CN117501723A

CN117501723A - Multipath transmission method and device and communication equipment

Info

Publication number: CN117501723A
Application number: CN202180099621.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 许阳; 郭雅莉
Original assignee: Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp Ltd
Current assignee: Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp Ltd
Priority date: 2021-09-30
Filing date: 2021-09-30
Publication date: 2024-02-02
Also published as: WO2023050415A1

Abstract

The embodiment of the application provides a multipath transmission method and device and communication equipment, wherein the method comprises the following steps: the first device receives and/or transmits multiple paths of data; wherein, the time delay corresponding to each path in the paths is less than or equal to the upper limit time delay; and/or, the sum of bandwidths corresponding to each path in the paths is smaller than or equal to the total bandwidth.

Description

Multipath transmission method and device and communication equipment

Technical Field

The embodiment of the application relates to the technical field of mobile communication, in particular to a multipath transmission method and device and communication equipment.

Background

For some services, the data types of the services are multiple, and the multiple types of data can come from different applications or from the same application. Generally, quality of service (Quality of Service, qoS) requirements for multiple types of data are different from each other, and thus, a mechanism is required to cooperatively transmit multiple types of data such that the multiple types of data satisfy a certain QoS requirement.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a multipath transmission method and device, communication equipment, a chip, a computer readable storage medium, a computer program product and a computer program.

The multipath transmission method provided by the embodiment of the application comprises the following steps:

the first device receives and/or transmits multiple paths of data; wherein,

the time delay corresponding to each path in the paths is smaller than or equal to the upper limit time delay; and/or, the sum of bandwidths corresponding to each path in the paths is smaller than or equal to the total bandwidth.

the method comprises the steps that a first node receives a first request message sent by a second node, wherein the first request message carries a total QoS parameter and/or a data characteristic, and the total QoS parameter comprises an upper limit time delay and/or a total bandwidth;

the first node determines a plurality of rules corresponding to a plurality of paths based on the total QoS parameters and/or the data characteristics, wherein the plurality of rules are used for transmitting multi-path data on the plurality of paths.

The multipath transmission device provided by the embodiment of the application is applied to first equipment, and the device comprises:

a transmission unit for receiving and/or transmitting multiple paths of data; wherein,

The multipath transmission device provided by the embodiment of the application is applied to a first node, and the device comprises:

a receiving unit, configured to receive a first request message sent by a second node, where the first request message carries a total QoS parameter and/or a data characteristic, and the total QoS parameter includes an upper limit delay and/or a total bandwidth;

and the determining unit is used for determining a plurality of rules corresponding to a plurality of paths based on the total QoS parameters and/or the data characteristics, wherein the rules are used for transmitting multi-path data on the paths.

The communication device provided by the embodiment of the application comprises a processor and a memory. The memory is used for storing a computer program, and the processor is used for calling and running the computer program stored in the memory to execute the multi-path transmission method.

The chip provided by the embodiment of the application is used for realizing the multi-path transmission method.

Specifically, the chip includes: and a processor for calling and running the computer program from the memory, so that the device mounted with the chip executes the multi-path transmission method.

The computer readable storage medium provided in the embodiments of the present application is configured to store a computer program, where the computer program causes a computer to execute the above-described multipath transmission method.

The computer program product provided by the embodiment of the application comprises computer program instructions, wherein the computer program instructions enable a computer to execute the multi-path transmission method.

The computer program provided in the embodiments of the present application, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform the above-described multipath transmission method.

Through the technical scheme, on one hand, multipath data are transmitted through multiple paths, wherein the time delay corresponding to each path in the multiple paths is smaller than or equal to the upper limit time delay, and/or the sum of bandwidths corresponding to each path in the multiple paths is smaller than or equal to the total bandwidth, so that the multipath data integrally meet certain QoS requirements, and the effect of multipath cooperation is realized. On the other hand, the first node determines a plurality of rules corresponding to the plurality of paths based on the total QoS parameters and/or the data characteristics, so that multipath data transmission on the plurality of paths is realized by utilizing the plurality of rules, and the effect of multipath cooperation is realized.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the application and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiments of the application and together with the description serve to explain the application and do not constitute an undue limitation to the application. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of data transmission from a plurality of terminals to an application server;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of data transmission from a single terminal to an application server;

fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a QoS flow mapping mechanism provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a flowchart of a multi-path transmission method according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing transmission time of multiple paths of data according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a second schematic diagram of transmission time of multiple paths of data according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a multi-channel data transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a second schematic diagram of multi-channel data transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 10 is a second flowchart of a multi-path transmission method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 11 is a flowchart of a multi-path transmission method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 12 is a schematic diagram of the structural components of a multi-path transmission device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 13 is a schematic diagram ii of a structural composition of a multipath transmission device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 15 is a schematic block diagram of a chip of an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 16 is a schematic block diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The following description of the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be made with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application, and it is apparent that the described embodiments are some embodiments of the present application, but not all embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be made by one of ordinary skill in the art without undue burden from the present disclosure, are within the scope of the present disclosure.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario according to an embodiment of the present application.

As shown in fig. 1, communication system 100 may include a terminal 110 and a network device 120. Network device 120 may communicate with terminal 110 over the air. Multi-service transmission is supported between the terminal 110 and the network device 120.

It should be understood that the present embodiments are illustrated by way of example only with respect to communication system 100, but the present embodiments are not limited thereto. That is, the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application may be applied to various communication systems, for example: long term evolution (Long Term Evolution, LTE) systems, LTE time division duplexing (Time Division Duplex, TDD), universal mobile telecommunications system (Universal Mobile Telecommunication System, UMTS), internet of things (Internet of Things, ioT) systems, narrowband internet of things (Narrow Band Internet of Things, NB-IoT) systems, enhanced Machine-type-Type Communications (eMTC) systems, 5G communication systems (also known as New Radio (NR) communication systems), or future communication systems, etc.

In the communication system 100 shown in fig. 1, the network device 120 may be an access network device in communication with the terminal 110. The access network device may provide communication coverage for a particular geographic area and may communicate with terminals 110 (e.g., UEs) located within the coverage area.

The network device 120 may be an evolved base station (Evolutional Node B, eNB or eNodeB) in a long term evolution (Long Term Evolution, LTE) system, or a next generation radio access network (Next Generation Radio Access Network, NG RAN) device, or a base station (gNB) in a NR system, or a radio controller in a cloud radio access network (Cloud Radio Access Network, CRAN), or the network device 120 may be a relay station, an access point, a vehicle device, a wearable device, a hub, a switch, a bridge, a router, or a network device in a future evolved public land mobile network (Public Land Mobile Network, PLMN), etc.

