CN116997032A

CN116997032A - Communication method and device

Info

Publication number: CN116997032A
Application number: CN202210578450.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 姚楚婷; 才宇; 徐海博; 王瑞; 潘晓丹
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-04-25
Filing date: 2022-05-25
Publication date: 2023-11-03

Abstract

The application relates to a communication method and equipment. The remote terminal equipment receives a first data packet from the relay terminal equipment through SRB1, wherein the first data packet comprises a first message and an SRAP header, and the first message is an RRC connection recovery message or an RRC reestablishment message. The remote terminal device removes the SRAP header through an SRAP entity, acquires configuration information, and the SRAP entity is determined before the SRAP header is removed. The remote terminal equipment configures the SRAP entity according to the configuration information. The remote terminal device may pre-determine the SRAP entity, so that after receiving the first data packet with the SRAP header, the remote terminal device can remove the SRAP header through the SRAP entity, thereby obtaining an RRC reestablishment message or an RRC connection recovery message, so as to improve the success rate of RRC reestablishment or RRC recovery of the remote terminal device.

Description

Communication method and device

Cross Reference to Related Applications

The present application claims priority from the chinese patent application filed at 25 of 2022, 04, by the chinese national intellectual property agency, application number 202210444170.3, application name "a communication method", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

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

Background

In the Uu interface communication, when a radio resource control (radio resource control, RRC) connected state (connected) fails, a User Equipment (UE) may perform RRC recovery (resume), or when the UE is released to an RRC inactive state (inactive), may perform RRC reestablishment (reestablishment). In a relay (relay) communication scenario, a remote (remote) UE may also perform RRC recovery or reestablishment by the relay UE.

Taking the RRC reestablishment procedure as an example. Currently, when remote UE initiates RRC reestablishment, an RRC reestablishment request may be sent to a base station through relay UE. After receiving the RRC reestablishment request, the base station sends an RRC reestablishment message to the remote UE through the relay UE, where the RRC reestablishment message may carry information for configuring a sideline relay adaptation protocol (sidelink relay adaptation protocol, SRAP) entity of the remote UE. The RRC reestablishment message sent by the relay UE to the remote UE carries an SRAP header (header). The remote UE may release the SRAP entity when the RRC connection fails or when released to the RRC inactive state, which may result in the remote UE failing to recognize the RRC reestablishment message with the SRAP header, which the remote UE may discard. This will result in failure of the remote UE to reestablish and the remote UE cannot configure the SRAP entity because it cannot obtain the information for configuring the SRAP entity carried by the RRC reestablishment message. Similar is true for RRC recovery procedures.

It can be seen that the success rate of RRC reestablishment or recovery of the remote UE is low at present.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a communication method and equipment for improving the success rate of RRC reestablishment or RRC recovery of remote UE.

In a first aspect, a first communication method is provided, which may be performed by a terminal device, or by another device comprising the functionality of the terminal device, or by a chip system (or chip) or other functional module, which is capable of implementing the functionality of the terminal device, the chip system or functional module being provided in the terminal device, for example. The terminal device is for example a remote terminal device. The method comprises the following steps: receiving a first data packet from a relay terminal device through the SRB1 of the remote terminal device, wherein the first data packet comprises a first message and an SRAP header, and the first message is an RRC connection recovery message or an RRC reestablishment message; removing the SRAP head through an SRAP entity, and acquiring configuration information, wherein the SRAP entity is determined before removing the SRAP head; and configuring the SRAP entity according to the configuration information.

In the embodiment of the application, the remote terminal equipment can pre-determine the SRAP entity, so that after receiving the first data packet with the SRAP header, the remote terminal equipment can remove the SRAP header through the SRAP entity, thereby obtaining the RRC reestablishment message or the RRC connection recovery message so as to improve the success rate of RRC reestablishment or RRC recovery of the remote terminal equipment. The remote terminal device can also configure the SRAP entity according to the configuration information included in the RRC reestablishment message or the RRC connection resume message, so that the message with the SRAP header can be normally identified in the subsequent communication process.

In an alternative embodiment, the method further comprises: the SRAP entity is established prior to removing the SRAP header. For example, the remote terminal device may release the SRAP entity when it fails in the RRC connected state or when it is released to the RRC inactive state, so that the remote terminal device may re-establish the SRAP entity. For example, the SRAP entity may be established after the remote UE transmits an RRC restoration request or an RRC reestablishment request, or may be established when the remote UE is ready to transmit an RRC restoration request or an RRC reestablishment request, or may be established when the remote UE is ready to initiate an RRC connection restoration or an RRC connection reestablishment, or may be established when or after timer T301 or timer T311 is started, or may be established when or after timer T319 or timer T319a is started, or may also be established when the remote UE initiates an RRC connection restoration or an RRC connection reestablishment.

In an alternative embodiment, establishing the SRAP entity prior to removing the SRAP header includes: before removing the SRAP header, the SRAP entity is established according to a default configuration. The remote terminal device may establish the SRAP entity according to a default configuration, if the remote terminal device has not obtained configuration information for the SRAP entity.

In an alternative embodiment, the SRAP entity is not released when the remote terminal device is released to an RRC inactive state. For example, when the remote terminal device is released to the RRC inactive state, or when the remote terminal device fails in the RRC connected state, the SRAP entity is not released, the remote terminal device may utilize the unreleased SRAP entity without having to re-establish the SRAP entity. And the remote terminal equipment does not need to carry out other configuration on the unreleased SRAP entity, so that the implementation is simpler.

In an alternative embodiment, the method further comprises: the SRAP entity that was not released is reconfigured before the SRAP header is removed. For example, when the remote terminal device is released to the RRC inactive state or when the remote terminal device fails in the RRC connected state, the SRAP entity is not released, the remote terminal device may utilize the unreleased SRAP entity. The remote terminal device may reconfigure the unreleased SRAP entity to process the SRAP header of the first data packet according to the reconfigured SRAP entity. For example, the remote terminal device may reconfigure the SRAP entity according to a default configuration, and is not particularly limited.

In an alternative embodiment, the SRAP entity does not include the first domain (or, the SRAP entity does not include configuration information for the first domain); or, the SRAP entity includes the first domain (or, the SRAP entity includes configuration information of the first domain), and the first domain is an undefined domain, or the first domain carries a default value. Wherein the first domain is configured to carry an identifier of the remote terminal device. The normal SRAP entity generally includes configuration information of a first domain to bear an identifier of a remote terminal device, after the SRAP entity receives a data packet, the identifier of the remote terminal device carried by the data packet may be compared with the identifier of the remote terminal device borne by the SRAP entity, if the two identifiers are consistent, the SRAP entity may remove an SRAP header of the data packet and submit the data packet to an upper layer of the SRAP entity; if the two are not identical, the SRAP entity may discard the packet. In the embodiment of the present application, the remote terminal device has not obtained the identifier of the remote terminal device, so the SRAP entity may not include the configuration information of the first domain, or the SRAP entity includes the configuration information of the first domain, but the first domain is undefined, or the first domain carries a default value. That is, the SRAP entity does not currently carry the identity of the remote terminal device.

In an alternative embodiment, the SRAP header includes a first identifier, the first identifier being an identifier of the remote terminal device; or, the SRAP header does not include an identification of the remote terminal device. The message sent by the access network device to the relay terminal device includes the first identifier, which may not be processed by the relay terminal device, and then the SRAP header of the first data packet may continue to include the first identifier. Or the relay terminal equipment can remove the first identifier in the SRAP header and send the first data packet to the remote terminal equipment, so that the SRAP header received by the remote terminal equipment does not comprise the first identifier. The SRAP entity determined by the remote terminal device may not identify the identity of the remote terminal device, and may remove the SRAP header regardless of whether the SRAP header includes the first identity. It can be seen that the first data packet is not discarded by the remote terminal device through the SRAP entity.

In an alternative embodiment, configuring the SRAP entity according to the configuration information includes: and configuring the SRAP entity according to a second identifier included in the configuration information, wherein the second identifier is the identifier of the remote terminal equipment. After the SRAP entity of the remote terminal device removes the SRAP header of the first data packet, configuration information included in the first data packet may be obtained, and the remote terminal device may configure the SRAP entity according to the configuration information. For example, the configuration information includes a second identifier, the remote terminal device may add the second identifier to the SRAP entity, so that if the SRAP entity receives the data packet again, the SRAP header of the data packet may be removed or the data packet may be discarded according to the second identifier. The second identifier may be the same identifier as the first identifier, for example, or may be a different identifier.

In a second aspect, a second communication method is provided, which may be performed by a terminal device, or by another device comprising the functionality of the terminal device, or by a chip system or other functional module capable of implementing the functionality of the terminal device, the chip system or functional module being for example provided in the terminal device. Alternatively, the terminal device is, for example, a remote terminal device. The method comprises the following steps: receiving a first data packet from a relay terminal device through the SRB1 of the remote terminal device, wherein the first data packet comprises a first message, the first data packet does not comprise an SRAP header, and the first message is an RRC connection recovery message or an RRC reestablishment message; and configuring the SRAP entity according to the configuration information included in the first message.

For example, the relay terminal device may remove the SRAP header of the first data packet, and send the first data packet with the SRAP header removed to the remote terminal device, where the first data packet received by the remote terminal device does not include the SRAP header. The remote terminal device may process the first data packet normally, for example, the remote terminal device may obtain configuration information included in the first data packet, and configure the SRAP entity according to the configuration information, so that the SRAP entity can screen the data packet normally. In the embodiment of the application, the remote terminal equipment does not need to pre-determine the SRAP entity, and the change of the working logic of the remote terminal equipment is small, so that the implementation is simpler.

In a third aspect, a third communication method is provided, which method may be performed by a terminal device, or by another device comprising the functionality of the terminal device, or by a chip system or other functional module capable of implementing the functionality of the terminal device, the chip system or functional module being for example provided in the terminal device. Alternatively, the terminal device is, for example, a relay terminal device. The method comprises the following steps: obtaining a second data packet through an SRAP entity, wherein the second data packet comprises an SRAP head and a first message, the SRAP head comprises a first identifier of a remote terminal device, and the first message is an RRC connection recovery message or an RRC reestablishment message; processing the SRAP head through the SRAP entity to obtain a first data packet, wherein the first data packet does not comprise the first identifier; and sending the first data packet to the remote terminal equipment through the SRB1 of the remote terminal equipment.

