WO2021227608A1

WO2021227608A1 - Communication method and apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2021227608A1
Application number: PCT/CN2021/078934
Authority: WO
Inventors: 段小嫣; 窦凤辉
Original assignee: 华为技术有限公司
Priority date: 2020-05-09
Filing date: 2021-03-03
Publication date: 2021-11-18
Also published as: CN113630821A; CN113630821B

Abstract

Disclosed are a communication method and apparatus, which relate to the technical field of communications. The method comprises: a remote UE establishing a first link with a relay UE, wherein the first link is used for transmitting first data of the remote UE; the relay UE establishing a first communication connection, wherein the first communication connection is used for transmitting the first data to a first communication system; the remote UE receiving a request message sent by the relay UE, wherein the request message is used for notifying the remote UE to convert the first link into a second link, and the request message comprises connection-related information of the second link; and the remote UE sending a response message to the relay UE according to the connection-related information. Therefore, in the scenario where a remote UE uses a relay UE as a network relay to realize a network communication function, when the relay UE moves between different networks, a wireless communication link between the relay UE and the remote UE is synchronously updated, thereby ensuring the service continuity on the remote UE as much as possible.

Description

Communication method and device

Cross-references to related applications

This application claims the priority of a Chinese patent application filed with the Chinese Patent Office, the application number is 202010389090.3, and the application name is "communication method and device" on May 9, 2020, the entire content of which is incorporated into this application by reference.

Technical field

This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and device.

Background technique

With the rapid development of communication technology, user equipment (UE) can have the ability to support different mobile communication technologies. When the UE implements services, it can also switch the mobile communication technology it uses, so that it can be used in different mobile communications. Switch between systems. For example, the UE may switch from a fourth generation (4G) mobile communication system to a fifth generation (5th Generation, 5G) mobile communication system, or from a 5G mobile communication system to a 4G mobile communication system.

In the communication standard of the 4G mobile communication system, scenarios and schemes in which remote user equipment (such as UE-1) can connect to the network and communicate through a relay user equipment (such as UE-2) are specified. Of course, the 5G mobile communication system will also support similar scenarios and provide solutions.

However, at present, when the relay UE moves between different networks, how to synchronize the update of the wireless communication link between the remote UE and the relay UE, so as to ensure the service continuity on the remote UE, there is no solution yet.

Summary of the invention

The embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and device. In a scenario where a remote UE uses a relay UE as a network relay to implement network communication functions, when the relay UE moves between different networks, the relay UE and the remote The wireless communication links between UEs are updated synchronously to ensure the continuity of services on remote UEs as much as possible.

In the first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method. The communication method includes: establishing a first link between a relay user equipment UE and a remote user equipment UE, and the first link is used to transmit the remote The first data of the UE; the relay UE establishes a first communication connection, and the first communication connection is used to transmit the first data to the first communication system; the relay UE is converting the first communication connection In the process of the second communication connection, or after the first communication connection is converted to the second communication connection, a request message is sent to the remote UE. The request message is used to notify the remote UE to change the second communication connection. One link is converted into a second link, wherein the second link is used to transmit the second data of the remote UE, and the second communication connection is used to transmit the second data to the second communication System, the request message includes connection-related information corresponding to the second link, and the connection-related information includes at least one of quality of service QoS parameters and network slicing information; and the relay UE receives the remote A response message sent by the UE according to the connection-related information.

Through the above solution, in the scenario where the remote UE uses the relay UE as a network relay, when the relay UE moves between different networks, the relay UE sends a request message to the remote UE, and the request message includes the first link. The connection-related information of the corresponding second link when the route is to be transferred to a new network, so that the remote UE can respond according to the connection-related information, so that the relay UE can perform the corresponding communication strategy according to the feedback of the remote UE , Which helps to synchronize the update of the wireless communication link between the remote UE and the relay UE when the relay UE performs network handover, so as to ensure the continuity of the service on the remote UE side as much as possible.

In an optional implementation manner, before the relay UE sends the request message to the remote UE, the method further includes: the relay UE determines that it can transfer to the remote UE according to the first information. The first communication connection of the second communication system, wherein the first information includes information indicating that the first communication connection can be converted into the second communication connection.

Through the above solution, the relay UE can determine, according to the first information, the first communication connection that it has established for the remote UE and can be transferred to the second communication system, so that the relay UE can decide whether to send a request message to the remote UE.

In an optional implementation manner, before the relay UE sends the request message to the remote UE, the method further includes: the relay UE determines that the second link corresponds to the second link according to the second information. Connection-related information; wherein the second information includes at least one of the following: connection-related information corresponding to the first link; connection-related information corresponding to the first communication connection; Link related information.

Through the above solution, the relay UE can determine the information to be included in the request message sent to the remote UE based on the relevant information indicating whether the first communication connection established for the remote UE can be transferred to the second communication system, so as to facilitate the remote UE. The end UE determines whether to synchronize the update of the wireless communication link between the UEs.

In an optional implementation manner, the relay UE determining the connection-related information corresponding to the second link according to the second information includes: the relay UE according to the QoS parameters of the first link , At least one of the QoS parameters of the first communication connection and the QoS parameters of the second communication connection is mapped to generate the QoS parameters of the second link; and/or the relay UE is based on the first The network slice information associated with a communication connection is used to determine the network slice information corresponding to the second link.

Through the above solution, the relay UE can determine the connection-related information that can be used when the wireless communication link between the UEs is to be synchronized and updated according to the wireless communication connection/connection-related information of the wireless communication link before and after the network switching.

In an optional implementation manner, the request message further includes at least one of the following: a link identifier of the first link, used to notify the first link to be transferred to the second communication system The first application layer information, the first application layer information includes the identification of the application program or the identification of the application layer, used to notify the service to be transferred to the second communication system.

Through the above solution, the relay UE carries the link identifier and/or application layer information in the request message, so that the remote UE can determine the corresponding response message, including whether to allow link conversion and so on.

In an optional implementation manner, the response message is used to indicate whether the remote UE supports the second link.

Through the above solution, after the remote UE makes a local decision, it notifies the relay UE through a response message, so that the relay UE can determine the corresponding network communication strategy according to the response message, including but not limited to whether to switch to a new network or whether to restart Switch to the old network, or whether to establish a multi-hop communication link for the remote UE through at least one other relay UE, so as to maintain the network communication function of the remote UE and ensure the continuity of services on the remote UE as much as possible.

In an optional implementation manner, if the relay UE receives the response message in the process of converting the first communication connection to the second communication connection, the relay UE connects the first communication connection Switching to the second communication connection includes: if the response message indicates that the remote UE supports the second link, the relay UE sends a handover to the second communication system according to the response message In response, the handover response is used to indicate to convert the first communication connection to the second communication connection; and/or, if the response message indicates that the remote UE does not support the second link, The relay UE maintains the first communication connection according to the response message.

With the above solution, if the relay UE receives feedback from the remote UE during the network handover, the relay UE determines whether to perform the network handover according to the feedback. If the wireless communication link between the remote UE and the relay UE cannot be transferred to the new network, the relay UE may not perform network switching and still maintain the first communication connection.

In an optional implementation manner, if the relay UE receives the response message after converting the first communication connection to the second communication connection, and the response message indicates that the remote UE does not support all With respect to the second link, the method further includes: the relay UE re-converting the second communication connection to the first communication connection according to the response message.

With the above solution, if the relay UE receives feedback from the remote UE after the network handover, the relay UE makes communication decisions based on the feedback. For example, re-switch to the previous network to re-convert the second communication connection to the first communication connection, so as to avoid adverse effects on the remote UE due to the network switching of the relay UE.

In an optional implementation manner, if the response message indicates that the remote UE supports the second link, the response message further includes second application layer information, and the second application layer information includes The identifier of the application program or the identifier of the application layer is used to indicate the service transferred to the second communication system.

Through the above solution, when the wireless communication link between the remote UE and the relay UE is updated to the new network synchronously, the related services of the remote UE side are transferred to the new network, which effectively guarantees the business continuity of the remote UE side. .

In an optional implementation manner, if the relay UE is in an idle state, converting the first communication connection to the second communication connection by the relay UE includes: 2. The communication system sends a registration request, the registration request carries status information of the first communication connection, and the status information is used to convert the first communication connection to the second communication connection.

Through the above solution, the relay UE in the idle state requests to register with the second communication system to move from the first communication system to the second communication system.

In an optional implementation manner, the first link and/or the second link is a D2D link through the terminal.

In an optional implementation manner, the first communication system is a fourth-generation communication system, and the second communication system is a fifth-generation communication system; or the first communication system is a fifth-generation communication system, The second communication system is a fourth-generation communication system.

In an optional implementation manner, the first communication connection is a protocol data network PDN connection, and the second communication connection is a protocol data unit PDU session; or the first communication connection is a PDU session, and the first communication connection is a PDU session. The second communication connection is a PDN connection.

In the second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, the method includes: a remote user equipment UE and a relay user equipment UE establish a first link, and the first link is used to transmit the remote The first data of the UE; the remote UE receives the request sent by the relay UE in the process of converting the first communication connection to the second communication connection, or after the first communication connection is converted to the second communication connection Message, the request message is used to notify the remote UE to convert the first link to the second link, wherein the first communication connection is used to transmit the first data to the first communication system , The second link is used to transmit second data of the remote UE, the second communication connection is used to transmit the second data to a second communication system, and the request message includes the first Connection-related information corresponding to the two links, where the connection-related information includes at least one of QoS parameters and network slice information; the remote UE determines a response message according to the connection-related information; the remote UE sends The relay UE sends a response message.

Through the above solution, in the scenario where the remote UE uses the relay UE as a network relay, when the relay UE moves between different networks, the remote UE determines whether to communicate with the wireless communication link between the UEs by receiving the request message sent by the relay UE. The way is updated synchronously, and the relay UE is notified.

In an optional implementation manner, the request message further includes a link identifier of the first link, which is used to notify the first link to be transferred to the second communication system; The remote UE determines the response message according to the connection related information, including: the remote UE determines whether the first link can be converted to the connection related information according to the link identifier and the connection related information corresponding to the second link In the second link, the response message is used to indicate whether the remote UE supports the second link.

Through the above solution, the remote UE makes a decision according to the request message to determine whether to update the wireless communication link, and informs the relay UE.

In an optional implementation manner, if the response message indicates that the remote UE supports the second link, before the remote UE sends the response message to the relay UE, the method further includes : The remote UE converts the first link to the second link.

