processes (processes), such as a Linux operating system, a Unix operating system, an Android operating system, an iOS operating system, or a windows operating system. The application layer comprises applications such as a browser, an address list, word processing software, instant messaging software and the like. In the embodiment of the present invention, a specific structure of an execution main body of a method for transmitting a signal is not particularly limited in the embodiment of the present invention, as long as the execution main body can communicate with the method for transmitting a signal according to the embodiment of the present invention by running a program recorded with a code of the method for transmitting a signal according to the embodiment of the present invention, for example, the execution main body of the method for transmitting feedback information according to the embodiment of the present invention may be a terminal device or a network device, or a functional module capable of calling a program and executing the program in the terminal device or the network device.

Moreover, various aspects or features of embodiments of the invention may be implemented as a method, apparatus, or article of manufacture using standard programming and/or engineering techniques. The term "article of manufacture" as used in embodiments of the invention is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device, carrier, or media. For example, computer-readable media can include but are not limited to magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strips, etc.), optical disks (e.g., Compact Disk (CD), Digital Versatile Disk (DVD), etc.), smart cards, and flash Memory devices (e.g., Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), card, stick, or key drive, etc.). In addition, various storage media described herein can represent one or more devices and/or other machine-readable media for storing information. The term "machine-readable medium" can include, without being limited to, wireless channels and various other media capable of storing, containing, and/or carrying instruction(s) and/or data.

In order to better understand the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present invention, in the following description, a first terminal device is described by taking a relay device as an example, a second terminal device is described by taking a remote device as an example, and a network device is described by taking a base station as an example, which are only examples for understanding the present invention, and the present invention includes but is not limited to the embodiments of the present invention. In addition, in the present invention, the relay device may be a device with a relay function, such as a UE with a relay function, and the present invention does not limit this to a large extent, as long as the device with a relay function is within the scope of the present invention.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system suitable for use with the method and apparatus for information indication of an embodiment of the invention. As shown in fig. 1, the communication system 100 includes a serving base station 101, a target base station 102, a relay apparatus 103, a remote apparatus 104, and a remote apparatus 105. Wherein, the remote device 104 and the remote device 105 both communicate with the serving base station 101 through the relay device 103. This system is only an example for understanding the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the number of devices in the system too much, for example, the number of remote devices in the embodiment of the present invention may be one or more, as long as the remote devices can communicate with the network device through the relay device, and all of them fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

When the group handover is performed, when the relay apparatus 103 is successfully handed over from the serving base station 101 to the target base station 102, the remote apparatus 104 and the remote apparatus 105 communicating with the serving base station 101 through the relay apparatus 103 are also handed over from the serving base station 101 to the target base station 102.

Fig. 2 shows a schematic flow chart of a method of information indication according to an embodiment of the invention. The remote device in fig. 2 may be a remote device in the remote devices 104 and 105 in fig. 1, the relay device may be the relay device 103 in fig. 1, the serving base station may be the serving base station 101 in fig. 1, and the target base station may be the target base station 102 in fig. 1. Of course, in an actual system, the numbers of the remote device, the relay device, the serving base station, and the target base station may not be limited to the examples of this embodiment or other embodiments, and are not described below. As shown in fig. 2, the method 100 includes:

s110, the relay equipment determines first indication information according to the current link state between the relay equipment and the base station, wherein the current link state is link reconfiguration failure, link switching failure, switching, radio link failure or radio resource control connection reestablishment failure;

s120, the relay device sends the first indication information to a remote device, where the first indication information is used to notify the remote device of a current link state between the relay device and a base station; the relay device is a device capable of assisting the remote device to communicate with the base station.

Specifically, the remote device communicates with the network device via the relay device, and the relay device determines the first indication information according to the current link state with the network device. After determining the first indication information, the relay device sends the first indication information to the remote device, where the first indication information is used to indicate a current link state between the relay device and the network device to the remote device, so that the remote device can timely learn the current link state between the relay device and the network device according to the first indication information.

It should be noted that the relay device may send the first indication information to the remote device before sending the configuration information to the remote device; alternatively, the relay device may transmit the first indication information to the remote device after transmitting the configuration information to the remote device.

It should be noted that the time when the relay device sends the first indication information to the remote device is only related to the change time of the current link state, and is not directly related to the sending time of the configuration information. The embodiment of the present invention does not limit the transmission time of the first indication information at all.