Terminal 110 may be any terminal including, but not limited to, a terminal that employs a wired or wireless connection with network device 120 or other terminals.

For example, the terminal 110 may refer to an access terminal, user Equipment (UE), subscriber unit, subscriber station, mobile station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, wireless communication device, user agent, or User Equipment. An access terminal may be a cellular telephone, a cordless telephone, a session initiation protocol (Session Initiation Protocol, SIP) phone, an IoT device, a satellite handset, a wireless local loop (Wireless Local Loop, WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (Personal Digital Assistant, PDA), a handset with wireless communication capabilities, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, a terminal in a 5G network or a terminal in a future evolution network, etc.

The terminal 110 may be used for Device-to-Device (D2D) communication.

The wireless communication system 100 may further comprise a core network device 130 in communication with the base station, which core network device 130 may be a 5G core,5gc device, e.g. an access and mobility management function (Access and Mobility Management Function, AMF), further e.g. an authentication server function (Authentication Server Function, AUSF), further e.g. a user plane function (User Plane Function, UPF), further e.g. a session management function (Session Management Function, SMF). Optionally, the core network device 130 may also be a packet core evolution (Evolved Packet Core, EPC) device of the LTE network, for example a session management function+a data gateway (Session Management Function + Core Packet Gateway, smf+pgw-C) device of the core network. It should be appreciated that SMF+PGW-C may perform the functions performed by both SMF and PGW-C. In the network evolution process, the core network device may also call other names, or form a new network entity by dividing the functions of the core network, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

Communication may also be achieved by establishing connections between various functional units in the communication system 100 through a next generation Network (NG) interface.

For example, the terminal establishes an air interface connection with the access network device through an NR interface, and is used for transmitting user plane data and control plane signaling; the terminal can establish control plane signaling connection with AMF through NG interface 1 (N1 for short); an access network device, such as a next generation radio access base station (gNB), can establish a user plane data connection with a UPF through an NG interface 3 (N3 for short); the access network equipment can establish control plane signaling connection with AMF through NG interface 2 (N2 for short); the UPF can establish control plane signaling connection with the SMF through an NG interface 4 (N4 for short); the UPF can interact user plane data with the data network through an NG interface 6 (N6 for short); the AMF may establish a control plane signaling connection with the SMF through NG interface 11 (N11 for short); the SMF may establish a control plane signaling connection with the PCF via NG interface 7 (N7 for short).

Fig. 1 illustrates one base station, one core network device, and two terminals, and optionally, the wireless communication system 100 may include a plurality of base station devices and may include other numbers of terminals within the coverage area of each base station, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

It should be noted that fig. 1 illustrates, by way of example, a system to which the present application is applicable, and of course, the method shown in the embodiment of the present application may be applicable to other systems. Furthermore, the terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably herein. The term "and/or" is herein merely an association relationship describing an associated object, meaning that there may be three relationships, e.g., a and/or B, may represent: a exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone. In addition, the character "/" herein generally indicates that the front and rear associated objects are an "or" relationship. It should also be understood that, in the embodiments of the present application, the "indication" may be a direct indication, an indirect indication, or an indication that there is an association relationship. For example, a indicates B, which may mean that a indicates B directly, e.g., B may be obtained by a; it may also indicate that a indicates B indirectly, e.g. a indicates C, B may be obtained by C; it may also be indicated that there is an association between a and B. It should also be understood that, in the embodiments of the present application, reference to "corresponding" may mean that there is a direct correspondence or an indirect correspondence between the two, or may mean that there is an association between the two, or may be a relationship between an instruction and an indicated, configured, or the like. It should also be understood that "predefined" or "predefined rules" mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented by pre-storing corresponding codes, tables or other manners in which related information may be indicated in devices (e.g., including terminals and network devices), and the present application is not limited to a specific implementation thereof. Such as predefined may refer to what is defined in the protocol. It should also be understood that, in the embodiments of the present application, the "protocol" may refer to a standard protocol in the field of communications, and may include, for example, an LTE protocol, an NR protocol, and related protocols applied in future communication systems, which are not limited in this application.

In order to facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the following description is given of related technologies of the embodiments of the present application, and the following related technologies may be optionally combined with the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application as an alternative, which all belong to the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application.

For some services, the data types of the services are multiple, and the multiple types of data may come from different applications (i.e., from different terminals) or from the same application (i.e., from the same terminal). This is described below in connection with two scenarios.

Scene one

For the multi-mode service, the terminals respectively collect data of different aspects of the multi-mode service, and then send the data to the application server for unified processing. As an example, as shown in fig. 2, a plurality of terminals may be mobile phones, cameras, hand rings, smart glasses, which collect data of different aspects of the multi-modal service, and then send the data to an application server for unified processing through a third generation partnership project (3rd Generation Partnership Project,3GPP) network. In an application scene, for example, in a virtual environment, a mobile phone can collect voice data of a person speaking, a camera can capture image information around the environment in real time, a bracelet can detect heart beat, breath and the like of the person, an intelligent glasses can capture real-time pictures seen by the person, the data are required to be transmitted to an application server in real time, the application server performs unified data processing to determine the current state of the person, and further data of the next step are fed back to each terminal, so that the person is always in an ideal virtual environment.

In this process, due to the real-time performance of the multi-mode service, the real-time performance requirements of the multiple terminals are required for obtaining and reporting the data, and in particular, the data of the multiple terminals are transmitted through different paths, but the data needs to arrive at the application server at the same time, or otherwise, the data fed back by the application server needs to arrive at the multiple terminals at the same time. That is, on the one hand, there is a requirement for the delay of arrival of data of a plurality of terminals at the application server, and on the other hand, there is a requirement for the relative delay of arrival time of transmission data of each path. If one way of data arrives too late, even if the other way of data arrives too early, this can result in a poor user experience. For example, if the user receives the image significantly earlier than the sound, the user will see the image and then hear the sound, which greatly reduces the user experience.

Scene two

For some special services, although the data of the services come from the same terminal, the data types of the services include a plurality of types. As an example, as shown in fig. 3, various types of data of a terminal are transmitted to an application server through a 3GPP network to perform the same process.

As an example, for an extended reality (XR) service, although the data of the service comes from the same application, the packet loss rate requirements of different types of data (e.g., different frame types of data) of the application are different.

