CN116830774A

CN116830774A - Multipath communication method and device

Info

Publication number: CN116830774A
Application number: CN202380009023.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 江小威
Original assignee: Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software Co Ltd
Current assignee: Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software Co Ltd
Priority date: 2023-04-07
Filing date: 2023-04-07
Publication date: 2023-09-29

Abstract

The embodiment of the application discloses a multi-path communication method and a multi-path communication device, wherein the first configuration information is used for multi-path communication of a terminal device by receiving the first configuration information of the network device, and the first indication information and the second indication information are respectively indicated to a first Media Access Control (MAC) entity and/or a second MAC entity according to the data quantity to be transmitted of the terminal device and a first threshold value under the condition that the first configuration information comprises the first threshold value, so that the terminal device can realize the split transmission of data under the multi-path communication scene, adaptively and flexibly request the scheduled resources, effectively improve the service quality, improve the transmission rate and the transmission reliability, and avoid the waste of the resources.

Description

Multipath communication method and device

Technical Field

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

Background

In the related art, a terminal device can establish a communication connection with a network device not directly connected to the network device but through a relay of another terminal device. Among them, a terminal device not connected to the network device is called a remote (remote) terminal device, and a terminal device providing a relay function is called a relay (relay) terminal device. The connection of the terminal device directly with the network device is called direct link (direct link), and the connection of the terminal device with the network device through the relay terminal device is called indirect link (indirect link). The remote terminal equipment and the relay terminal equipment are in unicast communication through a side link (sidelink), and a communication interface between the terminal equipment is PC5.

In order to improve the transmission rate and transmission reliability, the remote terminal device may maintain a connection with the network through both a direct path and an indirect path, which is called multipath connection (multipath).

Disclosure of Invention

An embodiment of a first aspect of the present application proposes a multi-path communication method, the method being performed by a terminal device, the method comprising:

receiving first configuration information configured by network equipment, wherein the first configuration information is used for multi-path communication of the terminal equipment;

when the first configuration information comprises a first threshold value, according to the data quantity to be transmitted of the terminal equipment and the first threshold value, indicating first indication information and second indication information to a first Media Access Control (MAC) entity and/or a second MAC entity respectively;

the first MAC entity is a MAC entity corresponding to a primary radio link layer control protocol RLC entity, the second MAC entity is a MAC entity corresponding to a secondary RLC entity, the first indication information is used for triggering a buffer status report BSR of the first MAC entity and/or calculating a buffer size in the BSR of the first MAC entity, and the second indication information is used for triggering a BSR of the second MAC entity and/or calculating a buffer size in the BSR of the second MAC entity.

An embodiment of a second aspect of the present application proposes a multi-path communication method, the method being performed by a network device, the method comprising:

transmitting first configuration information to terminal equipment, wherein the first configuration information is used for multi-path communication of the terminal equipment;

when the first configuration information includes a first threshold, the first threshold is used for the terminal device to respectively indicate first indication information and second indication information to a first media access control MAC entity and/or a second MAC entity according to the data volume to be transmitted of the terminal device and the first threshold;

An embodiment of a third aspect of the present application provides a multi-path communication apparatus, the apparatus being applied to a terminal device, the apparatus comprising:

A transceiver unit, configured to receive first configuration information of a network device, where the first configuration information is used for multipath communication of the terminal device;

the processing unit is configured to, when the first configuration information includes a first threshold value, respectively indicate first indication information and second indication information to a first media access control MAC entity and/or a second MAC entity according to a data amount to be transmitted of the terminal device and the first threshold value;

An embodiment of a fourth aspect of the present application proposes a multipath communication apparatus, the apparatus being applied to a network device, the apparatus comprising:

the receiving and transmitting unit is used for sending first configuration information to the terminal equipment, wherein the first configuration information is used for multipath communication of the terminal equipment;

An embodiment of a fifth aspect of the present application proposes a communication apparatus, the apparatus including a processor and a memory, the memory storing a computer program, the processor executing the computer program stored in the memory, to cause the apparatus to execute the multi-path communication method according to the embodiment of the first aspect.

An embodiment of a sixth aspect of the present application proposes a communication apparatus, the apparatus including a processor and a memory, the memory storing a computer program, the processor executing the computer program stored in the memory, to cause the apparatus to execute the multipath communication method according to the embodiment of the second aspect.

An embodiment of a seventh aspect of the present application proposes a communication device comprising a processor and an interface circuit for receiving code instructions and transmitting them to the processor, the processor being configured to execute the code instructions to cause the device to perform the multi-path communication method according to the embodiment of the first aspect.

An eighth aspect of the present application provides a communications apparatus comprising a processor and interface circuitry for receiving code instructions and transmitting to the processor, the processor being configured to execute the code instructions to cause the apparatus to perform the multi-path communications method of the second aspect of the present application.

An embodiment of a ninth aspect of the present application proposes a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause the multipath communication method described in the embodiment of the first aspect described above to be implemented.

An embodiment of a tenth aspect of the present application proposes a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause the multipath communication method described in the above-described second aspect embodiment to be implemented.

An eleventh aspect of the present application provides a computer program which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the multi-path communication method of the first aspect.

An embodiment of the twelfth aspect of the present application proposes a computer program which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the multi-path communication method according to the embodiment of the second aspect.

According to the multipath communication method and device provided by the embodiment of the application, the first configuration information of the network equipment is received, the first configuration information is used for multipath communication of the terminal equipment, under the condition that the first configuration information comprises the first threshold value, the first indication information and the second indication information are respectively indicated to the first media access control MAC entity and/or the second MAC entity according to the data quantity to be transmitted of the terminal equipment and the first threshold value, so that the terminal equipment can realize the split transmission of data under the scene of multipath communication, adaptively and flexibly request the scheduled resources, the service quality is effectively improved, the transmission rate and the transmission reliability are improved, and the waste of resources is avoided.

Additional aspects and advantages of the application will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the application.

Drawings

In order to more clearly describe the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the background art, the following description will describe the drawings that are required to be used in the embodiments of the present application or the background art.

Fig. 1a is a schematic diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 1b is a schematic diagram of a BSR structure according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2 is a schematic flow chart of a multi-path communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 is a schematic flow chart of a multi-path communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a schematic flow chart of a multi-path communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a schematic flow chart of a multi-path communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a schematic flow chart of a multi-path communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a multi-path communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a multi-path communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of another multipath communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a chip according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

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

The terminology used in the embodiments of the application is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of embodiments of the application. As used in this application and the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the term "and/or" as used herein refers to and encompasses any or all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

It should be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used in embodiments of the present application to describe various information, these information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one type of information from another. For example, the first information may also be referred to as second information, and similarly, the second information may also be referred to as first information, without departing from the scope of embodiments of the present application. The words "if" and "if" as used herein may be interpreted as "at … …" or "at … …" or "in response to a determination", depending on the context.

