CN117560649A

CN117560649A - Communication method, device and system

Info

Publication number: CN117560649A
Application number: CN202210937541.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 潘晓丹; 彭文杰
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-08-05
Filing date: 2022-08-05
Publication date: 2024-02-13
Also published as: WO2024027556A1

Abstract

The application provides a communication method, a device and a system, wherein the method comprises the following steps: the first terminal equipment generates first identification information, wherein the first identification information is used for indicating second terminal equipment which is candidate terminal equipment for providing relay service for the first terminal equipment; the first terminal device sends first information to the network device, the first information including first identification information. According to the method and the device, the first terminal equipment generates the first identification information for the second terminal equipment and the second terminal equipment sends the first identification information and the identification of the second terminal equipment to the network equipment, so that after the network equipment selects the second terminal equipment based on the first information, the second terminal equipment can send configuration required for providing relay to the second terminal equipment based on the first identification information sent to the network equipment by the second terminal equipment and the identification of the second terminal equipment, and the second terminal equipment can provide relay for communication between the first terminal equipment and the network equipment based on the configuration.

Description

Communication method, device and system

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications, and more particularly, to a method, apparatus, and system for identifying terminal devices in a link.

Background

Two communication links may be simultaneously established between one terminal device (UE) (e.g., referred to as a remote UE) and a base station, one being a direct link for direct communication through a Uu port, and the other being an direct link for communication with the base station through another UE (e.g., referred to as a relay UE). Taking the example that the remote UE and the relay UE can communicate through a sidelink connection in the direct link, layer 2 identification (layer-2identifier,L2 ID) is used to identify the terminal device in the sidelink connection. Under the condition that a direct link exists between the remote UE and the base station, the base station can select the relay UE for the remote UE and configure the direct link for the remote UE through the L2 ID of the candidate relay UE reported by the remote UE and the L2 ID reported by the relay UE, so that the remote UE can communicate with the base station through the direct link and the direct link.

In the above process, how to identify the terminal device in the link is important for the base station to configure and add the direct link for the remote UE.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a communication method which can be used for configuring and adding an direct link for a remote UE by identifying terminal equipment.

In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, applied to a first terminal device, including: generating first identification information, wherein the first identification information is used for indicating second terminal equipment, and the second terminal equipment is candidate terminal equipment for providing relay service for the first terminal equipment; and sending first information to network equipment, wherein the first information comprises the first identification information.

In the embodiment of the application, the first identification information is generated for the second terminal device by using the first terminal device and is sent to the network device, so that the first terminal device and the network device can both identify the second terminal device, and the second terminal device can relay communication between the first terminal device and the network device.

In this embodiment of the present application, in one first terminal device, each first identification information corresponds to one second terminal device, and the first terminal device may generate one or more first identification information for one or more second terminal devices.

Illustratively, the first identification information in the embodiments of the present application may include index.

In one possible implementation, the first terminal device determines one or more second terminal devices before generating the first identification information, where the first terminal device searches or perceives the second terminal devices available in a certain range, and "available" may be understood as that there is a connection between the first terminal device and the second terminal device; or the connection between the first terminal device and the second terminal device can be established through a connection establishment process; or the first terminal device receives the indication information sent by the second terminal device, and indicates that the second terminal device can provide the relay service in the indication information, wherein the indication information can contain the authorization information of the second terminal device. Since the first terminal device and the second terminal device may be a 3GPP interface or a non-3 GPP interface, how the first terminal device perceives the second terminal device and how to define the available second terminal device are not limited too much, and may be determined by the terminal device implementation or the interface implementation. In one possible implementation, the first terminal device may broadcast a search message within a certain range, and if a reply message fed back by the second terminal device is received, the second terminal device is considered to be available.

In certain implementations, the method further comprises: and sending the first identification information and the second identification information to the second terminal equipment, wherein the second identification information is used for indicating the first terminal equipment.

In the embodiment of the application, the first identification information and the second identification information are sent to the second terminal equipment, so that the second terminal equipment can identify the first terminal equipment which needs to provide the relay service.

In the embodiment of the present application, before the network device determines the second terminal device serving as the relay device, the first terminal device may send the first identification information and the second identification information to all the second terminal devices that may provide the relay service for the first terminal device; the first identification information and the second identification information may also be transmitted to the second terminal device as the relay device after the network device determines the second terminal device as the relay device.

In some implementations, a first connection exists between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, the first connection being a non-3 GPP defined connection.

In the embodiment of the application, the first terminal device and the second terminal device can establish connection in a non-3 GPP manner, so that communication can be performed more flexibly.

The connection defined by the non-3 GPP refers to other connection modes between terminal devices besides sidelink, and by way of example, the connection defined by the non-3 GPP can be WiFi, wire connection and Bluetooth.

In some implementations, the second identification information is used to uniquely identify the first terminal device in the network device.

In the embodiment of the application, the first terminal equipment is uniquely identified by the second identification information, so that the communication is more accurate and reliable.

In some implementations, the first information further includes: and third identification information, wherein the third identification information is used for indicating a cell where the second terminal equipment resides.

In the embodiment of the invention, the cell identifier of the second terminal equipment is sent to the network equipment, so that the second terminal equipment determined by the network equipment can relay the communication between the first terminal equipment and the network equipment, and the efficiency of determining the second terminal equipment and the reliability of the communication are improved.

In certain implementations, the method further comprises: and receiving first indication information from the network equipment, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating second terminal equipment selected by the network equipment for the first terminal equipment, and the second terminal equipment selected by the network equipment for the first terminal equipment is used for providing relay for data transmission of the first terminal equipment.

In the embodiment of the application, the second terminal equipment selected by the network equipment is indicated to the first terminal equipment, so that the first terminal equipment can directly communicate with the network equipment and can also communicate with the network equipment through the second terminal equipment, thereby improving the throughput rate and the reliability of data transceiving.

In certain implementations, the method further comprises: and receiving second information from the second terminal equipment, wherein the second information is used for indicating whether connection exists between the second terminal equipment and the network equipment.

In the embodiment of the present invention, by indicating the connection relationship between the second terminal device and the network device, it is possible to avoid that the network device cannot send the corresponding configuration information to the second terminal device.

In some implementations, the first indication information is further used to indicate whether a connection exists between the second terminal device and the network device.

In the embodiment of the invention, by indicating the connection relationship between the second terminal equipment selected by the network equipment and the network equipment, the network equipment can be prevented from being unable to send the corresponding configuration information to the second terminal equipment.

In some implementations, if it is determined that there is no connection between the second terminal device and the network device, the method further includes: and sending third indication information to the second terminal equipment, wherein the third indication information is used for indicating the second terminal equipment to establish connection with the network equipment.

In the embodiment of the application, the first terminal equipment indicates the second terminal equipment to establish connection with the network equipment, so that the second terminal equipment can receive the configuration information sent by the network equipment, and the second terminal equipment is ensured to realize the relay function.

In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, applied to a second terminal device, including: receiving first identification information and second identification information from a first terminal device, wherein the first identification information is used for indicating the second terminal device, the second identification information is used for indicating the first terminal device, and the first identification information is generated by the first terminal device; and sending the first identification information and the second identification information to network equipment.

In the embodiment of the application, the network device may select the second terminal device for the first terminal device by receiving the first identification information and the second identification information from the first terminal device and transmitting the first identification information and the second identification information to the network device, and configure the second terminal device, so that the second terminal device may relay communications between the first terminal device and the network device.

In the embodiment of the present application, the sending of the first identification information and the second identification information to the network device may be that before the network device determines the second terminal device serving as the relay device, the second terminal device sends the first identification information and the second identification information to the network device; after the network device determines the second terminal device as the relay device, the second terminal device as the relay device may send the first identification information and the second identification information to the network device.

In some implementations, the first terminal device and the second terminal device are connected through a non-3 GPP manner.

In certain implementations, the method further comprises: and sending third identification information to the first terminal equipment, wherein the third identification information is used for indicating a cell where the second terminal equipment resides.

In the embodiment of the invention, the cell identifier of the second terminal equipment is sent to the first terminal equipment, so that the second terminal equipment and the first terminal equipment determined by the network equipment can be ensured to be under one base station, thereby meeting the limitation that the possible second terminal and the first terminal can provide relay service for the first terminal under one base station, and improving the efficiency of determining the second terminal equipment and the reliability of communication.