As an example, for an Artificial Intelligence (AI) model download service, the data of the same application may contain both model parameters and model structure data with different reliability requirements, e.g., the reliability requirements for model structure data are greater than model parameter data.

However, in general, the same data characteristics, such as the same IP five-tuple (source IP address, destination IP address, source port number, destination port number, protocol type), are often used for the data of the same application, so that the data of the same application can be transmitted through the same path, and the same QoS parameters can also be corresponding to the data, which is inconsistent with the service requirement.

To guarantee data transmission, mobile communication networks generally use QoS mechanisms. As shown in fig. 4, in a mobile communication network, in order to be able to transmit user plane data, one or more QoS flows (QoS flows) need to be established, and different QoS flows correspond to different QoS parameters. As an important measure of communication quality (Communication quality), qoS parameters are typically used to indicate the characteristics of QoS flows, which may include, but are not limited to: 5G quality of service (5G QoS Identifier,5QI), allocation reservation Priority (Allocation Retension Priority, ARP), guaranteed Bit Rate (Guaranteed Bit Rate, GBR), maximum Bit Rate (Maximum Bit Rate, MBR), uplink/downlink Maximum packet loss Rate (UL/DL Maximum Packet Loss Rate, UL/DL MPLR), end-to-end packet delay budget (Packet Delay Budget, PDB), AN-PDB, packet error Rate (Packet Error Rate, PER), priority Level (Priority Level), average Window (Averaging Window), resource Type (Resource Type), maximum data burst (Maximum Data Burst Volume), UE aggregate Maximum Bit Rate (UE Aggregate Maximum Bit Rate, UE-AMBR), session aggregate Maximum Bit Rate (Session Aggregate Maximum Bit Rate, session-AMBR), and the like.

And a Filter (or SDF template) contains characteristic parameters describing the packets for filtering out particular packets to bind to particular QoS flows. Here, the most commonly used filters are the IP five-tuple, i.e. source IP address, destination IP address, source port number, destination port number and protocol type.

The network side user plane network element (such as UPF) and the terminal form a filter according to the combination of the characteristic parameters of the data packets (such as leftmost trapezoid and rightmost parallelogram in fig. 4 represent the filter), and the filter filters the uplink or downlink data packets which are transmitted on the user plane and conform to the characteristic parameters of the data packets, and binds the uplink or downlink data packets to a certain QoS flow. The uplink QoS flow is bound by the terminal, and the downlink QoS flow is bound by the user plane network element (such as UPF) at the network side. In the QoS mechanism, one or more QoS flows may be mapped onto one air interface resource for transmission, which may be, for example, a data radio bearer (Data Resource Bearer, DRB). For one QoS flow, the access network establishes a DRB based on the QoS parameters and binds the QoS flow to the particular DRB.

Since the multimode services exist normally, different multimode terminals may need to send data to multiple applications, that is, the sending and receiving of the terminal data in the multimode terminals cannot be uniformly managed by a certain application, so that the 3GPP network is an ideal choice for making collaboration of the multimode terminals, and QoS mechanisms need to be enhanced to meet the requirements of future service scenarios.

And the data of various types are sent to the application server through the 3GPP network for unified processing, and in the process, the 3GPP network is required to cooperatively transmit the data of various types because the data of different types correspond to different QoS requirements. For this reason, the following technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application are proposed.

In order to facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the technical solutions of the present application are described in detail below through specific embodiments. The above related technologies may be optionally combined with the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, which all belong to the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application. Embodiments of the present application include at least some of the following.

It should be noted that the technical solution of the embodiments of the present application may be applied to any communication system, including but not limited to a 5G system (5 GS), a 6G system (6 GS), and so on.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart of a multi-path transmission method according to an embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 5, where the multi-path transmission method includes the following steps:

step 501: the first device receives and/or transmits multiple paths of data; wherein, the time delay corresponding to each path in the paths is less than or equal to the upper limit time delay; and/or, the sum of bandwidths corresponding to each path in the paths is smaller than or equal to the total bandwidth.

In the embodiment of the present application, the description about "bandwidth" may be replaced by "guaranteed bandwidth" or "GBR".

In the embodiment of the present application, the description about the "path" may be replaced by "connection" or "Qos flow".

In the embodiment of the application, the first device receives multiple paths of data and/or transmits multiple paths of data; wherein, the time delay corresponding to each path in the paths is less than or equal to the upper limit time delay; and/or, the sum of bandwidths corresponding to each path in the paths is smaller than or equal to the total bandwidth. Here, optionally, the upper bound time delay and/or the total bandwidth may be provided by a third party, e.g. the uplink time delay and/or the total bandwidth may be provided by the terminal or the application server.

In some alternative embodiments, the first device is a network device. The first device may be a new network element with respect to an existing 3GPP network element, or may be an existing 3GPP network element, such as a UPF. In some alternative embodiments, the first device is a terminal. The following description will be made in connection with these two cases.

Case one: the first device is a network device.

In some optional embodiments, for uplink transmission, in order to ensure that multiple paths of data reach a consistent time of an application server, after the first device receives multiple paths of data on multiple paths, the first device sends the data received on the multiple paths to the application server at a first time or at a time after the first time.

In some alternative embodiments, the first device merges the data received on the multiple paths and sends the merged data to the application server. Further optionally, the data on each of the plurality of paths is associated with a data sequence number or a data segment number, where the data segment number corresponds to a range of data sequence numbers; and the first equipment combines each path of data associated with the same data sequence number or data segment number in the multiple paths of data and sends the combined data to the application server. Here, alternatively, the multiple paths of data may correspond to the same video frame or traffic data corresponding to the same period of time (e.g., multi-mode traffic data).

In some optional embodiments, the first device identifies the data received on the multiple paths, and combines multiple paths of data belonging to the same service and sends the combined data to the application server.

In some alternative embodiments, the first time is determined based on the upper bound time delay or a second time, the second time being a time of a third party request. Here, the third party may be an application server or a terminal.

As an example: the first time is determined based on the upper limit delay and the transmission time of the multi-path data, specifically, the transmission time of the multi-path data is T1, and the upper limit delay is L, and then the first time cannot be later than the time t1+l, which may be the time t1+l as an example.

Here, alternatively, the first time may be determined based on a case where the first device receives data.

