CN115708385A

CN115708385A - Communication method and communication device

Info

Publication number: CN115708385A
Application number: CN202110956935.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 邢玮俊; 丁辉; 吴问付
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-08-19
Filing date: 2021-08-19
Publication date: 2023-02-21
Also published as: WO2023020046A1

Abstract

The application provides a communication method and a communication device. The method comprises the following steps: after receiving a first data packet from a first terminal and needing to be sent to a second terminal, if finding that a first interface corresponding to first address information of the second terminal in the first data packet is unavailable, the relay node may reacquire an available second interface of the second terminal, then obtain a second data packet according to the first data packet and second address information corresponding to the second interface, and send the second data packet to the second terminal. In the method, when the relay node finds that the first address information of the second terminal in the first data packet is unavailable, the relay node does not discard the first data packet and does not need the first terminal to retransmit the data packet, so that the sending efficiency of the data packet can be improved, the first terminal does not need to acquire a plurality of address information of the second terminal, and the expense of the first terminal is reduced.

Description

Communication method and communication device

Technical Field

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

Background

The terminals may communicate with each other through the relay node, for example, the first terminal sends a data packet to the second terminal through the relay node, where the data packet carries address information of the second terminal, and the relay node sends the data packet to the second terminal according to the first address information of the second terminal carried in the data packet after receiving the data packet.

In some cases, the first address information of the second terminal in the data packet is not available, and the relay node discards the data packet and notifies the first terminal to resend the data packet. The first terminal may resend the data packet to the relay node, where the data packet carries second address information of the second terminal, and the second address information is different from the first address information. And the relay node receives the retransmitted data packet, and if the second address information is determined to be available, the data packet is transmitted to the second terminal.

In the above method, when the address information of the second terminal in the packet is not available, the relay node may discard the packet and request the first terminal to retransmit the packet, resulting in low transmission efficiency of the packet. In addition, the first terminal is required to acquire a plurality of address information of the second terminal, which increases the overhead of the first terminal.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a communication method and a communication device, which are used for improving the sending efficiency of a data packet and reducing the overhead of a data packet sender.

In a first aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, which may be performed by a relay node or a module (e.g., a chip) for the relay node. Taking the method executed by the relay node as an example, the relay node receives a first data packet from the first terminal, where the first data packet includes first address information of the second terminal, and the first address information corresponds to a first interface of the second terminal; when the first interface is unavailable, the relay node acquires second address information of the second terminal, wherein the second address information corresponds to the second interface of the second terminal, and the second interface is available; and sending a second data packet to the second terminal, wherein the second data packet comprises the second address information and is obtained according to the first data packet.

According to the above scheme, after receiving a first data packet from a first terminal and needing to be sent to a second terminal, if it is found that a first interface corresponding to first address information of the second terminal in the first data packet is unavailable, the relay node may reacquire an available second interface of the second terminal, then obtain a second data packet according to the first data packet and second address information corresponding to the second interface, and send the second data packet to the second terminal. In the method, when the relay node finds that the first address information of the second terminal in the first data packet is unavailable, the relay node does not discard the first data packet and does not need the first terminal to retransmit the data packet, so that the sending efficiency of the data packet can be improved, the first terminal does not need to acquire a plurality of address information of the second terminal, and the expense of the first terminal is reduced.

In a possible implementation method, the relay node obtains the second address information from the information of the plurality of available addresses according to the information of the plurality of available addresses of the second terminal and priorities respectively corresponding to the plurality of available addresses.

According to the scheme, the most appropriate address information can be reselected by combining the priorities corresponding to the available addresses, and the sending efficiency of the data packet can be improved.

In a possible implementation method, the second interface is a Uu interface, and the second address information is address information of a session of the second terminal; the relay node receives a first message from the second terminal, wherein the first message comprises the second address information and the second interface.

According to the scheme, the second terminal reports the address information and the interface corresponding to the address information to the relay node, so that the relay node can accurately record the address information of the second terminal and the interface corresponding to the address information.

In a possible implementation method, the first message further includes one or more of the following information: identification information of a personal internet of things (PIN) corresponding to the second address information, identification information of a service corresponding to the second address information, identification information of an application corresponding to the second address information, or a user identifier of an application layer corresponding to the second address information.

In one possible implementation, the first message is sent over a PC5 interface or a non-third generation partnership project (3 gpp) interface of the second terminal.

In a possible implementation method, a relay node sends a request message to a first network element, where the request message includes identification information of a second terminal, the request message is used to obtain address information of the second terminal, and the first network element is an application function network element or a core network element; and receiving a response message from the first network element, wherein the response message comprises the second address information and the second interface.

According to the scheme, the relay node can acquire the address information of the second terminal and the interface corresponding to the address information from the core network element or the application function network element, so that the relay node can accurately record the address information of the second terminal and the interface corresponding to the address information.

In a possible implementation method, a relay node sends a request message to a first network element, where the request message includes identification information of a PIN to which the second terminal belongs, the request message is used to obtain address information of a terminal in the PIN, and the first network element is an application function network element or a core network element; and receiving a response message from the first network element, wherein the response message comprises the identification information of the second terminal, the second address information and the second interface.

In a possible implementation method, when the first interface is updated to be available, the relay node records that the state of the first interface is available; receiving a third data packet from the first terminal, wherein the third data packet comprises the first address information of the second terminal; and sending the third data packet to the second terminal.