Through the above solution, the remote UE converts the first link to the second link when it is determined that the wireless communication link between the UEs can be updated.

In an optional implementation manner, the request message further includes first application layer information, and the first application layer information includes an application program identifier or an application layer identifier, and is used to notify the transfer to the second application layer. For services of the second communication system, before the remote UE converts the first link to the second link, the method further includes: the remote UE determines whether or not according to the first application layer information Convert the first link to the second link.

Through the above solution, the remote UE can make a decision based on the relevant service information that the relay UE can provide under the new network to determine whether to update the wireless communication link between the UEs.

Through the above solution, when the remote UE is updating the wireless communication link between the UEs, it synchronously informs the relay UE of the related services to be transferred to the new network, so as to ensure the continuity of services on the remote UE as much as possible.

In an optional implementation manner, if the response message indicates that the remote UE does not support the second link, the method further includes: the remote UE maintains the first link.

Through the above solution, when the remote UE cannot update the wireless communication link between the UEs, the first link is maintained to maintain the communication between the UEs through the first link, so as to ensure the service continuity of the remote UE as much as possible.

In an optional implementation manner, the connection related information corresponding to the second link is determined by the relay UE according to at least one of the following: connection related information corresponding to the first link; Connection-related information corresponding to a communication connection; connection-related information corresponding to the second communication connection.

In an optional implementation manner, the QoS parameter of the second link is the QoS parameter of the relay UE according to the QoS parameter of the first link, the QoS parameter of the first communication connection, and the second link. And/or the network slice information corresponding to the second link is determined by the relay UE according to the network slice information associated with the first communication connection.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, including a processing unit, a sending unit, and a receiving unit;

The processing unit is configured to establish a first link and a first communication connection, where the first link is used to transmit first data of a remote user equipment UE; the first communication connection is used to connect the first The data is transmitted to the first communication system; the sending unit is used to transfer data to the remote during the process of converting the first communication connection to the second communication connection, or after converting the first communication connection to the second communication connection The end UE sends a request message, the request message is used to notify the remote UE to convert the first link to a second link, where the second link is used to transmit the first link of the remote UE. Second data, the second communication connection is used to transmit the second data to the second communication system, the request message includes connection-related information corresponding to the second link, and the connection-related information includes service quality At least one of QoS parameters and network slice information; the receiving unit is configured to receive a response message sent by the remote UE according to the connection-related information.

In an optional implementation manner, the processing unit is further configured to: before the sending unit sends the request message to the remote UE, according to the first information, determine the transferable to the second communication system A first communication connection, wherein the first information includes information indicating that the first communication connection can be converted into the second communication connection.

In an optional implementation manner, the processing unit is further configured to: before the sending unit sends the request message to the remote UE, determine the connection-related information corresponding to the second link according to the second information; Wherein, the second information includes at least one of the following: connection related information corresponding to the first link; connection related information corresponding to the first communication connection; connection related information corresponding to the second communication connection.

In an optional implementation manner, if the processing unit receives the response message in the process of converting the first communication connection to the second communication connection, the processing unit converts the first communication connection to The second communication connection includes: if the response message indicates that the remote UE supports the second link, the processing unit sends a handover response to the second communication system according to the response message, and The handover response is used to instruct to convert the first communication connection to the second communication connection; and/or if the response message indicates that the remote UE does not support the second link, the processing unit is based on The response message maintains the first communication connection.

In an optional implementation manner, if the processing unit receives the response message after converting the first communication connection to the second communication connection, and the response message indicates that the remote UE does not support the For the second link, the processing unit is further configured to: according to the response message, re-convert the second communication connection to the first communication connection.

In an optional implementation manner, if the relay UE is in an idle state, converting the first communication connection to the second communication connection includes: the sending unit sends a registration request to the second communication system , The registration request carries status information of the first communication connection, and the status information is used to convert the first communication connection to the second communication connection.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, including a processing unit, a receiving unit, and a sending unit;

The processing unit is used to establish a first link, and the first link is used to transmit the first data of the remote user equipment UE; the receiving unit is used to receive the relay UE in the first communication A request message sent during the conversion of the connection to the second communication connection, or after the first communication connection is converted to the second communication connection, the request message is used to notify the remote UE to convert the first link Is the second link, wherein the first communication connection is used to transmit the first data to the first communication system, the second link is used to transmit the second data of the remote UE, and the The second communication connection is used to transmit the second data to the second communication system, the request message includes connection-related information corresponding to the second link, and the connection-related information includes service quality QoS parameters, network slices At least one item of information; the processing unit is configured to determine a response message according to the connection-related information; the sending unit is configured to send a response message to the relay UE.

In an optional implementation manner, the request message further includes a link identifier of the first link, which is used to notify the first link to be transferred to the second communication system; The processing unit determines the response message according to the connection-related information, including: determining whether the first link can be converted to the second link according to the link identifier and the connection-related information corresponding to the second link , Wherein the response message is used to indicate whether the remote UE supports the second link.

In an optional implementation manner, the processing unit is further configured to: if the response message indicates that the remote UE supports the second link, the sending unit sends a response to the relay UE Before the message, the processing unit converts the first link into the second link.

In an optional implementation manner, the request message further includes first application layer information, and the first application layer information includes an application program identifier or an application layer identifier, and is used to notify the transfer to the second application layer. For services of the second communication system, before converting the first link to the second link, the processing unit is further configured to: determine whether to convert the first link according to the first application layer information Is the second link.

In an optional implementation manner, if the response message indicates that the remote UE does not support the second link, the processing unit is further configured to: maintain the first link.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a user equipment, including a memory, a processor, a communication interface, and a bus. The memory stores code and data, and the processor, the memory, and the communication interface pass through all In the bus connection, the processor runs the code in the memory to make the communication device execute the communication method described in the first aspect.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a user equipment, including a memory, a processor, a communication interface, and a bus. The memory stores code and data, and the processor, the memory, and the communication interface pass through all In the bus connection, the processor runs the code in the memory to make the communication device execute the communication method described in the second aspect.

On the basis of the implementations provided by the above aspects, this application can be further combined to provide more implementations.

Description of the drawings

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a possible communication system provided by this application;

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a possible network architecture provided by this application;

Figures 3A-3C are schematic diagrams of a possible user interface provided by this application;

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a possible communication provided by this application;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a possible communication method provided by this application;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of another possible communication method provided by this application;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of another possible communication method provided by this application;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of another possible communication method provided by this application;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided by this application;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of another communication device provided by this application;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a user equipment provided by this application.

Detailed ways

In the embodiments of this application, the UE may communicate with one or more core networks (Core Network) via a radio access network (Radio Access Network, RAN). The UE may be called an access terminal, terminal equipment, subscriber unit, and user. Station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent, or user device. The UE can be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (Wireless Local Loop, WLL) station, a personal digital processing (Personal Digital Assistant, PDA), and a wireless communication function. Handheld devices, computing devices or other processing devices connected to wireless modems, in-vehicle devices, wearable devices, and terminal devices in 5G networks or terminal devices in future 6G networks, etc.

Hereinafter, some terms in this application will be explained first to facilitate the understanding of those skilled in the art.

1) User equipment (UE): It can be a device that provides users with voice and/or data connectivity, can be a device with wireless transceiver functions, and can be deployed on land, including indoor or outdoor, Hand-held or vehicle-mounted; it can also be deployed on the water (such as ships, etc.); it can also be deployed in the air (such as airplanes, balloons, and satellites, etc.).

The user equipment may be a mobile phone (mobile phone), a tablet computer (pad), a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal, an augmented reality (AR) terminal, an industrial control (industrial control) Wireless terminals in ), wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical, wireless terminals in smart grid, and wireless terminals in transportation safety , Wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, etc. The terminal equipment may also be called user equipment (UE), mobile station (mobile station, MS), mobile terminal (mobile terminal, MT), and so on.

2) D2D (Device-to-Device, device-to-device, also known as terminal pass-through) communication: It is a new technology that allows direct wireless communication between terminals under the control of the system.

In a cellular-based D2D communication system, UEs can also directly exchange information and wireless data transmission through wireless communication links, instead of the traditional cellular system, which must be forwarded by the base station to achieve wireless communication between different UEs. . At present, the research and development of D2D technology has entered the standardization stage, and its standardization work is carried out in the standardization organization 3GPP (3rd Generation Partner Project). Among them, 3GPP Release 12 defines D2D based on the LTE (Long Term Evolution) system. communication-related standards and specifications, 3GPP Release 16 based on the definition 5G (5 ^th Generation, 5th generation) D2D communication relevant standards and specifications, including the D2D communication scenario, a service type, architecture and interfaces used by the wireless communication Resources, various protocol stacks and corresponding communication technical specifications, etc.

3) Proximity-based services (ProSe): 3GPP has introduced proximity services in the LTE-A system to improve spectrum utilization and reduce base station load. The terminal communicates directly through the spectrum resource allocated by the base station, thereby improving the utilization of the wireless spectrum resource. After the adjacent service between the UEs is successfully established, the load of the base station can be reduced.

4) ProSe Communication 5 (PC5): the interface between two short-distance service terminal devices, used to transmit control signaling and data.

5) Protocol Data Network (PDN) connection (Connection or Connectivity): In a 4G communication system, a combination of a set of EPS bearers established on the UE. These EPS bearers have the same IP address and access point name (Access Point Name, APN). On the UE and the network side, a PDN connection is identified by the IP address and APN.

6) PDN connection context: including the IP address, APN, PGW address used by the PDN connection, and context information of each EPS bearer.

7) EPS bearer refers to the data transmission channel in the 4G communication system. The EPS bearer in the active state refers to a data transmission channel that has been established in the first communication system and has a certain QoS. An EPS bearer in an inactive state refers to a data transmission channel that has been deleted in a 4G communication system.

8) EPS bearer status information: In a 4G communication system, each EPS bearer has an EPS bearer identifier EBI, and the EPS bearer status information is used to identify whether the bearer corresponding to each EBI exists. For example, the EBI shown in Table 1 are 0-15, and the corresponding values are shown in Table 1. In the following Table 1, the value of EBI corresponding to 5 and 7 is 1, which means that there is a corresponding EPS bearer, and the value of other EBI is 0, which means that there is no corresponding bearer.

