CN114007204A

CN114007204A - Communication selection method and device based on relay communication and direct communication

Info

Publication number: CN114007204A
Application number: CN202010737167.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 黄正磊
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-07-28
Filing date: 2020-07-28
Publication date: 2022-02-01
Also published as: WO2022022470A1

Abstract

The embodiment of the application provides a communication selection method and equipment based on relay communication and direct connection communication, wherein the method comprises the following steps: receiving a first request sent by a request node, wherein the first request is used for requesting relay auxiliary information and comprises track information of each terminal device in at least one terminal device in a preset area; determining relay auxiliary information according to the track information of each terminal device; and sending the relay auxiliary information of each terminal device to the request node, wherein the relay auxiliary information is used for the terminal device to select relay communication or direct communication. The communication environment change of each terminal device in the preset area is predicted to obtain the relay auxiliary information of each terminal device, so that each terminal device can perform subsequent relay communication or selection of direct communication, frequent switching of the terminal devices between the direct communication and the relay communication can be reduced, and signaling overhead is reduced.

Description

Communication selection method and device based on relay communication and direct communication

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a communication selection method and device based on relay communication and direct communication.

Background

With the development of communication technology, relay communication (relay communication) technology and direct communication have been developed and applied. And the relay communication means that the terminal equipment is connected to a relay node, and then the terminal equipment is accessed to the network through the relay node. Direct communication means that a terminal device can access to a network through a direct link.

In the prior art, when determining that a signal of direct communication is poor, a terminal device is connected with a relay node, and when the signal of direct communication is recovered, the terminal device needs to be switched to the direct communication.

However, in the prior art, when the terminal device finds that the signal of the direct connection communication is recovered, the terminal device needs to switch to the direct connection communication, so that the terminal device needs to frequently switch between the relay communication and the direct connection communication, and further signaling overhead is increased. How to reasonably select between relay communication and direct communication is an urgent problem to be solved.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a communication selection method and equipment based on relay communication and direct communication, which can be applied to the relay communication technology and solve the problem that terminal equipment needs to frequently switch between the relay communication and the direct communication.

In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication selection method based on relay communication and direct communication, where the method is applied to a network data analysis function network element, and the method includes:

receiving a first request sent by a request node, wherein the first request is used for requesting relay auxiliary information, and the first request comprises track information of each terminal device in at least one terminal device in a preset area;

determining relay auxiliary information according to the track information of each terminal device;

and sending the relay auxiliary information of each terminal device to the request node, wherein the relay auxiliary information is used for the terminal device to select relay communication or direct communication.

Through the process, the track information of the terminal equipment can be preset or predicted, the network data analysis function network element can acquire the track information of all the terminal equipment in a geographic area, and then the network data analysis function network element can predict the communication environment change of each terminal equipment in the geographic area based on the global information of all the terminal equipment in the geographic area, so that the relay auxiliary information of each terminal equipment is obtained, and each terminal equipment can perform subsequent relay communication or direct communication selection; because the relay auxiliary information is generated based on the communication condition of each terminal device in each time period under the whole operation track of the terminal device, the frequent switching of the terminal device between the direct communication and the relay communication can be reduced, and the signaling overhead is reduced.

In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication selection method based on relay communication and direct communication, where the method is applied to an application function network element, and the method includes:

sending a first request to a network data analysis function network element, wherein the first request is used for requesting relay auxiliary information, the first request includes track information of each terminal device in at least one terminal device in a preset area, and the track information of each terminal device is used for determining the relay auxiliary information;

receiving the relay auxiliary information of each terminal device sent by the network data analysis function network element, wherein the relay auxiliary information is used for the terminal device to select relay communication or direct communication;

and sending the relay auxiliary information of each terminal device to each terminal device.

In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication selection method based on relay communication and direct communication, where the method is applied to an access and mobility management function network element, and the method includes:

sending a first request to a network data analysis function network element, wherein the first request is used for requesting relay auxiliary information, the first request comprises track information of a terminal device in a preset area, and the track information is used for determining the relay auxiliary information;

receiving relay auxiliary information of the terminal equipment, which is sent by the network data analysis function network element, wherein the relay auxiliary information is used for the terminal equipment to select relay communication or direct communication;

and sending the relay auxiliary information of the terminal equipment to the terminal equipment.

In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, where the communication apparatus is applied to a network data analysis function network element, and the apparatus includes:

a receiving unit, configured to receive a first request sent by a requesting node, where the first request is used to request relay auxiliary information, and the first request includes track information of each terminal device in at least one terminal device in a preset area;

the processing unit is used for determining relay auxiliary information according to the track information of each terminal device;

a sending unit, configured to send relay auxiliary information of each terminal device to the request node, where the relay auxiliary information is used for the terminal device to select relay communication or direct communication.

In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, where the apparatus is applied to an application function network element, and the apparatus includes:

a sending unit, configured to send a first request to a network data analysis function network element, where the first request is used to request relay auxiliary information, the first request includes track information of each terminal device in at least one terminal device in a preset area, and the track information of each terminal device is used to determine the relay auxiliary information;

a receiving unit, configured to receive relay auxiliary information of each terminal device sent by the network data analysis functional network element, where the relay auxiliary information is used for the terminal device to select relay communication or direct communication;

the sending unit is further configured to send the relay auxiliary information of each terminal device to each terminal device.

In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, where the apparatus is applied to an access and mobility management function network element, and the apparatus includes:

a sending unit, configured to send a first request to a network data analysis function network element, where the first request is used to request relay auxiliary information, the first request includes track information of a terminal device in a preset area, and the track information is used to determine the relay auxiliary information;

a receiving unit, configured to receive relay auxiliary information of the terminal device sent by the network data analysis functional network element, where the relay auxiliary information is used for the terminal device to select relay communication or direct communication;

the sending unit is further configured to send the relay auxiliary information of the terminal device to the terminal device.

In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus comprising a processor and a memory, the memory having stored therein a computer program, the processor executing the computer program stored in the memory to cause the apparatus to perform the method as provided in the first aspect, or to perform the method as provided in the second aspect, or to perform the method as provided in the first aspect.

In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, comprising: a processor and an interface circuit;

the interface circuit is used for receiving code instructions and transmitting the code instructions to the processor;

the processor is configured to execute the code instructions to perform the method as provided by the first aspect, or to perform the method as provided by the second aspect, or to perform the method as provided by the third aspect.

In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause a method as provided by the first aspect, or a method as provided by the second aspect, or a method as provided by the third aspect, to be implemented.

In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising program code that, when executed by a processor in a terminal, implements any one of the possible methods according to the first aspect and the first aspect, or any one of the possible methods according to the second aspect and the second aspect, or any one of the possible methods according to the third aspect and the third aspect.

In an eleventh aspect, the present application provides a processor configured to perform any one of the possible methods according to the first aspect and the first aspect, or to perform any one of the possible methods according to the second aspect and the second aspect, or to perform any one of the possible methods according to the third aspect and the third aspect.

In a twelfth aspect, the present application provides a chip, where the chip is configured to execute any one of the possible methods according to the first aspect and the first aspect, or any one of the possible methods according to the second aspect and the second aspect, or any one of the possible methods according to the third aspect and the third aspect.

In a thirteenth aspect, the present application provides a communication system comprising any possible communication device of the fourth aspect and the fourth aspect, and any possible communication device of the fifth aspect and the fifth aspect; alternatively, the communication system includes any one of the communication apparatuses of the fourth aspect and the fourth aspect, and any one of the communication apparatuses of the sixth aspect and the sixth aspect.

It should be understood that technical details and technical effects related to any one of the possible embodiments of the second aspect to the thirteenth aspect or any one of the aspects may refer to technical details and technical effects described in any one of the possible embodiments of the first aspect or the first aspect, and are not repeated herein.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is an architecture diagram of a network structure provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2 is a schematic architecture diagram of a device access network according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 is a signaling diagram of a communication selection method based on relay communication and direct communication according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a terminal device and a network device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a signaling diagram of another communication selection method based on relay communication and direct communication according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a signaling diagram of another communication selection method based on relay communication and direct communication according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a signaling diagram of another communication selection method based on relay communication and direct communication according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 is a first signaling diagram of a terminal device performing relay communication according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is a signaling diagram ii of a terminal device performing relay communication according to the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 is a third signaling diagram of a terminal device performing relay communication according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 11 is a schematic flowchart of another communication selection method based on relay communication and direct communication according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 12 is a flowchart of another communication selection method based on relay communication and direct communication according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 16 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 17 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The embodiments of the present application are applied to a fifth-generation mobile communication technology (5th-generation, 5G) communication system or other systems that may appear in the future, and some terms in the present application are explained below to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art. It should be noted that, when the scheme of the embodiment of the present application is applied to a 5G system or other systems that may appear in the future, names of network devices and terminals may change, but this does not affect implementation of the scheme of the embodiment of the present application.

The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is an architecture diagram of a network structure according to an embodiment of the present application, where the network structure can be applied to a next-generation communication system. Fig. 1 is an architecture diagram of a 5G network architecture based on service-based representation, where nrf in fig. 1 is a name of a service-based interface, and a circle on each network entity in fig. 1 indicates that the network entity exposes an nrf interface (e.g., nwdaf interface, Nnef interface, nrf interface, Npcf interface, numdm interface, Naf interface, Nausf interface, Namf interface, Nsmf interface) to other network entities, and the network entity provides services to the other network entities through the nrf interface, and the other network entities can obtain the services provided by the network entity through the nrf interface. Further, N1, N2, N3, N4, N6, N9, and the like in fig. 1 are interfaces. A network entity may also be referred to as a network element, or a network node, or a correspondent node. The following briefly introduces the various components of the network architecture represented in fig. 1 as follows:

the update of mobile communication technology, 5G technology has started research and standardization, and 5G technology can be used in the fields of mobile broadband, multimedia, Machine Type Communication (MTC), industrial control, and Intelligent Transportation System (ITS). The 5G system architecture is divided into an access network and a core network. Wherein the access network is used to implement radio access related functions. Fig. 1 shows network elements in a core network.

1) Terminal equipment (UE), which may include various handsets, car equipment, wearable devices, computing devices or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem having communication capabilities, as well as various forms of terminals, such as Mobile Stations (MS), terminals (terminal), User Equipment (UE), soft terminals, etc., including, for example, water meters, electricity meters, sensors, etc. The terminal equipment can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld, wearable or vehicle-mounted; can also be deployed on the water surface (such as a ship and the like); and may also be deployed in the air (e.g., on airplanes, balloons, satellites, etc.).