In one possible implementation, the first interface is a PC5 interface, a bluetooth interface, a wireless fidelity (WiFi) interface, or a Uu interface; the second interface is a PC5 interface, a bluetooth interface, a WiFi interface or a Uu interface.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which may be a relay node, and may also be a chip for the relay node. The apparatus has a function of implementing any of the implementation methods of the first aspect described above. The function can be realized by hardware, and can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, including a processor and a memory; the memory is used for storing computer instructions, and when the apparatus is running, the processor executes the computer instructions stored in the memory to make the apparatus execute any implementation method in the first aspect.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which includes means or units (means) for performing each step of any implementation method in the first aspect.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, including a processor and an interface circuit, where the processor is configured to communicate with other devices through the interface circuit, and perform any implementation method in the first aspect. The processor includes one or more.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, including a processor coupled to a memory, where the processor is configured to call a program stored in the memory to execute any implementation method in the first aspect. The memory may be located within the device or external to the device. And the processor may be one or more.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, where instructions are stored, and when the computer-readable storage medium is executed on a communication device, the method in any implementation of the first aspect is executed.

In an eighth aspect, the present application further provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program or instructions, and when the computer program or instructions are executed by a communication device, the method in any implementation of the first aspect is executed.

In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip system, including: a processor configured to perform any of the implementation methods of the first aspect.

Drawings

FIG. 1 (a) is a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture based on a service-oriented architecture;

FIG. 1 (b) is a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture based on a point-to-point interface;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a possible network architecture suitable for use in embodiments of the present application;

fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

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

fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 (a) is a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture based on a service-oriented architecture. The fifth generation (5 g) network architecture shown in fig. 1 (a) may include a Data Network (DN) and an operator network. The functions of some of the network elements will be briefly described below.

Wherein the operator network may comprise one or more of the following network elements: an Authentication Server Function (AUSF) Network element (not shown in the figure), a Unified Data Management (UDM) Network element, a Unified Data Repository (UDR), a Network storage Function (NRF) Network element (not shown in the figure), a Network open Function (NEF) Network element (not shown in the figure), an Application Function (AF) Network element, a Policy Control Function (PCF) Network element, an AMF Network element, a Session Management Function (SMF) Network element, a user plane Function (user plane Function, UPF) Network element, a radio access Network (io access Network, RAN) device, and the like. In the operator network, network elements or devices other than the radio access network device may be referred to as core network elements or core network devices.

The radio access network device may be a base station (base station), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a Transmission Reception Point (TRP), a next generation base station (next generation NodeB, gNB) in a 5G mobile communication system, a next generation base station in a 6G mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, etc.; the present invention may also be a module or a unit that performs part of the functions of the base station, for example, a Centralized Unit (CU) or a Distributed Unit (DU). The radio access network device may be a macro base station, a micro base station or an indoor station, a relay node or a donor node, and the like. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technologies and the specific device forms adopted by the radio access network device. For convenience of explanation, in the embodiments of the present application, a base station is described as an example of a radio access network device.

A terminal in communication with the RAN may also be referred to as a terminal equipment, a user equipment (terminal), a mobile station, a mobile terminal, etc. The terminal may be widely applied to various scenarios, for example, device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-electrical (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), internet of things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, auto-driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearing, smart transportation, smart city, and the like. The terminal can be a mobile phone, a tablet personal computer, a computer with a wireless transceiving function, wearable equipment, a vehicle, a robot, a mechanical arm, intelligent household equipment and the like. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific technology and the specific device form adopted by the terminal.

The base stations and terminals may be fixed or mobile. The base station and the terminal can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; can also be deployed on the water surface; it may also be deployed on airborne airplanes, balloons and satellite vehicles. The embodiment of the application does not limit the application scenarios of the base station and the terminal.

The AMF network element comprises functions of executing mobility management, access authentication/authorization and the like. In addition, it is also responsible for transferring user policy between the terminal and PCF.

The SMF network element includes functions of session management execution, control policy execution issued by PCF, selection of UPF, internet Protocol (IP) address allocation of the terminal, and the like.

The UPF network element, as the UPF interface with the data network, includes the functions of completing the user plane data forwarding, accounting statistics based on session/stream level, bandwidth limitation, etc.

And the UDM network element comprises functions of executing and managing subscription data, user access authorization and the like.

UDRs include access functions for executing types of data such as subscription data, policy data, application data, and the like.

And the NEF network element is used for supporting the opening of the capability and the event.

And the AF network element is used for transmitting the requirements of the application side on the network side, such as QoS requirements or user state event subscription and the like. The AF may be a third party functional entity, or may be an application service deployed by an operator, such as an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) voice call service.

The PCF network element comprises the policy control functions of charging, qoS bandwidth guarantee, mobility management, terminal policy decision and the like aiming at the conversation and the service flow level.

The NRF network element can be used for providing a network element discovery function and providing network element information corresponding to the network element type based on the request of other network elements. NRF also provides network element management services such as network element registration, update, de-registration, and network element status subscription and push.

And the AUSF network element is responsible for authenticating the user so as to determine whether the user or the equipment is allowed to access the network.

The DN is a network outside the operator network, the operator network can access a plurality of DNs, and the DN can deploy a plurality of services and provide services such as data and/or voice for the terminal. For example, the DN is a private network of a certain intelligent factory, a sensor installed in a workshop of the intelligent factory can be a terminal, a control server of the sensor is deployed in the DN, and the control server can provide services for the sensor. The sensor can communicate with the control server, obtain the instruction of the control server, transmit the sensor data gathered to the control server, etc. according to the instruction. For another example, the DN is an internal office network of a company, the mobile phone or computer of the employee of the company may be a terminal, and the mobile phone or computer of the employee may access information, data resources, and the like on the internal office network of the company.

In fig. 1 (a), npcf, nufr, nudm, naf, namf, and Nsmf are the service interfaces provided by the PCF, UDR, UDM, AF, AMF, and SMF, respectively, and are used to invoke corresponding service operations. N1, N2, N3, N4, and N6 are interface serial numbers. The meaning of these interface sequence numbers can be referred to as that defined in the 3GPP standard protocol, and is not limited herein.

Fig. 1 (b) is a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture based on a point-to-point interface, where introduction of functions of network elements may refer to introduction of functions of corresponding network elements in fig. 1 (a), and details are not repeated. The main differences between fig. 1 (b) and fig. 1 (a) are: the interfaces between the control plane network elements in fig. 1 (a) are served interfaces, and the interfaces between the control plane network elements in fig. 1 (b) are point-to-point interfaces.