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present application, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like or similar reference numerals refer to the like or similar elements throughout. The embodiments described below by referring to the drawings are illustrative and intended to explain the present application and should not be construed as limiting the application.

In order to better understand a multipath communication method disclosed in the embodiments of the present application, a communication system to which the embodiments of the present application are applicable will be described first.

Referring to fig. 1a, fig. 1a is a schematic diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the application. The communication system may include, but is not limited to, a network device, a first terminal device, and a second terminal device, and the number and form of devices shown in fig. 1a are only for example and not limiting to the embodiment of the present application, and may include two or more network devices, two or more first terminal devices, and two or more second terminal devices in practical applications. The communication system shown in fig. 1a comprises, for example, a network device 101, a first terminal device 102 and a second terminal device 103.

It should be noted that the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application may be applied to various communication systems. For example: a long term evolution (Long Term Evolution, LTE) system, a fifth generation mobile communication system, a 5G new air interface system, or other future new mobile communication systems, etc.

The network device 101 in the embodiment of the present application is an entity for transmitting or receiving signals on the network side. For example, the network device 101 and may be an Evolved NodeB (eNB), a transmission point (Transmission Reception Point, TRP), a Next Generation NodeB (gNB) in an NR system, a base station in other future mobile communication systems or an access node in a wireless fidelity (Wireless Fidelity, wiFi) system, etc. The embodiment of the application does not limit the specific technology and the specific equipment form adopted by the network equipment. The network device provided by the embodiment of the application can be composed of a Centralized Unit (CU) and a Distributed Unit (DU), wherein the CU can also be called a Control Unit (Control Unit), the protocol layers of the network device such as a base station can be separated by adopting the structure of the CU-DU, the functions of part of the protocol layers are placed in the CU for centralized Control, the functions of the rest part or all of the protocol layers are Distributed in the DU, and the DU is centralized controlled by the CU.

The first terminal device 102 and the second terminal device 103 in the embodiment of the present application are both entities on the user side for receiving or transmitting signals, such as a mobile phone. The Terminal device may also be referred to as a Terminal device (Terminal), a User Equipment (UE), a Mobile Station (MS), a Mobile Terminal device (MT), etc. The terminal device may be an automobile with a communication function, a Smart car, a Mobile Phone, a wearable device, a tablet computer (Pad), a computer with a wireless transceiving function, a Virtual Reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented Reality (Augmented Reality, AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal device in industrial control (Industrial Control), a wireless terminal device in Self-Driving (Self-Driving), a wireless terminal device in teleoperation (Remote Medical Surgery), a wireless terminal device in Smart Grid (Smart Grid), a wireless terminal device in transportation security (Transportation Safety), a wireless terminal device in Smart City (Smart City), a wireless terminal device in Smart Home (Smart Home), or the like. The embodiment of the application does not limit the specific technology and the specific equipment form adopted by the terminal equipment.

In a communication system, in order to support direct communication between terminal devices, a Side Link (SL) communication method is introduced, and a communication interface between terminal devices is PC-5 (bottom layer direct connection cellular communication protocol interface). According to the corresponding relation between the sending terminal equipment and the receiving terminal equipment, three transmission modes are supported on the sidelink: unicast, multicast and broadcast.

In the related art, the first terminal device 102 can establish a communication connection with the network device 101 not directly with the network device 101 but through a relay of another second terminal device 103. The coverage area of the wireless network can be expanded through the relay connection, communication blind spots are eliminated or reduced, and higher link capacity is obtained. Among them, a terminal device not connected to the network device is called a remote (remote) terminal device, and a terminal device providing a relay function is called a relay (relay) terminal device. The connection of the terminal device directly with the network device is called direct link (direct link), and the connection of the terminal device with the network device through the relay terminal device is called indirect link (indirect link). And the remote terminal equipment and the relay terminal equipment are in unicast communication through the sidelink.

In order to improve the transmission rate and transmission reliability, the remote terminal device (first terminal device 102) may maintain a connection with the network through both a direct path and an indirect path, which is called Multipath (MP). Data signaling bearers (Data Radio Bearer, DRBs) may be supported for transmission over direct links only, DRBs for transmission over indirect links only, and DRB forking (split DRBs). DRB forking may be transmitted over both direct and indirect links.

When there is uplink data to be transmitted, a scheduling request message needs to be sent to the network. However, the scheduling request message only indicates that there is uplink data to be transmitted and requests uplink resources, and does not indicate how much data is specifically needed to be transmitted. It is necessary to indicate how much data itself needs to be transmitted by reporting a buffer status report (Buffer Status Report, BSR), and the network device allocates uplink resources to the UE according to the BSR. The format of the Short BSR is shown in fig. 1 b.

Wherein the Buffer Size (Buffer Size) indicates the sum of the available data for transmission remaining in the radio link layer control protocol (Radio Link Control, RLC) layer and packet data convergence protocol (Packet Data Convergence Protocol, PDCP) layer of all logical channels within the logical channel group (Logical Channel Group, LCG) after all transport blocks are generated within the current transmission time interval are transmitted.

In a side-link SL communication scenario, a terminal device supporting operation in a first resource allocation mode (mode 1) reports the SLBSR to a network device.

In the scenario of multipath connection, for the split DRB, the terminal device can directly perform data transmission from the direct link and the indirect link, and the specific impact of the split of the PDCP layer on Uu BSR and SL BSR reporting is unclear.

It may be understood that, the communication system described in the embodiment of the present application is for more clearly describing the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, and is not limited to the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application, and those skilled in the art can know that, with the evolution of the system architecture and the appearance of the new service scenario, the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application is equally applicable to similar technical problems.

In one embodiment of the present application, there is provided a multi-path communication method, which is performed by a first terminal device. The method may be performed independently or in combination with other embodiments of the application described below.

The multipath communication method and the device thereof provided by the application are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to fig. 2, fig. 2 is a flow chart of a multi-path communication method according to an embodiment of the application. It should be noted that, the multi-path communication method according to the embodiment of the present application is executed by the terminal device. The method may be performed independently or in combination with any of the other embodiments of the application. As shown in fig. 2, the method may include the steps of:

step 201, first configuration information of a network device is received, where the first configuration information is used for multi-path communication of the terminal device.

In the embodiment of the application, the terminal equipment can receive the first configuration information configured by the network equipment, wherein the first configuration information is used for multi-path (multipath) communication of the terminal equipment.

Optionally, the first configuration information may be included in radio resource control (Radio Resources Control, RRC) signaling or system information block (System Information Block, SIB). Alternatively, the first configuration information may be preconfigured to the terminal device by the network side, that is, the first configuration information is included in the preconfiguration.

It can be understood that the terminal device in RRC connected state can acquire the first configuration information through dedicated RRC signaling; the terminal equipment in the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state can acquire the first configuration information through the SIB; the terminal device in an out of coverage (OOC) state may acquire the first configuration information through a pre-configuration of the network device.

In some embodiments, the first configuration information may include a first threshold value for DRB splitting of the terminal device.