The second data packet is, for example, from the access network device. The relay terminal device may process the SRAP header such that the first data packet does not include the first identification. After the remote terminal device receives the first data packet, the first data packet can be processed without discarding the first data packet, so that the remote terminal device can obtain an RRC reestablishment message or an RRC connection recovery message, and the success rate of RRC reestablishment or RRC recovery of the remote terminal device is improved. The remote terminal device can also configure the SRAP entity according to the configuration information included in the RRC reestablishment message or the RRC connection resume message, so that the message with the SRAP header can be normally identified in the subsequent communication process.

In an alternative embodiment, the processing, by the SRAP entity, the SRAP header to obtain the first data packet includes: removing the SRAP head through the SRAP entity to obtain the first data packet; or, processing the first identifier in the SRAP header by the SRAP entity to obtain the first data packet. The relay terminal equipment can remove the SRAP header, so that the remote terminal equipment does not need to pre-establish the SRAP entity, thereby facilitating the simplification of the operation process of the remote terminal equipment. Alternatively, the relay terminal device may process the first identifier in the SRAP header, and the SRAP entity of the remote terminal device need not identify the identifier of the remote terminal device in the SRAP header, but may remove the SRAP header. By the technical scheme of the embodiment of the application, the probability of discarding the first data packet by the remote terminal equipment can be reduced, and the success rate of RRC reestablishment or RRC recovery of the remote terminal equipment can be improved.

In an alternative embodiment, processing, by the SRAP entity, the first identification in the SRAP header includes: updating the first identity by the SRAP entity; or, removing the first identifier by the SRAP entity. For example, the relay terminal device may update the first identity in the SRAP header to a first value, e.g., a default value. Alternatively, the relay terminal device may remove the first identity from the SRAP header. Alternatively, the relay terminal device may process the first identifier in other manners, as long as the SRAP header no longer includes the first identifier.

In an alternative embodiment, the method further comprises: determining the first message as a first downlink message sent to the remote terminal equipment on the SRB 1; or determining that the second data packet includes indication information, where the indication information is used to indicate to process the SRAP header. If the relay terminal equipment determines that the first message is the first downlink message sent to the remote terminal equipment on the SRB1 or the second data packet includes the indication information, the relay terminal equipment processes the SRAP header according to the foregoing manner.

In a fourth aspect, a fourth communication method is provided, which may be performed by a terminal device, or by another device comprising the functionality of the terminal device, or by a chip system or other functional module capable of implementing the functionality of the terminal device, the chip system or functional module being for example provided in the terminal device. Alternatively, the terminal device is, for example, a remote terminal device. The method comprises the following steps: and storing a first identifier of the remote terminal equipment, wherein the first identifier is acquired by the remote terminal equipment when the remote terminal equipment is in an RRC connection state, and the first identifier is an identifier of an SRAP entity application of the remote terminal equipment.

In the embodiment of the application, the remote terminal equipment can store the first identifier, or the remote terminal equipment does not release the first identifier, so that the SRAP entity can be obtained by using the first identifier. The access network device may also assign the first identifier to the remote terminal device preferentially, so that the SRAP entity of the remote terminal device can identify the first message from the access network device, thereby improving the success rate of RRC reestablishment or RRC recovery of the remote terminal device.

In an alternative embodiment, the method further comprises: and sending a second message to the relay terminal equipment, wherein the second message comprises the first identifier, and the second message is an RRC connection recovery request message or an RRC reestablishment request message. The remote terminal device, since it stores the first identity, may carry the first identity when sending the second message to the relay terminal device.

In an alternative embodiment, the method further comprises: the SRAP entity is established in case of initiating an RRC connection recovery procedure or an RRC reestablishment procedure.

In an alternative embodiment, establishing the SRAP entity includes: and establishing the SRAP entity according to a default configuration.

In an alternative embodiment, the SRAP entity is not released when the remote terminal device is released to an RRC inactive state.

In an alternative embodiment, the method further comprises: in case of initiating an RRC connection recovery procedure or an RRC reestablishment procedure, the SRAP entity that was not released is reconfigured.

In an alternative embodiment, the method further comprises: receiving a first data packet from the relay terminal equipment through the SRB1 of the remote terminal equipment, wherein the first data packet comprises a first message and an SRAP header, the SRAP header comprises the first identifier, and the first message is an RRC connection recovery message or an RRC reestablishment message; identifying the first identifier through the SRAP entity, and removing the SRAP head to obtain configuration information; and configuring the SRAP entity according to the configuration information. In the embodiment of the present application, no matter how the remote terminal device determines the SRAP entity, the SRAP entity may carry the first identifier. Thus, the SRAP entity may screen packets normally. The access network device may assign the first identifier preferentially when assigning the identifier to the remote terminal device. If the access network device continues to allocate the first identifier to the remote terminal device, the SRAP header carried by the data packet sent by the access network device also includes the first identifier, and the remote terminal device can identify the first data packet, so as to obtain configuration information included in the first data packet.

In an alternative embodiment, the method further comprises: receiving a first data packet from the relay terminal equipment through the SRB0 of the remote terminal equipment, wherein the first data packet comprises an RRC establishment message, and the first data packet does not comprise an SRAP header; and configuring the SRAP entity according to the configuration information included in the RRC establishment message. If the access network device does not assign the first identity to the remote terminal device but assigns other identities, the access network device may perform an RRC setup procedure. In the RRC setup procedure, the access network device sends a message through SRB0, and correspondingly, the relay terminal device also sends a first data packet to the remote terminal device through SRB 0. Whereas the message carried by SRB0 does not include an SRAP header, so that the remote terminal device can obtain configuration information included in the RRC setup message to configure the SRAP entity.

With regard to the technical effects brought about by the partly optional embodiments of the fourth aspect, reference may be made to the description of the technical effects of the related embodiments of any of the foregoing aspects.

In a fifth aspect, a fifth communication method is provided, which may be performed by an access network device, or by another device comprising the functions of the access network device, or by a chip system or other functional module, which is capable of implementing the functions of the access network device, the chip system or functional module being for example provided in the access network device. Alternatively, the access network device is, for example, a base station. The method comprises the following steps: receiving a second identification of the remote terminal device from the relay terminal device; determining a first identifier of the remote terminal equipment according to the second identifier; and sending a first message to the relay terminal equipment, wherein the first message comprises a third identifier, and the first identifier is the same as or different from the third identifier, and the first message is an RRC connection recovery message, an RRC reestablishment message or an RRC establishment message.

In an alternative embodiment, the method further comprises: the access network device preferentially allocates a first identifier to the remote terminal device.

In an alternative embodiment, the access network device preferentially allocates a first identifier to the remote terminal device, including: if the first identifier is not in conflict with the identifiers of other remote terminal devices connected with the relay terminal device, the first identifier is the same as the third identifier, and the first message is the RRC connection recovery message or the RRC reestablishment message; or if the first identifier conflicts with the identifiers of other remote terminal devices connected with the relay terminal device, the first identifier is different from the third identifier, and the first message is the RRC establishment message.

In an alternative embodiment, if the first message is the RRC connection resume message or the RRC reestablishment message, the first message is sent through SRB 1; alternatively, if the first message is an RRC setup message, the first message is sent through SRB 0.

Regarding the technical effects of the fifth aspect or the optional embodiments of the fifth aspect, reference may be made to the description of the technical effects of the related embodiments of the fourth aspect.

In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided. The communication means may be the remote terminal device of any one of the first to fifth aspects. The communication device has the function of the remote terminal equipment. The communication means are for example a remote terminal device, or a larger device comprising a remote terminal device, or a functional module in a remote terminal device, such as a baseband device or a chip system, etc. In an alternative implementation, the communication device includes a baseband device and a radio frequency device. In another alternative implementation, the communication device includes a processing unit (sometimes also referred to as a processing module) and a transceiver unit (sometimes also referred to as a transceiver module). The transceiver unit can realize a transmission function and a reception function, and may be referred to as a transmission unit (sometimes referred to as a transmission module) when the transceiver unit realizes the transmission function, and may be referred to as a reception unit (sometimes referred to as a reception module) when the transceiver unit realizes the reception function. The transmitting unit and the receiving unit may be the same functional module, which is called a transceiver unit, and which can implement a transmitting function and a receiving function; alternatively, the transmitting unit and the receiving unit may be different functional modules, and the transmitting and receiving unit is a generic term for these functional modules.

In an alternative embodiment, the transceiver unit is configured to receive, through SRB1 of the communication apparatus, a first data packet from a relay terminal device, where the first data packet includes a first message and an SRAP header, and the first message is an RRC connection recovery message or an RRC reestablishment message; the processing unit is configured to remove the SRAP header by using an SRAP entity, and obtain configuration information, where the SRAP entity is determined before removing the SRAP header; the processing unit is further configured to configure the SRAP entity according to the configuration information.

In an alternative embodiment, the transceiver unit is configured to receive, through SRB1 of the communication apparatus, a first data packet from a relay terminal device, where the first data packet includes a first message, and the first data packet does not include an SRAP header, and the first message is an RRC connection recovery message or an RRC reestablishment message; the processing unit is configured to configure the SRAP entity according to configuration information included in the first message.

In an alternative embodiment, the processing unit is configured to store a first identifier of the remote terminal device, where the first identifier is acquired by the remote terminal device when the remote terminal device is in an RRC connected state, and the first identifier is an identifier of an SRAP entity application of the remote terminal device.

In an alternative embodiment, the communication apparatus further comprises a storage unit (sometimes also referred to as a storage module), the processing unit being configured to be coupled to the storage unit and execute a program or instructions in the storage unit, to enable the communication apparatus to perform the functions of the remote terminal device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects.

In a seventh aspect, a communication device is provided. The communication apparatus may be the relay terminal device of any one of the first to fifth aspects. The communication device has the function of the relay terminal device. The communication means are for example relay terminal devices, or larger devices comprising relay terminal devices, or functional modules in relay terminal devices, such as baseband means or chip systems etc. In an alternative implementation, the communication device includes a baseband device and a radio frequency device. In another alternative implementation, the communication device includes a processing unit (sometimes also referred to as a processing module) and a transceiver unit (sometimes also referred to as a transceiver module). Reference may be made to the description of the sixth aspect for implementation of the transceiver unit.