In certain implementations, the method further comprises: and receiving second indication information from the network equipment, wherein the second indication information is used for indicating the second terminal equipment to provide relay service for the first terminal equipment, and the second indication information comprises second identification information of the first terminal equipment.

In the embodiment of the application, the second terminal equipment is instructed to provide the relay service for the first terminal equipment, so that the first terminal equipment can directly communicate with the network equipment and can also communicate with the network equipment through the second terminal equipment, and the throughput rate and the reliability of data receiving and transmitting are improved.

In certain implementations, the method further comprises: and sending second information to the first terminal equipment, wherein the second information is used for indicating whether connection exists between the second terminal equipment and the network equipment.

In some implementations, if there is no connection between the second terminal device and the network device, the method further includes: receiving third indication information from the first terminal equipment, wherein the third indication information is used for indicating the second terminal equipment to establish connection with the network equipment; and establishing connection with the network equipment.

In a third aspect, a communication method is provided, applied to a network device, and includes: receiving first identification information and second identification information from second terminal equipment, wherein the first identification information is used for indicating the second terminal equipment, and the second identification information is used for indicating the first terminal equipment; first information from a first terminal device is received, the first information comprising the first identification information.

In the embodiment of the application, the network device can identify the second terminal device by receiving the first identification information and the second identification information from the second terminal device, so that the network device can select the second terminal device to relay the communication between the first terminal device and the network device.

In certain implementations, the method further comprises: and determining that the second terminal equipment provides relay service for the first terminal equipment according to the first information.

In the embodiment of the application, the second terminal equipment is selected to provide the relay service for the first terminal equipment, so that the first terminal equipment can directly communicate with the network equipment and can also communicate with the network equipment through the second terminal equipment, and the throughput rate and the reliability of data receiving and transmitting are improved.

In certain implementations, the method further comprises: and sending first indication information to the first terminal equipment, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating the second terminal equipment determined by the network equipment.

In certain implementations, the method further comprises: and sending second indication information to the second terminal equipment, wherein the second indication information is used for indicating the second terminal equipment to provide relay service for the first terminal equipment.

In some implementations, the second identification information is unique identification information in the network device.

In the embodiment of the application, the network device may select the second terminal device for the first terminal device by receiving the first identification information and the second identification information from the second terminal device, and configure the second terminal device, so that the second terminal device may relay communications between the first terminal device and the network device.

In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided, applied to a first terminal device, including: receiving first identification information from a second terminal device, wherein the first identification information is used for indicating the second terminal device, the second terminal device is a candidate terminal device for providing relay service for the first terminal device, and the first identification information is generated by the network device; and sending first information to network equipment, wherein the first information comprises the first identification information.

In the embodiment of the application, the first identification information from the second terminal device is received by the first terminal device, and the first identification information is generated by the network device, so that the first terminal device and the network device can both identify the second terminal device, and the second terminal device can relay communication between the first terminal device and the network device.

In certain implementations, the method further comprises: and sending second identification information to the second terminal equipment, wherein the second identification information is used for indicating the first terminal equipment.

In the embodiment of the application, the second terminal equipment can identify the first terminal equipment which needs to provide the relay service by sending the second identification information to the second terminal equipment.

In the embodiment of the present invention, by indicating the connection relationship between the second terminal device and the network device, it is possible to avoid that the network device cannot send the first identification information to the second terminal device.

In the embodiment of the application, the first terminal equipment indicates the second terminal equipment to establish connection with the network equipment, so that the second terminal equipment can receive the first identification information sent by the network equipment, and the second terminal equipment is ensured to realize the relay function.

In a fifth aspect, a communication method is provided, applied to a second terminal device, including: receiving first identification information from a network device, wherein the first identification information is used for indicating the second terminal device, and the first identification information is generated by the network device; the first identification information is sent to the first terminal equipment, and the first identification information is used for the first terminal equipment to report to the network equipment; receiving second identification information from a first terminal device, wherein the second identification information is used for indicating the first terminal device, and the second identification information is distributed by the network device; the second identification information from the network device is received.

In the embodiment of the application, the network device may select the second terminal device for the first terminal device by receiving the first identification information from the network device and the second identification information from the first terminal device and sending the first identification information to the first terminal device, and configure the second terminal device, so that the second terminal device may relay communications between the first terminal device and the network device.

In the embodiment of the present invention, by indicating the connection relationship between the second terminal device and the network device, it is possible to avoid that the network device cannot send the corresponding first identification information to the second terminal device.

In a sixth aspect, a communication method is provided, applied to a network device, including: sending first identification information to the second terminal equipment, wherein the first identification information is used for indicating the second terminal equipment; first information from the first terminal device is received, wherein the first information comprises the first identification information.

In the embodiment of the application, the network device can identify the second terminal device by sending the first identification information to the second terminal device and receiving the second identification information from the second terminal device, so that the network device can select the second terminal device to relay the communication between the first terminal device and the network device.

In the embodiment of the present invention, by indicating the connection relationship between the second terminal device selected by the network device and the network device, it is possible to avoid that the network device cannot send the corresponding first identification information to the second terminal device.

According to the embodiment of the application, the network equipment can ensure that the second terminal equipment can relay the communication between the first terminal equipment and the network equipment according to the cell identification of the second terminal equipment, so that the efficiency of determining the second terminal equipment and the reliability of communication are improved.

In a seventh aspect, there is provided a communication apparatus comprising: a processing unit, configured to generate first identification information, where the first identification information is used to indicate a second terminal device, and the second terminal device is a candidate terminal device that provides a relay service for the first terminal device; and the receiving and transmitting unit is used for transmitting first information to the network equipment, wherein the first information comprises the first identification information.

In some implementations, the transceiver unit is further configured to send the first identification information and second identification information to the second terminal device, where the second identification information is used to indicate the first terminal device.

In some implementations, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive first indication information from the network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate a second terminal device selected by the network device for the first terminal device, and the second terminal device selected by the network device for the first terminal device is used to provide a relay for data transmission of the first terminal device.

In some implementations, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive second information from the second terminal device, where the second information is used to indicate whether a connection exists between the second terminal device and the network device.

In some implementations, if it is determined that there is no connection between the second terminal device and the network device, the transceiver unit is further configured to send third indication information to the second terminal device, where the third indication information is used to indicate that the second terminal device establishes a connection with the network device.

An eighth aspect provides a communication apparatus comprising: the receiving and transmitting unit is used for receiving first identification information and second identification information from first terminal equipment, wherein the first identification information is used for indicating the second terminal equipment, the second identification information is used for indicating the first terminal equipment, and the first identification information is generated by the first terminal equipment; the transceiver unit is further configured to send the first identification information and the second identification information to a network device.

In some implementations, the transceiver unit is further configured to send third identification information to the first terminal device, where the third identification information is used to indicate a cell in which the second terminal device resides.

In some implementations, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive second indication information from the network device, where the second indication information is used to instruct the second terminal device to provide a relay service for the first terminal device, and the second indication information includes second identification information of the first terminal device.

In some implementations, the transceiver unit is further configured to send second information to the first terminal device, where the second information is used to indicate whether a connection exists between the second terminal device and the network device.

In some implementations, if there is no connection between the second terminal device and the network device, the transceiver unit is further configured to: receiving third indication information from the first terminal equipment, wherein the third indication information is used for indicating the second terminal equipment to establish connection with the network equipment; and establishing connection with the network equipment.

In a ninth aspect, a communication method apparatus is provided, including: the receiving and transmitting unit is used for receiving first identification information and second identification information from second terminal equipment, wherein the first identification information is used for indicating the second terminal equipment, and the second identification information is used for indicating the first terminal equipment; the transceiver unit is further configured to receive first information from a first terminal device, where the first information includes the first identification information.

In certain implementations, the apparatus further comprises: and the processing unit is used for determining that the second terminal equipment provides relay service for the first terminal equipment according to the first information.

In some implementations, the transceiver unit is further configured to send first indication information to the first terminal device, where the first indication information is used to indicate the second terminal device determined by the network device.

In some implementations, the transceiver unit is further configured to send second indication information to the second terminal device, where the second indication information is used to instruct the second terminal device to provide a relay service for the first terminal device.

