CN112153558B

CN112153558B - Communication method and device

Info

Publication number: CN112153558B
Application number: CN201910580529.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 徐蓓
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Cloud Computing Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-06-28
Filing date: 2019-06-28
Publication date: 2021-10-22
Anticipated expiration: 2039-06-28
Also published as: CN112153558A; WO2020259525A1

Abstract

The application relates to the technical field of communication and discloses a communication method and device. The method comprises the following steps: the method comprises the steps that an IoT platform determines N terminal devices of a first service to be processed, and determines P target terminal devices supporting near field communication from the N terminal devices; the IoT platform determines M relay devices supporting the first service, sends a first message to the M relay devices, and sends a second message to the terminal devices except the P target terminal devices in the N terminal devices. By adopting the method, the IoT platform sends the first message to the M relay devices, so that the M relay devices can broadcast the service information of the first service through near field communication, and for the terminal devices except the P target terminal devices in the N terminal devices, the IoT platform can send the service information of the first service in a unicast mode, thereby effectively ensuring that the N terminal devices can all effectively receive the service information of the first service.

Description

Communication method and device

Technical Field

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

Background

The internet of things (IoT) is an important component of a new generation of information technology and is also an important development stage of the "information" era. As the name suggests, the Internet of things is the Internet connected with objects, and the Internet of things has two meanings: firstly, the core and the foundation of the internet of things are still the internet, and the internet is an extended and expanded network on the basis of the internet; and secondly, the user side extends and expands to any article to perform information exchange and communication, namely, the article information. The internet of things is widely applied to network fusion through communication perception technologies such as intelligent perception, identification technology and pervasive computing, and is also called as the third wave of development of the world information industry after computers and the internet.

The internet of vehicles is a typical application of the internet of things in the field of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), and particularly, the internet of vehicles is a large system network that performs wireless communication and information exchange between vehicles and the outside world (V2X) according to an agreed communication protocol and data interaction standard based on an intra-vehicle network, an inter-vehicle network and a vehicle-mounted mobile internet, where X is a vehicle, a mobile device, a pedestrian, a network, and the like. The internet of vehicles is an integrated network capable of realizing intelligent traffic management, intelligent dynamic information service and intelligent vehicle control.

In the field of intelligent transportation systems, V2X communication may be applied to a variety of possible scenarios, such as a beacon push service scenario, where an IoT platform needs to push beacon information to a group of vehicles at a specified location; another example is a road congestion push service scenario in which the IoT platform needs to send road congestion information to a set of roadside signs and vehicles at specified locations. In both of the above-described exemplary scenarios, the service information is transmitted to a group of terminal devices (including vehicles), however, how to effectively transmit the service information to a group of terminal devices needs to be further studied.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above, the present application provides a communication method and apparatus for efficiently sending service information to a group of terminal devices.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, including:

the method comprises the steps that an IoT platform determines N terminal devices of a first service to be processed, and determines P target terminal devices supporting near field communication from the N terminal devices, wherein the N terminal devices support the first service; the method comprises the steps that an IoT platform determines M relay devices supporting first services, wherein the near-field communication of each relay device in the M relay devices covers at least one target terminal device in P target terminal devices; the method comprises the steps that an IoT platform sends a first message to M relay devices, wherein the first message comprises indication information and service information of a first service, and the indication information is used for indicating the service information of the first service broadcasted through near field communication; the IoT platform sends a second message to the terminal equipment except the P target terminal equipment in the N terminal equipment, wherein the second message comprises the service information of the first service; wherein N, M, P are integers.

By adopting the method, the IoT platform determines P target terminal devices supporting near field communication and M relay devices from the N terminal devices, and sends the first message to the M relay devices, so that the M relay devices can send the service information of the first service to the P target terminal devices through the near field communication. Further, in the embodiment of the present application, when determining the M relay devices, services supported by the M relay devices are fully considered, so that the determined M relay devices are all relay devices supporting the first service, and a phenomenon that the service information of the first service is discarded due to the fact that the relay devices do not support the first service, so that the P target terminal devices may not receive the service information of the first service is avoided.

In one possible design, the IoT platform determines N terminal devices, including: the IoT platform receives a third message from the application server, wherein the third message comprises information of the first area, service information of the first service and a target terminal type, and the service information of the first service comprises a service identifier of the first service; the IoT platform acquires a plurality of terminal devices located in the first area according to the information of the first area; the IoT platform acquires the service lists supported by the plurality of terminal devices and the types of the plurality of terminal devices, and determines N terminal devices from the plurality of terminal devices according to the service lists supported by the plurality of terminal devices and the types of the plurality of terminal devices, wherein the service lists supported by the N terminal devices comprise the identifier of the first service, and the type of each terminal device in the N terminal devices is matched with the target type.

That is, the IoT platform may determine the N terminal devices according to the information of the first area, the service information of the first service, and the target terminal type, that is, the IoT platform may determine the N terminal devices according to the dynamic group message sent by the application server.

In one possible design, the IoT platform determines N terminal devices, including: the IoT platform receives a third message from the application server, wherein the third message comprises the identifier of the first group and the service information of the first service, and the service information of the first service comprises the service identifier of the first service; the IoT platform acquires N terminal devices belonging to a first group.

That is, the IoT platform may determine the N terminal devices from the static group message sent by the application server.

In one possible design, the IoT platform determines P target terminal devices supporting near field communication from the N terminal devices, including: the method comprises the steps that an IoT platform obtains communication capacity information of N terminal devices, wherein the N terminal devices comprise a first terminal device, and the communication capacity information of the first terminal device is used for indicating whether the first terminal device supports short-distance communication or indicating a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) list of the first terminal device, which supports the short-distance communication; the IoT platform determines P target terminal devices from the N terminal devices according to the communication capacity information of the N terminal devices; the communication capability information of the target terminal device indicates that the target terminal device supports near field communication, or the PLMN list of the target terminal device supporting near field communication includes a PLMN accessed by the target terminal device.

In one possible design, the IoT platform determines M relay devices, including: the method comprises the steps that an IoT platform obtains mobile identifications of P target terminal devices, wherein the mobile identifications of the target terminal devices are used for indicating that the target terminal devices are in a mobile state or a static state; if the IoT platform determines that the P target terminal devices include M target terminal devices in a static state, the M target terminal devices in the static state are determined as M relay devices.

By adopting the mode, the IoT platform directly determines the relay equipment from the P target terminal equipment, so that the processing resources can be effectively saved, and the processing efficiency is improved.

In one possible design, the indication information is further used to indicate that the service information of the first service is processed. Since the relay device is a device of the P target terminal devices, the indication information may also indicate the relay device to perform local processing on the service information of the first service.

In one possible design, the method further includes: the IoT platform determines M relay devices from the at least one terminal device according to the information of the first area, the communication capability information of the at least one terminal device, the service list supported by the at least one terminal device and the mobile identifier of the at least one terminal device; at least one terminal device is a terminal device except the P target terminal devices; the at least one terminal device comprises a second terminal device, and the mobile identifier of the second terminal device is used for indicating that the second terminal device is in a mobile state or a static state; the communication capability information of the second terminal device is used for indicating whether the second terminal device supports short-distance communication or indicating a PLMN list of the second terminal device, which supports short-distance communication; if the second terminal device supports near field communication, the communication capability information of the second terminal device comprises a near field communication coverage range of the second terminal device; the M relay devices are terminal devices in a static state, and a service list supported by the M relay devices comprises an identifier of a first service.

In one possible design, before the IoT platform determines M relay devices from the at least one terminal device, the IoT platform further includes: the IoT platform determines that no terminal device in a quiescent state is included in the P target terminal devices.

In one possible design, the close-range communication of the M relay devices completely covers the target terminal device in a moving state among the P target terminal devices.

In a possible design, if the close-range communication of the M relay devices does not completely cover the target terminal devices in the moving state, the first message further includes the position information and the moving speed of at least one target terminal device in the target terminal devices in the moving state.

By adopting the mode, the position information and the moving speed of at least one target terminal device in the moving target terminal devices are sent to the relay device, so that the relay device can determine the broadcasting times and the broadcasting time based on the position information and the moving speed of the at least one target terminal device, and the target terminal devices in the moving state can be ensured to receive the service information of the first service.

In one possible design, the first message is a multicast message or a unicast message; and/or the second message is a unicast message.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, including:

the method comprises the steps that the relay equipment receives a first message sent by an IoT platform, wherein the first message comprises indication information and service information of a first service, and the indication information is used for indicating the relay equipment to broadcast the service information of the first service through near field communication; the first message also comprises the position information and the moving speed of at least one target terminal device in the P target terminal devices; the relay equipment determines the broadcasting time and the broadcasting times of the service information of the first service according to the position information and the moving speed of at least one terminal equipment in the P target terminal equipments; and the relay equipment broadcasts the service information of the first service according to the broadcasting time and the broadcasting times.