As an example: the first device may collect multiple paths of data having an association relationship, and then transmit the collected data. Alternatively, the first device may collect all data on multiple paths and then transmit the collected data. Here, the multiple data having the association relationship may be identified according to a data sequence number or a data segment number or a number corresponding to the data or a video frame number, for example, the multiple data associated with the same video frame number may be regarded as the multiple data having the association relationship. For example: the first device may send the collected data at time t after collecting the multiplexed data associated with the x frames of the video, and may send the collected data at time t+1 after collecting the multiplexed data associated with the x+1 frames of the video.

In some alternative embodiments, the first device caches or stores the received multiple paths of data if the first time is not reached.

As an example, as shown in fig. 6, for uplink transmission, multiple paths of data start to be transmitted at a transmission time, qoS parameters (such as time delays) corresponding to the multiple paths of data are different, reception times of the multiple paths of data received by the first device are different, the first device determines a first time according to the uplink time delay and the transmission time, and when the first time is reached, the multiple paths of data are integrally and concurrently transmitted to the application server. Before the first time is not reached, the first device caches or stores the received multipath data, so that the multipath data can be guaranteed to reach the application server uniformly.

In some optional embodiments, for downlink transmission, before the first device sends multiple paths of data on multiple paths, the first device receives data sent by an application server, and splits the data into multiple paths of data; or the first device receives multiple paths of data sent by multiple application servers. The first device then binds the multiplexed data to multiple paths for transmission.

As an example, as shown in fig. 7, for downlink transmission, the first device receives data sent by the application server at the second time, splits the data from the application server into multiple paths of data, where QoS parameters (such as time delays) corresponding to the multiple paths of data are different, and the first device determines a sending time of each path of data according to an upper limit time delay and a time delay of each path of data, and sends each path of data when the sending time is reached, so that it is ensured that the multiple paths of data can reach the terminal side uniformly.

In this embodiment of the present application, the multiple paths of data correspond to data of different terminals; or the multiple paths of data correspond to different types of data of the same terminal.

In some optional embodiments, in a case that the multiple paths of data correspond to data of different terminals, the first device receives multiple paths of data sent by multiple terminals on multiple paths; and/or the first device sends multipath data to a plurality of terminals on a plurality of paths.

In some optional embodiments, in a case that the multiple paths of data correspond to different types of data of the same terminal, the first device receives multiple paths of data sent by one terminal on multiple paths; and/or the first device sends multiple paths of data to one terminal on multiple paths. Further, for uplink transmission, the terminal splits data from the application layer to obtain multiple paths of data, and binds the multiple paths of data to the first device. For downlink transmission, the first device sends multiple paths of data to a terminal on multiple paths, and the terminal combines the received multiple paths of data and delivers the combined multiple paths of data to an application layer.

In the above scheme, the first device is a network device, and in order to implement the above split and merge functions, the network device side has a first adaptation module, where the first adaptation module has at least one of the following functions:

identifying the received multipath data, merging the multipath data belonging to the same service and then sending the merged multipath data to an application server;

splitting data from an application server to obtain multiple paths of data;

multiple paths of data are bound to multiple paths for transmission.

In the above solution, optionally, the data transmission between the first device and the server may be performed through a common path.

And a second case: the first device is a terminal.

In some optional embodiments, for downlink transmission, in order to ensure that the time of the multipath data reaching the application layer of the terminal is consistent, after the first device receives the multipath data on multiple paths, the first device sends the data received on the multiple paths to the application layer at the first time or at a time after the first time.

In some alternative embodiments, the first device merges the data received on the multiple paths and sends the merged data to the application layer. Further optionally, the data on each of the plurality of paths is associated with a data sequence number or a data segment number, where the data segment number corresponds to a range of data sequence numbers; and the first equipment merges each path of data associated with the same data sequence number or data segment number in the multiple paths of data and sends the merged data to an application layer. Here, alternatively, the multiple paths of data may correspond to the same video frame or traffic data within the same period of time.

In some optional embodiments, the first device identifies data received on the multiple paths, and merges multiple paths of data belonging to the application layer and submits the merged data to the application layer.

In some optional embodiments, for uplink transmission, before the first device sends multiple paths of data, the first device receives data sent by an application layer and splits the data into multiple paths of data. The first device then binds the multiplexed data to multiple paths for transmission.

In this embodiment of the present application, the multiple paths of data correspond to different types of data of the same terminal.

In the above scheme, the first device is a terminal, and in order to implement the above split and merge functions, the terminal side has a second adapting module, where the second adapting module has at least one of the following functions:

splitting data from an application layer to obtain multiple paths of data;

binding the multipath data to a plurality of paths for transmission;

and identifying the received multipath data, merging the multipath data belonging to the application layer, and delivering the merged multipath data to the application layer.

Whether the first or second case is described above, different paths in the plurality of paths correspond to the same or different QoS parameters. In some alternative embodiments, all of the plurality of paths correspond to different QoS parameters. In some alternative embodiments, some of the plurality of paths correspond to different QoS parameters. In some alternative embodiments, some of the plurality of paths correspond to the same QoS parameter.

In this embodiment of the present application, the multiple paths need to meet a certain delay requirement. Taking QoS parameters as an example, the delay corresponding to each path in the plurality of paths is less than or equal to the upper limit delay. Taking QoS parameters as an example, the sum of bandwidths corresponding to each of the paths is less than or equal to the total bandwidth. In addition, qoS parameters are not limited to delay and bandwidth, and other QoS parameters, such as packet loss rate, may be used.

The following describes the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application by way of example with reference to specific application examples. It should be noted that, in the following application examples, uplink transmission is described, but downlink transmission is also applicable to the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Scene one

As shown in fig. 8, data of a plurality of terminals is transmitted through a plurality of paths, and different paths may correspond to different QoS parameters. In order to avoid the time difference of data on different paths reaching the application server, an adaptation module is introduced in the 3GPP network. The adaptation module may be located in a new network element, or may be located in an existing 3GPP network element (such as UPF). Wherein the adaptation module has at least one of the following functions:

splitting data from an application server to obtain multiple paths of data;

multiple paths of data are bound to multiple paths for transmission.

In some alternative embodiments, after receiving the multiple paths of data, the adaptation module merges the multiple paths of data at a first time and sends the merged multiple paths of data to the application server, where the first time is determined based on the upper bound time delay, and in particular, the first time is determined based on the upper bound time delay and a sending time of the multiple paths of data.

In some alternative embodiments, the adaptation module caches or stores the received multipath data if the first time is not reached.

It should be noted that, the adaptation module may still have time jitter in the process of sending the data to the application server, but the time jitter problem in the 3GPP network can be eliminated.

