CN117716735A

CN117716735A - Relay discovery method, communication device, communication system, and storage medium

Info

Publication number: CN117716735A
Application number: CN202380011984.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 刘建宁
Original assignee: Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software Co Ltd
Current assignee: Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software Co Ltd
Priority date: 2023-10-31
Filing date: 2023-10-31
Publication date: 2024-03-15

Abstract

The embodiment of the disclosure provides a relay discovery method, a communication device, a communication system and a storage medium. The method comprises the following steps: the first relay device sends a first message to the next hop device; the first message includes: a first field indicating a maximum number of relay hops; and a second field, indicating the relay hop count corresponding to the 1 st hop relay device. The technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure is beneficial to realizing a U2U relay communication process supporting multi-hop, and can effectively enlarge the communication range of the U2U relay communication; and limiting the maximum number of relay hops of the relay communication by carrying the first field in the first message, thereby ensuring timeliness of the relay communication and being capable of limiting broadcast storm of the first message.

Description

Relay discovery method, communication device, communication system, and storage medium

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a relay discovery method, a communication device, a communication system, and a storage medium.

Background

A 5G Proximity service (ProSe) enables User Equipments (UEs) to communicate with each other through Relay UEs (Relay UEs). This means that if the Source UE (Source UE) cannot communicate directly with the Target UE (Target UE), the Source UE will attempt to discover the relay device to enable communication with the Target UE, i.e. user equipment to user equipment (U2U) relay communication.

Disclosure of Invention

Because the U2U relay communication only supports single-hop relay communication, the communication range of the U2U relay communication is smaller, and it is difficult to meet the communication requirement.

The embodiment of the disclosure provides a relay discovery method, a communication device, a communication system and a storage medium.

According to a first aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a relay discovery method, wherein the method includes:

the 1 st hop relay device sends a first message to the next hop device; the first message includes:

a first field indicating a maximum number of relay hops;

and a second field, indicating the relay hop count corresponding to the 1 st hop relay device.

According to a second aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a relay discovery method, wherein the method includes:

the method comprises the steps that an n-1 hop relay device receives an n-1 hop first message; the n-1 th hop first message includes a first field and a second field; the first field is used for indicating the maximum relay hop count; the second field is used for indicating the relay hop number corresponding to the n-1 hop relay equipment; n is a positive integer greater than 1;

determining the relay hop number corresponding to the nth hop relay equipment according to the second field of the nth-1 hop first message;

when the relay hop count corresponding to the nth hop relay equipment is smaller than or equal to the maximum relay hop count, generating an nth hop first message according to an nth-1 hop first message; a first field of the nth hop first message indicates a maximum number of relay hops; and the second field of the nth-hop first message is used for indicating the relay hop number corresponding to the nth-hop relay equipment.

According to a third aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a relay discovery method, wherein the method includes:

the source terminal receives a first message; the first message includes: a first field indicating a maximum number of relay hops; a second field indicating a relay hop count corresponding to the relay device;

and selecting a relay path for relaying communication according to the first message.

According to a fourth aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a relay discovery method, wherein the method includes:

the 1 st hop relay device sends a first message;

the method comprises the steps that an nth-1 st hop relay device receives an nth-1 st hop first message; the n-1 th hop first message includes a first field and a second field; the first field is used for indicating the maximum relay hop count; the second field is used for indicating the relay hop number corresponding to the n-1 hop relay equipment; n is a positive integer greater than 1;

the nth-hop relay equipment determines the relay hop number corresponding to the nth-hop relay equipment according to the second field of the nth-1 hop first message; when the relay hop count corresponding to the nth hop relay equipment is smaller than or equal to the maximum relay hop count, generating an nth hop first message according to an nth-1 hop first message; a first field of the nth hop first message indicates a maximum number of relay hops; the second field of the first message of the nth hop is used for indicating the relay hop number corresponding to the relay equipment of the nth hop;

And the source terminal receives the first message and selects a relay path for relaying communication according to the first message.

According to a fifth aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a first relay device, wherein the first relay device is a 1 st hop relay device, the first relay device including:

a first sending module configured to send a first message to a next hop device; the first message includes:

a first field indicating a maximum number of relay hops;

According to a sixth aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a second relay device, wherein the second relay device is an nth-hop relay device, the second relay device including:

a first receiving module configured to receive an n-1 th hop first message; the n-1 th hop first message includes a first field and a second field; the first field is used for indicating the maximum relay hop count; the second field is used for indicating the relay hop number corresponding to the n-1 hop relay equipment; n is a positive integer greater than 1;

the first processing module is configured to determine the relay hop number corresponding to the nth-hop relay equipment according to the second field of the nth-1 hop first message; when the relay hop count corresponding to the nth hop relay equipment is smaller than or equal to the maximum relay hop count, generating an nth hop first message according to an nth-1 hop first message; a first field of the nth hop first message indicates a maximum number of relay hops; and the second field of the nth-hop first message is used for indicating the relay hop number corresponding to the nth-hop relay equipment.

According to a seventh aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a source terminal, wherein the source terminal includes:

a second receiving module configured to receive the first message; the first message includes: a first field indicating a maximum number of relay hops; a second field indicating a relay hop count corresponding to the relay device;

and the second processing module is configured to select a relay path for relaying communication according to the first message.

According to an eighth aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a communication system, wherein the communication system includes a source terminal, a first relay device, a second relay device, and a target terminal; the first relay device is configured to implement the relay discovery method provided in the first aspect, the second relay device is configured to implement the relay discovery method provided in the second aspect, and the source terminal is configured to implement the relay discovery method provided in the third aspect.

According to a ninth aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a communication device, wherein the communication device includes:

one or more processors;

wherein the processor is configured to invoke instructions to cause the communication device to perform the relay discovery method provided in the first aspect, the second aspect, or the third aspect.

According to a tenth aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a storage medium storing instructions that, when executed on a communication device, cause the communication device to perform the relay discovery method provided in the first aspect, the second aspect or the third aspect.

The technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure is beneficial to realizing a U2U relay communication process supporting multi-hop, can effectively enlarge the communication range of the U2U relay communication, limits the maximum relay hop number of the relay communication and the hop number of the current relay by carrying the first field in the first message and the second field for indicating the hop number of the current relay, and can be used for a device which subsequently receives the first message to determine whether to continue to relay the first message or not, so that the relay range of the relay communication is promoted by multi-hop relay, and the broadcast storm of the first message can be limited.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of embodiments of the disclosure.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of a communication system, shown in accordance with an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 2 is an interactive schematic diagram illustrating a relay discovery method according to an example embodiment;

fig. 3A is a flow diagram illustrating a relay discovery method according to an example embodiment;

fig. 3B is a flow diagram illustrating a relay discovery method according to an example embodiment;

fig. 3C is a flow diagram illustrating a relay discovery method according to an example embodiment;

FIG. 3D is a flow diagram illustrating a relay discovery method according to an example embodiment;

fig. 4A is a flow diagram illustrating a relay discovery method according to an example embodiment;

fig. 4B is a flow diagram illustrating a relay discovery method according to an example embodiment;

FIG. 5 is an interactive schematic diagram illustrating a relay discovery method according to an example embodiment;

FIG. 6A is a flow diagram I of a U2U discovery method of pattern A, according to an example embodiment;

FIG. 6B is a flow chart II of a U2U discovery method of pattern A, according to an example embodiment;

fig. 7A is a schematic structural diagram of a first relay device according to an exemplary embodiment;

Fig. 7B is a schematic diagram of a second relay device according to an exemplary embodiment;

fig. 7C is a schematic diagram of a source terminal according to an exemplary embodiment;

fig. 8A is a schematic diagram of a communication device 8100, shown in accordance with an exemplary embodiment;

fig. 8B is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure of a chip 8200 according to an exemplary embodiment.

Detailed Description

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a relay discovery method, where the method includes:

a first field indicating a maximum number of relay hops;

In the above embodiment, the first field and the second field are newly added in the first message to indicate the maximum relay hop number supported by the destination terminal that can be relayed by the first relay device by using the first field, and the relay hop number corresponding to the 1 st hop relay device is indicated by using the second field; the method is beneficial to realizing the U2U relay communication process supporting multi-hop, and can effectively enlarge the communication range of the U2U relay communication. The maximum relay hop number of the relay communication is limited by carrying the first field in the first message, and the second field is used for indicating the hop number of the current relay, so that the device which subsequently receives the first message can be used for determining whether to continue to relay the first message, the relay range of the relay communication is improved by multi-hop relay, and the broadcast storm of the first message can be limited.

With reference to some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first message further includes at least one of:

a third field for indicating at least a terminal capable of being relayed by the 1 st hop relay device;

and a fourth field, at least for indicating the 1 st hop relay device.

In the above embodiment, the first message may further include at least a third field for indicating a terminal that the 1 st hop relay device is capable of relaying, and/or at least a fourth field for indicating the 1 st hop relay device; thereby, the receiving party of the first message can conveniently determine the sending party of the first message and determine all terminals which can be relayed by the 1 st hop relay device, and the receiving party of the first message can conveniently determine whether to use the relay service provided by the 1 st hop relay device so as to realize relay communication between the source terminal and the target terminal.

With reference to some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the terminal indicated by the third field is determined for the 1 st hop relay device based on historical relay discovery; and/or the terminal indicated by the third field is determined based on the configuration information of the 1 st hop relay device.

In the above embodiment, the terminal that the 1 st hop relay device indicated by the third field can relay may be a terminal that is found in the history relay discovery process according to the 1 st hop relay device, and/or the terminal that the 1 st hop relay device indicated by the third field can relay may be a terminal configured for the 1 st hop relay device in advance, so that the 1 st hop relay device can more flexibly determine the terminal that it can relay.

With reference to some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the fourth field includes at least one of:

a source layer 2 identifier, configured to identify the 1 st hop relay device;

the destination layer 2 identifier is used for identifying a next hop device for receiving the first message.

In the above embodiment, the fourth field carries the source layer 2 identifier and the destination layer 2 identifier, so that the subsequent source terminal and/or the nth-hop relay device can establish the layer 2 connection with the 1 st-hop relay device based on the source layer 2 identifier and the destination layer 2 identifier, so as to perform relay communication by using the layer 2 connection.

With reference to some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the third field carries terminal list information; the terminal list information includes device information of one or more terminals.

