CN114143871B

CN114143871B - Network connection method, network disconnection method and communication device

Info

Publication number: CN114143871B
Application number: CN202010923755.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 窦凤辉; 金辉
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-09-04
Filing date: 2020-09-04
Publication date: 2023-04-04
Anticipated expiration: 2040-09-04
Also published as: CN114143871A; WO2022048394A1

Abstract

The embodiment of the application provides a network connection method, a network disconnection method and a communication device. The method comprises the following steps: the relay UE receives a first message or data from the remote UE, wherein the first message is used for requesting to be connected to the network equipment through the relay UE, and the data is data to be sent to the network equipment; and the relay UE sends a second message to the network equipment when the relay UE is in the non-allowed area, wherein the second message is used for requesting to establish connection between the relay UE and the network equipment. The second message may be a registration request message, or may also be a service request message carrying exemption information or relay indication information. Based on the method, the relay UE can still enter a connected state under the condition of being limited by a non-allowed area, and the relay service is provided for the remote UE. Therefore, the influence on the communication of the remote UE can be avoided.

Description

Network connection method, network disconnection method and communication device

Technical Field

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

Background

On a device-to-device (D2D) basis, a User Equipment (UE) may access a network device in a relay (relay) manner and perform data transmission with the network device. The user equipment serving as the Relay may be referred to as Relay user equipment (Relay UE), and the UE accessing the network equipment by using the Relay UE may be referred to as remote user equipment (remote UE).

In some communication systems, certain restrictions may be placed on the service area of the UE. When the UE is in certain areas, it cannot initiate communication on its own. For example, in the fifth generation (5th generation, 5g) mobile communication system, a Service Area Restriction (Service Area Restriction) is introduced to the UE. The service area limit defines an allowed area (allowed area) and a non-allowed area (non-allowed area). If the UE is in the allowed area, the message and data sent by the UE to the network equipment are not limited, and the UE can initiate communication to the network equipment; if the UE is in the non-allowed region, the message sent by the UE to the network device is limited to a certain extent (for example, the UE may initiate a registration procedure to the network, but cannot initiate other procedures, such as a service request (service request) procedure or a Session Management (SM) procedure), and therefore the UE cannot send data to the network either.

In some scenarios, the relay UE is in a non-allowed area but the far-end UE is in an allowed area. Since the Relay UE is restricted from accessing the network, the Relay UE may not provide the Relay service for the remote UE, so that the remote UE may not receive and transmit data, and normal communication of the remote UE is affected.

It is therefore desirable to provide a method of reducing the impact on normal communication of a remote UE as much as possible in the case where a relay UE is in a non-allowed area.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a network connection method, a network disconnection method and a communication device, so that the influence on the normal communication of remote UE is reduced as much as possible under the condition that relay UE is in a charge-allowed area.

In a first aspect, a network connection method is provided, which may be performed by a relay UE, for example, or may be performed by a component (e.g., a chip system, etc.) configured in the relay UE. This is not a limitation of the present application.

Specifically, the method comprises the following steps: the method comprises the steps that relay User Equipment (UE) receives a first message or data from remote UE, wherein the first message is used for requesting to be connected to network equipment through the relay UE, and the data is data to be sent to the network equipment; and the relay UE sends a second message to the network equipment under the condition that the relay UE is in a non-allowed area, wherein the second message is used for requesting to establish connection between the relay UE and the network equipment.

Based on the above technical solution, when the relay UE is used as a relay, even if the relay UE cannot initiate communication due to the limitation of the non-allowed area, the relay UE may still send the second message to the network device when the remote UE has a service requirement, enter and maintain the connection state by requesting to establish a connection with the network device, and provide a relay service for the remote UE. Therefore, the influence on the normal communication of the remote UE can be reduced, and the improvement of user experience is facilitated.

With reference to the first aspect, in some possible implementations, the second message is used to request establishment of a connection between the relay UE and the network device, and includes: the second message is used for requesting the network equipment to execute a process of entering the relay UE into a connected state.

With reference to the first aspect, in some possible implementation manners, the second message includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate: the relay UE provides service for the remote UE.

It should be understood that the remote UE described herein may be the remote UE mentioned in this embodiment, or may be other remote UEs, which is not limited in this application. In addition, the service provided for the remote UE is a relay service.

The second message carries the first indication information, which can facilitate the network device to judge whether to accept the request for establishing the connection between the relay UE and the network device.

With reference to the first aspect, in some possible implementation manners, the second message is a service request message, where the service request message includes the first indication information, and the first indication information is used to request the network device to accept the service request message in the non-allowed area.

It should be understood that the first indication information is used to request the network device to accept the service request message in the non-allowed area, i.e. to request to release the limitation of the relay UE in the non-allowed area.

In the current technology, a UE in a non-allowed area is restricted from initiating a service request procedure. However, in this embodiment, the service request message includes the first indication information to request to release the restriction of the relay UE in the non-allowed region, so that the relay UE can also initiate a service request procedure in the non-allowed region, enter a connected state, and provide the relay service for the remote UE.

With reference to the first aspect, in some possible implementation manners, the second message is a registration request message, where the registration request message includes the first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate that the relay UE is used as a relay.

In the current technology, the relay UE may initiate a service request procedure without initiating a registration procedure upon receiving a request of the remote UE to connect to the network device through the relay UE. In this embodiment, the relay UE in the non-allowed area enters the connected state by initiating the registration procedure and remains in the connected state, so that the relay UE can provide the relay service for the remote UE. And the relay UE in the allowed area can still continue the existing service request flow to provide the relay service for the remote UE. And therefore, the existing protocol is less modified.

With reference to the first aspect, in some possible implementations, the method further includes: the relay UE sends relay capability information to the network equipment, wherein the relay capability information is used for indicating that the relay UE can be used as a relay.

The relay capability information may be used by the network device to determine whether the relay UE has the capability to act as a relay, and then determine whether to perform an operation of bringing the relay UE into a connected state.

In a second aspect, a network connection method is provided, which may be performed by a network device, for example, or may be performed by a component (e.g., a chip, a system-on-chip, etc.) configured in the network device. This is not a limitation of the present application.

Specifically, the method comprises the following steps: the network equipment receives a second message from the relay user equipment UE; the second message is a message sent by the relay UE based on a first message or data received from a remote UE when the relay UE is in a non-allowed area, the first message is used for requesting to connect to the network equipment through the relay UE, and the data is data to be sent to the network equipment; the second message is used for requesting to establish connection between the relay UE and the network equipment; the network equipment establishes connection with the relay UE based on the second message.

Based on the above technical solution, when the relay UE is used as a relay, even though the relay UE cannot initiate communication due to the limitation of the non-allowed area, the relay UE may still send the second message to the network device when the remote UE has a service requirement, and establish a connection with the network device by requesting. The network device may perform an operation of entering and maintaining the relay UE in a connected state based on the second message. Therefore, the relay UE can continue to provide the relay service for the remote UE, so that the influence on the normal communication of the remote UE can be reduced, and the user experience can be improved.

With reference to the second aspect, in some possible implementations, the establishing, by the network device, a connection with the relay UE based on the second message includes: the network equipment performs an operation of bringing the relay UE into a connected state based on the second message.

With reference to the second aspect, in some possible implementation manners, the second message includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate: the relay UE provides service for the remote UE.

The second message carries the first indication information, which can facilitate the network device to determine whether to accept the request for establishing the connection between the relay UE and the network device.

With reference to the second aspect, in some possible implementation manners, the second message is a service request message, where the service request message includes the first indication information, and the first indication information is used to request the network device to accept the service request message in the non-allowed area.

Further optionally, the method further comprises: the network equipment receives the service request message based on the first indication information.

With reference to the second aspect, in some possible implementation manners, the second message is a registration request message, where the registration request message includes the first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate that the relay UE is used as a relay.

Further optionally, the method further comprises: and the network equipment maintains the connection state of the UE after the registration process of the relay UE based on the first indication information.

In the current technology, the relay UE may initiate a service request procedure without initiating a registration procedure when receiving a request of a remote UE to connect to the network device through the relay UE. In this embodiment, the relay UE in the non-allowed area enters the connected state by initiating the registration procedure and remains in the connected state, so as to provide the relay service for the remote UE. And the relay UE in the allowed area can still continue the existing service request flow to provide the relay service for the remote UE. And therefore, the existing protocol is less modified.

With reference to the second aspect, in some possible implementations, the method further includes: receiving relay capability information from the relay UE to the network device, the relay capability information indicating that the relay UE is capable of being used as a relay.

Further optionally, the network device establishes a connection with the relay UE based on the second message, including: the network equipment determines whether the relay UE can be used as a relay based on the relay capability information under the condition of receiving the second message; the network equipment establishes connection with the relay UE under the condition that the relay UE is determined to be capable of being used as a relay.

The relay capability information is used to indicate whether the UE is capable of serving as a relay, i.e. whether the UE is relay capable. The relay capability information may be used by the network device to determine whether the relay UE has the capability to act as a relay, and thus to determine to establish a connection with the relay UE. The network device may receive a request for the relay UE to establish a connection with the network device when the relay UE has relay capability; the request to establish the connection with the network device is denied to the relay UE when the relay UE does not have relay capability.

With reference to the first aspect or the second aspect, in some possible implementations, the first message includes: the remote UE requests a request message for connecting to the network equipment; or, the remote UE requests a request message for establishing direct communication with the relay UE.

Here, the request message for the remote UE to connect to the network device may be understood as a request message for indirect communication between the remote UE and the network device. The request message for the remote UE to establish direct communication with the relay UE may be understood as a request message for establishing a PC5 connection between the remote UE and the relay UE. The application does not limit the specific signaling names and forms of the first message.

In a third aspect, a method for network reconnection is provided. The method may be performed, for example, by the relay UE, or may be performed by a component (e.g., a chip, a system-on-chip, etc.) configured in the relay UE. This is not a limitation of the present application.

Specifically, the method comprises the following steps: the relay UE provides relay service connected to the network equipment for the remote UE; and the relay UE sends a disconnection request message to the remote UE under the condition that the relay UE is in a non-allowed area, wherein the disconnection request message is used for requesting to disconnect the connection between the relay UE and the remote UE.

Based on the technical scheme, when the relay UE provides the relay service for the remote UE, once the communication cannot be initiated due to the limitation of the non-allowed area, the relay UE can actively initiate a connection removal request message to the remote UE so as to trigger the remote UE to take corresponding measures, thereby reducing the influence on the normal communication of the remote UE.

With reference to the third aspect, in some possible implementations, the method further includes: the relay UE receives a disconnection request response message from the remote UE.

Thereby, the PC5 connection between the remote UE and the relay UE is disconnected. The relay UE no longer provides relay service for the remote UE.

In a fourth aspect, a method of network connectivity is provided. The method may be performed, for example, by the remote UE, or may be performed by a component (e.g., a chip system, etc.) configured in the remote UE. This is not a limitation of the present application.