Table 1

EBIEBI	77	66	55	44	33	22	11	00
取值Value	11	00	11	00	00	00	00	00
EBIEBI	1515	1414	1313	1212	1111	1010	99	88
取值Value	00	00	00	00	00	00	00	00

9) EPS bearer context: including QoS (Quality of Service) information, EPS bearer identifier, TFT and other information of the EPS bearer.

10) Session: The connection between terminal equipment, AN equipment, user plane network elements, and data network established by the session management network element in the communication system for the terminal equipment for transmission between the terminal equipment and the data network User plane data, such as Packet Data Unit (PDU) sessions.

11) PDU session (Session): In the 5G communication system, a combination of a set of QoS flows established on the UE, and these QoS flows have the same IP address and data network name (DNN). On the UE and the network side, an IP address and DNN are used to identify a PDU session.

12) PDU session context: including the IP address, APN, SMF and UPF address used by the PDU session, as well as the context information of each QoS flow.

13) Service and Session Continuity (SSC) mode of PDU session: Each PDU session in the 5G communication system has a description of continuity.

SSC mode 1, which means that the PDU session can always maintain continuity when the UE is moving; SSC mode 2, which means that the UE can release the existing PDU session first and establish a new PDU session to replace the released PDU session when the UE is moving. ; SSC mode 3, means that the UE can continue to maintain the existing PDU session for a period of time while moving, and at the same time establish a new PDU session to replace the original PDU session, and release the existing PDU session after the existing PDU session time expires , Only keep new PDU sessions.

14) QoS flow information includes: QoS information of the QoS flow, QoS flow identity (QoS Flow Identity, QFI), and a combination of one or more information of the QoS flow template.

For example, in a 5G communication system, the QoS information may further include the 5G QoS indicator (5G QoS Indicator, 5QI, that is the 5G service quality identifier) corresponding to the QoS, PC5 5QI (5QI of the PC5 interface, PQI), allocation and retention Priority (Allocation and Retention Priority, ARP), guaranteed flow bit rate (Guaranteed Flow Bit Rate, GFBR), maximum flow bit rate (Maximum Flow Bit Rate, MFBR), notification control (Notification Control) of one or more information combination. The QoS flow information is used to describe the QoS flow, including but not limited to the information described above. The QoS flow information may also be referred to as QoS parameters, and the QoS flow information in the embodiment of the present application may be replaced with QoS parameters.

15) Multiple: refers to two or more.

16) At least one: refers to one or more.

17) "and/or" describes the association relationship of the associated objects, indicating that there can be three types of relationships, for example, A and/or B, which can mean: A alone exists, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. . The character "/" generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship.

In addition, it should be understood that in the description of this application, words such as "first", "second", "third", and "fourth" are only used for the purpose of distinguishing description, and cannot be understood as instructions or The relative importance is implied, nor can it be understood as an indication or implied order.

The functions and entities of each part of the communication system to which the embodiment of the present application is applied will be described in detail below with reference to FIG. 1.

The system architecture of the communication system to which the embodiment of this application is applicable is shown in FIG. It should be understood that the UE mentioned in this embodiment may be a user equipment used as a network relay, that is, a relay UE. When the remote UE implements the network communication function through the relay UE, the connection or communication between the UE and the base station and the core network will be described below in conjunction with FIG. 2 and will not be repeated here.

Referring to Figure 1, the system architecture includes UE, Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UERAN), mobility management entity MME, Serving Gateway (SGW), and user plane functions ( User Plane Function, UPF) + PDN Gateway-User plane (PGW-U), Session Management Function (SMF) + PDN Gateway-Control plane (PDN Gateway-Control plane, PGW-C) ), Policy Control Function (PCF) + Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF), Home Subscriber Server (HSS) + Unified Data Management (UDM) ), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), and 5G Radio Access Network (5G-RAN).

Among them, E-UTRAN is a 4G-side base station, which can also be called an eNB (Evolved Node B), through which UE can access the 4G communication system; 5G-RAN is a 5G-side base station, which can also become an NG -RAN (Next Generation-Radio Access Network), the UE can access the 5G communication system through this base station, 5G-RAN may be a further evolution of E-UTRAN, and the UE can access the base station of the 5G communication system through this base station, Or the 5G-RAN may be a base station dedicated to the UE to access the 5G communication system. The core network entity in Figure 1 may be referred to as a core network device.

The MME is a 4G core network device, responsible for authentication, authorization, mobility management, and session management for the UE; the associated EPS bearer ID (Linked EPS Bearer ID, LBI) of the UE's 4G PDN connection is allocated by this entity.

S-GW is a 4G core network device (core network gateway), responsible for data forwarding, downlink data storage, etc.

UPF+PGW-U is the core network equipment shared by 4G and 5G, that is, the core network equipment of 4G and 5G, including the functions of UPF and PGW-U. Among them, the UPF is the user plane device of the 5G core network, which provides user plane services for the PDU session of the UE; it is the interface gateway between the operator's network and the external network. PGW-U is the user plane equipment of the 4G core network, which provides user plane services for the UE's PDN connection; it is the interface gateway between the operator's network and the external network. UPF+PGW-U can also be called PGW-U+UPF, as long as it is a device that includes UPF and PGW-U functions, it is the same as this device.

SMF+PGW-C is the core network equipment shared by 4G and 5G, that is, the core network equipment of 4G and 5G, including the functions of SMF and PGW-C. Among them, the SMF is the control plane device of the 5G core network, which provides control plane services for the PDU session of the UE; manages the 5G PDU session, manages the 5G QoS, is responsible for allocating IP addresses for the UE, and is responsible for selecting the UPF for the UE. PGW-C is the control plane device of the 4G core network, which provides user plane services for the UE's PDN connection; it is responsible for allocating an IP address for the UE and establishing an EPS bearer for the UE. SMF+PGW-C can also be called PGW-C+SMF, as long as it is a device that includes SMF and PGW-C functions, it is the same as this device.

PCF+PCRF is the core network equipment shared by 4G and 5G, that is, the core network equipment of 4G and 5G, including PCF and PCRF. Among them, PCRF is a 4G core network device and is responsible for generating a strategy for users to establish a data bearer (Bearer). PCF is a 5G core network equipment, similar in function to PCRF. PCF+PCRF can also be called PCRF+PCF, as long as the equipment including PCF and PCRF functions is the same as this equipment.

UDM+HSS is the core network equipment shared by 4G and 5G, that is, the core network equipment of 4G and 5G, including HSS and UDM. Among them, HSS is a 4G core network device, which is used to store user subscription data. SDM is a 5G core network device used to store user subscription data. UDM+HSS can also be called HSS+UDM, as long as the equipment including HSS and UDM functions is the same as this equipment.

AMF is a 5G core network device, used to authenticate and authorize users, and manage user mobility.

The Nx interface is the interface between the MME and AMF, and this interface is currently optional. When the UE moves between 4G and 5G, the UE context can be transferred through the Nx interface. When the PDN connection established by the UE in the 4G network can be seamlessly transferred to the 5G network, the MME selects the 5G and 4G co-located for the UE For network element SMF+PGW-C, seamless transfer means that the IP address remains unchanged and PGW-C remains unchanged. When the PDU session established by the UE in the 5G network can be seamlessly transferred to the 4G network, AMF selects the network element SMF+PGW-C co-located with 5G and 4G for the UE.

It should be noted that the communication system shown in FIG. 1 does not constitute a limitation of the communication system to which the embodiments of the present application can be applied. Therefore, the communication method provided by the embodiments of this application can also be applied to communication systems that include other standards, such as: long term evolution (LTE) communication systems, fifth generation (The 5th Generation, 5G) communication systems, and sixth generation communication systems. (The 6th Generation, 6G) communication system and future communication system. In addition, it should be noted that the embodiments of this application do not limit the names of the network elements in the communication system. For example, in communication systems of different standards, each network element may have other names; for example, when multiple networks When the meta is integrated in the same physical device, the physical device may also have other names.

The following describes the network architecture of the present application with reference to FIG. 2.

As shown in Figure 2, the network architecture may include four parts: a first user equipment (hereinafter abbreviated as UE-1), a second user equipment (hereinafter abbreviated as UE-2), a first base station and its corresponding first core Network, the second base station and its corresponding second core network.

Both UE-1 and UE-2 can be devices with wireless transceiver functions, which can access the network through a base station and implement network communication functions. In addition, UE-1 and UE-2 both support the ability to use different mobile communication technologies. When the UE implements services, the mobile communication technology used by the UE can be switched to move between different mobile communication systems.

When UE-1 and/or UE-2 are located in an environment with different network coverage, they will preferentially switch to a high-priority network in order to obtain faster transmission speeds, for example, switch from 2G to 3G, and switch from 3G To 4G, switch from 4G to 5G, etc. When the current network quality of UE-1 and/or UE-2 is poor, it will preferentially switch to a network with good network quality (may be a low-priority network) to ensure the quality of service on the UE, such as from 5G Switch to 4G, switch from 4G to 3G, switch from 3G to 2G, etc.

In this embodiment of the application, UE-1 and/or UE-2 can move from the first communication system to the second communication system. The first communication system is the mobile communication system corresponding to the UE before the network is switched. The first communication system uses the first Mobile communication technology, the second communication system is the corresponding mobile communication system after the UE switches the network, and the second communication system uses the second mobile communication technology. In the network architecture shown in FIG. 2, the first communication system may include a first base station and a first core network, and the second communication system may include a second base station and a second core network.

The network architecture shown in Figure 2 can be applied to scenarios where UE-1 needs to use UE-2 as a network relay. This scenario may include but is not limited to the following scenarios: (1) UE-1's serving base station indicates that UE-1 needs to communicate with the base station through UE-2; (2) UE-1 cannot establish an effective remote procedure call with its serving base station (remote procedure call, RPC) connection; (3) UE-1 moves out of the service range of the serving base station, that is, UE-1 needs to switch the serving base station. In these scenarios, UE-1 may also be referred to as remote user equipment UE (hereinafter may be abbreviated as remote UE), and UE-2 may also be referred to as relay user equipment UE (hereinafter may be abbreviated as relay UE).

A wireless communication link can be established between the remote UE and the relay UE. The wireless communication link is a terminal direct link, and the remote UE and the relay UE can directly perform information exchange and wireless data transmission through the wireless communication link. The relay UE can also establish a wireless communication connection for the remote UE based on the wireless communication link between the remote UE and the relay UE. Based on the wireless communication connection, the relay UE can transmit the data of the remote UE to the network. The remote UE can realize the communication function with the network through the wireless communication link between the remote UE and the relay UE and the wireless communication connection corresponding to the wireless communication link. The relay UE may also be referred to as a relay node.