In one possible design, the first message includes location information and a moving speed of each of the P target terminal devices;

the method for determining the broadcasting time and the broadcasting times of the service information of the first service by the relay equipment according to the position information and the moving speed of the P target terminal equipment comprises the following steps: the relay equipment determines a third terminal equipment farthest from the relay equipment according to the position information of each target terminal equipment in the P target terminal equipments, and determines the broadcasting time and the broadcasting times of the service information of the first service according to the position information and the moving speed of the third terminal equipment.

In one possible design, the first message includes location information and a moving speed of a third terminal device of the P target terminal devices; the third terminal device is the target terminal device which is farthest away from the relay device in the P target terminal devices;

the method for determining the broadcasting time and the broadcasting times of the service information of the first service by the relay equipment according to the position information and the moving speed of at least one terminal equipment in the P target terminal equipments comprises the following steps: and the relay equipment determines the broadcasting time and the broadcasting times of the service information of the first service according to the position information and the moving speed of the third terminal equipment.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, including: the application server determines a third message, wherein the third message comprises the information of the first area and the service information of the first service; the service information of the first service comprises a service identifier of the first service; the application server sends a third message to the IoT platform.

In one possible design, the third message further includes a target terminal type.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, including: the application server determines a third message, wherein the third message comprises the identifier of the first group and the service information of the first service; the service information of the first service comprises a service identifier of the first service; the application server sends a third message to the IoT platform.

In a fifth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide an apparatus, which may be an IoT platform, or may also be a semiconductor chip disposed in the IoT platform. The device has the function of implementing the various possible designs of the first aspect described above. The function can be realized by hardware, and can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the above functions.

In a sixth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide an apparatus, which may be a relay device or may also be a semiconductor chip disposed in the relay device. The device has the function of implementing the various possible designs of the second aspect described above. The function can be realized by hardware, and can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the above functions.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an apparatus, where the apparatus may be an application server, or may also be a semiconductor chip disposed in the application server. The apparatus has a function of realizing the third aspect or the fourth aspect described above. The function can be realized by hardware, and can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the above functions.

In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, where the communication system includes the IoT platform in the fifth aspect and the relay device in the sixth aspect, and further may further include the application server in the seventh aspect.

In a ninth aspect, an apparatus of embodiments herein includes: a processor and a memory; the processor is adapted to execute instructions stored on the memory, which when executed, cause the apparatus to perform the method as in any one of the possible designs of the first to fourth aspects above.

In a tenth aspect, embodiments of the present application also provide a computer-readable storage medium, which includes instructions that, when executed, implement the method in any possible design of the above aspects or aspects.

In an eleventh aspect, the present application also provides a computer program product comprising a computer program or instructions which, when executed, implement the method in any one of the possible designs of the above-mentioned aspect or aspects.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of some scenarios of V2X;

FIG. 2 is a system architecture diagram according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating that the terminal device 1 reports data to an IoT platform according to the embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 4 is a flowchart of an example of sending a message to a group member in a multicast manner according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 6a is a schematic diagram of group creation provided in the present application;

fig. 6b is a schematic diagram illustrating an implementation of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6c is a schematic diagram of a first area determined according to location information of P target terminal devices according to the embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 7 is a possible exemplary block diagram of the devices involved in the embodiments of the present application;

fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of an IoT platform provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a relay device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the embodiments of the present application will be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The technical scheme of the embodiment of the application can be applied to various communication systems, for example: wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) mobile communication systems, evolved global radio access network (E-UTRAN) systems, next Generation radio access network (NG-RAN) systems, Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) communication systems, future Generation (5th rate, 5G) systems, such as new Generation radio access technology (NR), and future communication systems, such as 6G systems.

The service scenario (or application scenario) described in the embodiment of the present application is for more clearly illustrating the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, and does not form a limitation on the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application, and as a person having ordinary skill in the art knows, with the occurrence of a new service scenario, the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application is also applicable to similar technical problems.

In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, the word "exemplary" is used to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any embodiment or implementation described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or implementations. Rather, the term using examples is intended to present concepts in a concrete fashion.

Hereinafter, some terms in the embodiments of the present application are explained to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

(1) Terminal equipment, including devices that provide voice and/or data connectivity to a user, may include, for example, handheld devices with wireless connection capability or processing devices connected to wireless modems. The terminal device may communicate with a core network via a Radio Access Network (RAN), exchanging voice and/or data with the RAN. The terminal device may include a vehicle (vehicle), a vehicle module (vehicle module), a User Equipment (UE), a wireless terminal device, a mobile terminal device, a subscriber unit (subscriber unit), a subscriber station (subscriber station), a mobile station (mobile station), a remote station (remote station), an Access Point (AP), a remote terminal device (remote terminal), an access terminal device (access terminal), a user terminal device (user terminal), a user agent (user agent), or a user equipment (user device), etc. For example, mobile phones (or so-called "cellular" phones), computers with mobile terminal equipment, portable, pocket, hand-held, computer-included or vehicle-mounted mobile devices, smart wearable devices, and the like may be included. For example, Personal Communication Service (PCS) phones, cordless phones, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phones, Wireless Local Loop (WLL) stations, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), and the like. Also included are constrained devices, such as devices that consume less power, or devices that have limited storage capabilities, or devices that have limited computing capabilities, etc. Examples of information sensing devices include bar codes, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), sensors, Global Positioning Systems (GPS), laser scanners, and the like.

By way of example and not limitation, in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device may also be a wearable device. Wearable equipment can also be called wearable intelligent equipment, is the general term of applying wearable technique to carry out intelligent design, develop the equipment that can dress to daily wearing, like glasses, gloves, wrist-watch, dress and shoes etc.. A wearable device is a portable device that is worn directly on the body or integrated into the clothing or accessories of the user. The wearable device is not only a hardware device, but also realizes powerful functions through software support, data interaction and cloud interaction. The generalized wearable smart device includes full functionality, large size, and can implement full or partial functionality without relying on a smart phone, such as: smart watches or smart glasses and the like, and only focus on a certain type of application functions, and need to be used in cooperation with other devices such as smart phones, such as various smart bracelets, smart helmets, smart jewelry and the like for monitoring physical signs.

The terminal device of the embodiment of the present application may also be an on-board module, an on-board component, an on-board chip, or an on-board unit that is built in the vehicle as one or more components or units, and the vehicle may implement the method of the embodiment of the present application through the built-in on-board module, the built-in component, the built-in chip, or the built-in unit.

(2) V2X includes vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communication, and vehicle-to-network (V2N) communication. As shown in fig. 1. V2V refers to inter-vehicle communication; V2P refers to vehicle-to-person communication (including pedestrians, cyclists, drivers, or passengers); V2I refers to vehicle to Road Side Unit (RSU) communication, and further a V2N may be included in V2I, and V2N refers to vehicle to base station/network communication.

The RSU may be a fixed infrastructure entity supporting the V2X application, and may exchange messages with other entities supporting the V2X application. RSUs include two types: the RSU of the terminal type is in a non-mobile state because the RSU is distributed on the roadside, and the mobility does not need to be considered; the RSU, being of the base station type, can provide timing synchronization and resource scheduling to the vehicle with which it communicates. The RSU referred to in the embodiments of the present application mainly refers to a RSU of a terminal type.

(3) The terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of the present application may be used interchangeably. The "plurality" means two or more, and in view of this, the "plurality" may also be understood as "at least two" in the embodiments of the present application. "at least one" is to be understood as meaning one or more, for example one, two or more. For example, the inclusion of at least one means that one, two or more are included, and does not limit which is included. For example, at least one of A, B and C is included, then inclusion can be A, B, C, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C. Similarly, the understanding of the description of "at least one" and the like is similar. "and/or" describes the association relationship of the associated objects, meaning that there may be three relationships, e.g., a and/or B, which may mean: a exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. In addition, the character "/" generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects are in an "or" relationship, unless otherwise specified.

Unless stated to the contrary, the embodiments of the present application refer to the ordinal numbers "first", "second", etc., for distinguishing between a plurality of objects, and do not limit the sequence, timing, priority, or importance of the plurality of objects. For example, the first time domain resource and the second time domain resource are only used for distinguishing different time domain resources, and the priority or importance of the two time domain resources is not limited.

The embodiment of the present application can be applied to various possible systems, such as an intelligent transportation system, which will be described in detail below by way of example.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a system architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 2, the system architecture includes an application server, an IoT platform, and one or more terminal devices (e.g., terminal device 1, terminal device 2, terminal device 3, terminal device 4, and terminal device 5 illustrated in fig. 2).