2) Access and mobility management function (AMF) entity: the main functions of the system comprise management user registration, reachability detection, selection of a Session Management Function (SMF) entity, mobile state conversion management and the like, authentication of the terminal, mobility management of the terminal, network slice selection, access authorization and access authentication, security related functions and the like; and can be used as an anchor point for connecting the N1 interface with the N2 interface, and provides the route of the N1/N2 SM information for the SMF entity; and may maintain and manage state information of the terminal, participate in the broadcast session.

3) SMF entity: responsible for terminal session (session establishment, modification and deletion), user plane node selection, User Plane Function (UPF) entity allocation and control, terminal Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management, session quality of service (QoS) management, Policy Control and Charging (PCC) policy acquisition from a Policy Control Function (PCF) entity, non-access stratum (NAS) message SM part termination, downlink data notification, Session and Service Continuity (SSC) mode for determining one session, roaming function, etc., in the present application, the SMF entity may be responsible for management of the broadcast session, including establishment, update, and release of the broadcast session, allocation of the broadcast session identifier, and the like; in the application, the SMF entity may further receive broadcast reception quality information reported by the terminal, and complete switching between broadcast transmission and unicast transmission.

4) UPF entity: the Packet Data Unit (PDU) session (session) connection anchor point is responsible for routing and forwarding data packets, mobility anchor point, and uplink classifier to support routing service flow to data network, filtering data packets of terminal, data transmission/forwarding, rate control, generating charging information, packet detection and policy application, transmission usage reporting, user plane QoS processing, uplink transmission authentication, transmission class verification, downlink packet caching and downlink data notification triggering, and a branch point supporting multi-homed Packet Data Unit (PDU) session (session).

5) Policy Control Function (PCF) entity: allocating reference information to a network entity, for example, allocating reference information to an SMF entity or a network open function (NEF) entity; and, the PCF supports a unified policy framework to govern the behavior of the network; the PCF may provide policy rules for the control plane function to be executed by an entity on the control plane function, thereby enabling a front end (front end) to access subscription information related to policy decision in a Unified Database (UDR). That is, the PCF entity is a policy decision point that provides rules based on traffic data flow and application detection, gating, QoS and flow-based charging control, etc.

6) Radio Access Network (RAN): the network composed of a plurality of 5G-RAN nodes mainly provides wireless connection and realizes the functions of wireless physical layer, resource scheduling, wireless resource management, wireless access control and mobility management. For example, the 5G-RAN is connected to the UPF entity through the user plane interface N3 for transmitting data of the terminal; the 5G-RAN establishes control plane signaling connection with the AMF entity through a control plane interface N2, and is used for realizing functions such as wireless access bearer control. Where RAN may also be denoted as (R) AN.

7) Unified data management function (UDM) entity: allocating reference information for a network entity, for example, allocating reference information for an SMF entity or a NEF entity; user subscription data may also be stored.

8) Authentication service function (AUSF) entity: is an example of an authentication server functional entity and is responsible for providing authentication services. For example, the method is used for receiving an authentication vector request from the AMF entity and returning a 5G authentication vector acquired from the ARPF entity or the UDM entity to the AMF entity, or returning the 5G authentication vector acquired from the ARPF entity or the UDM entity to the AMF entity after further processing, so that the 5G authentication vector is used for security authentication between the terminal and the network side.

9) Application Function (AF) entity: and the application function is responsible for interacting with a 3GPP core network to provide services to influence service flow routing, access network capability opening, policy control and the like. For example, the present invention is used for interaction between an external application and a PCF entity of a core network, is mainly used for policy and charging control on an IP-connectivity access network (IP-CAN) corresponding to the application, and CAN also be used for accessing an NEF and influencing a communication route.

10) The NEF entity: the SMF entity is responsible for connecting with an external DN network; services and capabilities for opening 3rd generation partnership project (3 GPP) networks for providing a secure method; information exchanged between an Application Function (AF) entity and an internal network can be translated; the network element is used for receiving information from other network entities and opening the information to an internal network element or an application service function network element for the second time; for providing edge calculations, etc.

11) Data Network (DN) entity: providing external data network services. For example, to provide operator services, internet access or third party services.

12) Network data analysis function (NWDAF) entity: and the system is responsible for network data acquisition and analysis functions. For example, network data collection and analysis functions based on technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence are provided.

13) A network function repository (NRF) entity, wherein NF refers to a Network Function (NF).

14) A Service Control Point (SCP) entity, which is an intelligent network element that determines where calls are handled.

15) "plurality" means two or more, and other terms are analogous. "and/or" describes the association relationship of the associated object, 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. The character "/" generally indicates that the former and latter associated objects are in an "or" relationship.

16) "correspond" may refer to an association or binding relationship, and a corresponds to B refers to an association or binding relationship between a and B.

It should be noted that the terms or terms referred to in the embodiments of the present application may be mutually referred and are not described in detail.

With the development and application of 5G, large-scale machine type communications (mtc) has become one of important application scenarios of 5G networks, and mtc is mainly applied to various internet of things (IoT) services based on cellular networks. The mMTC application scene is mainly characterized by the connection requirement of large-scale massive Internet of things terminals, and the connection can reach 100 thousands of connections per square kilometer; in addition, the mMTC application scene also has the characteristics of low data volume (transmission of small data packets of dozens of bytes), low power consumption (the service life of a terminal battery of the Internet of things can reach 10 years), deep coverage (supporting various weak coverage scenes such as an underground garage, an elevator shaft and the like), low complexity (reducing the cost of the terminal and a network) and the like.

An application scenario (i.e., a NIoT scenario) of mtc based on the internet of things includes: industrial sensor networks (e.g., temperature sensors, pressure sensors, etc.), wearable devices (smart band, smart watch, smart glasses, etc.), and so forth. The 3GPP provides a connection model of each device in an mtc scenario based on the internet of things (IoT), where the IoT device can access a network in various ways. Among them, relay communication (relay communication) technology and direct communication have been developed and applied. And the relay communication means that the terminal equipment is connected to a relay node, and then the terminal equipment is accessed to the network through the relay node. Direct communication means that a terminal device can access to a network through a direct link. ,

in an example, an internet of things device may access a network through a direct link (e.g., a wireless access technology such as LTE, 5G, etc.), for example, fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of a device access network provided in an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 2, a terminal device accesses a network device through a direct link; or, the internet of things device is connected to a Relay (Relay) node (e.g., a mobile phone terminal, a sensor node) first, and then is accessed to the network through a Relay link, for example, as shown in fig. 2, the bracelet 1 is connected to the bracelet 2 serving as the Relay node, and since the bracelet 2 is connected to the network device, the bracelet 1 is then accessed to the network device through the Relay link.

Among them, the benefit of accessing the network through the relay link is: because the internet of things equipment can be communicated with the adjacent equipment, the adjacent equipment can be communicated with the network equipment, the power consumption of the internet of things equipment can be reduced through close-range communication, and the electric quantity of the internet of things equipment is saved; in addition, when the network coverage of the area where the Internet of things equipment is located is poor or no network coverage exists, the Internet of things equipment is accessed to the network through the adjacent equipment, so that the communication of the Internet of things equipment is ensured, and the coverage capability of the network equipment is expanded.

Therefore, the terminal equipment is connected with the relay node when determining that the signal of the direct communication is poor, and is switched to the direct communication when the signal of the direct communication is recovered. However, in such a processing manner, if the terminal device finds that the signal of the direct connection communication is restored quickly, the terminal device needs to switch to the direct connection communication, so that the terminal device needs to frequently switch between the relay communication and the direct connection communication, thereby increasing signaling overhead. How to reasonably select between relay communication and direct communication is an urgent problem to be solved.

Fig. 3 is a signaling diagram of a communication selection method based on relay communication and direct communication according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 3, the method includes:

s101, a network data analysis function network element receives a first request sent by a request node, wherein the first request is used for requesting relay auxiliary information, and the first request comprises track information of each terminal device in at least one terminal device in a preset area.

Illustratively, the execution subject of the method provided by the present embodiment may be a network data analysis function network element.

In one example, the terminal device may switch between the direct link and the relay link; the terminal equipment broadcasts the message or the relay node broadcasts the message, then the terminal equipment selects the nodes which can be connected according to the signal quality of the current connected link and the message carried in the broadcast message, and further selects the direct connection link or the relay link. For example, the terminal device communicates with a network device currently, and then the terminal device determines to select a relay link according to the signal quality of a link currently connected and a message carried in a broadcast message, and further the terminal device selects a relay node for communication.

However, in an actual process, the terminal device may need to perform frequent switching between the direct connection link and the relay link, that is, frequent switching between the direct connection communication and the relay communication.

For example, fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a terminal device and a network device provided in this embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 4, in a factory environment, a terminal device 01 (the terminal device may be an internet of things terminal, for example, the internet of things terminal is a robot in fig. 4) is closer to the network device (the network device, for example, a wireless base station) at a position 1, and the terminal device 01 may communicate with the network device through a direct connection link; then, along with the movement of the terminal device 01, when the terminal device 01 is far away from the network device or is shielded by other devices, the terminal device 01 communicates with the terminal device 02 serving as a relay node, the terminal device 02 communicates with the network device, and further the terminal device 01 communicates with the network device after performing relay communication with the terminal device 02.

Therefore, in the actual application process, when the terminal device cannot directly communicate with the network device due to being far away from the network device, or when the terminal device cannot directly communicate with the network device due to being shielded by other devices, the terminal device may be switched from the direct connection link to the relay link, that is, from the direct connection communication to the relay communication, and the terminal device selects one relay node for communication. When the terminal device moves to a position closer to the network device again, or when an obstruction around the terminal device is removed (because such an obstruction may be transient), the terminal device detects that direct communication with the network device is possible, and the network device switches from being able to switch from the relay link to the direct link, i.e., from the relay communication to the direct communication. Thus, the terminal device needs to perform frequent switching between the direct communication and the relay communication, resulting in unnecessary signaling overhead and power consumption.

In this embodiment, when the terminal device switches between relay communication and direct connection communication, and when the trajectory of the terminal device is a scene with a certain rule, the relay communication or the direct connection communication may be determined to be provided for the terminal device based on the trajectory information of the terminal device. For example, for a factory scene, the track of the terminal device is preset, and the terminal device needs to run according to the preset track to complete a factory task; in this embodiment, relay communication or direct communication may be provided for the terminal device based on a preset trajectory of the terminal device.

In the process of communication of the terminal device, the track information of the terminal device can be known or predicted in advance as the terminal device moves in a preset area. For example, in a logistics scene, the terminal device is a robot, the terminal device moves in a fixed preset area, the terminal device needs to complete sorting of goods according to an instruction of the control center, the control center can generate track information of each terminal device, each terminal device moves in the preset area according to the respective track information to sort the goods, and it can be known that the moving track of each terminal device is regular. Or, in the cargo delivery scene, the terminal device is an unmanned delivery vehicle, the terminal device moves in a fixed preset area, and the control center can predict the track information of each terminal device according to the cargo receiving place and the current position of the terminal device.