In an embodiment, the relay UE side may provide network relay services for the remote UE through system function settings or related applications.

As shown in Figure 3A, the user interface (UI) on the relay UE side can present a reminder whether to start the relay function, and start it after obtaining user authorization (for example, receiving the user's operation instruction to start the relay function) Relay the relay function of the UE. Specifically, the relay UE may present the reminder when it enters an environment covered by the network, or may present the reminder after receiving a relay instruction sent by a base station or a relay request sent by a remote UE. This application does not limit the specific implementation of this.

As shown in FIG. 3B, when the relay UE can perform network switching, a network switching reminder may be displayed on the UI of the relay UE, prompting the user to switch to a new network. If user authorization is obtained, or the relay UE determines that the network can be switched, the relay UE can switch to a new network. If the relay UE, for example, determines that the network switch will affect the implementation of the relay function, such as suspending the relay function, it can also present a reminder that the relay function will be suspended when switching to a new network, so that the user can determine whether to perform the network switch , To avoid the adverse impact of network switching on the service of the remote UE. Alternatively, if the relay UE itself can determine that the network switching will affect the implementation of the relay function, the network may not be switched. Or, if the relay UE determines that it is not suitable for network switching after receiving the feedback information of the remote UE, the network may not be switched. This application does not limit the specific implementation of this.

As shown in FIG. 3C, when the relay UE is not needed or cannot be used to provide network relay services for the remote UE, a reminder to terminate the relay function can also be presented on the UI of the relay UE to prompt the relay to terminate. This application does not limit the specific implementation of this.

It should be understood that the network architecture and business scenarios described above in conjunction with Figures 3A-3C are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application. A person of ordinary skill in the art knows that with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are equally applicable to similar technical problems.

In one embodiment, in the network architecture shown in FIG. 2, the wireless communication link between the remote UE and the relay UE may be, for example, a link using D2D communication technology (also referred to as terminal pass-through technology).

As shown in Figure 4, if the remote UE (remote UE) is offline, because the remote UE cannot access the network, the relay UE (user equipment-to-network relay, referred to as ue-to-network relay) will Provide the remote UE with the function of accessing the network for communication. The relay UE and the remote UE transmit control signaling and data through the ProSe Communication 5 (PC5) interface. The relay UE uses the Uu The (User Equipment/User Equipment) interface accesses the network, and the relay UE transmits public safety-related service data (including downlink DL data/uplink UL data) between the remote UE and the network.

Through terminal pass-through technology, in the event of an emergency disaster such as an earthquake or typhoon, if the remote UE cannot access the network (for example, the remote UE is outside the network coverage area or the remote UE cannot establish an effective RPC connection with the base station, etc.) , The remote UE can connect to the network to communicate through the relay UE that accesses the network, so as to obtain information such as rescue, which is helpful to solve the problem of communication interruption caused by extreme natural disasters, which causes communication interruption and obstacles to rescue. Using terminal pass-through technology can also greatly save network core layer and spectrum resources, and can also be more widely used in fields such as the Internet of Vehicles and the Internet of Things.

It should be understood that the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to other scenarios. For example, the remote UE is a VR headset that does not have a networking function but has a terminal pass-through function, and the relay UE is a mobile phone or other terminal equipment with similar functions. The end UE receives the VR application data from the network through the relay UE, or sends the VR application data to the network through the relay UE. Or, in order to save the resources of the core layer of the network and the spectrum, it is necessary to enable the remote UE to access the network through the relay UE, such as the Internet of Things, the Internet of Vehicles, etc., which will not be repeated here.

It should be noted that in the network architecture shown in FIG. 2, the first base station may also be referred to as the source base station, and the second base station may also be referred to as the target base station. The arrow schematically indicates that UE-2 is moving from the first communication system to the second communication system, that is, from using the first mobile communication technology for network communication to using the second mobile communication technology for network communication. The dotted lines between UE-2 and the first base station, and between the first base station and the first core network, schematically indicate the first communication connection of UE-2 in the first communication system, such as the PDN connection in the 4G network, and the 5G network PDU session in. The solid line between UE-2 and the second base station, and between the second base station and the second core network, schematically represents the second communication connection of UE-2 in the second communication system, for example, a PDU session in a 5G network , PDN connection in 4G network. The connection between UE-1 and UE-2 schematically represents the wireless communication link between UE-1 and UE-2, including the first link and/or the second link described in the embodiments of the present application.

As shown in Figure 2, in the scenario where UE-1 uses UE-2 as a network relay, when UE-2 performs network handover and moves from the first communication system to the second communication system, UE-2 is in the first communication system. The wireless communication connection in the system needs to be transferred to the second communication system, that is, the first communication connection in the first communication system is converted to the second communication connection in the second communication system. Since the relay UE provides network relay services for the remote UE, in order to ensure business continuity on the remote UE side, the wireless communication link between UE-1 and UE-2 also needs to be synchronized from the first communication system to the second communication system. 2. Communication system.

In the current communication standards or related solutions, when the relay UE moves in different communication systems, whether it wants to maintain communication with the remote UE and how to maintain communication, there is no solution yet.

This embodiment of the application is used to synchronize the wireless communication link between the remote UE and the relay UE when the relay UE moves between different networks and if it switches to a new network, so that the remote UE is Maintain communication with the relay UE in the new network to ensure the continuity of services on the remote UE as much as possible.

As mentioned above, in the communication standard of the 4G mobile communication system, the scenarios and solutions in which the remote UE can connect to the network and communicate through the relay UE are specified. Of course, the 5G mobile communication system will also support similar scenarios and provide solutions. As an example, the communication connection scheme of the present application can be applied to a scenario where a relay UE moves between a 4G network and a 5G network, that is, the above-mentioned first communication system may be a 4G communication system, and the second communication system may be a 5G mobile communication system . Alternatively, the above-mentioned first communication system may be a 5G mobile communication system, and the second communication system may be a 4G communication system.

In the following description, taking the movement of the relay UE between 4G and 5G networks as an example, combined with the flowcharts shown in Figure 5 to Figure 8, the implementation procedures of the communication schemes in different situations will be introduced respectively. . It should be understood that the procedures shown in FIGS. 5 to 8 are only schematic illustrations, and not any limitation on the handover procedures involved when the UE moves between different networks.

It should be noted that the communication scheme of the embodiment of the present application may be implemented by a remote UE, a relay UE, and multiple network elements of the first communication system and/or the second communication system. In the process shown in Figure 5 to Figure 8, in the corresponding communication system, the access network equipment, core network equipment or other functional entities and their function implementation can all refer to the relevant description in conjunction with Figure 1 above, or refer to The relevant standards or technical specifications of the existing 4G (for example, the standard 3GPP TS 23.401)/5G (for example, 3GPP TS 23.502) will not be described in detail below. The wireless communication link between the remote UE and the relay UE can be a D2D link. The establishment of the D2D link can follow the TS 23.303 standard defined by 3GPP Release 12, or follow the TS 23.502 standard defined by 3GPP Release 16. The application does not impose restrictions on this, and I will not repeat it in the following.

It should also be noted that, in the embodiments of the present application, the synchronization update of the wireless communication link between the remote UE and the relay UE may occur after the relay UE switches to a new network, or it may occur at the relay UE. In the process of switching to a new network, the specific implementation of some of the steps in the process shown in Figure 5 to Figure 8 is the same or similar. The difference is that the order of implementation is different. In the following description, it will be described in detail in conjunction with Figure 5. For the implementation details of the steps in Figs. 6-8, please refer to the relevant description in conjunction with Fig. 5, which will not be repeated here.

It should also be noted that if different communication technologies are used, the determined connection-related information may be different or not completely the same, which is not specifically limited in this application. In the embodiment of the present application, if the D2D communication technology is adopted, the connection-related information corresponding to the second link may include at least one of QoS parameters and network slice information. For example, in a 4G network, connection-related information includes quality of service QoS parameters, and QoS parameters include QoS information on 4G PC5 interfaces, including ProSe Per-Packet Priority (PPPP), ProSe Per-Packet Reliability, PPPR). For example, in a 5G network, connection-related information includes quality of service QoS parameters and network slice information. Quality of service QoS parameters include QoS flow information on the 5G PC5 interface, including the PFI (PC5 QoS Flow Identifier) of each PC5 QoS flow and the corresponding QoS parameters, such as PQI, GFBR, MFBR, etc. The network slice information includes single network slice selection assistance information (Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information, S-NSSAI).

It should also be noted that in this embodiment of the application, the relay UE may determine the second link based on the connection related information corresponding to the first link, the connection related information corresponding to the first communication connection, and the connection related information corresponding to the second communication connection. Connection-related information corresponding to the link. For example, the relay UE maps and generates the QoS parameter of the second link according to at least one of the QoS parameter of the first link, the QoS parameter of the first communication connection, and the QoS parameter of the second communication connection. Alternatively, the relay UE determines the network slice information corresponding to the second link according to the network slice information associated with the first communication connection. For example, in the process shown in Figure 5-8, the 5G QoS parameter PQI is obtained according to the 4G QoS parameter PPPP, PPPR or 5QI, the 5G QoS parameter GFBR/MFBR is obtained according to the 4G QoS parameter GFBR/MFBR, and the 4G QoS parameter PPPP, PPPR is obtained according to the 5G QoS parameter PQI, and the 4G QoS parameter GFBR/MFBR is obtained according to the 5G QoS parameter GFBR/MFBR. The 5G network slicing information is obtained based on the network slicing information associated with the PDN connection in the 4G network. For the above mapping rules, this application does not make specific restrictions.

Hereinafter, the communication scheme of the present application will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 5 to 8.

Example one

Referring to FIG. 5, if the synchronization update of the wireless communication link between the remote UE and the relay UE occurs after the relay UE switches to a new network, the communication method of the present application is specifically:

S501: The remote user equipment UE establishes one or more first links with the relay user equipment UE.

The first link can be used for the remote UE to exchange data with the first communication system through the relay UE. For example, the remote UE may transmit the first data to the relay UE through the first link, so that the relay UE transmits the first data to the first communication system. Alternatively, the relay UE may transmit the first data related to the remote UE from the first communication system to the remote UE. The first link is, for example, a D2D link.

S502: The relay UE establishes a first communication connection.