In an optional implementation manner, the processing unit is configured to obtain, by using an SRAP entity, a second data packet, where the second data packet includes an SRAP header and a first message, where the SRAP header includes a first identifier of a remote terminal device, and the first message is an RRC connection recovery message or an RRC reestablishment message; the processing unit is further configured to process the SRAP header through the SRAP entity to obtain a first data packet, where the first data packet does not include the first identifier; the transceiver unit is further configured to send the first data packet to the remote terminal device through SRB1 of the remote terminal device.

In an alternative implementation manner, the communication apparatus further includes a storage unit (sometimes also referred to as a storage module), and the processing unit is configured to couple with the storage unit and execute a program or instructions in the storage unit, so that the communication apparatus performs the functions of the relay terminal device in any one of the first to fifth aspects.

In an eighth aspect, a communication device is provided. The communication means may be an access network device according to any of the first to fifth aspects above. The communication device has the function of the access network equipment. The communication means are for example access network devices, or larger devices comprising access network devices, or functional modules in access network devices, such as baseband means or chip systems etc. In an alternative implementation, the communication device includes a baseband device and a radio frequency device. In another alternative implementation, the communication device includes a processing unit (sometimes also referred to as a processing module) and a transceiver unit (sometimes also referred to as a transceiver module). Reference may be made to the description of the sixth aspect for implementation of the transceiver unit.

In an alternative implementation manner, the transceiver unit is configured to receive, from the relay terminal device, the second identifier of the remote terminal device; the processing unit is used for determining a first identifier of the remote terminal equipment according to the second identifier; the transceiver unit is further configured to send a first message to the relay terminal device, where the first message includes a third identifier, and the first identifier is the same as or different from the third identifier, and the first message is an RRC connection recovery message, an RRC reestablishment message, or an RRC establishment message.

In an alternative implementation manner, the communication apparatus further includes a storage unit (sometimes also referred to as a storage module), where the processing unit is configured to couple with the storage unit and execute a program or instructions in the storage unit, and enable the communication apparatus to perform the functions of the access network device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects.

A ninth aspect provides a communication system comprising the communication apparatus of the sixth aspect and the communication apparatus of the seventh aspect.

In an alternative implementation manner, the communication system further includes the communication device of the eighth aspect.

In a tenth aspect, a computer readable storage medium is provided for storing a computer program or instructions which, when executed, cause the method performed by the access network device or the remote terminal device or the relay terminal device in the above aspects to be implemented.

In an eleventh aspect, there is provided a computer program product comprising instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the method of the above aspects to be carried out.

In a twelfth aspect, a system on a chip is provided, including a processor and an interface, where the processor is configured to invoke and execute instructions from the interface to cause the system on a chip to implement the methods of the above aspects.

Drawings

Fig. 1A is a schematic diagram of a protocol stack of each device in a relay scenario;

fig. 1B and fig. 1C are schematic diagrams of two application scenarios according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIGS. 2-5 are flowcharts of several communication methods according to embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a schematic view of yet another apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

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

In the following, some terms or concepts in the embodiments of the present application are explained for easy understanding by those skilled in the art.

In the embodiment of the application, the terminal device is a device with a wireless transceiver function, and may be a fixed device, a mobile device, a handheld device (such as a mobile phone), a wearable device, a vehicle-mounted device, or a wireless apparatus (such as a communication module, a modem, or a chip system) built in the device. The terminal device is used for connecting people, objects, machines and the like, and can be widely used in various scenes, including but not limited to the following scenes: cellular communication, device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (vehicle to everything, V2X), machine-to-machine/machine-to-machine-type communications, M2M/MTC), internet of things (internet of things, ioT), virtual Reality (VR), augmented reality (augmented reality, AR), industrial control (industrial control), unmanned driving (self driving), remote medical (remote media), smart grid (smart grid), smart furniture, smart office, smart wear, smart transportation, smart city (smart city), drone, robot, and other end devices. The terminal device may sometimes be referred to as a User Equipment (UE), a terminal, an access station, a UE station, a remote station, a wireless communication device, or a user equipment, among others. For convenience of description, in the embodiment of the present application, a UE is taken as an example for illustrating a terminal device.

The network device in the embodiment of the present application may include, for example, an access network device, and/or a core network device. The access network equipment is equipment with a wireless receiving and transmitting function and is used for communicating with the terminal equipment. The access network devices include, but are not limited to, base stations (base transceiver stations (base transceiver station, BTS), node B, eNodeB/eNB, or gNodeB/gNB), transceiver points (transmission reception point, TRP), base stations for subsequent evolution of the third generation partnership project (3rd generation partnership project,3GPP), access nodes in wireless fidelity (wireless fidelity, wi-Fi) systems, wireless relay nodes, wireless backhaul nodes, and the like. The base station may be: macro base station, micro base station, pico base station, small station, relay station, etc. Multiple base stations may support networks of the same access technology or may support networks of different access technologies. A base station may comprise one or more co-sited or non-co-sited transmission reception points. The access network device may also be a radio controller, a Centralized Unit (CU), and/or a Distributed Unit (DU) in the context of a cloud radio access network (cloud radio access network, CRAN). The access network device may also be a server or the like. For example, the access network device in the car-to-anything (vehicle to everything, V2X) technology may be a Road Side Unit (RSU). An access network device will be described below taking a base station as an example. The base station may communicate with the terminal device or may communicate with the terminal device through the relay station. A terminal device may communicate with multiple base stations in different access technologies. The core network device is used for realizing the functions of mobile management, data processing, session management, policy and charging, etc. The names of devices implementing the core network function in the systems of different access technologies may be different, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited to this. Taking a 5G system as an example, the core network device includes: access and mobility management functions (access and mobility management function, AMF), session management functions (session management function, SMF), policy control functions (policy control function, PCF) or user plane functions (user plane function, UPF), etc.

In the embodiment of the present application, the communication device for implementing the function of the network device may be a network device, or may be a device capable of supporting the network device to implement the function, for example, a chip system, and the device may be installed in the network device. In the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application, the device for implementing the function of the network device is exemplified by the network device, and the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application is described.

The PC5 reference point (or PC5 interface) is the reference point (or interface) between UEs.

Uu reference point (or Uu interface) is a reference point (or interface) between a UE and a radio access network (e.g., next generation, NG) -radio access network (radio access network, RAN), or evolved universal mobile telecommunications system (universal mobile telecommunications system, UMTS) terrestrial radio access network (evolved UMTS terrestrial radio access network, E-UTRAN), etc.).

In the embodiments of the present application, the number of nouns, unless otherwise indicated, means "a singular noun or a plural noun", i.e. "one or more". "at least one" means one or more, and "a plurality" means two or more. "and/or", describes an association relationship of an association object, and indicates that there may be three relationships, for example, a and/or B, and may indicate: a alone, a and B together, and B alone, wherein a, B may be singular or plural. The character "/" generally indicates that the context-dependent object is an "or" relationship. For example, A/B, means: a or B. "at least one of" or the like means any combination of these items, including any combination of single item(s) or plural items(s). For example, at least one (one) of a, b, or c, represents: a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or a and b and c, wherein a, b, c may be single or plural.

The ordinal terms such as "first," "second," and the like in the embodiments of the present application are used for distinguishing a plurality of objects, and are not used for limiting the size, content, sequence, timing, priority, importance, and the like of the plurality of objects. For example, the first packet and the second packet may be the same packet or different packets, and the names do not indicate the difference in content, size, corresponding transmitting/receiving end, transmission order, priority, importance, or the like of the two packets. In addition, the numbers of the steps in the embodiments described in the present application are only for distinguishing different steps, and are not used for limiting the sequence of the steps. For example, S201 may occur before S202, or may occur after S202, or may also occur concurrently with S202.

Please refer to fig. 1A, which is a schematic diagram of protocol stacks of a remote UE, a relay UE, and an access network device in a relay scenario. The remote UE includes a protocol stack corresponding to the PC5 interface, including, for example, a packet data convergence protocol (packet data convergence protocol, PDCP) entity, an SRAP entity, a radio link control (radio link control, RLC) entity, a medium access control (media access control, MAC) entity, and a physical layer (PHY) entity. The PDCP entity includes two signaling radio bearers (signal radio bearer, SRB) 0 and SRB1 corresponding to the remote UE on the Uu interface, respectively, and if there are more SRBs, the PDCP entity can be more; the SRAP entity corresponds to an SRB (e.g., SRB 1) other than SRB0 (or the SRAP entity for the PC5 interface may also correspond to SRB0, but not process for the SRB0 message), may also correspond to a data radio bearer (data radio bearer, DRB), etc.; the RLC entity includes two, corresponding to SRB0 and SRB1, respectively, and may be more if there are more SRBs. The relay UE includes both a protocol stack corresponding to the PC5 interface and a protocol stack corresponding to the Uu interface. Wherein the protocol stack corresponding to the PC5 interface comprises an RLC entity, a MAC entity and a PHY entity corresponding to SRB0 and SRB1, respectively, corresponding to SRAP entities corresponding to other SRBs than SRB0 (possibly also corresponding to DRBs) (or an SRAP entity for the PC5 interface may also correspond to SRB0, but not processed for SRB0 messages). The protocol stack corresponding to the Uu interface includes an SRAP entity corresponding to each SRB (and possibly also to the DRB), two RLC entities corresponding to SRB0 and SRB1, respectively, a MAC entity and a PHY entity. The access network device comprises a protocol stack corresponding to the Uu interface, e.g. comprising two PDCP entities corresponding to SRB0 and SRB1, respectively, an SRAP entity corresponding to each SRB (and possibly also to DRBs), two RLC entities corresponding to SRB0 and SRB1, respectively, a MAC entity and a PHY entity.