The method comprises the steps that a request node acquires track information of each terminal device, then the request node sends a first request to a network data analysis function network element, the first request is used for requesting relay auxiliary information, and the relay auxiliary information is used for selecting relay communication or direct communication of the terminal devices. In one example, the request nodes are terminal devices, each request node already knows its own trajectory information, each request node is located in a preset area, and the current terminal device sends the trajectory information of the current terminal device to the network data analysis function network element; or, the request nodes are terminal devices, each of which has already acquired its own trajectory information and trajectory information of other request nodes, and the terminal device can send the trajectory information of each of the terminal devices in the preset area to the network data analysis function network element. In another example, the request node is an application function entity, and the application function entity may receive respective trajectory information sent by each terminal device, and further, the application function entity may send the trajectory information of each terminal device in the preset area to the network data analysis function network element.

S102, the network data analysis function network element determines the relay auxiliary information according to the track information of each terminal device.

In one example, the relay assistance information includes a probability of direct connection communication of the terminal device over at least one preset time period, where the preset time period is an operation time of the terminal device.

In one example, the first request further includes: relay capability information of each of the at least one terminal device. For example, the relay capability information includes one or more of the following: the network device direct connection capability, the cache size, the QoS information and the mobility information.

In one example, the relay assistance information of each terminal device further includes relay capability information of a neighboring terminal device, where the neighboring terminal device is a device of the at least one terminal device.

Illustratively, the track information of the terminal device includes, but is not limited to: starting time, running track and running period. And the network data analysis function network element determines the relay auxiliary information of each terminal device requested in the first request according to the track information of each terminal device in the preset area. The relay auxiliary information represents the direct connection communication condition and the relay communication condition of the terminal equipment in each time period, so that the terminal equipment can conveniently determine to perform direct connection communication or relay communication according to the relay auxiliary information.

In one example, for each terminal device, the terminal device has a running period, and the network data analysis function element divides the running period of the terminal device into a plurality of preset time periods according to the running track of the terminal device, the running tracks of other terminal devices, and the communication capacity of each terminal device on the running track; it is understood that each of the preset time periods is a part of the operation cycle of the terminal device, and each of the preset time periods is an operation time of the terminal device.

And then, the network data analysis function network element determines the relay auxiliary information of the current terminal equipment according to the track information of the current terminal equipment and the track information of other terminal equipment. The relay auxiliary information comprises direct connection communication probability of the terminal equipment in each preset time period. The "probability of direct communication" refers to a probability value of direct communication between the terminal device and the network device.

In another example, in step S101, the request node may further obtain relay capability information of each terminal device in the preset area, and when the request node sends the first request to the network data analysis function network element, the first request includes: the track information of each terminal device in the preset area and the relay capability information of each terminal device in the preset area. For example, the request nodes are terminal devices, each request node already knows its own trajectory information, each request node is located in a preset area, the current terminal device can acquire the trajectory information and the relay capability information of each terminal device, and the current terminal device sends a first request to the network data analysis function network element, where the first request includes the trajectory information and the relay capability information of each terminal device. For another example, the request node is an application function entity, the application function entity may receive respective trajectory information and relay capability information sent by each terminal device, and when the application function entity receives trajectory information of a certain terminal device, the application function entity sends a first request to the network data analysis function network element, where the first request includes trajectory information and relay capability information of each terminal device. The relay capability information of each terminal device sent by the request node to the network data analysis function network element includes, but is not limited to: the capability of direct connection with network equipment, the cache size, QoS information and mobility information. The "capability of directly connecting with the network device" refers to whether the terminal device can perform direct communication with the network device. The "buffer size" refers to the data transmission capability of the terminal device, or the size of data to be transmitted by the terminal device, or the upper limit value of the size of data that can be transmitted by the terminal device. "QoS information" refers to the delay and bandwidth of the terminal device. "mobility information" means that the terminal device is mobile or that the terminal device is fixed.

Then, the network data analysis function network element determines the relay auxiliary information of the current terminal equipment according to the track information of the current terminal equipment, the track information of other terminal equipment and the relay capability information of each terminal equipment. The relay auxiliary information of the current terminal equipment comprises the direct connection communication probability of the terminal equipment in each preset time period. The relay assistance information of the current terminal device may further include relay capability information of at least one neighboring terminal device at each preset time period, where the relay capability information of the neighboring terminal device includes, but is not limited to: the method comprises the steps of directly connecting the current terminal equipment with the network equipment, caching size, QoS information, mobility information, identification of other terminal equipment which can be in direct connection communication with the current terminal equipment in each preset time period, and identification of other terminal equipment which cannot be in direct connection communication with the current terminal equipment in each preset time period. The "adjacent terminal device" is one of the terminal devices that reported the track information in step 101.

S103, the network data analysis function network element sends the relay auxiliary information of each terminal device to the request node, wherein the relay auxiliary information is used for the terminal devices to select relay communication or direct communication.

Exemplarily, the network data analysis function network element sends the determined relay auxiliary information of each terminal device to the request node; the request node feeds the relay auxiliary information of the terminal equipment back to the corresponding terminal equipment, and then the terminal equipment can select relay communication or direct communication according to the relay auxiliary information.

For example, the request node is a terminal device, and the network data analysis function network element sends the determined relay auxiliary information of each terminal device to each terminal device respectively. The terminal device can select relay communication or direct communication according to the relay auxiliary information.

For another example, the request node is an application function entity, and the network data analysis function network element sends the determined relay auxiliary information of each terminal device to the application function entity; and the application function entity sends the relay auxiliary information of each terminal device to each terminal device respectively. The terminal device can select relay communication or direct communication according to the relay auxiliary information.

In an example, the relay auxiliary information may indicate selection of direct communication and relay communication of each terminal device in each time period, and further, the terminal device may perform corresponding direct communication or relay communication in each time period according to the indication of the relay auxiliary information.

In another example, the relay auxiliary information includes a direct communication probability of the current terminal device in at least one preset time period, and for each preset time period, the terminal device may determine whether to perform direct communication according to the direct communication probability of the terminal device in the current preset time period.

In another example, the relay assistance information includes a direct communication probability of the current terminal device over at least one preset time period, and the relay assistance information further includes relay capability information of the neighboring terminal devices; for each preset time period, the terminal device can determine whether to perform direct connection communication or relay communication according to the direct connection communication probability of the terminal device in the current preset time period and the relay capability information of the adjacent terminal device in the current preset time period; or, for each preset time period, the terminal device may determine whether to perform direct connection communication or relay communication according to the direct connection communication probability of the terminal device in the current preset time period, the relay capability information of the adjacent terminal device in the current preset time period, and the direct connection communication probability and the relay capability information of the adjacent terminal device in the subsequent time period.

For example, for the terminal UE0, the network data analysis function network element determines the relay assistance information of the terminal UE 0. The relay assistance information of the terminal device UE0 includes: the terminal device UE0 includes a direct communication probability at each preset time period, and relay capability information of a neighboring terminal device at each preset time period. Table 1 shows relay assistance information of the terminal UE 0.

Table 1 relay assistance information for a terminal device UE0

As shown in table 1, the initial state of the terminal device UE0 is direct communication. Then, the probability of direct communication of the terminal device UE0 over the time period 9:00:00-9:02:20 is 90%; in the time period of 9:00:00-9:02:20, the "capability of direct connection with the network device" of the neighboring terminal device UE1 is "directly connectable", and it is known that in the time period of 9:00:00-9:02:20, direct communication is performed between the neighboring terminal device UE1 and the network device. At this time, terminal device UE0 determines that the probability of terminal device UE0 being in direct communication with the network device is high over time period 9:00:00-9:02:20, and even though terminal device UE1 may act as a relay node for terminal device UE0, terminal device UE0 determines that direct communication continues to be maintained without switching to relay communication over time period 9:00:00-9:02: 20.

Then, the probability of direct communication of the terminal equipment UE0 in a time period of 9:02:20-9:02:30 is 20%; and, in time period 9:02:20-9:02:30, terminal equipment UE0 has 3 neighboring terminal equipments, terminal equipment UE1, terminal equipment UE2, terminal equipment UE3 respectively; in a time period of 9:02:20-9:02:30, the "capability of direct connection with network equipment" of the adjacent terminal equipment UE1 is "directly connectable", the "capability of direct connection with network equipment" of the adjacent terminal equipment UE2 is "directly connectable", the "capability of direct connection with network equipment" of the adjacent terminal equipment UE3 is "directly non-connectable", and it is known that in the time period of 9:02:20-9:02:30, direct connection communication is performed between the adjacent terminal equipment UE1 and the network equipment, direct connection communication is performed between the adjacent terminal equipment UE2 and the network equipment, and direct connection communication cannot be performed between the adjacent terminal equipment UE3 and the network equipment. At this time, in the time period 9:02:20-9:02:30, the terminal device UE0 determines that the probability that the terminal device UE0 performs direct communication with the network device is low, and the terminal device UE0 may select an adjacent terminal device as a relay node to perform relay communication. However, since the current time period 9:02:20-9:02:30 is a shorter time period, the terminal device UE0 also needs to be analyzed in conjunction with the information of the next time period 9:02:30-9:05: 00.

The probability of direct communication of the terminal equipment UE0 in the time period 9:02:30-9:05:00 is 95%; in the time period 9:02:30-9:05:00, the "capability of direct connection with network equipment" of the neighboring terminal equipment UE4 is "directly connectable", and it is known that in the time period 9:02:30-9:05:00, direct communication is performed between the neighboring terminal equipment UE4 and the network equipment. When the terminal device UE0 analyzes the information of the time period 9:02:30-9:05:00, it is known that the terminal device UE0 cannot perform direct communication in the time period 9:02:20-9:02:30, but the terminal device UE0 may perform direct communication for a longer time in the time period 9:02:30-9:05:00, so that the terminal device UE0 determines that the direct communication is not switched to relay communication in the time period 9:02:20-9:02:30, but data is buffered in the time period 9:02:20-9:02:30, and the terminal device UE0 continues to perform direct communication until the next time period 9:02:30-9:05: 00. Thus, the problem of terminal device UE0 switching from direct communication to relay communication (time period 9:02:20-9:02: 30) and then after a short time terminal device UE0 switching back from relay communication to direct communication (time period 9:02:30-9:05: 00) is avoided; that is, the terminal device is prevented from constantly switching the communication method in a short time.

Furthermore, the terminal apparatus UE0 first buffers data in the time period 9:02:20-9:02:30, and then continues direct communication in the time period 9:02:30-9:05: 00.