Scene two

As shown in fig. 9, data sent by an application layer of a single terminal is split by using an adaptation module, and different types of split data are transmitted by using different paths; an adaptation module is introduced into the 3GPP network, and the multi-path data are combined through the adaptation module and then are uniformly transmitted to an application server, wherein the adaptation module can be positioned in a new network element or can be positioned in an existing 3GPP network element (such as UPF).

For the terminal side, an adaptation module is also introduced into the terminal, which has at least one of the following functions:

splitting data from an application layer to obtain multiple paths of data;

binding the multipath data to a plurality of paths for transmission;

Further, optionally, the terminal may number the multiple data, so as to combine the multiple data according to the number at the data receiving end.

For the 3GPP network side, the adaptation module in the 3GPP network element has at least one of the following functions:

splitting data from an application server to obtain multiple paths of data;

multiple paths of data are bound to multiple paths for transmission.

In some alternative embodiments, after receiving the multiple paths of data, the adaptation module in the 3GPP network element merges the multiple paths of data at a first time and sends the merged multiple paths of data to the application server, where the first time is determined based on the upper bound time delay, and in particular, the first time is determined based on the upper bound time delay and a sending time of the multiple paths of data.

In some alternative embodiments, the adaptation module in the 3GPP network element buffers or stores the received multipath data in case the first time is not reached.

It should be noted that, the adaptation module in the 3GPP network element may still have time jitter in the process of sending the data to the application server, but the time jitter problem in the 3GPP network can be eliminated.

According to the technical scheme, the advantages of the 3GPP network are fully utilized, service is carried out for the application server, and the multi-path synergistic effect is achieved. The function of the adaptation module can be realized in the existing network element or can be realized as an independent new network element, so that excessive influence on the existing system is avoided. In addition, the existing architecture and signaling are fully utilized, and the influence on the existing protocol is small.

It should be noted that, in the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, other parameters, such as the total packet loss rate, may be extended besides the "upper limit delay" and the "total bandwidth" described in the foregoing embodiments.

It should be noted that, the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application may be extended to the scenario of "multiplexing data transmission between terminals", besides the scenario of "multiplexing data transmission between terminals and networks" described in the above embodiment.

Fig. 10 is a second flowchart of a multi-path transmission method according to an embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 10, where the multi-path transmission method includes the following steps:

step 1001: the first node receives a first request message sent by the second node, wherein the first request message carries a total QoS parameter and/or a data characteristic, and the total QoS parameter comprises an upper limit time delay and/or a total bandwidth.

Step 1002: the first node determines a plurality of rules corresponding to a plurality of paths based on the total QoS parameters and/or the data characteristics, wherein the plurality of rules are used for transmitting multi-path data on the plurality of paths.

In some alternative embodiments, the first node is a policy control network element. As an example, the first node is a policy control function network element (Policy Control Function, PCF).

In some alternative embodiments, the second node is a terminal or an application server.

As an example, the policy control network element receives a first request message sent by the terminal, the first request message carrying the total QoS parameters and/or data characteristics. The policy control network element determines a plurality of rules corresponding to a plurality of paths based on the total QoS parameters and/or the data characteristics, wherein the plurality of rules are used for transmitting multi-path data on the plurality of paths.

As an example, the policy control network element receives a first request message sent by the application server, the first request message carrying the total QoS parameters and/or data characteristics. The policy control network element determines a plurality of rules corresponding to a plurality of paths based on the total QoS parameters and/or the data characteristics, wherein the plurality of rules are used for transmitting multi-path data on the plurality of paths.

In this embodiment of the present application, the plurality of rules are used to determine QoS parameters corresponding to the plurality of paths, where different paths correspond to the same or different QoS parameters.

In some alternative embodiments, the plurality of rules may be required to meet the following requirements: the time delay corresponding to each path in the paths is smaller than or equal to the upper limit time delay; and/or, the sum of bandwidths corresponding to each path in the paths is smaller than or equal to the total bandwidth.

In some alternative embodiments, the plurality of rules are used to determine data characteristics corresponding to the plurality of paths.

In some alternative embodiments, the plurality of rules are associated with a service identity, the service identity being used to indicate a type of service to which the plurality of rules apply.

In this embodiment of the present application, after the first node determines the plurality of rules, the first node sends the plurality of rules to a third node, where the plurality of rules are used for the third node to establish and/or bind QoS flows.

In some alternative embodiments, the third node is a session management network element. As an example, the third node is an SMF.

In this embodiment of the present application, after the third node obtains a plurality of rules, qoS flows are established and/or bound based on the plurality of rules. Here, the QoS flow may be an upstream QoS flow or may be a downstream QoS flow.

In some alternative embodiments, the rule may be a policy control service (Policy Control Service,

PCC) rules, further comprising different SDF templates corresponding to different QoS parameters. The third node determines a filter (describing the data characteristics) corresponding to the data based on the SDF template, and the data screened by the filter is bound to the corresponding QoS stream for transmission.

It should be noted that the above technical solution of the embodiments of the present application may be applied to the following transmission paths: terminal-uplink data transmission-application server-downlink data transmission, thereby realizing uplink and downlink QoS guarantee mechanism.

The method can also be applied to the following transmission paths: application server- & gt downlink data transmission- & gt terminal- & gt uplink data transmission, thereby realizing uplink and downlink QoS guarantee mechanism.

Fig. 11 is a flowchart third of a multi-path transmission method according to an embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 11, where the multi-path transmission method includes the following steps:

step 1101a/b: the terminal or application server sends a request message to the PCF, the request message carrying an upper bound time delay and/or data characteristics.

Here, the request message carries the total QoS parameter, and here, the upper limit delay is illustrated as an example.

Step 1102: the PCF determines a plurality of PCC rules based on the upper bound delay and/or the data characteristics.

Here, when the PCF determines the PCC rules of the paths, the delay corresponding to each path in the paths needs to be less than or equal to the upper limit delay.

Further optionally, for each PCC rule, the PCC rule further comprises an SDF template, where the SDF template contains parameters describing the data characteristics, the SDF template having a relationship to the QoS parameters. The data characteristics may include at least one of: the 5GS node can identify specific data according to the data characteristics, and then bind the specific data into corresponding QoS flows for transmission, such as IP addresses, port numbers, IP packet head labels (ToS) and the like. The data on the different paths corresponds to different data characteristics.

Further, optionally, a service identifier parameter is introduced, and multiple paths of data under the same service correspond to the service identifier.

Step 1103: the PCF issues a plurality of PCC rules to the SMF.