Wherein, (1) the application server: the internet of vehicles application server (V2X application server, V2X AS) may be used to provide various business services for terminal devices (such AS vehicle-mounted terminals). (2) An IoT platform: for providing internet of things services, the IoT platform may support the terminal device to report data of the terminal device (e.g., location information of the terminal device), and may also send service information, control commands, and the like to the terminal device. In one example, the IoT platform may be a cloud platform, or a cloud server, or a network-side server; in yet another example, the IoT platform may also be an edge gateway or edge node deployed at the edge side. (3) One or more terminal devices: various types of terminal devices may be included, such as a terminal device held by a pedestrian, a terminal device installed in or placed in a vehicle (i.e., an in-vehicle terminal), an RSU, and the like.

Exemplarily, taking the terminal device 1 as an example, fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a possible implementation manner in which the terminal device 1 reports data of the terminal device 1 to the IoT platform. As shown in fig. 3, includes:

in step 301, the terminal device 1 obtains first information of the terminal device 1 from a Control Function (CF) network element in a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) to which the terminal device 1 belongs.

Here, the operator may pre-configure the configuration information of the terminal device 1 and store the configuration information in the CF network element, and the configuration information of the terminal device 1 may include one or more items of an identifier of the terminal device 1, a mobile identifier of the terminal device 1, a type of the terminal device 1, communication capability information of the terminal device 1, and a service list supported by the terminal device 1, which is not limited specifically. Illustratively, the first information of the terminal device 1 may include part of the configuration information of the terminal device 1, for example, the first information of the terminal device 1 may include an identifier of the terminal device 1, a mobile identifier of the terminal device 1, a type of the terminal device 1, and communication capability information of the terminal device 1. In other possible embodiments, the first information of the terminal device 1 may also be configuration information of the terminal device 1.

The following explains contents included in the configuration information of the terminal device 1: (1) the identifier of the terminal device 1 is information for identifying the terminal device 1, and is not limited specifically. (2) The mobile identifier of the terminal device 1 is used to indicate that the terminal device is in a mobile state or a stationary state, for example, if the mobile identifier of the terminal device 1 is mobile, it indicates that the terminal device 1 is in the mobile state; if the mobile identifier of the terminal device 1 is still, it indicates that the terminal device 1 is in a still state. For another example, the mobile identifier of the terminal device 1 may be 1 bit, and if the value of the bit is "1", it indicates that the terminal device 1 is in a mobile state, and if the value of the bit is "0", it indicates that the terminal device 1 is in a stationary state. (3) The types of the terminal device 1 may include a vehicle-mounted terminal, a pedestrian-held terminal device, and an RSU, and may also include other possible types, which are not limited in particular. (4) Communication capability information of the terminal device 1: if the terminal device 1 is an RSU, the communication capability information of the terminal 1 is used to indicate whether the terminal device 1 supports near field communication, and further, if the terminal device 1 supports near field communication, the communication capability information of the terminal device 1 may include a coverage of the near field communication of the terminal device 1; if the terminal device 1 is a vehicle-mounted terminal or a terminal device held by a pedestrian, the communication capability information of the terminal 1 is used to indicate a PLMN list of the terminal device 1 that supports short-range communication, for example, the PLMN list of the terminal device 1 that supports short-range communication includes PLMN1, PLMN2 and PLMN3, and if the PLMN currently accessed by the terminal device 1 is PLMN1, the terminal device 1 supports short-range communication in the currently accessed PLMN; if the PLMN currently accessed by the terminal device is PLMN4, the terminal device 1 does not support short-range communication in the currently accessed PLMN. (5) The list of services supported by the terminal device 1 may comprise an identification of one or more services supported by the terminal device 1.

Step 302, the terminal device 1 registers to the IoT platform, and reports the second information of the terminal device 1.

Here, the second information of the terminal device 1 may include part of or all of the first information of the terminal device 1, and is not limited specifically. For example, the second information of the terminal device 1 may include an identifier of the terminal device 1, a mobile identifier of the terminal device 1, a type of the terminal device 1, and communication capability information of the terminal device 1; further, the location information of the terminal device 1 and the PLMN accessed by the terminal device 1 may also be included.

It should be noted that, if the mobile identifier of the terminal device 1 is mobile, the terminal device 1 may report the location information of the terminal device 1 to the IoT platform according to a set period; or, the terminal device 1 may also report the changed location information of the terminal device 1 to the IoT platform after determining that the location information of the terminal device 1 changes; therefore, the position information of the terminal device 1 recorded in the IoT platform can be updated in time, so as to ensure the accuracy of the position information of the terminal device 1 recorded in the IoT platform.

For example, in the system architecture illustrated in fig. 2, the application server may issue a group message (including service information) to the IoT platform, and the IoT platform sends the service information to a set of terminal devices.

In an intelligent traffic system, by sending service information to a terminal device (such as a vehicle-mounted terminal), the terminal device can obtain a series of traffic information such as real-time road conditions, road information, pedestrian information and the like, so that driving safety is improved, congestion is reduced, traffic efficiency is improved and the like. In a specific implementation, there may be a plurality of service information, and in an example, the service information may include: road safety related information (such as broadcast speed, location, vehicle type, etc.); emergency vehicle priority signal control service information (e.g., ambulance, fire truck, road hazard warning, etc.); signal lamp information; road congestion information; traffic accident information (such as a car accident in front, a rear-end collision in front alarm).

For example, the terminal device 3, the terminal device 4, and the terminal device 5 are all vehicle-mounted terminals, and the IoT platform receives service information of a certain service (for example, the service 1) from the application server and needs to send the service information to the terminal device 3, the terminal device 4, and the terminal device 5.

In a possible implementation manner, the IoT platform may send the service information to the terminal device 3, the terminal device 4, and the terminal device 5 in a unicast manner, that is, the IoT platform sends a unicast message to the terminal device 3, the terminal device 4, and the terminal device 5, respectively, where the unicast message includes the service information. By adopting the method, when the service information needs to be sent to a large number of terminal devices, the efficiency of the method is too low, and the user experience is influenced; moreover, since the IoT platform needs to send messages to multiple terminal devices, the IoT platform is burdened and the transmission resources are consumed more.

In yet another possible implementation, the IoT platform may send the service information to the terminal 3, the terminal 4, and the terminal 5 by multicast, such as IP multicast (IP multicasting) or enhanced multimedia broadcast multicast service (eMBMS). Taking IP multicast as an example, IP multicast is an extension to standard IP network layer protocols. It transmits IP packets to a set of hosts of a multicast group (multicast group) on a maximum delivery principle by using a specific IP multicast address. The basic method comprises the following steps: when a device sends data to a group of devices, the device does not need to send the data to each device in the group of devices, but only needs to send the data to a specific multicast address, and all devices joining the multicast group can receive the data. Fig. 4 is an example of a process of sending a message to a group member by multicast, and as can be seen from fig. 4, before multicast is performed, a request for creating a multicast group (which may include user service description (user service description) information related to multicast, such as a multicast address, a join multicast group, and the like) and a response returned by a receiving terminal device must be sent by unicast so as to ensure that the terminal can receive the multicast message. By adopting the mode, because the time of the vehicle-mounted terminal in the designated area is not very long, unicast is firstly carried out and then multicast is carried out, interactive messages are too many, if the service is broadcast for many times, all processes can not be completed within time, and therefore the service information cannot be effectively sent to the terminal equipment.

Based on this, the embodiments of the present application provide a communication method for implementing efficient transmission of service information to a group of terminal devices.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 5, the method includes:

step 501, an IoT platform determines N terminal devices to process a first service.

Here, the specific implementation manner of the IoT platform determining the N terminal devices to process the first service may be various.

In one possible implementation manner, the IoT platform may receive a third message from the application server, where the third message includes information of the first area and service information of the first service, and the service information of the first service includes a service identifier of the first service; in this case, the third message may be understood as a dynamic group message. Further, the IoT platform may obtain, according to the location information of the terminal device (where the location information of the terminal device may be reported to the IoT platform by the terminal device in step 302), the plurality of terminal devices in the first area, obtain service lists supported by the plurality of terminal devices, and determine, according to the service lists supported by the plurality of terminal devices, N terminal devices from the plurality of terminal devices, where the service lists supported by the N terminal devices include an identifier of the first service, that is, the N terminal devices support the first service.

Illustratively, the third message may further include a target terminal type, for example, the target terminal type may include a vehicle mounted terminal and an RSU. The type of each terminal device in the N terminal devices is matched with the type of the target terminal (i.e., the type of each terminal device belongs to the type of the target terminal).