Then, the probability of direct communication of the terminal equipment UE0 in the time period 9:05:00-9:06:00 is 15%; and, in time period 9:05:00-9:06:00, terminal device UE0 has 3 neighboring terminal devices, terminal device UE5, terminal device UE6, terminal device UE7 respectively; in a time period of 9:05:00-9:06:00, "the capability of direct connection with network equipment" of the adjacent terminal equipment UE5 is "non-direct connection," the capability of direct connection with network equipment "of the adjacent terminal equipment UE6 is" direct connection, "the capability of direct connection with network equipment" of the adjacent terminal equipment UE7 is "non-direct connection," and it is known that, in a time period of 9:05:00-9:06:00, the adjacent terminal equipment UE5 cannot perform direct connection communication with the network equipment, the adjacent terminal equipment UE6 cannot perform direct connection communication with the network equipment, and the adjacent terminal equipment UE7 cannot perform direct connection communication with the network equipment. At this time, in the time period of 9:05:00-9:06:00, the terminal device UE0 determines that the probability that the terminal device UE0 performs direct communication with the network device is low, and the terminal device UE0 determines that the terminal device UE0 cannot perform direct communication for a long time in the time period of 9:05:00-9:06:00, so that the terminal device UE0 determines that it is necessary to select an adjacent terminal device as a relay node to perform relay communication. Further, since the neighboring terminal device UE6 is in direct communication with the network device, the terminal device UE0 may select the neighboring terminal device UE6 as the relay node, and the terminal device UE0 is in relay communication over the time period 9:05:00-9:06: 00.

Then, the probability of direct communication of the terminal device UE0 in the time period 9:06:00-9:06:10 is 92%; and, in time period 9:06:00-9:06:10, terminal equipment UE0 has 2 neighboring terminal equipments, terminal equipment UE1, terminal equipment UE5 respectively; in the time period of 9:06:00-9:06:10, the "capability of direct connection with the network device" of the adjacent terminal device UE1 is "directly connectable", and the "capability of direct connection with the network device" of the adjacent terminal device UE5 is "directly connectable", so that in the time period of 9:06:00-9:06:10, direct connection communication is performed between the adjacent terminal device UE1 and the network device, and direct connection communication is performed between the adjacent terminal device UE5 and the network device. At this time, in a time period of 9:06:00-9:06:10, the terminal device UE0 determines that the probability that the terminal device UE0 performs direct communication with the network device is high; however, terminal device UE0 may perform the relay communication during the previous time period 9:05:00-9:06:00, terminal device UE0 may determine to perform the direct communication for a short time during the time period 9:06:00-9:06:10, and terminal device UE0 may determine not to switch from the relay communication to the direct communication during the time period 9:06:00-9:06:10, and terminal device UE0 may continue to select neighboring terminal device UE5 as the relay node for the relay communication.

Based on the above analysis, a communication selection result of the terminal apparatus UE0 at each time period is obtained, as shown in table 2.

Table 2 communication selection result of terminal equipment UE0 at each time period

In this embodiment, a network data analysis function network element receives a first request sent by a request node, where the first request is used to request relay auxiliary information, and the first request includes track information of each terminal device in at least one terminal device in a preset area; the network data analysis function network element determines relay auxiliary information according to the track information of each terminal device; and the network element of the network data analysis function sends the relay auxiliary information of each terminal device to the request node, and the relay auxiliary information is used for the terminal devices to select relay communication or direct communication. By providing track information (and also relay capability information) of each terminal device in a preset geographic area to a network data analysis functional network element, the network data analysis functional network element predicts the communication environment of the terminal device in each time period based on the track information (and also relay capability information) of each terminal device to obtain relay auxiliary information of each terminal device; and then, each terminal device selects relay communication or direct communication in each time slot according to the respective relay auxiliary information. In the above process, because the trajectory information of the terminal device can be preset or predicted, the network data analysis function network element can acquire the trajectory information (which may also have relay capability information) of all terminal devices in a geographic area, and then the network data analysis function network element can predict the communication environment change of each terminal device in the geographic area based on the global information of all terminal devices in the geographic area, and further obtain the relay auxiliary information of each terminal device, so that each terminal device can perform subsequent relay communication or direct communication selection; because the relay auxiliary information is generated based on the communication condition of each terminal device in each time period under the whole operation track of the terminal device, the frequent switching of the terminal device between the direct communication and the relay communication can be reduced, and the signaling overhead is reduced.

Fig. 5 is a signaling diagram of another communication selection method based on relay communication and direct communication according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 5, the method includes:

s201, the application function network element sends a first request to the network data analysis function network element, where the first request is used to request the relay auxiliary information, and the first request includes track information of each terminal device in at least one terminal device in a preset area.

Illustratively, the requesting node is an application function network element. The application function network element may obtain track information of each terminal device in the preset area. Then, the application function network element sends a first request to the network data analysis function network element through the network open function network element, and the network open function network element has a transparent transmission function; or, the application function network element directly sends the first request to the network data analysis function network element.

Regarding the "first request", this step may refer to step S101 shown in fig. 3, and is not described again.

S202, the network data analysis function network element determines the relay auxiliary information according to the track information of each terminal device.

For example, this step may refer to step S102 shown in fig. 3, and is not described again.

S203, the network data analysis function network element sends the relay auxiliary information of each terminal device to the application function network element, where the relay auxiliary information is used for the terminal device to select relay communication or direct communication.

Illustratively, the network data analysis function network element sends the relay auxiliary information of each terminal device to the application function network element through the network open function network element. Or, the network data analysis function network element directly sends the relay auxiliary information of each terminal device to the application function network element.

Regarding "relay assistance information", this step may refer to step S103 shown in fig. 3, and is not described again.

And S204, the application function network element respectively sends the relay auxiliary information of each terminal device to each terminal device.

Illustratively, the application function network element sends the relay auxiliary information of each terminal device to each corresponding terminal device.

And S205, the terminal equipment selects relay communication or direct communication according to the relay auxiliary information.

For "the terminal device performs relay communication or selection of direct communication according to the relay auxiliary information", for example, this step may refer to step S103 shown in fig. 3, and is not described again.

In this embodiment, the application function network element provides track information (which may also provide relay capability information) of each terminal device in a preset geographic area to the network data analysis function network element, so that the network data analysis function network element predicts the communication environment of the terminal device in each time period based on the track information (which may also have the relay capability information) of each terminal device to obtain the relay auxiliary information of each terminal device; the network data analysis function network element sends the relay auxiliary information of each terminal device to the application function network element, and the application function network element sends the relay auxiliary information of each terminal device to each terminal device respectively; and then, each terminal device selects relay communication or direct communication in each time slot according to the respective relay auxiliary information. In the above process, because the track information of the terminal device can be preset or predicted, the network data analysis function network element can acquire the track information (or relay capability information) of all terminal devices in a geographic area, and then the network data analysis function network element can predict the communication environment change of each terminal device in the geographic area based on the global information of all terminal devices in the geographic area, so as to acquire the relay auxiliary information of each terminal device, so that each terminal device can perform subsequent relay communication or direct communication selection; because the relay auxiliary information is generated based on the communication condition of each terminal device in each time period under the whole operation track of the terminal device, the frequent switching of the terminal device between the direct communication and the relay communication can be reduced, and the signaling overhead is reduced.

Fig. 6 is a signaling diagram of another communication selection method based on relay communication and direct communication according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 6, the method includes:

s301, the network element with access and mobility management functions receives first registration request information sent by a terminal device, where the first registration request information includes track information of the terminal device, and the first registration request information is used to request relay auxiliary information of the terminal device.

For example, when the terminal device switches between relay communication and direct connection communication, and when the trajectory of the terminal device is a scene with a certain rule, it may be determined to provide the relay communication or the direct connection communication for the terminal device based on the trajectory information of the terminal device.

In the process of communication of the terminal device, the terminal device can acquire or predict the track information of the terminal device in advance because the terminal device moves in a preset area. The terminal device may first send first registration request information to the access and mobility management function network element, where the first registration request information carries relay auxiliary information request indication information, that is, the first registration request information is used to request relay auxiliary information of the current terminal device; in addition, in order to obtain the relay assistance information, the first registration request information carries track information of the current terminal device. The track information of the terminal device includes, but is not limited to: starting time, running track and running period.

In one example, the first registration request information may further include relay capability information of the current terminal device. The relay capability information includes, but is not limited to: the network device direct connection capability, the cache size, the QoS information and the mobility information. The "capability of directly connecting with the network device" refers to whether the terminal device can perform direct communication with the network device. The "buffer size" refers to the data transmission capability of the terminal device, or the size of data to be transmitted by the terminal device, or the upper limit value of the data size that can be transmitted by the terminal device. "QoS information" refers to the delay and bandwidth of the terminal device. "mobility information" means that the terminal device is mobile or that the terminal device is fixed.

S302, the access and mobility management function network element receives second registration request information sent by at least one other terminal device in the preset area, where the second registration request information includes track information of the other terminal device, and the second registration request information is used to request relay auxiliary information of the other terminal device.

Illustratively, the access and mobility management function network element may further receive second registration request information sent by other terminal devices. And the other terminal devices and the terminal device in the step S301 are located in the same preset area.

Included in the second registration request information are: track information of other terminal devices. The second registration request information is used for requesting relay assistance information of other terminal devices.

In one example, the second registration request information may further include relay capability information of other terminal devices.

For example, the terminal UE0, the terminal UE1, and the terminal UE2 are located in the same preset area; the terminal device UE0 may send first registration request information to the access and mobility management function network element, the terminal device UE1 may send second registration request information to the access and mobility management function network element, and the terminal device UE2 may send second registration request information to the access and mobility management function network element; further, the terminal equipment UE0, the terminal equipment UE1, and the terminal equipment UE2 need to request relay assistance information of each.

S303, the network element having the access and mobility management function sends a first request to a network element having a network data analysis function, where the first request is used to request the relay assistance information, the first request includes track information of a terminal device in a preset area, and the track information is used to determine the relay assistance information.

In one example, when step S302 is executed, the first request further includes track information of other terminal devices.

Exemplarily, after step S301 (without performing step S302), the access and mobility management function network element sends a first request to the network data analysis function network element according to the registration request of the terminal device. The first request comprises track information of the terminal device which initiates the first registration request information.

After step S301 (executing step S301 and step S302), the access and mobility management function network element sends a first request to the network data analysis function network element according to the first registration request information of the terminal device of step S301, where the first request includes the track information of the terminal device of step S301, and the first request is used to request the relay assistance information of the terminal device of step S301. After step S302 (step S301 and step S302 are executed), the access and mobility management function network element sends a first request corresponding to the other terminal device to the network data analysis function network element according to the second registration request information of the other terminal device in step S302, where the first request includes the trajectory information of the other terminal device in step S302, and is used for requesting the relay assistance information of the other terminal device in step S302.

