RU2800001C1 - Information transmission method and communication device - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: wireless communication.

SUBSTANCE: first user equipment (UE) receives from the second UE network information associated with its network state, receives radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration information carrying identification information, transmits to the base station network information of the second UE identified by the information identification, and receives indication information from the base station. The identification information identifies the second UE, and the indication information indicates the second UE to operate in the first operating state.

EFFECT: increased efficiency of the use of network resources.

20 cl, 11 dwg

Description

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY

[1] The disclosure of the present invention relates to the field of wireless communication technologies, but is not limited to these technologies, and more specifically, relates to methods, devices, communication devices and to an information carrier designed to transmit information.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[2] In order to support direct communication between user equipment terminals (UEs, User Equipment) in a cellular mobile communication network, a direct connection communication mode is introduced, and the interface between UEs is called PC-5. Typically, a UE supports three transmission modes over a direct connection: unicast, multicast, and broadcast.

[3] As shown in FIG. 1, in the direct connection transmission mode, one UE may communicate with a base station by relaying this communication through another UE. Meanwhile, a UE not connected to a base station is referred to as a remote UE (remote UE), and a UE performing a relay function is referred to as a relay UE (relay UE). The remote UE communicates with the relay UE over a direct connection.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[4] In accordance with the first aspect of the disclosure of the present invention, a method for transmitting information is provided. The method is applicable to the first UE and includes:

[5] receiving network information related to the network state of the second UE and transmitted by the second UE;

[6] transmitting network information to the base station;

[7] receiving the first indication information transmitted by the base station, wherein the first indication information indicates the second UE to operate in the first operating state.

[8] In accordance with the second aspect of the disclosure of the present invention, a method for transmitting information is provided. The method is applicable to the second UE and includes:

[9] transmitting, to the first UE, network information related to the network state of the second UE;

[10] receiving the first indication information transmitted by the base station, wherein the first indication information indicates the second UE to operate in the first operating state.

[11] In accordance with the third aspect of the disclosure of the present invention, a method for transmitting information is provided. The method is applicable to a base station and includes:

[12] receiving network information transmitted by the first UE and associated with the network state of the second UE; And

[13] transmitting the first indication information, wherein the first indication information indicates the second UE to operate in the first operating state.

[14] According to a fourth aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a communication device comprising a processor, a transceiver, a memory, and an executable program stored in the memory, after which the processor executes the steps of the communication method according to the first, second, or third aspects.

[15] The method and apparatus for transmitting information and the storage medium provided within the embodiments of the present invention allow a base station to select a second UE to operate in a first operating state based on network information. Due to this, the network state of the selected second UE can satisfy the requirements of the first operating state, resulting in improved communication quality.

[16] It should be appreciated that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are provided by way of example and explanation only, and should not limit the scope of the disclosure of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[17] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form part of this specification, illustrate embodiments without prejudice to the spirit of the present invention and, together with the description, assist in understanding the principles of the disclosure.

[18] FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a relay wireless communication system in accordance with an embodiment.

[19] FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a wireless communication system in accordance with an embodiment.

[20] FIG. 3 shows the execution flow of the information transmission method according to the embodiment.

[21] FIG. 4 shows a flowchart for another method of transmitting information according to an embodiment.

[22] FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of yet another information transfer method in accordance with an embodiment.

[23] FIG. 6 shows the execution flow of another information transfer method according to the embodiment.

[24] FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of yet another information transfer method in accordance with an embodiment.

[25] FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of an apparatus for transmitting information according to an embodiment.

[26] FIG. 9 shows a block diagram of another device for transmitting information according to an embodiment.

[27] FIG. 10 shows a block diagram of another device for transmitting information in accordance with an embodiment.

[28] FIG. 11 shows a block diagram of an apparatus for transmitting information according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[29] The following describes in more detail the embodiments of the present invention, illustrated by means of the accompanying drawings. The following description is given with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like numbers designate the same or like elements, unless expressly indicated otherwise. The embodiments set forth in the following description do not cover all embodiments that do not conflict with the disclosure of the present invention. On the contrary, this description provides only embodiments of devices and methods corresponding to aspects related to the disclosure of the invention, the essence of which is set forth in the attached claims.