Taking the remote UE performing RRC reestablishment as an example. When the remote UE performs RRC reestablishment, the remote UE may send an RRC reestablishment request to the relay UE through SRB 0. As can be seen from fig. 1A, SRB0 of the remote UE does not correspond to the SRAP entity, or the SRAP entity of the remote UE does not process the message of SRB0 (i.e. the message transmitted on SRB 0), so the RRC reestablishment request does not need to add an SRAP header. After receiving the RRC reestablishment request, the relay UE sends a layer 2 (L2) Identity (ID) of the remote UE to the access network device, and the access network device may allocate a local (local) ID to the remote UE according to the L2 ID, and the access network device sends the local ID to the relay UE. The relay UE receives configuration information of the SRAP entity by the access network device, where the configuration information includes a local ID of the remote UE. According to the configuration information, the Uu SRAP entity of the relay UE adds an SRAP header to the RRC reestablishment request from the remote UE, adds the local ID to the SRAP header, and sends the RRC reestablishment request added with the SRAP header to the access network equipment through the RLC bearer/channel of the Uu port. After receiving the RRC reestablishment request from the remote UE, the access network equipment sends an RRC reestablishment message for the remote UE to the relay UE, wherein the RRC reestablishment message is provided with an SRAP header. The relay UE may determine that the received SRAP packet is forwarded to the corresponding remote UE by the local ID in the header of the packet. The relay UE may send the RRC reestablishment message to the remote UE through the PC5 RLC bearer/channel carrying the remote UE SRB 1.

However, when the remote UE fails in the RRC connection state, the SRAP entity may have been released, which results in failure of the remote UE to reestablish after receiving the RRC reestablishment message because the SRAP header cannot be identified and the RRC reestablishment message is discarded. And the RRC reestablishment message further carries information of the SRAP entity used for configuring the remote UE, and the remote UE cannot obtain the information naturally due to discarding the RRC reestablishment message, so that the SRAP entity cannot be configured. Similar is true for RRC recovery procedures.

In view of this, a technical solution of the embodiment of the present application is provided. In the embodiment of the application, the remote UE can pre-determine the SRAP entity, so that after receiving the first data packet with the SRAP header, the remote UE can remove the SRAP header through the SRAP entity, thereby obtaining the RRC reestablishment message or the RRC connection recovery message, so as to improve the success rate of RRC reestablishment or RRC recovery of the remote UE. And the remote UE can also configure the SRAP entity according to the configuration information included in the RRC reestablishment message or the RRC connection resume message, so that the message with the SRAP header can be normally identified in the subsequent communication process.

The technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application may be applied to a fourth generation mobile communication technology (the 4th generation,4G) system, for example, a long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE) system, or may be applied to a 5G system, for example, a New Radio (NR) system, or may also be applied to a next generation mobile communication system or other similar communication systems, which is not specifically limited.

The present application relates to a UE-to-network relay (UE to network relay) mechanism that may be used to promote coverage of a cellular network. Please refer to fig. 1B and fig. 1C, which are schematic diagrams of two application scenarios according to an embodiment of the present application. The relay UE is in the coverage area of the access network equipment of the cellular network, namely, the relay UE can directly communicate with the access network equipment through a Uu interface; the remote UE can communicate with the relay UE through a PC5 interface, data of the remote UE are sent to the relay UE, and then the relay UE forwards the data of the remote UE to the access network equipment through a Uu interface; or the data from the core network to be sent to the remote UE arrives at the access network equipment, the access network equipment sends the data to the relay UE through the Uu interface, and the relay UE forwards the data to the remote UE through the PC5 interface. In fig. 1B, the remote UE is also within the coverage of the access network device; in fig. 1C, the remote terminal device is not within the coverage area of the access network device.

In order to better describe the embodiments of the present application, the method provided by the embodiments of the present application is described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. For convenience of description, the embodiments of the present application will take a remote terminal device as an example of a remote UE, and a relay terminal device as an example of a relay UE. The method provided by each embodiment of the present application can be applied to the network architecture shown in fig. 1B or fig. 1C, for example, the remote UE related to each embodiment of the present application is the remote UE in fig. 1B or fig. 1C, the access network device related to each embodiment of the present application is the access network device in fig. 1B or fig. 1C, and the relay UE related to each embodiment of the present application is the relay UE in fig. 1B or fig. 1C.

In various embodiments of the application, an "entity" may also be replaced by a "layer". For example, the "SRAP entity" may also be referred to as "SRAP layer", the "PDCP entity" may also be referred to as "PDCP layer", etc.

In order to solve the technical problems to be solved by the present application, various embodiments of the present application provide various methods. Referring to fig. 2, a flowchart of a first communication method according to an embodiment of the application is shown.

S201, the remote UE sends a second message to the relay UE. Accordingly, the relay UE receives the second message from the remote UE. The second message is a message sent by the remote UE to the access network device through the relay UE, and in the embodiment of the present application, the remote UE performs RRC reestablishment or RRC connection recovery (or simply referred to as RRC recovery) for example, the remote UE performs RRC reestablishment, and the second message is an RRC reestablishment request (or referred to as an RRC connection reestablishment request); or the remote UE performs RRC restoration, the second message is an RRC restoration request (or referred to as an RRC connection restoration request).

For example, the second message includes information such as physical cell identity (physical cell identifier, PCI) and cell radio network temporary identity (cell radio network temporary identity, C-RNTI) of the remote UE.

The second message is sent through the SRB0 of the remote UE, and the relay UE does not have an SRAP header by default when receiving, so that the SRAP header does not need to be added to the second message when the remote UE sends the second message.

S202, the remote UE determines an SRAP entity. Alternatively, the remote UE obtains the SRAP entity.

The remote UE may establish the SRAP entity if the remote UE has released the SRAP entity before performing RRC reestablishment or RRC recovery. The SRAP entity may be released, for example, when the remote UE fails in the RRC connected state, or when released to the RRC inactive state. Alternatively, the remote UE may establish the SRAP entity according to a default (default) configuration, or the remote UE may not establish the SRAP entity according to any configuration, e.g., the remote UE may establish an SRAP entity with SRAP function (removing header function).

Regardless of how the remote UE establishes the SRAP entity, the SRAP entity may not include the first domain (field), or the SRAP entity may not include the configuration information of the first domain (or the configuration information of the SRAP entity may not include the configuration information of the first domain). The first domain is an identifier for carrying the remote UE, which is, for example, a local ID, or may be another type of identifier. If the remote UE establishes an SRAP entity normally, the SRAP entity includes configuration information of the first domain, and the first domain carries the identity of the remote UE. However, in the embodiment of the present application, the remote UE is the SRAP entity that is established according to the default configuration or not according to any configuration, and even the default configuration may not include the identity of the remote UE, so the SRAP entity may not include the configuration information of the first domain, and thus the SRAP entity does not have the configuration of the identity of the remote UE.

Alternatively, the SRAP may include configuration information for the first domain, regardless of how the remote UE establishes the SRAP entity, but the first domain may be undefined (e.g., the first domain does not carry an identity of the remote UE. Alternatively, the first domain may carry a default value, e.g. "0", or another value, but the default value is not an identity of the remote UE. It can be seen that the SRAP entity established by the remote UE does not have a configuration of the identity of the remote UE.

It is also possible that the remote UE does not release the SRAP entity before performing RRC reestablishment or RRC restoration, e.g. when the remote UE fails in RRC connected state or when released to RRC inactive state, the remote UE may optionally reconfigure the SRAP entity, e.g. the remote UE may reconfigure the SRAP entity according to a default configuration, the reconfigured SRAP entity may not include configuration information of the first domain or include configuration information of the first domain, but the first domain does not define or carry default values, see the description above.

Alternatively, when the remote UE fails in the RRC connected state or is released to the RRC inactive state, the configuration of the SRAP entity is released although the SRAP entity is not released, which makes it possible that the SRAP entity does not include the configuration information of the first domain or includes the configuration information of the first domain, but the first domain does not define or carry the default value. The remote UE may not process the SRAP entity, i.e. S202 need not be performed, so S202 is an optional step.

Here, if S202 is performed, S202 may be performed before S201, or performed after S201, or performed simultaneously with S201, without limitation in particular. For example, the SRAP entity may be established after the remote UE transmits an RRC restoration request or an RRC reestablishment request, or may be established when the remote UE is ready to transmit an RRC restoration request or an RRC reestablishment request, or may be established when the remote UE is ready to initiate an RRC connection restoration or an RRC connection reestablishment, or may be established when or after timer T301 or timer T311 is started, or may be established when or after timer T319 or timer T319a is started, or may also be established when the remote UE initiates an RRC connection restoration or an RRC connection reestablishment.

S203, the relay UE sends information of the remote UE to the access network equipment. Accordingly, the access network device receives information of the remote UE from the relay UE. The information of the remote UE may include an L2 ID of the remote UE, which may indicate that the remote UE accesses through the relay UE.

For example, the relay UE sends sidelink UE information (sidelink UE information, SUI) to the access network device, the SUI including information of the remote UE.

S204, the access network equipment sends the first identification of the remote UE to the relay UE. Accordingly, the relay UE receives the first identification from the access network device. The first identity is, for example, the local ID of the remote UE.

For example, the access network device may assign a first identity to the remote UE and send SRAP configuration information to the relay UE, which may include the first identity of the remote UE. Wherein the SRAP entity may determine the destination device based on the SRAP configuration information when the relay UE relays (including transmitting or receiving) data between the remote UE and the access network device. For example, for uplink data transmission, the SRAP entity may determine to add a local ID and/or RB information to the SRAP header based on the received data packet from the PC5 RLC bearer or channel of the remote UE, and determine RLC bearer information on the Uu interface based on the local ID in the SRAP header from the remote UE; for another example, for downlink data transmission, the SRAP entity may determine to which remote UE the data packet should be transmitted based on the local ID in the header of the data packet received from the access network device.

S205, the relay UE adds an SRAP header to the second message.

The relay UE may add an SRAP header to the second message based on the received SRAP configuration information, the SRAP header including the first identity. Optionally, the SRAP header further includes information of the SRB used by the remote UE to send the second message, for example, includes an identification of SRB0 of the remote UE, or includes information that the RB ID of the remote UE is 0.

S206, the relay UE sends a second message added with the SRAP header to the access network equipment. Accordingly, the access network device receives a second message from the relay UE with the SRAP header added. For example, the relay UE sends the second message with the SRAP header added to the access network device through the RLC bearer corresponding to the SRB0 of the remote UE, where the second message is an SRB0 message, such as an RRC resume request or an RRC reestablishment request.