Alternatively, after step S302 (step S301 and step S302 are executed), the access and mobility management function network element sends a first request to the network data analysis function network element according to the first registration request information of the terminal device in step S301 and the second registration request information of the other terminal device in step S302, where the first request includes the trajectory information of the terminal device in step S301 and the trajectory information of the other terminal device in step S302.

The terminal equipment and other terminal equipment belong to the same preset geographical area.

In one example, the first request may further include relay capability information of the terminal device.

S304, the network data analysis function network element determines the relay auxiliary information according to the track information of the terminal equipment.

Illustratively, for each terminal device, the terminal device has an operation cycle, and the network data analysis function network element divides the operation cycle of the terminal device into a plurality of preset time periods according to the operation track of the terminal device, the operation tracks of other terminal devices, and the communication capacity of each terminal device on the operation track; it is understood that each of the preset time periods is a part of the operation cycle of the terminal device, and each of the preset time periods is an operation time of the terminal device.

In one example, the network data analysis function network element determines the relay auxiliary information of the terminal device according to the trajectory information of the terminal device and the acquired trajectory information of other terminal devices. The relay auxiliary information comprises the direct connection communication probability of the terminal equipment in each preset time period. The "direct connection communication probability" refers to a probability value of direct connection communication between the terminal device and the network device.

In another example, the first request includes trajectory information and relay capability information of the terminal device. And the network data analysis function network element determines the relay auxiliary information of the terminal equipment according to the track information of the terminal equipment, the obtained track information of other terminal equipment and the relay capability information of each terminal equipment. The relay auxiliary information of the terminal equipment comprises the direct connection communication probability of the terminal equipment in each preset time period. The relay auxiliary information of the terminal device may further include relay capability information of at least one neighboring terminal device at each preset time period, where the relay capability information of the neighboring terminal device includes, but is not limited to: the method comprises the steps of directly connecting the network equipment with the network equipment, caching size, QoS information, mobility information, identification of other terminal equipment which can be in direct connection communication with the current terminal equipment in each preset time period, and identification of other terminal equipment which cannot be in direct connection communication with the current terminal equipment in each preset time period.

In any of the above manners, the network data analysis function network element may determine respective relay assistance information for each terminal device that needs to request the relay assistance information.

S305, the network data analysis function network element sends relay auxiliary information of the terminal equipment to the access and mobility management function network element, wherein the relay auxiliary information is used for the terminal equipment to select relay communication or direct communication.

Illustratively, the network data analysis function network element sends the determined relay auxiliary information of the terminal device to the access and mobility management function network element.

S306, the access and mobility management function network element sends the relay auxiliary information of the terminal equipment to the terminal equipment.

Illustratively, at the time of step S301 and step S302, the access and mobility management function network element knows which terminal devices need to acquire the relay auxiliary information, and thus, the access and mobility management function network element sends the acquired relay auxiliary information of each terminal device to the corresponding terminal device.

And S307, the terminal equipment selects relay communication or direct communication according to the relay auxiliary information.

In this embodiment, the access and mobility management functional network element provides, according to a request of the terminal device, trajectory information (which may also provide relay capability information) of each terminal device in a preset geographic area to the network data analysis functional network element, so that the network data analysis functional network element predicts a communication environment of the terminal device in each time period based on the trajectory information (which may also have the relay capability information) of each terminal device, and obtains relay auxiliary information of each terminal device; the network data analysis function network element sends the relay auxiliary information of each terminal device to the access and mobility management function network element, and the access and mobility management function network element sends the relay auxiliary information of each terminal device to each terminal device respectively; and then, each terminal device selects relay communication or direct communication in each time slot according to the respective relay auxiliary information. In the above process, because the trajectory information of the terminal device can be preset or predicted, the network data analysis function network element can acquire the trajectory information (which may also have relay capability information) of all terminal devices in a geographic area, and then the network data analysis function network element can predict the communication environment change of each terminal device in the geographic area based on the global information of all terminal devices in the geographic area, so as to obtain the relay auxiliary information of each terminal device, so that each terminal device can perform subsequent relay communication or direct communication selection; because the relay auxiliary information is generated based on the communication condition of each terminal device in each time period under the whole operation track of the terminal device, the frequent switching of the terminal device between the direct communication and the relay communication can be reduced, and the signaling overhead is reduced.

Fig. 7 is a signaling diagram of another communication selection method based on relay communication and direct communication according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 7, the method includes:

s401, a network data analysis function network element receives a first request sent by a request node, wherein the first request is used for requesting relay auxiliary information, and the first request includes track information of each terminal device in at least one terminal device in a preset area.

For example, this step may refer to step S101 in fig. 2, and is not described again.

S402, the network data analysis function network element determines the relay auxiliary information according to the track information of each terminal device.

For example, this step may refer to step S102 in fig. 2, and is not described again.

And S403, the network data analysis function network element sends the relay auxiliary information of each terminal device to the request node, wherein the relay auxiliary information is used for the terminal device to select relay communication or direct communication.

For example, this step may refer to step S103 in fig. 2, and is not described again.

S404, the network data analysis function network element receives a second request sent by the request node, where the second request is used to request the relay auxiliary information, and the second request includes updated trajectory information of one or more terminal devices in the at least one terminal device.

Illustratively, the requesting node may be an application function network element or an access and mobility management function network element. The request node can acquire the track condition of each terminal device in the preset area, and then the request node can acquire whether the track information of each terminal device is updated. When the request node determines that the track information of one or more terminal devices in the preset area is updated, the request node sends a second request to the network data analysis function network element according to the updated track information, wherein the second request is used for requesting the updated relay auxiliary information of the terminal devices.

In one example, the requesting node is an application function network element. The application function network element can acquire state information of each terminal device in a preset area, wherein the state information comprises track information of the terminal devices; when determining that the track information of one or more terminal devices is changed, the application function network element requests the relay auxiliary information for the terminal devices again, so that the application function network element sends a second request to the network data analysis function network element, wherein the second request comprises new track information of the terminal devices of which the track information is changed.

In another example, the requesting node is an access and mobility management function network element. The terminal equipment in the preset area knows the track information of the terminal equipment, when the terminal equipment determines that the track information of the terminal equipment is changed, the terminal equipment sends new first registration request information to the access and mobility management function network element again, and the first registration request information comprises updated track information of the terminal equipment; the access and mobility management function network element re-requests the relay auxiliary information for the terminal device, so that the access and mobility management function network element sends a second request to the network data analysis function network element, wherein the second request comprises new track information of the terminal device with the modified track information.

In one example, the second request may further include relay capability information of the terminal device.

S405, the network data analysis function network element determines the updated relay auxiliary information of each terminal device according to the track information in the second request and the track information in the first request.

For example, after the network data analysis function network element receives the second request, the network data analysis function network element may determine, according to the previously stored trajectory information of each terminal device, that the trajectory information of one or more terminal devices has changed, and then the network data analysis function network element needs to regenerate the relay auxiliary information for the terminal device.

Therefore, the network data analysis function network element determines the relay auxiliary information of each terminal device according to the track information of the terminal device which is not subjected to track change in the preset area and the new track information of the terminal device which is subjected to track change.

When the second request further includes the relay capability information of the terminal device, the network data analysis function network element determines the relay auxiliary information of each terminal device according to the track information of the terminal device which does not have the track change, the new track information of the terminal device which has the track change, and the relay capability information of each terminal device in the preset area.

S406, the network element with network data analysis function sends the updated relay auxiliary information of each terminal device to the request node.

Illustratively, the network data analysis function network element sends the updated relay auxiliary information of each terminal device to the request node, so that the terminal devices obtain the respective relay auxiliary information from the request node; the terminal device may select relay communication or direct communication according to the updated relay auxiliary information.

For "the terminal device may perform relay communication or selection of direct communication according to the updated relay auxiliary information", refer to "the terminal device may perform relay communication or selection of direct communication according to the relay auxiliary information" in step S103 in fig. 2, which is not described again.

In this embodiment, on the basis of the above embodiment, when the trajectory information of one or more terminal devices is changed or updated, new trajectory information (which may also provide relay capability information) of the terminal device is provided to the network data analysis function network element, so that the network data analysis function network element predicts the communication environment of the terminal device in each time period based on the trajectory information (which may also have relay capability information) of each terminal device, and obtains relay auxiliary information of each terminal device; furthermore, each terminal device performs relay communication or direct communication selection in each time slot according to the respective relay auxiliary information. In the above process, the communication environment change of each terminal device in the geographic area is predicted based on the track information (which may also have relay capability information) of the terminal device in real time, so as to obtain the relay auxiliary information of each terminal device, so that each terminal device can perform subsequent relay communication or direct communication selection; it can be known that the relay assistance information feeds back a change in the communication environment of the terminal device.

On the basis of the above embodiment, after the terminal device acquires the relay auxiliary information or acquires the updated relay auxiliary information, when the terminal device determines to perform relay communication or determines to switch to the relay communication, the terminal device needs to select a suitable relay node to perform the relay communication.

In one example, the terminal device determines to adopt direct communication or relay communication according to the relay auxiliary information, for example, if the terminal device determines that the direct communication can be satisfied according to the relay auxiliary information, the terminal device does not start the relay communication; if the terminal device determines that the direct communication cannot be satisfied and an adjacent node (i.e., adjacent other terminal device) exists according to the relay auxiliary information, the terminal device is ready to switch to the relay communication.

When determining to start relay communication, the terminal device may select an appropriate relay node for relay communication in the manner shown in fig. 8, 9, or 10.

Fig. 8 is a first signaling diagram of performing relay communication by a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 8, a process of performing relay communication by a terminal device includes the following steps:

s11, the terminal device receives first discovery messages respectively broadcast by at least one other terminal device, where the first discovery messages include relay capability information of the other terminal devices.

Illustratively, the terminal device detects the first discovery message broadcast by other terminal devices in the neighborhood, i.e. other terminal devices that may act as relay nodes will broadcast the first discovery message. Wherein, the first discovery message includes but is not limited to one or more of the following: the relay capability information of other terminal equipment, the identification of other terminal equipment, the relay service code and the position of other terminal equipment. The relay capability information includes, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: the capability of direct connection with network equipment, the cache size, QoS information and mobility information.

The terminal equipment and other terminal equipment are located in a preset geographic area.

For example, as shown in fig. 8, the other terminal apparatus 1 broadcasts the first discovery message, and the other terminal apparatus 2 broadcasts the first discovery message.

And S12, the terminal equipment selects the relay node according to the relay capability information of other terminal equipment.