In the architecture shown in fig. 1 (b), the interface names and functions between the network elements are as follows:

1) N1: the interface between the AMF and the terminal may be used to deliver QoS control rules, etc. to the terminal.

2) N2: the interface between the AMF and the RAN may be used to transfer radio bearer control information from the core network side to the RAN, and the like.

3) N3: the interface between RAN and UPF is mainly used for transmitting uplink and downlink user plane data between RAN and UPF.

4) N4: the interface between the SMF and the UPF may be used for transmitting information between the control plane and the user plane, including controlling the sending of forwarding rules, qoS control rules, traffic statistics rules, etc. for the user plane and reporting information for the user plane.

5) N5: the interface between the AF and the PCF may be used for application service request issue and network event report.

6) N6: and the UPF and DN interface is used for transmitting the uplink and downlink user data stream between the UPF and the DN.

7) N7: the interface between the PCF and the SMF may be used to send a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session granularity and a service data stream granularity control policy.

8) N8: the interface between the AMF and the UDM may be used for the AMF to obtain subscription data and authentication data related to access and mobility management from the UDM, and for the AMF to register information related to current mobility management of the terminal with the UDM.

9) N9: and the user interface between the UPF and the UPF is used for transmitting the uplink and downlink user data stream between the UPFs.

10 N10, N10: the interface between the SMF and the UDM may be used for the SMF to acquire the subscription data related to session management from the UDM, and for the SMF to register the information related to the current session of the terminal with the UDM.

11 N11), N11: the interface between the SMF and the AMF may be used to transfer PDU session tunnel information between the RAN and the UPF, to transfer control messages to the terminal, to transfer radio resource control information to the RAN, and so on.

12 N15), N15: the interface between PCF and AMF can be used to send down terminal strategy and access control relative strategy.

13 N35), N35: and the interface between the UDM and the UDR can be used for the UDM to acquire the user subscription data information from the UDR.

14 N36, N36: the interface between the PCF and the UDR may be used for the PCF to obtain policy related subscription data and application data related information from the UDR.

It is to be understood that the above network elements or functions may be network elements in a hardware device, or may be software functions running on dedicated hardware, or virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform). Optionally, the network element or the function may be implemented by one device, or may be implemented by multiple devices together, or may be a functional module in one device, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

In order to improve radio spectrum utilization and provide cellular network services to terminals outside the coverage of the cellular network, proximity-based services (ProSe) communication is introduced into the cellular communication network. Specifically, in ProSe communication, a terminal in close proximity can directly establish a communication link without forwarding the communication through a base station.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a possible network architecture applicable to the embodiment of the present application, which is described by taking two terminals (i.e., a first terminal and a second terminal) as an example, and may actually include three or more terminals.

The relay node may be connected to a cellular network (e.g., a 5G network) through an optical fiber or Uu interface, and the relay node and a terminal (e.g., a first terminal and a second terminal in fig. 2) may establish a 3GPP connection (e.g., a PC5 connection) and/or a non-3 GPP connection (e.g., a bluetooth connection and a WiFi connection), thereby providing a larger network coverage for the cellular network. For example, the first terminal in fig. 2 is not in the coverage of the base station, but the base station may provide service to the first terminal through the relay node.

The relay node may be a terminal, a routing device such as a home router or an industrial router, or a Gateway (GW) such as a home gateway or an industrial gateway, etc.

The terminal and the relay node can directly communicate through a 3GPP interface (such as a PC5 interface) or a non-3 GPP interface (such as a Bluetooth interface and a WiFi interface), the terminal and the terminal can directly communicate through the 3GPP interface or the non-3 GPP interface, and the terminal can indirectly communicate through the relay node.

In the embodiment of the application, the relay node can provide two types of relay connection services for the terminal. One is terminal-to-terminal (UE-to-UE) relay connection services, i.e. a relay node forwards information from one terminal to another terminal, e.g. referring to fig. 2, the relay node receives information from a first terminal and then forwards it to a second terminal. The other is a relay connection service from a terminal to a network (UE-to-network), that is, a relay node forwards information from the terminal to a core network, or forwards information received from the core network to the terminal.

In embodiments of the present application, the user is allowed to build a PIN, which may be created by the operator or a third party (e.g., an application server). A PIN may be composed of a PIN terminal (PIN UE) and/or a PIN Device (PIN Device). A PIN UE may be understood as a UE inserted with a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card, or a UE subscribed to a core network, such as a mobile phone, a gateway, and the like. A PIN Device may be understood as a Device connected to a PIN UE (e.g. GW), e.g. a bluetooth headset, a smart speaker, without a SIM card inserted in the PIN Device. Here, the relay node may be understood as a PIN UE. In the example of fig. 2, the first terminal, the second terminal and the relay node may constitute one PIN. The PIN UE in the PIN can communicate with the base station through a Uu interface, and can also communicate with the base station through a relay node through a non-3 GPP interface.

Wherein a PIN may be uniquely identified using a PIN identification or may also be uniquely identified using a group identification.

Referring to fig. 3, a flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application is schematically shown. The method comprises the following steps:

step 301, the first terminal sends a first data packet to the relay node. Accordingly, the relay node receives the first packet.

The first data packet includes first address information of the second terminal, and the first address information corresponds to a first interface of the second terminal.

Optionally, the first data packet may further include identification information of the second terminal.

Step 302, when the first interface is unavailable, the relay node acquires the second address information of the second terminal.

The second address information corresponds to a second interface of the second terminal, the second interface being available.

The first interface is unavailable, which indicates that the relay node cannot send a data packet to the second terminal through the first interface of the second terminal, i.e. the link between the relay node and the first interface of the second terminal is not reachable.

Step 303, the relay node sends the second data packet to the second terminal. Accordingly, the second terminal receives the second data packet.