[30] The terms used in the embodiments of the disclosure of the present invention are used only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the disclosure of the present invention. As used in the embodiments of the present invention and the appended claims, the singular expressed by the terms "one", "specific" and "specified" also includes plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be appreciated that the term "and/or" as used herein includes any combination and all possible combinations of one or more related enumerated elements.

[31] It should also be appreciated that while the terms "first", "second", "third", etc. may be used to describe various information in the embodiments of the disclosure of the present invention, such information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish between information of the same type. For example, without departing from the scope of the invention, the first information may also be referred to as the second information, and similarly, the second information may also be referred to as the first information. Depending on the context, the term "if" as used in this specification may be interpreted as "if", "when", or "in response to a determination".

[32] FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a wireless communication system in accordance with an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the wireless communication system is a communication system based on cellular mobile technology and may include multiple terminals 11 and multiple base stations 12.

[33] The terminal 11 may be a device that provides the user with the ability to transmit voice and/or data. Terminal 11 may communicate with one or more core networks via a Radio Access Network (RAN), and terminal 11 may be an IoT terminal such as a sensor, a mobile phone (or "cell" phone), and a computer equipped with an IoT terminal, such as a fixed, portable, pocket, laptop, embedded or mobile-mounted device such as a station (STA, STAtion), subscriber unit, subscriber station, mobile station , mobile remote station, access point, remote terminal, access terminal, user terminal, user agent, user device, or user equipment (UE). Alternatively, terminal 11 may also be an unmanned aerial vehicle. Alternatively, terminal 11 may also be a vehicle-mounted device, such as an on-board computer with wireless capability, or a wireless communication device externally connected to an on-board computer. Alternatively, the terminal 11 may be a roadside device, such as a street light, signal lamp, or other roadside device equipped with wireless communication.

[34] The base station 12 may be a network side device in a wireless communication system. The wireless communication system may be a 4th generation (4G) mobile communication system, also referred to as a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system; or the wireless communication system may also be a 5G system, also called a New Radio Technology (NR, New Radio) system or a 5G NR system. Alternatively, the wireless communication system may also be a next generation 5G system. The access network in a 5G system may be referred to as NG-RAN (New Generation-Radio Access Network). Alternatively, the wireless access system may be an MTC system.

[35] The base station 12 may be an evolved base station (eNB) used in a 4G system. Alternatively, base station 12 may also be a base station (gNB) that uses a centralized distributed architecture in a 5G system. If the base station 12 uses a centralized distributed architecture, then the base station usually contains a central unit (CU, Central Unit) and at least two distributed units (DU, Distributed Unit). The central unit supports the protocol stacks of the packet data convergence layer (PDCD, Packet Data Convergence Protocol), the radio link control layer (RLC, Radio Link Control) and the medium access control layer (MAC, Medium Access Control); the distributed unit supports the physical layer (PHY, PHYsical) protocol stack, and the specific implementation of the base station 12 is not limited in the embodiments of the disclosure of the present invention.

[36] A wireless connection between the base station 12 and the terminal 11 may be established via a wireless air interface. According to various implementations, the wireless air interface is a wireless air interface based on a fourth generation (4G) mobile network technology standard, or the wireless air interface is a wireless air interface based on a fifth generation (5G) mobile network technology standard, such as a new radio technology interface; or the wireless air interface may also be a wireless air interface based on the 5G next generation mobile network technology standard.

[37] According to some embodiments, an end-to-end connection (E2E, End to End) can also be established between the terminals 11, for example, in scenarios such as V2V (Vehicle to Vehicle), V2I (Vehicle to Infrastructure), and V2P (Vehicle to Pedestrian, Vehicle to Pedestrian), in the V2X (Vehicle to Everything) mode).