Specifically, the method comprises the following steps: a remote UE receives a connection disconnection request message from a relay UE, wherein the remote UE is a UE which is connected to network equipment based on relay service of the relay UE, and the connection disconnection request message is used for requesting to disconnect the connection between the relay UE and the remote UE; and the remote UE performs equipment reselection based on the disconnection request message to determine a new relay UE; or the remote UE executes a path switching process from a PC5 interface to a Uu interface so as to communicate through the Uu interface; the PC5 interface is an interface for direct communication between the remote UE and the relay UE, and the Uu interface is an interface for direct communication between the remote UE and a radio access network device.

Based on the above technical solution, when the relay UE provides the relay service for the remote UE, once the communication cannot be initiated due to the limitation of the non-allowed area, the relay UE may actively initiate a connection release request message to the remote UE, so as to trigger the remote UE to perform a device discovery or path switching procedure, so as to maintain normal communication. Therefore, even if the relay UE enters the non-allowed area, the relay UE can quickly notify the remote UE, so that the remote UE is not affected by the limitation of relay UE communication, and the influence on the normal communication of the remote UE is reduced as much as possible.

With reference to the third aspect or the fourth aspect, in some possible implementations, a cause value is carried in the detach request message, and the cause value is used to indicate that the relay UE is in the non-allowed area.

By carrying the cause value in the connection removal request message, the remote UE can take reasonable countermeasures conveniently.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in some possible implementations of the fourth aspect, the method further includes: and the remote UE sends a disconnection request response message to the relay UE based on the received disconnection request message.

In a fifth aspect, a method for network reconnection is provided. The method may be performed, for example, by the relay UE, or may be performed by a component (e.g., a chip, a system-on-chip, etc.) configured in the relay UE. This is not a limitation of the present application.

Specifically, the method comprises the following steps: the relay UE receives a first message from a remote UE, wherein the first message is used for requesting to be connected to network equipment through the relay UE; and the relay UE sends a rejection message to the remote UE under the condition that the relay UE is in a non-allowed area so as to reject the request of the remote UE.

Based on the technical scheme, the relay UE can refuse to establish the connection once receiving the request message for establishing the connection from the remote UE under the condition that the relay UE cannot initiate the communication under the limitation of the non-allowed area, so that the remote UE can be triggered to take corresponding countermeasures to reduce the influence on the normal communication of the remote UE.

In a sixth aspect, a method of network connectivity is provided. The method may be performed, for example, by the remote UE, or may be performed by a component (e.g., a chip system, etc.) configured in the remote UE. This is not a limitation of the present application.

Specifically, the method comprises; the method comprises the steps that a remote UE sends a first message to a relay UE, and the first message is used for requesting to be connected to network equipment through the relay UE; the remote UE receives a rejection message from the relay UE, wherein the rejection message is used for rejecting a request of the remote UE; and, the remote UE performing a device reselection to determine a new relay UE based on the rejection message; or the remote UE executes a path switching process from a PC5 interface to a Uu interface so as to communicate through the Uu interface; the PC5 interface is an interface for direct communication between the remote UE and the relay UE, and the Uu interface is an interface for direct communication between the remote UE and a radio access network device.

Based on the technical scheme, the relay UE can refuse to establish the connection once receiving the request message for establishing the connection from the remote UE under the condition that the relay UE cannot initiate the communication under the limitation of the non-allowed area, so that the remote UE can be triggered to execute the equipment discovery or path switching process to keep normal communication. Therefore, even if the relay UE enters the non-allowed area, the relay UE can timely inform the remote UE under the condition that the remote UE has a communication demand, so that the remote UE is not influenced by the communication limitation of the relay UE as much as possible, and the influence on the normal communication of the remote UE is reduced.

With reference to the fifth aspect or the sixth aspect, in some possible implementations, a cause value is carried in the reject message, and the cause value is used to indicate that the relay UE is in the non-allowed area.

With reference to the fifth aspect or the sixth aspect, in some possible implementations, the first message includes: the remote UE requests a request message for connecting to the network equipment; or, the remote UE requests a request message for establishing direct communication with the relay UE.

The request message for the remote UE to connect to the network device may be understood as a request message for indirect communication between the remote UE and the network device. The request message for the remote UE to establish direct communication with the relay UE may be understood as a request message for establishing a PC5 connection between the remote UE and the relay UE. The application does not limit the specific signaling names and forms of the first message.

With reference to any one of the first aspect to the sixth aspect, in some possible implementations, the relay UE is configured to provide layer 2 (layer 2) relay service or layer 3 (layer 3) relay service for the remote UE.

In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication device comprising means for performing the method of any one of the possible implementations of the first to the sixth aspect.

In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, comprising: a processor and a communication interface. The processor sends data through the communication interface; the processor is configured to implement the method performed by the relay UE in the first, third or fifth aspect.

As a possible design, the communication device further includes: a memory; the memory is configured to store program code, and the processor executes the program code stored in the memory to cause the communication apparatus to perform the method performed by the relay UE in the first, third or fifth aspect.

In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus comprising: a processor and a communication interface. The processor sends data through the communication interface; the processor is configured to implement the method performed by the network device in the second aspect.

As a possible design, the communication device further includes: a memory; the memory is configured to store program code, and the processor executes the program code stored in the memory to cause the communication apparatus to perform the method performed by the network device in the second aspect.

In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus comprising: a processor and a communication interface. The processor sends data through the communication interface; the processor is configured to implement the method performed by the remote UE in the fourth aspect or the sixth aspect.

As a possible design, the communication device further includes: a memory; the memory is configured to store program code, and the processor executes the program code stored in the memory to cause the communication apparatus to perform the method performed by the remote UE in the fourth aspect or the sixth aspect.

In an eleventh aspect, there is provided a computer program product comprising: a computer program (which may also be referred to as code, or instructions), which when executed, causes a computer to perform the method of any one of the possible implementations of the first to sixth aspects described above.

In a twelfth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores a computer program (which may also be referred to as code or instructions) that, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method in any one of the possible implementations of the first to sixth aspects.

In a thirteenth aspect, the present application provides a system, which includes the foregoing relay UE, remote UE and network device.

Drawings

Fig. 1 and fig. 2 are schematic diagrams of network architectures to which the method provided by the embodiment of the present application is applied;

fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a user plane protocol stack for a layer 2 relay UE;

fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a protocol stack for a layer 3 relay UE;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of allowed and non-allowed regions;

FIG. 6 is a schematic flow diagram of a remote UE establishing indirect communication through a layer 2 relay UE;

fig. 7 is a schematic flow diagram of a remote UE establishing indirect communication through a layer 3 relay UE;

fig. 8 to 12 are schematic flowcharts of a network connection method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 13 and 14 are schematic block diagrams of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. When the following description refers to the accompanying drawings, like numbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elements unless otherwise indicated. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with the present application. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatus and methods consistent with certain aspects of the application, as detailed in the appended claims.

The technical scheme of the embodiment of the application can be applied to various communication systems, for example: fifth generation (5th Generation, 5G) mobile communication systems or new radio access technology (NR). The 5G mobile communication system may include a non-independent Network (NSA) and/or an independent network (SA), among others.

The technical scheme provided by the application can also be applied to Machine Type Communication (MTC), long Term Evolution-machine (LTE-M) communication between machines, device-to-device (D2D) network, machine-to-machine (M2M) network, internet of things (IoT) network, or other networks. The IoT network may comprise, for example, a car networking network. The communication modes in the car networking system are generally referred to as car to other devices (vehicle to X, V2X, X may represent anything), for example, the V2X may include: vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) communication, vehicle to pedestrian (V2P) or vehicle to network (V2N) communication, and the like.

The technical scheme provided by the application can also be applied to future communication systems, such as a sixth generation mobile communication system and the like. This is not a limitation of the present application.

A User Equipment (UE) in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as a terminal equipment, an access terminal, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent, or a user equipment.

The terminal device may be a device providing voice/data connectivity to a user, e.g. a handheld device, a vehicle mounted device, etc. with wireless connection capability. Currently, some examples of terminals may be: mobile phone (mobile phone), tablet computer (pad), computer with wireless transceiving function (such as notebook computer, palm computer, etc.), mobile Internet Device (MID), virtual Reality (VR) device, augmented Reality (AR) device, wireless terminal in industrial control (industrial control), wireless terminal in unmanned driving (self driving), wireless terminal in remote medical (remote medical), wireless terminal in smart grid (smart grid), wireless terminal in transportation safety (transportation safety), wireless terminal in smart city (smart city), wireless terminal in smart home (smart home), cellular phone, cordless phone, session initiation protocol (session initiation protocol), SIP) phones, wireless Local Loop (WLL) stations, personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), handheld devices with wireless communication capabilities, computing devices or other processing devices connected to wireless modems, in-vehicle devices, wearable devices, terminal devices in 5G networks or terminal devices in future-evolved Public Land Mobile Networks (PLMNs), and the like.

In addition, the terminal device may also be a terminal device in an Internet of things (IoT) system. The IoT is an important component of future information technology development, and is mainly technically characterized in that articles are connected with a network through a communication technology, so that an intelligent network with man-machine interconnection and object interconnection is realized. The IoT technology can achieve massive connection, deep coverage, and power saving of the terminal through, for example, narrowband (NB) technology.

In addition, the terminal equipment can also comprise sensors such as an intelligent printer, a train detector, a gas station and the like, and the main functions of the terminal equipment comprise collecting data (part of the terminal equipment), receiving control information and downlink data of the network equipment, sending electromagnetic waves and transmitting uplink data to the network equipment.

AN Access Network (AN) may provide AN access function for authorized users in a specific area, and may use transmission tunnels of different qualities according to user levels, service requirements, and the like. An access network that implements an access network function based on a wireless communication technology is called a Radio Access Network (RAN). The radio access network can manage radio resources, provide access service for the UE, and further complete the forwarding of control signals and user data between the UE and the core network.

The radio access network devices may include, for example, but are not limited to: a Radio Network Controller (RNC), a Node B (NB), a Base Station Controller (BSC), a Base Transceiver Station (BTS), a home base station (e.g., home evolved NodeB or home Node B, HNB), a baseband unit (BBU), an AP in a WiFi system, a wireless relay Node, a wireless backhaul Node, a Transmission Point (TP) or a Transmission and Reception Point (TRP), a gNB in a 5G system, a base station in a next-generation communication system, and the like. It should be understood that the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technologies and specific device forms used by the radio access network device.

The core network (core network) in the embodiment of the present application may be, for example, a core network in a 4G system, a core network in a 5G system (5G core network, 5gc), or a core network in a new generation communication system (NGC). The core network device may include, for example, a Mobility Management Entity (MME) in a 4G network, or an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element in a 5G network, or may also include a network element that can implement a mobility management function in a new generation network. This is not a limitation of the present application. It should be understood that the core network device may also include network elements that may be used to implement other functions, such as network elements of a unified policy framework for directing network behavior, e.g., policy Control Function (PCF) network elements; a network element for implementing a session management function, such as a Session Management Function (SMF) network element; a network element for implementing a user plane management function, such as a User Plane Function (UPF) network element, and the like. For the sake of brevity, this is not to be enumerated here.