Step 1104: the SMF interacts with the UPF, the base station and the terminal to establish and/or bind QoS flows.

Here, a filter of data and a corresponding QoS parameter may be determined based on the PCC rule, and specific data screened by the filter may be bound to a QoS flow corresponding to the QoS parameter for transmission, or a new QoS flow may be established according to the QoS parameter for data transmission.

The preferred embodiments of the present application have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present application is not limited to the specific details of the above embodiments, and various simple modifications may be made to the technical solutions of the present application within the scope of the technical concept of the present application, and all the simple modifications belong to the protection scope of the present application. For example, the specific features described in the above embodiments may be combined in any suitable manner, and in order to avoid unnecessary repetition, various possible combinations are not described in detail. As another example, any combination of the various embodiments of the present application may be made without departing from the spirit of the present application, which should also be considered as disclosed herein. For example, the various embodiments and/or technical features of the various embodiments described herein may be combined with any other of the prior art without conflict, and the combined technical solutions should also fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

It should be further understood that, in the various method embodiments of the present application, the sequence numbers of the foregoing processes do not mean the order of execution, and the order of execution of the processes should be determined by the functions and internal logic of the processes, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application. Further, in the embodiment of the present application, the terms "downstream", "upstream" and "sidestream" are used to indicate a transmission direction of signals or data, where "downstream" is used to indicate that the transmission direction of signals or data is a first direction from a station to a user equipment of a cell, "upstream" is used to indicate that the transmission direction of signals or data is a second direction from the user equipment of the cell to the station, and "sidestream" is used to indicate that the transmission direction of signals or data is a third direction from the user equipment 1 to the user equipment 2. For example, "downstream signal" means that the transmission direction of the signal is the first direction. In addition, in the embodiment of the present application, the term "and/or" is merely an association relationship describing the association object, which means that three relationships may exist. Specifically, a and/or B may represent: a exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone. In addition, the character "/" herein generally indicates that the front and rear associated objects are an "or" relationship.

Fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a multi-path transmission apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application, which is applied to a first device, as shown in fig. 12, and includes:

a transmission unit 1201 for receiving and/or transmitting multiple paths of data; wherein,

In some alternative embodiments, different paths of the plurality of paths correspond to the same or different QoS parameters.

In some alternative embodiments, the transmitting unit 1201 is configured to send, after receiving the multiple paths of data, the data received on the multiple paths to the application server at the first time or at a time after the first time.

In some optional embodiments, the transmitting unit 1201 is configured to combine the data received on the multiple paths and send the combined data to an application server.

In some optional embodiments, the transmitting unit 1201 is configured to combine each path of data associated with the same data sequence number or data segment number in the multiple paths of data and send the combined data to the application server.

In some optional embodiments, the transmitting unit 1201 is configured to receive data sent by the application server and split the data into multiple paths of data before sending the multiple paths of data; or, receiving multiple paths of data sent by multiple application servers.

In some optional embodiments, the transmitting unit 1201 is configured to receive multiple paths of data sent by multiple terminals on multiple paths; and/or transmitting the multipath data to the plurality of terminals on a plurality of paths.

In some alternative embodiments, the transmission unit 1201 is configured to receive multiple paths of data sent by one terminal on multiple paths; and/or transmitting the multipath data to one terminal on multiple paths.

In some optional embodiments, the first device is a network device, and the network device side has a first adapting module, where the first adapting module has at least one of the following functions:

splitting data from an application server to obtain multiple paths of data;

multiple paths of data are bound to multiple paths for transmission.

In some alternative embodiments, the transmitting unit 1201 is configured to send, after receiving the multiple paths of data, the data received on the multiple paths to the application layer at the first time or at a time after the first time.

In some optional embodiments, the transmitting unit 1201 is configured to combine the data received on the multiple paths and send the combined data to an application layer.

In some optional embodiments, the transmitting unit 1201 is configured to combine each path of data associated with the same data sequence number or data segment number in the multiple paths of data and send the combined data to an application layer.

In some optional embodiments, the transmitting unit 1201 is configured to receive data sent by an application layer and split the data into multiple paths of data before sending the multiple paths of data.

In some optional embodiments, the first device is a terminal, and the terminal side has a second adapting module, where the second adapting module has at least one of the following functions:

splitting data from an application layer to obtain multiple paths of data;

binding the multipath data to a plurality of paths for transmission;

In some alternative embodiments, the first time is determined based on the upper bound time delay or a second time, the second time being a time of a third party request.

In some alternative embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: and a buffering unit 1202, configured to buffer the received multiple paths of data if the first time is not reached.

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the above description of the multi-path transmission apparatus according to the embodiments of the present application may be understood with reference to the description of the multi-path transmission method according to the embodiments of the present application.

Fig. 13 is a schematic diagram ii of a structural composition of a multi-path transmission device according to an embodiment of the present application, which is applied to a first node, as shown in fig. 13, and the multi-path transmission device includes:

a receiving unit 1301, configured to receive a first request message sent by a second node, where the first request message carries a total QoS parameter and/or a data characteristic, and the total QoS parameter includes an upper limit delay and/or a total bandwidth;

a determining unit 1302, configured to determine a plurality of rules corresponding to a plurality of paths based on the total QoS parameter and/or the data characteristic, where the plurality of rules are used for transmission of multiple paths of data on the plurality of paths.

In some alternative embodiments, the plurality of rules are used to determine QoS parameters corresponding to the plurality of paths, wherein different paths correspond to the same or different QoS parameters.

In some optional embodiments, a delay corresponding to each of the plurality of paths is less than or equal to the upper bound delay; and/or, the sum of bandwidths corresponding to each path in the paths is smaller than or equal to the total bandwidth.

In some alternative embodiments, the multiple paths of data correspond to data of different terminals; or the multiple paths of data correspond to different types of data of the same terminal.

In some alternative embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: a sending unit 1303, configured to send the plurality of rules to a third node, where the plurality of rules are used for the third node to establish and/or bind a QoS flow.

In some alternative embodiments, the third node is a session management network element.

In some alternative embodiments, the first node is a policy control network element.

Fig. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 1400 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device may be the first device in the above-described scheme or may be the first node in the above-described scheme. The communication device 1400 shown in fig. 14 includes a processor 1410, and the processor 1410 may call and run a computer program from a memory to implement the method in the embodiments of the present application.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 14, the communication device 1400 may also include a memory 1420. Wherein the processor 1410 may invoke and run a computer program from the memory 1420 to implement the method in the embodiments of the present application.