[38] According to some embodiments, the above wireless communication system may also include a network manager 13 .

[39] Several base stations 12 are respectively connected to the network control device 13 . The network control device 13 may be a core network device in a wireless communication system. For example, the network management device 13 may be a Mobility Management Entity (MME) in an Evolved Packet Core (EPC). Alternatively, the network manager may also be another core network device such as a Serving GateWay (SGW), a Public Data Network Gateway (PGW), a Policy And Charging Rules Function (PCRF), or a Home Subscriber Server (HSS), etc. The implementation of the network control device 13 is not limited in the embodiments of the disclosure of the present invention.

[40] Executing entities involved in the embodiments of the disclosure of the present invention, without limitation, include user equipment (UE), such as terminals supporting direct connection, and base stations designed for cellular mobile communications.

[41] In an application scenario according to the embodiments of the present invention, the remote UE does not leave the coverage area of the wireless network of the base station, the remote UE can transmit the measurement results of the direct connection radio signal of the UE with one or more relay UEs to the base station, the base station selects the relay UE based on the measurement results of the direct connection radio signal, and then transmits the identifier of the relay UE to the remote UE. If the UE transmits a measurement report, the report only carries the measurements of the direct connection radio signal and the identifiers of the direct connection UE. The base station is not aware of which network the direct-attached target UE is connected to, and thus, when selecting a relay UE, it may select a relay UE connected to other networks, which may result in relay communication being interrupted or data being lost.

[42] As shown in FIG. 3, in this embodiment of the present invention, a data transmission method is presented. In the first UE of the wireless communication system, the information transmission method may include the following steps:

[43] in step 301, receiving network information related to the network state of each of the second UEs and transmitted by one or more second UEs, respectively;

[44] in step 302, one or more network information is transmitted to the base station;

[45] In step 303, indication information transmitted by the base station is received, the indication information being configured to cause at least one second UE of one or more second UEs to operate in the first operating state.

[46] In step 301, the first UE may be a remote UE in a direct connection based relay communication, and the second UE may be an alternate relay UE in a direct connection based relay communication. One or more second UEs may be selected by the first UE from the plurality of UEs. The first UE may select a second UE from among the UEs capable of establishing a direct connection with the first UE. The second UE with which the network information is associated may also be identified by the base station, which may transmit a downlink instruction to the first UE to indicate the second UE with which the network information is associated.

[47] For example, the first UE may, based on the broadcast information received on the direct connection, determine a UE that is capable of establishing a direct connection, and determine a UE that is capable of establishing a direct connection as an alternate relay UE, i.e., a second UE.

[48] The network information may be used to indicate the network state of the second UE, such as the online state or the offline state, and the network information may include the following components: identification information of the base station in whose area the second UE is located, information about the cell in which the second UE is located, and/or the identifier of a public land mobile network (PLMN, Public Land Mobile Network), etc.

[49] The network information may also indicate a network connection state of the second UE, such as an idle state or a non-connected state of the second UE. After receiving the network information, the base station or the first UE may instruct the second UE to change the current network connection state by transmitting an instruction or other command in accordance with the network connection state of the second UE. For example, if the base station determines that the second UE is in an idle state based on the network information, it may send a paging instruction to wake up the second UE.

[50] The network information may also indicate whether the network of the second UE can satisfy the requirement of the second UE to operate in the first operating state, and the like. For example, the network information may indicate that the current operating state of the second UE does not satisfy the requirements of the first operating state, and after receiving the network information, the base station may not instruct the second UE to operate in the first operating state.

[51] The indication information transmitted to the second UE may be sent by the base station to the first UE and transmitted by the first UE to the second UE; the indication information may also be directly transmitted by the base station to the second UE to instruct the at least one second UE to operate in the first operating state.

[52] The first operating state may be a relay operating state and the like. In the relay operating state, the second UE may operate as a relay UE communicating between the base station and the first UE.