For example, the third message includes information of the first area, service information of the first service, and a type of the target terminal (e.g., a vehicle terminal). The first region includes 10 terminal devices, which are respectively terminal device 1 to terminal device 10, an IoT platform may obtain types and supported service lists of terminal devices 1 to 10, and then determine N (N ═ 8) terminal devices (for example, terminal devices 1 to 8) according to the types and supported service lists of terminal devices 1 to 10, where the types of terminal devices 1 to 8 are all vehicle-mounted terminals, and the service lists supported by terminal devices 1 to 8 all include identifiers of the first service. The types of the terminal device 9 and the terminal device 10 are both vehicle-mounted terminals, but the service lists supported by the terminal device 9 and the terminal device 10 do not include the identifier of the first service, that is, the terminal device 9 and the terminal device 10 do not support the first service, and further, the service information of the first service does not need to be sent to the terminal device 9 and the terminal device 10.

For example, the IoT platform may obtain the types of the terminal devices 1 to 10 and the supported service list in various ways. For example, taking the terminal device 1 as an example, if the terminal device 1 reports the type and the supported service list of the terminal device 1 to the IoT platform through the registration request, the IoT platform may directly obtain the type and the supported service list of the terminal device 1; if the terminal device 1 does not report the type and the supported service list of the terminal device 1 to the IoT platform through the registration request, the IoT platform may obtain the type and the supported service list of the terminal device 1 from the CF network element in the home PLMN of the terminal device 1.

It should be noted that, still taking the terminal device 1 as an example, if the terminal device 1 reports the type of the terminal device 1 to the IoT platform through the registration request, the IoT platform may directly obtain the type of the terminal device 1, and the IoT platform may obtain the service list supported by the terminal device 1 from the CF network element in the home PLMN of the terminal device 1.

In yet another possible implementation, the IoT platform receives a third message from the application server, where the third message includes the identifier of the first group and the service information of the first service, and the service information of the first service includes the service identifier of the first service, and in this case, the third message may be understood as a static group message. Wherein, the first group may be created in advance for the IoT platform and the application server, for example, fig. 6a is a schematic flowchart of the IoT platform and the first group of the application server, see fig. 6a, which includes: an application server sends a creation request of a first group to an IoT platform, wherein the creation request of the first group comprises identifications of a plurality of terminal devices (such as a terminal device 1 to a terminal device 10); the IoT platform receives the first creation request, creates a first group according to the first creation request, and sends a creation response to the application server, the creation response including an identification of the first group.

After receiving the third message, the IoT platform acquires a plurality of terminal devices (i.e., terminal device 1 to terminal device 10) belonging to the first group according to the identifier of the first group; the IoT platform obtains service lists supported by the multiple terminal devices, and determines N (N is 8) terminal devices (for example, terminal devices 1 to 8) from the multiple terminal devices according to the service lists supported by the multiple terminal devices, where the service lists supported by the terminal devices 1 to 8 include identifiers of the first service, and the service lists supported by the terminal devices 9 and 10 do not include identifiers of the first service, that is, the terminal devices 9 and 10 do not support the first service, and further do not need to send service information of the first service to the terminal devices 9 and 10.

As can be known from the foregoing description, all of the N terminal devices determined in step 501 may be vehicle-mounted terminals, or may also include vehicle-mounted terminals and RSUs.

In step 502, the IoT platform determines P target terminal devices supporting near field communication from the N terminal devices.

In the embodiment of the application, the specific implementation manner of the IoT platform determining the P target terminal devices supporting the near field communication from the N terminal devices may be multiple, for example, the IoT platform obtains the communication capability information of the N terminal devices, and determines the P target terminal devices from the N terminal devices according to the communication capability information of the N terminal devices. The IoT platform may obtain the communication capability information of the N terminal devices in various ways, and taking the terminal device 1 as an example, if the terminal device 1 reports the communication capability information of the terminal device 1 to the IoT platform through the registration request, the IoT platform may directly obtain the communication capability information of the terminal device 1; if the terminal device 1 does not report the communication capability information of the terminal device 1 to the IoT platform through the registration request, the IoT platform may obtain the communication capability information of the terminal device 1 from the CF network element in the home PLMN of the terminal device 1.

Exemplarily, the N terminal devices include a first terminal device, and if the first terminal device is an RSU, the communication capability information of the first terminal device is used to indicate whether the first terminal device supports near field communication, in this case, the IoT platform may determine whether the first terminal device supports near field communication according to the communication capability information of the first terminal device, and if so, the first terminal device is a target terminal device; if the first terminal device is a vehicle-mounted terminal, the communication capability information of the first terminal device is used to indicate a PLMN list of the first terminal device, which supports near field communication, in this case, the IoT platform may obtain a PLMN accessed by the first terminal device (for example, the PLMN accessed by the first terminal device may be reported to the IoT platform by the first terminal device through a registration request), and if the PLMN list of the first terminal device, which supports near field communication, includes the PLMN accessed by the first terminal device, it may be determined that the first terminal device is a target terminal device.

Following the above example, the N terminal devices include the terminal device 1 to the terminal device 8, for example, the determined P target terminal devices may include the terminal device 1 to the terminal device 7, and the terminal device 8 does not support the near field communication.

It should be noted that, if the IoT platform is N terminal devices determined according to the static group message, after the IoT platform determines P target terminal devices, the IoT platform may determine information covering the first areas of the P target terminal devices according to the location information of the P target terminal devices. For example, refer to fig. 6c, which is a schematic diagram of a first area determined according to the location information of P target terminal devices. Fig. 6c is only a simple example, and the shape of the first region determined in the implementation may be various, and is not limited.

In this embodiment of the application, the short-range communication may include multiple types, such as dedicated short-range communications (DSRC), short-range communication 5 (PC 5), and the like, which is not limited specifically.

In an example, the IoT platform may obtain mobile identities of P target terminal devices, and if the number of target terminal devices in a mobile state in the P target terminal devices is greater than or equal to a first threshold, step 503 may be performed, otherwise, the service information of the first service may be sent to the N terminal devices in a multicast manner in the prior art. The first threshold value can be set by a person skilled in the art according to practical needs and experience, for example, the first threshold value can be 1.

At step 503, the IoT platform determines M relay devices.

Here, the relay device refers to a device for transmitting the received traffic information transmitted by the IoT platform to the target terminal device, and may be, for example, an RSU, a stationary vehicle, or the like.

In the embodiment of the present application, the specific implementation manner of the IoT platform determining the M relay devices may be various. For example, the IoT platform may determine at least one relay device whose close range communication coverage intersects with the first area, and use the at least one relay device as M relay devices; or, the IoT platform may also determine that the close-range communication covers at least one relay device of the at least one target terminal device, and use the at least one relay device as the M relay devices.

The near field communication of the relay device in the embodiment of the present application covers at least one target terminal device, which may be understood as that at least one target terminal device is located within the near field communication coverage of the relay device. For example, the close range communication of the relay device covers the target terminal device a and the target terminal device b, and it can be understood that the target terminal device a and the target terminal device b are located within the close range communication coverage of the relay device.

Two possible specific implementations are described below.

In one possible implementation, the IoT platform may attempt to select a relay device from among the P target terminal devices. For example, the IoT platform may obtain mobile identities of P target terminal devices, and determine whether the P target terminal devices include a target terminal device in a static state, and if the P target terminal devices include the target terminal device in a static state, the target terminal device in a static state may be determined as a relay device. For example, if 2 terminal devices in a stationary state are included in the terminal devices 1 to 7, the IoT platform may use the 2 terminal devices in a stationary state as relay devices (referred to as relay device 1 and relay device 2). In this case, on the one hand, since the relay device is located within the first area, there is an intersection of the close range communication coverage of the relay device with the first area; on the other hand, since the relay device itself is the target terminal device, the close range communication of the relay device covers at least one target terminal device.

For this situation, in an example, after the IoT platform selects a relay device from the P target terminal devices, other possible relay devices may be selected, for example, the IoT platform selects the relay device 3 again, and then the relay devices determined by the IoT platform include the relay device 1, the relay device 2, and the relay device 3; for example, there may be various implementations of selecting other possible relay devices by the IoT platform, for example, see the following description of selecting a relay device by the IoT platform when it determines that the terminal device in the static state is not included in the P target terminal devices. In one example, after the IoT platform selects a relay device from P target terminal devices, other possible relay devices may not be selected, and then the relay devices determined by the IoT platform include the relay device 1 and the relay device 2.