For example, after receiving a handover command containing a plurality of configuration information sent by the serving base station, the relay device switches from the current serving base station to the target base station. At this time, the relay device determines whether to send the first indication information to the remote device according to the link status with the network device.

For example, the relay device receives a handover command including a plurality of configuration information from the serving base station, and then sends the configuration information to the remote device, and then switches from the serving base station to the target base station. At this time, the relay device may determine whether to transmit the first indication information to the remote device according to a current link state with the network device.

Optionally, when the link state between the relay device and the network device is a link reconfiguration failure, the relay determines, according to the current link state, that the first indication information is link reconfiguration failure information.

Specifically, when a link reconfiguration failure occurs on a link between the relay device and the network device, the relay device determines, according to the current link state, that first indication information is link reconfiguration failure information, and sends the first indication information to the remote device, where the first indication information is used to indicate, to the remote device, that the link reconfiguration between the relay device and the network device has failed.

Optionally, when the current link status is a radio link failure, the relay device determines that the first indication information is radio link failure information.

Optionally, when the current link state is a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection reestablishment failure, the relay device determines, according to the current link state, that the first indication information is RRC connection reestablishment failure information.

Optionally, when the link status between the relay device and the network device is a rrc connection re-establishment failure, the rrc connection re-establishment failure information includes rrc connection re-establishment failure information in a link handover process or rrc connection re-establishment failure information in a non-link handover process.

Specifically, the rrc connection reestablishment failure may be an rrc connection reestablishment failure in a link handover process, that is, the rrc connection reestablishment failure may be a failure of the relay device to switch from the original serving base station to the target base station and a failure of returning to the original serving base station, that is, a failure of the relay device to reestablish the rrc connection with the original serving base station; alternatively, the link reconfiguration failure may be a radio resource control connection reestablishment failure between the relay device and the original serving base station (that is, the relay device does not perform a link handover, but the link with the original serving base station is interrupted, and the reconnection with the original serving base station also fails).

Optionally, when the link state between the relay device and the network device is a link handover failure, the relay device determines, according to the current link state, that the first indication information is link handover failure information.

Specifically, when the relay device fails to perform link handover (for example, when the relay device fails to handover from the original serving base station to the target base station), the relay device determines first indication information according to the current link state, and sends the first indication information to the remote device, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the current link state is the link handover failure to the remote device, so that the remote device can timely obtain the handover failure information when the relay device fails to perform handover, and thus rollback to the original serving base station.

Optionally, when the link state between the relay device and the network device is being switched, the relay device determines, according to the current link state, that the first indication information is link switching information.

Specifically, when the relay device is performing link switching (for example, the relay device is switching from an original serving base station to a target base station), in order to avoid the remote device from transmitting data information to the relay device during the link switching of the relay device, the relay device transmits, to the remote device, first indication information for indicating to the remote device to suspend transmission of the data information to the relay device.

S130, the remote device receives first indication information sent by the relay device, where the first indication information is used to indicate a current link state between the relay device and the network device, the current link state is a link reconfiguration failure, a link handover failure, a handover, a radio link failure, or a radio resource control connection reestablishment failure, and the second terminal device is a device capable of communicating with the network device via the first terminal device;

s140, the remote device determines a current link status between the relay device and the network device according to the first indication information.

It should be particularly noted that the relay-side method (S110 and S120) may be used alone, or may be used in combination with the remote-side method (S130 and S140), and in addition, the remote-side method may also be used alone, which does not limit the embodiment of the present invention.

Specifically, after receiving the first indication information sent by the relay device, the remote device may determine the current link status of the relay device and the network device according to the first indication information. That is, the relay device may timely acquire the current link state between the relay device and the network device according to the first indication information.

Optionally, when the first indication information is link reconfiguration failure information, the remote device determines, according to the first indication information, that a link state between the first terminal device and the network device is a link reconfiguration failure state.

Specifically, after receiving the first indication information, when the first indication information is link reconfiguration information, the remote device may determine, according to the first indication information, that the current link state of the relay device and the network device is a link reconfiguration failure state. At this time, the remote device may perform reselection of the relay link (i.e., the remote device reselects the relay device connected to the network device), or may directly establish a connection with the serving base station using the direct link.

Optionally, when the current link state is a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection reestablishment failure, the relay terminal device determines, according to the current link state, that the first indication information is RRC connection reestablishment failure information.

Optionally, when the first indication information is the link reconfiguration failure information, the link reconfiguration failure state includes a reconfiguration failure state in a link handover process or a reconfiguration failure state in a non-link handover process.