[53] The second UE may transmit network information to the first UE in a broadcast mode and the like. After receiving the network information of one or more second UEs, the first UE may transmit network information to the base station. In this case, the first UE may carry network information in an RRC message transmitted to the base station. The RRC information may contain the following messages: SidelinkUEinformation, UEAssistanceInformation or measurementreport, etc.

[54] After receiving the network information of one or more second UEs, the base station may select at least one second UE to operate in the first operating state. For example, the base station can determine the base station connected to the second UE based on the identification information contained in the network information, and select the second UE to operate in the first operating state if the base station connected to the second UE is the same as the base station connected to the first UE, whereby the second UE can perform relay communication under the control of the same base station, thereby reducing the complexity caused by relay communication under the control of different communication networks.

[55] For example, the base station can determine the cell in which the second UE is located based on the cell information in which the second UE belongs in the network information, and if the cell in which the second UE is located is located within the coverage of the base station, then the base station can use the second UE as a relay equipment communicating with the first UE. Thus, the second UE satisfying the relay transmission condition is selected to perform the relay transmission, thereby improving the communication quality.

[56] For example, if the first operating state is a relay operating state, the first UE receives the network information of one or more second UEs using the broadcast information transmitted by one or more second UEs, and transmits the network information to the base station, which determines the UE operating as the relay equipment and indicates the second UE selected as the relay using the indication information. After receiving the indication information, the first UE may send the indication information to the selected second UE to instruct that UE to perform relay communication. According to a further embodiment, the indication information may be information related to the identity of the selected second UE, such as the identity of the selected second UE, or the like. According to another further embodiment, the indication information may be directly transmitted by the base station to the selected second UE, and the indication information may be an indication to put the selected second UE into a relay state.

[57] In this way, the base station can select the second UE operating in the first operating state based on network information, so that the network state of the selected second UE can satisfy the requirements of the first operating state, which improves communication quality.

[58] According to one embodiment, the network information is used by the base station to select at least one second UE from one or more second UEs.

[59] The network information may be used by the base station to determine the second UE for relay transmission. The base station can select a second UE that can communicate with it as a relay equipment, thereby eliminating the situation in which the base station and the relay station cannot communicate with each other. The first UE may receive indication information transmitted by the base station indicating at least one second UE from one or more second UEs determined by the base station based on the network information to operate in the first operating state.

[60] For example, network information may be used to characterize cells in which one or more UEs are located. The base station may select a second UE in the same cell as the relay UE in which the first UE is located. Thus, using a UE in the same cell as relay equipment for the first UE can reduce complexity and improve communication efficiency.

[61] In this way, the base station can select the second UE operating in the first operating state based on network information, so that the network state of the selected second UE can satisfy the requirements of the first operating state, which improves communication quality.

[62] In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the communication method may also include:

[63] transmitting to the base station the measurement results of the direct connection radio signal of one or more second UEs,

[64] wherein the network information and measurement results of the direct connection radio signal are used by the base station to select at least one second UE from one or more second UEs.

[65] In this case, the first UE and the second UE may communicate through a direct connection, and upon receiving a report on one or more second UEs, i.e., alternative relay UEs, the first UE may report the measurement results of the direct connection radio signal obtained by the first UE over a direct connection with the second UEs. Direct connection radio measurements may include Reference Signal Receiving Power (RSRP) and/or Reference Signal Receiving Quality (RSRQ).

[66] After receiving the measurement results of the direct connection radio signal of each of the second UEs, that is, each suitable relay UE, the base station can select a UE used for relay transmission based on a predetermined selection rule in combination with network information. For example, a second UE whose RSRP and/or RSRQ value is greater than or equal to a preset threshold and which belongs to the same mobile communication network as the first UE may be selected as a relay UE; or a UE whose RSRP and/or RSRQ value is greater than or equal to a preset threshold and which belongs to the same cell as the first UE may also be selected as a relay UE.

[67] Thus, selecting a second UE suitable for operating in a first operating state, such as a relay operating state, through two measurements, communication signal quality and network compliance represented by network information, can improve the ability of the selected second UE to comply with the requirements of the first operating state, thereby improving communication quality and reducing errors in relayed data transmission.