In the above embodiment, by carrying terminal list information in the third field, the terminal list information includes device information of terminals that can be relayed by one or more 1 st hop relay devices, so that the next hop relay device can determine all terminals that can be relayed by the 1 st hop relay device according to the terminal list information carried in the third field. In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a relay discovery method, where the method includes:

In the above embodiment, after the nth hop relay device receives the nth-1 st hop first message, the number of relay hops corresponding to the nth hop relay device may be determined according to the number of relay hops indicated by the second field in the nth-1 st hop first message. And determining whether the n-hop relay equipment can continuously forward the equipment information of the terminal which can be relayed by the previous n-1 hop relay equipment according to whether the relay hop number corresponding to the n-hop relay equipment is smaller than or equal to the maximum relay hop number supported by the destination terminal indicated by the first field in the first message of the n-1 hop. This can limit the broadcast storm of the first message. Generating an nth hop first message according to the nth hop first message after determining that the nth hop relay device can continuously forward the device information of the terminal which can be relayed by the previous n-1 hop relay device, and selecting a relay path for relaying communication by the terminal which receives the nth hop first message based on a second field indicating the relay hop number corresponding to the nth hop relay device and a first field indicating the maximum relay hop number in the nth hop first message, so that the relay device which subsequently receives the nth hop first message can determine whether to continuously relay the first message or not. Therefore, the U2U relay communication process supporting multi-hop can be realized, and the communication range of the U2U relay communication can be effectively enlarged.

With reference to some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the n-1 th hop first message further includes a third field; the third field indicates a terminal capable of being relayed by the previous n-1 hop relay device;

the generating the nth-hop first message from the nth-1 hop first message further comprises:

generating an nth-hop first message according to the third field of the nth-1 hop first message; the third field of the nth-hop first message indicates a terminal capable of being relayed by the previous nth-hop relay device.

In the above embodiment, the n-1 th hop first message may further include a third field for indicating a terminal that the previous n-1 hop relay device can relay; and when the relay hop count corresponding to the nth hop relay equipment is smaller than or equal to the maximum relay hop count, the equipment information of the terminal which can be relayed by the previous n-1 hop relay equipment can be continuously forwarded by the nth hop relay equipment. The nth hop first message may be generated from a third field within the nth-1 hop first message. The third field of the first message of the nth hop is used for indicating the terminal which can be relayed by the relay device of the nth hop and the terminal which can be relayed by the relay device of the previous nth hop, so that a receiving party of the first message of the nth hop can know the terminal which can be relayed by the relay device of the previous nth hop according to the third field of the first message of the nth hop.

With reference to some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the nth hop first message further includes a fourth field; the fourth field indicates an nth hop relay device.

In the above embodiment, the nth-hop first message further includes at least a fourth field for indicating an nth-hop relay device; thereby, the receiving party of the first message of the nth hop can determine the sending party of the first message of the nth hop, and relay equipment to be accessed is selected in the relay communication process of the source terminal and the target terminal.

With reference to some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the fourth field of the nth hop first message includes at least one of:

a source layer 2 identifier, configured to identify the nth-hop relay device;

and the destination layer 2 identifier is used for identifying the next hop relay device and/or the source terminal which receive the nth hop first message.

In the above embodiment, the fourth field of the nth-hop first message may include a source layer 2 identifier and a destination layer 2 identifier, so that the subsequent source terminal and/or the (n+1) th-hop relay device can establish a layer 2 connection with the nth-hop relay device based on the source layer 2 identifier and the destination layer 2 identifier by adding the source layer 2 identifier and the destination layer 2 identifier for relay transmission and relay reception of the nth-hop relay device to the fourth field, so as to perform relay communication using the layer 2 connection.

With reference to some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the determining, according to the second field of the n-1 th hop first message, a relay hop count corresponding to the n-th hop relay device includes:

and adding 1 to the relay hop number corresponding to the n-1 hop relay equipment to obtain the relay hop number corresponding to the n hop relay equipment.

In the above embodiment, the nth-hop relay device may determine the number of relay hops corresponding to the nth-1 hop relay device according to the second field in the nth-1 hop first message; and adding 1 to the relay hop number corresponding to the n-1 hop relay device to obtain the relay hop number corresponding to the n hop relay device. So that the device information of the terminal which can be relayed by the previous n-1 hop relay device can be determined whether the nth hop relay device can continuously relay according to the relay hop number and the maximum relay hop number corresponding to the nth hop relay device.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a relay discovery method, where the method includes:

In the above embodiment, since the first field and the second field are newly added in the first message, the first field is used to indicate the maximum relay hop number supported by the destination terminal that the first relay device can relay, and the second field is used to indicate the relay hop number corresponding to the relay device; thereby, the U2U relay communication process supporting multi-hop can be realized by using the first message. When the source terminal needs to communicate with the target terminal, a suitable relay path for relay communication is selected according to the first message, so that the source terminal can realize communication with the remote target terminal through relay equipment provided by one or more relay equipment, and the communication range of the U2U relay communication is effectively enlarged.

With reference to some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, selecting a relay path for relaying communications according to the first message includes:

selecting a relay device corresponding to the second field with the minimum relay hop number according to the second field in the first message to perform the relay communication;

and selecting the relay equipment corresponding to the first message with the maximum signal strength to carry out the relay communication according to the signal strength of the received first message.

In the above embodiment, when the source terminal selects the relay path, the relay device corresponding to the second field with the smallest relay hop count may be selected as the relay device to be accessed according to the second field with the first message indicating the relay hop count corresponding to the relay device, so as to reduce the number of relay devices in the relay path, reduce the transmission delay, and improve the data transmission rate. And/or the source terminal can select the relay equipment corresponding to the first message with the maximum signal strength as the relay equipment to be accessed according to the signal strength of the received first message, so that the communication quality of the source terminal and the target terminal can be effectively ensured.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a relay discovery method, where the method includes:

the 1 st hop relay device sends a first message;

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a first relay device, where the first relay device is a 1 st hop relay device, the first relay device includes:

a first field indicating a maximum number of relay hops;

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a second relay device, where the second relay device is an nth-hop relay device, the second relay device includes:

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a source terminal, where the source terminal includes:

In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication system, where the communication system includes a source terminal, a first relay device, a second relay device, and a target terminal; the first relay device is configured to implement the relay discovery method described in the optional implementation manner of the first aspect, the second relay device is configured to implement the relay discovery method described in the optional implementation manner of the second aspect, and the source terminal is configured to implement the relay discovery method described in the optional implementation manner of the third aspect.

In a ninth aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication device, including:

one or more processors;

wherein the processor is configured to invoke instructions to cause the communication device to perform a relay discovery method as described in the optional implementation manner of the first aspect, the second aspect or the third aspect.

In a tenth aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a storage medium storing instructions that, when executed on a communication device, cause the communication device to perform a relay discovery method as described in the optional implementation manner of the first, second or third aspects.

In an eleventh aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a program product, which when executed by a communication device, causes the communication device to perform a relay discovery method as described in the optional implementation manner of the first aspect or the second aspect or the third aspect.

In a twelfth aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a computer program which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the relay discovery method described in the alternative implementation manner of the first aspect or the second aspect or the third aspect.

It will be appreciated that the first relay device, the second relay device, the source terminal, the communication device, the communication system, the storage medium, the program product, and the computer program described above are all configured to perform the methods provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure. Therefore, the advantages achieved by the method can be referred to as the advantages of the corresponding method, and will not be described herein.

The embodiment of the disclosure provides a relay discovery method, communication equipment, a communication system and a storage medium. In some embodiments, the relay discovery method and the terms of the information processing method, the information transmission method, and the like may be replaced with each other, the terms of the information indicating apparatus and the information processing apparatus, the information transmission apparatus, and the like may be replaced with each other, and the terms of the communication system, the information processing system, and the like may be replaced with each other.

The embodiments of the present disclosure are not intended to be exhaustive, but rather are exemplary of some embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. In the case of no contradiction, each step in a certain embodiment may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the steps may be arbitrarily combined, for example, a scheme in which part of the steps are removed in a certain embodiment may also be implemented as an independent embodiment, the order of the steps in a certain embodiment may be arbitrarily exchanged, and further, alternative implementations in a certain embodiment may be arbitrarily combined; furthermore, various embodiments may be arbitrarily combined, for example, some or all steps of different embodiments may be arbitrarily combined, and an embodiment may be arbitrarily combined with alternative implementations of other embodiments.

In the various embodiments of the disclosure, terms and/or descriptions of the various embodiments are consistent throughout the various embodiments and may be referenced to each other in the absence of any particular explanation or logic conflict, and features from different embodiments may be combined to form new embodiments in accordance with their inherent logic relationships.

The terminology used in the embodiments of the disclosure is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure.

In the presently disclosed embodiments, elements that are referred to in the singular, such as "a," "an," "the," "said," etc., may mean "one and only one," or "one or more," "at least one," etc., unless otherwise indicated. For example, where an article (article) is used in translation, such as "a," "an," "the," etc., in english, a noun following the article may be understood as a singular expression or as a plural expression.

In the presently disclosed embodiments, "plurality" refers to two or more.

In some embodiments, terms such as "at least one of (at least one of), at least one of (at least one of)", "one or more of", "multiple of", and the like may be substituted for each other.

In some embodiments, "A, B at least one of", "a and/or B", "a in one case, B in another case", "a in one case, B" and the like, may include the following technical solutions according to circumstances: in some embodiments a (a is performed independently of B); b (B is performed independently of a) in some embodiments; in some embodiments, execution is selected from a and B (a and B are selectively executed); in some embodiments a and B (both a and B are performed). Similar to that described above when there are more branches such as A, B, C.

In some embodiments, the description modes such as "a or B" may include the following technical schemes according to circumstances: in some embodiments a (a is performed independently of B); b (B is performed independently of a) in some embodiments; in some embodiments execution is selected from a and B (a and B are selectively executed). Similar to that described above when there are more branches such as A, B, C.

The prefix words "first", "second", etc. in the embodiments of the present disclosure are only for distinguishing different description objects, and do not limit the location, order, priority, number, content, etc. of the description objects, and the statement of the description object refers to the claims or the description of the embodiment context, and should not constitute unnecessary limitations due to the use of the prefix words. For example, if the description object is a "field", the ordinal words before the "field" in the "first field" and the "second field" do not limit the position or the order between the "fields", and the "first" and the "second" do not limit whether the "fields" modified by the "first" and the "second" are in the same message or not. For another example, describing an object as "level", ordinal words preceding "level" in "first level" and "second level" do not limit priority between "levels". As another example, the number of descriptive objects is not limited by ordinal words, and may be one or more, taking "first device" as an example, where the number of "devices" may be one or more. Furthermore, objects modified by different prefix words may be the same or different, e.g., the description object is "a device", then "a first device" and "a second device" may be the same device or different devices, and the types may be the same or different; for another example, the description object is "information", and the "first information" and the "second information" may be the same information or different information, and the contents thereof may be the same or different.

In some embodiments, "comprising a", "containing a", "for indicating a", "carrying a", may be interpreted as carrying a directly, or as indicating a indirectly.

In some embodiments, the terms "… …", "determine … …", "in the case of … …", "at … …", "when … …", "if … …", "if … …", and the like may be interchanged.

In some embodiments, terms "greater than", "greater than or equal to", "not less than", "more than or equal to", "not less than", "above" and the like may be interchanged, and terms "less than", "less than or equal to", "not greater than", "less than or equal to", "not more than", "below", "lower than or equal to", "no higher than", "below" and the like may be interchanged.