In the embodiments of the present application, for convenience of description, the core network device and the access network device may be sometimes collectively referred to as a network device. It should be understood that, the following refers to communication between the UE and the network device, and specifically may refer to that the UE communicates with the core network device through the access network device, for example, the UE sends a message to the core network device (e.g., AMF) through the access network device or receives a message from the core network device (e.g., AMF); as another example, the UE receives data from a core network device (e.g., UPF) via an access network device, and so on. Hereinafter, the description of the same or similar cases is omitted for the sake of brevity.

For ease of understanding, fig. 1 illustrates an example of a network architecture to which the method provided by the embodiments of the present application is applied. As shown in FIG. 1, the network architecture may be, for example, the 5G system (the 5h Generation system,5 GS) defined in the third Generation Partnership project (3 rd Generation Partnership project,3 GPP) protocol TS 23.501. The network architecture can be divided into an access network and a core network. The access network can be used to implement radio access related functions, and the core network mainly includes the following key logical network elements: AMF, SMF, UPF, PCF, etc.

The following briefly introduces each network element shown in fig. 1:

AMF: the method is mainly used for mobility management, access management and the like, such as user location updating, user registration network, user switching and the like. The AMF may also be used to implement other functions in a Mobility Management Entity (MME) besides session management. Such as functions of lawful interception, or access authorization (or authentication).

SMF: the method is mainly used for session management, internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management of the UE, selection of a termination point of an interface capable of managing a user plane function, policy control or charging function, downlink data notification, and the like. In the embodiment of the present application, the SMF primary user is responsible for session management in the mobile network, such as session establishment, modification, release, and the like. The specific functions may include, for example, allocating an IP address to the terminal device, selecting a UPF that provides a message forwarding function, and the like.

UPF: i.e. a data plane gateway. Can be used for packet routing and forwarding, or quality of service (QoS) processing of user plane data, etc. The user data can be accessed to a Data Network (DN) through the network element. In the embodiment of the present application, the function of the user plane gateway can be implemented.

Data Network (DN): an operator network for providing data services to users. Such as a network of carrier services, the Internet (Internet), a service network of a third party, an IP multimedia service (IP multimedia-media service) network, etc.

Authentication service network element (AUSF): the method is mainly used for user authentication and the like.

Network open function (NEF): for securely opening services and capabilities, etc. provided by the 3GPP network functions to the outside.

The network storage network element (NRF) is used for storing the network functional entity and the description information of the service provided by the network functional entity, and supporting service discovery, network element entity discovery, and the like.

Policy control function network element (PCF): a unified policy framework for guiding network behavior, providing policy rule information for control plane function network elements (e.g., AMF, SMF network elements, etc.), and the like.

Unified data management network element (UDM): for storing user data such as subscription information, authentication/authorization information, etc.

Application function network element (AF): and is responsible for providing services for the 3GPP network, such as influencing service routing, interacting with PCF for policy control, and the like.

In the network architecture shown in fig. 1, network elements may communicate with each other through interfaces shown in the figure. As shown, the N1 interface is a reference point between the UE and the AMF; the N2 interface is a reference point of the RAN and the AMF, and is used for sending a non-access stratum (NAS) message, and the like; the N3 interface is a reference point between the RAN and the UPF and is used for transmitting data of a user plane and the like; the N4 interface is a reference point between the SMF and the UPF and is used for transmitting tunnel identification information, data cache indication information, downlink data notification information and other information of the N3 connection; the N6 interface is a reference point between the UPF and the DN, and is used for transmitting data of a user plane and the like. The relationships between the other interfaces and the network elements are shown in fig. 1, and for brevity, a detailed description thereof is omitted.

It should be understood that the network architecture applied to the embodiments of the present application is only an exemplary network architecture described in terms of a conventional point-to-point architecture and a service architecture, and the network architecture to which the embodiments of the present application are applied is not limited thereto, and any network architecture capable of implementing the functions of the network elements described above is applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

It should also be understood that the AMFs, SMFs, UPFs, network slice selection function network elements (NSSFs), NEFs, AUSFs, NRFs, PCFs, UDMs shown in fig. 1 may be understood as network elements in the core network for implementing different functions, e.g., may be combined into a network slice as needed. These core network elements may be independent devices, or may be integrated in the same device to implement different functions, and the specific form of the network elements is not limited in the present application.

It is also to be understood that the above-described nomenclature is defined merely to distinguish between different functions, and is not intended to limit the application in any way. This application does not exclude the possibility of using other nomenclature in 5G networks and other networks in the future. For example, in a 6G network, some or all of the above network elements may follow the terminology in 5G, and may also adopt other names, etc. The name of the interface between each network element in fig. 2 is only an example, and the name of the interface in the specific implementation may be other names, which is not specifically limited in this application. In addition, the name of the transmitted message (or signaling) between the network elements is only an example, and the function of the message itself is not limited in any way.

Fig. 2 shows another schematic diagram of a network architecture to which the method provided in the embodiment of the present application is applied. It should be understood that the network architecture shown in fig. 2 is one possible network architecture in the 5G system, and the network elements and the communication interfaces between the network elements shown in the figure are only examples of the network elements and the communication interfaces in the 5G system, and should not limit the present application in any way. The network elements and the communication interfaces between the network elements in the figure can be replaced by network elements and communication interfaces with the same or similar functions in other communication systems. For the sake of brevity, they are not illustrated in the figures herein.

As shown in fig. 2, the network architecture may include a remote UE, a UE (which may be simply referred to as a relay UE) that may implement a UE-to-network relay (UE-to-network relay), a gNB (i.e., an example of a radio access network device), a 5GC (i.e., an example of a core network device), and a Data Network (DN).

Wherein the data network is an operator network providing data services for users. The data network may include, for example, but is not limited to, a network of carrier services, the Internet (Internet), a service network of a third party, an IP multimedia service (IP multimedia-media service) network, and the like.

The UE may obtain data from the data network through the network device. For example, if the UE desires to acquire data from the data network, a service request may be sent to the 5GC through the gNB, and the 5GC may acquire data requested by the UE from the data network based on the service request and transmit the data to the UE through the gNB.

It should be understood that the above UEs may include the above relay UE and remote UE. Wherein the relay UE may communicate directly with the network device. For example, the relay UE may communicate with the 5GC directly through the gNB. As shown in the figure, a communication interface between the relay UE and the gNB is an NR Uu interface, and the relay UE may communicate with the gNB through the NR Uu interface.

The remote UE may communicate with the network device based on relay services provided by the relay UE. For example, the remote UE may communicate with the 5GC through the gNB based on the relay service provided by the relay UE. As shown in the figure, the communication interface between the remote UE and the relay UE is a PC5 interface, and the remote UE can communicate with the relay UE through the PC5 interface. The PC5 interface is a direct communication interface from the terminal device to the terminal device defined in the 3GPP standard, and may be used to support data transmission between any two terminal devices through a direct link within a preset range. The connection based on the PC5 interface may be referred to as a PC5 connection.

It should be understood that communication via the PC5 interface is only one possible implementation for implementing communication between the remote UE and the relay UE in the 5G system shown in fig. 2. In other communication systems, the remote UE may also be connected to the relay UE through other manners, for example, through wifi, or through bluetooth, and the like, which is not limited in this application.

A UE may be considered a far-end UE if it can successfully establish a PC5 link (PC 5 link) with a layer 2 relay UE. The remote UE may be within the coverage of the radio access network or outside the coverage of the radio access network. This is not a limitation of the present application.

It should also be understood that the relay service provided by the relay UE may specifically refer to forwarding data sent by the remote UE to the network device, or forwarding data sent by the network device to the network device of the remote UE, so that network coverage may be effectively extended, and power consumption of the remote UE and the core network device may be reduced.

In the embodiment of the present application, the relay service provided by the relay UE may be used to implement layer 2 relay or layer 3 relay. Correspondingly, the relay UE may be a layer 2 relay UE or a layer 3 relay UE.

Among other things, layer 2 relay UEs may provide connectivity for remote UEs to network systems, such as 5G systems (5G systems, 5gs). The layer 2 relay belongs to the link layer relay. Therefore, the relay UE in layer 2 does not need to establish a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session, and only needs to relay signaling or data of the remote UE to the radio access network device after entering the connected state.

Fig. 3 shows a user plane (user plane) protocol stack for layer 2 relay UEs. As shown in fig. 3, the protocol stack includes: a Physical (PHY) layer (including a physical layer of a PC5 interface and a physical layer of a Uu interface), a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer (including a MAC layer of a PC5 interface and a MAC layer of a Uu interface), a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer (including an RLC layer of a PC5 interface and an RLC layer of a Uu interface), a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer (specifically, a PDCP layer of a Uu interface), a service data adaptation protocol (service adaptation protocol, SDAP) layer (specifically, an SDAP layer of a Uu interface), a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) layer, an application (application, AP) layer, an adaptation (adaptation) layer, an IP layer, a user data protocol (user data protocol, protocol) layer, a general packet data service (UDP) radio packet transport service (GPRS-GPRS) tunneling protocol, a GPRS-tunneling protocol, and the like. Wherein the SDAP layer belongs to the link layer down to the MAC layer.

As can be seen from fig. 3, two ends of the PDCP layer link are the far-end UE and the access network. The relay function is performed at a layer below the PDCP layer. This means that data security between the remote UE and the access network can be guaranteed and data is not exposed to the relay UE. The layer 3 relay belongs to an Internet Protocol (IP) relay, and thus the layer 3 relay UE itself needs to establish a PDU session to relay data of the remote UE at the IP layer. In other words, the data stream of the remote UE may be transmitted through the PDU session of the relay UE.

After the relay UE of layer 3 triggers the service request procedure to enter the connected state, there is also a PDU session to relay the data of the remote UE. When the relay UE enters the connected state, the user plane connection of the PDU session needs to be established. The user plane connection may refer to a connection between the relay UE and the UPF, and specifically may include a connection between the relay UE and the access network device and a connection between the access network device and the UPF. After the user interface connection is established, data transmission can be carried out.

Fig. 4 shows a protocol stack for a layer 3 relay UE. As shown in fig. 4, the protocol stack includes a layer 1, a MAC layer, an RLC layer, a PDCP layer, an SDAP layer, a PDU layer, an adaptation layer, a UDP layer, an IP layer, a GTP-U layer, and the like. As can be seen from fig. 4, the relay UE relays at the PDU layer. The PDU layer relay is located at layer 3, link layer up, below the application layer. It should be understood that the above description relating to the relay of layer 2 and the relay of layer 3 is only for ease of understanding and should not constitute any limitation to the present application.

In addition, when the UE is in a connected state, it specifically means that the UE is in a Connection Management (CM) -connected state (CM-connected). When the UE is in a connected state, the UE and the AMF have non-access stratum (NAS) signaling connection at an N1 interface. The NAS signaling connection is connected to an access network device through an RRC connection between the UE and the access network device and a Next Generation Application Protocol (NGAP) UE used in a 3GPP access technology between the access network and the AMF.

In contrast, when the UE is in an idle state, specifically, the UE is in a connection management-idle (CM-idle) state. When the UE is in an idle state, the N1 interface between the UE and the AMF has no NAS signaling connection. The UE may perform cell selection or cell reselection, etc.