[68] According to one embodiment, step 301 may include:

[69] receiving network information broadcast by one or more second UEs on a direct connection;

[70] receiving network information transmitted in unicast mode by one or more second UEs on a direct connection;

[71] In this case, the second UE may broadcast its own network information, such as the cell in which it is located, or the PLMN ID, on a direct connection. The first UE can receive the network information of the second UE without establishing a direct connection with the second UE.

[72] The second UE may also transmit network information to the first UE in a unicast mode over a direct connection established by the first UE and the second UE through an instruction transmitted by the first UE to the second UE, and the like.

[73] Thus, the flexibility of transmitting network information can be increased.

[74] According to one embodiment, a method for transmitting information may include receiving RRC reconfiguration information carrying identification information, wherein the identification information is configured to identify one or more second UEs;

[75] Step 302 may include transmitting, to the base station, network information of one or more second UEs identified by the identification information.

[76] In this case, one or more second UEs may be identified by the base station by the identification information carried in the RRC reconfiguration information. After receiving the identification information, the first UE may transmit to the base station the network information of one or more second UEs indicated by the identification information.

[77] If the base station cannot determine the network state of the suitable relay UE reported by the first UE, the base station may carry the identification information of the second UE serving as the suitable relay UE using the RRC reconfiguration information to instruct the first UE to transmit the network status report of the suitable relay UEs. The first UE receives the network information transmitted on the direct connection in the broadcast mode by the second UE indicated by the identification information, and transmits the received network information to the base station. In this case, the identification information may be a unique identifier of the second UE in the network, such as the identifier of the second UE in direct connection with the first UE, or the like.

[78] Thus, the base station can instruct the first UE to transmit network information to the second UE, whose network state cannot be determined by the base station, with the downlink RRC reconfiguration information, and select the second UE to operate in the first operating state based on the network information. Due to this, the network state of the second UE can meet the requirements of the first operating state, and transmission errors caused by the second UE not meeting the requirements of the first operating state are reduced. The RRC reconfiguration information is used to carry identification information for realizing multiplexing of the RRC reconfiguration information.

[79] According to one embodiment, the identification information comprises a direct connection identifier, including a direct connection layer 1 identifier and/or a direct connection layer 2 identifier.

[80] During direct connection communication between the first UE and the second UE, the direct connection identifier may uniquely characterize one second UE. If the first UE reports alternate relay UEs, then the message transmission may be performed by transmitting direct connection identifiers. If the base station cannot determine the network state of any second UE, then the base station may instruct the first UE to obtain the network information of the corresponding second UE through the identification information. Thus, the applicability and efficiency of the network information acquisition process can be improved.

[81] According to one embodiment, a method for transmitting information may include transmitting RRC reconfiguration information carrying a network information transmission instruction to one or more second UEs, wherein the network information transmission instruction is configured to instruct one or more second UEs to transmit network information;

[82] Step 301 may include receiving network information respectively transmitted by one or more second UEs in response to an instruction to transmit network information.

[83] In this case, the RRC reconfiguration information received from the base station may also contain an instruction to transmit network information. Upon receiving the instruction to transmit network information, the first UE may send to the second UE RRC reconfiguration information that is configured to instruct the second UE to transmit its own network information over the direct connection. After receiving the RRC reconfiguration information, the second UE in the unicast mode may send network information to the first UE over a direct connection. After receiving the network information in the unicast mode, the first UE forwards the network information to the base station. The RRC reconfiguration information may be a sidelinkRRCReconfigure message.

[84] In this case, after receiving the RRC reconfiguration information, the first UE may transmit the network information transmission instruction to the second UE indicated by the identification information, together with the identification information and the network information transmission instruction. Thus, in order to obtain network information, an instruction to transmit network information is transmitted only to the second UE whose network information has not been received. For the second UE whose network information has been received, the network information transmission instruction is not transmitted, thereby saving network transmission resources.