In some embodiments, an apparatus or the like may be interpreted as an entity, or may be interpreted as a virtual, and the names thereof are not limited to the names described in the embodiments, "apparatus," "device," "circuit," "network element," "node," "function," "unit," "section," "system," "network," "chip system," "entity," "body," and the like may be replaced with each other.

In some embodiments, a "network" may be interpreted as an apparatus (e.g., access network device, core network device, etc.) contained in a network.

In some embodiments, "access network device (access network device, AN device)", "radio access network device (radio access network device, RAN device)", "Base Station (BS)", "radio base station (radio base station)", "fixed station (fixed station)", "node (node)", "access point (access point)", "transmit point (transmission point, TP)", "Receive Point (RP)", "transmit receive point (transmit/receive point), the terms TRP)", "panel", "antenna array", "cell", "macrocell", "microcell", "femto cell", "pico cell", "sector", "cell group", "serving cell", "carrier", "component carrier (component carrier)", bandwidth part (BWP) and the like may be replaced with each other.

In some embodiments, "terminal," terminal device, "" user equipment, "" user terminal, "" mobile station, "" mobile terminal, MT) ", subscriber station (subscriber station), mobile unit (mobile unit), subscriber unit (subscriber unit), wireless unit (wireless unit), remote unit (remote unit), mobile device (mobile device), wireless device (wireless device), wireless communication device (wireless communication device), remote device (remote device), mobile subscriber station (mobile subscriber station), access terminal (access terminal), mobile terminal (mobile terminal), wireless terminal (wireless terminal), remote terminal (remote terminal), handheld device (handset), user agent (user agent), mobile client (mobile client), client (client), and the like may be substituted for each other.

In some embodiments, the access network device, core network device, or network device may be replaced with a terminal. For example, the embodiments of the present disclosure may also be applied to a configuration in which an access network device, a core network device, or communication between a network device and a terminal is replaced with communication between a plurality of terminals (for example, device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-device (V2X), or the like). In this case, the terminal may have all or part of the functions of the access network device. In addition, terms such as "uplink", "downlink", and the like may be replaced with terms corresponding to communication between terminals (e.g., "side)". For example, uplink channels, downlink channels, etc. may be replaced with side-uplink channels, uplink, downlink, etc. may be replaced with side-downlink channels.

In some embodiments, the terminal may be replaced with an access network device, a core network device, or a network device. In this case, the access network device, the core network device, or the network device may have all or part of the functions of the terminal.

In some embodiments, the acquisition of data, information, etc. may comply with laws and regulations of the country of locale.

In some embodiments, data, information, etc. may be obtained after user consent is obtained.

Furthermore, each element, each row, or each column in the tables of the embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented as a separate embodiment, and any combination of elements, any rows, or any columns may also be implemented as a separate embodiment.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of a communication system, according to an example embodiment.

As shown in fig. 1, the communication system 100 includes a terminal (terminal) 101, a relay device 102, and/or a network device 103.

In some embodiments, the terminal 101 includes at least one of a mobile phone (mobile phone), a wearable device, an internet of things device, a communication enabled car, a smart car, a tablet (Pad), a wireless transceiver enabled computer, a Virtual Reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (augmented reality, AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal device in industrial control (industrial control), a wireless terminal device in unmanned (self-driving), a wireless terminal device in teleoperation (remote medical surgery), a wireless terminal device in smart grid (smart grid), a wireless terminal device in transportation security (transportation safety), a wireless terminal device in smart city (smart city), a wireless terminal device in smart home (smart home), for example, but is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the relay device 102 may be a terminal and/or a roadside device or the like capable of providing relay services.

In some embodiments, the terminal 101 may include a source terminal 1011 and a target terminal 1012; the relay device 102 may include at least a first relay device 1021, a second relay device 1022. Wherein the source terminal 1011 and the target terminal 1012 cannot directly communicate but communicate through the first relay device 1021 and/or the second relay device 1022. The first relay device 1021 and/or the second relay device 1022 provide relay services for communications of the source terminal 1011 and the target terminal 1012.

In some embodiments, the network device 103 may include an access network device and a core network device.

In some embodiments, the access network device may be, for example, a node or a device that accesses a terminal to a wireless network, and the access network device may include at least one of an evolved NodeB (eNB), a next generation NodeB (next generation eNB, ng-eNB), a next generation NodeB (next generation NodeB, gNB), a NodeB (node B, NB), a Home NodeB (HNB), a home NodeB (home evolved nodeB, heNB), a wireless backhaul device, a radio network controller (radio network controller, RNC), a base station controller (base station controller, BSC), a base transceiver station (base transceiver station, BTS), a baseband unit (BBU), a mobile switching center, a base station in a 6G communication system, an Open base station (Open RAN), a Cloud base station (Cloud RAN), a base station in other communication systems, an access node in a Wi-Fi system, but is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the technical solutions of the present disclosure may be applied to an Open RAN architecture, where an access network device or an interface in an access network device according to the embodiments of the present disclosure may become an internal interface of the Open RAN, and flow and information interaction between these internal interfaces may be implemented by using software or a program.

In some embodiments, the access network device may be composed of a Central Unit (CU) and a Distributed Unit (DU), where the CU may also be referred to as a control unit (control unit), and the structure of the CU-DU may be used to split the protocol layers of the access network device, where functions of part of the protocol layers are centrally controlled by the CU, and functions of the rest of all the protocol layers are distributed in the DU, and the DU is centrally controlled by the CU, but is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the core network device may be a device, including one or more network elements, or may be a plurality of devices or groups of devices, each including one or more network elements. The network element may be virtual or physical. The core network comprises, for example, at least one of an evolved packet core (Evolved Packet Core, EPC), a 5G core network (5G Core Network,5GCN), a next generation core (Next Generation Core, NGC).

In some embodiments, the network element is, for example, an access and mobility management function (Access and Mobility Management Function, AMF).

In some embodiments, the network element is, for example, a mobility management entity (Mobility Management Entity, MME).

In some embodiments, the network element is used for access and mobility management, such as registration management, connection management, mobility management, etc., the name is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the network element may be a network element that is independent of the core network device.

It may be understood that, the communication system described in the embodiments of the present disclosure is for more clearly describing the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure, and is not limited to the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure, and those skilled in the art may know that, with the evolution of the system architecture and the appearance of new service scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure are applicable to similar technical problems.

The embodiments of the present disclosure described below may be applied to the communication system 100 shown in fig. 1, or a part of the main body, but are not limited thereto. The respective bodies shown in fig. 1 are examples, and the communication system may include all or part of the bodies in fig. 1, or may include other bodies than fig. 1, and the number and form of the respective bodies are arbitrary, and the connection relationship between the respective bodies is examples, and the respective bodies may be not connected or may be connected, and the connection may be arbitrary, direct connection or indirect connection, or wired connection or wireless connection.

The embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to long term evolution (Long Term Evolution, LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-a), LTE-Beyond (LTE-B), upper 3G, IMT-Advanced, fourth generation mobile communication system (4th generation mobile communication system,4G)), fifth generation mobile communication system (5th generation mobile communication system,5G), 5G New air (New Radio, NR), future wireless access (Future Radio Access, FRA), new wireless access technology (New-Radio Access Technology, RAT), new wireless (New Radio, NR), new wireless access (New Radio access, NX), future generation wireless access (Future generation Radio access, FX), global System for Mobile communications (GSM (registered trademark)), CDMA2000, ultra mobile broadband (Ultra Mobile Broadband, UMB), IEEE 802.11 (registered trademark), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.20, ultra WideBand (Ultra-wide bandwidth, UWB), bluetooth (Bluetooth) mobile communication network (Public Land Mobile Network, PLMN, device-D-Device, device-M, device-M, internet of things system, internet of things (internet of things), machine-2, device-M, device-M, internet of things (internet of things), system (internet of things), internet of things 2, device (internet of things), machine (internet of things), etc. In addition, a plurality of system combinations (e.g., LTE or a combination of LTE-a and 5G, etc.) may be applied.

Fig. 2 is an interactive schematic diagram illustrating a relay discovery method according to an exemplary embodiment. As shown in fig. 2, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a relay discovery method for a communication system 100, the method comprising:

step S2101: the 1 st hop relay device transmits a first message.

In some embodiments, the 1 st hop relay device may be a terminal and/or a roadside device or the like capable of providing relay services.

In some embodiments, the 1 st hop relay device may be a ProSe-enabled terminal.

A ProSe-enabled terminal may establish direct communication with another ProSe-enabled terminal via a PC5 interface.

Note that the ProSe-capable relay device may establish direct communication with the ProSe-capable UE1 through the PC5 interface, and on the other hand, establish direct communication with the ProSe-capable UE2 through the PC5 interface, so that the UE1 and the UE2 may communicate through the relay device.

In some embodiments, the 1 st hop relay device is capable of establishing direct communication with the target terminal.

Note that the 1 st hop relay device may establish direct communication with one or more terminals, and it is understood that the 1 st hop relay device may communicate with one or more terminals over a direct link.

In some embodiments, the 1 st hop relay device transmits the first message to the next hop device.

In some embodiments, the next hop device may be an nth hop relay device and/or a source terminal; wherein n is a positive integer greater than 1.

Note that the nth hop relay device may be the next hop or hops of the 1 st hop relay device.

Illustratively, after receiving the first message sent by the 1 st hop relay device, the 2 nd hop relay device may generate a 2 nd hop first message, and send the 2 nd hop first message to the 3 rd hop relay device, where the 3 rd hop relay device sends the 3 rd hop first message to the source terminal. At this time, the next hop device of the 1 st hop relay device is the 2 nd hop relay device, and the next hop device of the 2 nd hop relay device is the 3 rd hop relay device; the next hop device of the 3 rd hop relay device is the source terminal.

Also for example, if both the 2 nd hop relay device and the source terminal are capable of receiving the first message sent by the 1 st hop relay device, the next hop device of the 1 st hop relay device may be the 2 nd hop relay device and the source terminal.

In some embodiments, an nth-hop relay device or a source terminal receives a first message sent by the 1 st-hop relay device; wherein n is a positive integer greater than 1.

In some embodiments, the 1 st hop relay device may send the first message by way of broadcast.

In some embodiments, the 1 st hop relay device may perform a mode (Model) a relay discovery operation.

In the mode a, two roles of participating in relay communication are defined, that is, a notification (reporting) device and a listening (Monitoring) device, respectively. The monitoring device is used for monitoring the information broadcast by surrounding notification devices; if the monitoring device monitors the message broadcast by the notification device, the mutual discovery between the notification device and the monitoring device is completed.

In some embodiments, the 1 st hop relay device performs a mode a relay discovery operation, which may include:

the 1 st hop relay device broadcasts a first message.