In some communication systems, a limitation is placed on the service area. The UE may not be able to initiate communication while in certain areas. For example, a 5G system introduces service area restrictions. The service area restrictions define which UEs under the area can initiate communication and which UEs under the area cannot initiate communication with the network device. The serving area restriction may be divided into an allowed area and a non-allowed area based on whether the UE can initiate communication. The UE in the allowed area can perform normal traffic communication with the network. The UE in the non-allowed area allows initiating the registration procedure but does not allow performing other communications, for example, does not allow initiating a service request, requesting a data connection of a data plane data control panel, or initiating a session management procedure to acquire a user service; the UE cannot trigger network selection or cell reselection because it enters a non-allowed area. In short, a UE in a non-allowed area may camp as in an allowed area, but cannot actively initiate a service (such as chat, access to a web page, etc.).

It should be understood that the above-described service area restrictions are for the UE. In other words, the service area restriction is UE level. That is, a certain area is a non-allowed area for one UE, but may be an allowed area for another UE. For example, for the average population, their handsets (i.e., one instance of the UE) may not be able to initiate communications at a military base, which is an unallowable area for these average population handsets; but for military personnel their handsets are available to initiate communications at this military base, which is the allowed area for the military personnel handsets.

Fig. 5 exemplarily shows the allowed region and the non-allowed region. For the sake of distinction, the allowable area is shown by a solid line and the unallowable area is shown by a dotted line in the figure. As shown, UE2 may act as a relay UE for UE1, and for UE2, UE1 is a far-end UE. The UE2 shown in the figure is currently in the allowed area, and the UE1 can access the network based on the relay service provided by the UE2 to perform normal communication.

Fig. 6 shows a flow of the remote UE establishing indirect communication through the layer 2 relay UE. For ease of understanding and explanation, in the flow shown below, it is assumed that both UE1 and UE2 are within the coverage of the radio access network. It should be understood that the flow shown in fig. 6 is only an example and should not limit the present application in any way.

Wherein, UE1 may be, for example, UE1 in fig. 5, and may be an example of a remote UE in the flow shown in fig. 6; the UE2 may be, for example, the UE2 in the allowed area in fig. 5, and may be an example of a relay UE in the flow shown in fig. 6.

For the sake of distinction, the serving AMF of UE1 (i.e., AMF1 in fig. 6) and the serving AMF of UE2 (i.e., AMF2 in fig. 6) are shown in different network elements in fig. 6. In fact, the serving AMF of UE1 and the serving AMF of UE2 may be the same AMF or different AMFs, which is not limited in this application.

Furthermore, to avoid confusion, the SMF and UPF shown in fig. 6 are both the serving SMF and serving UPF for UE1, while the serving SMF and serving UPF for UE2 are not shown. However, it is understood that the serving SMFs of UE1 and UE2 may be the same SMF or different SMFs; the serving UPFs for UE1 and UE2 may be the same UPF or different UPFs. This is not a limitation of the present application.

It should also be understood that although only one relay UE of UE1 is shown in the figure, this does not limit the number of relay UEs of UE1. As mentioned above, the number of UEs providing relay service to one UE may be one or more.

As shown in fig. 6, the flow includes steps 601 to 610. The steps are described in detail below.

In step 601, UE1 and UE2 initiate an initial registration procedure to the network device, respectively.

UE1 and UE2 may each independently initiate a registration procedure with the network device.

In step 602, UE1 and UE2 respectively obtain service authorization (service authorization).

UE1 and UE2 may each obtain a service authorization for indirect communication from a network device.

In step 603, UE1 and UE2 perform a device discovery procedure.

UE1 and UE2 may perform device discovery procedures, respectively, to discover each other.

In step 604, UE1 performs relay selection.

UE1 may select UE2 as its relay. Thus, UE1 is a remote UE and UE2 is a relay UE.

In step 605, UE1 transmits an indirect communication request message to UE2. Accordingly, UE2 receives the indirect communication request message from UE1.

In the case that there is a communication demand, for example, a request to access a web page is required, or chat information is required to be sent, the UE1 may initiate a one-to-one communication connection with the relay UE based on the PC5 interface by sending an indirect communication request message to the UE2.

Here, the indirect communication request can be understood as follows: UE1 communicates with the network device based on the relay service provided by UE2; rather than communicating directly with the network device over the Uu interface. Therefore, the communication between the UE1 and the network device is referred to as indirect communication, and the request for indirect communication by the UE1 is an indirect communication request.

It should be understood that the indirect communication request is named only for ease of distinction and understanding, and should not be construed as limiting the application in any way. The application does not limit the specific names of the signaling.

In step 606, the UE2 initiates a service request procedure.

The UE2 may enter the connected state by initiating a service request procedure and obtain authorization to provide the relay service. To maintain the connected state of UE2, UE2 may send information to its serving AMF (i.e., AMF 2) to indicate that UE2 is providing relay service for the remote UE and to indicate that the radio access network maintains an RRC connection with UE2.

In step 607, UE2 transmits an indirect communication response message to UE1. Accordingly, UE1 receives the indirect communication response message from UE2.

UE2 may provide relay service to UE1 after step 606. In response to the indirect communication request message in step 605, UE2 may transmit an indirect communication response message to UE1.

In step 608, UE1 sends a non-access stratum (NAS) message to AMF1. Accordingly, AMF1 receives the NAS message from UE1.

UE1 may send a NAS message to its serving AMF (i.e., AMF 1) based on the indirect communication response message received in step 607. The NAS message may be sent to the UE2 via the PC5 interface, and then forwarded by the UE2 to the radio access network. The radio access network acquires the serving AMF of UE1 and forwards the NAS message to AMF1.

In one possible design, the NAS message may be a service request message.

In step 609, UE1 triggers the PDU session establishment procedure.

In step 610, UE1 transmits data with the network device based on the relay service provided by UE2.

The UE1 may receive data from the network device through the PC5 interface or transmit data to the network device through the PC5 interface based on the relay service provided by the UE2. More specifically, the UE2 may forward data received through the PC5 interface from the UE1 to the radio access network through the Uu interface, and then send the data to the core network through the radio access network; data received from the radio access network via the Uu interface (it being understood that this data may be data sent by the core network to the radio access network) may also be sent to the UE1 via the PC5 interface.

As a layer 2 relay UE, UE2 may pass data through between UE1 and the radio access network. This data may be encrypted, for example, based on a key negotiated between UE1 and the radio access network, and not exposed to UE2.

It should be understood that the above-described flow is only an example and should not constitute any limitation to the present application. For example, some of the steps may be omitted, or some of the steps may involve more network elements. This is not a limitation of the present application.

For another example, in another implementation, the UE1 does not necessarily initiate the initial registration procedure to the network device before sending the indirect communication request message. UE1 may initiate the initial registration procedure, for example, upon receiving an indirect communication response message from UE2. In this case, the initial registration procedure may be performed based on the relay service of the UE2. The NAS message in step 608 may be an initial registration message.

Fig. 7 shows a flow of the remote UE establishing indirect communication through the layer 3 relay UE. For ease of understanding and explanation, the flow shown below assumes that both UE1 and UE2 are within the coverage of the radio access network. It should be understood that the flow shown in fig. 7 is only an example and should not limit the present application in any way.

As shown in fig. 7, the flow includes steps 701 to 708. The steps are described in detail below.

In step 701, UE1 and UE2 obtain authorization (authorization) and provisioning (provisioning) from the network device, respectively.

UE1 and UE2 may each independently obtain authorization and configuration from the network device.

In step 702, UE2 initiates a PDU session setup procedure.

The UE2 may establish a user plane connection of the PDU session of the UE2 by initiating a PDU session establishment procedure.

In step 703, UE1 and UE2 perform a device discovery procedure.

UE1 and UE2 may perform the device discovery procedure to discover each other.

In step 704, UE1 establishes a one-to-one communication connection (connection for one-to-one communication) with UE2.

In step 705, UE2 establishes a new PDU session or updates an existing PDU session for relaying.

As mentioned previously, the relay UE of layer 3 needs to establish a PDU session. UE2 may forward data for UE1 by establishing a new PDU session or updating an existing PDU session.

In step 706, UE1 is assigned an IP address or prefix.

UE2, as a relay UE, may assign an IP address or prefix, e.g., an IPv4 address or an IPv6 prefix, to the remote UE (i.e., UE 1). From this point on, uplink and downlink relaying between UE1 and the network device can be achieved.

In step 707, UE2 reports to the remote UE.

In this procedure, UE2 may report UE1.UE2 may for example report to UE1

In step 708, UE1 communicates data with the network device based on the relay service provided by UE2.

As a layer 3 relay UE, UE2 may forward data directly between UE1 and the access network via the PDU session established or updated in step 705 above.

Based on the procedures shown in fig. 6 and 7, UE1 as a remote UE can communicate with the network device based on the relay service provided by UE2. However, as the UE2 moves, the UE2 may enter a non-allowed area, as shown by a dotted line in fig. 5. After UE2 enters the non-allowed area, UE2 may not be able to continue providing the relay service for UE1. The communication of the UE1 may be affected.

In view of the above, the present application provides a method for reducing the influence on the communication of the remote UE as much as possible after the relay UE enters the non-allowed area.

The method provided by the embodiment of the application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

It should be noted that the following embodiments show two different implementations. In one implementation, the relay UE enters a connected state by initiating a registration procedure or a service request procedure in a non-allowed area to provide a relay service for the remote UE; in the latter implementation manner, the relay UE rejects to provide the relay service for the remote UE in the non-allowed area, thereby triggering the remote UE to perform the relay reselection or path switching procedure.

The embodiments described below with reference to fig. 8 to 10 show a specific flow in the former implementation, and the embodiments described below with reference to fig. 11 and 12 show a specific flow in the latter implementation. The embodiments are described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

It should also be noted that in the flowcharts shown below, only a few network elements related to the listed steps are exemplarily shown, and these network elements are also only one possible example, and should not limit the present application in any way. The signaling listed in each flow is only an example, and should not be construed as limiting the application in any way. The application does not limit the specific names of the signaling.

In the embodiments shown below in connection with fig. 8 to 10, the far-end UE may correspond to, for example, UE1 in fig. 5. The remote UE may be a UE located within a coverage of the radio access network, or may be a UE located outside the coverage of the radio access network, which is not limited in this application. For example, the UE1 may be located at the cell edge although it is within the coverage of the radio access network, and the signal quality is not good; as another example, the UE1 is out of the coverage of the radio access network and does not receive signals. The UE1 wishes to communicate with the network device by means of a relay. The UE1 may, for example, find a relay UE through device discovery and communicate with the selected relay UE through the PC5 interface. The relay UE may for example correspond to UE2 in fig. 5. The UE2 is in the coverage of the radio access network and has a better signal quality. UE1 may determine that UE2 may act as a relay UE through device discovery and relay selection.