Specifically, when the first indication information received by the remote device is the link reconfiguration failure information, the remote device determines that the current link state is the link reconfiguration failure state according to the first indication information. Further, the remote device may determine, according to the first indication information, that the link state between the relay device and the network device is a link reconfiguration failure in the handover process; or, determining that the current link state is reconfiguration failure in the non-link switching process.

For example, when the current link state is a link reconfiguration failure in the handover process, that is, the relay device fails to return to the original serving base station. At this time, when the remote device determines that the current link state is a link reconfiguration failure in the handover process, the remote device may reselect the relay device, or may establish a connection with the target base station using the direct link.

Optionally, when the first indication information is link handover failure information, the remote device determines, according to the first indication information, that a link state between the relay device and the network device is a link handover failure state.

Specifically, when the remote device receives first indication information sent by the relay device, and the remote device determines that the current link state is a link handover failure according to the first indication information. At this time, the remote device may obtain the state of the current link in time according to the first indication information.

Optionally, when the first indication information is link switching information, the remote device determines, according to the first indication information, that the link state between the first terminal device and the network device is a switching state.

Specifically, after the remote device receives the first indication information sent by the relay device, the remote device determines that the current link state is the handover state according to the first indication information. At this time, the remote device determines to suspend sending data information to the relay device according to the indication of the first indication information, and waits for a further indication of the relay device.

In the existing group handover technology, after the relay device receives the reconfiguration command containing the configuration information sent by the serving base station, the relay device sends the configuration information to the remote device, and then the relay device completes the handover from the serving base station to the target base station.

However, in the process of switching the relay device from the serving base station to the target base station, there is a possibility that the switching fails (the relay device does not successfully access the target base station), and the relay device will return to the original serving base station. When the relay device fails to switch, the configuration information is already sent to the remote device by the relay device (the remote device already obtains the configuration information about the target base station), and if the relay device does not further indicate the remote device, the remote device will operate according to the configuration information of the target base station. Obviously, in case of handover failure of the relay device, if the remote device continues to operate according to the configuration information of the target base station, the remote device cannot complete communication (due to inconsistency in configuration between the remote device and the base station).

In addition, when the relay device fails to switch, the relay device will return to the original serving base station. However, in the process of the relay device falling back to the original serving base station, a fall-back failure may also occur, and the relay device will enter an idle state. When the handover of the relay device fails and the fallback fails (an example of a failure in re-establishment of Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection), if the relay device does not further instruct the remote device, the remote device may still select the previously connected relay device to communicate with the network device, but actually, the remote device may not be able to communicate with the network device through the relay device (due to the fallback failure).

In another existing group switching technique, a relay device performs switching first, and after the relay device completes switching, the relay device sends configuration information to a remote device. The scheme can solve the problems existing in the existing group switching technology. However, another problem is also introduced:

the remote device is not known when the relay device is handed over. Thus, the remote device may send information to the relay device in accordance with the configuration negotiated with the original serving base station.

However, at this time, the relay device is already performing handover, and during the handover, the relay device will not send information to the base station (except for handover-related signaling); after the relay device has completed the handover, the relay device sends information to the target base station according to the configuration negotiated with the target base station. It has no meaning for the information sent to the relay device by the remote device according to the configuration negotiated with the original serving base station, and then forwarded to the target base station by the relay device.

Of course, in the existing group handover technology, even if handover does not occur, there are cases where a link between the relay device and the serving base station fails and where re-establishment of the rrc connection fails, and if the above state is not notified to the remote device in time, the remote device will continue to communicate with the network through the relay device, but actually, the remote device cannot communicate with the network through the relay device.

In contrast, according to the method for indicating information provided in the embodiment of the present invention, when the relay device fails to perform any one of handover, link reconfiguration, handover, radio link failure, or radio resource control connection reestablishment failure, the relay device sends, to the remote device, first indication information, where the first indication information is used to notify the remote device of a current link state between the relay device and the network device, so that the remote device determines a handling policy according to the current link state between the relay device and the network device (for example, the remote device determines whether to reselect the relay device or return to an original serving base station according to the current link state), thereby reducing a communication delay of the remote device and improving communication efficiency.