Note that in performing the mode a relay discovery operation, the 1 st hop relay device may act as a notification device broadcasting a first message for the listening device to discover the 1 st hop relay device.

In some embodiments, the first message may be a U2U relay discovery notification message (U2U Relay Discovery Announcement Massage).

In some embodiments, the first message comprises: a first field indicating a maximum number of relay hops; and a second field, indicating the relay hop count corresponding to the 1 st hop relay device.

In some embodiments, the first field indicates a maximum number of relay hops supported by the first message.

Note that the maximum relay hop count may be the maximum hop count that the first message supports forwarding. The maximum hop count of the first message supported forwarding can be understood as the maximum hop count of the information content carried by the first message supported forwarding; alternatively, the maximum number of hops supported by the first message may be understood as the maximum number of hops supported by device information of a terminal capable of being relayed by the 1 st hop relay device.

The number of relay hops corresponding to the 1 st hop relay device may indicate the number of relay hops that need to be experienced to reach the destination terminal from the 1 st hop relay device.

In some embodiments, the first field indicates a maximum number of relay devices supported by a relay path of the corresponding relay communication; the second field indicates the number of relay hops in the relay path for the 1 st hop relay device.

For example, if the source terminal can implement relay communication with the target terminal via one relay device, the relay device is the 1 st hop in the relay path of the relay communication, and the number of relay hops corresponding to the relay device is 1. If the source terminal can realize relay communication with the target terminal through a first relay device and a second relay device, the first relay device is the 2 nd hop in a relay path of the relay communication, the second relay device is the 1 st hop in the relay path of the relay communication, and the relay hop number corresponding to the first relay device is 2; the number of relay hops corresponding to the second relay device is 1.

Note that the first field in the first message may be used to indicate the maximum number of relay hops supported by the plurality of destination terminals that the 1 st hop relay device is capable of relaying; the second field in the first message may be used to indicate the number of relay hops of the 1 st hop relay device in the relay paths corresponding to the plurality of destination terminals.

In some embodiments, the first message further comprises at least one of: a third field for indicating at least a terminal capable of being relayed by the 1 st hop relay device; and a fourth field for indicating at least the 1 st hop relay device.

In some embodiments, the third field may carry device information of a terminal capable of being relayed by the 1 st hop relay device.

Here, a terminal capable of being relayed by the 1 st hop relay device may be understood as a terminal capable of being relayed by the 1 st hop relay device, that is, a terminal for which the 1 st hop relay device is capable of providing a relay service.

For example, if the 1 st hop relay device is capable of providing relay services for the terminal 1, the terminal 2, and the terminal 3, the terminal 1, the terminal 2, and the terminal 3 are devices that the 1 st hop relay device is capable of relaying; the 1 st hop relay device may carry device information of terminal 1, terminal 2, and terminal 3 in the third field.

The 1 st hop relay device communicates with the terminal 1, the terminal 2 and the terminal 3 through direct links.

In some embodiments, the terminal indicated by the third field is determined for the 1 st hop relay device based on historical relay discovery; and/or the terminal indicated by the third field is determined based on the configuration information of the 1 st hop relay device.

It should be noted that, the network device may configure one or more terminals capable of relaying for the 1 st hop relay device in advance, and the 1 st hop relay device may carry device information of the one or more terminals capable of relaying configured in advance in the third field of the first message.

The 1 st-hop relay device can also carry the device information of the terminal acquired in the previous relay discovery process or the relay communication process in the third field, so that the number of terminals which can be relayed by the 1 st-hop relay device can be effectively increased, and the relay range of the 1 st-hop relay device is enlarged.

In some embodiments, the third field carries terminal list information; the terminal list information includes device information of one or more terminals.

Note that, the device information of one or more terminals that the 1 st hop relay device can relay is carried in the terminal list information in a list form, and by carrying the terminal list information in the third field of the first message, the next hop relay device and/or the source terminal that receives the first message can determine the device information of all the terminals that the 1 st hop relay device can relay according to the terminal list information.

In some embodiments, the device information of the terminal carried in the third field may include at least one of: an equipment identifier; application layer identification.

It should be noted that the device identifier may be used to indicate the 1 st hop relay device. The application layer identification may be used to indicate a user identification of the application; for example, the application layer identification may be an application layer User information identification (User Info ID). Relay communications are typically initiated based on application layer traffic by carrying an application layer identification in a third field to indicate the user identification of the terminal that the 1 st hop relay device is capable of relaying to initiate the relay communications.

In some embodiments, the fourth field comprises at least one of: a source layer 2 identifier, configured to identify a 1 st hop relay device; the destination layer 2 identifier is used for identifying relay reception of a 1 st-hop relay device of a next-hop device for receiving the first message.

It should be noted that, the source layer 2 identifier may indicate a transmitting end of the first message, that is, the 1 st hop relay device; the destination layer 2 identifies the receiving end, i.e. the next hop device that receives the first message, that may indicate the first message. The 1 st hop relay device uses its own layer 2 identifier as a source layer 2 identifier, and uses the layer 2 identifier of the next hop relay device and/or the source terminal as a target layer 2 identifier, so as to send a 1 st hop first message to the next hop relay device and/or the source terminal. And the subsequent source terminal and/or the nth-hop relay device can establish a layer 2 connection with the 1 st-hop relay device based on the source layer 2 identifier and the destination layer 2 identifier so as to utilize the layer 2 connection to perform relay communication.

In some embodiments, the source layer 2 identifier and the target layer 2 identifier carried in the first message may be configured for the network device to be a 1 st hop relay device; alternatively, the 1 st hop relay device may be determined based on historical relay discovery.

In some embodiments, the fourth field further comprises at least one of: a source layer 3 identifier, configured to identify a 1 st hop relay device; the destination layer 3 identifier is used for identifying a next hop device for receiving the first message.

It should be noted that, the source layer 3 identifier may indicate a transmitting end of the first message, that is, the 1 st hop relay device; the destination layer 3 identifies a receiving end, i.e. a next hop device that can receive the first message, which can indicate the first message. The 1 st hop relay device uses its own layer 3 identifier as a source layer 3 identifier, and uses the layer 3 identifier of the next hop relay device and/or the source terminal as a target layer 3 identifier, so as to send a 1 st hop first message to the next hop relay device and/or the source terminal. And the subsequent source terminal and/or the nth-hop relay device can establish a layer 3 connection with the 1 st-hop relay device based on the source layer 3 identifier and the destination layer 3 identifier to utilize the layer 3 connection for relay communication.

In some embodiments, the source layer 3 identifier and the destination layer 3 identifier carried by the first message may be configured for the network device to be a 1 st hop relay device; alternatively, the 1 st hop relay device may be determined based on historical relay discovery.

In some embodiments, the 1 st hop first message further comprises at least one of: a fifth field indicating a message type of the first message of the 1 st hop; a sixth field indicating a relay service code (Relay Service Code, RSC) of the 1 st hop first message.

In some embodiments, the message type of the 1 st hop first message may include, but is not limited to: a direct discovery type, or a relay discovery type.

In some embodiments, the RSC may be used to indicate relay traffic that the 1 st hop relay device is capable of providing.

Before relay communication, both communication parties need to perform a relay discovery operation, and either communication party discovers whether a relay device capable of providing a corresponding relay communication service exists according to own relay communication service, and if the relay device capable of providing the corresponding relay communication service exists, relay communication can be realized by the relay device.

The network device may configure a mapping relationship between the relay traffic and RSCs for the 1 st hop relay device in advance, where each relay traffic corresponds to one RSC.

The 1 st hop relay device can determine the RSC corresponding to the relay communication service according to the relay communication service supported by the 1 st hop relay device, and the RSC is carried in the first message, so that the n hop relay device and/or the source terminal which receive the first message can determine the relay communication service supported by the 1 st hop relay device.

Step S2102: the nth-hop relay device generates an nth-hop first message.

In some embodiments, the nth hop relay device may be a terminal and/or a roadside device or the like capable of providing relay services.

In some embodiments, the nth hop relay device may be a ProSe-enabled terminal.

In some embodiments, an nth hop relay device receives an nth-1 hop first message sent by an nth-1 hop relay device and generates the nth hop first message based on the nth-1 hop first message.

Note that the generated nth hop first message may include some or all of the information carried by the nth-1 hop first message.

Illustratively, the 2 nd hop relay device may receive the 1 st hop first message sent by the 1 st hop relay device and generate the 2 nd hop first message according to the 1 st hop first message.

In some embodiments, the n-1 th hop relay device may be a previous hop relay device to the n-th hop relay device.

In some embodiments, an nth hop relay device may receive an nth-1 hop first message sent by one or more nth-1 hop relay devices; an nth-hop first message is generated from the plurality of nth-1 hop first messages.

Illustratively, taking a communication system including a source terminal, two target terminals, and four relay devices as an example, the relay device 1 may communicate directly with the target terminal 1, and the relay device 2 may relay communication with the target terminal 1 through the relay device 1; the relay device 3 can relay communication with the target terminal 1 through the relay device 2, the relay device 1; the relay device 4 may communicate directly with the target terminal 2, and the relay device 3 may relay communication with the target terminal 2 through the relay device 4.

The relay device 3 may receive the first message sent by the relay device 2 and the first message sent by the relay device 4, and generate the first message of the relay device 3 according to the first message of the relay device 2 and the first message sent by the relay device 4; the generated first message may indicate a relay path for relay communication with the target terminal 1 and a relay path for relay communication with the target terminal 2.

In some embodiments, an nth hop relay device receives a first message sent by a previous n-1 hop relay device; generating an nth-hop first message according to the first message sent by the first n-1 hop relay device.

Illustratively, the 3 rd hop relay device may receive the 1 st hop first message sent by the 1 st hop relay device and the 2 nd hop relay device sent by the 2 nd hop relay device, and generate the 3 rd hop first message according to the 1 st hop first message and the 2 nd hop first message.

In some embodiments, the first n-1 hop relay device may be a previous hop or multi-hop relay device of the nth hop relay device.

In some embodiments, the nth hop relay device may perform a mode (Model) a relay discovery operation.

In some embodiments, the nth hop relay device performs a mode a relay discovery operation, which may include:

Listening for a first message broadcast by one or more relay devices.

Note that, in the process of executing the mode a relay discovery operation, the nth-hop relay device may be used as a monitoring device to monitor the first message broadcasted by the peripheral relay devices; the n-th hop relay device monitors the first message broadcast by the relay device, and can be considered to complete the mutual discovery between the n-th hop relay device and the relay device. The discovered relay device may be considered as a previous hop relay device of the nth hop relay device, i.e., the n-1 hop relay device.

In some embodiments, the n-1 th hop first message includes a first field and a second field; the first field is used for indicating the maximum relay hop count; and the second field is used for indicating the relay hop number corresponding to the n-1 hop relay equipment.