UE2, which is a relay UE, is currently in an idle (idle) state. And, due to the high mobility of the UE, the UE2 moves from the allowed area to the non-allowed area as shown in fig. 5. One possible scenario is that UE1 sends a first message to UE2 in a non-allowed area for traffic demand to request a connection to a network device through UE2. In this case, the PC5 connection between UE1 and UE2 has not been established, or is not present. Another possible scenario is that UE1 has received a response to the first message from UE2 before UE2 enters the non-allowed area, has established a PC5 connection with UE1, but sends the data to be forwarded to UE2 after UE2 enters the non-allowed area. In the above possible cases, the UE2 may provide the relay service for the remote UE by the method provided in the following embodiments.

Referring to fig. 8, fig. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a network connection method 800 according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 8, the method 800 may include steps 810 through 850. The respective steps in fig. 8 are explained in detail below.

In step 810, the remote UE transmits a first message or data to the relay UE. Accordingly, the relay UE receives the first message or data from the remote UE.

The first message is used for requesting to connect to the network equipment through the relay UE, and then can communicate with the network equipment based on the relay service provided by the relay UE. In one possible implementation, the first message may be a request message for requesting the remote UE to connect to the network device, for example, the indirect communication request message described above. In another implementation, the first message may be a request message for the remote UE to request establishment of direct communication with the relay UE. It should be understood that the above indirect communication may specifically refer to indirect communication between the remote UE and the network device; the direct communication may specifically refer to direct communication between the remote UE and the relay UE.

Based on the two possible scenarios described above, the remote UE may send the first message or send data in step 810. It should be understood that the data may be data that the remote UE is to send to the network device.

In step 820, the relay UE determines to be in a non-allowed area.

Since the allowed region and the non-allowed region have been described in detail above in conjunction with fig. 5, they are not repeated here for the sake of brevity. In one implementation, the network device may send indication information of an allowed region or a non-allowed region to the relay UE after the relay UE completes initial registration. If the UE receives the indication information of the allowed area, it may consider a Tracking Area (TA) other than the allowed area indicated by the indication information as a non-allowed area. If the UE receives the indication information of the non-allowed area, the TA outside the non-allowed area indicated by the indication information may be considered as the allowed area.

The indication information of the allowed area or the non-allowed area may be, for example, a Tracking Area Identity (TAI), a radio access network identity, a cell identity, or the like of the allowed area or the non-allowed area. This is not a limitation of the present application. Taking the TAI as an example, if the relay UE moves to a certain area and receives a new TAI, it may determine whether the relay UE is currently located in the non-allowed area based on the previously received indication information of the allowed area or the non-allowed area.

It should be understood that, the allowed region and the non-allowed region are taken as an example to describe one possible implementation manner of the relay UE determining whether the relay UE is in the non-allowed region, but this should not constitute any limitation to the present application. The present application does not limit the specific implementation manner of how the UE determines whether the UE is in the non-allowed region.

In step 830, the relay UE sends a second message to the network device to enter a connected state.

To continue providing relay service to the remote UE, the relay UE may send a second message to the network device requesting establishment of a connection between the relay UE and the network device. The relay UE sends a request to the network device to establish a connection with the network device, which may be specifically implemented by requesting the network device to enter a connection state of the relay UE.

In one implementation, the relay UE performs a registration procedure to enter a connected state. In this implementation, the second message may be a registration request message. When receiving the registration request message, the network device may receive the registration request of the relay UE, and after the registration procedure of the relay UE is completed, the network device does not release the signaling connection with the relay UE, or does not set the relay UE to be in an idle (idle) state, so that the relay UE is kept in a connected state.

In another implementation, the relay UE may perform a service request procedure to enter a connected state. In this implementation, the second message may be a service request message. When receiving the service request message, the network device may receive the service request of the relay UE, and after the service request procedure of the relay UE is completed, the network device does not release the signaling connection with the relay UE, or does not set the relay UE to an idle state, so that the relay UE is maintained in a connected state.

Since the above two implementations will be described in detail with reference to specific flow charts, the details are not described herein for brevity.

Optionally, the method further comprises: the relay UE transmits relay capability information to the network device. The relay capability information may be used to indicate whether the relay UE is capable of being used as a relay.

In one implementation, the relay capability information may be reported to the network device in the UE capability information as one item of the UE capability. For example, the relay capability information may be a field carried in the UE capability information, indicated by one or more bits. For example, a bit indicates that "0" indicates that the UE cannot be used as a relay, and "1" indicates that the UE can be used as a relay.

Of course, the relay capability information may also be carried in other signaling for reporting, or indicated by other means. This is not a limitation of the present application.

In the embodiment of the present application, it is assumed that the relay UE can be used as a relay. After receiving the relay capability information, the network device (e.g., a core network, such as the AMF in 5G) may further determine whether to approve the relay UE to be used as a relay in conjunction with the subscription information of the relay UE. If the UE is allowed to enter the connection state, the network device may receive the request for establishing the connection by the relay UE (e.g., the registration procedure initiated by the registration request message or the service request procedure initiated by the service request message by the relay UE) when receiving the second message subsequently. If the UE does not agree with the first message, the network device may reject the request for the relay UE to establish the connection when receiving the second message in the subsequent step (e.g., the registration procedure initiated by the relay UE through the registration request message or the service request procedure initiated by the service request message).

In step 840, the relay UE transmits a response message of the first message to the remote UE. Accordingly, the remote UE receives a response message of the first message from the relay UE.

In response to the first message, the relay UE may send a response message to the remote UE after entering the connected state, so as to inform the remote UE that the relay service may be provided for the remote UE.

It should be understood that step 850 is an optional step, and if the remote UE sends data instead of the first message to the relay UE in step 810, step 850 may be directly performed.

In step 850, the remote UE transmits data with the network device based on the relay service provided by the relay UE.

The remote UE may receive data from the network device through the PC5 interface or transmit data to the network device through the PC5 interface based on the relay service provided by the relay UE. More specifically, the remote UE may forward data received via the PC5 interface from the relay UE to the radio access network via the Uu interface, and then send the data to the core network via the radio access network; data received from the radio access network via the Uu interface (it is understood that the data may be data sent by the core network to the radio access network) may also be sent to the relay UE via the PC5 interface.

Taking layer 2 relay as an example, the relay UE may pass through data between the remote UE and the radio access network. This data may be encrypted, for example, based on a key negotiated between the relay UE and the radio access network, and is not exposed to the remote UE.

It is to be appreciated that if the remote UE sends data to the relay UE in step 810, the relay UE may forward the data in step 850.

Based on the above technical solution, when the relay UE is used as a relay, even if the relay UE cannot initiate communication due to the limitation of the non-allowed area, the relay UE may still send the second message to the network device when the remote UE has a service requirement, and enter and maintain the connected state by requesting to establish a connection with the network device, thereby providing a relay service for the remote UE. Therefore, the influence on the normal communication of the remote UE can be reduced, and the improvement of user experience is facilitated.

For a better understanding of the present embodiment, the present embodiment is explained in more detail below with reference to fig. 9 and 10.

Fig. 9 is a schematic flowchart of a network connection method 900 according to another embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 9, the method 900 may include steps 910 through 960. The respective steps in fig. 9 are explained in detail below.

In step 910, the remote UE transmits a first message or data to the relay UE. Accordingly, the relay UE receives the first message or data from the remote UE.

The specific process of step 910 is the same as the specific process of step 810 in method 800, and reference may be made to the above description of step 810, which is not repeated here for brevity.

In step 920, the relay UE determines whether it is in a non-allowed area.

Since the non-allowed area has been described in detail in step 820 of method 800 above, and how the relay UE determines whether it is in the non-allowed area is described in conjunction with specific implementation manners, for the sake of brevity, it is not repeated here.

If the relay UE determines that the UE is in the non-allowed area, step 930 may be executed, and the relay UE initiates a registration procedure by sending a registration request message.

It should be understood that, in the present embodiment, the registration request message is an example of the second message. As described above, the UE may initiate the registration procedure when the UE is in the non-allowed area, so the relay UE may initiate the registration procedure by sending the registration request message to enter the connected state.

It should be noted that when the relay UE is in the allowed area, if the relay UE receives the first message from the remote UE, the relay UE usually initiates the service request procedure, but does not initiate the registration procedure. In the embodiment of the application, different procedures are executed according to different areas where the relay UE is located, if the relay UE is in an allowed area, a service request procedure is executed, and if the relay UE is in a non-allowed area, a registration procedure is executed, so as to enter a connected state, thereby providing the relay service for the remote UE.

Optionally, the registration request message includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the relay UE provides a service for the remote UE. In one possible design, the first indication information is information indicating that the relay UE is used as a relay. For convenience of differentiation and explanation, in the embodiment of the present application, the information for indicating the relay UE to use as a relay may be simply referred to as relay indication information. That is, the registration request message includes relay instruction information.

The relay indication information may specifically be used to indicate that the relay UE is to be used as a relay. When the network device (e.g., a core network, such as the AMF in 5G) reads the relay indication information, it may determine that the relay UE is currently providing the relay service. After the relay UE enters the connected state through the registration procedure, the network device may continue to maintain the connected state of the relay UE based on the relay indication information without releasing the signaling connection with the relay UE or setting the relay UE in an idle state.

For example, the relay indication information may be carried in a field of the second message, indicated by one or more bits. For example, a bit indicates that "0" indicates that the UE is not used as a relay, and "1" indicates that the UE is used as a relay.

In another possible design, the first indication information is used for the first indication information to request the network device to accept the service request message in the non-allowed area. It should be understood that the first indication information is used to request the network device to accept the service request message in the non-allowed area, i.e. to request to release the limitation of the relay UE in the non-allowed area. For convenience of differentiation and explanation, in the embodiment of the present application, the information requesting the network device to accept the service request message in the non-allowed area (or the information requesting to release the restriction of the relay UE in the non-allowed area) may be simply referred to as exempt information. That is, the registration request message includes exemption information.

The exemption information can be used to exempt from the limitation of the non-allowed region. That is, the network device (e.g., the core network, such as the AMF in 5G) can release the service area restriction on the relay UE when reading the exemption information, and the relay UE can enter the connected state through the registration procedure. Based on the exemption information, the network device may continue to maintain the connection state of the relay UE without releasing the signaling connection with the relay UE or setting the relay UE in an idle state.

For example, the exemption information may be indicated by one or more bits in the second message. For example, a bit indicates that "0" indicates that the service area restriction is not exempted, and "1" indicates that the service area restriction is exempted.

It should be appreciated that although the meanings of the exemption information and the relay indication information are different, the network device may determine to continue to maintain the connection state of the relay UE based on either of the two. Thus, the functions of both are similar.

It should also be understood that the exemption information and relay indication information may be understood as different fields carried in the second message. The present application does not limit the specific names of the fields.

In yet another possible design, the first indication may be an indication of a registration type. In this embodiment, the registration type may indicate, for example: the relay UE provides a relay service for the remote UE, or enters a connected state in a non-allowed area, and so on. Based on the registration type, the network device may determine that the relay UE is in a non-allowed area and needs to enter a connected state when there is a need to provide relay service. And then, the operation of entering the relay UE into the connected state can be executed, and the connected state of the relay UE is maintained.