The second data packet includes second address information of the second terminal.

The second data packet is obtained according to the first data packet, and specifically, the first address information of the second terminal in the first data packet may be replaced with the second address information of the second terminal to obtain the second data packet; or adding second address information of a second terminal to the header of the first data packet to obtain a second data packet.

As an implementation method, the first interface is a PC5 interface, a bluetooth interface, a WiFi interface, or a Uu interface, the second interface is a PC5 interface, a bluetooth interface, a WiFi interface, or a Uu interface, and the first interface is different from the second interface.

Illustratively, the relay node stores therein information as shown in table 1.

TABLE 1

Referring to table 1, within the first PIN, including but not limited to terminal 1, terminal 2, and terminal 3, the identification information of terminal 1 is referred to as terminal identification #1, the identification information of terminal 2 is referred to as terminal identification #2, and the identification information of terminal 3 is referred to as terminal identification #3. The terminal 1 has 4 interfaces, the terminal 2 has 3 interfaces, the terminal 3 has 3 interfaces, and each interface corresponds to an address. Within the second PIN, including but not limited to terminal 1 and terminal 4, the identification information of terminal 1 is referred to as terminal identification #1 and the identification information of terminal 4 is referred to as terminal identification #4. The terminal 1 has 4 interfaces, the terminal 4 has 3 interfaces, and each interface corresponds to an address.

A terminal may belong to only one PIN, such as terminal 2, terminal 3 or terminal 4, as described above, or a terminal may belong to two or more PINs, such as terminal 1, as described above. When a terminal belongs to two or more PINs, the addresses of the terminal in different PINs may be the same or different, for example, address #1_1 is the same as address #4_1, and address #1_2 is different from address #4_2 in table 1.

In connection with the example of table 1, it is assumed that the first terminal in step 301 is terminal 1 in PIN #1, the second terminal is terminal 2 in PIN #1, the first address information of the second terminal carried in the first data packet is address #2_1, and when the relay node determines that the PC5 interface of the second terminal is not available, it indicates that address #2_1 is unreachable, so the relay node reselects the address information of one second terminal, for example, when the bluetooth interface of the second terminal is available, address #2_2 may be selected, or when the WiFi interface of the second terminal is available, address #2_3 may be selected.

If the second terminal has a plurality of available interfaces, the second terminal correspondingly has a plurality of available address information, so that the relay node can select one address information from the plurality of available address information of the second terminal, and the selected address information is the second address information described above. Herein, "a plurality" means "two or more".

As one implementation method, the relay interface may arbitrarily select one from information of a plurality of available addresses of the second terminal as the second address information.

As another implementation method, the relay node obtains the second address information from the information of the multiple available addresses of the second terminal according to the information of the multiple available addresses of the second terminal and the priorities corresponding to the multiple available addresses, respectively. For example, the second address information of the second terminal is information of an available address with the highest priority, or information of any one of M available addresses with the highest priority, where M is an integer greater than 1.

Taking table 1 as an example, when there is a priority between addresses of respective terminals, an example as shown in table 2 can be obtained. Where priority 1> priority 2> priority 3> priority 4.

TABLE 2

As an implementation method, the address information corresponding to the Uu interface of a terminal is address information of a session of the terminal, where the session may be a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session. Taking the second terminal shown in fig. 2 as an example, the second terminal is a PIN UE, and the second terminal interacts with the core network to establish a PDU session, where address information of the session corresponds to the Uu interface.

After establishing a session, the terminal may send address information of the session and an interface corresponding to the session to the relay node. For example, if the second interface in the above step 302 is a Uu interface and the second address information is address information of a session of the second terminal, before the above step 301, the second terminal establishes the session and then sends a first message to the relay node, where the first message includes the second address information and the second interface. That is, after establishing a session, the terminal may actively report the address information of the session and the interface corresponding to the address information of the session to the relay node, so that the relay node may record the address information of the session and the interface corresponding to the address information of the session.

As an implementation method, the first message further includes one or more of the following information: identification information (which may be a group identification or a PIN identification) of a PIN corresponding to the second address information, identification information of a service (service) corresponding to the second address information, identification information of an application (application) corresponding to the second address information, or a user identification of an application layer corresponding to the second address information.

As an implementation method, the first message may be sent by the second terminal to the relay node through a PC5 interface or a non-3 GPP interface (e.g., a bluetooth interface, a WiFi interface, etc.) of the second terminal.

As an implementation method, the relay node may also actively obtain address information and interfaces of each terminal from a first network element, where the first network element may be an AF or a core network element (such as an SMF, a PCF, and the like). Taking the example that the relay node acquires the second address information of the second terminal and the second interface corresponding to the second address information in step 302, the relay node may send a request message to the first network element, where the request message includes the identification information of the second terminal, the request message is used to acquire the address information of the second terminal, and the relay node receives a response message from the first network element, where the response message includes the second address information and the second interface. Or, the relay node sends a request message to the first network element, where the request message includes identification information of a PIN to which the second terminal belongs, the request message is used to obtain address information of the terminal in the PIN, and then the relay node receives a response message from the first network element, where the response message includes the identification information of the second terminal, the second address information, and the second interface, and the response message also includes identification information of other terminals in the PIN, address information of the other terminals, and interfaces corresponding to the address information of the other terminals.

As an implementation method, the state of the interface of each terminal recorded by the relay node may be dynamically updated. Taking the first interface of the second terminal in step 301 as an example, when the first interface is updated to be available, the relay interface records that the state of the first interface is available. The latest state of the first interface may be reported by the second terminal to the relay node actively, or may be subscribed to the second terminal by the relay node in advance. After the state of the first interface of the second terminal is available, if the relay node receives a third packet from the first terminal, where the third packet includes the first address information of the second terminal, the relay node may send the third packet to the second terminal.

The above embodiments are described below with reference to specific examples.