Note that the maximum number of relay hops indicated by the first field of the n-1 th hop first message may be the maximum number of hops that the n-1 th hop first message supports forwarding.

The maximum hop count supported by the n-1 hop first message can be understood as the maximum hop count supported by the information content carried by the n-1 hop first message; alternatively, the maximum number of hops supported by the n-1 th hop first message may be understood as the maximum number of hops supported by device information of a terminal capable of being relayed by the n-1 th hop relay device.

In some embodiments, the nth hop relay device determines the number of relay hops corresponding to the nth hop relay device according to the second field of the nth-1 hop first message.

In some embodiments, the nth-hop relay device may add 1 to the number of relay hops corresponding to the nth-1 hop relay device indicated by the second field of the nth-1 hop first message, to obtain the number of relay hops corresponding to the nth-hop relay device.

Note that the number of relay hops corresponding to the nth-hop relay device may indicate the number of relay hops that need to be experienced to reach the destination terminal from the nth-hop relay device.

In some embodiments, the number of relay hops corresponding to the nth hop relay device may indicate the number of relay hops of the nth hop relay device in the relay path.

In some embodiments, generating the nth-hop first message from the nth-1 st-hop first message includes:

and when the relay hop count corresponding to the nth hop relay equipment is smaller than or equal to the maximum relay hop count, generating an nth hop first message according to the nth-1 hop first message.

Note that if the number of relay hops corresponding to the nth hop relay device is less than or equal to the maximum number of relay hops, the nth hop first message may be generated according to the nth-1 hop first message; if the number of the relay hops corresponding to the nth hop relay equipment is larger than the maximum number of the relay hops, the nth hop relay equipment cannot provide relay service for the target terminal.

In some embodiments, the generated nth hop first message comprises: a first field and a second field; the first field indicates a maximum number of relay hops; and the second field is used for indicating the relay hop number corresponding to the nth-hop relay equipment.

Note that the maximum number of relay hops indicated by the first field of the nth hop first message may be the maximum number of hops that the nth hop first message supports forwarding.

The maximum hop count of the first message supporting forwarding of the nth hop can be understood as the maximum hop count of the information content carried by the first message supporting forwarding of the nth hop; alternatively, the maximum number of hops supported by the nth-hop first message may be understood as the maximum number of hops supported by device information of a terminal capable of being relayed by the nth-hop relay device.

In some embodiments, generating an nth hop first message from a first message sent by a first n-1 hop relay device includes:

according to a second field in a plurality of first messages sent by the previous n-1 hop relay equipment, determining a first message corresponding to the second field with the least number of the relay hops as an nth-1 hop first message;

an nth hop first message is generated from the nth-1 st hop first message.

Note that if the nth hop relay device can receive the first message sent by the previous hop or the multi-hop relay device, the first message indicating the minimum number of relay hops can be determined according to the second fields of the first messages, the first message indicating the minimum number of relay hops is used as the nth-1 hop first message, and the nth hop first message is generated according to the nth-1 hop first message.

Illustratively, taking a communication system including a source terminal, a target terminal, and three relay devices as an example, the relay device 1 may communicate directly with the target terminal, and the relay device 2 may relay communication with the target terminal through the relay device 1; the relay device 3 may relay communication with the target terminal through the relay device 2 and the relay device 1, and the source terminal may directly communicate with the relay device 3.

The relay device 3 may receive the first messages sent by the relay device 1 and the relay device 2; the relay path illustrating relay communication between the source terminal and the target terminal includes: the first path: source terminal-relay device 3-relay device 2-relay device 1-target terminal; the second path: source terminal-relay device 3-relay device 1-target terminal.

The relay device 3 may generate the first message of the relay device 3 from the first message indicating the minimum number of relay hops (i.e., the first message transmitted by the relay device 1). In this way, the relay path of the relay communication between the source terminal and the target terminal may be the source terminal-relay device 3-relay device 1-target terminal.

In some embodiments, the n-1 th hop first message further comprises a third field indicating a terminal capable of being relayed by the previous n-1 hop relay device;

The generating the nth-hop first message according to the nth-1 st-hop first message comprises the following steps:

when the relay hop count corresponding to the nth hop relay equipment is smaller than or equal to the maximum relay hop count, generating an nth hop first message according to a third field of the nth-1 hop first message; a third field within the nth hop first message indicates a terminal capable of being relayed by a previous n hop relay device.

In some embodiments, a third field within the nth hop first message may carry device information for a terminal that can be relayed by the previous n hop relay device.

Here, the terminals that the former n-hop relay device can relay may include terminals that the nth-hop relay device can relay and terminals that the former n-1-hop relay device can relay.

A terminal that can be relayed by the nth-hop relay device can be understood as a terminal that the nth-hop relay device supports direct communication. If the number of the relay hops corresponding to the nth hop relay device is less than or equal to the maximum number of relay hops, the nth hop relay device can continuously forward the device information of the terminal which can be relayed by the nth-1 hop relay device; and therefore can be added to the third field of the nth-hop first message according to the device information of the terminal which can be relayed by the previous n-1 hop relay device carried in the third field of the nth-1 hop first message.

In some embodiments, the terminal that the nth-hop relay device can relay may be a terminal that the network device pre-configures for the nth-hop relay device, and/or the terminal that the nth-hop relay device can relay may be a terminal that the nth-hop relay device determines based on historical relay discovery.

In some embodiments, generating the nth hop first message from the third field of the nth-1 hop first message includes:

and if the device information of the terminal capable of being relayed by the previous n-1 hop relay device is not carried by the third field of the nth hop first message, adding the device information of the terminal capable of being relayed by the previous n-1 hop relay device to the third field of the nth hop first message.

Illustratively, if the third field of the n-1 th hop first message carries the device information of the terminal 1, the terminal 2 and the terminal 3, the third field of the n-th hop first message carries the device information of the terminal 2, the terminal 3 and the terminal 4, and the n-th hop relay device may add the device information of the terminal 1 to the third field of the n-th hop first message to generate the n-th hop first message.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises:

when the number of the relay hops corresponding to the nth-hop relay equipment is larger than the maximum number of the relay hops, generating an nth-hop first message according to a terminal which can be relayed by the nth-hop relay equipment; a third field within the nth hop first message indicates a terminal that the nth hop relay device is capable of relaying.

In some embodiments, the third field of the nth-hop first message may carry only device information of terminals that the nth-hop relay device is capable of relaying. Note that, when the number of relay hops corresponding to the nth-hop relay device is greater than the maximum number of relay hops, it is indicated that the nth-hop relay device cannot continue forwarding the device information of the terminal that the previous n-1-hop relay device can relay; the nth-hop first message may be generated according to a terminal that the nth-hop relay device is capable of relaying. And the third field in the first message of the nth hop only carries the device information of the terminal which can be relayed by the relay device of the nth hop.

It should be noted that the device identifier may be used to indicate the first n-hop relay device. The application layer identification may be used to indicate a user identification of the application; for example, the application layer identification may be an application layer User information identification (User Info ID). Relay communications are typically initiated based on application layer traffic by carrying an application layer identification in a third field to indicate to the terminal that the previous n-hop relay device can relay the user identification of the relay communication.

In some embodiments, the nth hop first message further comprises a fourth field indicating an nth hop relay device.

In some embodiments, the fourth field may carry device information for the nth hop relay device.

In some embodiments, the fourth field also indicates an n-1 hop relay device.

In some embodiments, the fourth field may also carry device information for the n-1 hop relay device.

It can be understood that, by carrying the device information of the nth hop relay device and the device information of the n-1 th hop relay device in the fourth field of the nth hop first message, after the subsequent source terminal receives the nth hop first message, the relay device included in the relay path of the relay communication can be determined according to the fourth field of the nth hop first message.

In some embodiments, the fourth field of the nth hop first message includes at least one of:

a source layer 2 identifier, configured to identify an nth-hop relay device; destination layer 2 identification for identifying a next hop device that receives the nth hop first message.

It should be noted that, the source layer 2 identifier may indicate a transmitting end of the first message of the nth hop, that is, the nth hop relay device; the destination layer 2 identifies a receiving end, i.e. a next hop device that receives the nth hop first message, that may indicate the nth hop first message. The n-th hop relay device uses its own layer 2 identifier as a source layer 2 identifier, and uses the layer 2 identifier of the next hop relay device and/or the source terminal as a target layer 2 identifier, so as to send the n-th hop first message to the next hop relay device and/or the source terminal. And the subsequent source terminal and/or the n+1th hop relay device can establish a layer 2 connection with the nth hop relay device based on the source layer 2 identifier and the destination layer 2 identifier to utilize the layer 2 connection for relay communication.

In some embodiments, the source layer 2 identifier and the target layer 2 identifier carried by the nth-hop first message may be configured for the network device to be an nth-hop relay device; alternatively, the nth hop relay device may be determined based on the historical relay discovery.

In some embodiments, the fourth field further comprises at least one of: a source layer 3 identifier, configured to identify an nth-hop relay device; the destination layer 3 identifies a next hop device that receives the nth hop first message.

It should be noted that, the source layer 3 identifier may indicate a transmitting end of the first message of the nth hop, that is, the nth hop relay device; the destination layer 3 identifies a receiving end, i.e. a next hop device that can indicate the nth hop first message, that receives the nth hop first message. The n-th hop relay device uses its own layer 3 identifier as a source layer 3 identifier, and uses the layer 3 identifier of the next hop relay device and/or the source terminal as a target layer 3 identifier, so as to send the n-th hop first message to the next hop relay device and/or the source terminal. And the subsequent source terminal and/or the n+1th hop relay device can establish a layer 3 connection with the nth hop relay device based on the source layer 3 identifier and the destination layer 3 identifier to utilize the layer 3 connection for relay communication.

In some embodiments, the source layer 3 identifier and the target layer 3 identifier carried by the nth-hop first message may be configured for the network device to be an nth-hop relay device; alternatively, the nth hop relay device may be determined based on the historical relay discovery.

In some embodiments, the nth hop first message further comprises at least one of: a fifth field indicating a message type of the nth hop first message; a sixth field indicating a relay service code (Relay Service Code, RSC) of the nth hop first message.

In some embodiments, the message type of the nth hop first message may include, but is not limited to: a direct discovery type, or a relay discovery type.

In some embodiments, the RSC may be used to indicate relay traffic that the nth hop relay device is capable of providing.

The network device may configure in advance a mapping relationship between the relay traffic and RSCs for the nth hop relay device, each of the relay traffic corresponding to one RSC.

The nth hop relay device can determine the RSC corresponding to the relay communication service according to the relay communication service supported by the nth hop relay device, and the RSC is carried in the first message of the nth hop, so that the (n+1) hop relay device and/or the source terminal which receive the first message of the nth hop can determine the relay communication service supported by the nth hop relay device.

Step S2103: the nth-hop relay device transmits an nth-hop first message.

In some embodiments, the nth hop relay device transmits an nth hop first message to the source terminal and/or the n+1 hop relay device.