In some embodiments, the first configuration information may include a first threshold and a first ratio, where the first threshold and the first ratio are used for DRB splitting of the terminal device.

In some embodiments, the first configuration information may not include the first threshold value nor the first ratio.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the first ratio needs to be configured on the premise that the first threshold value is configured. That is, if the first configuration information includes the first ratio, the first configuration information must include the first threshold value; if the first threshold value is not included in the first configuration information, the first ratio value is not necessarily included in the first configuration information.

In the embodiment of the present application, when the first configuration information includes a first threshold value, the terminal device may indicate the first indication information and the second indication information to the first media access control MAC entity and/or the second MAC entity, respectively, according to the amount of data to be transmitted of the terminal device and the first threshold value.

Optionally, according to the amount of data to be transmitted of the terminal device and the first threshold value, indicating the first indication information and the second indication information to the first MAC entity and/or the second MAC entity respectively may include step 202 and step 203.

Step 202, determining a quantity relation between the quantity of data to be transmitted of the terminal device and the first threshold value under the condition that the first configuration information comprises the first threshold value.

In the embodiment of the present application, in the case that the first configuration information includes the first threshold value, the terminal device can determine the number relationship between the amount of data to be transmitted and the first threshold value.

In embodiments of the present application, the data to be transmitted of the terminal device is data of the PDCP layer. Illustratively, the amount of data to be transmitted by the terminal device is the amount of data to be transmitted by all PDCP layers.

Step 203, according to the number relationship, the first indication information and the second indication information are respectively indicated to the first media access control MAC entity and/or the second MAC entity.

In the embodiment of the present application, when the first configuration information includes a first threshold value, the PDCP entity of the terminal device can indicate first indication information to a first medium access control (Medium Access Control, MAC) entity and second indication information to a second MAC entity according to a quantity relation between an amount of data to be transmitted of the terminal device and the first threshold value.

Wherein the first indication information is used for triggering the BSR of the first MAC entity and/or calculating the buffer size (buffer size) in the BSR of the first MAC entity; the second indication information is used to trigger the BSR of the second MAC entity and/or calculate a buffer size (buffer size) in the BSR of the second MAC entity.

Optionally, the first indication information and the second indication information can also be used for triggering resource selection/resource reselection, for determining resource selection/resource reselection, for the terminal device to select/reselect a resource based on the indication information, and so on. In the embodiment of the present application, the first indication information and the second indication information may have other roles, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited herein.

It should be noted that, in each embodiment of the present application, the first MAC entity is a MAC entity corresponding to the primary RLC entity (primary RLC entity), the second MAC entity is a MAC entity corresponding to the secondary RLC entity (secondary RLC entity), and both the first MAC entity and the second MAC entity are on the terminal device side.

Alternatively, the primary RLC entity may be a Uu RLC entity, and the secondary RLC entity may be a PC5 RLC entity; alternatively, the primary RLC entity may be a PC5 RLC entity, and the secondary RLC entity may be a Uu RLC entity.

Alternatively, the terminal device may determine the primary RLC entity according to second configuration information configured by the network device.

Optionally, the second configuration information may also be included in RRC signaling or SIB. Alternatively, the second configuration information may be preconfigured to the terminal device by the network side, that is, the second configuration information is included in the preconfiguration.

It will be appreciated that data transmitted through the Uu RLC entity and the corresponding Uu MAC entity will be transmitted through the direct link, and data transmitted through the PC5 RLC entity and the corresponding PC5 MAC entity will be transmitted through the indirect link.

In some embodiments, when the first configuration information includes a first threshold value, the first indication information and the second indication information are both used to indicate the amount of data to be transmitted of the terminal device when the amount of data to be transmitted of the terminal device is greater than or equal to the first threshold value.

In some embodiments, in a case where the first configuration information includes a first threshold value, the first indication information is used to indicate the amount of data to be transmitted of the terminal device, and the second indication information is used to indicate that the amount of data to be transmitted is 0, in a case where the amount of data to be transmitted of the terminal device is less than the first threshold value.

In some embodiments, the first configuration information includes the first threshold value and a first ratio value.

Optionally, the first ratio is used for indicating a ratio of the amount of data transmitted by the first MAC entity to the amount of data to be transmitted by the terminal device, where the amount of data to be transmitted by the terminal device is greater than or equal to the first threshold; or alternatively, the process may be performed,

the first ratio is used for indicating the ratio of the data quantity transmitted by the second MAC entity to the data quantity to be transmitted by the terminal equipment under the condition that the data quantity to be transmitted by the terminal equipment is larger than or equal to the first threshold value; or alternatively, the process may be performed,

the first ratio is used for indicating the ratio of the data quantity transmitted by the first MAC entity to the data quantity transmitted by the second MAC entity when the data quantity to be transmitted by the terminal device is greater than or equal to the first threshold.

In some embodiments, in a case where the first configuration information includes a first threshold value and the first ratio, the first indication information is used to indicate an amount of data to be transmitted through the first MAC entity, and the second indication information is used to indicate an amount of data to be transmitted through the second MAC entity, where the amount of data to be transmitted by the terminal device is greater than or equal to the first threshold value;

The data amount to be transmitted through the first MAC entity and the data amount to be transmitted through the second MAC entity are determined by the terminal device according to the first ratio and the data amount to be transmitted of the terminal device.

As an example, the first ratio is used to indicate that, when the amount of data to be transmitted by the terminal device is greater than or equal to the first threshold, the ratio of the amount of data to be transmitted by the first MAC entity to the amount of data to be transmitted by the terminal device may be determined, where the amount of data to be transmitted by the first MAC entity=the first ratio.

As another example, the first ratio is used to indicate that, when the amount of data to be transmitted by the terminal device is greater than or equal to the first threshold, the ratio of the amount of data to be transmitted by the second MAC entity to the amount of data to be transmitted by the terminal device may be determined by determining that the amount of data to be transmitted by the first MAC entity= (1-first ratio) = the amount of data to be transmitted by the terminal device, and that the amount of data to be transmitted by the second MAC entity = first ratio.

As yet another example, the first ratio is used to indicate that, when the amount of data to be transmitted by the terminal device is greater than or equal to the first threshold, the ratio of the amount of data to be transmitted by the first MAC entity to the amount of data to be transmitted by the second MAC entity may be determined as the first ratio/(1+first ratio), and the amount of data to be transmitted by the second MAC entity=the amount of data to be transmitted by the terminal device/(1+first ratio).

In some embodiments, in a case where the first configuration information includes a first threshold value and the first ratio, the first indication information is used to indicate the amount of data to be transmitted of the terminal device, and the second indication information is used to indicate that the amount of data to be transmitted is 0, in a case where the amount of data to be transmitted of the terminal device is less than the first threshold value.

In some embodiments, in the case that the first configuration information does not include the first threshold value, the terminal device can indicate first indication information to the first MAC entity, where the first indication information is used to indicate an amount of data to be transmitted by the terminal device, and the first indication information is used to trigger a BSR of the first MAC entity and/or calculate a buffer size in the BSR of the first MAC entity.