In a tenth aspect, there is provided a communication apparatus comprising: a transceiver unit, configured to receive first identification information from a second terminal device, where the first identification information is used to indicate the second terminal device, the second terminal device is a candidate terminal device that provides a relay service for the first terminal device, and the first identification information is generated by the network device; the transceiver unit is further configured to send first information to a network device, where the first information includes the first identification information.

In some implementations, the transceiver unit is further configured to send second identification information to the second terminal device, where the second identification information is used to indicate the first terminal device.

In an eleventh aspect, there is provided a communication apparatus comprising: a transceiver unit, configured to receive first identification information from a network device, where the first identification information is used to indicate the second terminal device, and the first identification information is generated by the network device; the receiving and transmitting unit is further configured to send the first identification information to the first terminal device, where the first identification information is used for the first terminal device to report to the network device; the receiving and transmitting unit is further configured to receive second identification information from the first terminal device, where the second identification information is used to indicate the first terminal device, and the second identification information is allocated by the network device; the transceiver unit is further configured to receive the second identification information from the network device.

In some implementations, if there is no connection between the second terminal device and the network device, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive third indication information from the first terminal device, where the third indication information is used to indicate that the second terminal device establishes a connection with the network device; and establishing connection with the network equipment.

In a twelfth aspect, there is provided a communication apparatus comprising: the receiving and transmitting unit is used for transmitting first identification information to the second terminal equipment, wherein the first identification information is used for indicating the second terminal equipment; the receiving and transmitting unit is further configured to receive second identification information from a second terminal device, where the second identification information is used to indicate the first terminal device; the transceiver unit is further configured to receive first information from the first terminal device, where the first information includes the first identification information.

In a thirteenth aspect, there is provided a communication device comprising: a processor configured to execute a computer program stored in a memory to cause the communication apparatus to execute the communication method of any one of the above first to sixth aspects. Optionally, the apparatus further comprises a memory for storing a computer program or instructions. Optionally, the apparatus further comprises a communication interface through which the processor reads the computer program or instructions stored in the memory.

In a fourteenth aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes at least one of the aforementioned first terminal device, second terminal device, and network device.

In a fifteenth aspect, a chip is provided, comprising: a processor for calling and running a computer program from a memory, so that a communication device mounted with the chip system performs the communication method of any one of the first to sixth aspects.

In a sixteenth aspect, there is provided a computer program which, when executed by a communication device, implements the communication method of any one of the first to sixth aspects.

In a seventeenth aspect, there is provided a computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the communication method of any of the first to sixth aspects.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of an application scenario in an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 2 is a flow chart of a method 200 according to an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a method 300 according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 4 is a flow chart of a method 400 according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 5 is a flow chart of a method 500 according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 6 is a flow chart of a method 600 according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 7 is a flow chart of a method 700 according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 8 is a flow chart of a method 800 according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 9 is a flow chart of a method 900 according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 10 is a flow chart of a method 1000 according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 11 is a schematic diagram of a communication device 10 according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 12 is a schematic diagram of a communication device 20 according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 13 is a schematic diagram of a chip 30 provided in an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The technical solution of the embodiment of the application can be applied to various communication systems, for example: global system for mobile communications (global system of mobile communication, GSM), code division multiple access (code division multiple access, CDMA) system, wideband code division multiple access (wideband code division multiple access, WCDMA) system, general packet radio service (general packet radio service, GPRS), long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE) system, LTE frequency division duplex (frequency division duplex, FDD) system, LTE time division duplex (time division duplex, TDD), universal mobile telecommunications system (universal mobile telecommunication system, UMTS), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (worldwide interoperability for microwave access, wiMAX) communication system, fifth generation (5th generation,5G) system, new radio, NR), fixed mobile converged network system, or future sixth generation (6th generation,6G), and the like.

The terminal device in the embodiments of the present application may refer to a user device, an access terminal, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent, or a user apparatus. The terminal device may also be a cellular telephone, a cordless telephone, a session initiation protocol (session initiation protocol, SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (wireless local loop, WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (personal digital assistant, PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a 5G network or a terminal device in a future evolved public land mobile network (public land mobile network, PLMN), etc., as the embodiments of the application are not limited in this regard.

The network device in this embodiment of the present application may be a radio access network (radio access network, RAN) node or device for accessing a terminal device to a wireless network, which may also be referred to as a base station, and the network device may be a base station (base transceiver station, BTS) in a global system for mobile communications (global system of mobile communication, GSM) or code division multiple access (code division multiple access, CDMA), a base station (NodeB, NB) in a wideband code division multiple access (wideband code division multiple access, WCDMA) system, an evolved NodeB (eNB or eNodeB) in an LTE system, or a wireless controller in a cloud wireless access network (cloud radio access network, CRAN) scenario, or the network device may be a relay station, an access point, a vehicle device, a wearable device, a network device in a 5G network, or a network device in a PLMN network that evolves in the future, or the like.

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of an application scenario in an embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 1, in an embodiment of the present application, data communication may be performed between terminal devices through a network device, or communication between terminal devices may be directly performed without the aid of the network device. Based on this, two communication links may be simultaneously established between the remote terminal and the base station (necessarily a single base station), one being a direct link for direct communication through the Uu port, and the other being an direct link for communication through the relay terminal and the base station. The remote terminal can transmit and receive the same or different data on the two links at the same time, so that the throughput rate and the reliability of data transmission and reception are improved.

The remote terminal and the relay terminal may communicate through an ideal link (ideal link) defined by non-3 GPP, which may also be referred to as terminal equipment aggregation (UE aggregation), and the ideal link defined by non-3 GPP includes WiFi, wire, bluetooth, and the like.

Broadcast, unicast, multicast are supported on non-3 GPP defined ideal links (ideal links) between the remote terminals and the relay terminals.

The broadcast communication is similar to the base station broadcasting system information, i.e. the terminal equipment does not encrypt to send the broadcast service data, and any other terminal equipment within the effective receiving range can receive the broadcast service data if interested in the broadcast service.

Unicast communication is similar to data communication performed after an RRC connection is established between a terminal device and a base station, requiring prior establishment of a unicast connection between two terminal devices. After the unicast connection is established, the two terminal devices may communicate data based on the negotiated identity, which may or may not be encrypted. In unicast communication, unicast communication can only be performed between two terminal devices that have established unicast connection, as compared with broadcast.

Multicast communication refers to communication among all UEs in a communication group, and any UE in the group can send and receive data of the multicast service.

In this embodiment of the present application, the first terminal device and the second terminal device are located in a cell coverage area of the same network device, where the first terminal device communicates with the base station through two links: one is Uu link directly connected (direct) to the network equipment and the other is indirect (direct) link relayed through the second terminal equipment. A sidelink connection may exist between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, or a connection defined by non-3 GPP may exist, that is, the first terminal device and the second terminal device are connected through a wired or wireless link of the non-3 GPP, and illustratively, the connection between the first terminal device and the second terminal device may be established through WiFi, wired, bluetooth, or the like. In the embodiment of the present application, the first terminal device may also be referred to as a service terminal device (service user equipment, SUE), a remote terminal device (remote UE), the second terminal device may also be referred to as a cooperative terminal device (cooperation user equipment, CUE), a relay terminal device (relay UE), and the network device may also be referred to as a base station.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the second terminal device is a terminal device supporting providing a relay service for the SUE by establishing a non-direct link, which may be referred to as a CUE or a home UE, which is not limited in this application

Fig. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a method 200 according to an embodiment of the present application, which is described in detail below.

S210, the SUE generates first identification information, which is used to indicate the candidate CUEs.

It should be noted that in the embodiment of the present application, the SUE may generate one or more first identification information for one or more candidate CUEs, where one first identification information corresponds to one candidate CUE, and the first identification information corresponding to different candidate CUEs is different, and the number of candidate CUEs is not limited in the present application.

Illustratively, assuming there are 10 candidate CUEs, the SUE generates an index indication, index0-9 may be assigned to multiple candidate CUEs.

In one possible implementation, before the SUE generates the first identification information, candidate CUEs within a certain range are found or perceived. Specifically, there is a connection between the candidate CUE and the SUE, or a connection may be established between the candidate CUE and the SUE through a connection establishment procedure, or the SUE receives information indicating that the candidate CUE may provide a relay service, where the information may include authorization information of the CUE.

The SUE may find or perceive a candidate CUE within a certain range, and illustratively, the SUE broadcasts a search message to the periphery, and if a reply message fed back by the candidate CUE is received, the candidate CUE is found.