Fig. 3 shows a schematic flow chart of another example of a method 200 of information indication according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 3, the method 200 may include:

s210, the relay equipment measures the service base station and feeds back a measurement result to the service base station;

s220, the service base station sends switching request information to the target base station according to the measurement result;

s230, the target base station sends a switching receiving command to the service base station after receiving the switching request information sent by the service base station, wherein the switching receiving command comprises configuration information;

s240, the service base station sends a switching command containing a plurality of configuration information to the relay equipment;

s250, after the relay equipment receives the switching command sent by the service base station, the relay equipment sends a reconfiguration command to the remote equipment;

s260, after the remote equipment completes the reconfiguration, the remote equipment sends reconfiguration completion information to the relay equipment;

s270, the relay device sends reconfiguration complete information to the serving base station, where the relay device may send the reconfiguration complete information of each remote device to the serving base station separately, or send the reconfiguration complete information of each remote device and the relay device to the serving base station in a unified manner.

Specifically, the relay device first measures the serving base station, and after the measurement is completed, feeds back a measurement result to the serving base station; the service base station sends switching request information to the target base station according to the measurement result sent by the relay equipment; after receiving the switching request information sent by the service base station, the target base station sends a switching acceptance command to the service base station, wherein the switching acceptance command comprises a plurality of configuration information; after receiving the handover acceptance command, the serving base station sends a handover command containing a plurality of configuration information to the relay device; then the relay equipment sends the reconfiguration information to the remote equipment; the remote equipment reconfigures according to the reconfiguration information, and after the reconfiguration is completed, the remote equipment sends reconfiguration completion information to the relay equipment; the relay device sends reconfiguration complete information to the serving base station, where the relay device may send the reconfiguration complete information of each remote device to the serving base station separately, or send the reconfiguration complete information of each remote device and the relay device to the serving base station collectively.

It should be noted that this embodiment may be used alone as an embodiment, or may be combined with the embodiment corresponding to the method 100 as a new embodiment, which is not limited in this application.

Specifically, the relay device may transmit the first indication information to the remote device before transmitting the configuration information to the remote device; alternatively, the relay device may transmit the first indication information to the remote device after transmitting the configuration information to the remote device.

For example, after receiving a handover command containing a plurality of configuration information sent by the serving base station, the relay device switches from the current serving base station to the target base station. At this time, the relay device determines whether to transmit the first indication information to the remote device according to a link status with the network device (i.e., according to whether the handover is successful).

Fig. 4 shows a schematic flow diagram of a method 300 of information indication according to yet another example of embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 4, the method 300 may include:

in order to better understand the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present invention, in the following description, the first terminal device takes a relay device as an example, the second terminal device takes a remote device as an example, and the network device takes a base station as an example, which are only examples for understanding the present invention, and the present invention is not limited thereto. In addition, in the embodiment of the present invention, the relay device may be a device with a relay function, such as a UE with a relay function, and the present invention does not limit this to too much, as long as the device with a relay function is within the scope of the present invention.

S310, the network equipment determines indication information for indicating whether the remote equipment performs group operation;

s320, the network device sends the indication information to the relay device; or the network equipment sends the indication information to the remote equipment through the relay equipment; the relay device is a device that assists the network device in communicating with the remote device.

Specifically, the network device determines indication information indicating whether the remote device performs the group operation, and transmits the indication information to the relay device, the indication information indicating whether the remote device performs the group operation. Namely, the indication information is used for indicating the remote device to perform group operation; or, the indication information is used to indicate that the remote device does not perform group operation; or, the indication information is used to indicate whether the remote device performs the group operation or not based on a default configuration.

The network device can send indication information to the remote device; or, the network device may also send the indication information to the relay device; or the network equipment simultaneously sends the indication information to the relay equipment and the remote equipment.

Optionally, the network device sends the indication information to the remote device through the relay device.

Specifically, the network device may transmit the indication information to the relay device and the remote device separately; or, the network device may also send the indication information to the relay device first, and then the relay device sends the indication information to the remote device, and the relay device may send all the information of the indication information to the remote device, or may send part of the information of the indication information to the remote device.

For example, when the relay device receives the indication information sent by the network device, it is determined that only part of the indication information is information configured by the network device to the remote device, and at this time, the relay device only sends the part of the information to the remote device.

Optionally, the indication information is further used to indicate whether the relay device assists the remote device in performing group operation.

Specifically, the indication information may indicate that the relay device assists the remote device in performing the group operation. That is, the relay device undertakes some or all of the operations between the remote device and the network device.

Optionally, the network device directly sends the indication information to the remote device, that is, the network device does not send the indication information to the remote device through the relay device, but directly sends the indication information to the remote device through a link between the network device and the remote device.