If the IoT platform determines that the P target terminal devices do not include the terminal device in the stationary state (that is, the terminal devices 1 to 7 are all in the moving state), the IoT platform may select the relay device from the terminal devices other than the P target terminal devices, for example, the IoT platform may determine M relay devices from the at least one terminal device according to the information of the first area, the communication capability information of the at least one terminal device, the service list supported by the at least one terminal device, and the mobile identifier of the at least one terminal device. For example, the IoT platform acquires at least one terminal device (e.g., terminal device 11 to terminal device 13) whose distance to the P target terminal devices is smaller than or equal to a preset distance, which may be set by a person skilled in the art according to actual needs and experience. Taking the terminal device 11 as an example, the distance between the terminal device 11 and P target terminal devices is less than or equal to the preset distance, which can be understood as that the distance between the terminal device 11 and a certain target terminal device of the P target terminal devices is less than or equal to the preset distance. Further, the IoT platform may obtain the communication capability information of the at least one terminal device and the supported service list, and determine M relay devices from the at least one terminal device according to the communication capability information of the at least one terminal device and the supported service list, for example, the selected relay devices are the terminal device 11 and the terminal device 12, and for convenience of description, the terminal device 11 is referred to as the relay device 1, and the terminal device 12 is referred to as the relay device 2. The relay device 1 and the relay device 2 both support the first service, the relay device 1 and the relay device 2 are both in a static state, and the close-range communication coverage area of the relay device 1 intersects with the first area (or the close-range communication of the relay device 1 covers at least one target terminal device), and the close-range communication coverage area of the relay device 2 intersects with the first area (or the close-range communication of the relay device 2 covers at least one target terminal device); however, since the terminal device 13 does not support the first service, if the IoT platform sends the service information of the first service to the terminal device 13, the terminal device 13 discards the service information of the first service, and therefore, the IoT platform may not use the IoT platform as a relay device for forwarding the service information of the first service to the target terminal device.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, when determining the relay device, it may also be limited to determine only a certain type or some types of terminal devices as the relay device, that is, when determining the relay device, the type of the terminal device may be considered.

For example, the IoT platform determines only the vehicle-mounted terminal and the RSU in the static state as the relay device, and for convenience of description, the vehicle-mounted terminal and the RSU are collectively referred to as a first type, and if the type of a certain terminal device is the first type, it may be understood that the type of the terminal device is the vehicle-mounted terminal, or the type of the terminal device is the RSU. In one example, when determining a relay device from P target terminal devices, the IoT platform may obtain mobile identities and types of the P target terminal devices, determine whether the P target terminal devices include a target terminal device in a static state and of a first type, and if the P target terminal devices include a target terminal device in a static state and of a first type, determine the target terminal device in a static state and of a first type as the relay device. In another example, when determining the relay devices from the terminal devices other than the P target terminal devices, the M relay devices may be determined from the at least one terminal device according to the information of the first area, the communication capability information of the at least one terminal device, the service list supported by the at least one terminal device, the mobile identifier of the at least one terminal device, and the type of the at least one terminal device.

As another example, the IoT platform may only determine the RSU as a relay device. In one example, when determining the relay device from P target terminal devices, the IoT platform may obtain mobile identities and types of the P target terminal devices, determine whether the P target terminal devices include a target terminal device in a stationary state and of a type RSU, and if so, determine the target terminal device in a stationary state and of a type RSU as the relay device. It can be understood that if the RSU is usually in a static state and does not need to consider its mobility, the mobile identity may not be considered when determining the relay device; for example, when determining the relay device from P target terminal devices, the IoT platform may obtain the types of the P target terminal devices, determine whether the P target terminal devices include a target terminal device with a type of RSU (i.e., whether the target terminal device includes an RSU), and if the target terminal device includes an RSU, determine the RSU included in the P target terminal devices as the relay device.

In yet another possible implementation manner, the IoT platform may also directly select the relay device from the terminal devices other than the P target terminal devices, for example, the IoT platform may determine M relay devices from the at least one terminal device directly according to the information of the first area, the communication capability information of the at least one terminal device, the service list supported by the at least one terminal device, and the mobile identifier of the at least one terminal device.

In step 504, the IoT platform sends a first message to the M relay devices, where the first message includes indication information and service information of the first service, and the indication information is used to indicate service information of the first service broadcasted through the near field communication.

Here, the first message may be a unicast message, or the first message may also be a multicast message.

For example, if M relay devices are relay devices selected by the IoT platform from P target terminal devices, the first message may also be a multicast message, and further, the indication information may also be used to indicate the relay devices to process service information of the first service. In this case, since the relay device is a device among the P target terminal devices, the indication information may indicate that the relay device performs local processing on the service information of the first service and that the relay device broadcasts the service information of the first service through near field communication.

If the M relay devices are selected by the IoT platform from devices other than the P target terminal devices, the first message may also be a multicast message.

If the M relay devices include a relay device selected by the IoT platform from the P target terminal devices and a relay device selected by the IoT platform from a device other than the P target terminal devices, the first message may be a unicast message. Illustratively, when the first message is a message sent to a relay device selected from the P target terminal devices, the indication information in the first message may also be used to indicate the relay device to process service information of the first service; when the first message is a message sent to a relay device selected from devices other than the P target terminal devices, the indication information in the first message may not indicate the relay device to process the service information of the first service.

Step 505, the relay device receives a first message sent by an IoT platform, where the first message includes indication information and service information of a first service; and the relay equipment broadcasts the service information of the first service through near field communication according to the indication information.

For example, if the indication information may also be used to indicate the relay device to process the service information of the first service, the relay device may also process the service information of the first service.

In this embodiment of the application, if the M relay devices include a relay device (for example, relay device 1) selected by the IoT platform from the P target terminal devices, after receiving the first message, the relay device 1 may also receive service information of the first service broadcast by another relay device (for example, relay device 2), in this case, the relay device 1 may discard the service information of the first service broadcast by the relay device 2, or may not process the service information of the first service broadcast by the relay device 2. For example, the service information of the first service may be carried in a field, and after the relay device 1 receives and processes the field, if the field is received again, the field may be discarded.

It should be noted that, if the close-range communication of the M relay devices completely covers the target terminal device in the moving state among the P target terminal devices, it can be effectively ensured that the target terminal device in the moving state all receives the service information of the first service, and if the close-range communication of the M relay devices does not completely cover the target terminal device in the moving state, in this case, the first message may further include the location information and the moving speed of at least one target terminal device among the target terminal devices in the moving state, so that the relay device determines the broadcast time and the broadcast times according to the location information and the moving speed of at least one target terminal device, so as to ensure that the target terminal device in the moving state all receives the service information of the first service.

The following description will be given taking as an example that P target terminal devices include Q target terminal devices in a moving state.

In one example (referred to as example 1), the position information and the moving speed of each of Q target terminal devices may be included in the first message. Accordingly, taking the relay device 1 as an example, after the relay device 1 receives the location information of Q target terminal devices, a third terminal device (for example, the terminal device 1) farthest from the relay device 1 may be determined according to the location information of the Q target terminal devices (for example, the determined terminal device 1 may be the terminal device farthest from the relay device 1 and moving toward the relay device 1), and then the broadcast time and the broadcast times are determined according to the location information and the moving speed of the terminal device 1. For example, the moving speed of the terminal device 1 is 40km/h, the distance between the relay device 1 and the terminal device 1 is 200m, the distance of the short-range communication of the relay device 1 is 50m, it takes 13.5s (150m/40km/h is 13.5s) for the terminal device 1 to move into the short-range communication coverage of the relay device 1, it takes 4.5s (50m/40km/h is 4.5s) for the terminal device 1 to move to the vicinity of the relay device 1 after moving into the short-range communication coverage of the relay device 1, the relay device 1 may determine that the number of broadcasts is three, the broadcast time of the first broadcast is when the first message is received, when the second broadcast time is 13.5s after the first broadcast and the third broadcast time is 4.5s after the second broadcast, the terminal device 1 can be effectively ensured to receive the service information of the first service.

In yet another example (referred to as example 2), if the first message is a unicast message, taking the relay device 1 as an example, the IoT platform may determine, according to the location information of the Q target terminal devices and the location information of the relay device 1, a third terminal device (such as the terminal device 1) farthest from the relay device 1 (for example, the determined terminal device 1 may be the terminal device farthest from the relay device 1 and moving toward the relay device 1), and send the location information and the moving speed of the terminal device 1 to the relay device 1 through the first message; accordingly, after the relay device 1 receives the first message, the broadcast time and the number of broadcasts can be determined according to the location information and the moving speed of the terminal device 1.