It should be noted that, in embodiments of the present application, triggering the BSR of the MAC entity may include triggering the MAC entity to generate and report the BSR.

In the embodiments of the present application, only the terminal device in the first resource allocation mode (mode 1) may be supported, and the terminal device in the first resource allocation mode (mode 1) or the second resource allocation mode (mode 2) may also be supported (i.e., the resource allocation mode of the terminal device is not limited).

The first resource allocation mode (mode 1) is a mode of network dynamic scheduling, and the second resource allocation mode (mode 2) is a mode of terminal equipment autonomously selecting resources in a network configured or preconfigured resource pool.

In summary, by receiving first configuration information of a network device, where the first configuration information is used for multipath communication of the terminal device, determining a quantity relation between a data quantity to be transmitted of the terminal device and the first threshold value when the first configuration information includes the first threshold value, and respectively indicating first indication information and second indication information to a first media access control MAC entity and a second MAC entity according to the quantity relation, so that the terminal device can implement split transmission of data in a multipath communication scenario, adaptively and flexibly request scheduled resources, effectively improve service quality, improve transmission rate and transmission reliability, and avoid waste of resources.

Referring to fig. 3, fig. 3 is a flow chart of a multi-path communication method according to an embodiment of the application. It should be noted that, the multi-path communication method according to the embodiment of the present application is executed by the terminal device. The method may be performed independently or in combination with any of the other embodiments of the application. As shown in fig. 3, the method may include the steps of:

step 301, receiving first configuration information of a network device, where the first configuration information is used for multi-path communication of the terminal device, and the first configuration information includes a first threshold value.

Alternatively, the first configuration information may be included in radio resource control, RRC, signaling or a system information block, SIB. Alternatively, the first configuration information may be preconfigured to the terminal device by the network side, that is, the first configuration information is included in the preconfiguration.

It can be understood that the terminal device in RRC connected state can acquire the first configuration information through dedicated RRC signaling; the terminal equipment in the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state can acquire the first configuration information through the SIB; the terminal device in OOC state may obtain the first configuration information through pre-configuration of the network device.

In the embodiment of the present application, the first configuration information includes a first threshold, where the first threshold is used for DRB splitting of the terminal device.

Step 302, determining a quantity relation between the data quantity to be transmitted of the terminal device and the first threshold value.

In the embodiment of the application, the terminal equipment can determine the quantity relation between the data quantity to be transmitted and the first threshold value.

Steps 303 and 304 are executed if the amount of data to be transmitted by the terminal device is greater than or equal to the first threshold value; in case the amount of data to be transmitted by the terminal device is smaller than the first threshold value, steps 305 and 306 are performed.

Step 303, indicating first indication information to the first MAC entity, where the first indication information is used to indicate an amount of data to be transmitted by the terminal device.

Step 304, indicating second indication information to the second MAC entity, where the second indication information is used to indicate an amount of data to be transmitted by the terminal device.

In the embodiment of the present application, when the amount of data to be transmitted of the terminal device is greater than or equal to the first threshold value, the PDCP entity of the terminal device can indicate first indication information to the first MAC entity and second indication information to the second MAC entity. The first indication information and the second indication information are used for indicating the data quantity to be transmitted of the terminal equipment.

It is understood that the data to be transmitted of the terminal device herein refers to all PDCP layers of the terminal device to be transmitted.

It should be noted that, in each embodiment of the present application, the first MAC entity is a MAC entity corresponding to a primary (primary) RLC entity, the second MAC entity is a MAC entity corresponding to a secondary (secondary) RLC entity, and both the first MAC entity and the second MAC entity are on the terminal device side.

As an example, the primary RLC entity of the terminal device may be determined by a parameter in RRC signaling, such as ul-datasplit drb-via pc 5. If the parameter is set to TRUE, indicating that the primary RLC entity is a PC5 RLC entity and the secondary RLC entity is a Uu RLC entity; if the parameter is not configured or the parameter is set to FALSE, it indicates that the primary RLC entity is a Uu RLC entity and the secondary RLC entity is a PC5 RLC entity.

It will be appreciated that the above examples are shown as one possible implementation only and are not limiting of this approach. The network side may also configure the primary RLC entity for the terminal device by other parameters and other parameter configuration manners, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

It is also understood that the BSR of Uu MAC entity is Uu BSR and the BSR of PC5 MAC entity is SLBSR.

Step 305 indicates first indication information to the first MAC entity, where the first indication information is used to indicate an amount of data to be transmitted by the terminal device.

Step 306, indicates second indication information to the second MAC entity, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the amount of data to be transmitted by the second MAC entity is 0.

In the embodiment of the present application, when the amount of data to be transmitted of the terminal device is smaller than the first threshold value, the PDCP entity of the terminal device can indicate first indication information to the first MAC entity and second indication information to the second MAC entity. The first indication information is used for indicating the data quantity to be transmitted of the terminal equipment, and the second indication information is used for indicating that the data quantity to be transmitted through the second MAC entity is 0.

It is understood that the data to be transmitted of the terminal device herein also refers to all PDCP layers of the terminal device to be transmitted.

In summary, by receiving first configuration information of a network device, where the first configuration information is used for multipath communication of the terminal device, the first configuration information includes a first threshold, determining a quantity relation between an amount of data to be transmitted of the terminal device and the first threshold, and when the amount of data to be transmitted of the terminal device is greater than or equal to the first threshold, indicating first indication information to a first MAC entity, where the first indication information is used to indicate the amount of data to be transmitted of the terminal device, and indicating second indication information to a second MAC entity, where the second indication information is used to indicate the amount of data to be transmitted of the terminal device; and under the condition that the data quantity to be transmitted of the terminal equipment is smaller than the first threshold value, indicating first indicating information to a first MAC entity, wherein the first indicating information is used for indicating the data quantity to be transmitted of the terminal equipment, and indicating second indicating information to a second MAC entity, wherein the second indicating information is used for indicating the data quantity to be transmitted through the second MAC entity to be 0, so that the terminal equipment can realize split transmission of data under the scene of multipath communication, adaptively and flexibly request scheduled resources, service quality is effectively improved, transmission rate and transmission reliability are improved, and waste of resources is avoided.

Referring to fig. 4, fig. 4 is a flow chart of a multi-path communication method according to an embodiment of the application. It should be noted that, the multi-path communication method according to the embodiment of the present application is executed by the terminal device. The method may be performed independently or in combination with any of the other embodiments of the application. As shown in fig. 4, the method may include the steps of:

step 401, receiving first configuration information of a network device, where the first configuration information is used for multipath communication of the terminal device, and the first configuration information includes a first threshold value and a first ratio.

In the embodiment of the present application, the first configuration information includes a first threshold and a first ratio, where the first threshold and the first ratio are used for DRB offloading of the terminal device.

It is understood that the data to be transmitted of the terminal device refers to the data to be transmitted of all PDCP layers of the terminal device.