After the SUE generates the first identification information, the first identification information may be sent to the corresponding candidate CUEs, for identifying the corresponding candidate CUEs.

In one possible implementation, the SUE may also send second identification information to the candidate CUEs, the second identification information being used to uniquely identify the SUE in the base station.

The second identification information may be a local identification (local ID) assigned to the SUE by the base station or a C-RNTI of the SUE, for example. The local ID is used for uplink and downlink routing of the SUE data, specifically, taking uplink transmission as an example, the SRAP layer of the SUE may include the local ID of the SUE and the bearer ID (SRB ID or DRB ID) of the SRB or DRB where the data is located in the SRAP header of the data; after receiving the data, the CUE identifies local ID information and bearer ID information in the SRAP header, and submits the data to a corresponding Uu Relay RLC channel according to SRAP configuration information configured by the CUE by the base station; after receiving the data, the SRAP layer of the base station analyzes the local ID and the bearer ID information carried in the SRAP header, and submits the data to the PDCP entity corresponding to the SUE.

In this embodiment of the present application, the first identification information and the second identification information may be sent in one information, or may be sent separately, which is not limited in this application. When the first identification information and the second identification information are transmitted separately, the transmission order is not limited in this application.

S220, the SUE sends first information to the base station, wherein the first information comprises the first identification information, and the first information is used for requesting the base station to determine a target CUE from candidate CUEs for the SUE.

It should be noted that the first information may include one or more pieces of first identification information, and the number of the pieces of first identification information in the first information is not limited in this application.

In one possible implementation, the SUE receives third identification information from the candidate CUE, the first information further including third identification information indicating a cell in which the candidate CUE resides.

Illustratively, the third identification information may include a base station ID.

In one possible implementation, the first information further includes at least one of an uplink transmission capability (e.g., transmission bandwidth) of the candidate terminal device, a link quality between the SUE and the candidate terminal device, and a load of the candidate terminal device.

In one possible implementation, the candidate terminal devices may also be ordered in the first information of the SUE, e.g. according to uplink transmission capabilities of the candidate terminal devices or link quality between the SUE and the candidate terminal devices from high to low.

In one possible implementation, the time for the SUE to send the first information may be determined by the SUE, and illustratively, the SUE sends the first information when the uplink throughput of the SUE is less than a certain threshold, or the data transmission delay is greater than a certain threshold, or the packet loss rate is above a certain threshold.

In a possible implementation manner, the SUE may further report according to an indication of the base station, and illustratively, the base station may send an indication information to the SUE, which indicates that the SUE may report the available candidate terminal devices around, that is, send the first information to the base station.

Further, the base station may also indicate the number of the reported maximum candidate terminal devices; or reporting period of available candidate terminal equipment around SUE reporting; or indicates a triggering condition of the SUE reporting, for example, the base station may indicate that when the signal quality of the Uu port of the SUE is less than a certain threshold, a candidate terminal device available around the reporting is triggered.

The base station may determine a target CUE for the SUE, and illustratively, the base station may select a candidate CUE with the strongest uplink transmission capability, or a candidate CUE with the smallest load, or a candidate CUE with the smallest energy saving requirement as the target CUE.

After determining the target CUE for the SUE, the base station may send first indication information to the SUE, where the first indication information indicates the target CUE, and the target CUE is a CUE determined by the base station from the candidate CUEs for the SUE according to the first information, where the target CUE is used to provide a data relay for the SUE.

The first indication information includes first identification information of the target CUE.

The first indication information may be RRC configuration information, for example.

In one possible implementation, the first indication information may further include adaptation layer configuration information, where the adaptation layer configuration information may indicate a bearer transmitted to the base station over the relay link and a bearer configuration directly transmitted to the base station on the SUE. The local ID assigned to the SUE by the base station may also be included in the adaptation layer configuration information.

In this embodiment of the present application, the base station further receives the first identification information and the second identification information sent by the CUE, and it needs to be noted that, here, the CUE may be a candidate CUE or a target CUE.

In one possible implementation, the candidate CUE actively transmits corresponding first identification information and second identification information to the base station.

In one possible implementation, after the SUE receives the first indication information from the base station, the SUE sends trigger information to the target CUE, and the target CUE is triggered to send the first identification information and the second identification information of the target CUE to the base station.

Specifically, before the CUE sends the first identification information and the second identification information to the base station, the SUE may further obtain an RRC state of the CUE, and if the CUE is in a connected state (connected), the CUE directly sends the first identification information and the second identification information to the base station; if the CUE is in an idle state (idle) or a non-active state (inactive), the CUE enters a connection state under the instruction of the SUE and then sends first identification information and second identification information to the base station, wherein the candidate CUE is in the idle state or the non-active state, which means that the candidate CUE and the base station do not establish a communication link.

In one possible implementation manner, the first indication information is further used to indicate an RRC state of the target CUE, for example, indicate whether the target CUE is in an idle state or an inactive state, and if the target CUE is in the idle state or the inactive state, the SUE sends third indication information to the target CUE, where the third indication information indicates that the target CUE establishes a communication link with the base station, and enters a connection state.

In one possible implementation, the SUE receives second information from the candidate or target CUE, where the second information is used to indicate an RRC state of the candidate or target CUE, for example, whether the candidate or target CUE is in an idle state or an inactive state, and if the candidate or target CUE is in the idle state or the inactive state, the SUE sends third indication information to the candidate or target CUE, where the third indication information indicates that the candidate or target CUE establishes a communication link with the base station, and enters a connection state.

After entering a connection state, the CUE reports first identification information and second identification information, the base station determines a target CUE according to the first identification information and the second identification information reported by the CUE, and sends second indication information to the target CUE, wherein the second indication information is used for indicating the target CUE to provide relay service for the SUE, and the second indication information can comprise configuration required by relay.

The second indication information includes a local ID of the SUE, adaptation layer configuration information, and configuration information of Uu Relay RLC channel, where the adaptation layer configuration information may include a mapping relationship between bearers of the SUE and Uu Relay RLC channel, and the local ID may be used to indicate a corresponding SUE configured for relaying.

According to the method and the device, the first identification information is generated for the candidate CUEs through the SUE and is sent to the base station through the first information, and the base station can determine the target CUEs serving as the relay equipment according to the first information. The SUE and the target CUE can be mutually identified through the first identification information, and the base station can identify the target CUE through the CUE sending the first identification information to the base station. In the embodiment of the application, the base station sends the bearing configuration on the multi-hop path to the SUE and sends the configuration required by the relay to the target CUE, so that the SUE can directly communicate with the base station and can also communicate with the base station through the target CUE, thereby improving the throughput rate and the reliability of data transceiving.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method 300 according to an embodiment of the present application, which is described in detail below.

S310, the SUE receives first identification information from the candidate CUEs, where the first identification information is used to indicate the candidate CUEs, and the first identification information is sent to the candidate CUEs by the base station.

It should be noted that in the embodiment of the present application, the base station may generate one or more first identification information for one or more candidate CUEs, where one first identification information corresponds to one candidate CUE, and first identification information corresponding to different candidate CUEs is different.

In one possible implementation, the SUE may also receive third identification information from the candidate CUE, the third identification information being used to indicate the cell in which the candidate CUE resides.

Illustratively, the first identification information may include a base station ID.

In this embodiment of the present application, the first identification information and the third identification information may be in one information or may be separated in different information, which is not limited in this application. The transmission order of the first identification information and the third identification information is not limited in this application when the different information is separated.

S320, the SUE sends first information to the base station, wherein the first information comprises the first identification information, and the first information is used for requesting the base station to determine a target CUE from candidate CUEs for the SUE.

In one possible implementation, the first information further includes third identification information, where the third identification information is used to indicate a cell in which the candidate CUE resides.

After the SUE sends the first information, first indication information from the base station may also be received, where the first indication information indicates a target CUE, and the target CUE is a CUE determined by the base station for the SUE from candidate CUEs according to the first information.

In one possible implementation, the first indication information may further include adaptation layer configuration information, where the adaptation layer configuration information may indicate a bearer transmitted to the base station over the relay link and a bearer directly transmitted to the base station on the SUE. The local ID assigned to the SUE by the base station may also be included in the adaptation layer configuration information.