In some embodiments, the source terminal and/or the n+1th hop relay device receives an nth hop first message sent by the nth hop relay device.

In some embodiments, the nth hop relay device transmits the nth hop first message in a broadcast manner.

the nth hop relay device broadcasts an nth hop first message.

In performing the mode a relay discovery operation, the nth hop relay device may serve as a notification device broadcasting an nth hop first message for the listening device to discover the nth hop relay device.

Note that in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the nth hop relay device may be used as a monitoring device in the mode a relay discovery process to monitor the nth-1 hop first message broadcasted by the nth-1 hop relay device; and the method can be used as a notification device in the mode A relay discovery process, and the first message of the nth hop is broadcasted so that a monitoring device (a source terminal or the (n+1) th hop relay device) discovers the nth hop relay device, thereby realizing multi-hop U2U relay discovery supporting the mode A.

Step S2104: the source terminal selects a relay path for relaying the communication.

In some embodiments, the source terminal may be a terminal capable of using a relay service.

In some embodiments, the source terminal may be a ProSe-enabled terminal.

In some embodiments, the source terminal may perform a relay discovery operation to discover one or more relay devices.

It will be appreciated that the source terminal may forward the data packets sent by the source terminal to the destination terminal via the relay device by performing a relay discovery operation to discover one or more relay devices. Note that the source terminal is capable of direct communication with the discovered relay device or devices.

In some embodiments, if the source terminal discovers a plurality of relay devices after performing the relay discovery operation, one relay device is selected from the plurality of relay devices, and the relay device is used as a relay device for relaying and forwarding for the source device.

In some embodiments, the source terminal may perform a mode (Model) a relay discovery operation.

In some embodiments, the source terminal performs a mode a relay discovery operation, which may include:

the source terminal monitors a first message broadcast by the relay device.

Note that, in the process of executing the mode a relay discovery operation, the source terminal may serve as a monitoring device, and monitor the first message broadcast by the relay device; the source terminal monitors the first message sent by the one or more relay devices, and can consider that the mutual discovery between the source terminal and the relay devices is completed.

In some embodiments, the source terminal may monitor the first message broadcast by the relay device within a preset time window.

In some embodiments, the source terminal selects a relay path to relay communications based on the first message.

In some embodiments, the source terminal may select a relay path for relaying communications with the target terminal based on the first message.

In some embodiments, the source terminal receives one or more first messages; and selecting a relay path for relay communication with the target terminal according to the first message.

In some embodiments, if the source terminal receives a first message, it is determined whether to use the relay device as a relay device for relaying communication with the target terminal according to the first message.

The first message includes a third field, where the third field is used to indicate a terminal that can be relayed by the relay device. According to the third field in the first message, it may be determined whether the target terminal belongs to a terminal capable of providing the relay service by the relay device, and if the target terminal belongs to a terminal capable of providing the relay service by the relay device, the relay device may be selected as the relay device to be accessed.

In some embodiments, the source terminal may receive a plurality of first messages, and select a relay path for relaying communication with the target terminal based on the plurality of first messages.

The source terminal may determine, from the plurality of relay devices, a relay device capable of providing a relay service for communication between the source terminal and the target terminal according to the third field in the first message, and select a relay path for relaying communication with the target terminal.

In some embodiments, if only one relay device is determined to be capable of providing relay service for communication between the source terminal and the target terminal according to the third fields of the received first messages, the relay device is selected as the relay device to be accessed.

In some embodiments, if it is determined, according to the third field of the received plurality of first messages, that the plurality of relay devices are capable of providing relay services for communications between the source terminal and the target terminal, the relay path for relaying the communications may be selected by at least one of:

The source terminal can select a relay device corresponding to a second field with the least relay hop number according to the second field in the first message to perform relay communication; the source terminal may select, according to the signal strength of the received first message, a relay device corresponding to the first message with the maximum signal strength as the relay device to be accessed.

It should be noted that, based on the third fields of the plurality of first messages, there may be a plurality of determined relay devices capable of relaying communications with the target terminal; in this case, it is necessary to select a relay device to be accessed from a plurality of relay devices.

In the relay path selection process, the source terminal can select based on the principle of minimum hop count; that is, the source terminal may select, according to the second fields in the plurality of first messages, a relay device corresponding to the second field indicating that the relay hop count is the smallest as the relay device to be accessed.

Note that the source terminal may select, as the relay device to be accessed, the relay device corresponding to the second field indicating the minimum number of hops, so as to reduce the number of relay devices in the relay path as much as possible while implementing communication between the source terminal and the target terminal, so as to reduce the transmission delay and improve the data transmission rate.

Alternatively, the source terminal may choose based on the principle of the strongest signal; that is, the source terminal may select, according to the signal strengths of the received plurality of first messages, a relay device corresponding to the first message with the largest signal strength as the relay device to be accessed.

Note that if the signal strength of a certain received first message is weak, it indicates that the communication quality between the source terminal and the relay device corresponding to the first message is poor, which may affect the communication between the source terminal and the target terminal. Therefore, the relay device corresponding to the first message with the maximum signal strength can be selected as the relay device to be accessed, so that the communication quality of the source terminal and the target terminal can be effectively ensured.

Or, the source terminal may select the relay device to be accessed according to the received signal strengths of the plurality of first messages and the second fields in the plurality of first messages.

Note that the source terminal may take into account both the signal strength and the number of hops already traversed when selecting the relay device to be accessed.

For example, when determining, according to the second field, a relay device corresponding to the second field with the smallest number of hops, a relay device with the largest signal strength may be selected as the relay device to be accessed according to the signal strength of the first message corresponding to the plurality of relay devices.

For another example, when determining, according to the signal strength of the received first message, the relay device corresponding to the first message with the largest signal strength, a relay device with the smallest relay hop number may be selected as the relay device to be accessed according to the second field in the first message with the largest signal strength.

In some embodiments, the term "information" may be interchangeable with terms of "message", "signal", "signaling", "report", "configuration", "indication", "instruction", "command", "channel", "parameter", "field", "data", etc.

In some embodiments, the term "send" may be interchangeable with terms of "transmit," "report," "transmit," and the like.

The relay discovery method according to the embodiment of the present disclosure may include at least one of step S2101 to step S2104. For example, step S2101 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S2102 to step S2104 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step S2101 and step S2104 may be implemented as independent embodiments, but are not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, step S2102, step S2103, step S2104 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments. It can be appreciated that when the relay communication service supported by the 1 st hop relay device is different from the relay communication service required by the n hop relay device and/or the source terminal, the n hop relay device and/or the source terminal will not discover the 1 st hop relay device.

In some embodiments, step S2101 is optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments. It may be appreciated that the n-1 th hop relay device is not found in the n hop relay device, and the n hop relay device may generate the n hop first message according to the terminal that the n hop relay device is capable of relaying, and send the n hop first message.

In some embodiments, steps S2102, S2103 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments. It may be appreciated that in a single hop relay communication system, a source terminal may receive a first message of a 1 st hop relay device, determine a relay path for relaying communication.

Fig. 3A is a flow diagram illustrating a relay discovery method according to an example embodiment. As shown in fig. 3A, an embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a relay discovery method performed by a first relay device 1021, the method including:

step S3101: and sending the first message of the 1 st hop.

In some embodiments, the first relay device may be a 1 st hop relay device.

In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S3101 may refer to the optional implementation of step S2101 of fig. 2, and other relevant parts in the embodiment related to fig. 2, which are not described herein.

Fig. 3B is a flow diagram illustrating a relay discovery method according to an example embodiment. As shown in fig. 3B, an embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a relay discovery method performed by a first relay device 1021, the method including:

step S3201: sending a first message; the first message includes:

a first field indicating a maximum number of relay hops;

In some embodiments, the first message further comprises at least one of:

And a fourth field, at least for indicating the 1 st hop relay device.

In some embodiments, the fourth field comprises at least one of:

a source layer 2 identifier, configured to identify the 1 st hop relay device;

the destination layer 2 identity is used to identify the next hop device that receives the first message.

Fig. 3C is a flow diagram illustrating a relay discovery method according to an example embodiment. As shown in fig. 3C, an embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a relay discovery method performed by a second relay device 1022, the method including:

step S3301: a first message is received.

In some embodiments, the second relay device may be an nth hop relay device, n being a positive integer greater than 1.

In some embodiments, the nth-hop relay device receives a 1 st-hop first message sent by the 1 st-hop relay device. In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S3301 may refer to the optional implementation of step S2101 of fig. 2, and other relevant parts in the embodiment related to fig. 2, which are not described herein.

In some embodiments, an nth hop relay device receives an nth-1 hop first message sent by an nth-1 hop relay device.

In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S3301 may refer to the optional implementation of step S2103 in fig. 2, and other relevant parts in the embodiment related to fig. 2, which are not described herein.

Step S3302: an nth hop first message is generated.

In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S3302 may refer to the optional implementation of step S2102 in fig. 2, and other relevant parts in the embodiment related to fig. 2, which are not described herein.

Step S3303: and sending the first message of the nth hop.

In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S3303 may refer to the optional implementation of step S2103 in fig. 2, and other relevant parts in the embodiment related to fig. 2, which are not described herein.

The relay discovery method according to the embodiment of the present disclosure may include at least one of step S3301 to step S3303. For example, step S3302 in combination with step S3303 may be implemented as a separate embodiment, but is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, step S3301 is optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments. It will be appreciated that when the relay service provided by the n-1 th hop relay device is different from the relay service required by the n-1 th hop relay device, the n-1 th hop relay device will not be found by the n-1 th hop relay device, that is, the n-1 th hop relay device will not receive the n-1 th hop first message.

Fig. 3D is a flow diagram illustrating a relay discovery method according to an example embodiment. As shown in fig. 3D, an embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a relay discovery method performed by a second relay device 1022, the method including:

step S3401: an n-1 th hop first message is received.

In some embodiments, the n-1 th hop first message includes a first field and a second field; the first field is used for indicating the maximum relay hop count; the second field is used for indicating the relay hop number corresponding to the n-1 hop relay equipment; and n is a positive integer greater than 1.

Step S3402: and determining the relay hop number corresponding to the nth hop relay equipment according to the second field of the nth-1 hop first message.

Step S3403: and when the relay hop count corresponding to the nth hop relay equipment is smaller than or equal to the maximum relay hop count, generating an nth hop first message according to the nth-1 hop first message.

In some embodiments, the nth hop first message includes a first field and a second field, the first field of the nth hop first message indicating a maximum number of relay hops; and the second field of the nth-hop first message is used for indicating the relay hop number corresponding to the nth-hop relay equipment.

In some embodiments, the n-1 th hop first message further comprises a third field; the third field indicates a terminal capable of being relayed by the previous n-1 hop relay device;

In some embodiments, the nth hop first message further comprises a fourth field; the fourth field indicates an nth hop relay device.

a source layer 2 identifier, configured to identify the nth-hop relay device;

destination layer 2 identification for identifying a next hop device that receives the nth hop first message.