Step 402, determining a quantity relation between the data quantity to be transmitted of the terminal device and the first threshold value.

Steps 403 and 404 are executed if the amount of data to be transmitted by the terminal device is greater than or equal to the first threshold value; in case the amount of data to be transmitted by the terminal device is smaller than the first threshold value, steps 405 and 406 are performed.

Step 403, indicating first indication information to the first MAC entity, where the first indication information is used to indicate an amount of data to be transmitted that is transmitted by the first MAC entity.

Step 404, indicating second indication information to the second MAC entity, where the second indication information is used to indicate an amount of data to be transmitted by the second MAC entity.

In the embodiment of the present application, when the amount of data to be transmitted of the terminal device is greater than or equal to the first threshold value, the PDCP entity of the terminal device can indicate first indication information to the first MAC entity and second indication information to the second MAC entity. The first indication information is used for indicating the data quantity to be transmitted through the first MAC entity, and the second indication information is used for indicating the data quantity to be transmitted through the second MAC entity.

The data amount to be transmitted through the first MAC entity and the data amount to be transmitted through the second MAC entity are determined by the terminal device based on the first ratio and the data amount to be transmitted of the terminal device. That is, the terminal device can calculate how much data to be transmitted is submitted to the two MAC entities, respectively, according to the first ratio and the amount of data to be transmitted of the terminal device.

It is also understood that the BSR of Uu MAC entity is Uu BSR and the BSR of PC5 MAC entity is SL BSR.

Step 405 indicates first indication information to the first MAC entity, where the first indication information is used to indicate an amount of data to be transmitted by the terminal device.

Step 406, indicating second indication information to the second MAC entity, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the amount of data to be transmitted by the second MAC entity is 0.

In summary, by receiving first configuration information of a network device, where the first configuration information is used for multipath communication of the terminal device, the first configuration information includes a first threshold and a first ratio, determining a quantitative relation between an amount of data to be transmitted of the terminal device and the first threshold, and indicating first indication information to a first MAC entity when the amount of data to be transmitted of the terminal device is greater than or equal to the first threshold, where the first indication information is used to indicate the amount of data to be transmitted through the first MAC entity, and indicating second indication information to a second MAC entity, where the second indication information is used to indicate the amount of data to be transmitted through the second MAC entity; and under the condition that the data quantity to be transmitted of the terminal equipment is smaller than the first threshold value, indicating first indicating information to a first MAC entity, wherein the first indicating information is used for indicating the data quantity to be transmitted of the terminal equipment, and indicating second indicating information to a second MAC entity, wherein the second indicating information is used for indicating the data quantity to be transmitted through the second MAC entity to be 0, so that the terminal equipment can realize split transmission of data under the scene of multipath communication, adaptively and flexibly request scheduled resources, service quality is effectively improved, transmission rate and transmission reliability are improved, and waste of resources is avoided.

Referring to fig. 5, fig. 5 is a flow chart of a multi-path communication method according to an embodiment of the application. It should be noted that, the multi-path communication method according to the embodiment of the present application is executed by the terminal device. The method may be performed independently or in combination with any of the other embodiments of the application. As shown in fig. 5, the method may include the steps of:

step 501, receiving first configuration information of a network device, where the first configuration information is used for multi-path communication of the terminal device, and the first configuration information does not include a first threshold value.

In the embodiment of the present application, the first configuration information does not include the first threshold value.

Step 502 indicates first indication information to the first MAC entity, where the first indication information is used to indicate an amount of data to be transmitted by the terminal device.

In the embodiment of the present application, the PDCP entity of the terminal device can indicate the first indication information to the first MAC entity. The first indication information is used for indicating the data quantity to be transmitted of the terminal equipment.

The first indication information is used for triggering the BSR of the first MAC entity and/or calculating a buffer size (buffer size) in the BSR of the first MAC entity.

Optionally, the first indication information can also be used to trigger resource selection/resource reselection, to determine resource selection/resource reselection, to select/reselect resources based on the indication information by the terminal device, and so on. In the embodiment of the present application, the first indication information may also have other roles, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited herein.

It should be noted that, in each embodiment of the present application, the first MAC entity is a MAC entity corresponding to a primary RLC entity, where the first MAC entity is on the terminal device side.

Alternatively, the primary RLC entity may be a Uu RLC entity; alternatively, the primary RLC entity may be a PC5 RLC entity.

As an example, the primary RLC entity of the terminal device may be determined by a parameter in RRC signaling, such as ul-datasplit drb-via pc 5. If the parameter is set to TRUE, indicating that the primary RLC entity is a PC5 RLC entity; if the parameter is not configured or the parameter is set to FALSE, it indicates that the primary RLC entity is a Uu RLC entity.

In summary, by receiving the first configuration information of the network device, where the first configuration information is used for multipath communication of the terminal device, the first configuration information does not include the first threshold value, and indicates first indication information to the first MAC entity, where the first indication information is used to indicate an amount of data to be transmitted of the terminal device, so that the terminal device can adaptively and flexibly request a scheduled resource in a multipath communication scenario, thereby effectively improving service quality, improving a transmission rate and transmission reliability, and avoiding waste of resources.

Referring to fig. 6, fig. 6 is a flow chart of a multi-path communication method according to an embodiment of the application. It should be noted that, the multi-path communication method according to the embodiment of the present application is performed by the network device. The method may be performed independently or in combination with any of the other embodiments of the application. As shown in fig. 6, the method may include the steps of:

Step 601, sending first configuration information to a terminal device, where the first configuration information is used for multi-path communication of the terminal device.

In the embodiment of the application, the network device can configure the first configuration information to the terminal device, wherein the first configuration information is used for multi-path (multipath) communication of the terminal device.

In the embodiment of the present application, when the first configuration information includes a first threshold, the first threshold is used for indicating, to the first MAC entity and/or the second MAC entity, the first indication information and the second indication information according to the data amount to be transmitted and the first threshold.

Optionally, the first threshold is used for determining the number relation between the data quantity to be transmitted and the first threshold by the terminal equipment.

In the embodiment of the present application, the number relationship can be used for the PDCP entity of the terminal device to indicate the first indication information to the first medium access control (Medium Access Control, MAC) entity and the second indication information to the second MAC entity according to the number relationship between the amount of data to be transmitted of the terminal device and the first threshold value.

Optionally, the network device can configure second configuration information to the terminal device, the second configuration information being used to determine the primary RLC entity.

In summary, by sending first configuration information to a terminal device, where the first configuration information is used for multipath communication of the terminal device, and where the first configuration information includes a first threshold, the first threshold is used for the terminal device to indicate, to a first medium access control MAC entity and/or a second MAC entity, first indication information and second indication information according to a data amount to be transmitted of the terminal device and the first threshold, where the first MAC entity is a MAC entity corresponding to a primary radio link layer control protocol RLC entity, the second MAC entity is a MAC entity corresponding to a secondary RLC entity, the first indication information is used to trigger a buffer status report of the first MAC entity and/or calculate a buffer size in a BSR of the first MAC entity, and the second indication information is used to trigger a BSR of the second MAC entity and/or calculate a buffer size in a BSR of the second MAC entity, so that the terminal device can adaptively and flexibly request resources for scheduling in a scenario of multipath communication, thereby effectively improving service quality, improving transmission rate and transmission reliability, and avoiding resource waste.