In a possible implementation manner, the SUE may also report according to an indication of the base station, and illustratively, the base station may send an indication information to the SUE, indicating that the SUE may report the available candidate terminal devices around.

Further, the number of the reported maximum candidate terminal devices can be indicated; or reporting period of available candidate terminal equipment around SUE reporting; or simply the trigger condition of the SUE report, for example, the base station may indicate that when the signal quality of the Uu port of the SUE is less than a certain threshold, the candidate terminal devices available around the reporting periphery are triggered.

In this embodiment of the present application, the base station may further send second indication information for the target CUE, where the second indication information is used to indicate the target CUE to provide relay service for the SUE.

According to the method and the device for transmitting the data, the identification is distributed to the candidate CUE through the base station and sent to the SUE through the candidate CUE, so that the SUE and the candidate CUE can be identified mutually, and further the base station can directly communicate with the base station and communicate with the base station through sending bearing configuration on a multi-hop path to the SUE and sending configuration required by relay to the target CUE, so that the throughput rate and the reliability of data receiving and transmitting are improved.

Fig. 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method 400 according to an embodiment of the present application, in which the candidate CUE is in an idle state or inactive state, i.e., the candidate CUE does not establish a connection with the base station.

Optionally, S410, the candidate CUE sends a cell identity to the SUE, which may include the base station ID.

In one possible implementation, the candidate CUEs may periodically send cell identities to the surrounding SUEs.

In one possible implementation, the candidate CUE sends the cell identity to the SUE after receiving the request for the SUE.

In this embodiment of the present application, the candidate CUE may send the cell identifier by broadcasting, unicasting or multicasting, which is not limited in this application.

S420, the SUE assigns indexes (indices) to the candidate CUEs, each index may uniquely represent one candidate CUE.

In one possible implementation, index may be generated and maintained by the RRC layer of the SUE.

In one possible implementation, index may also be maintained by an adaptation layer, where the adaptation layer is a protocol layer between 3GPP and non-3 GPP protocol stacks for adaptation between 3GPP protocols and non-3 GPP protocols.

In one possible implementation, index may also be generated by and submitted to the 3GPP protocol layer by the non-3 GPP protocol layer of the SUE.

S430, the SUE acquires the SUE identification.

Illustratively, the SUE identifier may be a local identifier (local ID) assigned to the SUE by the base station, which may be assigned to the SUE upon access to the base station by the base station, or may be a C-RNTI of the SUE.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, steps S410, S420, S430 are not consecutive.

Illustratively, the SUE may perform step S420 after step S430.

S440, the SUE sends the corresponding index and SUE identification to the candidate CUE.

The transmission of the corresponding index and SUE identification by the SUE to the candidate CUE may be carried in an RRC message or RRC container and transmitted to the candidate CUE over the non-3 GPP.

Specifically, the SUE identifier and index may be carried in the form of an IE and sent to the candidate CUE in an RRC message; the SUE identity and index information may also be included in the RRC container, which carries the CUE candidates sent in an RRC message.

In one possible implementation, the transmission of the corresponding index and the SUE identifier by the SUE to the candidate CUE may also be carried in an adaptation layer PDU (e.g., an adaptation layer control PDU), and illustratively, the SUE identifier may be carried in an adaptation layer PDU header, where the candidate CUE should establish an adaptation layer entity after receiving the data, and receive and parse the information in the data packet header.

S450, the SUE sends first information to the base station, wherein the first information comprises one or more information groups, each information group corresponds to one candidate CUE, and each information group comprises index of one candidate CUE and corresponding cell identification.

Optionally, S460, the base station selects a target CUE from the candidate CUEs according to the first information.

S470, the base station sends RRC configuration information to the SUE, wherein the RRC configuration information comprises index of the selected CUE and configuration information under the UE aggregation architecture, such as adaptation layer configuration. The adaptation layer configuration may indicate which bearers of the SUE are transmitting data through the relay link and the base station, and if the SUE identifier is not the local ID of the SUE in step 430, the RRC configuration information further includes the local ID of the SUE; otherwise, the local ID may or may not include optional information in the RRC configuration information.

S480, the SUE sends indication information to the target CUE to indicate the target CUE to establish connection with the base station.

Specifically, the SUE needs to know the RRC state of the target CUE, e.g., whether it is in an idle state or inactive state, before sending the indication information to the target CUE.

In one possible implementation, the base station indicates to the SUE the RRC state of the target CUE.

In one possible implementation, the target CUE sends the RRC state of the target CUE to the SUE.

S490, the target CUE establishes connection with the base station, and sends corresponding index and SUE identifiers to the base station.

S4100, the base station sends an RRC configuration message to the selected CUE, where the RRC configuration message includes SUE identification information of the SUE, adaptation layer configuration information, and a configuration of Uu Relay RLC channel, where the adaptation layer configuration information may include a mapping relationship between bearers of the SUE and Uu Relay RLC channel. The SUE identifier may be used to indicate which SUE's corresponding data is configured for relay, and the RRC configuration information further includes the local ID of the SUE.

In the embodiment of the application, the CUE is initially in an idle state or a non-activated state, the SUE allocates index for the candidate CUE and sends the index to the base station, then the base station determines the index of the target CUE serving as the relay equipment and sends the index to the SUE, the SUE indicates the target CUE to enter the activated state, and after entering the activated state, the target CUE sends the index to the base station so that the base station can identify the target CUE. The base station sends the bearing configuration on the multi-hop path to the SUE and sends the configuration required by the relay to the target CUE, so that the SUE can directly communicate with the base station and can also communicate with the base station through the target CUE, and the throughput rate and the reliability of data transceiving are improved.

Fig. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a method 500 according to an embodiment of the present application, unlike the method 400 described above, in the embodiment of the present application, the candidate CUE is in a connected state, that is, the candidate CUE establishes a connection with the base station.

S510-S540 refer to the descriptions of steps S410-S440 in the method 400, and the embodiments of the present application will not be repeated here.

Optionally, in S550, the candidate CUE receives the index and the SUE identifier sent by the SUE in S540, and sends the corresponding index and the SUE identifier to the base station.

S560, the SUE sends first information to the base station, wherein the first information comprises one or more information groups, each information group corresponds to one candidate CUE, and each information group comprises index of one candidate CUE and corresponding cell identification.

S570-S580 refer to the description of steps S460-S470 in the method 400, which is not repeated in the embodiments of the present application.

In S590, the base station sends an RRC configuration message to the selected CUE, where the RRC configuration message includes a local ID of the SUE, adaptation layer configuration information, and configuration of Uu Relay RLC channel, and the adaptation layer configuration information may include a mapping relationship between a bearer of the SUE and Uu Relay RLC channel, and if the SUE identification information does not include the local ID of the SUE, the RRC configuration message further includes the SUE identification information.

If step S550 is not performed, before step S590 is performed, the SUE trigger target CUE sends the corresponding index and SUE identifier to the base station.

In the embodiment of the application, the CUE is initially in an activated state, the SUE allocates an index for the candidate CUE and sends the index to the base station, the base station can determine the index of the target CUE serving as the relay device and send the index to the SUE, and after the target or candidate CUE receives the index and the SUE identification from the SUE, the index and the SUE identification information are sent to the base station so that the base station can identify the target CUE. The base station sends the bearing configuration on the multi-hop path to the SUE and sends the configuration required by the relay to the target CUE, so that the SUE can directly communicate with the base station and can also communicate with the base station through the target CUE, and the throughput rate and the reliability of data transceiving are improved.

Fig. 6 is a flow chart illustrating a method 600 according to an embodiment of the present application, unlike the methods 400 and 500 described above, in the method 600 according to an embodiment of the present application, a base station identifies a target CUE, and illustratively, the base station may assign a temporary ID to the target CUE, where the temporary ID is unique within the base station.

S610-S630 refer to the descriptions of steps S410, S420 and S450 in the method 400, which are not repeated in the embodiments of the present application.

S640, the base station selects a target CUE from the candidate CUEs according to the first information, and configures a temporary ID for the target CUE, wherein the temporary ID is unique in the base station.

S650, the base station sends RRC configuration information to the SUE, including the local ID of the SUE, the index of the CUE, and also including the temporary ID configured for the target CUE, and configuration information under the UE aggregation architecture, such as the configuration of an adaptation layer. The adaptation layer configuration may indicate which bearers of the SUE data is transmitted over the relay link and the base station.