For example, the network device sends the indication information through a cellular direct link between the base station and the remote device.

Optionally, the indication information may indicate for a single remote device, or may indicate for some or all of the remote devices that establish a connection with the network device through the relay device. The embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto.

Optionally, the group operation comprises a group switching operation or a group tracking area update operation.

S330, a relay device and/or a remote device receive indication information sent by a network device, wherein the indication information is used for indicating whether the remote device performs group operation, and the relay device is a device for assisting the remote device to communicate with the network device;

and S340, the relay equipment and/or the remote equipment determine whether to perform group operation according to the indication information.

It should be particularly noted that the network side method (S310 and S320) may be used alone, or may be used in combination with the relay device and/or the remote device side method (S330 and S340), and in addition, the relay device and/or the remote device side method may also be used alone, which does not limit the embodiment of the present invention.

Optionally, the remote device receives the indication information sent by the network device through the relay device.

Specifically, the relay device and the remote device may receive indication information sent by the network device separately; or, the relay device receives the indication information sent by the network device and then sends the indication information to the remote device, and the relay device may send all the information of the indication information to the remote device, or may send part of the information of the indication information to the remote device. The embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto.

Optionally, the indication information is further used to indicate that the relay device is allowed to assist the remote device in performing group operation.

Optionally, the remote device directly receives the indication information sent by the network device, that is, the remote device does not receive the indication information sent by the network device through the relay device, but directly sends the indication information to the remote device through a link between the network device and the remote device.

For example, the remote device receives the indication information sent by the network device through a cellular direct link between the base station and the remote device.

Optionally, the indication information may indicate a single remote device, may indicate a part of the remote devices, or indicate all the remote devices that establish a connection with the network device through the relay device. The embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto.

In the existing group Tracking Area Update (TAU) technology, a relay device directly sends group TAU request information to a network device (i.e., the relay device sends the group TAU request information to the network device regardless of whether the network device allows the relay device to perform group Tracking Area Update), and the TAU request information is used for initiating a TAU request to the network device. However, the request information sent by the relay device is not necessarily passed by the network device, i.e., the network device may reject the request of the relay device. Therefore, this scheme lacks flexibility.

In contrast, according to the method for indicating information provided in the embodiment of the present invention, the network device sends the indication information indicating whether the remote device performs the group operation to the relay device and/or the remote device, so that the relay device and/or the remote device, before sending the group operation request to the network device, agrees with the network device as to whether the relay device and/or the remote device sends the group operation request information to the network device according to the indication information, and avoids sending invalid group operation request information to the network device, and at the same time, avoids, in a case that the network device does not allow the relay device and/or the remote device to perform the group tracking area update, and the network device does not send feedback information to the relay device and/or the remote device (which results in the network device losing the tracking area information of the relay device and/or the remote device), the difficulty of the network equipment in subsequently paging the relay equipment and/or the remote equipment is avoided.

Fig. 5 shows a schematic flow diagram of a method 400 for information indication according to yet another example of embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 5, the method 400 includes:

in order to better understand the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present invention, in the following description, the first terminal device takes a relay device as an example, the second terminal device takes a remote device as an example, and the network device takes a base station as an example, which are only examples for understanding the present invention, and the present invention is not limited thereto. In addition, in the present invention, the relay device may be a device with a relay function, such as a UE with a relay function, and the like, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present invention, as long as the device with a relay function is within the scope of the present invention.

S410, the relay equipment and/or the remote equipment determine indication information for indicating the remote equipment to request the network equipment to perform group operation;

s420, the relay device and/or the remote device send the indication information to the network device, where the relay device is a device that assists the remote device to communicate with the network device.

Specifically, the relay device and/or the remote device may individually transmit indication information to the network device, where the indication information is used to indicate that the remote device requests to perform the group operation. That is, by sending the instruction information to the network device, the group operation is requested to the network device.

The indication information can be sent to the network device by the remote device; or the indication information may be sent by the relay device to the network device; alternatively, the indication information may be transmitted to the network device by the remote device and the relay device together (i.e., the relay device transmits a part of the indication information to the network device, and the remote device transmits another part of the first indication information to the network device). The embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto.

Optionally, the remote device sends the indication information to the network device through the relay device.

Specifically, the relay device and the remote device may separately transmit the indication information to the network device; or, the relay device receives the indication information sent by the remote device and then sends the indication information to the network device, and the relay device may send all the information of the indication information to the network device, or may send part of the information of the indication information to the network device. The embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto.