The present application also provides a multi-path communication device corresponding to the multi-path communication methods provided in the above embodiments, and since the multi-path communication device provided in the embodiments of the present application corresponds to the methods provided in the above embodiments, implementation of the multi-path communication method is also applicable to the multi-path communication device provided in the following embodiments, which will not be described in detail in the following embodiments.

Referring to fig. 7, fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a multi-path communication device according to an embodiment of the application.

As shown in fig. 7, the multi-path communication apparatus 700 includes: a transceiver unit 710 and a processing unit 720, wherein:

a transceiver unit 710, configured to receive first configuration information of a network device, where the first configuration information is used for multipath communication of the terminal device;

a processing unit 720, configured to, when the first configuration information includes a first threshold, respectively indicate, to a first medium access control MAC entity and/or a second MAC entity, first indication information and second indication information according to an amount of data to be transmitted of the terminal device and the first threshold;

the first MAC entity is a MAC entity corresponding to a primary radio link layer control protocol RLC entity, the second MAC entity is a MAC entity corresponding to a secondary RLC entity, the first indication information is used for triggering a buffer status report BSR of the first MAC entity and/or calculating a buffer size in a BSR of the first MAC entity, and the second indication information is used for triggering a BSR of the second MAC entity and/or calculating a buffer size in a BSR of the second MAC entity.

Optionally, the processing unit 720 is specifically configured to:

determining the quantity relation between the data quantity to be transmitted of the terminal equipment and the first threshold value;

and respectively indicating the first indication information and the second indication information to the first MAC entity and/or the second MAC entity according to the quantity relation.

Optionally, when the amount of data to be transmitted of the terminal device is greater than or equal to the first threshold value, the first indication information and the second indication information are both used to indicate the amount of data to be transmitted of the terminal device.

Optionally, the first configuration information further includes a first ratio;

the first ratio is used for indicating the ratio of the data quantity transmitted by the first MAC entity to the data quantity to be transmitted by the terminal equipment under the condition that the data quantity to be transmitted by the terminal equipment is larger than or equal to the first threshold value; or alternatively, the process may be performed,

Optionally, when the amount of data to be transmitted of the terminal device is greater than or equal to the first threshold, the first indication information is used for indicating the amount of data to be transmitted through the first MAC entity, and the second indication information is used for indicating the amount of data to be transmitted through the second MAC entity;

Optionally, the first configuration information is included in radio resource control RRC signaling or system information block SIB or pre-configuration.

Optionally, when the amount of data to be transmitted of the terminal device is smaller than the first threshold, the first indication information is used for indicating the amount of data to be transmitted of the terminal device, and the second indication information is used for indicating the amount of data to be transmitted to be 0.

Optionally, in the case that the first configuration information does not include the first threshold value, the method includes:

and indicating first indication information to the first MAC entity, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating the data quantity to be transmitted of the terminal equipment, and the first indication information is used for triggering the BSR of the first MAC entity and/or calculating the buffer size in the BSR of the first MAC entity.

Optionally, the primary RLC entity is a Uu RLC entity and the secondary RLC entity is a PC5 RLC entity; or alternatively, the process may be performed,

the primary RLC entity is a PC5 RLC entity and the secondary RLC entity is a Uu RLC entity.

Optionally, the transceiver unit 710 is further configured to:

and receiving second configuration information configured by the network device, wherein the second configuration information is used for configuring the main RLC entity for the terminal device, and the second configuration information is included in radio resource control RRC signaling or a system information block SIB or pre-configuration.

Optionally, the data to be transmitted is data of a packet data convergence protocol PDCP layer.

According to the multi-path communication device of the embodiment, the first configuration information of the network equipment can be received, the first configuration information is used for multi-path communication of the terminal equipment, under the condition that the first configuration information comprises a first threshold value, according to the data quantity to be transmitted of the terminal equipment and the first threshold value, the first indication information and the second indication information are respectively indicated to the first media access control MAC entity and/or the second MAC entity, so that the terminal equipment can realize split transmission of data under the multi-path communication scene, adaptively and flexibly request scheduled resources, service quality is effectively improved, transmission rate and transmission reliability are improved, and waste of resources is avoided.

Referring to fig. 8, fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a multi-path communication device according to an embodiment of the application.

As shown in fig. 8, the multi-path communication apparatus 800 includes: a transceiver unit 810, wherein:

a transceiver 810, configured to send first configuration information to a terminal device, where the first configuration information is used for multipath communication of the terminal device;

when the first configuration information includes a first threshold, the first threshold is used for the terminal device to respectively indicate first indication information and second indication information to a first media access control MAC entity and/or a second MAC entity according to the data amount to be transmitted of the terminal device and the first threshold;

Optionally, the first threshold is used for determining, by the terminal device, a quantitative relation between an amount of data to be transmitted of the terminal device and the first threshold, where the quantitative relation is used for indicating, by the terminal device, the first indication information and the second indication information to the first MAC entity and/or the second MAC entity, respectively.

Optionally, the first configuration information further includes a first ratio;

the first ratio is used for indicating the ratio of the data quantity correspondingly transmitted by the first MAC entity to the data quantity transmitted by the second MAC entity when the data quantity to be transmitted by the terminal device is greater than or equal to the first threshold.

Optionally, if the first configuration information does not include the first threshold value, the first configuration information is used for indicating, by the terminal device, first indication information to the first MAC entity, where the first indication information is used for indicating an amount of data to be transmitted by the terminal device, and the first indication information is used for triggering a BSR of the first MAC entity and/or calculating a buffer size in the BSR of the first MAC entity.

Optionally, the transceiver unit is further configured to:

and configuring second configuration information to the terminal device, wherein the second configuration information is used for configuring the main RLC entity for the terminal device, and the second configuration information is included in radio resource control RRC signaling or a system information block SIB or pre-configuration.

In the multi-path communication device of this embodiment, the first configuration information may be used for multi-path communication of the terminal device by sending the first configuration information to the terminal device, where the first configuration information includes a first threshold, and the first threshold is used for the terminal device to indicate, to a first medium access control MAC entity and/or a second MAC entity, first indication information and second indication information respectively according to the amount of data to be transmitted of the terminal device and the first threshold, where the first MAC entity is a MAC entity corresponding to a primary radio link layer control protocol RLC entity, the second MAC entity is a MAC entity corresponding to a secondary RLC entity, and the first indication information is used for triggering a buffer status report of the first MAC entity and/or calculating a buffer size in a BSR of the first MAC entity, and the second indication information is used for triggering a BSR of the second MAC entity and/or calculating a buffer size in a BSR of the second MAC entity, so that the terminal device can adaptively and flexibly request for scheduling resources in a multi-path communication scenario, thereby effectively improving service quality, improving transmission rate and reliability, and avoiding wasting resources.