The relay UE establishes the first communication connection through the first core network device (including the control plane device) of the first communication system. The first communication connection is, for example, a PDN connection in a 4G communication system, or, for example, a PDU session in a 5G communication system.

The established first communication connection includes one or more first communication connections established by the relay UE for the remote UE, and the first communication connection has an association relationship with the first link, and the association relationship may be stored by the relay UE, for example, Link identification association based on the first link.

The first communication connection can be used to relay data exchange between the UE and the first communication system, for example, to transmit the first data of the remote UE, including: relaying the first data of the remote UE received by the UE from the first link , Send to the second core network device (including user plane device) of the first communication system through the first communication connection corresponding to the first link; or, relay the second core network device of the remote UE received from the second core network device by the relay UE A piece of data is sent to the remote UE through the first link.

It should be understood that the relay UE may also establish a first communication connection unrelated to the remote UE, which is not limited in this application. The embodiments of this application focus on describing the first communication connection related to the remote UE. For the establishment and/or conversion and/or release of other first communication connections, please refer to the relevant standards and technical specifications of the existing standards. Go into details again.

S503: The first base station sends a handover request (handover required) message to the first mobility management function entity. The handover request message includes the identity of the target cell.

S504: A handover preparation process is completed between the first communication system and the second communication system (including the core network and the access network equipment).

S505: The first base station sends a handover command to the relay UE. The switching command includes information related to switching to the second communication system.

S506: The relay UE determines at least one first communication connection that can be transferred to the second communication system, and sends a handover confirm message to the second base station.

The relay UE may, for example, determine the first communication connection that can be transferred to the second communication system based on the first information. The first information may include information indicating that the first communication connection can be converted to the second communication connection, such as the characteristics of the first communication connection (PDN connection in 4G, PDU session in 5G) (for example, whether it is an IoT communication connection) And/or QoS flow information, local policies, etc.

If there is at least one first communication connection that can be transferred to the second communication system, the handover response message may include information for instructing the conversion of the first communication connection to the second communication connection, and for notifying the conversion of the first communication connection This is the second communication connection. S507: The handover process is completed between the first communication system and the second communication system, the relay UE transfers from the first communication system to the second communication system, and the first communication connection established by the relay UE for the remote UE is converted to the second communication connect. Wherein, the second communication connection can be used for data exchange between the relay UE and the second communication system, such as transmitting the second data of the remote UE, including: relaying the remote UE's data received from the second link by the UE. The second data may be sent to the fourth core network device (including the user plane device) of the second communication system through the second communication connection corresponding to the second link; or, the relay UE may be sent from the fourth core network device (including the user plane device) through the second communication connection. The core network device receives the second data of the remote UE.

If there is no first communication connection that can be transferred to the second communication system, or the relay UE makes a policy not to perform network handover, the handover response message can be used to notify the handover cancellation. This S507 can be initiated by the first base station The process of handover cancel (handover cancel) will not be repeated here.

S508: The relay UE determines the successfully converted first communication connection and the converted second communication connection, and determines connection related information corresponding to the second link.

Here, the connection-related information corresponding to the first link, the connection-related information corresponding to the first communication connection, and the connection-related information corresponding to the second communication connection can be determined, for example, including 5G network slice information corresponding to the PDN connection (such as S-NSSAI ), QoS parameters (for example, 5QI, GFBR, MFBR, etc.), and 4GQoS parameters corresponding to the PDU session. Then, according to at least one of the connection related information of the first link, the connection related information of the first communication connection, and the connection related information of the second communication connection, the connection related information corresponding to the second link is determined.

S509: The relay UE sends a request message to the remote UE. The request message is used to notify the remote UE to convert the first link to the second link. Wherein, the second link can be used for the remote UE to exchange data with the second communication system through the relay UE. For example, the remote UE may transmit the second data to the relay UE through the second link, so that the relay UE transmits the second data to the second communication system. Alternatively, the relay UE may transmit the second data related to the remote UE from the second communication system to the remote UE. The second link is, for example, a D2D link.

For example, the request message may include the following information:

(1) The link ID (Link ID) of the wireless communication link between the relay UE and the remote UE, such as the link ID of the first link, which can be used to notify the transfer to the second communication The first link of the system.

(2) Connection related information corresponding to the second link. For example, for a 5G network, it includes 5G network slice information (such as S-NSSAI), PFI (PC5 QoS Flow Identifier) of each PC5 QoS flow and corresponding QoS parameters, such as PQI, GFBR, MFBR, etc., and. For the 4G network, it includes the QoS information of each 4G PC5 interface, such as PPPP and PPPR. Among them, the PQI can be obtained based on the 4G QoS parameters of the PDN connection (such as PPPP, PPPR) or the 5QI determined in S508, and the GFBR/MFBR can be obtained based on the GFBR/MFBR determined in S508. PPPP and PPPR can be obtained based on the QCI determined in S508.

(3) The first application layer information includes the identification of the application program or the application layer ID (application layer ID), and the application layer information can be used to notify the service to be transferred to the second communication system.

S510: The remote UE determines a response message according to the request message sent by the relay UE.

Specifically, the remote UE can determine whether the first link can be converted to the second link according to the link identifier of the first link and the connection-related information corresponding to the second link, that is, whether the remote UE supports For the second link, the response message can be used to indicate whether the remote UE supports the second link.

In the embodiments of this application, "support" indicates whether the UE has subscribed to use related quality of service QoS parameters, network slicing information, etc., that is, whether the network authorizes the UE to use the quality of service QoS parameters, network slicing information, and other information. Or whether the UE itself has the ability to support (including but not limited to software and hardware capabilities).

Alternatively, the remote UE may also determine whether to convert the first link to the second link according to the received request message in combination with the service currently running or the scenario it is in. If the remote UE allows link switching, the determined response message is used to indicate that the remote UE supports the second link. If the remote UE does not allow link switching, the determined response message is used to indicate that the remote UE does not support the second link. Among them, "allow" may include that the remote UE supports the second link and the remote UE accepts link switching. "Not allowed" includes that the remote UE does not support the second link, and/or the remote UE refuses to perform link switching, and so on.

S511: The remote UE sends a response message to the relay UE.

If the remote UE allows link conversion, after the remote UE converts the first link to the second link, S511a: The remote UE sends a response message to the relay UE. The response message is used to instruct the remote UE to support the second link. Two links. The response message may also include second application layer information. The application layer information includes, for example, an application program identifier or an application layer identifier, and is used to indicate services that can be transferred to the second communication system, including short-range services or applications.

In this way, the synchronization update of the wireless communication link between the remote UE and the relay UE is realized, and the relay UE can transmit the remote UE in the second communication system based on the converted second communication connection and the second link. The data of the remote UE realizes the network communication function of the remote UE under the second communication system, and ensures the business continuity on the remote UE.

If the remote UE does not allow link switching, the remote UE can maintain the first link. S511b: The remote UE sends a response message to the relay UE. The response message is used to indicate that the remote UE does not support the second link. The response message may also include a reason for not supporting, for example, the remote UE does not support related QoS parameters and/or related network slice information of the second link.

Correspondingly, the relay UE can determine the corresponding network communication strategy based on the feedback of the remote UE and combined with the relevant factors of the relay UE itself. For example, whether the communication in the second communication system is still maintained and the relay function is terminated and the remote UE is notified. Or, whether to re-transfer from the second communication system to the first communication system, that is, whether to re-convert the second communication connection to the first communication connection, so as to continue to maintain network communication in the first communication system to ensure the continuity of the service of the remote UE sex. Or, whether to establish a multi-hop communication link with the remote UE through at least one other relay UE in the second communication system, so as to realize the network communication function of the remote UE in the second communication system. This application does not limit the specific implementation of this.

Correspondingly, the relay UE informs the remote UE and the network after making a corresponding network communication strategy.

S512: Release the related first link, first communication connection and/or second communication connection.

It should be understood that S512 only schematically illustrates that the communication connection/communication link release process may be involved in the communication process, but does not limit the sequence of the release process in any way.

S512 may specifically include releasing the first link that failed to be converted, and/or releasing the first communication connection that cannot be transferred to the second communication system, and/or releasing the link that has been transferred to the second communication system but the remote UE reports that the conversion failed. Corresponding to the second communication connection, etc.

The remote UE, the relay UE, and/or the network can release the related first link, the first communication connection, and/or the second communication connection at any time. For example, when the relay UE determines at least one first communication connection that can be transferred to the second communication system in S506, the first communication connection that cannot be transferred to the second communication system can be released.

The release process may include, for example, a process of releasing a wireless communication link between the UE and a process of releasing a wireless communication connection between the UE and the network. The process of releasing the wireless communication link between UEs may be the UE locally releasing the link, or the relay UE (or remote UE) may initiate the link release process to the remote UE (relay UE). The process of releasing the wireless communication connection between the UE and the network can be the relay UE, the network locally releases the PDU session or PDN connection, or the relay UE initiates the release process of the PDU session or PDN connection to the network. This application does not limit the specific implementation.

Therefore, through the above process, after the first communication connection established by the relay UE for the remote UE is converted to the second communication connection of the second communication system, the wireless communication link between the relay UE and the remote UE is realized. Synchronous update to ensure the continuity of services on the remote UE as much as possible.

Example two

Referring to FIG. 6, if the synchronization update of the wireless communication link between the remote UE and the relay UE occurs during the process of the relay UE handing over to a new network, the communication method of the present application is specifically (the same or similar steps are specific Please refer to the previous description in conjunction with Figure 5, which will not be repeated below):

S601: The remote user equipment UE establishes one or more first links with the relay user equipment UE. The first link may be used by the remote UE to exchange data with the first communication system through the relay UE, for example, a D2D link. For details, please refer to the relevant description of S501 above, which will not be repeated here.

S602: The relay UE establishes a first communication connection.

The first communication connection includes one or more first communication connections established by the relay UE for the remote UE, and the first communication connection has an association relationship with the first link, and the association relationship may be stored by the relay UE. The first communication connection may be used to relay data exchange between the UE and the first communication system. For details, please refer to the relevant description of S502 above, which will not be repeated here.

S603: The first base station sends a handover request (handover required) message to the first mobility management function entity. The handover request message includes the identity of the target cell.

S604: A handover preparation process is completed between the first communication system and the second communication system (including the core network and the access network equipment).

S605: The first base station sends a handover command (handover command) to the relay UE. The switching command includes information related to switching to the second communication system.