The local ID of the SUE may also be sent to the SUE in advance, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

S660, the SUE sends the temporary ID configured by the base station for the target CUE or the local ID of the SUE to the target CUE.

S670, the target CUE sends the temporary ID or the local ID of the SUE configured by the base station for the target CUE to the base station.

S680, the base station determines that the CUE is the target CUE selected by the SUE based on the temporary ID configured by the target CUE or the local ID of the SUE sent by the target CUE to the base station, and then sends RRC configuration information to the selected CUE, wherein the RRC configuration information comprises the local ID of the SUE, the configuration information of an adaptation layer and the configuration of Uu Relay RLC channel, and the configuration information of the adaptation layer can comprise the mapping relation between the bearer of the SUE and Uu Relay RLC channel.

In the embodiment of the application, the base station determines to the target CUE according to the identifier of the candidate CUE reported by the SUE and distributes a temporary identifier to the target CUE, and the target CUE sends the temporary identifier to the base station so that the base station can identify the target CUE. The base station sends the bearing configuration on the multi-hop path to the SUE and sends the configuration required by the relay to the target CUE, so that the SUE can directly communicate with the base station and can also communicate with the base station through the target CUE, and the throughput rate and the reliability of data transceiving are improved.

Fig. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method 700 according to an embodiment of the present application, and is specifically described below, unlike the above-mentioned methods 400-600, in this embodiment of the present application, the base station allocates the identification information for the CUE instead of the SUE allocating the identification information for the CUE.

And S710, the base station allocates temporary IDs for the candidate CUEs and sends the temporary IDs to the corresponding candidate CUEs.

S720, the candidate CUE sends the temporary ID of the candidate CUE to the SUE, and optionally the candidate CUE also sends a cell identity to the SUE, where the cell identity may include a base station ID.

S730 refers to the description of step S430 in the method 400, which is not repeated in the embodiment of the present application.

S740, the SUE sends the SUE identification to the candidate CUE.

The SUE sending the SUE identification to the candidate CUE may be carried in an RRC message or RRC container and sent to the candidate CUE over the non-3 GPP.

Specifically, the SUE identifier may be carried in the form of an IE and sent to the candidate CUE in an RRC message; the SUE identity may also be included in the RRC container, which carries the CUE candidates in an RRC message.

In one possible implementation, the SUE sending the SUE identifier to the candidate CUE may also be carried in an adaptation layer PDU (e.g., an adaptation layer control PDU), and illustratively, the SUE identifier may be carried in an adaptation layer PDU header, where the candidate CUE should establish an adaptation layer entity after receiving the data, and receive and parse the information in the data packet header.

S750-S760 refer to the descriptions of steps S450-S460 in the method 400, which are not repeated in the embodiments of the present application.

S770, the base station sends RRC configuration information to the SUE, including the temporary ID of the target CUE and the local ID of the SUE, and configuration information under the UE aggregation architecture, such as an adaptation layer configuration. The adaptation layer configuration may indicate which bearers of the SUE data is transmitted over the relay link and the base station.

S780, the base station sends an RRC configuration message to the target CUE, where the RRC configuration message includes a SUE identifier, adaptation layer configuration information, and a configuration of Uu Relay RLC channel, where the adaptation layer configuration information may include a mapping relationship between a bearer of the SUE and Uu Relay RLC channel. The SUE identifier may be used to indicate the corresponding data configured for relaying which SUE, and if the SUE identifier is not the local ID of the SUE, the RRC configuration information further includes the local ID of the SUE.

According to the method and the device, the base station allocates the temporary ID for the candidate CUE and sends the temporary ID to the candidate CUE, and the SUE sends the SUE identification to the target CUE, so that the SUE and the target CUE can be identified mutually, and the base station can also identify the target CUE. The base station sends the bearing configuration on the multi-hop path to the SUE and sends the configuration required by the relay to the target CUE, so that the SUE can directly communicate with the base station and can also communicate with the base station through the target CUE, and the throughput rate and the reliability of data transceiving are improved.

Fig. 8 is a flowchart of a method 800 according to an embodiment of the present application, where identification information is also allocated to CUEs by a base station, unlike method 700, in method 800, a SUE sends a local ID of a SUE to a target CUE after determining the target CUE, without sending a SUE identifier to candidate CUEs in advance.

S810-S850 refer to the descriptions of steps S710-S720 and S750-S770 in the method 700, which are not repeated in the embodiments of the present application.

Optionally, S860, the SUE sends the local ID to the target CUE.

S870, the base station sends an RRC configuration message to the target CUE, where the RRC configuration message includes a local ID of the SUE, adaptation layer configuration information, and a configuration of Uu Relay RLC channel, where the adaptation layer configuration information may include a mapping relationship between a bearer of the SUE and Uu Relay RLC channel. The SUE identification may be used to indicate which SUE's data the corresponding configuration is to relay.

It should be noted that, in the above methods 200-800, the target CUE selected by the base station may be one or more.

According to the method and the device for identifying the target CUE, the base station allocates and sends the identification to the candidate CUE, and the SUE sends the local ID to the target CUE, so that the SUE and the target CUE can identify each other, and the base station can identify the target CUE. The base station sends the bearing configuration on the multi-hop path to the SUE and sends the configuration required by the relay to the target CUE, so that the SUE can directly communicate with the base station and can also communicate with the base station through the target CUE, and the throughput rate and the reliability of data transceiving are improved.

Fig. 9 is a flow chart of a method 900 according to an embodiment of the present application. The method 900 is used in a scenario where the SUE and the CUE may be under different base stations, where the scenario includes multiple SUEs, each corresponding to one base station, and for convenience of description, in this embodiment of the present application, SUE1 and SUE2 are illustrated as examples, and SUE1 and SUE2 are respectively connected to base station 1 and base station 2, and SUE1 and SUE2 determine a target CUE according to any one of the methods 200-800, and SUE1 and SUE2 determine the same target CUE, where the target CUE is connected to base station 3 or resides under base station 3, which should be understood that the number of SUEs is not limited in this application.

S910, determining a target CUE according to any of the methods 200-800, determining a target CUE1 for SUE1, and determining a target CUE2 for SUE 2.

S920, the base station 1 sends first indication information to the base station of the target CUE1, indicating that the target CUE1 is a relay device of the SUE1, where the first indication information includes a local ID1 of the SUE1 and/or index1 allocated to the CUE1 by the SUE 1.

S930, the base station 2 sends second indication information to the base station of the target CUE2, indicating that the target CUE2 is a relay device of the SUE2, where the second indication information includes a local ID2 of the SUE2 and/or index2 allocated to the CUE2 by the SUE 2.

If both the target CUE1 and the target CUE2 are within the service range of the same base station 3 and the local ID1 and the local ID2 are the same, the base station 3 updates the local ID1 to change the local ID1 to the local ID3, and the local ID1 and the local ID3 are different.

S940, the base station 3 transmits the updated local ID3 to the base station 1.

S950, the base station 1 transmits the updated local ID3 to the SUE1.

S960, the base station 3 transmits the local ID3 to the target CUE1.

It should be understood that in the above steps 940 to 950, the base station 3 may also assign the local ID3 to the base station 2 and the target CUE2, which is not limited in this application.

The embodiment of the application can be applied to a scene that a plurality of SUEs select the CUE, when the plurality of SUEs select the same CUE and the CUE is indicated by the same identifier, the CUE cannot distinguish the SUE corresponding to the loaded data, and the CUE can correctly distinguish the SUE corresponding to the loaded data in the scene.

Fig. 10 is a flow chart of a method 1000 according to an embodiment of the present application. In method 1000, the relationship between the SUE and the CUE is bound, i.e., the CUE can provide a relay connection for a particular SUE, illustratively, the SUE and the CUE are a user's gaming device and handset device, respectively; or, the SUE and the CUE are two camera devices on one vehicle when leaving the factory, and the relationship between the two camera devices is fixed. Before terminal equipment aggregation (UE aggregation) is established, the CUE does not provide relay service for the SUE, and the CUE and the SUE may be connected to different base stations, but when the SUE needs to provide relay service for the CUE, the CUE and the SUE need to be ensured to be under one base station through a certain mechanism.

In the method 1000 of the embodiment of the present application, the SUE and the CUE reside under different base stations, the SUE and the first base station are connected and communicate, and the CUE resides under the second base station, and the CUE may be in an RRC connected state, an inactive state, or an idle state.