Fig. 4 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. The method comprises the following steps:

step 401, a first terminal, a second terminal and a relay node register to a network.

The relay node may be a terminal or GW.

In the process of registering to the network, the first terminal transmits capability information to the AMF through a registration message or a service request message, the capability information indicating that the first terminal can act as a PIN UE. Optionally, the registration message or the service request message further includes identification information of a PIN to which the first terminal belongs.

During registration with the network, the second terminal sends capability information to the AMF via a registration message or a service request message, the capability information indicating that the second terminal can act as a PIN UE. Optionally, the registration message or the service request message further includes identification information of a PIN to which the second terminal belongs.

In the process of registering to the network, the relay node transmits, to the AMF, capability information indicating that the relay node may serve as a relay node, or indicating that the relay node may serve as a GW, or indicating that the relay node has relay capability, through a registration message or a service request message. The registration message or the service request message sent by the relay node also carries indication information, and the indication information indicates that the relay node can simultaneously support the relay capabilities of the UE-to-UE and the UE-to-Network, or indicates that the relay node supports dual relay. Illustratively, specific examples of the indication information are given below. For example, the registration message or the service request message includes a field for UE-to-UE and UE-to-Network Relay, and when the field value is set to 1, it indicates that the registration message or the service request message carries the indication information. For another example, the registration message or the service request message includes two fields: when the two field values are set to 1, the registration message or the service request message carries the indication information. For another example, the registration message or the service request message includes a field capability for PIN GW, and when the field value is set to 1, it indicates that the registration message or the service request message carries the indication information. Optionally, the registration message or the service request message further includes identification information of a PIN to which the relay node belongs.

In step 402, the amf confirms the dual relay capability of the relay node.

Because the indication information reported by the relay node indicates that the relay node has dual-relay capability, the AMF may determine whether the relay node really has dual-relay capability.

For example, the AMF may request an authorization policy of the relay node from the PCF, where the authorization policy includes indication information of whether the relay node supports dual-relay capability. Optionally, the PCF may further generate a Relay Service Code (RSC) according to the PIN supported by the relay node, and then carry the RSC and identification information of the PIN corresponding to the RSC in the authorization policy, and send the authorization policy to the AMF. For example, the relay node supports PIN #1 and PIN #2, PCF generates RSC #1 according to PIN #1, generates RSC #2 according to PIN #2, and then carries the identification information of PIN #1 and RSC #1, and carries the identification information of PIN #2 and RSC #2 in the authorization policy sent to the AMF.

For another example, the AMF may obtain subscription information of the relay node from the UDM or the UDR, where the subscription information includes indication information of whether the relay node supports dual relay capability. Optionally, the subscription information further includes identification information of PINs supported by the relay node and an RSC corresponding to each PIN. For example, the subscription information includes identification information of PIN #1 and identification information of PIN #2 supported by the relay node, and PIN #1 corresponds to RSC #1, and PIN #2 corresponds to RSC #2, the UDM or the UDR may further send the identification information of PIN #1 and RSC #1, and send the identification information of PIN #2 and RSC #2 to the AMF.

In step 403, the relay node establishes or modifies a PDU session.

And the PDU session established by the relay node is used for providing the relay service of the UE-to-Network for the PIN UE or the PIN Device connected with the relay node. The following description takes the relay node as an example to provide the relay service of the UE-to-Network for the first terminal.

The second terminal establishes or modifies a PDU session, step 404.

As an implementation method, the first terminal may connect to the application server by multiplexing the PDU session of the relay node, and the second terminal may also connect to the application server using the PDU session established by itself, so that the first terminal and the second terminal can communicate via the application server.

As another implementation, the relay node and the second terminal may be in the same group (e.g., a 5G virtual local area network group), and the relay node and the second terminal may communicate directly via one UPF through respective PDU sessions without going through an application server. In this case, the first terminal directly communicates with the second terminal through forwarding of the UPF after multiplexing the PDU session of the relay node.

In any of the above communication methods, when the relay node and the second terminal establish the respective PDU sessions, the relay node and the second terminal acquire address information of the PDU sessions, for example, an IP address or a layer 2 address from the network side. Hereinafter, the address information of the PDU session obtained by the second terminal from the SMF is referred to as first link address information of the second terminal, and the first link is the PDU session of the second terminal.

Step 405, the first terminal and the second terminal establish connection with the relay node respectively.

As an implementation method, the relay node may broadcast and send one or more RSCs, and when the first terminal receives and can parse the RSC, the first terminal may establish a connection with the relay node, such as establishing a PC5 connection, a bluetooth connection, or a WiFi connection. Similarly, the second terminal may also establish a connection with the relay node in the same manner.

As another implementation method, in the process of registering the first terminal to the network, the identifier information of one or more RSCs and PINs corresponding to the RSCs may also be obtained from the AMF. When a first terminal needs to connect a relay node within a certain PIN, the first terminal may broadcast and send the RSC corresponding to the PIN, and when a certain relay node can analyze the RSC, the relay node may establish a connection with the first terminal, such as establishing a PC5 connection, a bluetooth connection, or a WiFi connection. Similarly, the second terminal may also establish a connection with the relay node in the same manner.

In the following, a description will be given by taking an example in which the first terminal and the second terminal can establish a connection with the same relay node.

The relay node may acquire the identifier information of the first terminal, the address information of the first terminal, and an interface corresponding to the address information of the first terminal during or after the connection is established. Similarly, the relay node may acquire the identifier information of the second terminal, the address information of the second terminal, and the interface corresponding to the address information of the second terminal during or after the connection is established.

The identification information of the first terminal or the identification information of the second terminal may be a device Identifier, a layer 2 address, application layer identification information, a user permanent Identifier (SUPI), a user hidden Identifier (sui), a general external user Identifier (GPSI), or the like. The address information of the first terminal or the address information of the second terminal may be IP address information (e.g., an IP address, a port number, etc.) or a layer 2 address (e.g., a Medium Access Control (MAC) address).