In some embodiments, the determining, according to the second field of the first message of the nth-1 hop, the number of relay hops corresponding to the nth-hop relay device includes:

In some embodiments, the method further comprises:

The nth-hop relay device transmits an nth-hop first message.

Fig. 4A is a flow diagram illustrating a relay discovery method according to an example embodiment. As shown in fig. 4A, an embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a relay discovery method performed by a source terminal 1011, the method including:

step S4101: the source terminal receives the first message.

In some embodiments, the source terminal receives the 1 st hop first message.

In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S4101 may refer to the optional implementation of step S2101 of fig. 2, and other relevant parts in the embodiment related to fig. 2, which are not described herein.

In some embodiments, the source terminal receives the nth hop first message.

In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S4101 may refer to the optional implementation of step S2103 of fig. 2, and other relevant parts in the embodiment related to fig. 2, which are not described herein.

Step S4102: the source terminal selects a relay path for relaying the communication.

In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S4102 may refer to the optional implementation of step S2104 of fig. 2, and other relevant parts in the embodiment related to fig. 2, which are not described herein.

Fig. 4B is a flow diagram illustrating a relay discovery method according to an example embodiment. As shown in fig. 4B, an embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a relay discovery method performed by a source terminal 1011, the method including:

step S4201: the source terminal receives the first message.

In some embodiments, the first message comprises: a first field indicating a maximum number of relay hops; and a second field indicating the relay hop count corresponding to the relay device.

Step S4202: and selecting a relay path for relaying the communication according to the first message.

In some embodiments, selecting a relay path for relaying the communication based on the first message includes at least one of:

Fig. 5 is an interactive schematic diagram illustrating a relay discovery method according to an exemplary embodiment. As shown in fig. 5, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a relay discovery method for a communication system 100, the method comprising one of the following steps:

Step S5101: the 1 st hop relay device sends a first message;

step S5102: the nth hop relay device receives the nth-1 hop first message.

Step S5103: the nth-hop relay device generates an nth-hop first message.

In some embodiments, the nth-hop relay device determines the number of relay hops corresponding to the nth-hop relay device according to the second field of the nth-1 hop first message; and when the relay hop count corresponding to the nth hop relay equipment is smaller than or equal to the maximum relay hop count, generating an nth hop first message according to the nth-1 hop first message.

In some embodiments, the first field of the nth hop first message indicates a maximum number of relay hops; the second field of the first message of the nth hop is used for indicating the relay hop number corresponding to the relay equipment of the nth hop;

step S5104: the source terminal selects a relay path for relaying the communication.

In some embodiments, the source terminal receives a first message sent by one or more relay devices, and selects a relay path for relaying communications according to the first message.

In some embodiments, the method may include the method of the embodiments of the communication system side, the first relay device side, the second relay device side, the source terminal side, and the like, which are not described herein again.

As shown in fig. 6A, fig. 6A is a schematic flow diagram illustrating a method of U2U discovery of mode a according to an exemplary embodiment. The U2U discovery method of the mode A comprises the following steps:

step 1, the U2U relay discovers that other UEs are nearby.

The U2U relay may obtain the user information IDs of other UEs in the vicinity from the RSC.

And step 2, the U2U relay transmits a U2U relay discovery notification message.

The U2U relay discovery notification message includes: the type of message, the user information ID of the U2U relay, the RSC, and the user information list of the destination terminal.

In some embodiments, the U2U relayed L2 ID is the source L2 ID of the relay discovery notification message.

Note that the U2U relay should only notify the user information IDs of other UEs in the vicinity; the UE is assigned a relay indication (relay _ indication) when previously discovered.

The target UE monitors the relay discovery notification message from the U2U relay, and the L2 ID of the target UE is the target L2 ID of the relay discovery notification message.

Note that the U2U discovery method of pattern a described above is applicable to only single hops, and does not support multiple hops. There is no method of multiple U2U relay discovery supporting mode a.

In some embodiments, mode a multi-hop U2U relay discovery is supported by adding a maximum allowed hop count (maxallowedwaps) and an already experienced hop count (hopindex) in the relay discovery notification message.

The maximum allowable hop count is used for indicating the maximum hop count which can be forwarded by the user information of the target UE (end UE); the number of hops has been experienced to indicate the number of relay hops to reach the end UE.

In some embodiments, each U2U relay supporting mode a further comprises: storing a target list of other target UE; a target list comprising:

(1) User information ID of the target End UE;

(2) The number of hops has been experienced; for example, if the value of the number of hops has been experienced as 1, it is stated that the target End UE can be reached by 1 hop (i.e., by one U2U relay); if the value of the number of already experienced hops is 0 or the number of already experienced hops is empty, it is indicated that the target End UE can be reached directly without going through the U2U relay.

(3) The maximum allowed hop count indicates the maximum hop count that the user information ID of the target End UE allows forwarding.

(4) Previous hop information.

As shown in fig. 6B, fig. 6B is a second flowchart illustrating a method of U2U discovery in mode a according to an exemplary embodiment. The method comprises the following steps:

step 0, configuring service authorization or parameters to support multi-hop.

Service grants or parameters from the policy control function (Policy Control Function, PCF) may be configured for the source UE, U2U relay 1, U2U relay 2, and U2U relay 3 to support multi-hops of the U2U relay.

Step 1, the U2U relay 3 sends a U2U relay discovery notification message.

The U2U relay 3 has the target list of other End UEs and sends a U2U relay discovery notification message.

In some embodiments, the U2U relay 3 may send the U2U relay discovery notification message by way of broadcasting.

In some embodiments, the U2U relay discovery notification message includes: the type of message, the user information ID of the U2U relay 3, the RSC and the destination list of End UEs.

The user information ID of each End UE in the target list corresponds to the number of hops that have been experienced, the maximum allowed number of hops, and the information of the previous hop U2U relay.

If the End UE can be reached directly without going through the U2U relay, the previous hop information of the End UE may be null or the previous hop information is 0.

In some embodiments, the target list of U2U relay 3 may include one or more End UEs, including, for each End UE:

(1) User information ID of End UE;

(2) The number of hops has been experienced; for example, if the value of the number of hops has been experienced as 1, it is stated that the End UE can be reached by 1 hop (i.e. by one U2U relay); if the value of the number of already experienced hops is 0 or the number of already experienced hops is empty, it is stated that the End UE can be reached directly without going through the U2U relay.

(3) The maximum allowed hop count indicates the maximum hop count that the user information ID of the End UE allows forwarding. For example, the maximum allowable hop count is 3.

(4) Previous hop information indicating the user information ID of the previous hop relay.

Step 2, the U2U relay 2 updates the target list of the U2U relay 2 based on the target list in the received U2U relay discovery notification message.

In some embodiments, updating the target list for U2U relay 2 includes:

if the number of the already-experienced hops of the End UE in the received target list plus 1 is still smaller than or equal to the maximum allowable hops of the End UE, adding the information of the End UE into the target list of the U2U relay 2; the added information of the End UE includes: user information ID, maximum allowed hop count, already experienced hop count for End UE; previous hop information;

if the number of the already-experienced hops of the End UE in the received target list is increased by 1 and is larger than the maximum allowed hops of the End UE, the information of the End UE is not added into the target list of the U2U relay 2.

In some embodiments, if the received multiple target lists have the same End UE, the information of the End UE in the target list with smaller number of hops is selected to be added to the target list of the U2U relay 2.

For example, the target list updated by U2U relay 2 includes:

(1) User information ID of End UE.

(2) The number of hops has been experienced; for example, if the number of hops has been traversed plus 1 equals 2, it is stated that the End UE can be reached by two hops (i.e., through one U2U relay 3 and U2U relay 2).

(4) The previous hop information indicates the user information ID of the previous hop relay, i.e., the user information ID of the U2U relay 3.

And 3, the U2U relay 2 sends a U2U relay discovery notification message.

Note that the updated target list carried by the U2U relay discovery notification message sent by the U2U relay 2.

Step 4, the U2U relay 1 updates the target list of the U2U relay 1 based on the target list in the received U2U relay discovery notification message.

For example, the target list updated by the U2U relay 1 includes:

(1) User information ID of End UE.

(2) The number of hops has been experienced; for example, if the number of hops has been traversed plus 1 equals 3, it is stated that the End UE may be reached by three hops (i.e., by one U2U relay 3, U2U relay 2, and U2U relay 1).

(4) The previous hop information indicates the user information ID of the previous hop relay, i.e., the user information ID of the U2U relay 2.

Step 5, the U2U relay 1 sends a U2U relay discovery notification message.

Note that the updated target list carried by the U2U relay discovery notification message sent by the U2U relay 1.

And 6, the source UE receives the plurality of U2U relay discovery notification messages and selects a first-hop relay.

The source UE selects a first hop relay according to the target list and the target End UE in the plurality of U2U relay discovery notification messages.

In some embodiments, the source UE may select the relay corresponding to the target list that has experienced the smallest number of hops as the first hop relay.

The embodiments of the present disclosure also provide an apparatus for implementing any of the above methods, for example, an apparatus is provided, where the apparatus includes a unit or a module configured to implement each step performed by the source terminal in any of the above methods. As another example, another apparatus is provided that includes a unit or module to implement the steps performed by the relay device (e.g., the first relay device, the second relay device, etc.) in any of the above methods.

It should be understood that the division of each unit or module in the above apparatus is merely a division of a logic function, and may be fully or partially integrated into one physical entity or may be physically separated when actually implemented. Furthermore, units or modules in the apparatus may be implemented in the form of processor-invoked software: the device comprises, for example, a processor, which is connected to a memory, in which instructions are stored, the processor calling the instructions stored in the memory to implement any of the above methods or to implement the functions of the units or modules of the device, wherein the processor is, for example, a general-purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (Central Processing Unit, CPU) or microprocessor, and the memory is a memory within the device or a memory external to the device. Alternatively, the units or modules in the apparatus may be implemented in the form of hardware circuits, and part or all of the functions of the units or modules may be implemented by designing hardware circuits, which may be understood as one or more processors; for example, in one implementation, the hardware circuit is an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and the functions of some or all of the units or modules are implemented by designing the logic relationships of elements in the circuit; for another example, in another implementation, the above hardware circuit may be implemented by a programmable logic device (programmable logic device, PLD), for example, a field programmable gate array (Field Programmable Gate Array, FPGA), which may include a large number of logic gates, and the connection relationship between the logic gates is configured by a configuration file, so as to implement the functions of some or all of the above units or modules. All units or modules of the above device may be realized in the form of invoking software by a processor, or in the form of hardware circuits, or in part in the form of invoking software by a processor, and in the rest in the form of hardware circuits.