S207, the access network equipment sends a first message to the relay UE. Accordingly, the relay UE receives the first message from the access network device. The first message is sent by the access network device to the remote UE through the relay UE in response to a second message sent by the remote UE through the relay UE. The first message is an SRB1 message of the remote UE. If the second message is an RRC reestablishment request, the first message is an RRC reestablishment message; alternatively, if the second message is an RRC resume request, the first message is an RRC resume message (alternatively referred to as an RRC connection resume message). The first message may include configuration information that may be used to configure the SRAP entity of the remote UE, e.g., the configuration information may include a second identification that is an identification of the remote UE, e.g., a local ID assigned to the remote UE by the access network device. Alternatively, the first identifier and the second identifier may be the same identifier, or may be different identifiers. The configuration information is, for example, a sidestream layer 2remote configuration (sl-L2 RemoteConfig).

For example, the access network device sends a second data packet to the relay UE, which may include the first message and an SRAP header, which may include the first identification. Optionally, the SRAP header may further include information of the SRB of the remote UE for receiving the second data packet, for example, including an identification of the SRB1 of the remote UE, or including RB ID information of the remote UE.

S208, the relay UE transmits the first data packet to the remote UE. Accordingly, the remote UE receives the first data packet from the relay UE. For example, the relay UE receives an SRB1 message (e.g., an RRC resume message or an RRC reestablishment message) from the access network device to the remote UE, where the SRB1 message is sent between the access network device and the relay UE over the first data packet bearer.

The first data packet and the second data packet may be the same data packet. For example, the Uu SRAP entity of the relay UE receives a second data packet from the access network device, which may be submitted to the PC5 SRAP entity of the relay UE. The PC5 SRAP entity of the relay UE may not process the second data packet, but rather send the second data packet to the remote UE over a PC5 RLC bearer or channel that transports the remote UE SRB 1. The Uu SRAP entity of the relay UE and the PC5 SRAP entity may be the same entity or different entities.

Alternatively, the first data packet and the second data packet may be different data packets, but the first data packet and the second data packet each include the first message. For example, the Uu SRAP entity of the relay UE receives a second data packet from the access network device, which may be submitted to the PC5 SRAP entity of the relay UE. The PC5 SRAP entity of the relay UE may remove the SRAP header included in the second data packet, then add the SRAP header to the second data packet with the SRAP header removed again to obtain a first data packet, and then send the first data packet to the remote UE through the PC5 RLC bearer or channel of the remote UE SRB 1. Wherein the SRAP header added by the PC5 SRAP entity of the relay UE for the second data packet with the SRAP header removed may include the first identification, and optionally, the SRAP header may further include information of the SRB of the remote UE for receiving the first data packet, for example, including the identification of the SRB1 of the remote UE or the RB ID of the remote UE.

S209, the remote UE removes the SRAP head of the first data packet through the SRAP entity to acquire configuration information.

The remote UE has determined an SRAP entity, which may not include the first domain, or may not include configuration information of the first domain, or may include the first domain that is undefined or carries a default value, so the SRAP entity may not recognize (or ignore) the identity of the remote UE included in the SRAP header, or the SRAP entity may simply have the function of removing the SRAP header, and may not have the function of error packet detection (e.g., the SRAP entity may not compare whether the identity of the remote UE included in the SRAP header is the same as the identity or the configured identity included in the SRAP entity, and may not directly drop the received data packet because the identity included in the SRAP header is not the identity configured by the SRAP entity), so the SRAP entity may remove the SRAP header, and the remote UE may obtain the first data packet from which the SRAP header is removed. The SRAP entity can submit the first data packet with the SRAP header removed to the PDCP entity of the remote UE, and the PDCP entity can analyze the first data packet with the SRAP header removed to obtain a first message, so that the RRC reestablishment or RRC recovery of the remote UE can be successful, and the success rate of the RRC reestablishment or RRC recovery of the remote UE is improved.

S210, the remote UE configures the SRAP entity according to the configuration information.

As described above, the first message (e.g., RRC restore message or RRC reestablishment message) may include configuration information, so that the remote UE may further configure (or reconfigure) the SRAP entity according to the configuration information, e.g., the remote UE may configure the SRAP entity according to a second identifier included in the configuration information, such that the SRAP entity applies the second identifier, in subsequent communications, the SRAP entity may identify whether the destination device of the received data packet is the remote UE according to the second identifier, and may add the second identifier to the SRAP header of the data packet when the data packet is subsequently transmitted by the relay UE, for the relay UE to determine the source of the data packet.

In the embodiment of the application, the remote UE may determine the SRAP entity in advance, so that after receiving the first data packet with the SRAP header, the remote UE can remove the SRAP header through the SRAP entity, thereby obtaining the RRC reestablishment message or the RRC reestablishment message, so as to improve the success rate of RRC reestablishment or RRC reestablishment of the remote UE. The remote UE can also configure the SRAP entity according to the configuration information included in the RRC reestablishment message or the RRC reestablishment message, so that the message with the SRAP header can be normally identified in the subsequent communication process. The scheme of the embodiment of the application is simpler and is easy to realize.

Referring now to fig. 3, a flowchart of a second communication method according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

S301, the remote UE sends a second message to the relay UE. Accordingly, the relay UE receives the second message from the remote UE.

For more on S301 reference is made to the description of S201 in the embodiment shown in fig. 2.

S302, the relay UE sends information of the remote UE to the access network equipment. Accordingly, the access network device receives information of the remote UE from the relay UE. The information of the remote UE may include an L2 ID of the remote UE, which may indicate that the remote UE accesses through the relay UE.

For more details regarding S302, reference is made to the description of S203 in the embodiment shown in fig. 2.

S303, the access network equipment sends a first identifier of the remote UE to the relay UE. Accordingly, the relay UE receives the first identification from the access network device. The first identity is, for example, the local ID of the remote UE.

For more details regarding S303, reference is made to the description of S204 in the embodiment shown in fig. 2.

S304, the relay UE adds an SRAP header to the second message.

For more details regarding S303, reference is made to the description of S205 in the embodiment shown in fig. 2.

S305, the relay UE sends a second message added with the SRAP header to the access network equipment. Accordingly, the access network device receives a second message from the relay UE with the SRAP header added. For example, the relay UE sends the second message with the SRAP header added to the access network device through the RLC bearer corresponding to the SRB0 message of the remote UE, where the second message is an SRB0 message, such as an RRC resume request or an RRC reestablishment request.

For more details regarding S305, reference is made to the description of S206 in the embodiment shown in fig. 2.

S306, the access network equipment sends a first message to the relay UE. Accordingly, the relay UE receives the first message from the access network device.

For more details regarding S306, reference is made to the description of S207 in the embodiment shown in fig. 2.

S307, the relay UE processes the SRAP header to obtain a first data packet. Wherein the first data packet does not include the first identifier.

Alternatively, if the first condition is satisfied, the relay UE may process the SRAP header; and if the first condition is not satisfied, the relay UE may not process the SRAP header. For example, one implementation of the first condition is that the first message is a first downlink message sent by the access network device to the remote UE on SRB1 of the remote UE. The relay UE may determine whether the first message is a first downlink message sent to the remote UE on SRB1 by: if the relay UE receives an uplink message (e.g., a second message) from the remote UE on the PC5 RLC bearer or channel corresponding to SRB0, after receiving the uplink message, the relay UE does not send a downlink message to the remote UE on the RLC bearer corresponding to SRB1 of the remote UE, and then the relay UE may determine that the first message is the first downlink message sent by the access network device to the remote UE on SRB 1.

For another example, another implementation of the first condition may include indication information in the second data packet, where the indication information may indicate that the SRAP header is processed, or that the first message is a first downlink message sent to the remote UE on SRB 1. The indication information may be included in the SRAP header of the second data packet, for example, or may be included in the payload (payload) of the second data packet, and the indication information may occupy one or more bits (bits). That is, the access network device may add the indication information to the second data packet, so that the relay UE can process the SRAP header according to the indication information, without performing other determinations, thereby simplifying implementation of the relay UE.

In addition, other implementations of the first condition are possible, and embodiments of the present application are not limited.

In the embodiment of the present application, one way for the relay UE to process the SRAP header is for the relay UE to remove the SRAP header through an SRAP entity (e.g., a PC5 SRAP entity or a Uu SRAP entity) of the relay UE, as illustrated in fig. 3. That is, one implementation where the first data packet does not include the first identifier is that the first data packet does not include an SRAP header.

S308, the relay UE transmits a first data packet to the remote UE. Accordingly, the remote UE receives the first data packet from the relay UE. For example, the relay UE receives an SRB1 message (e.g., an RRC resume message or an RRC reestablishment message) from the access network device to the remote UE, where the SRB1 message is sent between the access network device and the relay UE over the first data packet bearer.

S309, the remote UE configures (or reconfigures) the SRAP entity according to the configuration information included in the first message.

For example, the first data packet does not include the SRAP header, the RLC entity of the remote UE may submit the first data packet to the PDCP entity of the remote UE after receiving the first data packet. The PDCP entity can analyze the first data packet to obtain a first message, so that the RRC reestablishment or the RRC recovery of the remote UE can be successful, and the success rate of the RRC reestablishment or the RRC recovery of the remote UE is improved.

In the embodiment of the application, the remote UE does not need to determine the SRAP entity in advance. The SRAP entity may be released, for example, when the remote UE is released to the RRC inactive state or when the remote UE fails in the RRC connected state, and the SRAP entity does not have to be pre-established after release. The first message may include configuration information, and the remote UE may configure the SRAP entity of the remote UE according to the configuration information after receiving the first message, or the remote UE may establish the SRAP entity of the remote UE according to the configuration information. For example, the remote UE may configure the SRAP entity according to a second identifier included in the configuration information, such that the SRAP entity applies the second identifier, and in subsequent communications, the SRAP entity may identify whether the destination device of the received data packet is the remote UE according to the second identifier.

In the embodiment of the application, the relay UE can send the data packet with the SRAP head removed to the remote UE, so that the remote UE can analyze the data packet without pre-establishing the SRAP entity, thereby improving the success rate of RRC reconstruction or RRC recovery of the remote UE and simplifying the realization of the remote UE. And the remote UE can also configure the SRAP entity according to the configuration information included in the RRC reestablishment message or the RRC reestablishment message, so that the message with the SRAP header can be normally identified in the subsequent communication process.