When the relay node is directly connected with the first terminal through the PC5 interface or the non-3 GPP interface (such as a bluetooth interface or a WiFi interface), the address information of the direct link (i.e., the link directly connected through the PC5 or the non-3 GPP interface) of the first terminal may be acquired.

Similarly, when the relay node is directly connected to the second terminal through the PC5 interface or the non-3 GPP interface (e.g., bluetooth interface or WiFi interface), the address information of the direct link (i.e., the link directly connected through the PC5 or the non-3 GPP interface) of the second terminal may be acquired. In the embodiment of the present application, address information of a direct link between a second terminal and a relay node is referred to as second link address information.

As an implementation method, the second terminal may send, to the relay node, the first link address information (i.e., address information of the PDU session) of the second terminal and an interface (i.e., uu interface) corresponding to the first link address information through the second link. For example, the second terminal may send the first link address information and the interface corresponding to the first link address information to the relay node through the connection establishment request message in the process of establishing the second link with the relay node, or send the first link address information and the interface corresponding to the first link address information to the relay node after the second link is established. As another implementation method, in this embodiment of the present application, the relay node may also send a request message to a core network element (such as an AMF, an SMF, a PCF, or a UDM) to request to acquire the first link address information of the second terminal and an interface corresponding to the first link address information, and then the core network element sends the first link address information of the second terminal and the interface corresponding to the first link address information to the relay node.

Optionally, when the second terminal establishes a connection with the relay node, the second terminal may further send one or more pieces of information of identification information of the PIN, identification information of the service, identification information of the application (such as an identification of the micro-signal), and identification information of the application layer (such as the micro-signal) corresponding to the first link address information to the relay node.

It should be noted that multiple links, such as bluetooth connection, wiFi connection, PC5 connection, and Uu air interface connection, may be simultaneously established between the second terminal and the relay node. If the address information of the direct connection link (such as PC5 connection, bluetooth connection, wiFi connection) between the second terminal and the relay node is generated by the second terminal itself or configured by a third party, the second terminal also needs to send the address information of the direct connection link and the interface corresponding to the direct connection link to the relay node, so that the relay node can record the information of the available address of the second terminal and the interface corresponding to the information of each available address. Of course, the relay node may also record the information of the available address of the first terminal and the interface corresponding to the information of each available address. The information recorded by the relay node is shown in table 1 above.

In addition, when the first terminal or the second terminal has a plurality of link address information, the first terminal and/or the second terminal may also transmit the priority of each link to the relay node. The information recorded by the relay node is shown in table 2 above.

In step 406, the relay node records information of the terminal connected to the relay node.

For example, the information of the terminal recorded by the relay node includes address information of the terminal and an interface corresponding to the address information, and optionally further includes information of a PIN to which the terminal belongs and a priority of the address of the terminal. For example, the information of the terminal recorded by the relay node is shown in table 1 or table 2. The first terminal and the second terminal may be any of the terminals in table 1 or table 2.

As one implementation method, when maintaining the information of the terminal, the relay node may choose to expose only part of the information of a certain terminal to other terminals, or may expose all the information of a certain terminal to other terminals. Taking table 1 as an example, the relay node may transmit the PC5 interface of the terminal 1 and the address #1_1 corresponding to the PC5 interface to the other terminals in PIN #1, or may transmit all the interfaces of the terminal 1 and address information corresponding to each interface to the other terminals in PIN # 1.

As an implementation method, the relay node only records the available interfaces of the terminals and the address information corresponding to the available interfaces, and the recorded information can be dynamically updated. For example, when a certain interface of a certain terminal is updated from available to unavailable, the relay node deletes the interface and the address information corresponding to the interface. For another example, when an interface of a certain terminal is updated to be available from unavailable, the relay node may record the interface and address information corresponding to the interface again.

As another implementation method, the relay node may also record all interfaces of each terminal and address information corresponding to each interface, and also record the status (i.e., available or unavailable) of each interface. Then, as the state of each interface changes, the relay node updates the recorded state of each interface to usable or unusable.

Step 407, the first terminal sends the first data packet to the relay node. Accordingly, the relay node receives the first packet.

The first data packet includes identification information of the second terminal and first address information of the second terminal.

Step 408, the relay node selects the second address information of the second terminal.

For example, when the first address information in the first packet is unavailable or the first interface corresponding to the first address information is unavailable, the relay node reselects information of one address from information of a plurality of available addresses of the second terminal as the second address information.

For another example, when the priority of the first address information in the first packet is lower, the relay node may reselect information of an address with a higher priority from the information of the plurality of available addresses of the second terminal as the second address information.

The first address information may be the first link address information, and the second address information may be the second link address information. Alternatively, the first address information may be the second link address information, and the second address information may be the first link address information.

Step 409, the relay node sends a second data packet to the second terminal. Accordingly, the second terminal receives the second data packet.

According to the scheme, the link connection between each terminal and the relay node can be established, and the address information of each terminal and the interface corresponding to the address information are recorded in the relay node, so that after the subsequent relay node receives the first data packet from the first terminal, when the relay node finds that the first address information of the second terminal in the first data packet is unavailable, the relay node does not discard the first data packet and does not need the first terminal to retransmit the data packet, the transmission efficiency of the data packet can be improved, the first terminal is not required to acquire a plurality of address information of the second terminal, and the overhead of the first terminal is reduced.

It should be noted that the foregoing embodiment is also applicable to a scenario in which the first terminal is a PIN Device and the second terminal is a PIN UE, and in this scenario, the first terminal does not need to perform the above-mentioned step of registering to the network, and the first terminal sends or receives data or signaling through the relay node.

Fig. 5 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. The method comprises the following steps:

in step 501, the AF acquires the information of the terminal through the interaction with the terminal.