It should be noted that the difference between the above example 1 and example 2 is that: in example 1 above, the IoT platform sends the location information of the Q target terminal devices to the relay device 1, and the relay device 1 determines the target terminal device with the farthest distance, and further determines the broadcast time and the broadcast times according to the location information and the moving speed of the target terminal device with the farthest distance; in this way, the computing resources of the IoT platform can be effectively saved. In example 2, the IoT platform determines, according to the location information of the relay device 1 and the location information of the Q target terminal devices, a third terminal device farthest from the relay device 1, and further sends the location information and the moving speed of the third terminal device to the relay device 1, and accordingly, the relay device 1 may directly determine the broadcast time and the broadcast times according to the location information and the moving speed of the third terminal device; in this way, since the IoT platform only needs to send the location information and the moving speed of the third terminal device to the relay device 1, transmission resources can be effectively saved. Other than this distinction, may be referred to each other.

In step 506, the IoT platform sends a second message to the terminal devices other than the P target terminal devices among the N terminal devices, where the second message includes the service information of the first service.

Here, the second message may be a unicast message, that is, for a terminal device that does not support near field communication, the IoT platform may send the service information of the first service to the terminal device through the unicast message, so as to ensure that the terminal device can also receive the service information of the first service.

It should be noted that, the step numbers in fig. 5 are only numbers for convenience of description, and do not limit the execution order of each step; the steps without time sequence dependency in the above steps do not have strict execution sequence, and can be adjusted according to actual conditions. Each step in fig. 5 is not necessary to execute the step in the flow, and in the implementation, the subtraction may be performed according to actual needs, and when N is equal to P, step 506 may not be executed.

By adopting the method, the IoT platform determines P target terminal devices supporting near field communication and M relay devices from the N terminal devices, and sends the first message to the M relay devices, so that the M relay devices can send the service information of the first service to the P target terminal devices through the near field communication. Referring to fig. 6b, which is a schematic diagram illustrating an implementation of a communication method provided in this embodiment of the present application, in fig. 6b, N terminal devices include a terminal device 1 to a terminal device 8, P target terminal devices include a terminal device 1 to a terminal device 7, a relay device includes a relay device 1 and a relay device 2, for example, an IoT platform sends a unicast or multicast message (including service information of a first service) to the relay device 1 and the relay device 2, and then the relay device 1 and the relay device 2 send the service information of the first service to the terminal devices 1 to the terminal device 7, whereas the IoT platform sends a unicast message to the terminal device 8 because the terminal device 8 does not support near field communication.

Therefore, compared with the method that the IoT platform sends the service information to the group of terminal devices in a multicast mode, in the embodiment of the application, on one hand, the IoT platform does not need to maintain the member information of the dynamic group in real time, so that the performance can be improved, and the resource consumption is less; on the other hand, the terminal equipment does not need to support the multicast capability and can still receive the service information, thereby effectively reducing the cost of the terminal equipment; in addition, for 5G-Xcast in the future, the vehicle-mounted terminal supporting the short-range communication does not need to be upgraded, and only the capability of 5G-Xcast needs to be upgraded by a relay unit (RSU). Further, in the embodiment of the present application, when determining the M relay devices, services supported by the M relay devices are fully considered, so that the determined M relay devices are all relay devices supporting the first service, and a phenomenon that the service information of the first service is discarded due to the fact that the relay devices do not support the first service, so that the P target terminal devices may not receive the service information of the first service is avoided.

Illustratively, the following compares unicast, multicast, and aspects of embodiments of the present application with a specific example. For example, an RSU may cover up to 50 vehicles with a coverage of 200 meters (coverage may be understood as a circular area with a radius of 200 meters); at a city intersection, the number of RSUs is 2(P), the number of vehicle-mounted terminals is 100(Q), and an IoT platform sends 100 messages (X). If all IoT platforms send messages in a unicast manner, the number of messages is 100 × 100 (i.e., Q × X); if the IoT platform sends the messages in a multicast manner, the number of the messages is 200 (i.e., Q + X) (where 100 messages are needed for 100 vehicular terminals to construct a multicast group, and 100 messages are needed for multicast); if the IoT platform unicast to the RSU first and then the RSU sends the message to the vehicle-mounted terminal through the PC5, the message number is 2 × 100 (i.e., P × X); if the IoT platform multicasts to the RSU first and then the RSU sends to the vehicle-mounted terminal through the PC5, the number of messages is 102 (i.e., P + X) (2 messages are needed to construct a multicast group and 100 messages are needed to multicast), so it can be seen that when the IoT platform multicasts to the RSU first and then the RSU sends to the vehicle-mounted terminal through the PC5, the number of messages can be effectively saved and transmission resources can be saved.

The above-mentioned main IoT platform, relay device and terminal device have introduced the scheme provided in this application. It is to be understood that, in order to implement the above functions, each network element includes a corresponding hardware structure and/or software module (or unit) for performing each function. Those of skill in the art will readily appreciate that the present invention can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software, with the exemplary elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein. Whether a function is performed as hardware or computer software drives hardware depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present invention.

In case of integrated units (modules), fig. 7 shows a possible exemplary block diagram of the apparatus involved in the embodiments of the present application, which apparatus 700 may be in the form of software. The apparatus 700 may include: a processing unit 702 and a communication unit 703. The processing unit 702 is configured to control and manage operations of the apparatus 700. The communication unit 703 is used to support communication between the apparatus 700 and other devices. Optionally, the communication unit 703, also referred to as a transceiver unit, may include a receiving unit and/or a transmitting unit for performing receiving and transmitting operations, respectively. The apparatus 700 may further comprise a storage unit 701 for storing program codes and/or data of the apparatus 700.

The processing unit 702 may be, among other things, a processor or controller that may implement or execute the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the embodiment disclosure of the present application. The communication unit 703 may be a communication interface, a transceiver circuit, or the like, wherein the communication interface is generally referred to, and in a specific implementation, the communication interface may include a plurality of interfaces. The memory unit 701 may be a memory.

The apparatus 700 may be an IoT platform in any of the embodiments described above, or may also be a semiconductor chip disposed in the IoT platform. The processing unit 702 may enable the apparatus 700 to perform the actions of the IoT platform in the method examples above. Alternatively, the processing unit 702 mainly performs the IoT platform internal actions in the method example, and the communication unit 703 may support communication between the apparatus 700 and other devices.

Specifically, in one embodiment, the processing unit 702 is configured to: determining N terminal devices of a first service to be processed, and determining P target terminal devices supporting near field communication from the N terminal devices, wherein the N terminal devices support the first service; determining M relay devices supporting a first service, wherein the short-range communication coverage area of each relay device in the M relay devices is intersected with a first area, and the first area at least covers P target terminal devices;

the communication unit 703 is configured to: sending a first message to the M relay devices, wherein the first message comprises indication information and service information of a first service, and the indication information is used for indicating the service information of the first service broadcasted through near field communication; sending a second message to the terminal equipment except the P target terminal equipment in the N terminal equipment, wherein the second message comprises the service information of the first service; wherein N, M, P are integers.

In one possible design, the communication unit 703 is further configured to: receiving a third message from the application server, wherein the third message comprises information of the first area, service information of the first service and a target terminal type, and the service information of the first service comprises a service identifier of the first service;

the processing unit 702 is specifically configured to: the method comprises the steps of obtaining a plurality of terminal devices located in a first area according to information of the first area, obtaining service lists supported by the terminal devices and types of the terminal devices, and determining N terminal devices from the terminal devices according to the service lists supported by the terminal devices and the types of the terminal devices, wherein the service lists supported by the terminal devices comprise identifiers of first services, and the type of each terminal device in the terminal devices is matched with a target type.

In one possible design, the communication unit 703 is further configured to: receiving a third message from the application server, wherein the third message comprises the identifier of the first group and the service information of the first service, and the service information of the first service comprises the service identifier of the first service;

the processing unit 702 is specifically configured to: n terminal devices belonging to a first group are obtained.

In one possible design, the processing unit 702 is specifically configured to: the method comprises the steps that communication capacity information of N terminal devices is obtained, wherein the N terminal devices comprise a first terminal device, and the communication capacity information of the first terminal device is used for indicating whether the first terminal device supports short-distance communication or indicating a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) list of the first terminal device, which supports the short-distance communication; determining P target terminal devices from the N terminal devices according to the communication capacity information of the N terminal devices; the communication capability information of the target terminal device indicates that the target terminal device supports near field communication, or the PLMN list of the target terminal device supporting near field communication includes a PLMN accessed by the target terminal device.

In one possible design, the processing unit 702 is specifically configured to: acquiring mobile identifiers of P target terminal devices, wherein the mobile identifiers of the target terminal devices are used for indicating that the target terminal devices are in a mobile state or a static state; and if the P target terminal devices comprise M target terminal devices in a static state, determining the M target terminal devices in the static state as M relay devices.