Wherein the memory 1420 may be a separate device from the processor 1410 or may be integrated into the processor 1410.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 14, the communication device 1400 may further include a transceiver 1430, and the processor 1410 may control the transceiver 1430 to communicate with other devices, and in particular, may send information or data to other devices or receive information or data sent by other devices.

Wherein the transceiver 1430 may include a transmitter and a receiver. The transceiver 1430 may further include an antenna, the number of which may be one or more.

Optionally, the communication device 1400 may be specifically a first device in the embodiments of the present application, and the communication device 1400 may implement a corresponding flow implemented by the first device in each method in the embodiments of the present application, which is not described herein for brevity.

Optionally, the communication device 1400 may be specifically a first node in the embodiments of the present application, and the communication device 1400 may implement a corresponding flow implemented by the first node in each method in the embodiments of the present application, which is not described herein for brevity.

Fig. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of a chip of an embodiment of the present application. The chip 1500 shown in fig. 15 includes a processor 1510, and the processor 1510 may call and execute a computer program from memory to implement the methods in the embodiments of the present application.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 15, the chip 1500 may further include a memory 1520. Wherein the processor 1510 may invoke and run a computer program from the memory 1520 to implement the methods in embodiments of the present application.

Wherein the memory 1520 may be a separate device from the processor 1510 or may be integrated into the processor 1510.

Optionally, the chip 1500 may also include an input interface 1530. Wherein the processor 1510 may control the input interface 1530 to communicate with other devices or chips, and in particular, may obtain information or data sent by other devices or chips.

Optionally, the chip 1500 may also include an output interface 1540. Wherein the processor 1510 may control the output interface 1540 to communicate with other devices or chips, and in particular may output information or data to other devices or chips.

Optionally, the chip may be applied to the first device in the embodiment of the present application, and the chip may implement a corresponding flow implemented by the first device in each method in the embodiment of the present application, which is not described herein for brevity.

Optionally, the chip may be applied to the first node in the embodiment of the present application, and the chip may implement a corresponding flow implemented by the first node in each method in the embodiment of the present application, which is not described herein for brevity.

It should be understood that the chips referred to in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as system-on-chip chips, or the like.

Fig. 16 is a schematic block diagram of a communication system 1600 provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 16, the communication system 1600 includes a terminal 1610 and a network device 1620.

The terminal 1610 may be configured to implement the corresponding functions implemented by the terminal in the above method, and the network device 1620 may be configured to implement the corresponding functions implemented by the first device or the first node in the above method, which are not described herein for brevity.

It should be appreciated that the processor of an embodiment of the present application may be an integrated circuit chip having signal processing capabilities. In implementation, the steps of the above method embodiments may be implemented by integrated logic circuits of hardware in a processor or instructions in software form. The processor may be a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (Digital Signal Processor, DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (Application Specific Integrated Circuit, ASIC), an off-the-shelf programmable gate array (Field Programmable Gate Array, FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware components. The disclosed methods, steps, and logic blocks in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented or performed. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like. The steps of a method disclosed in connection with the embodiments of the present application may be embodied directly in hardware, in a decoded processor, or in a combination of hardware and software modules in a decoded processor. The software modules may be located in a random access memory, flash memory, read only memory, programmable read only memory, or electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, etc. as well known in the art. The storage medium is located in a memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and, in combination with its hardware, performs the steps of the above method.

It will be appreciated that the memory in embodiments of the present application may be either volatile memory or nonvolatile memory, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. The nonvolatile Memory may be a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Programmable ROM (PROM), an Erasable PROM (EPROM), an Electrically Erasable EPROM (EEPROM), or a flash Memory. The volatile memory may be random access memory (Random Access Memory, RAM) which acts as an external cache. By way of example, and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as Static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double Data Rate SDRAM (Double Data Rate SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchronous DRAM (SLDRAM), and Direct RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to comprise, without being limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

It should be understood that the above memory is exemplary but not limiting, and for example, the memory in the embodiments of the present application may be Static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchronous Link DRAM (SLDRAM), direct RAM (DR RAM), and the like. That is, the memory in embodiments of the present application is intended to comprise, without being limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

Embodiments of the present application also provide a computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program.

Optionally, the computer readable storage medium may be applied to the first device in the embodiments of the present application, and the computer program causes a computer to execute a corresponding flow implemented by the first device in each method of the embodiments of the present application, which is not described herein for brevity.

Optionally, the computer readable storage medium may be applied to the first node in the embodiments of the present application, and the computer program causes a computer to execute a corresponding flow implemented by the first node in each method of the embodiments of the present application, which is not described herein for brevity.

Embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product comprising computer program instructions.

Optionally, the computer program product may be applied to the first device in the embodiments of the present application, and the computer program instructions cause the computer to execute a corresponding procedure implemented by the first device in each method in the embodiments of the present application, which is not described herein for brevity.

Optionally, the computer program product may be applied to the first node in the embodiments of the present application, and the computer program instructions cause the computer to execute the corresponding flow implemented by the first node in each method of the embodiments of the present application, which is not described herein for brevity.

The embodiment of the application also provides a computer program.

Optionally, the computer program may be applied to the first device in the embodiments of the present application, and when the computer program runs on a computer, the computer is caused to execute a corresponding flow implemented by the first device in each method in the embodiments of the present application, which is not described herein for brevity.

Optionally, the computer program may be applied to the first node in the embodiments of the present application, and when the computer program runs on a computer, the computer is caused to execute a corresponding flow implemented by the first node in each method in the embodiments of the present application, which is not described herein for brevity.

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

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

In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices, and methods may be implemented in other manners. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative, e.g., the division of the units is merely a logical function division, and there may be additional divisions when actually implemented, e.g., multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted or not performed. Alternatively, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed with each other may be an indirect coupling or communication connection via some interfaces, devices or units, which may be in electrical, mechanical or other form.

The units described as separate units may or may not be physically separate, and units shown as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units may be integrated in one unit.

The functions, if implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as a stand-alone product, may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present application may be embodied essentially or in a part contributing to the prior art or in a part of the technical solution, in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium, including 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 methods described in the embodiments of the present application. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: a usb disk, a removable hard disk, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a random access Memory (Random Access Memory, RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk, or other various media capable of storing program codes.