Illustratively, the terminal device has determined that it can switch to relay communication according to the relay auxiliary information, so that the terminal device can select an appropriate relay node according to the relay capability information broadcast by other terminal devices.

For example, the terminal UE0 determines that handover to relay communication is required, and the terminal UE0 receives the first discovery message broadcast by the terminal UE1 and the first discovery message broadcast by the terminal UE 2; the first discovery message broadcast by the terminal device UE1 includes relay capability information of the terminal device UE1, and the relay capability information of the terminal device UE1 represents that the terminal device UE1 and the network device perform direct communication, and the direct communication probability of the terminal device UE1 is 95%; the first discovery message broadcast by the terminal device UE2 includes relay capability information of the terminal device UE2, the relay capability information of the terminal device UE2 represents that the terminal device UE2 and the network device perform direct communication, and the direct communication probability of the terminal device UE2 is 75%; therefore, the terminal device UE0 determines that the probability of direct communication of the terminal device UE1 is higher according to the relay capability information of the terminal device UE1 and the relay capability information of the terminal device UE2, and then the terminal device UE0 selects the terminal device UE1 as the relay node.

And S13, the terminal equipment communicates with the relay node.

Illustratively, the terminal device establishes a connection with the selected relay node, the terminal device communicates with the relay node, and the relay node communicates with the network device, so that the terminal device completes relay communication by means of the relay node.

In the process provided in fig. 8, the terminal device may be referred to as a Monitoring UE, and the other terminal devices may be referred to as an Announcing UE.

In the embodiment, other terminal equipment with relay capability broadcasts the first discovery message of the other terminal equipment; when the terminal equipment is switched to relay communication, the terminal equipment selects a proper relay node to establish the relay communication according to the relay capability information in the first discovery message broadcast by other terminal equipment. In this embodiment, the terminal device and the other terminal devices are located in a preset geographic area. And then other terminal equipment with relay capability broadcasts own relay capability information, so that the terminal equipment needing to be switched into relay communication can find and select other terminal equipment to serve as a relay node.

Fig. 9 is a second signaling diagram of performing relay communication by a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 9, a process of performing relay communication by a terminal device includes the following steps:

and S21, the terminal equipment selects the relay node according to the relay auxiliary information.

Illustratively, after acquiring the relay assistance information or acquiring the updated relay assistance information, according to the above description of the embodiment, the terminal device determines that it is necessary to switch to the relay communication according to the relay assistance information.

Relay capability information of the neighboring terminal device is included in the relay assistance information. The relay capability information of the adjacent terminal device includes but is not limited to: the method comprises the steps of directly connecting the network equipment with the network equipment, caching size, QoS information, mobility information, identification of other terminal equipment which can be in direct connection communication with the current terminal equipment in each preset time period, and identification of other terminal equipment which cannot be in direct connection communication with the current terminal equipment in each preset time period. Therefore, the terminal equipment can select a proper relay node directly according to the relay auxiliary information.

For example, referring to the introduction of table 1, the probability of direct communication by the terminal device UE0 over the time period 9:06:00-9:06:10 is 92%; and, in time period 9:06:00-9:06:10, terminal device UE0 has 2 neighboring terminal devices, terminal device UE1, terminal device UE5, respectively; in the time period of 9:06:00-9:06:10, the "capability of direct connection with the network device" of the adjacent terminal device UE1 is "directly connectable", and the "capability of direct connection with the network device" of the adjacent terminal device UE5 is "directly connectable", so that in the time period of 9:06:00-9:06:10, direct connection communication is performed between the adjacent terminal device UE1 and the network device, and direct connection communication is performed between the adjacent terminal device UE5 and the network device. At this time, in a time period of 9:06:00-9:06:10, the terminal device UE0 determines that the probability that the terminal device UE0 performs direct communication with the network device is high; however, terminal device UE0 may perform relay communication during the previous time period 9:05:00-9:06:00, terminal device UE0 may determine to perform direct communication for a short time during time period 9:06:00-9:06:10, and terminal device UE0 may determine not to switch from relay communication to direct communication during time period 9:06:00-9:06:10, and terminal device UE0 may continue to select neighboring terminal device UE5 as a relay node for relay communication.

For example, for the terminal UE4, the relay assistance information of the terminal UE4 includes: the terminal device UE4 includes a direct communication probability at each preset time period, and relay capability information of a neighboring terminal device at each preset time period. Table 3 shows relay assistance information of the terminal UE 4.

Table 3 relay assistance information for terminal equipment UE4

As shown in table 1, the probability of direct communication by the terminal device UE4 over the time period 8:00:00-8:02:00 is 90%; in the time period 8:00:00-8:02:00, the "capability of direct connection with the network device" of the neighboring terminal device UE1 is "directly connectable", and it is known that, in the time period 8:00:00-8:02:00, direct connection communication is performed between the neighboring terminal device UE1 and the network device. At this time, in the time period 8:00:00-8:02:00, the terminal device UE4 determines that the probability that the terminal device UE4 performs direct communication with the network device is high, and even though the terminal device UE1 may serve as a relay node for the terminal device UE4, the terminal device UE4 determines that the direct communication is continuously maintained without switching to the relay communication in the time period 8:00:00-8:02: 00.

Then, the probability of direct communication of the terminal equipment UE4 in the time period 8:02:000-8:05:00 is 20%; in addition, in time period 8:02:000-8:05:00, terminal equipment UE4 has 3 neighboring terminal equipments, which are terminal equipment UE1, terminal equipment UE2 and terminal equipment UE 3; in the time period of 8:02:000-8:05:00, the "capability of direct connection with the network device" of the adjacent terminal device UE1 is "directly connectable", the "capability of direct connection with the network device" of the adjacent terminal device UE2 is "directly connectable", the "capability of direct connection with the network device" of the adjacent terminal device UE3 is "directly non-connectable", it is known that, in the time period of 8:02:000-8:05:00, direct connection communication is performed between the adjacent terminal device UE1 and the network device, direct connection communication is performed between the adjacent terminal device UE2 and the network device, and direct connection communication cannot be performed between the adjacent terminal device UE3 and the network device. At this time, in a time period of 8:02:000 to 8:05:00, the terminal device UE4 determines that the probability of the terminal device UE4 performing direct communication with the network device is low, the terminal device UE4 is in a state where the probability of the direct communication is low for a long time, and then the terminal device UE4 determines to select an adjacent terminal device as a relay node to perform relay communication. At this time, the terminal device UE4 determines that the terminal device UE1 and the terminal device UE2 may serve as alternative relay nodes, and the relay capability information of the terminal device UE1 represents that the probability of direct communication of the terminal device UE1 is 90%, and the relay capability information of the terminal device UE2 represents that the probability of direct communication of the terminal device UE2 is 70%; the terminal device UE4 determines that the probability of direct communication of the terminal device UE1 is higher, and then the terminal device UE4 selects the terminal device UE1 as a relay node.

And S22, the terminal equipment communicates with the relay node.

In this embodiment, when the terminal device is switched to the relay communication, the terminal device may directly select another suitable terminal device as the relay node to establish the relay communication according to the obtained relay auxiliary information or the updated relay auxiliary information. In this embodiment, the terminal device and the other terminal devices are located in a preset geographic area. The terminal equipment directly selects the relay node based on the relay auxiliary information without broadcasting information by other terminal equipment or broadcasting information by the terminal equipment, so that the signaling overhead is saved; and the relay communication can be established conveniently and rapidly by the terminal equipment.

Fig. 10 is a third signaling diagram of performing relay communication by a terminal device according to the embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 10, a process of performing relay communication by a terminal device includes the following steps:

s31, the terminal device broadcasts a second discovery message, where the second discovery message includes relay demand information of the terminal device, the relay demand information of the terminal device is used to determine whether the terminal device meets a demand of a relay node, and the relay node is a device in at least one other terminal device.

Illustratively, the terminal device broadcasts the second discovery message, i.e. the terminal device that needs to switch to relay communication broadcasts the second discovery message. Wherein, the second discovery message includes but is not limited to one or more of the following: the relay requirement information of the terminal equipment, the identification of the terminal equipment, the relay service code and the position of the terminal equipment. The relay demand information includes, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: cache size, QoS information, communication time, communication frequency, mobility information, and direct connection capability with a network device.

Therefore, other terminal devices adjacent to the terminal device can receive the first discovery message, and the other terminal devices determine whether to match with the other terminal devices according to the relay demand information in the first discovery message. The terminal equipment and other terminal equipment are located in a preset geographic area. For example, as shown in fig. 10, the other terminal device 1 may receive the first discovery message, and the other terminal device 2 may receive the first discovery message.

And S32, the terminal equipment receives a response message sent by the relay node, wherein the response message is used for indicating that the communication connection is established with the relay node.

Illustratively, when the other terminal device determines to match with the other terminal device itself according to the relay demand information in the first discovery message, the other terminal device broadcasts the response message. The terminal device may receive the response message and select an appropriate relay node based on the response message. As shown in fig. 10, the other terminal device 1 feeds back a response message, and the other terminal device 2 feeds back a response message.

And S33, the terminal equipment communicates with the relay node.

In the process provided in fig. 10, the terminal device may be referred to as discover UE, and the other terminal devices may be referred to as discover UE.

In this embodiment, the terminal device that needs to switch to relay communication broadcasts its second discovery message; after receiving the second message, the other terminal equipment determines whether the relay service can be provided for the terminal equipment, and then the other terminal equipment broadcasts a response message; and the terminal equipment selects a proper relay node to establish relay communication according to the response message. In this embodiment, the terminal device and other terminal devices are located in a preset geographic area. The terminal equipment which needs to be switched into relay communication broadcasts own relay demand information, so that other terminal equipment with relay capability can conveniently determine whether to provide relay service for the terminal equipment; the terminal equipment which needs to be switched into relay communication is convenient to discover and select other terminal equipment to serve as the relay node.

Fig. 11 is a schematic flowchart of another communication selection method based on relay communication and direct communication according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 11, the method is applied to an application function network element, and the method includes the following steps:

s501, sending a first request to a network element with network data analysis function, where the first request is used to request relay auxiliary information, the first request includes track information of each terminal device in at least one terminal device in a preset area, and the track information of each terminal device is used to determine the relay auxiliary information.

S502, receiving relay auxiliary information of each terminal device, which is sent by a network data analysis function network element, wherein the relay auxiliary information is used for the terminal device to select relay communication or direct communication.

S503, sending the relay assistance information of each terminal device to each terminal device.

In one example, the first request further includes: relay capability information of each of the at least one terminal device.

In one example, the relay capability information includes one or more of the following: the network device direct connection capability, the cache size, the QoS information and the mobility information.