S1010, based on the binding relation between the SUE and the CUE, the SUE sends first information to the CUE, wherein the first information is used for indicating a cell or a connected base station where the SUE resides. Illustratively, the first information may include an NR Cell Identity (NCI) or an NR cell global identity (NR cell global identifier, NCGI), and further may further include base station information where the cell is located.

In the embodiment of the present application, the SUE may send the first information through unicast, multicast or broadcast.

In one possible implementation, the SUE may periodically transmit the first information, and the setting of the transmission period is not limited in this application.

In one possible implementation, the SUE may transmit the first information in an event-triggered manner.

Illustratively, the SUE may send the first information when a packet loss or a delay of an uplink transmission rate exceeds a certain threshold, or when an uplink transmission bandwidth is much smaller than a SUE transmission requirement.

Further, the first information may further include first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate whether the SUE has a requirement for establishing UE aggregation service, and the first indication information may indicate, in an explicit or implicit manner, whether the SUE has a requirement for establishing UE aggregation service.

For example, there is one data bit in the first indication information, and if the data bit is 1, the SUE is indicated to have a requirement of establishing UE aggregation service; if the data bit is 0, it indicates that the SUE does not establish the requirements of the UE aggregation service.

Illustratively, if the SUE sends the first information to the CUE, then implicit SUE has a need to establish UE aggregation services; if the SUE does not send the first information to the CUE, then the SUE is implicit that the UE aggregation service requirements are not established.

In this embodiment of the present application, the first indication information may also be sent separately.

And S1020, the CUE reports auxiliary information to the second base station according to the first information, wherein the auxiliary information is used for indicating a cell where the SUE resides or a connected base station, and the auxiliary information can comprise all or part of the content of the first information.

Optionally, before reporting the auxiliary information to the second base station, the CUE may confirm whether itself is in the same base station as the SUE through the first information, and if so, the CUE does not trigger the subsequent flow; if in a different base station, a subsequent flow is triggered.

S1030, the second base station decides to switch the CUE to the first base station where the SUE resides.

S1040, the second base station sends switching request information to the first base station according to the auxiliary information sent by the CUE, and requests to switch the CUE to the first base station.

S1050, the first base station sends a handover request reply message to the second base station, wherein the handover request reply message comprises RRC configuration information of the CUE under the first base station

S1060, the second base station sends RRC configuration information of the CUE under the first base station to the CUE.

S1070, according to the received RRC configuration information, the ue disconnects from the second base station and connects to the first base station according to the RRC configuration.

Alternatively, the base station may send an indication to the SUE after S1070, indicating that the CUE is handed over to the first base station.

S1080, the SUE sends first request information to the first base station, wherein the first request information is used for requesting the first base station to configure UE aggregation, and the first request information comprises identification information of the CUE.

S1090, the first base station sends RRC configuration information to the SUE and the CUE respectively, wherein the RRC configuration information is used for establishing UE aggregation for the SUE.

In the embodiment of the invention, the SUE sends the own base station information to the CUE and instructs the CUE to switch to the base station where the CUE is located, so that the CUE can provide a relay for the SUE and is used for establishing UE aggregation of the SUE, the SUE can be directly communicated with the base station and can be communicated with the base station through the target CUE, and the throughput rate and the reliability of data transceiving are improved.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the SUE may also obtain the identification information of the cell or the base station of the CUE, and instruct the own base station to switch the SUE to the position below the base station of the CUE, which is similar to the above method, and this is not repeated in the present application.

According to the foregoing method, fig. 11 is a schematic diagram of a communication apparatus 10 provided in the embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 11, the apparatus 10 may be a terminal device (for example, the first terminal device described above), or may be a chip or a circuit, for example, a chip or a circuit that may be disposed in the terminal device. The terminal device may correspond to the terminal device in the above method.

The apparatus 10 may include a processor 11 (i.e., an example of a processing unit) and a memory 12. The memory 12 is configured to store instructions and the processor 11 is configured to execute the instructions stored in the memory 12 to cause the apparatus 10 to implement steps performed by a terminal device (e.g., a first terminal device) in a corresponding method as in fig. 2-10.

Further, the device 10 may also include an input port 13 (i.e., one example of a communication unit) and an output port 14 (i.e., another example of a communication unit). Further, the processor 11, memory 12, input port 13 and output port 14 may communicate with each other via internal connection paths to transfer control and/or data signals. The memory 12 is used for storing a computer program, and the processor 11 may be used for calling and running the computer program from the memory 12 to control the input port 13 to receive signals and the output port 14 to send signals, so as to complete the steps of the terminal device in the method. The memory 12 may be integrated in the processor 11 or may be provided separately from the processor 11.

Alternatively, if the apparatus 10 is a terminal device, the input port 13 is a receiver and the output port 14 is a transmitter. Wherein the receiver and the transmitter may be the same or different physical entities. Which are the same physical entities, may be collectively referred to as transceivers.

Alternatively, if the device 10 is a chip or a circuit, the input port 13 is an input interface and the output port 14 is an output interface.

As an implementation, the functions of the input port 13 and the output port 14 may be considered to be implemented by a transceiving circuit or a dedicated chip for transceiving. The processor 11 may be considered to be implemented by a dedicated processing chip, a processing circuit, a processor or a general-purpose chip.

As another implementation manner, a manner of using a general-purpose computer may be considered to implement the terminal device provided in the embodiments of the present application. I.e. program code that implements the functions of the processor 11, the input port 13 and the output port 14 is stored in the memory 12, and the general purpose processor implements the functions of the processor 11, the input port 13 and the output port 14 by executing the code in the memory 12.

The functions and actions of each module or unit in the above-listed communication apparatus 10 are only exemplary, and each module or unit in the communication apparatus 10 may be used to perform each action or process performed by the terminal device in the above-mentioned methods 200-1000, and detailed descriptions thereof are omitted herein for avoiding redundancy.

The concepts related to the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application, explanation and detailed description of the concepts related to the device 10 and other steps are referred to in the foregoing methods or descriptions related to the other embodiments, and are not repeated herein.

According to the foregoing method, fig. 12 is a schematic diagram of a communication apparatus 20 provided in the embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 12, the apparatus 20 may be a network device (for example, the base station described above), or may be a chip or a circuit, for example, a chip or a circuit that may be disposed in the network device. Wherein the network device corresponds to the network device (e.g., the base station) in the above method.

The apparatus 20 may include a processor 21 (i.e., an example of a processing unit) and a memory 22. The memory 22 is configured to store instructions and the processor 21 is configured to execute the instructions stored in the memory 22 to cause the apparatus 20 to implement the steps performed by a network device (e.g., a base station) in the corresponding method as described above with respect to fig. 2-10.

Further, the device 20 may also include an input port 23 (i.e., one example of a communication unit) and an output port 23 (i.e., another example of a processing unit). Still further, the processor 21, memory 22, input port 23 and output port 24 may communicate with each other via internal communication paths to communicate control and/or data signals. The memory 22 is used for storing a computer program, and the processor 21 may be used for calling and running the computer program from the memory 22 to control the input port 23 to receive signals and the output port 24 to send signals, so as to complete the steps of the network device in the above-mentioned methods 200-1000. The memory 22 may be integrated in the processor 21 or may be provided separately from the processor 21.

Alternatively, if the apparatus 20 is a network device, the input port 23 is a receiver and the output port 24 is a transmitter. Wherein the receiver and the transmitter may be the same or different physical entities. Which are the same physical entities, may be collectively referred to as transceivers.

Alternatively, if the device 20 is a chip or a circuit, the input port 23 is an input interface and the output port 24 is an output interface.

Alternatively, if the apparatus 20 is a chip or a circuit, the apparatus 20 may not include the memory 22, and the processor 21 may read the instructions (programs or codes) in the memory outside the chip to implement the functions of the network device in the corresponding method as in fig. 2-10.

As an implementation, the functions of the input port 23 and the output port 24 may be considered to be implemented by a transceiving circuit or a dedicated chip for transceiving. The processor 21 may be considered to be implemented by a dedicated processing chip, a processing circuit, a processor, or a general-purpose chip.

As another implementation manner, a manner of using a general-purpose computer may be considered to implement the network device provided in the embodiments of the present application. I.e. program code for the functions of the processor 21, the input port 23 and the output port 24 is stored in the memory, and the general purpose processor implements the functions of the processor 21, the input port 23 and the output port 24 by executing the code in the memory.