Referring now to fig. 4, a flowchart of a third communication method according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

S401, the remote UE sends a second message to the relay UE. Accordingly, the relay UE receives the second message from the remote UE.

For more on S401, reference may be made to S201 in the embodiment shown in fig. 2.

S402, the remote UE determines an SRAP entity. Alternatively, the remote UE obtains the SRAP entity.

For more on S402, reference may be made to S202 in the embodiment shown in fig. 2.

S403, the relay UE transmits the information of the remote UE to the access network equipment. Accordingly, the access network device receives information of the remote UE from the relay UE. The information of the remote UE may include an L2 ID of the remote UE, which may indicate that the remote UE accesses through the relay UE.

For more of S403, reference may be made to S203 in the embodiment shown in fig. 2.

S404, the access network equipment sends a first identification of the remote UE to the relay UE. Accordingly, the relay UE receives the first identification from the access network device. The first identity is, for example, the local ID of the remote UE.

For more on S404, reference may be made to S204 in the embodiment shown in fig. 2.

S405, the relay UE adds an SRAP header to the second message.

For more on S405, reference may be made to S205 in the embodiment shown in fig. 2.

S406, the relay UE sends a second message added with the SRAP header to the access network equipment. Accordingly, the access network device receives a second message from the relay UE with the SRAP header added. For example, the relay UE sends the second message with the SRAP header added to the access network device through SRB0 of the relay UE.

S407, the access network equipment sends a first message to the relay UE. Accordingly, the relay UE receives the first message from the access network device.

For more on S407, reference may be made to S207 in the embodiment shown in fig. 2.

S408, the relay UE processes the SRAP header to obtain a first data packet. Wherein the first data packet does not include the first identifier.

Alternatively, the relay UE may process the SRAP header if it is determined that the first condition is satisfied, with reference to S307 in the embodiment shown in fig. 3 as to the first condition.

In the embodiment of the present application, one way for the relay UE to process the SRAP header is for the relay UE to process the first identifier included in the SRAP header. For example, one way for the relay UE to process the first identifier included in the SRAP header is for the relay UE to remove the first identifier in the SRAP header, and then the SRAP header no longer includes the first identifier. Wherein, after the relay UE removes the first identifier in the SRAP header, the SRAP header may no longer include the configuration information of the first domain (for the description of the first domain, reference may be made to the embodiment shown in fig. 2), or the SRAP header continues to include the configuration information of the first domain, but the first domain is undefined, or the first domain does not carry any information (or is empty).

As another example, another way for the relay UE to process the first identifier included in the SRAP header is for the relay UE to update (or replace) the first identifier in the SRAP header, as illustrated in fig. 4. For example, the relay UE may update the first identity in the SRAP header to a third identity, e.g., a default value.

In addition, the relay UE may process the first identifier included in the SRAP header in other manners, which is not limited by the embodiment of the present application. After the relay UE processes, a first data packet (for example, a data packet obtained after the relay UE processes the SRAP header of the second data packet) may be obtained, where the first data packet still includes the SRAP header, but the SRAP header no longer includes the first identifier.

S409, the relay UE transmits the first data packet to the remote UE. Accordingly, the remote UE receives the first data packet from the relay UE. For example, the relay UE receives an SRB1 message (e.g., an RRC resume message or an RRC reestablishment message) from the access network device to the remote UE, where the SRB1 message is sent between the access network device and the relay UE over the first data packet bearer.

S410, the remote UE removes the SRAP head of the first data packet through the SRAP entity to acquire configuration information.

The SRAP header of the first data packet does not include the identity (first identity) of the remote UE, then the SRAP entity of the remote UE may remove the SRAP header and submit the first data packet with the SRAP header removed to the PDCP entity of the remote UE. The PDCP entity can analyze and remove the first data packet of the SRAP head to obtain a first message, so that the RRC reestablishment or the RRC recovery of the remote UE can be successful, and the success rate of the RRC reestablishment or the RRC recovery of the remote UE is improved.

S411, the remote UE configures (or reconfigures) the SRAP entity according to the configuration information.

For more on S411, reference may be made to S210 in the embodiment shown in fig. 2.

In the embodiment of the application, the remote UE can pre-determine the SRAP entity, and the relay UE can process the SRAP header of the data packet to be sent to the remote UE, so that the data packet no longer includes the first identifier, and the SRAP entity of the remote UE can remove the SRAP header of the data packet, so as to obtain the RRC reestablishment message or the RRC reestablishment message, thereby improving the success rate of RRC reestablishment or RRC reestablishment of the remote UE. The remote UE can also configure the SRAP entity according to the configuration information included in the RRC reestablishment message or the RRC reestablishment message, so that the message with the SRAP header can be normally identified in the subsequent communication process.

Referring next to fig. 5, a flowchart of a fourth communication method according to an embodiment of the present application is provided.

S501, the remote UE stores the first identifier of the remote UE. The first identity is, for example, an identity applied by the SRAP entity of the remote UE, e.g., a local ID of the remote UE. The first identity may be obtained when the remote UE is in an RRC connected state, or not released when the remote UE fails in an RRC connected state, or not released when the remote UE is released to an RRC inactive state.

Optionally, the remote UE may further store a second identifier of the remote UE, for example, an L2ID of the remote UE. For example, the remote UE maintains context information for the remote UE, and the remote UE may store the first identity and the second identity in the context information.

S502, the access network equipment stores a first identification of the remote UE.

For example, the access network device may store a first identity of the remote UE while the remote UE is in an RRC connected state. Alternatively, after the access network device allocates the first identifier to the remote UE, the first identifier of the remote UE may be stored.

Optionally, the access network device may also store a second identity of the remote UE. The access network device may also maintain context information for the remote UE, for example, and the access network device may also store the first identity and the second identity in the context information.

Wherein S501 may be performed before S502, or after S502, or simultaneously with S502.

S503, the remote UE sends a second message to the relay UE. Accordingly, the relay UE receives the second message from the remote UE.

Optionally, the second message may include the first identification.

For more on S503, reference may be made to S201 of the embodiment shown in fig. 2.

S504, the remote UE determines an SRAP entity. Alternatively, the remote UE obtains the SRAP entity.

The remote UE may establish the SRAP entity if the remote UE has released the SRAP entity before performing RRC reestablishment or RRC recovery. The SRAP entity may be released, for example, when the remote UE fails in the RRC connected state, or when released to the RRC inactive state. Alternatively, the remote UE may establish the SRAP entity according to a default (default) configuration, or the remote UE may not establish the SRAP entity according to any configuration, e.g., the remote UE may establish an SRAP entity with SRAP functionality. The SRAP entity established by the remote UE may apply the first identity, e.g. the SRAP entity comprises configuration information of the first domain, and the first domain carries the first identity. That is, the SRAP entity may identify the error packet based on the first identification. If the SRAP entity of the data packet received by the remote UE does not include the first identity, the remote UE may discard the data packet.

Alternatively, if the remote UE did not release the SRAP entity before performing RRC reestablishment or RRC recovery, e.g., when the remote UE fails in the RRC connected state, or did not release the SRAP entity when released to the RRC inactive state, then if the configuration of the unreleased SRAP entity has been released (e.g., the unreleased SRAP entity did not apply the first identity), the remote UE may reconfigure the SRAP entity such that the SRAP entity applies the first identity. Alternatively, if the unreleased SRAP entity has applied the first identity, the remote UE does not need to process the SRAP entity, i.e. does not need to perform S504, so S504 is an optional step.

Here, if S504 is performed, S504 may be performed before S503, or performed after S503, or performed simultaneously with S503, without limitation in particular. For example, the SRAP entity may be established after the remote UE transmits an RRC restoration request or an RRC reestablishment request, or may be established when the remote UE is ready to transmit an RRC restoration request or an RRC reestablishment request, or may be established when the remote UE is ready to initiate an RRC connection restoration or an RRC connection reestablishment, or may be established when or after timer T301 or timer T311 is started, or may be established when or after timer T319 or timer T319a is started, or may also be established when the remote UE initiates an RRC connection restoration or an RRC connection reestablishment.

S505, the relay UE sends the information of the remote UE to the access network equipment. Accordingly, the access network device receives information of the remote UE from the relay UE. The information of the remote UE may include a second identity of the remote UE, such as an L2ID of the remote UE, which may indicate that the remote UE is accessed through the relay UE.

For more on S505, reference may be made to S203 of the embodiment shown in fig. 2.

S506, the access network equipment sends a third identification of the remote UE to the relay UE. Accordingly, the relay UE receives a third identification from the access network device. The third identity is, for example, the local ID of the remote UE.

For example, the access network device may assign a third identifier to the remote UE and send SRAP configuration information of the remote UE to the relay UE, where the SRAP configuration information may include the third identifier.

Optionally, after receiving the second identifier, the access network device may determine the first identifier of the remote UE according to the second identifier. For example, the access network device stores the first identifier and the second identifier in the context information of the remote UE, and can query the first identifier with the second identifier as an index. If the access network device obtains the first identity, the first identity may be preferentially allocated when allocating the identity for the remote UE. For example, if the second condition is met, the access network device may assign a first identity to the remote UE, where the first identity is the same as the third identity; alternatively, if the second condition is not met, the access network device may not assign the first identity to the remote UE, but instead assign a new identity, where the first identity is different from the third identity.

A second condition is, for example, that the first identity does not conflict with the identities of other remote UEs to which the relay UE is connected (or served). There may be one or more remote UEs served by one relay UE, so different remote UEs may be distinguished under the relay UE by their identities (e.g., local IDs). If the other remote UE served by the relay UE has already been assigned a first identity, it is indicated that the first identity conflicts with the identity of the other remote UE served by the relay UE, in which case if the access network device continues to assign the first identity to the remote UE, it may cause confusion of the different remote UE served by the relay UE, so that the access network device may assign a new identity to the remote UE without reassigning the first identity. And if the other remote UE served by the relay UE is not assigned the first identity, indicating that the first identity has no conflict with the identities of the other remote UEs served by the relay UE, the access network device may continue to assign the first identity to the remote UE.

In addition, other implementations of the second condition are possible, and embodiments of the present application are not limited.

S507, the relay UE adds an SRAP header to the second message.