S606: The relay UE determines at least one first communication connection that can be transferred to the second communication system, and determines connection related information corresponding to the second link. Wherein, the at least one first link corresponding to the at least one first communication connection may be determined first, and the at least one second communication connection corresponding to the at least one second communication connection may be converted after conversion, and the determined connection related information and the first link corresponding to the first link may be used. At least one of connection-related information corresponding to a communication connection and connection-related information corresponding to a second communication connection determines connection-related information corresponding to the second link.

S607: The relay UE sends a request message to the remote UE. The request message may include the link identifier of the first link, connection-related information corresponding to the second link, first application layer information, etc., and is used to notify the remote UE to convert the first link to the second link. For details, please refer to the relevant description of S509 above.

S608: The remote UE determines a response message according to the request message sent by the relay UE. For details, please refer to the relevant description of S510 above.

S609: The remote UE sends a response message to the relay UE.

If the remote UE allows link conversion, after the remote UE converts the first link to the second link, S609a: The remote UE sends a response message to the relay UE. The response message is used to indicate that the remote UE supports the second link. Two links. The response message may also include second application layer information. The application layer information includes, for example, an application program identifier or an application layer identifier, and is used to indicate services that can be transferred to the second communication system, including short-range services or applications.

In this way, the synchronization update of the wireless communication link between the remote UE and the relay UE is realized, and the relay UE can transmit the remote UE's information with the second communication system based on the converted second communication connection and second link. The second data realizes the network communication function of the remote UE under the second communication system, and guarantees the service continuity on the remote UE.

If the remote UE does not allow link switching, the remote UE can maintain the first link. S609b: The remote UE sends a response message to the relay UE. The response message is used to indicate that the remote UE does not support the second link. The response message may also include a reason for not supporting, for example, the remote UE does not support related QoS parameters and/or related network slice information of the second link.

Correspondingly, the relay UE can determine the corresponding network communication strategy based on the feedback of the remote UE and combined with the relevant factors of the relay UE itself.

S610: The relay UE sends a handover confirm message to the second base station.

If there is at least one first communication connection and its corresponding at least one first link can be transferred to the second communication system, the relay UE can make a strategy for network handover, and the handover response message includes instructions for instructing the The information that a communication connection is converted to a second communication connection is used to notify the conversion of the first communication connection to the second communication connection. S611: The handover process is completed between the first communication system and the second communication system, and the first communication connection is converted to the second communication connection.

If there is no first communication connection that can be transferred to the second communication system, or the relay UE makes a strategy not to perform network handover (for example, based on the feedback of the remote UE and/or based on its own related factors, etc.), etc., The handover response message may be used to notify the handover cancellation, S612: the first base station initiates a handover cancel (handover cancel) process, which will not be repeated here. If the handover is cancelled, the remote UE and the relay UE are still in the first communication system and use the first mobile communication technology to maintain communication and related services.

S613: Release the related first link and/or the first communication connection. For details, please refer to S512 above, which will not be repeated here.

Therefore, through the communication method shown in FIG. 5 or FIG. 6, it is realized that when the first communication connection established by the relay UE for the remote UE is to be converted to the second communication connection, the difference between the relay UE and the remote UE is realized. The wireless communication links between them are updated synchronously to ensure the continuity of services on the remote UE as much as possible.

Example three

Referring to FIG. 7, if the remote UE in the idle state moves from the first communication system to the second communication system, and the synchronization update of the wireless communication link between the remote UE and the relay UE occurs when the relay UE switches to the new communication system. After the network, the communication method of this application is specifically as follows:

S701: The remote user equipment UE establishes one or more first links with the relay user equipment UE. The first link can be used for the remote UE to exchange data with the first communication system through the relay UE. The first link is, for example, a D2D link. For details, please refer to the relevant description of S501 above, which will not be repeated here.

S702: The relay UE establishes a first communication connection.

The first communication connection includes one or more first communication connections established by the relay UE for the remote UE, and the first communication connection has an association relationship with the first link, and the association relationship may be stored by the relay UE. The first communication connection may be used to relay data exchange between the UE and the first communication system, for example, to transmit the first data of the remote UE. For details, please refer to the relevant description of S502 above, which will not be repeated here.

If the remote UE is in an idle state and moves from the first communication system to the second communication system, S703: the relay UE is triggered to register (registration is triggered).

S704: The relay UE determines at least one first communication connection that can be transferred to the second communication system, and determines related information of the second communication connection corresponding to the at least one first communication connection.

S705: The relay UE sends a registration request (registration request) message to the second base station. The status parameter of the second communication connection carried in the registration request message includes status information of the first communication connection to be converted to the second communication connection, and the status information is used to convert the first communication connection to the second communication connection .

If you move from a 4G communication system to a 5G communication system, the PDU session status parameters carried in the above registration request message include the status information of the PDN connection established by the relay UE for the remote UE and will be handed over to the 5G communication system, PSI( PDU session status bit value 0 means that the PDN connection (or corresponding PDU session) is in the "inactive" state, and value 1 means that the PDN connection (or corresponding PDU session) is "active" state. The "inactive" state indicates that there is no established session, that is, the UE and the network both have a context where there is no session. The "active" state refers to an established session, and both the UE and the network have context.

If moving from a 5G communication system to a 4G communication system, the above registration request message is a Tracking Area Update Request message. The EPS bearer status parameters carried in this message include the above-mentioned set up for the remote UE and will be handed over. The status information of the PDU session to the 4G communication system, that is, the EBI (EPS bearer context status) bit value is 0, which means that the PDU session (or the default EPS bearer of the corresponding PDN connection) is in the "inactive" state, which means that it is not. There is a corresponding bearer, and a value of 1 means that the PDU session (or the default EPS bearer of the corresponding PDN connection) is in the "active" state, which means that there is a corresponding bearer.

If there is at least one first communication connection that can be transferred to the second communication system, S706: the relay UE completes the registration process in the second communication system, and the first communication connection is converted to the second communication connection.

S707: The relay UE determines the successfully converted first communication connection and the converted second communication connection, and determines connection related information corresponding to the second link. For details, please refer to S508 above, which will not be repeated here.

S708: The relay UE sends a request message to the remote UE. The request message includes the link identifier of the first link, connection-related information corresponding to the second link, first application layer information, and the like. For details, please refer to S509 above, which will not be repeated here.

S709: The remote UE determines a response message according to the request message sent by the relay UE. For details, please refer to S510 above, which will not be repeated here.

S710: The remote UE sends a response message to the relay UE.

If the remote UE allows link conversion, after the remote UE converts the first link to the second link, S710a: the remote UE sends a response message to the relay UE. The response message is used to indicate that the remote UE supports the second link. Two links. The response message is used to indicate that the remote UE supports the second link. The response message may also include second application layer information. The application layer information includes, for example, an application program identifier or an application layer identifier, and is used to indicate services that can be transferred to the second communication system, including short-range services or applications.

If the remote UE does not allow link switching, the remote UE can maintain the first link, S710b: the remote UE sends a response message to the relay UE, and the response message is used to indicate that the remote UE does not support the second link. The response message may also include a reason for not supporting, for example, the remote UE does not support related QoS parameters and/or related network slice information of the second link. For details, please refer to S511 above, which will not be repeated here.

Correspondingly, the relay UE can determine the corresponding network communication strategy according to the feedback of the remote UE and combined with the relevant factors of the relay UE itself, so as to provide support for maintaining the network communication of the remote UE.

For example, whether the communication in the second communication system is still maintained and the relay function is terminated and the remote UE is notified. Or, whether to re-transfer from the second communication system to the first communication system to continue to maintain network communication in the first communication system to ensure service continuity of the remote UE. Or, whether to establish a multi-hop communication link with the remote UE through at least one other relay UE in the second communication system, so as to realize the network communication function of the remote UE in the second communication system. This application does not limit the specific implementation of this. Correspondingly, the relay UE informs the remote UE and the network after making a corresponding network communication strategy.

If the first link cannot be transferred to the second communication system, and the remote UE is currently in a scene (such as an earthquake, typhoon, etc.) that requires network communication, the relay UE can also request that it be previously established for the remote UE The first communication connection is re-registered to the first communication system. This S710 may be the registration procedure of the relay UE in the first communication system. For details, please refer to the description of the existing standard, which will not be repeated here.

S711: Release the related first link, first communication connection and/or second communication connection. For details, please refer to S512 above, which will not be repeated here.

Thus, through the above procedure, the relay UE in the idle state moves from the first communication system to the second communication system. After the first communication connection established by the relay UE for the remote UE is converted to the second communication connection, the remote The wireless communication link between the UE and the relay UE is updated synchronously to ensure the continuity of services on the remote UE as much as possible.

Example four

Referring to Figure 8, if the remote UE in the idle state moves from the first communication system to the second communication system, and the synchronization update of the wireless communication link between the remote UE and the relay UE occurs when the relay UE switches to the new communication system. In the process of the network, the communication method of this application is specifically as follows:

S801: The remote user equipment UE establishes one or more first links with the relay user equipment UE. The first link can be used for the remote UE to exchange data with the first communication system through the relay UE. The first link is, for example, a D2D link. For details, please refer to the relevant description of S501 above, which will not be repeated here.

S802: The relay UE establishes a first communication connection.

The first communication connection is one or more first communication connections established by the relay UE for the remote UE, and the first communication connection has an association relationship with the first link, and the association relationship may be stored by the relay UE. The first communication connection may be used to relay data exchange between the UE and the first communication system, for example, to transmit the first data of the remote UE. For details, please refer to the relevant description of S502 above, which will not be repeated here.

If the remote UE is in an idle state and moves from the first communication system to the second communication system, S803: the relay UE is triggered to register (registration is triggered).

S804: The relay UE determines at least one first communication connection that can be transferred to the second communication system.

S805: The relay UE determines connection related information corresponding to the second link. For details, please refer to S508 above, which will not be repeated here.

S806: The relay UE sends a request message to the remote UE. The request message includes the link identifier of the first link, connection-related information corresponding to the second link, first application layer information, and the like. For details, please refer to S509 above, which will not be repeated here.

S807: The remote UE determines a response message according to the request message sent by the relay UE. For details, please refer to S510 above, which will not be repeated here.

S808: The remote UE sends a response message to the relay UE.

If the remote UE allows link conversion, after the remote UE converts the first link to the second link, S808a: The remote UE sends a response message to the relay UE. The response message is used to instruct the remote UE to support the second link. Two links. The response message is used to indicate that the remote UE supports the second link. The response message may also include second application layer information. The application layer information includes, for example, an application program identifier or an application layer identifier, and is used to indicate services that can be transferred to the second communication system, including short-range services or applications.