In one possible design, the indication information is further used to indicate that the service information of the first service is processed.

In one possible design, the processing unit 702 is specifically configured to: determining M relay devices from at least one terminal device according to the information of the first area, the communication capacity information of at least one terminal device, a service list supported by at least one terminal device and the mobile identifier of at least one terminal device; at least one terminal device is a terminal device except the P target terminal devices; the at least one terminal device comprises a second terminal device, and the mobile identifier of the second terminal device is used for indicating that the second terminal device is in a mobile state or a static state; the communication capability information of the second terminal device is used for indicating whether the second terminal device supports short-distance communication or indicating a PLMN list of the second terminal device, which supports short-distance communication; if the second terminal device supports near field communication, the communication capability information of the second terminal device comprises a near field communication coverage range of the second terminal device; the M relay devices are terminal devices in a static state, and a service list supported by the M relay devices comprises an identifier of a first service.

In one possible design, the processing unit 702 is specifically configured to: before M relay devices are determined from at least one terminal device, it is determined that the terminal device in a static state is not included in the P target terminal devices.

By adopting the IoT platform provided in the embodiment of the application, P target terminal devices supporting near field communication and M relay devices can be determined from N terminal devices, and by sending the first message to the M relay devices, the M relay devices can send the service information of the first service to the P target terminal devices through near field communication. Further, in the embodiment of the present application, when determining the M relay devices, services supported by the M relay devices are fully considered, so that the determined M relay devices are all relay devices supporting the first service, and a phenomenon that the service information of the first service is discarded due to the fact that the relay devices do not support the first service, so that the P target terminal devices may not receive the service information of the first service is avoided.

The apparatus 700 may also be a relay device in any of the above embodiments, or may also be a semiconductor chip or a functional module provided in the relay device. For example, when the relay device is a vehicle, the apparatus 700 may be any apparatus integrated in the vehicle, such as a vehicle BOX (T-BOX), a Domain Controller (DC), a Multi-domain Controller (MDC), an On Board Unit (OBU), and the like. The processing unit 702 may enable the apparatus 700 to perform the actions of the relay device in the above method examples. Alternatively, the processing unit 702 mainly performs the internal actions of the relay device in the method example, and the communication unit 703 may support communication between the apparatus 700 and other devices.

Specifically, in one embodiment, the communication unit 703 is configured to: receiving a first message sent by an IoT platform, wherein the first message comprises indication information and service information of a first service, and the indication information is used for indicating a relay device to broadcast the service information of the first service through near field communication; the first message also comprises the position information and the moving speed of at least one target terminal device in the P target terminal devices;

the processing unit 702 is configured to: determining the broadcasting time and the broadcasting times of the service information of the first service according to the position information and the moving speed of at least one terminal device in the P target terminal devices;

the communication unit 703 is further configured to: and broadcasting the service information of the first service according to the broadcasting time and the broadcasting times.

In one possible design, the first message includes location information and a moving speed of each of the P target terminal devices; the processing unit 702 is configured to: and determining a third terminal device farthest away from the relay device according to the position information of each target terminal device in the P target terminal devices, and determining the broadcasting time and the broadcasting times of the service information of the first service according to the position information and the moving speed of the third terminal device.

In one possible design, the first message includes location information and a moving speed of a third terminal device among the P target terminal devices, and the third terminal device is a target terminal device farthest from the relay device among the P target terminal devices; the processing unit 702 is configured to: and determining the broadcasting time and the broadcasting times of the service information of the first service according to the position information and the moving speed of the third terminal equipment.

By adopting the relay device provided in the embodiment of the application, the broadcasting times and the broadcasting time can be determined based on the position information and the moving speed of at least one target terminal device in the target terminal devices in the moving state, and broadcasting is performed according to the broadcasting times and the broadcasting time, so that the target terminal devices in the moving state can be ensured to receive the service information of the first service.

It should be noted that the division of the unit in the embodiment of the present application is schematic, and is only a logic function division, and there may be another division manner in actual implementation. The functional units in the embodiments of the present application 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 integrated unit can be realized in a form of hardware, and can also be realized in a form of a software functional unit.

The integrated unit, if implemented in the form of a software functional unit 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 application may be substantially implemented or contributed by the prior art, or all or part of the technical solution may be embodied in 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, a network device, or the like) or a processor (processor) to execute all or part of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of the present application. 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.

Based on the above embodiments, the present application further provides an IoT platform, which is applied to the system shown in fig. 1, and is configured to perform the functions of the IoT platform in the above embodiments. Referring to fig. 8, IoT platform 800 may include: a communication interface 801, a processor 802, and a memory 803.

The processor 802 may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Network Processor (NP), or a combination of the CPU and the NP. The processor 802 may further include a hardware chip. The hardware chip may be an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a Programmable Logic Device (PLD), or a combination thereof. The PLD may be a Complex Programmable Logic Device (CPLD), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a General Array Logic (GAL), or any combination thereof. When the processor 802 implements the above functions, it may be implemented by hardware, or may be implemented by hardware executing corresponding software.

The communication interface 801 and the processor 802 are connected to each other. Optionally, the communication interface 801 and the processor 802 are connected to each other through a bus 804; the bus 804 may be a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, or the like. The bus may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is shown in FIG. 8, but this is not intended to represent only one bus or type of bus.

The memory 803 is coupled to the processor 802 for storing programs and the like. In particular, the program may include program code comprising computer operating instructions. The processor 802 executes the application program stored in the memory 803 to implement the operation of the IoT platform in the above-described embodiment.

Specifically, the IoT platform 800, when implementing the operations of the IoT platform in the foregoing embodiments, may include:

the communication interface 801 is used for transceiving data and performing communication interaction with other devices or apparatuses in the system;

the processor 802 is configured to execute the program stored in the memory 803, and when the program is executed, determine N terminal devices to be used for processing the first service, and determine P target terminal devices supporting near field communication from the N terminal devices, where the N terminal devices support the first service; determining M relay devices supporting a first service, wherein the short-range communication coverage area of each relay device in the M relay devices is intersected with a first area, and the first area at least covers P target terminal devices; and controlling the communication interface 801 to send a first message to the M relay devices, where the first message includes indication information and service information of the first service, and the indication information is used to indicate service information of the first service broadcast through near field communication; and sending a second message to the terminal equipment except the P target terminal equipment in the N terminal equipment, wherein the second message comprises the service information of the first service. For example, the processor 802 and the communication interface 801 may also perform other possible operations performed by the IoT platform in the above method embodiments, which are not described herein again.

Based on the above embodiments, embodiments of the present application further provide a relay apparatus, where the relay apparatus is configured to implement the method or the function of the relay device in the above embodiments, and the relay apparatus may be the relay device in the above embodiments, or may be a device or a chip integrated in the relay device in the above embodiments. Referring to fig. 9, the relay apparatus 900 may include: a communication interface 901, a processor 902 and a memory 903. For example, when the relay device is a vehicle, the relay device may be a T-Box, or DC, or MDC, or OBU, integrated in the vehicle.

The processor 902 may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Network Processor (NP), or a combination of the CPU and the NP. The processor 902 may further include a hardware chip. The hardware chip may be an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a Programmable Logic Device (PLD), or a combination thereof. The PLD may be a Complex Programmable Logic Device (CPLD), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a General Array Logic (GAL), or any combination thereof. When the processor 902 implements the above functions, the functions may be implemented by hardware, or may be implemented by hardware executing corresponding software.

The communication interface 901 and the processor 902 are connected to each other. Optionally, the communication interface 901 and the processor 902 are connected to each other through a bus 904; the bus 904 may be a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, or the like. The bus may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is shown in FIG. 9, but this does not indicate only one bus or one type of bus.

The memory 903 is coupled to the processor 902 and used for storing programs and the like. In particular, the program may include program code comprising computer operating instructions. The processor 902 executes the application program stored in the memory 903 to implement the operation of the relay device in the above embodiments.

Specifically, when implementing the operation of the relay device in the foregoing embodiment, the relay device 900 may include:

the communication interface 901 is used for receiving and transmitting data and performing communication interaction with other devices or apparatuses in the system;

the processor 902 is configured to execute a program stored in the memory 903, and when the program is executed, the program controls the communication interface 901 to receive a first message sent by an IoT platform, where the first message includes indication information and service information of a first service, and the indication information is used to instruct a relay device to broadcast the service information of the first service through near field communication; the first message also comprises the position information and the moving speed of at least one target terminal device in the P target terminal devices; determining the broadcasting time and the broadcasting times of the service information of the first service according to the position information and the moving speed of at least one terminal device in the P target terminal devices; and controlling the communication interface 901 to broadcast the service information of the first service according to the broadcast time and the broadcast times. For example, the processor 902 and the communication interface 901 may also perform other possible operations performed by the relay device in the foregoing method embodiments, and details are not described here again.