Optionally, the indication information is further used to indicate that the relay device requests to assist the remote device in performing group operation.

Alternatively, the indication information may be first transmitted to the relay device by the remote device, and then transmitted to the network device by the relay device.

Specifically, the indication information may be sent by the remote device to a network device; or, the remote device may send the information to the relay device first, and then the relay device forwards the information to the network device; alternatively, the indication information may be directly transmitted to the network device by the relay device. The embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto.

Optionally, the indication information may be requested from the network device for a single remote device, or may be requested from the network device for all remote devices that establish a connection with the network device through the relay device. The embodiments of the present invention do not indicate this.

S430, the network equipment receives indication information sent by the relay equipment, and the indication information is used for indicating the remote equipment to request the network equipment to perform group operation; or;

s440, the network device determines whether the request of the remote device passes through according to the indication information.

It should be particularly noted that the relay device and/or the remote installation method (S410 and S420) may be used alone, or may be used in combination with the network side method (S430 and S440), or may be used alone in the network side method, which is not limited to this embodiment of the present invention.

Optionally, the network device receives the indication information sent by the remote device through the relay device.

Specifically, the network device may receive indication information separately transmitted by the relay device and the remote device; or, the remote device first sends the indication information to the relay device, and then the relay device sends the indication information to the network device, and the relay device may send all the information of the indication information to the network device, or the relay device may send part of the information of the indication information to the network device. The present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

Optionally, the indication information is further used to indicate a request to allow the relay device to assist the remote device in performing group operation.

Specifically, the determination whether to pass the request of the remote device may be to determine whether to allow the relay device to assist the remote device in performing the group operation.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present invention, only the group operation includes a group switching operation or a group tracking area updating operation as an example, but the group operation may also include other operations, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present invention.

In the conventional group Tracking Area Update (TAU) technology, a relay device transmits request information to a network device, the request information requesting a group operation for all remote devices connected to the network device through the relay device, however, the relay device is not authorized by the remote device, that is, not all the remote devices connected to the network device through the relay device desire the group operation. Thus, this solution also lacks flexibility.

In contrast, according to the method for indicating information provided by the embodiment of the present invention, the relay device and/or the remote device sends the indication information indicating whether the remote device requests to perform the group operation to the network device, such that the relay device and/or remote device prior to sending the group operation request to the network device, whether to agree with the network device with respect to whether to transmit the group operation request information to the network device, to avoid transmitting invalid group operation request information to the network device, while avoiding the inability of the relay device and/or remote device to perform group tracking area updates at the network device, and the network device avoids increasing the difficulty of the network device in subsequently paging the relay device and/or the remote device under the condition that the network device does not send feedback information to the relay device and/or the remote device (which results in the network device losing the tracking area information of the relay device and/or the remote device).

Fig. 6 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 500 for information indication according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 6, the apparatus 500 can assist a second terminal device to communicate with a network device, and the apparatus 500 can be used to perform the behavior and function of a relay device in the corresponding method embodiment described above, where the apparatus 500 includes a processing unit 510 and a sending unit 520.

The processing unit 510 is configured to determine first indication information according to a current link state between the apparatus and the network device, where the current link state is a link reconfiguration failure, a link handover failure, a handover, a radio link failure, or a radio resource control connection reestablishment failure;

a sending unit 520, configured to send the first indication information determined by the processing unit to a second terminal device, where the first indication information is used to notify the second terminal device of a current link state between the first terminal device and a network device.

Optionally, the processing unit 510 is specifically configured to:

when the current link state between the device and the network equipment is link reconfiguration failure, determining that the first indication information is link reconfiguration failure information; or

When the current link state between the device and the network equipment is link switching failure, determining that the first indication information is link switching failure information; or

When the current link state between the device and the network equipment is switching, determining the first indication information as link switching information; or

When the current link state between the device and the network equipment is radio link failure, determining that the first indication information is radio link failure information; or

And when the current link state between the device and the network equipment is the radio resource control connection reestablishment failure, determining the first indication information as the radio resource control connection reestablishment failure information.

Optionally, when the link state between the first terminal device and the network device is a link reconfiguration failure, the link reconfiguration failure information includes reconfiguration failure information in a link handover process or reconfiguration failure information in a non-link handover process.

Please refer to the corresponding method embodiments, which are not described herein again.