In this way, the wireless communication link between the remote UE and the relay UE can be updated synchronously. If the relay UE performs a network handover, the relay UE can be based on the converted second communication connection and the second link. 2. The data of the remote UE is transmitted in the communication system to realize the network communication function of the remote UE under the second communication system, and to ensure the service continuity on the remote UE.

If the remote UE does not allow link switching, the remote UE can maintain the first link. S808b: The remote UE sends a response message to the relay UE. The response message is used to indicate that the remote UE does not support the second link. The response message may also include a reason for not supporting, for example, the remote UE does not support related QoS parameters and/or related network slice information of the second link. For details, please refer to S511 above, which will not be repeated here.

For example, if both the first communication connection and the first link can be transferred to the second communication system, the relay UE may decide to perform a network handover, S809: the relay UE sends a registration request (registration request) message to the second base station. The status parameter of the second communication connection carried in the registration request message includes status information of the first communication connection to be converted to the second communication connection, and the status information is used to convert the first communication connection to the second communication connection . If the first link cannot be transferred to the second communication system, the relay UE may maintain the first communication connection. This S809 may be a handover cancellation process, which will not be repeated here.

If there is at least one first communication connection that can be transferred to the second communication system, S810: the relay UE completes the registration process in the second communication system, and the first communication connection is converted to the second communication connection.

If the first link cannot be transferred to the second communication system, and the remote UE is currently in a scene (such as an earthquake, typhoon, etc.) that requires network communication, the relay UE can also request that it be previously established for the remote UE The first communication connection is re-registered to the first communication system. This S810 may be the registration procedure of the relay UE in the first communication system. For details, please refer to the description of the existing standard, which will not be repeated here.

S811: Release the relevant first link and/or the first communication connection. For details, please refer to S512 above, which will not be repeated here.

Therefore, through the above process, the relay UE in the idle state moves from the first communication system to the second communication system, and the first communication connection established by the relay UE for the remote UE is converted to the second communication connection. The wireless communication link between the remote UE and the relay UE is updated synchronously to ensure the continuity of services on the remote UE as much as possible.

Based on the same technical concept, as shown in FIG. 9, it is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of this application. The device may be the remote UE described in the embodiment of this application, and can perform the method of any of the above embodiments. .

As shown in FIG. 9, the communication device 900 may include a processing unit 910, a sending unit 920, and a receiving unit 930.

The processing unit 910 is configured to establish a first link and a first communication connection, where the first link is used to transmit first data of a remote user equipment UE; the first communication connection is used to transfer the first data Transmission to the first communication system.

The sending unit 920 is configured to send a request message to the remote UE during the process of converting the first communication connection to the second communication connection, or after the first communication connection is converted to the second communication connection. The message is used to notify the remote UE to convert the first link to the second link, where the second link is used to transmit second data of the remote UE, and the second communication connection Used to transmit the second data to a second communication system, the request message includes connection-related information corresponding to the second link, and the connection-related information includes at least one of QoS parameters and network slice information. One item

The receiving unit 930 is configured to receive a response message sent by the remote UE according to the connection-related information.

In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the processing unit is further configured to: before the sending unit sends the request message to the remote UE, according to the first information, determine that it can be transferred to the second communication system The first communication connection of, wherein the first information includes information indicating that the first communication connection can be converted into the second communication connection.

In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the processing unit is further configured to: before the sending unit sends the request message to the remote UE, determine the connection-related information corresponding to the second link according to the second information Wherein, the second information includes at least one of the following: connection-related information corresponding to the first link; connection-related information corresponding to the first communication connection; connection-related information corresponding to the second communication connection.

In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the relay UE determines the connection-related information corresponding to the second link according to the second information, including: the relay UE according to the QoS of the first link At least one of the parameters, the QoS parameters of the first communication connection, and the QoS parameters of the second communication connection, mapping to generate the QoS parameters of the second link; and/or the relay UE according to the The network slice information associated with the first communication connection determines the network slice information corresponding to the second link.

In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the request message further includes at least one of the following: a link identifier of the first link, used to notify the first link to be transferred to the second communication system Road; first application layer information, the first application layer information includes the identification of the application or the identification of the application layer, used to notify the service to be transferred to the second communication system.

In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the response message is used to indicate whether the remote UE supports the second link.

In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, if the processing unit receives the response message in the process of converting the first communication connection to the second communication connection, the processing unit converts the first communication connection The second communication connection includes: if the response message indicates that the remote UE supports the second link, the processing unit sends a handover response to the second communication system according to the response message, The handover response is used to instruct to convert the first communication connection to the second communication connection; and/or if the response message indicates that the remote UE does not support the second link, the processing unit According to the response message, the first communication connection is maintained.

In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, if the processing unit receives the response message after converting the first communication connection to the second communication connection, and the response message indicates that the remote UE does not support all For the second link, the processing unit is further configured to: according to the response message, re-convert the second communication connection to the first communication connection.

In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, if the response message indicates that the remote UE supports the second link, the response message also includes second application layer information, and the second application layer information The identifier of the application program or the identifier of the application layer is included, and is used to indicate the service transferred to the second communication system.

In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, if the relay UE is in an idle state, converting the first communication connection to a second communication connection includes: the sending unit sends a registration to the second communication system Request, the registration request carries status information of the first communication connection, and the status information is used to convert the first communication connection to the second communication connection.

In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the first link and/or the second link are a D2D link through the terminal.

In specific implementation, as an embodiment, the first communication system is a fourth-generation communication system, and the second communication system is a fifth-generation communication system; or the first communication system is a fifth-generation communication system , The second communication system is a fourth-generation communication system.

In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the first communication connection is a protocol data network PDN connection, and the second communication connection is a protocol data unit PDU session; or the first communication connection is a PDU session, and the The second communication connection is a PDN connection.

As shown in FIG. 10, it is a schematic diagram of another communication device provided by this application. The device may be the remote UE described in the embodiment of the present application, and may execute the method of any of the foregoing embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 10, the communication device 1000 may include a processing unit 1010, a receiving unit 1020, and a sending unit 1030.

The processing unit 1010 is configured to establish a first link, and the first link is used to transmit first data of a remote user equipment UE.

The receiving unit 1020 is configured to receive a request message sent by the relay UE in the process of converting the first communication connection to the second communication connection, or after converting the first communication connection to the second communication connection, the request The message is used to notify the remote UE to convert the first link to the second link, wherein the first communication connection is used to transmit the first data to the first communication system, and the second The link is used to transmit the second data of the remote UE, the second communication connection is used to transmit the second data to a second communication system, and the request message includes the data corresponding to the second link. Connection-related information, where the connection-related information includes at least one of quality of service QoS parameters and network slicing information.

The processing unit 1010 is configured to determine a response message according to the connection-related information.

The sending unit 1030 is configured to send a response message to the relay UE.

In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the request message further includes the link identifier of the first link, which is used to notify the first link to be transferred to the second communication system; The processing unit determining the response message according to the connection-related information includes: determining whether the first link can be converted to the second link according to the link identifier and the connection-related information corresponding to the second link Where the response message is used to indicate whether the remote UE supports the second link.

In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the processing unit is further configured to: if the response message indicates that the remote UE supports the second link, send to the relay UE in the sending unit Before responding to the message, the processing unit converts the first link into the second link.

In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the request message further includes first application layer information, and the first application layer information includes the identifier of the application program or the identifier of the application layer, and is used to notify the transfer to the For services of the second communication system, before converting the first link to the second link, the processing unit is further configured to: determine whether to transfer the first link according to the first application layer information Convert to the second link.

In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, if the response message indicates that the remote UE does not support the second link, the processing unit is further configured to: maintain the first link.

In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the connection-related information corresponding to the second link is determined by the relay UE according to at least one of the following: connection-related information corresponding to the first link; Connection-related information corresponding to the first communication connection; connection-related information corresponding to the second communication connection.

In specific implementation, as an embodiment, the QoS parameter of the second link is the QoS parameter of the relay UE according to the QoS parameter of the first link, the QoS parameter of the first communication connection, and the second link. 2. At least one item of the QoS parameters of the communication connection is generated by mapping; and/or the network slice information corresponding to the second link is determined by the relay UE according to the network slice information associated with the first communication connection.

As shown in FIG. 11, a schematic diagram of a user equipment provided by an embodiment of this application.

The user equipment 1100 may include a memory 1101, a processor 1102, a communication interface 1103, and a bus 1104. The memory 1101 stores code and data. The processor 1102, the memory 1101, and the communication interface 1103 pass through the bus 1104. 1104 connection, the processor runs the code in the memory to make the communication device execute the method of any one of the foregoing embodiments.

The processor 1102 can be a general-purpose central processing unit (central processing unit, CPU), a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (server IC), or one or more programs for controlling the execution of the program of this application Integrated circuits.

Communication interface 1103, using any device such as a transceiver to communicate with other devices or communication networks, such as Ethernet, radio access network (RAN), wireless local area networks (WLAN), etc. .

The bus 1104 may include a path for transferring information between the above-mentioned components.

The memory 1101 can be a read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, random access memory (RAM), or other types that can store information and instructions The dynamic storage device can also be electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (electrically programmable read-only memory, EEPROM), compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disk storage, Optical disc storage (including compressed optical discs, laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs, Blu-ray discs, etc.), magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, or can be used to carry or store desired program codes in the form of instructions or data structures and can Any other medium accessed by the computer, but not limited to this. The memory may exist independently, and is connected to the processor through the bus 1104. The memory can also be integrated with the processor.

The memory 1101 is used to store computer-executable instructions for executing the solution of the present application, and the processor 1102 controls the execution. The processor 1102 is configured to execute computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 1101, so that the communication device implements the communication method provided in the following embodiments of the present application.

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

In the above embodiments, it may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, it can be implemented in the form of a computer program product in whole or in part. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on the computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a dedicated computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from a website, computer, server, or data center. Transmission to another website site, computer, server or data center via wired (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or a data center integrated with one or more available media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, and a magnetic tape), an optical medium (for example, a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (for example, a solid state disk (SSD)).

The various illustrative logic units and circuits described in the embodiments of this application can be implemented by general-purpose processors, digital signal processors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, Discrete gates or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination of the above are designed to implement or operate the described functions. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor. Alternatively, the general-purpose processor may also be any traditional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor can also be implemented by a combination of computing devices, such as a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors combined with a digital signal processor core, or any other similar configuration. accomplish.