In this embodiment, the steps of this embodiment may refer to the processes of the above embodiments, and the technical processes and technical effects are the same and will not be described again.

Fig. 12 is a flowchart of another communication selection method based on relay communication and direct communication according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 12, the method is applied to an access and mobility management function network element, and the method includes the following steps:

s601, sending a first request to a network element with network data analysis function, where the first request is used to request relay auxiliary information, the first request includes track information of a terminal device in a preset area, and the track information is used to determine the relay auxiliary information.

S602, receiving relay auxiliary information of the terminal equipment, which is sent by a network data analysis function network element, wherein the relay auxiliary information is used for the terminal equipment to select relay communication or direct communication.

And S603, sending the relay auxiliary information of the terminal equipment to the terminal equipment.

In one example, the method can further comprise the following steps: before sending the first request to the network data analysis function network element, the method further includes: receiving first registration request information sent by terminal equipment, wherein the first registration request information comprises track information of the terminal equipment, and the first registration request information is used for requesting relay auxiliary information of the terminal equipment.

In one example, the method can further comprise the following steps: before sending the first request to the network data analysis function network element, the method further includes: receiving second registration request information sent by at least one other terminal device in a preset area, wherein the second registration request information comprises track information of the other terminal device and is used for requesting relay auxiliary information of the other terminal device; the first request also comprises track information of other terminal devices.

In one example, the first request further includes: relay capability information of the terminal device.

In an example, the relay auxiliary information further includes relay capability information of a neighboring terminal device, where the neighboring terminal device is a terminal device in a preset area.

Fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device may be a network element with a network data analysis function, or may be a communication device applied inside the network element with the network data analysis function, and may implement the related communication selection method based on relay communication and direct communication shown in any one of fig. 3, 5 to 7, and the above optional embodiments. As shown in fig. 13, the communication device 130 includes:

the receiving unit 1310 is configured to receive a first request sent by a requesting node, where the first request is used to request relay auxiliary information, and the first request includes track information of each terminal device in at least one terminal device in a preset area. At this time, the receiving unit 1310 may perform step S101 shown in fig. 3, or the receiving unit 1310 may perform step S201 shown in fig. 5, or the receiving unit 1310 may perform step S303 shown in fig. 6, or the receiving unit 1310 may perform step S401 shown in fig. 7.

The processing unit 1320 is configured to determine the relay assistance information according to the trajectory information of each terminal device. At this time, the processing unit 1320 may perform step S102 shown in fig. 3, or the processing unit 1320 may perform step S202 shown in fig. 5, or the processing unit 1320 may perform step S304 shown in fig. 6, or the processing unit 1320 may perform step S402 shown in fig. 7.

A sending unit 1330, configured to send relay assistance information of each terminal device to the requesting node, where the relay assistance information is used for the terminal device to select relay communication or direct communication. At this time, the transmitting unit 1330 may perform step S103 shown in fig. 3, or the transmitting unit 1330 may perform step S203 shown in fig. 5, or the transmitting unit 1330 may perform step S305 shown in fig. 6, or the transmitting unit 1330 may perform step S403 shown in fig. 7.

In one example, the requesting node is an application function network element.

In one example, the requesting node is an access and mobility management function network element.

In an example, the receiving unit 1310 is further configured to receive a second request sent by the requesting node, where the second request is used to request the relay assistance information, and the second request includes updated trajectory information of one or more terminal devices of the at least one terminal device. At this time, the receiving unit 1310 may perform step S404 shown in fig. 7.

The processing unit 1320 is further configured to determine updated relay auxiliary information of each terminal device according to the trajectory information in the second request and the trajectory information in the first request. At this time, the processing unit 1320 may perform step S405 illustrated in fig. 7.

The sending unit 1330 is further configured to send the updated relay assistance information of each terminal device to the requesting node. At this time, the transmitting unit 1330 may perform step S406 shown in fig. 7.

It should be understood that the communication device in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented by software, for example, a computer program or instructions having the above-mentioned functions, and the corresponding computer program or instructions may be stored in a memory inside the terminal, and the corresponding computer program or instructions inside the memory may be read by the processor to implement the above-mentioned functions. Alternatively, the communication device in the embodiment of the present application may also be implemented by hardware. The receiving unit 1310 is a receiver, the processing unit 1320 is a processor, and the transmitting unit 1330 is a transmitter. The transmitting unit 1330 may be the same physical entity as or different from the receiving unit 1310 of the terminal. When the same physical entity, they may be collectively referred to as a transceiver unit or transceiver. Alternatively, the communication device in the embodiments of the present application may also be implemented by a combination of a processor and a software module.

Fig. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device may be an application function network element, or a communication device applied inside the application function network element, and may implement the relay communication and direct communication based communication selection method shown in any one of fig. 3, fig. 5 to fig. 7, and fig. 11, and the above optional embodiments. As shown in fig. 14, the communication device 140 includes:

a sending unit 1410, configured to send a first request to a network element having a network data analysis function, where the first request is used to request relay assistance information, and the first request includes track information of each terminal device in at least one terminal device in a preset area, and the track information of each terminal device is used to determine the relay assistance information. At this time, the transmission unit 1410 may perform step S101 shown in fig. 3, or the transmission unit 1410 may perform step S201 shown in fig. 5, or the transmission unit 1410 may perform step S401 shown in fig. 7, or the transmission unit 1410 may perform step S501 shown in fig. 11.

A receiving unit 1420, configured to receive relay auxiliary information of each terminal device sent by a network element having a network data analysis function, where the relay auxiliary information is used for the terminal device to select relay communication or direct communication. At this time, the receiving unit 1420 may perform step S103 shown in fig. 3, or the receiving unit 1420 may perform step S203 shown in fig. 5, or the receiving unit 1420 may perform step S403 shown in fig. 7. Alternatively, the receiving unit 1420 may perform step S502 shown in fig. 11.

The sending unit 1410 is further configured to send the relay assistance information of each terminal device to each terminal device. At this time, the transmission unit 1410 may perform step S503 shown in fig. 11, or the transmission unit 1410 may perform step S204 shown in fig. 5.

The communication device 140 may further include a processing unit 1430.

It should be understood that the communication device in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented by software, for example, a computer program or instructions having the above-mentioned functions, and the corresponding computer program or instructions may be stored in a memory inside the terminal, and the corresponding computer program or instructions inside the memory may be read by the processor to implement the above-mentioned functions. Alternatively, the communication device in the embodiment of the present application may also be implemented by hardware. Wherein the receiving unit 1420 is a receiver, the processing unit 1430 is a processor, and the transmitting unit 1410 is a transmitter. The transmitting unit 1410 may be the same physical entity as or different from the receiving unit 1420 of the terminal. When the same physical entity, they may be collectively referred to as a transceiver unit or transceiver. Alternatively, the communication device in the embodiments of the present application may also be implemented by a combination of a processor and a software module.

Fig. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device may be an access and mobility management function network element, or may be a communication device applied inside the access and mobility management function network element, and may implement the relay communication and direct communication based communication selection method shown in any one of fig. 3, fig. 5 to fig. 7, and fig. 12, and the above optional embodiments. As shown in fig. 15, the communication device 150 includes:

a sending unit 1510, configured to send a first request to a network element having a network data analysis function, where the first request is used to request relay auxiliary information, and the first request includes track information of a terminal device in a preset area, and the track information is used to determine the relay auxiliary information. At this time, the transmission unit 1510 may perform step S101 shown in fig. 3, or the transmission unit 1510 may perform step S303 shown in fig. 6, or the transmission unit 1510 may perform step S401 shown in fig. 7, or the transmission unit 1510 may perform step S601 shown in fig. 12.

A receiving unit 1520, configured to receive relay auxiliary information of the terminal device sent by the network data analysis functional network element, where the relay auxiliary information is used for the terminal device to select relay communication or direct communication. At this time, the receiving unit 1520 may perform step S103 shown in fig. 3, or the receiving unit 1520 may perform step S305 shown in fig. 6, or the receiving unit 1520 may perform step S403 shown in fig. 7, or the receiving unit 1520 may perform step S602 shown in fig. 12.

The sending unit 1510 is further configured to send the relay assistance information of the terminal device to the terminal device. At this time, the transmission unit 1510 may perform step S603 shown in fig. 12, or the transmission unit 1510 may perform step S206 shown in fig. 6.

The communication device 150 may further include a processing unit 1530.

In an example, the receiving unit 1520 is further configured to receive first registration request information sent by the terminal device before the sending unit 1510 sends the first request to the network data analysis function network element, where the first registration request information includes track information of the terminal device, and the first registration request information is used to request relay auxiliary information of the terminal device. At this time, the receiving unit 1520 may perform step S301 illustrated in fig. 6.

In an example, the receiving unit 1520 is further configured to receive, before the sending unit 1510 sends the first request to the network data analysis function network element, second registration request information sent by at least one other terminal device in the preset area, where the second registration request information includes track information of the other terminal device, and the second registration request information is used to request relay auxiliary information of the other terminal device; the first request also comprises track information of other terminal devices. At this time, the receiving unit 1520 may perform step S302 illustrated in fig. 6.

It should be understood that the communication device in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented by software, for example, a computer program or instructions having the above-mentioned functions, and the corresponding computer program or instructions may be stored in a memory inside the terminal, and the corresponding computer program or instructions inside the memory may be read by the processor to implement the above-mentioned functions. Alternatively, the communication device in the embodiment of the present application may also be implemented by hardware. The receiving unit 1520 is a receiver, the processing unit 1530 is a processor, and the transmitting unit 1510 is a transmitter. The transmitting unit 1510 may be the same physical entity as or different from the receiving unit 1520 of the terminal. When the same physical entity, they may be collectively referred to as a transceiver unit or transceiver. Alternatively, the communication device in the embodiments of the present application may also be implemented by a combination of a processor and a software module.

Fig. 16 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication apparatus may be the communication apparatus in any of the above embodiments, or a network data analysis function network element, or an application function network element, or an access and mobility management function network element, or a terminal device, or other terminal devices. And the methods shown in fig. 3, 5-7, 8-10, 11-12, as well as the various alternative embodiments described above, may be implemented. As shown in fig. 16, the communication device 160 includes: a processor 1601, a memory 1602 coupled with the processor 1601. It should be understood that although only one processor and one memory are shown in FIG. 16. The communication device 1601 may include other numbers of processors and memories.

The memory 1602 is used for storing computer programs or computer instructions. These computer programs or instructions may be divided into two categories depending on the function. One type of computer program or instructions, when executed by the processor 1601, causes the communication apparatus 160 to implement the steps of the network data analysis function network element, the steps of the application function network element, the steps of the access and mobility management function network element, or the steps of the terminal device in any method according to the embodiment of the present invention. Such computer programs or instructions may be denoted as terminal function programs. For example, the terminal function program may include program codes for implementing the methods shown in fig. 3, fig. 5 to fig. 7, fig. 8 to fig. 10, and fig. 11 to fig. 12.