It should be particularly noted that, in the embodiment of the present invention, the physical device corresponding to the processing unit is a processor, and the physical device corresponding to the sending unit is a transmitter.

Fig. 7 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 600 for information indication according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 7, the apparatus 600 is a device capable of communicating with a network device via a first terminal device, and may be configured to perform the behaviors and functions of remote devices according to the corresponding method embodiments described above, where the apparatus 600 includes a receiving unit 610 and a processing unit 620.

The receiving unit 610 is configured to receive first indication information sent by the first terminal device, where the first indication information is used to indicate a current link state between the first terminal device and the network device, and the current link state is a link reconfiguration failure, a link handover failure, a handover, a radio link failure, or a radio resource control connection reestablishment failure;

a processing unit 620, configured to determine a current link state between the first terminal device and the network device according to the first indication information received by the receiving unit.

Optionally, the processing unit 620 is specifically configured to:

when the first indication information is link reconfiguration failure information, determining that the current link state between the first terminal equipment and the network equipment is a link reconfiguration failure state according to the first indication information; or

When the first indication information is link switching failure information, determining that the current link state between the first terminal equipment and the network equipment is a link switching failure state according to the first indication information; or

When the first indication information is link switching information, determining that the current link state between the first terminal equipment and the network equipment is a switching state according to the first indication information; or

When the first indication information is radio link failure information, determining that the current link state between the first terminal equipment and the network equipment is a radio link failure state according to the first indication information; or

And when the first indication information is radio resource control connection reestablishment failure information, determining that the current link state between the first terminal equipment and the network equipment is a radio resource control connection reestablishment failure state according to the first indication information.

Please refer to the corresponding method embodiments, which are not described herein again. .

It should be particularly noted that, in the embodiment of the present invention, the physical device corresponding to the receiving unit is a receiver, and the physical device corresponding to the processing unit is a processor.

Fig. 8 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 700 for information indication according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 8, the apparatus may be adapted to perform the actions and functions of the corresponding method embodiments described above, and the apparatus 700 includes a processing unit 710 and a transmitting unit 720.

The processing unit 710 is configured to determine indication information indicating whether the second terminal device performs a group operation;

the sending unit 720 is configured to send the indication information determined by the processing unit 710 to the first terminal device; or is configured to send the indication information determined by the processing unit 710 to the second terminal device through the first terminal device, where the first terminal device is a device that assists the apparatus in communicating with the second terminal device.

Optionally, the indication information is further used to indicate whether the first terminal device assists the second terminal device in performing the group operation.

Fig. 9 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 800 for information indication according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 9, the apparatus 800 is a device for assisting a second terminal device to communicate with a network device, and the apparatus 800 includes a receiving unit 810 and a processing unit 820.

The receiving unit 810 is configured to receive indication information sent by the network device, where the indication information is used to indicate whether the second terminal device performs a group operation;

the processing unit 820 is configured to determine whether to perform a group operation according to the indication information received by the receiving unit 810.

Fig. 10 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 900 according to the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 10, the apparatus 900 is a device capable of communicating with a network device via a first terminal device, and the apparatus 900 includes a receiving unit 910 and a processing unit 920.

The receiving unit 910 is configured to receive indication information sent by the network device, where the indication information is used to indicate whether the second terminal device performs a group operation;

the processing unit 920 is configured to determine whether to perform a group operation according to the indication information received by the receiving unit 910.

Fig. 11 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 1000 for information indication according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 10, the apparatus 1000 is a device for assisting a second terminal device to communicate with a network device, and the apparatus 1000 includes a processing unit 1010 and a transmitting unit 1020.

The processing unit 1010 is configured to determine indication information indicating that the second terminal device requests the network device to perform a group operation;

the sending unit 1020 is configured to send the indication information determined by the processing unit 1010 to the network device.

Optionally, the indication information is further used to indicate that the first terminal device requests to assist the second terminal device in performing the group operation.

FIG. 12 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 1100 for information indication in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 12, the apparatus 1100 is a device capable of communicating with a network device via a first terminal device, and the apparatus 1100 includes a processing unit 1110 and a transmitting unit 1120, which may be used to perform the behaviors and functions of the corresponding method embodiments described above.

Wherein, the processing unit 1110 is configured to determine indication information indicating that a group operation is requested from the network device;

the transmitting unit 1120 is configured to transmit the indication information determined by the processing unit 1110 to the network device.