Based on the above embodiments, the present application further provides a computer storage medium, in which a software program is stored, and the software program can implement the method provided by any one or more of the above embodiments when being read and executed by one or more processors. The computer storage medium may include: u disk, removable hard disk, read only memory, random access memory, magnetic or optical disk, etc. for storing program codes.

Based on the above embodiments, the present application further provides a chip, where the chip includes a processor, and is configured to implement the functions related to any one or more of the above embodiments, such as obtaining or processing information or messages related to the above methods. Optionally, the chip further comprises a memory for the processor to execute the necessary program instructions and data. The chip may be constituted by a chip, or may include a chip and other discrete devices.

In implementation, the steps of the method provided by this embodiment may be implemented by hardware integrated logic circuits in a processor or instructions in the form of software. The steps of a method disclosed in connection with the embodiments of the present application may be directly implemented by a hardware processor, or may be implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in a processor.

It will be appreciated that the memory or storage units in the embodiments of the application may be either volatile memory or nonvolatile memory, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. The non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a Programmable ROM (PROM), an Erasable PROM (EPROM), an electrically Erasable EPROM (EEPROM), or a flash memory. Volatile memory can be Random Access Memory (RAM), which acts as external cache memory. By way of example, but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM, enhanced SDRAM, SLDRAM, Synchronous Link DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to comprise, without being limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

In the above embodiments, the implementation may be wholly or partially realized by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are performed in whole or in part. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a network of computers, or other programmable device. The computer program or instructions may be stored in or transmitted over a computer-readable storage medium. The computer readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server that integrates one or more available media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape; or an optical medium, such as a DVD; it may also be a semiconductor medium, such as a Solid State Disk (SSD).

The various illustrative logical units and circuits described in this application may be implemented or operated upon by design of a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a digital signal processor core, or any other similar configuration.

The steps of a method or algorithm described in the embodiments herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software element executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. The software cells may be stored in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. For example, a storage medium may be coupled to the processor such the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC, which may be disposed in a terminal device. In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a terminal device.

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

Although the embodiments of the present application have been described with reference to specific features, it is apparent that various modifications and combinations can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments of the present application. Accordingly, the specification and figures are merely exemplary of embodiments of the application as defined in the appended claims and are intended to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations, or equivalents within the scope of the embodiments of the application.

Claims

1. A method of communication, the method comprising:

the method comprises the steps that an IoT platform of the Internet of things determines N terminal devices of first services to be processed, and determines P target terminal devices supporting near field communication from the N terminal devices, wherein the N terminal devices support the first services;

the IoT platform determines M relay devices supporting the first service, wherein the close range communication of each relay device in the M relay devices covers at least one target terminal device in the P target terminal devices;

the IoT platform sends a first message to the M relay devices, wherein the first message comprises indication information and service information of a first service, and the indication information is used for indicating that the service information of the first service is broadcasted through near field communication; the IoT platform sends a second message to the terminal devices except the P target terminal devices in the N terminal devices, wherein the second message comprises the service information of the first service;

wherein N, M, P are integers.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the IoT platform determines the N terminal devices, comprising:

the IoT platform receives a third message from an application server, wherein the third message comprises information of a first area, service information of a first service and a target terminal type, and the service information of the first service comprises a service identifier of the first service;

the IoT platform acquires a plurality of terminal devices located in the first area according to the information of the first area;

the IoT platform acquires the service lists supported by the plurality of terminal devices and the types of the plurality of terminal devices, and determines the N terminal devices from the plurality of terminal devices according to the service lists supported by the plurality of terminal devices and the types of the plurality of terminal devices, wherein the service lists supported by the N terminal devices comprise the identifier of the first service, and the type of each terminal device in the N terminal devices is matched with the target type.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the IoT platform determines the N terminal devices, comprising:

the IoT platform receives a third message from an application server, wherein the third message comprises an identifier of a first group and service information of a first service, and the service information of the first service comprises a service identifier of the first service;

the IoT platform acquires the N terminal devices belonging to the first group.

4. The method according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the IoT platform determines P target terminal devices supporting close range communication from the N terminal devices, comprising:

the IoT platform acquires communication capability information of the N terminal devices, wherein the N terminal devices comprise a first terminal device, and the communication capability information of the first terminal device is used for indicating whether the first terminal device supports short-range communication or indicating a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) list of the first terminal device, which supports short-range communication;

the IoT platform determines the P target terminal devices from the N terminal devices according to the communication capacity information of the N terminal devices; the communication capability information of the target terminal device indicates that the target terminal device supports near field communication, or the PLMN list of the target terminal device supporting near field communication includes a PLMN accessed by the target terminal device.

5. The method of any of claims 1-3, wherein the IoT platform determining the M relay devices comprises:

the IoT platform acquires mobile identifications of the P target terminal devices, wherein the mobile identifications of the target terminal devices are used for indicating that the target terminal devices are in a mobile state or a static state;

if the IoT platform determines that the P target terminal devices include M target terminal devices in a static state, the IoT platform determines the M target terminal devices in the static state as the M relay devices.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the indication information is further used for indicating to process the service information of the first service.

7. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3 or 6, further comprising:

the IoT platform determines the M relay devices from the at least one terminal device according to information of a first area, communication capability information of the at least one terminal device, a service list supported by the at least one terminal device and a mobile identifier of the at least one terminal device; the at least one terminal device is a terminal device except the P target terminal devices;

the at least one terminal device comprises a second terminal device, and the mobile identifier of the second terminal device is used for indicating that the second terminal device is in a mobile state or a static state; the communication capability information of the second terminal device is used for indicating whether the second terminal device supports short-range communication or indicating a PLMN list of the second terminal device, which supports short-range communication; if the second terminal device supports the near field communication, the communication capability information of the second terminal device comprises a near field communication coverage range of the second terminal device;

the M relay devices are terminal devices in a static state, and a service list supported by the M relay devices includes an identifier of the first service.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein before the IoT platform determines the M relay devices from the at least one terminal device, further comprising:

the IoT platform determines that no terminal device in a quiescent state is included in the P target terminal devices.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 or 6 or 8, wherein:

and the close range communication of the M relay devices completely covers the target terminal device in the moving state in the P target terminal devices.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein if the close-range communication of the M relay devices does not completely cover the moving target terminal devices, the first message further includes location information and moving speed of at least one of the moving target terminal devices.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 or 6 or 8 or 10, wherein:

the first message is a multicast message or a unicast message; and/or the presence of a gas in the gas,

the second message is a unicast message.

12. A method of communication, the method comprising:

the method comprises the steps that a relay device receives a first message sent by an IoT platform, wherein the first message comprises indication information and service information of a first service, and the indication information is used for indicating that the service information of the first service is broadcasted through near field communication; the first message also comprises position information and moving speed of at least one target terminal device in the P target terminal devices;

the relay equipment determines the broadcasting time and the broadcasting times of the service information of the first service according to the position information and the moving speed of at least one terminal equipment in the P target terminal equipments;

and the relay equipment broadcasts the service information of the first service according to the broadcasting time and the broadcasting times.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the first message comprises location information and moving speed of each of the P target terminal devices;

the relay device determines the broadcast time and the broadcast times of the service information of the first service according to the position information and the moving speed of the P target terminal devices, and the method comprises the following steps:

and the relay equipment determines a third terminal equipment which is farthest away from the relay equipment according to the position information of each target terminal equipment in the P target terminal equipments, and determines the broadcasting time and the broadcasting times of the service information of the first service according to the position information and the moving speed of the third terminal equipment.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the first message comprises location information and moving speed of a third terminal device of the P target terminal devices; the third terminal device is the target terminal device farthest from the relay device among the P target terminal devices;

the relay device determines the broadcast time and the broadcast times of the service information of the first service according to the position information and the moving speed of at least one terminal device in the P target terminal devices, and the method comprises the following steps:

and the relay equipment determines the broadcasting time and the broadcasting times of the service information of the first service according to the position information and the moving speed of the third terminal equipment.

15. A communications apparatus, comprising a processor, a memory, and instructions stored on the memory and executable on the processor, which when executed, cause the apparatus to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 11.

16. A communications apparatus, comprising a processor, a memory, and instructions stored on the memory and executable on the processor, which when executed, cause the apparatus to perform the method of any of claims 12 to 14.

17. An IoT platform comprising the apparatus of claim 15.

18. A relay device, characterized in that it comprises the apparatus of claim 16.

19. A communication system comprising the IoT platform of claim 17, one or more relay devices of claim 18.

20. A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 14.