In order to achieve the above embodiments, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device, including: a processor and a memory, in which a computer program is stored, the processor executing the computer program stored in the memory to cause the apparatus to perform the method shown in the embodiment of fig. 2 to 5 or to perform the method shown in the embodiment of fig. 5.

In order to achieve the above embodiments, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device, including: a processor and a memory in which a computer program is stored, the processor executing the computer program stored in the memory to cause the apparatus to perform the method shown in the embodiment of fig. 6.

In order to achieve the above embodiments, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device, including: a processor and interface circuitry for receiving code instructions and transmitting to the processor, the processor for executing the code instructions to perform the methods illustrated in the embodiments of fig. 2-5 or to perform the methods illustrated in the embodiment of fig. 5.

In order to achieve the above embodiments, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device, including: a processor and interface circuitry for receiving code instructions and transmitting to the processor, the processor for executing the code instructions to perform the method shown in the embodiment of fig. 6.

Referring to fig. 9, fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of another multi-path communication device according to an embodiment of the application. The multipath communication apparatus 900 may be a network device, a terminal device, a chip system, a processor, or the like that supports the network device to implement the above method, or a chip, a chip system, a processor, or the like that supports the terminal device to implement the above method. The device can be used for realizing the method described in the method embodiment, and can be particularly referred to the description in the method embodiment.

The multi-path communication device 900 may include one or more processors 901. The processor 901 may be a general purpose processor or a special purpose processor, etc. For example, a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor may be used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processor may be used to control multi-path communication devices (e.g., base stations, baseband chips, terminal equipment chips, DUs or CUs, etc.), execute computer programs, and process data of the computer programs.

Optionally, the multi-path communication device 900 may further include one or more memories 902, on which a computer program 903 may be stored, where the processor 901 executes the computer program 903, so that the multi-path communication device 900 performs the method described in the above method embodiments. The computer program 903 may be solidified in the processor 901, in which case the processor 901 may be implemented in hardware.

Optionally, the memory 902 may also have data stored therein. The multi-path communication apparatus 900 and the memory 902 may be provided separately or may be integrated.

Optionally, the multi-path communication device 900 may further include a transceiver 905, an antenna 906. The transceiver 905 may be referred to as a transceiver unit, transceiver circuitry, or the like, for implementing a transceiver function. The transceiver 905 may include a receiver, which may be referred to as a receiver or a receiving circuit, etc., for implementing a receiving function, and a transmitter; the transmitter may be referred to as a transmitter or a transmitting circuit, etc., for implementing a transmitting function.

Optionally, one or more interface circuits 907 may be included in the multi-path communication device 900. The interface circuit 907 is used to receive code instructions and transmit them to the processor 901. The processor 901 executes code instructions to cause the multipath communication apparatus 900 to perform the method described in the method embodiments described above.

In one implementation, a transceiver for implementing the receive and transmit functions may be included in processor 901. For example, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit, or an interface circuit. The transceiver circuitry, interface or interface circuitry for implementing the receive and transmit functions may be separate or may be integrated. The transceiver circuit, interface or interface circuit may be used for reading and writing codes/data, or the transceiver circuit, interface or interface circuit may be used for transmitting or transferring signals.

In one implementation, the multi-path communication device 900 may include circuitry that may implement the functions of transmitting or receiving or communicating in the foregoing method embodiments. The processors and transceivers described in the present application may be implemented on integrated circuits (integrated circuit, ICs), analog ICs, radio frequency integrated circuits RFICs, mixed signal ICs, application specific integrated circuits (application specific integrated circuit, ASIC), printed circuit boards (printed circuit board, PCB), electronic devices, and the like. The processor and transceiver may also be fabricated using a variety of IC process technologies such as complementary metal oxide semiconductor (complementary metal oxide semiconductor, CMOS), N-type metal oxide semiconductor (NMOS), P-type metal oxide semiconductor (positive channel metal oxide semiconductor, PMOS), bipolar junction transistor (bipolar junction transistor, BJT), bipolar CMOS (BiCMOS), silicon germanium (SiGe), gallium arsenide (GaAs), etc.

The multipath communication apparatus in the above embodiment description may be a network device or a terminal device, but the scope of the multipath communication apparatus described in the present application is not limited thereto, and the structure of the multipath communication apparatus may not be limited by fig. 7 to 8. The multi-path communication means may be a stand-alone device or may be part of a larger device. For example, the multipath communication device may be:

(1) A stand-alone integrated circuit IC, or chip, or a system-on-a-chip or subsystem;

(2) A set of one or more ICs, optionally including storage means for storing data, a computer program;

(3) An ASIC, such as a Modem (Modem);

(4) Modules that may be embedded within other devices;

(5) A receiver, a terminal device, an intelligent terminal device, a cellular phone, a wireless device, a handset, a mobile unit, a vehicle-mounted device, a network device, a cloud device, an artificial intelligent device, and the like;

(6) Others, and so on.

For the case where the multi-path communication device may be a chip or a chip system, reference may be made to the schematic structure of the chip shown in fig. 10. The chip shown in fig. 10 includes a processor 1001 and an interface 1002. Wherein the number of processors 1001 may be one or more, and the number of interfaces 1002 may be a plurality.

For the case where the chip is used to implement the functions of the terminal device in the embodiment of the present application:

an interface 1002 for code instructions and transmitting to the processor;

a processor 1001 for executing code instructions to perform the methods of fig. 2-5.

For the case where the chip is used to implement the functions of the network device in the embodiment of the present application:

An interface 1002 for code instructions and transmitting to the processor;

a processor 1001 for executing code instructions to perform the method of fig. 6.

Optionally, the chip further comprises a memory 1003, the memory 1003 being used for storing the necessary computer programs and data.

Those of skill in the art will further appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks (illustrative logical block) and steps (step) described in connection with the embodiments of the present application may be implemented by electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design requirements of the overall system. Those skilled in the art may implement the functionality in a variety of ways for each particular application, but such implementation should not be construed as beyond the scope of the embodiments of the present application.

The embodiment of the application also provides a communication system, which comprises the multi-path communication device as the terminal equipment and the multi-path communication device as the network equipment in the embodiment of the foregoing fig. 7-8, or comprises the multi-path communication device as the terminal equipment and the multi-path communication device as the network equipment in the embodiment of the foregoing fig. 9.

The application also provides a readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions which when executed by a computer perform the functions of any of the method embodiments described above.

The application also provides a computer program product which, when executed by a computer, implements the functions of any of the method embodiments described above.