The registration type may be carried in a field of the registration request message, and different registration types are indicated by different values. For example, the registration type may include, for example, location area updates, and the like, in addition to the registration types listed above. This is not a limitation of the present application.

As previously mentioned, the method may further comprise: the relay UE transmits relay capability information to the network device. Accordingly, the network device receives relay capability information from the relay UE.

The relay capability information may be used to indicate whether the relay UE is capable of being used as a relay. It should be understood that if the relay capability information indicates that the UE is capable of serving as a relay, it does not represent that the UE is currently serving as a relay. If the relay capability information indicates that the UE is not capable of serving as a relay, it may be determined that the UE is not currently serving as a relay. Since the relay capability information has already been described in detail in the foregoing method 800, it is not repeated here for the sake of brevity.

In another implementation, the protocol may also define: when the relay UE is in a non-allowed area, if the registration request message sent by the relay UE does not carry exemption information or relay indication information, the network equipment can reject the registration request of the relay UE; if the registration request sent by the relay UE carries the exemption information and/or the relay indication information, the network device may accept the registration request of the relay UE.

If the relay UE determines that the relay UE is not in the non-allowed area, step 940 may be executed to initiate a service request procedure to enter a connected state.

If the relay UE is not in the non-allowed area, the communication is not restricted. The relay UE may initiate a service request procedure to enter the connected state according to the prior art.

In step 950, the relay UE transmits a response message of the first message to the remote UE.

The specific process of step 950 is the same as the specific process of step 830 in method 800, and reference may be made to the above description of step 830, which is not repeated here for brevity.

In step 960, the remote UE transmits data with the network device based on the relay service provided by the relay UE.

The specific procedure of step 960 is the same as that of step 850, and reference may be made to the above description of step 850, which is not repeated here for brevity.

It is to be appreciated that if the remote UE sends data to the relay UE in step 910, the relay UE may forward the data in step 960.

Based on the above technical solution, when the relay UE is used as a relay, even if the relay UE cannot initiate communication due to the limitation of the non-allowed area, the relay UE can still initiate a registration request procedure to the network device when the remote UE has a service requirement, so as to provide a relay service for the remote UE. Therefore, the influence on the normal communication of the remote UE can be reduced, and the improvement of user experience is facilitated. In addition, since the UE in the non-allowed region can initiate the registration procedure, and the UE in the allowed region can still perform the service request procedure according to the procedure in the existing protocol, overall, the existing protocol is less modified.

Fig. 10 is a schematic flow chart diagram of a method 1000 provided by yet another embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 10, the method 1000 may include steps 1010 through 1050. The individual steps in fig. 10 are explained in detail below.

In step 1010, the remote UE transmits a first message or data to the relay UE. Accordingly, the relay UE receives the first message or data from the remote UE.

The specific process of step 1010 is the same as the specific process of step 810 in method 800, and reference may be made to the above description of step 810, which is not repeated here for brevity.

In step 1020, the relay UE determines whether it is in a non-allowed area.

Since the non-allowed area has been described in detail in step 820 of the method 800 above, and how the relay UE determines whether to be in the non-allowed area is described in conjunction with a specific implementation manner, for the sake of brevity, this is not repeated here.

If the relay UE determines that the relay UE is in the non-allowed area, step 1030 may be executed to send a service request message including the first indication information, so as to initiate a service request procedure.

The first indication information may indicate that the relay UE provides a service for a remote UE. As described above, in one possible design, the first indication information may be information for requesting release of restriction of the relay UE in the non-allowed region, for example, abbreviated as exemption information. In another possible design, the first indication information may be information indicating that the relay UE is used as a relay, for example, simply referred to as relay indication information.

It should be understood that, in the present embodiment, the service request message including the first indication information is another example of the second message.

As previously described, the UE does not allow initiation of the service request procedure when in the non-allowed region. To relieve the network device of the restriction on the service request flow of the relay UE, the relay UE may include exemption information or relay indication information in the service request message.

When the service request message carries exemption information, the exemption information can be used to exempt the service area limitation. When the network device (e.g., a core network, such as the AMF in 5G) reads the exemption information, it may release the service area restriction on the relay UE, so that the relay UE may initiate a service request procedure through the service request message carrying the exemption information. A network device (e.g., a core network such as the AMF in 5G) may accept the service request of the relay UE based on the exemption information. The relay UE may then enter the connected state. The network device may continue to maintain the connection state of the relay UE without releasing the signaling connection with the relay UE or placing the relay UE in an idle state.

When the service request message carries relay indication information, the relay indication information may be used to indicate the relay UE to be used as a relay. The network device (e.g., a core network, such as the AMF in 5G) may accept the service request of the relay UE when reading the relay indication information. Therefore, the relay UE may initiate a service request procedure through the service request message carrying the relay indication information to enter a connected state. The network device may continue to maintain the connected state of the relay UE without releasing the signaling connection with the relay UE or placing the relay UE in an idle state.

Therefore, in this embodiment, based on the service request message carrying at least one of the exemption information and the relay indication information, the relay UE may initiate a service request procedure to enter a connected state. And, the network device may continue to maintain the connection state of the relay UE without releasing the signaling connection with the relay UE or setting the relay UE in an idle state.

The service request message carrying at least one of the exemption information and the relay indication information may also be referred to as an enhanced service request message.

If the relay UE determines that the relay UE is not in the non-allowed area, step 1040 may be executed to send a service request message that does not include the first indication information, so as to initiate a service request procedure.

Since the relay UE is not in the non-allowed area and the communication is not limited, the relay UE may not carry information that can be used as the first indication information, such as exemption information or relay indication information, in the service request message. The relay UE may perform the service request procedure according to the related art.

After receiving the service request message, the network device may accept the service request message of the relay UE to perform an operation of bringing the relay UE into a connected state.

It should be noted that, if the relay UE provides the layer 3 relay service, the network device acceptance service request message may further include a user plane connection for activating the PDU session of the relay UE, that is, for establishing the PDU session of the relay UE. Taking the flow shown in fig. 7 as an example, the network device accepting the relayed service request message may trigger the UE2 in fig. 7 to perform step 705 in fig. 7.

In step 1050, the relay UE transmits a response message of the first message to the remote UE.

The specific process of step 1050 is the same as the specific process of step 830 in method 800, and reference may be made to the above description of step 830, and for brevity, will not be repeated here.

In step 1060, the remote UE transmits data with the network device based on the relay service provided by the relay UE.

The specific process of step 1060 is the same as the specific process of step 850, and reference may be made to the above description of step 610, which is not repeated here for brevity.

It is to be appreciated that if the remote UE sends data to the relay UE in step 1010, the relay UE may forward the data in step 1060.

Based on the above technical solution, when the relay UE is used as a relay, even if the relay UE cannot initiate communication due to the limitation of the non-allowed area, the relay UE can still initiate a service request procedure to the network device when the remote UE has a service requirement, and the service area limitation is removed by carrying at least one of exemption information, relay indication information, and relay capability parameters in a service request message. Through the service request process, the relay UE can enter a connected state to provide relay service for the remote UE. Therefore, the influence on the normal communication of the remote UE can be reduced, and the user experience can be improved.

A network connection method provided in the embodiments of the present application is described in detail above with reference to fig. 8 to 10, and may continue to provide a relay service for a remote UE when the relay UE is in a non-allowed area. Another network connection method provided by the embodiment of the present application will be described below with reference to fig. 11 and fig. 12, where in a case that the relay UE is in a non-allowed area, the remote UE is triggered to perform a relay reselection or a path switching procedure.

For convenience of differentiation and understanding, the relay UE to which the remote UE is currently connected is referred to as relay UE1, and the relay UE determined by the remote UE through performing relay reselection is referred to as relay UE2.

In the embodiments shown below in conjunction with fig. 11 and 12, the far-end UE may correspond to, for example, UE1 in fig. 5. The remote UE may be a UE located within a coverage of the radio access network, or may be a UE located outside the coverage of the radio access network, which is not limited in this application. For example, although the UE1 is in the coverage area of the radio access network, it may be at the cell edge, and the signal quality is poor; as another example, the UE1 is out of the coverage of the radio access network and does not receive signals. The UE1 wishes to communicate with the network device by means of a relay. The UE1 may, for example, find a relay UE through device discovery and communicate with the selected relay UE through the PC5 interface. The relay UE1 may for example correspond to the UE2 in fig. 5. The UE2 is in the coverage of the radio access network and has a better signal quality. UE1 may determine that UE2 may act as a relay UE through device discovery and relay selection.

The UE2 is currently in an idle (idle) state, and due to the high mobility of the UE, the UE2 moves from the allowed area shown in fig. 5 to a non-allowed area (i.e., an example of the non-allowed area). If the UE2 in the non-allowed area cannot continue to provide the relay service for the UE1, the UE1 may be triggered to perform the relay selection or path switching procedure through the following embodiments shown in conjunction with fig. 11 and 12.

One possible scenario is that the remote UE has received a response to the first message from the relay UE before the relay UE1 enters the non-allowed area, and has established a PC5 connection with the relay UE, but after the relay UE1 enters the non-allowed area, the remote UE has sent data to be forwarded to the relay UE1. For this situation, the following describes in detail the relay UE1 triggering the remote UE to perform the relay reselection or the path switching procedure in conjunction with the embodiment shown in fig. 11.

Fig. 11 is a schematic flow chart diagram of a network connection method 1100 according to another embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 11, the method 1100 may include steps 1110 through 1140. The respective steps in fig. 11 are explained in detail below.

In step 1110, the relay UE1 provides a relay service for the remote UE to connect to the network device.

The remote UE may establish a PC5 connection with the relay UE1 through the procedure shown in fig. 6, for example, and further communicate with the network device based on the relay service provided by the relay UE1. For example, the relay UE1 may be configured to forward data between the remote UE and the network device.

In step 1120, the relay UE1 determines to be in the non-allowed area.

Since the non-allowed region has been described in detail in step 1120 of the above method 1100, and how the relay UE1 determines whether it is in the non-allowed region is described in conjunction with specific implementation manners, for the sake of brevity, this is not repeated here.

In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the relay UE1 is in the non-allowed area.

In step 1130, the relay UE1 transmits a disconnect request message to the remote UE. Accordingly, the remote UE receives the disconnect request message from the relay UE1. The disconnect request message may be used to request disconnection between the relay UE1 and the remote UE, i.e., the PC5 connection described above. That is, the remote UE cannot thereafter communicate over the PC interface with the relay UE1. In other words, the relay UE1 can no longer provide the relay service for the remote UE.

Optionally, the disconnect request message carries a cause (cause) value. The reason value may be used to indicate the reason for the request to disconnect is: the relay UE1 is in a non-allowed area.

In one possible implementation, the cause value may be indicated by some preset field. This field is, for example, "cause". This field may be carried by one or more bits, for example.

It should be understood that the reason why the relay UE1 sends the disconnect request message may not be limited to the relay UE1 being in the non-allowed area. The relay UE1 may also request to disconnect from the remote UE for other reasons. For example, the relay UE1 is currently used as a relay for multiple remote UEs, and the load is large; for another example, the relay UE1 currently has low power, and is not desired to be used as a relay for saving power consumption, and so on, which are not listed here for brevity.