The information of the terminal includes address information of the terminal and an interface corresponding to the address information, and optionally, the priority of each address. The interface here may be a PC5 interface, uu interface, bluetooth interface or WiFi interface. And the address information corresponding to the Uu interface is an address allocated by the SMF for the PDU session of the terminal.

For example, the AF may obtain address information of the first terminal and an interface corresponding to the address information through interaction with the first terminal, and optionally further includes a priority of each address.

For another example, the AF may obtain address information of the second terminal and an interface corresponding to the address information through interaction with the second terminal, and optionally further includes a priority of each address.

Step 502, the relay node obtains the information of the terminal from the AF.

For example, the relay node may subscribe to the AF for information of a newly added terminal in a certain PIN in advance, so that when a new terminal is added in the PIN, the AF may acquire the information of the newly added terminal and then send the information of the terminal to the relay node.

For another example, the relay node may request the AF for information of a newly added terminal in a certain PIN every a set time period, and when the AF acquires the information of the newly added terminal within the set time period, the AF returns the information of the newly added terminal to the relay node.

For another example, after a certain terminal establishes a connection with the relay node, the relay node requests the AF for information of the terminal, and the AF returns the information of the terminal to the relay node.

Step 503 to step 506, which are the same as the above step 406 to step 409.

The main differences between the embodiment of fig. 5 and the embodiment of fig. 4 are: in the embodiment of fig. 5, the relay node acquires information of each terminal in a certain PIN from the AF, whereas in the embodiment of fig. 4, the relay node acquires information of each terminal from each terminal.

It is to be understood that, in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the relay node includes a corresponding hardware structure and/or software module for performing each function. Those of skill in the art will readily appreciate that the various illustrative elements and method steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as hardware or combinations of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is performed as hardware or computer software driven hardware depends on the particular application scenario and design constraints imposed on the solution.

Fig. 6 and 7 are schematic structural diagrams of a possible communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the relay node in the above method embodiments, and therefore, the beneficial effects of the above method embodiments can also be achieved. In the embodiment of the present application, the communication device may be a relay node, or may be a module (e.g., a chip) applied to the relay node.

As shown in fig. 6, the communication device 600 includes a processing unit 610 and a transceiving unit 620. The communication device 600 is used to implement the functions of the relay node in the method embodiments shown in fig. 3 to 5.

When the communication apparatus 600 is used to implement the functionality of a relay node in the method embodiments illustrated in fig. 3 to 5: the transceiving unit 620 is configured to receive a first data packet from a first terminal, where the first data packet includes first address information of a second terminal, and the first address information corresponds to a first interface of the second terminal; the processing unit 610 is configured to, when the first interface is unavailable, obtain second address information of the second terminal, where the second address information corresponds to a second interface of the second terminal, and the second interface is available;

as a possible implementation method, the transceiving unit 620 is further configured to send a second data packet to the second terminal, where the second data packet includes the second address information, and the second data packet is obtained according to the first data packet.

As a possible implementation method, the processing unit 610 is specifically configured to obtain the second address information from the information of the multiple available addresses according to the information of the multiple available addresses of the second terminal and priorities respectively corresponding to the multiple available addresses.

As a possible implementation method, the second interface is a Uu interface, and the second address information is address information of a session of the second terminal; the transceiving unit 620 is further configured to receive a first message from the second terminal, where the first message includes the second address information and the second interface.

As a possible implementation method, the first message further includes one or more of the following information: identification information of a personal internet of things PIN corresponding to the second address information, identification information of a service corresponding to the second address information, identification information of an application corresponding to the second address information, or a user identification of an application layer corresponding to the second address information.

As a possible implementation method, the first message is sent through a PC5 interface or a non-third generation partnership project 3GPP interface of the second terminal.

As a possible implementation method, the transceiver unit 620 is further configured to send a request message to a first network element, where the request message includes identification information of the second terminal, the request message is used to obtain address information of the second terminal, and the first network element is an application function network element or a core network element; and receiving a response message from the first network element, wherein the response message comprises the second address information and the second interface.

As a possible implementation method, the transceiver unit 620 is further configured to send a request message to a first network element, where the request message includes identification information of a PIN to which the second terminal belongs, the request message is used to obtain address information of the terminal in the PIN, and the first network element is an application function network element or a core network element; and receiving a response message from the first network element, wherein the response message comprises the identification information of the second terminal, the second address information and the second interface.

As a possible implementation method, the processing unit 610 is further configured to record that the state of the first interface is available when the first interface is updated to be available; the transceiving unit 620 is further configured to receive a third data packet from the first terminal, where the third data packet includes the first address information of the second terminal; and sending the third data packet to the second terminal.

More detailed descriptions about the processing unit 610 and the transceiver unit 620 can be directly obtained by referring to the related descriptions in the method embodiments shown in fig. 3 to fig. 5, which are not repeated herein.

As shown in fig. 7, the communication device 700 includes a processor 710 and an interface circuit 720. Processor 710 and interface circuit 720 are coupled to each other. It is understood that interface circuit 720 may be a transceiver or an input-output interface. Optionally, the communication device 700 may further include a memory 730 for storing instructions to be executed by the processor 710 or for storing input data required by the processor 710 to execute the instructions or for storing data generated by the processor 710 after executing the instructions.

When the communication device 700 is used to implement the methods shown in fig. 3 to 5, the processor 710 is configured to implement the functions of the processing unit 610, and the interface circuit 720 is configured to implement the functions of the transceiver unit 620.

It is understood that the Processor in the embodiments of the present Application may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), other general purpose Processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other Programmable logic device, a transistor logic device, a hardware component, or any combination thereof. The general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but may be any conventional processor.

The method steps in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented by hardware, or may be implemented by software instructions executed by a processor. The software instructions may be comprised of corresponding software modules that may be stored in random access memory, flash memory, read only memory, programmable read only memory, erasable programmable read only memory, electrically erasable programmable read only memory, registers, a hard disk, a removable hard disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium may also be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC may reside in a base station or a terminal. Of course, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a base station or terminal.