Fig. 13 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 1200 for information indication according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 13, the apparatus may be configured to perform the actions and functions of the corresponding method embodiments described above, and the apparatus 1200 includes a receiving unit 1210 and a processing unit 1220.

The receiving unit 1210 is configured to receive indication information sent by a first terminal device; or the indication information sent by the second terminal equipment is received by the first terminal equipment.

The processing unit 1220 is configured to determine whether the request from the second terminal device passes through the indication information received by the receiving unit 1210; the indication information is used for indicating a second terminal device to request the apparatus to perform a group operation, and the first terminal device is a device for assisting the apparatus to communicate with the second terminal device.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware or combinations of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the implementation. 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 invention.

It is clear to those skilled in the art that, for convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the above-described systems, apparatuses and units may refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and are not described herein again.

In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, apparatus and method may be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described apparatus embodiments are merely illustrative, and for example, the division of the units is only one logical division, and other divisions may be realized in practice, for example, a plurality of units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted, or not executed. In addition, the shown or discussed mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection may be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, and may be in an electrical, mechanical or other form.

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 network units. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of the embodiment.

In addition, functional units in the embodiments of the present invention may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one unit.

The functions, if implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as a stand-alone product, may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present invention may be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to execute all or part of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of the present invention. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: various media capable of storing program codes, such as a usb disk, a removable hard disk, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

The above description is only for the specific embodiments of the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of the changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present invention, and all the changes or substitutions should be covered within the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method of information indication, the method comprising:

the relay equipment determines first indication information according to a current link state between the relay equipment and network equipment, wherein the current link state is a radio resource control connection reestablishment failure triggered by link switching failure;

the relay device sends the first indication information to a remote device, where the first indication information is used to notify the remote device that a link between the relay device and a network device is in a radio resource control connection reestablishment failure, and the relay device is a device capable of assisting the remote device to communicate with the network device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining, by the relay device, the first indication information according to the current link status between the relay device and the network device comprises:

when the current link state between the relay device and the network device is a radio resource control connection reestablishment failure triggered by a link switching failure, the relay device determines that the first indication information is radio resource control connection reestablishment failure information.

3. A method of information indication, the method comprising:

a remote device receives first indication information sent by a relay device, wherein the first indication information is used for notifying the remote device that a link between the relay device and a network device is in a radio resource control connection reestablishment failure, the remote device is a device capable of communicating with the network device through the relay device, and the relay device is a device capable of assisting the remote device to communicate with the network device;

and the remote equipment determines that a link between the relay equipment and the network equipment fails to be reestablished in radio resource control connection according to the first indication information.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the determining, by the remote device according to the first indication information, that the link between the relay device and the network device is in a radio resource control connection reestablishment failure comprises:

and when the first indication information is radio resource control connection reestablishment failure information, the remote equipment determines that a link between the relay equipment and the network equipment is in radio resource control connection reestablishment failure according to the first indication information.

5. An apparatus for information indication, the apparatus capable of facilitating communication between a remote device and a network device, the apparatus comprising:

a processing unit, configured to determine first indication information according to a current link state between the apparatus and the network device, where the current link state is a radio resource control connection reestablishment failure triggered by a link handover failure;

a sending unit, configured to send the first indication information determined by the processing unit to a remote device, where the first indication information is used to notify the remote device that a link between the apparatus and a network device is in a radio resource control connection reestablishment failure.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the processing unit is specifically configured to:

and when the current link state between the device and the network equipment is the radio resource control connection reestablishment failure triggered by the link switching failure, determining that the first indication information is the radio resource control connection reestablishment failure information.

7. An apparatus for information indication, wherein the apparatus is a device capable of communicating with a network device via a relay device, the apparatus comprising:

a receiving unit, configured to receive first indication information sent by the relay device, where the first indication information is used to notify that a link between the relay device and the network device is in a radio resource control connection reestablishment failure;

a processing unit, configured to determine, according to the first indication information received by the receiving unit, that a link between the relay device and the network device is in a radio resource control connection reestablishment failure.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the processing unit is specifically configured to:

and when the first indication information is radio resource control connection reestablishment failure information, determining that a link between the relay equipment and the network equipment fails in radio resource control connection reestablishment according to the first indication information.

9. A computer-readable medium having program code stored thereon, which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of claim 1 or 2, and 3 or 4.

10. A communication apparatus comprising a memory for storing a computer program and a processor for retrieving and executing the computer program from the memory, wherein the method according to claim 1 or 2, and 3 or 4 is performed.