The reason for the relay UE1 to send the disconnection request is indicated by the reason value, so that the remote UE can take reasonable measures.

In step 1140, the remote UE transmits a disconnect request response message to the relay UE1. Accordingly, the relay UE1 receives a disconnect request response message from the remote UE.

The disconnect request response message is also a response to the disconnect request message in step 1130. Thereafter, the PC5 interface is disconnected, and direct communication between the relay UE1 and the remote UE is not possible.

In step 1150, the remote UE performs a relay reselection or path switch (path switch) procedure.

The remote UE may determine that the relay UE1 cannot continue to provide the relay service for it based on the detach request message from the relay UE1.

To maintain normal communications, in one implementation, the remote UE may perform 850a, performing relay reselection to determine a new relay UE. For example, the remote UE may perform device discovery again to find other relay UEs capable of serving as relays, and after discovering a new relay UE. Assuming that the remote UE finds the new relay UE as the relay UE2, the remote UE can access the network through the relay UE2. The specific procedure for the remote UE to perform relay reselection is similar to the procedure described above in connection with fig. 2, and for brevity, will not be repeated here.

In another implementation, the remote UE may perform step 1150b to perform a path switching procedure to switch from indirect communication over the PC5 interface to direct communication over the Uu interface. In this implementation, the far-end UE should be within the coverage of the radio access network. After the path switching is completed, the remote UE can directly communicate with the radio access network device through the Uu interface without providing a relay service by other UEs.

After the relay reselection or path switching procedure is completed, the remote UE may continue to communicate with the network device.

In addition to the above-described case where the relay UE1 has established the PC5 connection with the remote UE, there is also a possible case where the remote UE sends a first message to the relay UE1 in the non-allowed area for a service requirement to request a connection to the network device through the relay UE1. In this case, the PC5 connection between the remote UE and the relay UE1 is not yet established, or does not exist. For these two cases, the following describes in detail the relay UE2 triggering the remote UE to perform the relay reselection or the path switching procedure in conjunction with the embodiment shown in fig. 12.

Fig. 12 is a schematic flow chart diagram of a network connection method 1200 according to another embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 12, the method 1200 may include steps 1210 through 1240. The respective steps in fig. 12 are explained in detail below.

In step 1210, relay UE1 receives a first message from a remote UE. Accordingly, the relay UE1 receives the first message from the remote UE.

The specific process of step 1210 is the same as the specific process of step 810 in method 800, and reference may be made to the above detailed description of step 810, which is not repeated here for brevity.

In step 1220, the relay UE1 determines to be in the non-allowed area.

Since the non-allowed area has been described in detail in step 820 of the method 800 above, and how the relay UE1 determines whether to be in the non-allowed area is described in conjunction with a specific implementation manner, for the sake of brevity, this is not repeated here.

In step 1230, the relay UE1 sends a reject message to the remote UE. Accordingly, the remote UE receives the reject message from the relay UE1.

The reject message is a reject message for the first message received in step 1210. As described above, the first message may be a request message for the remote UE to request connection to the network device, or may be a request message for the remote UE to request establishment of direct communication with the relay UE1. In response, the reject message may be a reject message that rejects the request message for the remote UE to connect to the network device, or may be a reject message that rejects the request message for the remote UE to establish direct communication with the relay UE1.

Optionally, the reject message carries a cause value. The reason why the reason value may be used to indicate that the request or data forwarding of the remote UE is denied is: the relay UE1 is in the non-allowed area.

Since the cause values have been detailed in step 1140 in method 1100 above, they are not repeated here for the sake of brevity.

In step 1240, the remote UE performs a relay reselection or a path switching procedure.

Optionally, step 1240 comprises: step 1240a, performing relay reselection to determine a new relay UE, such as relay UE2 shown in the figure; or, in step 1240b, a path switching procedure is executed, and the indirect communication of the PC5 interface is switched to the direct communication of the Uu interface.

The specific procedure of step 1240 is the same as the specific procedure of step 1150 of method 1100 above, and reference may be made to the detailed description of step 1150 above, which is not repeated here for the sake of brevity.

In the above embodiments, each network element may perform some or all of the steps in each embodiment. These steps or operations are merely examples, and other operations or variations of various operations may be performed by embodiments of the present application. Further, the various steps may be performed in a different order presented in the embodiments, and not all operations in the embodiments of the application may be performed. The sequence number of each step does not mean the execution sequence, and the execution sequence of each process should be determined by the function and the inherent logic of the process, and should not be limited in any way to the implementation process of the embodiment of the present application.

The method provided by the embodiment of the present application is described in detail above with reference to fig. 8 to 12. In order to implement the functions in the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, the remote UE and the relay UE as execution subjects may include a hardware structure and/or a software module, and implement the functions in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module. Whether any of the above-described functions is implemented as a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the technical solution. For example, fig. 13 and 14 show schematic diagrams of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

Referring to fig. 13, fig. 13 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

For example, the communication apparatus 1300 shown in fig. 13 may correspond to the relay UE in the method embodiments described in conjunction with fig. 8 to 10 (for example, the relay UE may be a relay UE, or a component configured in the relay UE, such as a chip, a chip system, or the like), and execute the method performed by the relay UE; alternatively, the method performed by the network device may also be performed corresponding to the network device in the foregoing method embodiment (for example, the network device may be a network device, or a component configured in the network device, such as a chip, a chip system, or the like).

In particular, the apparatus 1300 shown in fig. 13 may include a receiving module 1310, a transmitting module 1320, and a processing module 1330.

When the apparatus 1300 corresponds to the relay UE in the method embodiments described above with reference to fig. 8 to 10, the receiving module 1310 may be configured to receive a first message or data from a remote UE, where the first message is used to request to connect to a network device through the apparatus 1300, and the data is data to be sent to the network device; the sending module 1320 may be configured to send a second message to the network device when the network device is in the non-allowed area, where the second message is used to request to establish a connection between the apparatus 1300 and the network device.

Optionally, the second message is used to request to establish a connection between the apparatus 1300 and the network device, and includes: the second message is used to request the network device to perform a process of bringing the apparatus 1300 into a connected state.

Optionally, the second message includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate: the apparatus 1300 provides a service to the remote UE.

Optionally, the second message is a service request message, where the service request message includes the first indication information, and the first indication information is used to request that the limitation of the apparatus 1300 in a non-allowed area is to be removed.

Optionally, the second message is a registration request message, where the registration request message includes the first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate that the apparatus 1300 is used as a relay.

Optionally, the sending module 1320 is further configured to send relay capability information to the network device, where the relay capability information is used to indicate that the apparatus 1300 can be used as a relay.

Optionally, the sending module 1320 is further configured to send a service request message to the network device when the network device is in the allowed area.

Optionally, the apparatus 1300 is configured to provide layer 2 relay service or layer 3 relay service for the remote UE.

When the apparatus 1300 corresponds to the network device in the method embodiment described above with reference to fig. 8 to 10, the receiving module 1310 may be configured to receive the second message from the relay UE; the second message is a message transmitted by the relay UE based on a first message or data received from a remote UE when the relay UE is in a non-allowed area, the first message requesting connection to the apparatus 1300 through the relay UE, the data being data to be transmitted to the apparatus 1300; the second message is for requesting establishment of a connection between the relay UE and the apparatus 1300; the processing module 1330 can be configured to establish a connection with the relay UE based on the second message.

Optionally, the processing module 1330 is specifically configured to, based on the second message, perform a procedure of entering the relay UE into a connected state.

Optionally, the second message includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate: and the relay UE provides service for the remote UE.

Optionally, the second message is a service request message, where the service request message includes the first indication information, and the first indication information is used to request to release the limitation of the relay UE in the non-allowed area.

Further, the processing module 1330 is further configured to accept the service request of the service request message based on the first indication information.

Optionally, the second message is a registration request message, where the registration request message includes the first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate that the relay UE is used as a relay.

Further, the processing module 1330 is further configured to, based on the first indication information, maintain the connection state of the UE after the registration procedure of the relay UE.

Optionally, the receiving module 1310 is further configured to receive relay capability information from the relay UE, where the relay capability information is used to indicate that the relay UE is capable of serving as a relay.

Optionally, the processing module 1330 is specifically configured to, in a case that the second message is received, determine whether the relay UE is capable of serving as a relay based on the relay capability information; and for establishing a connection with the relay UE if it is determined that the relay UE is capable of being used as a relay.

Optionally, the relay UE is configured to provide layer 2 relay service or layer 3 relay service for the remote UE.

For the specific operation and principle of the communication apparatus 1300 shown in fig. 13 as a relay UE or a network device, reference may be made to the foregoing description in conjunction with the method embodiments shown in fig. 8 to fig. 10, and for brevity, no further description is given here.

As another example, the communication apparatus 1300 shown in fig. 13 may correspond to the relay UE (which may be the relay UE, or a component configured in the relay UE, such as a chip, a chip system, etc.) in the method embodiments described in conjunction with fig. 11 and 12, and execute the method performed by the relay UE; alternatively, the method performed by the remote UE may also be performed corresponding to the remote UE in the foregoing method embodiment (for example, the remote UE may be the remote UE, or a component configured in the remote UE, such as a chip, a chip system, or the like).

When the apparatus 1300 corresponds to the relay UE in the method embodiment described above with reference to fig. 11 and 12, the receiving module 1310 may be configured to provide a relay service for a remote UE to connect to a network device; the sending module 1320 may be configured to send a detach request message to the remote UE when the remote UE is in the non-allowed region, where the detach request message is used to request to disconnect the connection between the apparatus 1300 and the remote UE.

Optionally, the disconnect request message carries a cause value, and the cause value is used to indicate that the relay UE is in the non-allowed area.

Optionally, the receiving module 1310 is configured to receive a disconnect request response message from the remote UE.

When the apparatus 1300 corresponds to the remote UE in the method embodiment described above with reference to fig. 11 and 12, the receiving module 1310 may be configured to receive a disconnection request message from a relay UE, where the apparatus 1300 is a UE connected to a network device based on a relay service of the relay UE or a component configured in the UE, and the disconnection request message is used to request to disconnect the relay UE from the apparatus 1300; the processing module 1330 can be configured to perform device reselection to determine a new relay UE based on the detach request message; or, executing a path switching process from the PC5 interface to the Uu interface so as to communicate through the Uu interface; wherein the PC5 interface is an interface for direct communication between the apparatus 1300 and the relay UE, and the Uu interface is an interface for direct communication between the apparatus 1300 and a radio access network device.

Optionally, the detach request message carries a cause value, where the cause value is used to indicate that the relay UE is in the non-allowed area.

Optionally, the sending module 1320 is configured to send a detach request message response to the relay UE based on the received detach request message.

Optionally, the relay UE is configured to provide layer 2 relay service or layer 3 relay service for the apparatus 1300.

For the above-mentioned specific operation and principle of the communication apparatus 1300 shown in fig. 13 as the relay UE or the remote UE, reference may be made to the related description in the method embodiments shown in fig. 11 and fig. 12, and for brevity, no further description is given here.