In the above embodiments, the implementation may be wholly or partially realized by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are performed in whole or in part. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, a base station, user equipment, or other programmable device. The computer program or instructions may be stored in a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another computer readable storage medium, for example, the computer program or instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center by wire or wirelessly. The computer readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. that integrates one or more available media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape; optical media such as digital video disks; but also semiconductor media such as solid state disks. The computer readable storage medium may be volatile or nonvolatile storage medium, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile types of storage media.

In the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or conflicting with respect to logic, the terms and/or descriptions in different embodiments have consistency and may be mutually cited, and technical features in different embodiments may be combined to form a new embodiment according to their inherent logic relationship.

In 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 objects, meaning that there may be three relationships, e.g., a and/or B, which may mean: a exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone, wherein A and B can be singular or plural. In the description of the text of the present application, the character "/" generally indicates that the former and latter associated objects are in an "or" relationship; in the formula of the present application, the character "/" indicates that the preceding and following related objects are in a relationship of "division".

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. The sequence numbers of the above processes do not mean the execution sequence, and the execution sequence of the processes should be determined by the functions and the inherent logic.

Claims

1. A method of communication, comprising:

receiving a first data packet from a first terminal, wherein the first data packet comprises first address information of a second terminal, and the first address information corresponds to a first interface of the second terminal;

when the first interface is unavailable, acquiring second address information of the second terminal, wherein the second address information corresponds to a second interface of the second terminal, and the second interface is available;

and sending a second data packet to the second terminal, wherein the second data packet comprises the second address information and is obtained according to the first data packet.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining second address information of the second terminal comprises:

and acquiring the second address information from the information of the plurality of available addresses according to the information of the plurality of available addresses of the second terminal and the priorities corresponding to the plurality of available addresses respectively.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the second interface is a Uu interface, and the second address information is address information of a session of the second terminal;

the method further comprises the following steps:

and receiving a first message from the second terminal, wherein the first message comprises the second address information and the second interface.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the first message further includes one or more of the following information: identification information of a personal internet of things PIN corresponding to the second address information, identification information of a service corresponding to the second address information, identification information of an application corresponding to the second address information, or a user identification of an application layer corresponding to the second address information.

5. The method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the first message is sent over a PC5 interface or a non-third Generation partnership project,3GPP, interface of the second terminal.

6. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the method further comprises:

sending a request message to a first network element, wherein the request message comprises identification information of the second terminal, the request message is used for acquiring address information of the second terminal, and the first network element is an application function network element or a core network element;

receiving a response message from the first network element, where the response message includes the second address information and the second interface.

7. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the method further comprises:

sending a request message to a first network element, wherein the request message comprises identification information of a PIN to which the second terminal belongs, the request message is used for acquiring address information of the terminal in the PIN, and the first network element is an application function network element or a core network element;

receiving a response message from the first network element, where the response message includes the identification information of the second terminal, the second address information, and the second interface.

8. The method of any of claims 1 to 7, further comprising:

when the first interface is updated to be available, recording the state of the first interface as available;

receiving a third data packet from the first terminal, wherein the third data packet comprises the first address information of the second terminal;

and sending the third data packet to the second terminal.

9. A communication apparatus, comprising a transceiving unit and a processing unit;

the receiving and sending unit is configured to receive a first data packet from a first terminal, where the first data packet includes first address information of a second terminal, and the first address information corresponds to a first interface of the second terminal;

the processing unit is configured to obtain second address information of the second terminal when the first interface is unavailable, where the second address information corresponds to a second interface of the second terminal, and the second interface is available;

the transceiver unit is further configured to send a second data packet to the second terminal, where the second data packet includes the second address information, and the second data packet is obtained according to the first data packet.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the processing unit is specifically configured to obtain the second address information from the information of multiple available addresses of the second terminal according to the information of the multiple available addresses and priorities corresponding to the multiple available addresses, respectively.

11. The apparatus according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the second interface is a Uu interface, and the second address information is address information of a session of the second terminal; the transceiver unit is further configured to receive a first message from the second terminal, where the first message includes the second address information and the second interface.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the first message further comprises one or more of the following information: identification information of a personal internet of things PIN corresponding to the second address information, identification information of a service corresponding to the second address information, identification information of an application corresponding to the second address information, or a user identification of an application layer corresponding to the second address information.

13. The apparatus according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the first message is sent over a PC5 interface or a non-third generation partnership project 3GPP interface of the second terminal.

14. The apparatus according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the transceiver unit is further configured to send a request message to a first network element, where the request message includes identification information of the second terminal, the request message is used to obtain address information of the second terminal, and the first network element is an application function network element or a core network element; receiving a response message from the first network element, where the response message includes the second address information and the second interface.

15. The apparatus according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the transceiver unit is further configured to send a request message to a first network element, where the request message includes identification information of a PIN to which the second terminal belongs, the request message is used to obtain address information of the terminal in the PIN, and the first network element is an application function network element or a core network element; receiving a response message from the first network element, where the response message includes the identifier information of the second terminal, the second address information, and the second interface.

16. The apparatus according to any one of claims 9 to 15, wherein the processing unit is further configured to record a status of the first interface as available when the first interface is updated to be available;

the transceiver unit is further configured to receive a third data packet from the first terminal, where the third data packet includes the first address information of the second terminal; and sending the third data packet to the second terminal.

17. A communications device comprising means for performing the method of any of claims 1 to 8.

18. A communications device comprising a processor and interface circuitry for receiving and transmitting signals from or sending signals to other communications devices than the communications device, the processor being operable by logic circuitry or executing code instructions to implement the method of any of claims 1 to 8.

19. A computer program product, comprising a computer program which, when executed by a communication apparatus, implements the method of any of claims 1 to 8.

20. A computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program or instructions are stored which, when executed by a communication apparatus, carry out the method of any one of claims 1 to 8.