In the above embodiments, it may be implemented in whole or in part 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 comprises one or more computer programs. When the computer program is loaded and executed on a computer, the flow or functions according to embodiments of the present application are produced in whole or in part. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable apparatus. The computer program may be stored in or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another, for example, a website, computer, server, or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (digital subscriber line, DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) connection. Computer readable storage media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer or data storage devices, such as servers, data centers, etc., that contain an integration of 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 high-density digital video disc (digital video disc, DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a Solid State Disk (SSD)), or the like.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that: the first, second, etc. numbers referred to in the present application are merely for convenience of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application, but also to indicate the sequence.

At least one of the present application may also be described as one or more, and a plurality may be two, three, four or more, and the present application is not limited thereto. In the embodiment of the application, for a technical feature, the technical features of the technical feature are distinguished by a first, a second, a third, a, B, a C, a D and the like, and the technical features described by the first, the second, the third, the a, the B, the C, the D are not in sequence or in order of magnitude.

The correspondence relation shown in each table in the application can be configured or predefined. The values of the information in each table are merely examples, and may be configured as other values, and the present application is not limited thereto. In the case of the correspondence between the configuration information and each parameter, it is not necessarily required to configure all the correspondence shown in each table. For example, in the table of the present application, the correspondence relation shown by some rows may not be configured. For another example, appropriate morphing adjustments, e.g., splitting, merging, etc., may be made based on the tables described above. The names of the parameters indicated in the tables may be other names which are understood by the communication device, and the values or expressions of the parameters may be other values or expressions which are understood by the communication device. When the tables are implemented, other data structures may be used, for example, an array, a queue, a container, a stack, a linear table, a pointer, a linked list, a tree, a graph, a structure, a class, a heap, a hash table, or a hash table.

Predefined in the present application may be understood as defining, predefining, storing, pre-negotiating, pre-configuring, curing, or pre-sintering.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, or combinations of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.

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

It should be appreciated that various forms of the flows shown above may be used to reorder, add, or delete steps. For example, the steps described in the embodiments of the present application may be performed in parallel, sequentially or in a different order, so long as the desired result of the technical solution disclosed in the present application can be achieved, which is not limited herein.

The above embodiments do not limit the scope of the present invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications, combinations, sub-combinations and alternatives are possible, depending on design requirements and other factors. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included in the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method of multipath communication, the method being performed by a terminal device, the method comprising:

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the indicating the first indication information and the second indication information to the first medium access control MAC entity and/or the second MAC entity, respectively, according to the amount of data to be transmitted of the terminal device and the first threshold value, comprises:

3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that,

and when the data quantity to be transmitted of the terminal equipment is larger than or equal to the first threshold value, the first indication information and the second indication information are used for indicating the data quantity to be transmitted of the terminal equipment.

4. A method according to any of claims 1-3, wherein the first configuration information further comprises a first ratio;

the first ratio is used for indicating the ratio of the data quantity transmitted by the first MAC entity to the data quantity to be transmitted by the terminal device, when the data quantity to be transmitted by the terminal device is greater than or equal to the first threshold value; or alternatively, the process may be performed,

The first ratio is used for indicating the ratio of the data quantity transmitted by the second MAC entity to the data quantity to be transmitted by the terminal device, where the data quantity to be transmitted by the terminal device is greater than or equal to the first threshold; or alternatively, the process may be performed,

the first ratio is used for indicating the ratio of the data volume transmitted by the first MAC entity to the data volume transmitted by the second MAC entity when the data volume to be transmitted by the terminal device is greater than or equal to the first threshold.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of determining the position of the first electrode is performed,

the first indication information is used for indicating the data quantity to be transmitted through the first MAC entity, and the second indication information is used for indicating the data quantity to be transmitted through the second MAC entity when the data quantity to be transmitted of the terminal equipment is larger than or equal to the first threshold value;

6. The method according to any of claims 1-5, wherein the first configuration information is comprised in a radio resource control, RRC, signaling or system information block, SIB, or pre-configuration.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein,

and under the condition that the data quantity to be transmitted of the terminal equipment is smaller than the first threshold value, the first indicating information is used for indicating the data quantity to be transmitted of the terminal equipment, and the second indicating information is used for indicating the data quantity to be transmitted to be 0.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein in case the first threshold value is not included in the first configuration information, the method comprises:

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein,

the main RLC entity is a Uu RLC entity, and the auxiliary RLC entity is a PC5 RLC entity; or alternatively, the process may be performed,

10. The method according to any one of claims 9, further comprising:

and receiving second configuration information configured by the network equipment, wherein the second configuration information is used for configuring the main RLC entity for the terminal equipment, and the second configuration information is included in Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling or a System Information Block (SIB) or pre-configuration.

11. The method according to any of claims 1-10, wherein the data to be transmitted is data of a packet data convergence protocol, PDCP, layer.

12. A method of multipath communication, the method being performed by a network device, the method comprising:

when the first configuration information includes a first threshold, the first threshold is used for the terminal device to respectively indicate first indication information and second indication information to a first media access control MAC entity and/or a second MAC entity according to the data volume to be transmitted of the terminal device;

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the first threshold value is used by the terminal device to determine a quantitative relation between an amount of data to be transmitted by the terminal device and the first threshold value, the quantitative relation being used by the terminal device to indicate the first indication information and the second indication information to the first MAC entity and/or the second MAC entity, respectively.

14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, wherein,

15. The method of any of claims 12-14, wherein the first configuration information further comprises a first ratio;

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of determining the position of the probe is performed,

17. The method according to any of claims 12-16, wherein the first configuration information is comprised in a radio resource control, RRC, signaling or a system information block, SIB, or a pre-configuration.

18. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 16, wherein,

19. The method according to claim 12, wherein in case the first threshold value is not included in the first configuration information, the first configuration information is used for the terminal device to indicate to the first MAC entity first indication information, the first indication information is used for indicating an amount of data to be transmitted by the terminal device, the first indication information is used for triggering a BSR of the first MAC entity and/or calculating a buffer size in the BSR of the first MAC entity.

20. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 19, wherein,

21. The method according to any one of claims 20, further comprising:

configuring second configuration information to the terminal device, where the second configuration information is used to configure the primary RLC entity for the terminal device, and the second configuration information is included in radio resource control RRC signaling or a system information block SIB or pre-configuration.

22. The method according to any of claims 12-21, wherein the data to be transmitted is data of a packet data convergence protocol, PDCP, layer.

23. A multi-path communication apparatus, the apparatus being applied to a terminal device, the apparatus comprising:

24. A multi-path communication apparatus, the apparatus being applied to a network device, the apparatus comprising:

25. A communication device, characterized in that the device comprises a processor and a memory, the memory having stored therein a computer program, the processor executing the computer program stored in the memory to cause the device to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 11 or to perform the method of any one of claims 12 to 22.

26. A communication device, comprising: a processor and interface circuit;

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

the processor for executing the code instructions to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 11 or to perform the method of any one of claims 12 to 22.

27. A computer readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed, cause the method of any one of claims 1 to 11 to be implemented or cause the method of any one of claims 12 to 22 to be implemented.

28. A communication system, comprising:

terminal device for performing the method of any of claims 1 to 11;

network device for performing the method of any of claims 12 to 22.