The steps of the method or algorithm described in the embodiments of the present application can be directly embedded in hardware, a software unit executed by a processor, or a combination of the two. The software unit can be stored in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, removable disk, CD-ROM, or any other storage medium in the art. Exemplarily, the storage medium may be connected to the processor, so that the processor can read information from the storage medium, and can store and write information to the storage medium. Optionally, the storage medium may also be integrated into the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be arranged in an ASIC, and the ASIC can be arranged in a terminal device. Optionally, the processor and the storage medium may also be provided in different components in the terminal device.

These computer program instructions can also be loaded on a computer or other programmable data processing equipment, so that a series of operation steps are executed on the computer or other programmable equipment to produce computer-implemented processing, so as to execute on the computer or other programmable equipment. The instructions provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one process or multiple processes in the flowchart and/or one block or multiple blocks in the block diagram.

Although the application has been described in combination with specific features and embodiments, it is obvious that various modifications and combinations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the application. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are merely exemplary descriptions of the application as defined by the appended claims, and are deemed to cover any and all modifications, changes, combinations or equivalents within the scope of the application. Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the application without departing from the spirit and scope of the application. In this way, if these modifications and variations of this application fall within the scope of the claims of this application and their equivalent technologies, then this application is also intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

A communication method, characterized in that the method includes:

The relay user equipment UE establishes a first link with the remote user equipment UE, and the first link is used to transmit the first data of the remote UE;

Establishing a first communication connection by the relay UE, and the first communication connection is used to transmit the first data to a first communication system;

In the process of converting the first communication connection to the second communication connection, or after converting the first communication connection to the second communication connection, the relay UE sends a request message to the remote UE, the request message Is used to notify the remote UE to convert the first link to a second link, where the second link is used to transmit second data of the remote UE, and the second communication connection is used When transmitting the second data to the second communication system, the request message includes connection-related information corresponding to the second link, and the connection-related information includes at least one of QoS parameters and network slice information. item;

The relay UE receives the response message sent by the remote UE according to the connection related information.
The method according to claim 1, wherein before the relay UE sends the request message to the remote UE, the method further comprises:

The relay UE determines the first communication connection that can be transferred to the second communication system based on the first information, where the first information includes an indication that the first communication connection can be converted to the second communication Connection information.
The method according to claim 1, wherein before the relay UE sends a request message to the remote UE, the method further comprises:

Determining, by the relay UE, connection-related information corresponding to the second link according to the second information;

Wherein, the second information includes at least one of the following:

Connection-related information corresponding to the first link;

Connection-related information corresponding to the first communication connection;

Connection related information corresponding to the second communication connection.
The method according to claim 3, wherein the relay UE determining the connection-related information corresponding to the second link according to the second information comprises:

The relay UE maps and generates the QoS parameters of the second link according to at least one of the QoS parameters of the first link, the QoS parameters of the first communication connection, and the QoS parameters of the second communication connection. QoS parameters; and/or

The relay UE determines the network slice information corresponding to the second link according to the network slice information associated with the first communication connection.
The method according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein the request message further includes at least one of the following:

The link identifier of the first link is used to notify the first link to be transferred to the second communication system;

First application layer information, where the first application layer information includes an identification of an application program or an identification of an application layer, and is used to notify the service to be transferred to the second communication system.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the response message is used to indicate whether the remote UE supports the second link.
The method according to claim 6, wherein if the relay UE receives the response message in the process of converting the first communication connection to the second communication connection, the relay UE sends the first communication connection to the second communication connection. The conversion of a communication connection to the second communication connection includes:

If the response message indicates that the remote UE supports the second link, the relay UE sends a handover response to the second communication system according to the response message, where the handover response is used to indicate that the remote UE supports the second link. The first communication connection is converted to the second communication connection; and/or

If the response message indicates that the remote UE does not support the second link, the relay UE maintains the first communication connection according to the response message.
The method according to claim 6, wherein if the relay UE receives the response message after converting the first communication connection to the second communication connection, and the response message indicates the remote UE The second link is not supported, and the method further includes:

The relay UE re-converts the second communication connection to the first communication connection according to the response message.
The method according to any one of claims 6-8, wherein if the response message indicates that the remote UE supports the second link, the response message further includes second application layer information The second application layer information includes an identification of an application program or an identification of an application layer, and is used to indicate a service transferred to the second communication system.
The method according to any one of claims 1-9, wherein if the relay UE is in an idle state, the relay UE converting the first communication connection to the second communication connection comprises:

The relay UE sends a registration request to the second communication system, the registration request carries status information of the first communication connection, and the status information is used to convert the first communication connection to the second communication connection. 2. Communication connection.
The method according to any one of claims 1-10, wherein the first link and/or the second link is a terminal direct D2D link.
The method according to any one of claims 1-11, wherein:

The first communication system is a fourth-generation communication system, and the second communication system is a fifth-generation communication system; or

The first communication system is a fifth-generation communication system, and the second communication system is a fourth-generation communication system.
The method of claim 12, wherein:

The first communication connection is a protocol data network PDN connection, and the second communication connection is a protocol data unit PDU session; or

The first communication connection is a PDU session, and the second communication connection is a PDN connection.
A communication method, characterized in that the method includes:

The remote user equipment UE establishes a first link with the relay user equipment UE, and the first link is used to transmit the first data of the remote UE;

The remote UE receives a request message sent by the relay UE in the process of converting the first communication connection to the second communication connection, or after the first communication connection is converted to the second communication connection, the request message Is used to notify the remote UE to convert the first link to the second link, wherein the first communication connection is used to transmit the first data to the first communication system, and the second link The second communication link is used to transmit the second data of the remote UE, the second communication connection is used to transmit the second data to the second communication system, and the request message includes the connection corresponding to the second link. Related information, where the connection related information includes at least one of quality of service QoS parameters and network slicing information;

Determining, by the remote UE, a response message according to the connection-related information;

The remote UE sends a response message to the relay UE.
The method according to claim 14, wherein the request message further includes a link identifier of the first link, which is used to notify the first link to be transferred to the second communication system The remote UE determines the response message according to the connection-related information, including:

The remote UE determines whether the first link can be converted to the second link according to the link identifier and the connection related information corresponding to the second link, wherein the response message is used for Indicate whether the remote UE supports the second link.
The method according to claim 15, wherein if the response message indicates that the remote UE supports the second link, before the remote UE sends the response message to the relay UE, the Methods also include:

The remote UE converts the first link to the second link.
The method according to claim 16, wherein the request message further includes first application layer information, and the first application layer information includes an application program identifier or an application layer identifier, and is used to notify the transfer to For the service of the second communication system, before the remote UE converts the first link to the second link, the method further includes:

The remote UE determines whether to convert the first link to the second link according to the first application layer information.
The method according to claim 17, wherein if the response message indicates that the remote UE supports the second link, the response message further includes second application layer information, and the second application The layer information includes the identification of the application program or the identification of the application layer, and is used to indicate the service transferred to the second communication system.
The method according to claim 15, wherein if the response message indicates that the remote UE does not support the second link, the method further comprises:

The remote UE maintains the first link.
The method according to any one of claims 14-19, wherein the connection-related information corresponding to the second link is determined by the relay UE according to at least one of the following:

Connection-related information corresponding to the first link;

Connection-related information corresponding to the first communication connection;

Connection related information corresponding to the second communication connection.
The method of claim 20, wherein:

The QoS parameter of the second link is based on at least one of the QoS parameter of the first link, the QoS parameter of the first communication connection, and the QoS parameter of the second communication connection by the relay UE Generated by the mapping; and/or

The network slice information corresponding to the second link is determined by the relay UE according to the network slice information associated with the first communication connection.
The method according to any one of claims 14-21, wherein the first link and/or the second link is a terminal direct D2D link.
The method according to any one of claims 14-22, characterized in that,

The first communication system is a fourth-generation communication system, and the second communication system is a fifth-generation communication system; or

The first communication system is a fifth-generation communication system, and the second communication system is a fourth-generation communication system.
The method of claim 23, wherein:

The first communication connection is a protocol data network PDN connection, and the second communication connection is a protocol data unit PDU session; or

The first communication connection is a PDU session, and the second communication connection is a PDN connection.
A communication device, characterized by comprising a processing unit, a sending unit, and a receiving unit;

The processing unit is configured to establish a first link and a first communication connection, where the first link is used to transmit first data of a remote user equipment UE; the first communication connection is used to connect the first Data transmission to the first communication system;

The sending unit is configured to send a request message to the remote UE during the process of converting the first communication connection to the second communication connection, or after converting the first communication connection to the second communication connection, The request message is used to notify the remote UE to convert the first link to the second link, where the second link is used to transmit second data of the remote UE, and the second communication The connection is used to transmit the second data to the second communication system, and the request message includes connection-related information corresponding to the second link, and the connection-related information includes quality of service QoS parameters and network slice information. At least one

The receiving unit is configured to receive a response message sent by the remote UE according to the connection-related information.
A communication device, characterized by comprising a processing unit, a receiving unit, and a sending unit;

The processing unit is configured to establish a first link, and the first link is configured to transmit first data of a remote user equipment UE;

The receiving unit is configured to receive a request message sent by the relay UE in the process of converting the first communication connection to the second communication connection, or after converting the first communication connection to the second communication connection, the The request message is used to notify the remote UE to convert the first link to the second link, wherein the first communication connection is used to transmit the first data to the first communication system, and the first communication connection is used to transmit the first data to the first communication system. The second link is used to transmit the second data of the remote UE, the second communication connection is used to transmit the second data to the second communication system, and the request message includes the second link corresponding The connection-related information of, where the connection-related information includes at least one of QoS parameters and network slicing information;

The processing unit is configured to determine a response message according to the connection-related information;

The sending unit is configured to send a response message to the relay UE.
A user equipment, characterized in that the communication device includes a memory, a processor, a communication interface, and a bus, the memory stores code and data, and the processor, the memory, and the communication interface pass through the bus. Connected, the processor runs the code in the memory to make the communication device execute the communication method according to any one of claims 1-13.
A user equipment, characterized in that the communication device includes a memory, a processor, a communication interface, and a bus, the memory stores code and data, and the processor, the memory, and the communication interface pass through the bus. Connected, the processor runs the code in the memory to make the communication device execute the communication method according to any one of claims 14-24.