It should be understood that when the communication apparatus 1300 is a UE (e.g., a far-end UE or a relay UE) or a network device, the receiving module 1310 and the sending module 1320 in the apparatus 1300 may be implemented by a transceiver. The processing module 1330 in the apparatus 1300 may be implemented by at least one processor.

It should also be understood that when the communication apparatus 1300 is a chip or a system of chips configured in a UE (e.g., a remote UE or a relay UE) or a network device, the receiving module 1310 and the sending module 1320 in the apparatus 1300 may be implemented by an input/output interface, and the processing module 1330 in the apparatus 1300 may be implemented by a processor, a microprocessor, an integrated circuit, or the like integrated on the chip or the system of chips.

It should be understood that the division of the modules of the above apparatus is only a logical division, and the actual implementation may be wholly or partially integrated into one physical entity, or may be physically separated. And these modules can be realized in the form of software called by processing element; or may be implemented entirely in hardware; and part of the modules can be realized in the form of calling software by the processing element, and part of the modules can be realized in the form of hardware. For example, the processing module may be a separate processing element, or may be integrated into a chip of the apparatus, or may be stored in a memory of the apparatus in the form of program code, and a processing element of the apparatus calls and executes the functions of the above determination module. Other modules are implemented similarly. In addition, all or part of the modules can be integrated together or can be independently realized. The processing element described herein may be an integrated circuit having signal processing capabilities. In implementation, each step of the above method or each module above may be implemented by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in a processor element or an instruction in the form of software.

For example, the above modules may be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above methods, such as: one or more Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), or one or more microprocessors (DSPs), or one or more Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), among others. For another example, when some of the above modules are implemented in the form of a processing element scheduler code, the processing element may be a general-purpose processor, such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU) or other processor that can call program code. As another example, these modules may be integrated together, implemented in the form of a system-on-a-chip (SOC).

In the above embodiments, all or part of the implementation may be 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 device. 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 via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital Subscriber Line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, 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, a data center, etc., that includes one or more available media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a Solid State Disk (SSD)), among others.

Fig. 14 is another schematic block diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. Communication device 1400 shown in fig. 14 may include a processor 1410 and a communication interface 1420. Optionally, the apparatus 1400 further comprises a memory 1430. Wherein the processor 1410, the transceiver 1420 and the memory 1130 communicate with each other through internal connection paths. The memory 1430 is configured to store instructions, and the processor 1410 is configured to execute the instructions stored in the memory 1430 to control the transceiver 1420 to transmit and/or receive signals.

Alternatively, the memory 1430 may include a read-only memory and a random access memory, and provides instructions and data to the processor 1410. A portion of memory 1430 may also include non-volatile random access memory. The memory 1130 may be a separate device or may be integrated into the processor 1410. The processor 1410 may be configured to execute the instructions stored in the memory 1430, and when the processor 1410 executes the instructions stored in the memory, the processor 1410 is configured to perform the various steps and/or procedures of the above-described method embodiments corresponding to the relay UE or the remote UE.

For example, the apparatus 1100 may be a relay UE, a network device, or a remote UE in the foregoing embodiments.

Communication interface 1420 may include a transceiver. The transceiver may include, for example, a transmitter and a receiver. The transceiver may further include an antenna, and the number of antennas may be one or more. The processor 1410 and the memory 1430 may be devices integrated on different chips than the transceiver 1420. For example, the processor 1410 and the memory 1430 may be integrated in a baseband chip, and the transceiver 1420 may be integrated in a radio frequency chip. The processor 1410 and the memory 1430 may also be devices integrated on the same chip as the transceiver 1420. This is not a limitation of the present application.

For another example, the apparatus 1400 may be a component, such as a chip, a chip system, or the like, configured in a relay UE, a network device, or a remote UE.

Communication interface 1420 may also be a communication interface such as an input/output interface. The communication interface 1420 may be integrated with the processor 1410 and the memory 1420 in the same chip, such as a baseband chip.

Any of the communication interfaces involved in the embodiments of the present application may be a circuit, a bus, a transceiver, or any other device that can be used for signal interaction.

The processors referred to in the embodiments of the present application may be general purpose processors, digital signal processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, or the like that implement or perform the methods, steps, and logic blocks disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor or the like. The steps of a method disclosed in connection with the embodiments of the present application may be directly implemented by a hardware processor, or may be implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in a processor.

The coupling in the embodiments of the present application is an indirect coupling or a communication connection between devices, modules or modules, and may be an electrical, mechanical or other form for information interaction between the devices, modules or modules.

The processor may cooperate with the memory. The memory may be a nonvolatile memory, such as a Hard Disk Drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD), and may also be a volatile memory, such as a random-access memory (RAM). The memory is any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited to such.

The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific connection medium among the communication interface, the processor, and the memory. Such as memory, processor, and communication interfaces may be connected by a bus. The bus may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. Of course, the connection bus between the processor and the memory is not the connection bus between the terminal device and the network device.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, the present application further provides a computer program product, which includes: computer program code which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of any one of the embodiments shown in figures 8 to 12.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, a computer-readable medium is further provided, and the computer-readable medium stores program code, which when executed on a computer, causes the computer to execute the method of any one of the embodiments shown in fig. 8 to 12.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, the present application further provides a system, which includes the relay UE, the remote UE and the network device.

In the embodiments of the present application, "at least one" means one or more, "a plurality" means two or more. "and/or" describes the association relationship of the associated object, indicating that there may be three relationships, for example, a and/or B, which may indicate: a exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone, wherein A and B can be singular or plural. The character "/" generally indicates that the former and latter associated objects are in an "or" relationship; in the formula, the character "/" indicates that the preceding and succeeding related objects are in a relationship of "division". "at least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of the singular or plural items. For example, at least one (one) of a, b, or c, may represent: a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, or a-b-c, wherein a, b, c may be single or multiple.

It is to be understood that the various numerical references referred to in the embodiments of the present application are merely for convenience of description and distinction and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. It should be understood that, in the embodiment of 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 embodiment of the present application.

Finally, it should be noted that: the above embodiments are only used for illustrating the technical solutions of the present application, and not for limiting the same; although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that: the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments may still be modified, or some or all of the technical features may be equivalently replaced; and these modifications or substitutions do not depart from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A network connection method, comprising:

the method comprises the steps that relay User Equipment (UE) receives a first message or data from remote UE, wherein the first message is used for requesting to be connected to network equipment through the relay UE, and the data is data to be sent to the network equipment;

the relay UE sends a second message to the network device when the relay UE is in a non-allowed area, the second message is used for requesting to establish connection between the relay UE and the network device, the second message contains first indication information, and the first indication information is used for indicating: the relay UE provides layer 2 relay service for the remote UE.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the second message is used to request establishment of a connection between the relay UE and the network device, and comprises: the second message is used for requesting the network equipment to execute a process of putting the relay UE into a connected state.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the second message is a service request message, and wherein the service request message includes the first indication information, and wherein the first indication information is used to request the network device to accept the service request message in the non-allowed area.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the second message is a registration request message, and wherein the registration request message includes the first indication information, and wherein the first indication information is used to indicate that the relay UE is used as a relay.

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

the relay UE sends relay capability information to the network equipment, wherein the relay capability information is used for indicating that the relay UE can be used as a relay.

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

and the relay UE sends a service request message to the network equipment under the condition that the relay UE is in the allowed area.

7. The method of any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first message comprises:

the remote UE requests a request message for connecting to the network equipment; or

The remote UE requests a request message to establish direct communication with the relay UE.

8. A network connection method, comprising:

the network equipment receives a second message from the relay user equipment UE; the second message is a message sent by the relay UE based on a first message or data received from a remote UE when the relay UE is in a non-allowed area, the first message is used for requesting to connect to the network equipment through the relay UE, and the data is data to be sent to the network equipment; the second message is used for requesting to establish a connection between the relay UE and the network device, and the second message includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate: the relay UE provides layer 2 relay service for remote UE;

the network equipment establishes connection with the relay UE based on the second message.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the network device establishes the connection with the relay UE based on the second message, comprising:

the network equipment executes a process of entering the relay UE into a connected state based on the second message.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the second message is a service request message, and wherein the service request message includes the first indication information, and wherein the first indication information is used to request that the restriction on the non-allowed area of the relay UE is removed.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

the network equipment receives the service request message based on the first indication information.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the second message is a registration request message, and wherein the registration request message includes the first indication information, and wherein the first indication information is used to indicate that the relay UE is used as a relay.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

and the network equipment maintains the connection state of the UE after the registration process of the relay UE based on the first indication information.

14. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 13, further comprising:

the network equipment receives relay capability information from the relay UE, wherein the relay capability information is used for indicating that the relay UE can be used as a relay.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the network device establishes the connection with the relay UE based on the second message, comprising:

the network equipment determines whether the relay UE can be used as a relay based on the relay capability information under the condition of receiving the second message;

the network equipment establishes connection with the relay UE under the condition that the relay UE is determined to be capable of being used as a relay.

16. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 13, wherein the first message comprises:

A request message for the remote UE to request establishment of direct communication with the relay UE.

17. A method for disconnecting a network, comprising:

the relay user equipment UE provides a relay service connected to the network equipment for the remote UE; the relay UE is used for providing layer 3 relay service for the remote UE;

and the relay UE sends a disconnection request message to the remote UE under the condition that the relay UE is in a non-allowed area, wherein the disconnection request message is used for requesting to disconnect the connection between the relay UE and the remote UE.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein a cause value is carried in the detach request message, and wherein the cause value is used to indicate that the relay UE is in the non-allowed area.

19. The method according to claim 17 or 18, further comprising:

the relay UE receives a disconnect request response message from the remote UE.

20. A method for network reconnection, comprising:

a remote User Equipment (UE) receives a disconnection request message from a relay UE, wherein the remote UE is a UE which is connected to a network device based on relay service of the relay UE, and the disconnection request message is used for requesting to disconnect the connection between the relay UE and the remote UE; the relay UE is used for providing layer 3 relay service for the remote UE; and

the remote UE performs equipment reselection to determine a new relay UE based on the connection removal request message; or

The remote UE executes a path switching process from a PC5 interface to a Uu interface so as to communicate through the Uu interface; the PC5 interface is an interface for direct communication between the remote UE and the relay UE, and the Uu interface is an interface for direct communication between the remote UE and a radio access network device.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the detach request message carries a cause value indicating that the relay UE is in a non-allowed area.

22. The method of claim 20 or 21, further comprising:

and the remote UE sends a disconnection request message response to the relay UE based on the received disconnection request message.

23. A communications apparatus, comprising:

a processor to execute computer instructions stored in the memory to cause the apparatus to perform: the method of any one of claims 1 to 7 or any one of claims 8 to 16; or, a method as claimed in any one of claims 17 to 19 or any one of claims 20 to 22.

24. A computer storage medium having stored thereon computer instructions which, when executed by a processor, implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 7 or any one of claims 8 to 16; or, implementing the method of any one of claims 17 to 19 or any one of claims 20 to 22.