The relay UE may add an SRAP header to the second message based on the received SRAP configuration information, the SRAP header including the third identity. Optionally, the SRAP header further includes information of the SRB used by the remote UE to transmit the second message, for example, including an identity of SRB0 of the remote UE or RB ID information of the remote UE.

S508, the relay UE sends a second message added with the SRAP header to the access network equipment. Accordingly, the access network device receives a second message from the relay UE with the SRAP header added. For example, the relay UE sends the second message with the SRAP header added to the access network device through the RLC bearer corresponding to the SRB0 of the remote UE, where the second message is an SRB0 message, such as an RRC resume request or an RRC reestablishment request.

Since the third identity assigned by the access network device may or may not be the same as the first identity, the subsequent steps may include two branches. Wherein S509-S511 are branch 1, and if the first identifier is the same as the third identifier, branch 1 may be executed; s512 to S513 are branches 2, and if the first identifier is different from the third identifier, or if the access network device does not acquire the first identifier of the remote UE (e.g., does not acquire the context information of the remote UE), branch 2 may be performed. Branch 1 and branch 2 are two parallel schemes, alternatively implemented.

Optionally, if the access network device obtains the first identifier, before executing the branch 1 or the branch 2, the access network device may further determine whether the first identifier is the same as the third identifier, if the first identifier is the same as the third identifier, execute the branch 1, and if the first identifier is different from the third identifier, execute the branch 2.

S509, the access network equipment sends a first message to the relay UE. Accordingly, the relay UE receives the first message from the access network device. The first message is sent by the access network device to the remote UE through the relay UE in response to a second message sent by the remote UE through the relay UE. If the second message is an RRC reestablishment request, the first message is an RRC reestablishment message; alternatively, if the second message is an RRC resume request, the first message is an RRC resume message. The first message may include configuration information that may be used to configure the SRAP entity of the remote UE, e.g., the configuration information may include the first identity. The configuration information is, for example, sl-L2RemoteConfig.

S510, the relay UE transmits a first data packet to the remote UE. Accordingly, the remote UE receives the first data packet from the relay UE. For example, the relay UE receives an SRB1 message (e.g., an RRC resume message or an RRC reestablishment message) from the access network device to the remote UE, where the SRB1 message is sent between the access network device and the relay UE over the first data packet bearer.

For more on S510, reference may be made to S208 in the embodiment shown in fig. 2.

S511, the remote UE identifies the first identifier through the SRAP entity, removes the SRAP head of the first data packet and acquires configuration information.

The SRAP entity of the remote UE applies the first identifier, and the SRAP header of the first data packet also includes the first identifier, so that the SRAP entity checks the first data packet, and considers that the first data packet is a correct data packet, and the SRAP entity may remove the SRAP header to obtain the first data packet with the SRAP header removed. The SRAP entity can submit the first data packet with the SRAP header removed to the PDCP entity of the remote UE, and the PDCP entity can analyze the first data packet with the SRAP header removed to obtain a first message, so that the RRC reestablishment or RRC recovery of the remote UE can be successful, and the success rate of the RRC reestablishment or RRC recovery of the remote UE is improved.

S512, the access network equipment sends a first message to the relay UE. Accordingly, the relay UE receives the first message from the access network device.

The access network device may store the first identity in the context information of the remote UE, so if the first identity is different from the third identity, or the access network device does not obtain the first identity, the access network device may consider that the context information of the remote UE has changed. In this case, the access network device may not perform the RRC reestablishment or RRC recovery procedure any more, but may instead perform the RRC establishment procedure. Then optionally the first message is an RRC setup message. The RRC setup message may include configuration information that may be used to configure the SRAP entity of the remote UE, e.g., the configuration information may include a third identity. The configuration information is, for example, sl-L2RemoteConfig.

For example, the access network device sends a second data packet to the relay UE via SRB0, the second data packet may include the first message and an SRAP header, which may include the third identification. Optionally, the SRAP header may further include information of the SRB of the remote UE for receiving the second data packet, for example, including an identification of SRB0 of the remote UE.

S513, the relay UE sends the first data packet to the remote UE. Accordingly, the remote UE receives the first data packet from the relay UE.

After receiving the second data packet, the relay UE determines that the SRB of the remote UE for receiving the second data packet is SRB0. Because the relay UE and the remote UE do not add the SRAP header when transmitting on SRB0, the relay UE may remove the SRAP header of the second data packet to obtain the first data packet, and then the relay UE sends the first data packet to the remote UE through the PC5 RLC bearer or channel corresponding to the SRB0 of the transmitting remote UE.

If the first data packet does not include the SRAP header, the RLC entity corresponding to the remote UE SRB0 may submit the first data packet to the PDCP entity of the remote UE after receiving the first data packet. The PDCP entity can analyze the first data packet to obtain a first message, so that the remote UE can establish RRC connection, and the success rate of connecting the remote UE to the network is improved.

And S514, the remote UE configures (or reconfigures) the SRAP entity according to the configuration information.

S514 applies to both branch 1 and branch 2. For example, for branch 1, the remote UE may obtain the configuration information included in the first message after obtaining the first message, thereby configuring the SRAP entity. For example, the remote UE may configure the SRAP entity according to a first identifier included in the configuration information, such that the SRAP entity applies the first identifier, and in subsequent communications, the SRAP entity may identify whether the destination device of the received data packet is the remote UE according to the first identifier.

Or for branch 2, after obtaining the first message, the remote UE may configure the SRAP entity of the remote UE according to the configuration information included in the first message. For example, the remote UE may configure the SRAP entity according to a third identifier included in the configuration information, such that the SRAP entity applies the third identifier, and in subsequent communications, the SRAP entity may identify whether the destination device of the received data packet is the remote UE according to the third identifier.

In the embodiment of the application, the remote UE can acquire the SRAP entity by using the unreleased first identifier, and the access network equipment can also allocate the first identifier to the remote UE preferentially, so that the SRAP entity of the remote UE can identify the first message from the access network equipment, and the success rate of RRC reestablishment or RRC recovery of the remote UE is improved. If the access network device allocates other identities for the remote UE, the access network device may also perform an RRC setup procedure to transmit the message over SRB0, and the message transmitted over SRB0 does not have to add an SRAP header, the remote UE may also recognize the message. Therefore, by the scheme provided by the embodiment of the application, the success rate of connecting the remote UE to the network is improved. Moreover, the embodiment of the application enhances the configuration logic of the access network equipment, and has less change to the UE (remote UE and/or relay UE).

Fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication means 600 may be an access network device or a circuitry of the access network device according to any of the embodiments shown in fig. 2 to 5 for implementing the method corresponding to the access network device in the above method embodiments. Alternatively, the communication apparatus 600 may be circuitry of the remote UE according to any one of the embodiments shown in fig. 2 to fig. 5, for implementing a method corresponding to the remote UE in the above method embodiments. Alternatively, the communication apparatus 600 may be circuitry of the relay UE according to any one of the embodiments shown in fig. 2 to fig. 5, for implementing a method corresponding to the relay UE in the above method embodiments. Specific functions can be seen from the description of the method embodiments described above. One type of circuitry is, for example, a chip system.

The communication device 600 includes at least one processor 601. The processor 601 may be used for internal processing of the device, implementing certain control processing functions. Optionally, the processor 601 includes instructions. Alternatively, the processor 601 may store data. Alternatively, the different processors may be separate devices, may be located in different physical locations, and may be located on different integrated circuits. Alternatively, the different processors may be integrated in one or more processors, e.g., integrated on one or more integrated circuits.

Optionally, the communication device 600 includes one or more memories 603 to store instructions. Optionally, the memory 603 may also store data therein. The processor and the memory may be provided separately or may be integrated.

Optionally, the communication device 600 includes a communication line 602, and at least one communication interface 604. In fig. 6, the memory 603, the communication line 602, and the communication interface 604 are all optional, and are indicated by dashed lines.

Optionally, the communication device 600 may also include a transceiver and/or an antenna. Wherein the transceiver may be used to transmit information to or receive information from other devices. The transceiver may be referred to as a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, an input-output interface, etc. for implementing the transceiver function of the communication device 600 through an antenna. Optionally, the transceiver comprises a transmitter (transmitter) and a receiver (receiver). Illustratively, a transmitter may be used to generate a radio frequency (radio frequency) signal from the baseband signal, and a receiver may be used to convert the radio frequency signal to the baseband signal.

The processor 601 may include a general purpose central processing unit (central processing unit, CPU), microprocessor, application specific integrated circuit (application specific integrated circuit, ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits for controlling the execution of programs according to aspects of the present application.

Communication line 602 may include a pathway to transfer information between the aforementioned components.

The communication interface 604 uses any transceiver-like device for communicating with other devices or communication networks, such as ethernet, radio access network (radio access network, RAN), wireless local area network (wireless local area networks, WLAN), wired access network, etc.

The memory 603 may be, but is not limited to, a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (random access memory, RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and instructions, or an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (compact disc read-only memory) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compact disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc, blu-ray disc, etc.), magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. The memory 603 may be stand alone and be coupled to the processor 601 via a communication line 602. Alternatively, the memory 603 may be integrated with the processor 601.

The memory 603 is used for storing computer-executable instructions for executing the present application, and is controlled by the processor 601 for execution. The processor 601 is configured to execute computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 603, thereby implementing the communication method provided by the above-described embodiment of the present application.

Alternatively, the computer-executable instructions in the embodiments of the present application may be referred to as application program codes, which are not particularly limited in the embodiments of the present application.

In a particular implementation, the processor 601 may include one or more CPUs, such as CPU0 and CPU1 of FIG. 6, as an embodiment.

In a particular implementation, as one embodiment, the communications apparatus 600 can include a plurality of processors, such as processor 601 and processor 608 in FIG. 6. Each of these processors may be a single-core (single-CPU) processor or may be a multi-core (multi-CPU) processor. A processor herein may refer to one or more devices, circuits, and/or processing cores for processing data (e.g., computer program instructions).

When the apparatus shown in fig. 6 is a chip, for example, a chip of an access network device, or a chip of a remote UE, or a chip of a relay UE, the chip includes a processor 601 (may also include a processor 608), a communication line 602, a memory 603, and a communication interface 604. In particular, the communication interface 604 may be an input interface, a pin, or a circuit, etc. The memory 603 may be a register, a cache, or the like. The processor 601 and the processor 608 may be a general purpose CPU, microprocessor, ASIC, or one or more integrated circuits for controlling the execution of programs of the communication method of any of the embodiments described above.