In the disclosed embodiment, the processor is a circuit with signal processing capability, and in one implementation, the processor may be a circuit with instruction reading and running capability, such as a central processing unit (Central Processing Unit, CPU), microprocessor, graphics processor (graphics processing unit, GPU) (which may be understood as a microprocessor), or digital signal processor (digital signal processor, DSP), etc.; in another implementation, the processor may implement a function through a logical relationship of hardware circuits that are fixed or reconfigurable, e.g., a hardware circuit implemented as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a programmable logic device (programmable logic device, PLD), such as an FPGA. In the reconfigurable hardware circuit, the processor loads the configuration document, and the process of implementing the configuration of the hardware circuit may be understood as a process of loading instructions by the processor to implement the functions of some or all of the above units or modules. Furthermore, a hardware circuit designed for artificial intelligence may be used, which may be understood as an ASIC, such as a neural network processing unit (Neural Network Processing Unit, NPU), tensor processing unit (Tensor Processing Unit, TPU), deep learning processing unit (Deep learning Processing Unit, DPU), etc.

Fig. 7A is a schematic structural diagram of a first relay device according to an exemplary embodiment. As shown in fig. 7A, the first relay apparatus 1021 includes: a first transmitting module 1021a configured to transmit a first message to a next hop device; the first message includes: a first field indicating a maximum number of relay hops; and a second field, indicating the relay hop count corresponding to the 1 st hop relay device. Optionally, the first transmitting module 1021a is configured to perform steps related to transmission performed by the first relay device in any of the above methods, which are not described herein. Optionally, the first relay device 1021 further includes a receiving module, where the receiving module is configured to perform the steps related to receiving performed by the first relay device in any of the above methods, which are not described herein.

Fig. 7B is a schematic diagram showing a structure of a second relay apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment. As shown in fig. 7B, the second relay apparatus 1022 includes: a first receiving module 1022a configured to receive the n-1 th hop first message; the n-1 th hop first message includes a first field and a second field; the first field is used for indicating the maximum relay hop count; the second field is used for indicating the relay hop number corresponding to the n-1 hop relay equipment; n is a positive integer greater than 1; a first processing module 1022b configured to determine, according to the second field of the n-1 th hop first message, a relay hop count corresponding to the n-th hop relay device; when the relay hop count corresponding to the nth hop relay equipment is smaller than or equal to the maximum relay hop count, generating an nth hop first message according to an nth-1 hop first message; a first field of the nth hop first message indicates a maximum number of relay hops; and the second field of the nth-hop first message is used for indicating the relay hop number corresponding to the nth-hop relay equipment. Optionally, the first receiving module 1022a is configured to perform steps related to information reception performed by the second relay device in any one of the above relay discovery methods, which are not described herein. Optionally, the first processing module 1022b is configured to perform steps related to information processing performed by the second relay device in any of the foregoing relay discovery methods, which are not described herein. Optionally, the first relay device 1021 further includes a sending module, where the sending module is configured to perform steps related to information sending performed by the second relay device in any of the foregoing relay discovery methods, which are not described herein.

Fig. 7C is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure of a source terminal according to an exemplary embodiment. As shown in fig. 7C, the source terminal 1011 includes: a second receiving module 1011a configured to receive the first message; the first message includes: a first field indicating a maximum number of relay hops; a second field indicating a relay hop count corresponding to the relay device; the second processing module 1011b is configured to select a relay path for relaying communication according to the first message. Optionally, the second receiving module 1011a is configured to perform the steps related to information reception performed by the source terminal in any of the above relay discovery methods, which are not described herein. Optionally, the second processing module 1011b is configured to perform steps related to information processing performed by the source terminal in any of the above relay discovery methods, which are not described herein.

Fig. 8A is a schematic diagram of a communication device 8100, according to an exemplary embodiment. The communication device 8100 may be a network device (e.g., an access network device, a core network device, etc.), a terminal (e.g., a user device, etc.), a chip system, a processor, etc. that supports the network device to implement any of the above methods, or a chip, a chip system, a processor, etc. that supports the terminal to implement any of the above relay discovery methods. The communication device 8100 may be used to implement the relay discovery method described in the above method embodiments, and specific reference may be made to the description in the above method embodiments.

As shown in fig. 8A, communication device 8100 includes one or more processors 8101. The processor 8101 may be a general-purpose processor or a special-purpose processor, etc., and may be, for example, a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor may be used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processor may be used to control communication devices (e.g., base stations, baseband chips, terminal devices, terminal device chips, DUs or CUs, etc.), execute programs, and process data for the programs. The processor 8101 is operable to invoke instructions to cause the communication device 8100 to perform any of the relay discovery methods described above.

In some embodiments, communication device 8100 also includes one or more memory 8102 for storing instructions. Alternatively, all or part of memory 8102 may be external to communication device 8100.

In some embodiments, communication device 8100 also includes one or more transceivers 8103. When the communication device 8100 includes one or more transceivers 8103, communication steps such as transmission and reception in the above-described method are performed by the transceivers 8103, and other steps are performed by the processor 8101.

In some embodiments, the transceiver may include a receiver and a transmitter, which may be separate or integrated. Alternatively, terms such as transceiver, transceiver unit, transceiver circuit, etc. may be replaced with each other, terms such as transmitter, transmitter circuit, etc. may be replaced with each other, and terms such as receiver, receiving unit, receiver, receiving circuit, etc. may be replaced with each other.

Optionally, the communication device 8100 further includes one or more interface circuits 8104, where the interface circuits 8104 are coupled to the memory 8102, and where the interface circuits 8104 are operable to receive signals from the memory 8102 or other means, and operable to transmit signals to the memory 8102 or other means. For example, the interface circuit 8104 may read instructions stored in the memory 8102 and send the instructions to the processor 8101.

The communication device 8100 in the above embodiment description may be a network device or a terminal, but the scope of the communication device 8100 described in the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the structure of the communication device 8100 may not be limited by fig. 8A. The communication device may be a stand-alone device or may be part of a larger device. For example, the communication device may be: (1) A stand-alone integrated circuit IC, or chip, or a system-on-a-chip or subsystem; (2) A set of one or more ICs, optionally including storage means for storing data, programs; (3) an ASIC, such as a Modem (Modem); (4) modules that may be embedded within other devices; (5) A receiver, a terminal device, an intelligent terminal device, a cellular phone, a wireless device, a handset, a mobile unit, a vehicle-mounted device, a network device, a cloud device, an artificial intelligent device, and the like; (6) others, and so on.

Fig. 8B is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure of a chip 8200 according to an exemplary embodiment. For the case where the communication device 8100 may be a chip or a chip system, reference may be made to a schematic structural diagram of the chip 8200 shown in fig. 8B, but is not limited thereto.

The chip 8200 includes one or more processors 8201, the processors 8201 being configured to invoke instructions to cause the chip 8200 to perform any of the relay discovery methods described above.

In some embodiments, the chip 8200 further includes one or more interface circuits 8202, the interface circuits 8202 being coupled to the memory 8203, the interface circuits 8202 being operable to receive signals from the memory 8203 or other devices, the interface circuits 8202 being operable to transmit signals to the memory 8203 or other devices. For example, the interface circuit 8202 may read instructions stored in the memory 8203 and send the instructions to the processor 8201. Alternatively, the terms interface circuit, interface, transceiver pin, transceiver, etc. may be interchanged.

In some embodiments, chip 8200 further includes one or more memories 8203 for storing instructions. Alternatively, all or part of the memory 8203 may be external to the chip 8200.

The present disclosure also provides a storage medium having instructions stored thereon that, when executed on a communication device 8100, cause the communication device 8100 to perform any one of the above methods. Optionally, the storage medium is an electronic storage medium. The storage medium described above is optionally a computer-readable storage medium, but may be a storage medium readable by other apparatuses. Alternatively, the storage medium may be a non-transitory (non-transitory) storage medium, but may also be a transitory storage medium.

The present disclosure also provides a program product which, when executed by a communication device 8100, causes the communication device 8100 to perform any one of the above relay discovery methods. Optionally, the above-described program product is a computer program product.

The present disclosure also provides a computer program which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform any one of the above relay discovery methods.

Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. This disclosure is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention following, in general, the principles of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice within the art to which the disclosure pertains. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown in the drawings, which have been described above, and that various modifications and changes may be effected without departing from the scope thereof. The scope of the invention is limited only by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A relay discovery method, wherein the method comprises:

a first field indicating a maximum number of relay hops;

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first message further comprises at least one of:

and a fourth field, at least for indicating the 1 st hop relay device.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein,

the terminal indicated by the third field is determined for the 1 st hop relay device based on historical relay discovery; and/or the number of the groups of groups,

the terminal indicated by the third field is determined based on the configuration information of the 1 st hop relay device.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the fourth field comprises at least one of:

a source layer 2 identifier, configured to identify the 1 st hop relay device;

5. A method according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the third field carries terminal list information; the terminal list information includes device information of one or more terminals.

6. A relay discovery method, wherein the method comprises:

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the n-1 th hop first message further comprises a third field; the third field indicates a terminal capable of being relayed by the previous n-1 hop relay device;

generating an nth-hop first message according to the third field of the nth-1 hop first message; the third field of the nth hop first message indicates a terminal capable of being relayed by a previous n hop relay device.

8. The method of claim 6 or 7, wherein the nth hop first message further comprises a fourth field; the fourth field indicates an nth hop relay device.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the fourth field of the nth hop first message comprises at least one of:

a source layer 2 identifier, configured to identify the nth-hop relay device;

the destination layer 2 identifier is used for identifying a next hop device for receiving the nth hop first message.

10. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein the determining, according to the second field of the n-1 th hop first message, the number of relay hops corresponding to the n-th hop relay device includes:

11. A relay discovery method, wherein the method comprises:

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the selecting a relay path for relaying communications based on the first message comprises at least one of:

13. A relay discovery method, wherein the method comprises:

the 1 st hop relay device sends a first message;

14. A first relay device, wherein the first relay device is a 1 st hop relay device, the first relay device comprising:

a first field indicating a maximum number of relay hops;

15. A second relay device, wherein the second relay device is an nth-hop relay device, the second relay device comprising:

16. A source terminal, wherein the source terminal comprises:

17. A communication system, wherein the communication system comprises a source terminal, at least two relay devices and a target terminal; one of the relay devices is configured to implement the relay discovery method of any one of claims 1 to 5, the other one of the relay devices is configured to implement the relay discovery method of any one of claims 6 to 10, and the source terminal is configured to implement the relay discovery method of any one of claims 11 to 12.

18. A communication device, wherein the communication device comprises:

one or more processors;

wherein the processor is configured to invoke instructions to cause the communication device to perform the relay discovery method of any of claims 1 to 5, claims 6 to 10, and claims 11 to 12.

19. A storage medium storing instructions that, when executed on a communication device, cause the communication device to perform the relay discovery method of any one of claims 1 to 5, claims 6 to 10, and claims 11 to 12.