The foregoing is merely specific embodiments of the present application, but the scope of the present application is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily think about changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present application, and the changes and substitutions are intended to be covered by the scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

A method of multipath transmission, the method comprising:

the first device receives and/or transmits multiple paths of data; wherein,

the time delay corresponding to each path in the paths is smaller than or equal to the upper limit time delay; and/or, the sum of bandwidths corresponding to each path in the paths is smaller than or equal to the total bandwidth.
The method of claim 1, wherein different ones of the plurality of paths correspond to the same or different QoS parameters.
The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein after the first device receives multiple paths of data, the method further comprises:

and the first equipment sends the data received on the paths to an application server at the first time or at a time after the first time.
A method according to claim 3, wherein said sending the data received on the plurality of paths to an application server comprises:

and merging the data received on the paths and then sending the merged data to an application server.
The method of claim 4, wherein the data on each of the plurality of paths is associated with a data sequence number or a data segment number, the data segment number corresponding to a range of data sequence numbers;

the step of merging the data received on the paths and then sending the merged data to the application server comprises the following steps:

and merging each path of data associated with the same data sequence number or data segment number in the multiple paths of data and then sending the merged data to an application server.
The method of claim 4, wherein the merging the data received on the plurality of paths and sending the merged data to an application server comprises:

and identifying the data received on the paths, merging the multiple paths of data belonging to the same service, and sending the merged data to an application server.
The method of any of claims 1-6, wherein the first device is further configured to, prior to transmitting the multiplexed data on the plurality of paths:

The first equipment receives data sent by an application server and splits the data into multiple paths of data; or,

the first device receives multiple paths of data sent by multiple application servers.
The method of any of claims 1-7, wherein the first device receives and/or transmits multipath data over multiple paths, comprising:

the first equipment receives multipath data sent by a plurality of terminals on a plurality of paths; and/or the number of the groups of groups,

the first device transmits multiple paths of data to multiple terminals on multiple paths.
The method of any of claims 1-7, wherein the first device receives and/or transmits multipath data over multiple paths, comprising:

the first equipment receives multipath data sent by a terminal on a plurality of paths; and/or the number of the groups of groups,

the first device transmits multiple paths of data to one terminal over multiple paths.
The method of any of claims 1-9, wherein the first device is a network device.
The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein after the first device receives multiple paths of data, the method further comprises:

and the first device sends the data received on the paths to an application layer at the first time or at a time after the first time.
The method of claim 11, wherein the sending the data received on the plurality of paths to an application layer comprises:

and merging the data received on the paths and then sending the merged data to an application layer.
The method of claim 12, wherein the data on each of the plurality of paths is associated with a data sequence number or a data segment number, the data segment number corresponding to a range of data sequence numbers;

the step of merging the data received on the paths and then sending the merged data to an application layer comprises the following steps:

and merging each path of data associated with the same data sequence number or data segment number in the multiple paths of data and then sending the merged data to an application layer.
The method of claim 12, wherein the merging the data received on the plurality of paths and sending the merged data to an application layer comprises:

and identifying the data received on the paths, merging the multipath data belonging to the application layer, and delivering the merged multipath data to the application layer.
The method of any of claims 1, 2, 11-14, wherein the first device is further configured to, prior to transmitting the multiplexed data on the plurality of paths:

the first device receives data sent by an application layer and splits the data into multiple paths of data.
The method of any of claims 1, 2, 11-15, wherein the first device is a terminal.
The method of any of claims 3-6, 11-14, wherein the first time is determined based on the upper bound time delay or a second time, the second time being a time of a third party request.
The method of any of claims 3 to 6, 11 to 14, wherein the method further comprises:

and under the condition that the first time is not reached, the first device caches the received multipath data.
A method of multipath transmission, the method comprising:

the method comprises the steps that a first node receives a first request message sent by a second node, wherein the first request message carries a total QoS parameter and/or a data characteristic, and the total QoS parameter comprises an upper limit time delay and/or a total bandwidth;

the first node determines a plurality of rules corresponding to a plurality of paths based on the total QoS parameters and/or the data characteristics, wherein the plurality of rules are used for transmitting multi-path data on the plurality of paths.
The method of claim 19, wherein the plurality of rules are used to determine QoS parameters for the plurality of paths, wherein different paths correspond to the same or different QoS parameters.
The method of claim 20, wherein,

the time delay corresponding to each path in the paths is smaller than or equal to the upper limit time delay; and/or the number of the groups of groups,

and the sum of bandwidths corresponding to each path in the paths is smaller than or equal to the total bandwidth.
The method of any of claims 19 to 21, wherein the plurality of rules are used to determine data characteristics corresponding to the plurality of paths.
The method of any of claims 19 to 22, wherein the plurality of rules are associated with a service identity indicating a type of service to which the plurality of rules apply.
The method according to any one of claims 19 to 23, wherein,

the multipath data corresponds to the data of different terminals; or,

the multipath data corresponds to different types of data of the same terminal.
The method of any one of claims 19 to 24, wherein the method further comprises:

the first node sends the plurality of rules to a third node, wherein the plurality of rules are used for the third node to establish and/or bind QoS flows.
The method of claim 25, wherein the third node is a session management network element.
The method of any of claims 19 to 26, wherein the first node is a policy control network element.
The method of any of claims 19 to 27, wherein the second node is a terminal or an application server.
A multi-path transmission apparatus for use with a first device, the apparatus comprising:

a transmission unit for receiving and/or transmitting multiple paths of data; wherein,

the time delay corresponding to each path in the paths is smaller than or equal to the upper limit time delay; and/or, the sum of bandwidths corresponding to each path in the paths is smaller than or equal to the total bandwidth.
A multi-path transmission apparatus for use with a first node, the apparatus comprising:

a receiving unit, configured to receive a first request message sent by a second node, where the first request message carries a total QoS parameter and/or a data characteristic, and the total QoS parameter includes an upper limit delay and/or a total bandwidth;

and the determining unit is used for determining a plurality of rules corresponding to a plurality of paths based on the total QoS parameters and/or the data characteristics, wherein the rules are used for transmitting multi-path data on the paths.
A communication device, comprising: a processor and a memory for storing a computer program, the processor being adapted to invoke and run the computer program stored in the memory, to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 18, or the method of any of claims 19 to 28.
A chip, comprising: a processor for calling and running a computer program from a memory, causing a device on which the chip is mounted to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 18 or the method of any one of claims 19 to 28.
A computer readable storage medium storing a computer program for causing a computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 18 or the method of any one of claims 19 to 28.
A computer program product comprising computer program instructions which cause a computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 18 or the method of any one of claims 19 to 28.
A computer program which causes a computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 18 or the method of any one of claims 19 to 28.