The embodiment of the application can divide the functional modules of the device according to the method example, for example, each functional module can be divided corresponding to each function, and two or more functions can be integrated in one processing module. The integrated modules may be implemented in hardware or in software functional modules. It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the division of the modules is schematic, which is merely a logic function division, and other division manners may be implemented in actual implementation. For example, in the case of dividing the respective functional modules by the respective functions, fig. 7 shows a schematic diagram of an apparatus, and the apparatus 700 may be an access network device, a remote UE, or a relay UE, or a chip in the access network device, a chip in the remote UE, or a chip in the relay UE, which are involved in the respective method embodiments described above. The apparatus 700 comprises a transmitting unit 701, a processing unit 702 and a receiving unit 703.

It should be understood that the apparatus 700 may be used to implement steps performed by an access network device or a remote UE or a relay UE in the method according to the embodiments of the present application, and relevant features may refer to the foregoing embodiments, which are not described herein.

Alternatively, the functions/implementation procedures of the transmitting unit 701, the receiving unit 703, and the processing unit 702 in fig. 7 may be implemented by the processor 601 in fig. 6 calling computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 603. Alternatively, the functions/implementation of the processing unit 702 in fig. 7 may be implemented by the processor 601 in fig. 6 calling computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 603, and the functions/implementation of the transmitting unit 701 and the receiving unit 703 in fig. 7 may be implemented by the communication interface 604 in fig. 6.

Alternatively, when the apparatus 700 is a chip or a circuit, the functions/implementation procedures of the transmitting unit 701 and the receiving unit 703 may also be implemented by pins or circuits, or the like.

The present application also provides a computer readable storage medium storing a computer program or instructions which, when executed, implement a method performed by an access network device or a remote UE or a relay UE in the foregoing method embodiments. Thus, the functions described in the above embodiments may be implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present application may be embodied in essence or contributing part or part of the technical solution in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium, comprising several instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of the present application. The storage medium includes: a usb disk, a removable hard disk, a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk, etc.

The present application also provides a computer program product comprising: computer program code which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method performed by the access network device or the remote UE or the relay UE in any of the method embodiments described above.

The embodiment of the application also provides a processing device, which comprises a processor and an interface; the processor is configured to perform a method performed by the access network device or the remote UE or the relay UE according to any of the foregoing method embodiments.

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 includes one or more computer instructions. When loaded and executed on a computer, produces a flow or function in accordance with embodiments of the present application, 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 instructions may be stored in or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another, for example, by wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital Subscriber Line (DSL)), or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). 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 contains 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 DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a Solid State Disk (SSD)), or the like.

The various illustrative logical blocks and circuits described in connection with the embodiments of the application may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (digital signal processor, DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (application specific integrated circuit, ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (field-programmable gate array, FPGA), or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the general purpose processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a digital signal processor core, or any other similar configuration.

The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software unit executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. The software elements may be stored in RAM, flash memory, ROM, erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), EEPROM, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. In an example, a storage medium may be coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC, which may reside in a terminal device. In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside in different components in a terminal device.

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

Although the embodiments of the present application have been described in connection with specific features and embodiments thereof, it will be apparent that various modifications and combinations thereof can be made without departing from the scope of the embodiments of the application. Accordingly, the present embodiments and figures are merely exemplary illustrations of embodiments of the application defined by the appended claims and are considered to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations, or equivalents of the embodiments that fall within the scope of the embodiments of the application. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the embodiments of the present application without departing from the scope of the embodiments of the application. Thus, the embodiments of the present application are intended to include such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the embodiments of the application as claimed and the equivalents thereof.

Claims

1. A communication method, applied to a remote terminal device, the method comprising:

receiving a first data packet from a relay terminal device through the SRB1 of the remote terminal device, wherein the first data packet comprises a first message and an SRAP header, and the first message is an RRC connection recovery message or an RRC reestablishment message;

removing the SRAP head through an SRAP entity, and acquiring configuration information, wherein the SRAP entity is determined before removing the SRAP head;

and configuring the SRAP entity according to the configuration information.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

the SRAP entity is established prior to removing the SRAP header.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein establishing the SRAP entity prior to removing the SRAP header comprises:

before removing the SRAP header, the SRAP entity is established according to a default configuration.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the SRAP entity is not released when the remote terminal device is released to an RRC inactive state.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the method further comprises:

The SRAP entity that was not released is reconfigured before the SRAP header is removed.

6. The method according to any one of claim 1 to 5, wherein,

the SRAP entity does not include configuration information for the first domain; or alternatively, the first and second heat exchangers may be,

the SRAP entity comprises configuration information of the first domain, and the first domain is an undefined domain or carries a default value;

wherein the first domain is configured to carry an identifier of the remote terminal device.

7. The method according to any one of claim 1 to 6, wherein,

the SRAP head comprises a first identifier, wherein the first identifier is the identifier of the remote terminal equipment; or alternatively, the first and second heat exchangers may be,

the SRAP header does not include an identification of the remote terminal device.

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

configuring the SRAP entity according to the configuration information, including:

and configuring the SRAP entity according to a second identifier included in the configuration information, wherein the second identifier is the identifier of the remote terminal equipment.

9. A communication method applied to a relay terminal device, the method comprising:

obtaining a second data packet through an SRAP entity, wherein the second data packet comprises an SRAP head and a first message, the SRAP head comprises a first identifier of a remote terminal device, and the first message is an RRC connection recovery message or an RRC reestablishment message;

Processing the SRAP head through the SRAP entity to obtain a first data packet, wherein the first data packet does not comprise the first identifier;

and sending the first data packet to the remote terminal equipment through the SRB1 of the remote terminal equipment.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein processing the SRAP header by the SRAP entity results in a first data packet, comprising:

removing the SRAP head through the SRAP entity to obtain the first data packet; or alternatively, the first and second heat exchangers may be,

and processing the first identifier in the SRAP head through the SRAP entity to obtain the first data packet.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein processing the first identification in the SRAP header by the SRAP entity comprises:

updating the first identity by the SRAP entity; or alternatively, the first and second heat exchangers may be,

the first identity is removed by the SRAP entity.

12. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 11, further comprising:

determining the first message as a first downlink message sent to the remote terminal equipment on the SRB 1; or alternatively, the first and second heat exchangers may be,

and determining that the second data packet comprises indication information, wherein the indication information is used for indicating to process the SRAP header.

13. A communication method, applied to a remote terminal device, the method comprising:

and storing a first identifier of the remote terminal equipment, wherein the first identifier is acquired by the remote terminal equipment when the remote terminal equipment is in an RRC connection state, and the first identifier is an identifier of an SRAP entity application of the remote terminal equipment.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the method further comprises:

and sending a second message to the relay terminal equipment, wherein the second message comprises the first identifier, and the second message is an RRC connection recovery request message or an RRC reestablishment request message.

15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that the method further comprises:

the SRAP entity is established in case of initiating an RRC connection recovery procedure or an RRC reestablishment procedure.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein establishing the SRAP entity comprises:

and establishing the SRAP entity according to a default configuration.

17. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that the SRAP entity is not released when the remote terminal device is released to RRC inactive state.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the method further comprises:

in case of initiating an RRC connection recovery procedure or an RRC reestablishment procedure, the SRAP entity that was not released is reconfigured.

19. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 18, further comprising:

receiving a first data packet from the relay terminal equipment through the SRB1 of the remote terminal equipment, wherein the first data packet comprises a first message and an SRAP header, the SRAP header comprises the first identifier, and the first message is an RRC connection recovery message or an RRC reestablishment message;

identifying the first identifier through the SRAP entity, and removing the SRAP head to obtain configuration information;

and configuring the SRAP entity according to the configuration information.

20. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 18, further comprising:

receiving a first data packet from the relay terminal equipment through the SRB0 of the remote terminal equipment, wherein the first data packet comprises an RRC establishment message, and the first data packet does not comprise an SRAP header;

and configuring the SRAP entity according to the configuration information included in the RRC establishment message.

21. A method of communication, for application to an access network device, the method comprising:

receiving a second identification of the remote terminal device from the relay terminal device;

determining a first identifier of the remote terminal equipment according to the second identifier;

and sending a first message to the relay terminal equipment, wherein the first message comprises a third identifier, and the first identifier is the same as or different from the third identifier, and the first message is an RRC connection recovery message, an RRC reestablishment message or an RRC establishment message.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the step of determining the position of the probe is performed,

if the first identifier is not in conflict with the identifiers of other remote terminal devices connected with the relay terminal device, the first identifier is the same as the third identifier, and the first message is the RRC connection recovery message or the RRC reestablishment message; or alternatively, the process may be performed,

and if the first identifier is in conflict with the identifiers of other remote terminal devices connected with the relay terminal device, the first identifier is different from the third identifier, and the first message is the RRC establishment message.

23. The method according to claim 21 or 22, wherein,

If the first message is the RRC connection recovery message or the RRC reestablishment message, the first message is sent through SRB 1; or alternatively, the process may be performed,

if the first message is an RRC setup message, the first message is sent through SRB 0.

24. A communication device, comprising:

one or more processors;

one or more memories;

and one or more computer programs, wherein the one or more computer programs are stored in the one or more memories, the one or more computer programs comprising instructions, which when executed by the one or more processors of the communication device, cause the communication device to perform the method of any of claims 1-8, or cause the communication device to perform the method of any of claims 9-12, or cause the communication device to perform the method of any of claims 13-20.

25. A communication device, comprising:

one or more processors;

one or more memories;

and one or more computer programs, wherein the one or more computer programs are stored in the one or more memories, the one or more computer programs comprising instructions, which when executed by the one or more processors of the communication device, cause the communication device to perform the method of any of claims 21-23.

26. A computer readable storage medium for storing a computer program which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 8 or to perform the method of any one of claims 9 to 12 or to perform the method of any one of claims 13 to 20 or to perform the method of any one of claims 21 to 23.

27. A chip comprising one or more processors and a communication interface, the one or more processors configured to read instructions to perform the method of any one of claims 1-8, or to perform the method of any one of claims 9-12, or to perform the method of any one of claims 13-20, or to perform the method of any one of claims 21-23.