The modules or units in the communication apparatus 20 may be configured to perform the actions or processes performed by the network devices in the methods 200-1000, and detailed descriptions thereof are omitted herein for avoiding redundancy.

The concepts related to the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application, explanation and detailed description of the concepts related to the device 20 and other steps are referred to in the foregoing methods or descriptions related to the other embodiments, and are not repeated herein.

Fig. 13 is a schematic diagram of a chip 30 according to an embodiment of the present application. The chip 30 (or may also be referred to as a processing system) includes logic circuitry 31 and an input/output interface (input/output interface) 32.

The logic circuit 31 may be a processing circuit in the chip 30. Logic circuitry 31 may be coupled to the memory unit to invoke instructions in the memory unit so that chip 30 may implement the methods and functions of the various embodiments of the present application. The input/output interface 32 may be an input/output circuit in the chip 30, outputting information processed by the chip 30, or inputting data or signaling information to be processed into the chip 30 for processing.

Specifically, for example, if the first terminal device is mounted with the chip 30, the logic circuit 31 is coupled with the input/output interface 32, and the logic circuit 31 may transmit first information through the input/output interface 32, and the first information may be configured by the logic circuit 31. For another example, if the network device is equipped with the chip 30, the logic circuit 31 is coupled to the input/output interface 32, and the logic circuit 31 may receive the first information through the input/output interface 32.

As an alternative, the chip 30 is used to implement the operations performed by the terminal device in the above method embodiments.

For example, the logic circuit 31 is for implementing the processing-related operations performed by the terminal device in the above method embodiment; the input/output interface 32 is used to implement the transmission and/or reception related operations performed by the terminal device in the above method embodiments.

Alternatively, the chip 30 is used to implement the operations performed by the network device in the various method embodiments above.

For example, the logic circuit 31 is configured to implement the operations related to the processing performed by the network device in the above method embodiment; the input/output interface 32 is used to implement the transmission and/or reception related operations performed by the network device in the above method embodiments.

The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer instructions for implementing the method performed by the apparatus in the above-described method embodiments.

For example, the computer program, when executed by a computer, enables the computer to implement the methods performed by the terminal device in the above-described method embodiments.

As another example, the computer program when executed by a computer may enable the computer to implement the method performed by the network device in the above-described method embodiments.

Embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product containing instructions that, when executed by a computer, implement a method performed by an apparatus (e.g., a terminal device, and also e.g., a network device) in the above method embodiments.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the application, the embodiment of the application also provides a communication system, which comprises the network equipment and one or more than one terminal equipment. Optionally, the system further comprises a device for communicating with the aforementioned network device and/or terminal device.

It should be understood that the term "and/or" is merely an association relationship describing the associated object, and means that three relationships may exist, for example, a and/or B may mean: 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 be understood that, in various 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 thereof, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

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 U-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

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

generating first identification information, wherein the first identification information is used for indicating second terminal equipment, and the second terminal equipment is candidate terminal equipment for providing relay service for the first terminal equipment;

and sending first information to network equipment, wherein the first information comprises the first identification information.

2. A communication method applied to a first terminal device, comprising:

receiving first identification information from a second terminal device, wherein the first identification information is used for indicating the second terminal device, the second terminal device is a candidate terminal device for providing relay service for the first terminal device, and the first identification information is generated by the network device;

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

and sending the first identification information and the second identification information to the second terminal equipment, wherein the second identification information is used for indicating the first terminal equipment.

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

and sending second identification information to the second terminal equipment, wherein the second identification information is used for indicating the first terminal equipment.

5. The method according to any of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that there is a first connection between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, the first connection being a non-3 GPP defined connection.

6. A method according to any of claims 3 or 4, characterized in that the second identification information is used for uniquely identifying the first terminal device in the network device.

7. The method of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the first information further comprises:

and third identification information, wherein the third identification information is used for indicating a cell where the second terminal equipment resides.

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

and receiving first indication information from the network equipment, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating second terminal equipment selected by the network equipment for the first terminal equipment, and the second terminal equipment selected by the network equipment for the first terminal equipment is used for providing relay for data transmission of the first terminal equipment.

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

and receiving second information from the second terminal equipment, wherein the second information is used for indicating whether connection exists between the second terminal equipment and the network equipment.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the first indication information is further used to indicate whether a connection exists between the second terminal device and the network device.

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that if it is determined that there is no connection between the second terminal device and the network device, the method further comprises:

and sending third indication information to the second terminal equipment, wherein the third indication information is used for indicating the second terminal equipment to establish connection with the network equipment.

12. A communication method applied to a second terminal device, comprising:

receiving first identification information and second identification information from a first terminal device, wherein the first identification information is used for indicating the second terminal device, the second identification information is used for indicating the first terminal device, and the first identification information is generated by the first terminal device;

and sending the first identification information and the second identification information to network equipment.

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

receiving first identification information from a network device, wherein the first identification information is used for indicating the second terminal device, and the first identification information is generated by the network device;

the first identification information is sent to the first terminal equipment, and the first identification information is used for the first terminal equipment to report to the network equipment;

receiving second identification information from a first terminal device, wherein the second identification information is used for indicating the first terminal device, and the second identification information is distributed by the network device;

the second identification information from the network device is received.

14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that the first terminal device and the second terminal device are connected by means of a non-3 GPP.

15. The method according to any of the claims 12 to 14, characterized in that the second identification information is used for uniquely identifying the first terminal device in the network device.

16. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 15, further comprising:

and sending third identification information to the first terminal equipment, wherein the third identification information is used for indicating a cell where the second terminal equipment resides.

17. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 16, further comprising:

and receiving second indication information from the network equipment, wherein the second indication information is used for indicating the second terminal equipment to provide relay service for the first terminal equipment, and the second indication information comprises second identification information of the first terminal equipment.

18. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 17, further comprising:

and sending second information to the first terminal equipment, wherein the second information is used for indicating whether connection exists between the second terminal equipment and the network equipment.

19. The method according to any of claims 12 to 18, wherein if there is no connection between the second terminal device and the network device, the method further comprises:

receiving third indication information from the first terminal equipment, wherein the third indication information is used for indicating the second terminal equipment to establish connection with the network equipment;

and establishing connection with the network equipment.

20. A communication method applied to a network device, comprising:

receiving first identification information and second identification information from second terminal equipment, wherein the first identification information is used for indicating the second terminal equipment, and the second identification information is used for indicating the first terminal equipment;

first information from a first terminal device is received, the first information comprising the first identification information.

21. A communication method applied to a network device, comprising:

sending first identification information to the second terminal equipment, wherein the first identification information is used for indicating the second terminal equipment;

first information from the first terminal device is received, wherein the first information comprises the first identification information.

22. The method according to claim 20 or 21, characterized in that the method further comprises:

and determining that the second terminal equipment provides relay service for the first terminal equipment according to the first information.

23. The method according to any one of claims 20 to 22, further comprising:

and sending first indication information to the first terminal equipment, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating the second terminal equipment determined by the network equipment.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the first indication information is further used to indicate whether a connection exists between the second terminal device and the network device.

25. The method according to any one of claims 20 to 24, further comprising:

and sending second indication information to the second terminal equipment, wherein the second indication information is used for indicating the second terminal equipment to provide relay service for the first terminal equipment.

26. The method according to any of claims 20 to 25, wherein the first terminal device and the second terminal device are connected by a non-3 GPP means.

27. The method according to any one of claims 20 or 26, wherein the second identification information is unique identification information in the network device.

28. The method of any one of claims 20 to 27, wherein the first information further comprises:

29. A communication device comprising a processor and interface circuitry for receiving signals from other communication devices than the communication device and transmitting signals from the processor to or sending signals from the processor to other communication devices than the communication device, the processor being configured to implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 28.

30. A communication system, comprising:

terminal device for performing the method of any of claims 1 to 19;

network device for performing the method of any of claims 20 to 28.

31. A chip, comprising: a processor for calling and running a computer program from a memory, causing a terminal device on which the chip is mounted to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 28.

32. A computer program, characterized in that it implements the method according to any one of claims 1 to 28 when executed by a communication device.

33. A computer-readable storage medium, comprising:

the computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program which, when run, causes the computer to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 28.