Further, the communication device 160 may further include: a connection line 1600, a transmitting circuit 1603, a receiving circuit 1604, an antenna 1605, and an input/output (I/O) interface 1606. Wherein the transmit circuitry and receive circuitry may be coupled to an antenna for wireless connection with other communication devices. The transmitting circuit and the receiving circuit can also be integrated into a transceiver, and the antenna can be a radio frequency antenna supporting multiple frequencies. The I/O interface provides the possibility of interaction with other communication devices or users. For example, for a terminal device, the I/O interface may be a screen, a keyboard, a microphone, a speaker, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface, and the like. The various components within the communications device 160 may be coupled together by various connections, such as a bus system that may include a power bus, a control bus, a status signal bus, etc., in addition to a data bus. But for the sake of clarity the various buses are collectively referred to herein as a bus system.

It is understood that the processor 1601 and the memory 1602 described above may be alternatively implemented by a processing unit and a storage unit, wherein the processing unit and the storage unit may be implemented by codes having corresponding functions. A storage unit for storing program instructions; a processing unit for executing the program instructions in the storage unit to implement the methods shown in fig. 3, fig. 5-fig. 7, fig. 8-fig. 10, fig. 11-fig. 12, and the above-mentioned alternative embodiments.

Fig. 17 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication apparatus may be the communication apparatus in any of the above embodiments, or a network data analysis function network element, or an application function network element, or an access and mobility management function network element, or a terminal device, or another terminal device. And the methods shown in fig. 3, 5-7, 8-10, 11-12, as well as the various alternative embodiments described above, may be implemented. As shown in fig. 17, the communication device 170 includes: a processor 1701, and an interface circuit 1702 coupled to the processor 1701. It should be understood that although only one processor and one interface circuit are shown in fig. 17. The communication device 170 may include other numbers of processors and interface circuits.

The interface circuit 1702 is used to communicate with other components of other devices, such as a memory or other processor, among others. The processor 1701 is used for signal interaction with other components through the interface circuit 1702. The interface circuit 1702 may be an input/output interface of the processor 1701. The interface circuit 1702 receives code instructions and transmits them to the processor 1701.

For example, the processor 1701 reads computer programs or instructions in the memory coupled thereto through the interface circuit 1702 and decodes and executes the computer programs or instructions. It will be appreciated that these computer programs or instructions may include the functional programs described above, as well as the functional programs described above for use with the communication device. When decoded and executed by the processor 1701, the corresponding functional program may cause any of the communication devices described above to implement aspects of any of the methods provided by the embodiments of the present application.

Alternatively, these terminal function programs are stored in a memory external to the communication device 170. When the terminal function program is decoded and executed by the processor 1701, a part or all of the contents of the function program are temporarily stored in the memory.

Optionally, these functional programs are stored in memory within the communications device 170. When the memory inside the communication apparatus 170 stores the function program, the communication apparatus 170 may be configured in the network data analysis function network element according to the embodiment of the present invention, or in the application function network element according to the embodiment of the present invention, in the access and mobility management function network element according to the embodiment of the present invention, or in the terminal device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Alternatively, part of the contents of these function programs are stored in a memory outside the communication device 170, and the other part of the contents of these terminal function programs are stored in a memory inside the communication device 170.

It should be understood that the communication devices shown in any of fig. 13-17 may be combined with each other and that the communication devices shown in any of fig. 13-17 and the design details associated with each of the alternative embodiments may be referenced to each other. Reference may also be made to the methods illustrated in fig. 3, 5-7, 8-10, 11-12 and the associated design details of the various alternative embodiments described above. And will not be repeated here.

An embodiment of the present application provides a communication system including any one of the communication apparatuses provided in fig. 13 and any one of the communication apparatuses provided in fig. 14. Alternatively, the communication system includes any one of the communication devices provided in fig. 13 and any one of the communication devices provided in fig. 15, or the communication system includes any one of the communication devices provided in fig. 13, any one of the communication devices provided in fig. 14, and any one of the communication devices provided in fig. 15.

An embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which program codes are stored, and when the program codes are executed by a processor of a communication device, the method is implemented as any one of fig. 3, fig. 5 to fig. 7, fig. 8 to fig. 10, and fig. 11 to fig. 12.

The embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, and the computer program product includes program codes, which when executed by a processor in a terminal, implement any one of the methods as shown in fig. 3, fig. 5 to fig. 7, fig. 8 to fig. 10, and fig. 11 to fig. 12.

The terms "first," "second," "third," "fourth," and the like in the embodiments and figures are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order. Furthermore, the terms "comprises" and "comprising," as well as any variations thereof, are intended to refer to a non-exclusive inclusion, such as a list of steps or elements. A method, system, article, or apparatus is not necessarily limited to only those steps or elements that are literally set forth, but may include other steps or elements not expressly set forth or inherent to such process, system, article, or apparatus.

It is to be understood that, in the present application, "at least one" means one or more, "a plurality" means two or more. "and/or" for describing an association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there may be three relationships, e.g., "a and/or B" may indicate: only A, only B and both A and B are present, wherein A and B may be singular or plural. The character "/" generally indicates that the former and latter associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "at least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including single item(s) or any combination of plural items. For example, at least one item(s) of a, b or c, may represent: a, b, c, "a and b", "a and c", "b and c", or "a and b and c", wherein a, b, c may be single or plural.

It should be understood that, in the present application, the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes do not mean the execution sequence, and the execution sequence of each process should be determined by its function and inherent logic, and should not constitute any limitation to the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application. The term "coupled," as used herein to convey the intercommunication or interaction between different components, may include directly connected or indirectly connected through other components.

In the above-described embodiments of the present application, 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 instructions. When loaded and executed on a computer, cause the processes or functions described in accordance with the embodiments of the application to occur, in whole or in part. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a network of computers, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another, for example, from one website site, computer, server, or data center to another website site, computer, server, or data center by wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optics, etc.) or wireless (e.g., infrared, radio, microwave, etc.). 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, data center, etc., that comprises an integration of one or more available media. The usable medium may be magnetic media, such as floppy disks, hard disks, and magnetic tape; may be an optical medium such as a DVD; or a semiconductor medium such as a Solid State Disk (SSD) or the like.

In the embodiments of the present application, the memory refers to a device or a circuit having data or information storage capability, and can provide instructions and data to the processor. The Memory includes a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a non-volatile Random Access Memory (NVRAM), a programmable Read-Only Memory (prom) or an electrically erasable programmable Memory, a register, and the like.

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

Claims

1. A communication selection method based on relay communication and direct communication is characterized in that the method is applied to a network data analysis function network element, and the method comprises the following steps:

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the relay assistance information includes a probability of direct connection communication of the terminal device over at least one preset time period, and the preset time period is a running time of the terminal device.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the requesting node is an application function network element.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the requesting node is an access and mobility management function network element.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, further comprising:

receiving a second request sent by a requesting node, wherein the second request is used for requesting relay auxiliary information, and the second request includes updated track information of one or more terminal devices in the at least one terminal device;

determining updated relay auxiliary information of each terminal device according to the track information in the second request and the track information in the first request;

and sending the updated relay auxiliary information of each terminal device to the request node.

6. The method according to any of claims 1-5, wherein the first request further comprises: relay capability information of each of the at least one terminal device.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the relay capability information comprises one or more of the following: the network device direct connection capability, the cache size, the QoS information and the mobility information.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the relay capability information of a neighboring terminal device is further included in the relay assistance information of each terminal device, and the neighboring terminal device is a device of the at least one terminal device.

9. A communication selection method based on relay communication and direct communication is characterized in that the method is applied to an application function network element, and the method comprises the following steps:

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the relay assistance information includes a probability of direct connection communication of the terminal device over at least one preset time period, and the preset time period is a running time of the terminal device.

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the first request further comprises: relay capability information of each of the at least one terminal device.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the relay capability information comprises one or more of the following: the network device direct connection capability, the cache size, the QoS information and the mobility information.

13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the relay assistance information of each terminal device further includes the relay capability information of neighboring terminal devices, and the neighboring terminal devices are devices of the at least one terminal device.

14. A communication selection method based on relay communication and direct communication is characterized in that the method is applied to an access and mobility management function network element, and the method comprises the following steps:

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the relay assistance information includes a probability of direct connection communication of the terminal device over at least one preset time period, and the preset time period is a running time of the terminal device.

16. The method according to claim 14 or 15, wherein before said sending the first request to the network data analysis function network element, further comprising:

receiving first registration request information sent by the terminal device, wherein the first registration request information includes track information of the terminal device, and the first registration request information is used for requesting relay auxiliary information of the terminal device.

17. The method according to any of claims 14-16, further comprising, before said sending the first request to the network data analysis function network element:

receiving second registration request information sent by at least one other terminal device in the preset area, wherein the second registration request information comprises track information of the other terminal device, and the second registration request information is used for requesting relay auxiliary information of the other terminal device;

wherein, the first request further includes track information of the other terminal devices.

18. The method according to any of claims 14-17, wherein the first request further comprises: relay capability information of the terminal device.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the relay capability information comprises one or more of the following: the network device direct connection capability, the cache size, the QoS information and the mobility information.

20. The method according to claim 18 or 19, wherein the relay assistance information further includes the relay capability information of a neighboring terminal device, and the neighboring terminal device is a terminal device in the preset area.

21. A communication apparatus, wherein the communication apparatus is applied to a network data analysis function network element, and the apparatus comprises:

22. A communication apparatus, wherein the apparatus is applied to an application function network element, and wherein the apparatus comprises:

a receiving unit, configured to receive the relay auxiliary information of each terminal device sent by the network data analysis functional network element, where the relay auxiliary information is used for the terminal device to select relay communication or direct communication;

23. A communications apparatus, wherein the apparatus is applied to an access and mobility management function network element, the apparatus comprising:

24. A communication apparatus, characterized in that the apparatus comprises a processor and a memory, in which a computer program is stored, which processor executes the computer program stored in the memory to cause the apparatus to perform the method according to any of the claims 1-8, or to perform the method according to any of the claims 9-13, or to perform the method according to any of the claims 14-20.

25. A communications apparatus, comprising: a processor and an interface circuit;

the processor for executing the code instructions to perform the method of any one of claims 1-8, or to perform the method of any one of claims 9-13, or to perform the method of any one of claims 14-20.

26. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause the method of any of claims 1-8, or the method of any of claims 9-13, or the method of any of claims 14-20 to be implemented.