[85] Thus, the network information transmission instruction is only transmitted to the second UE whose network information has not been received to obtain the network information; different second UEs use different methods for acquiring network information, which increases the variety of methods for acquiring network information.

[86] According to an embodiment, the network information comprises one of the following components:

[87] PLMN identifiers of one or more second connected state UEs and/or cell identifiers to which one or more second connected state UEs are connected and/or radio signal measurements of one or more second connected state UEs for connected cells;

[88] PLMN identifiers of one or more second idle state UEs and/or cell identifiers in which one or more second idle state UEs are located and/or radio signal measurements of one or more second idle state UEs for the cells in which they are located;

[89] PLMN identifiers of one or more second UEs in the dormant state and/or cell identifiers in which one or more second UEs in the dormant state are located and/or radio signal measurements of one or more second UEs in the dormant state for the cells in which they are located.

[90] In this case, the PLMNs make it possible to distinguish between different mobile networks, and the base station can select at least one second UE from one or more second UEs to operate in the first operational state based on the mobile network in which it is located. For example, the base station may select a second UE corresponding to a PLMN belonging to the same mobile communication network as the relay UE for relay communication between the first UE and the base station.

[91] For one or more second UEs in the connected state, the network information may be the identifier of the cell to which the second UE is connected, and the base station may determine whether the second UE is in the coverage area of the base station according to the identifier of the cell to which the second UE is connected. If the second UE is within the coverage area of the base station, the second UE may be selected to operate in the first operating state.

[92] For one or more second UEs in the idle state or in the idle state, the network information may be the identifier of the cell in which the second UE is located, and the base station may determine whether the second UE is in the coverage area of the base station, in accordance with the identifier of the cell in which the second UE is located. If the second UE is within the coverage area of the base station, the second UE may be selected to operate in the first operating state.

[93] The second UE may also transmit to the base station the measurement result of the radio signal of the connected cell or the cell in which it is located measured directly by the equipment, and the base station may determine whether the signal state of the second UE can satisfy the requirement of the first operation state, according to the measurement result of the radio signal. If the measurement result of the radio signal satisfies the requirement of the first operating state, the second UE may be selected to operate in the first operating state. For example, according to the network information, the base station can determine the cell where the second UE is located and the measurement result of the radio signal of the cell where the second UE is located measured by the second UE. If the cell in which the second UE is located is within the coverage area of the base station and the radio signal measurement result is greater than or equal to the predicted signal measurement result threshold value, then it can be determined that the second UE satisfies the conditions of service as a relay equipment, and the base station can select the second UE as a relay UE. Thus, the base station can send to the first UE indication information instructing the second UE to operate in the first operating state.

[94] Thus, the base station determines whether the second UE can operate in the first operating state based on the mobile communication network in which the second UE is located, the cell in which the second UE is located, and the measurement result of the radio signal, etc., thereby reducing the number of communication failures caused by the second UE not meeting the requirements of the first operating state, thereby improving communication efficiency.

[95] According to one embodiment, the first operating state includes a relay operating state and/or a discontinuous reception operating state; the information transfer method may include at least one of the following:

[96] maintaining communication with the base station through at least one second UE in the relay operating state;

[97] performing discontinuous direct connection reception with at least one second UE that is in a direct connection discontinuous reception operating state.

[98] In the relay operating state, the second UE performs relay communication between the first UE and the base station, and the first UE may communicate with the base station outside the coverage area of the base station, or communicate with the base station without access to the base station.

[99] In this case, the operation state of the discontinuous reception on a direct connection may be the connection of the first UE and/or the second UE through a direct connection, and the operation mode of discontinuous reception may be used for communication. In the discontinuous reception operating state, the first UE and/or the second UE may go into a sleep period and only continue to monitor the direct connection broadcast channel for a predetermined period. Thus, on the one hand, their own power consumption can be saved, and on the other hand, the channel resources can be released during the idle period and can be used by other UEs to improve resource efficiency.

[100] As shown in FIG. 4, in this embodiment of the present invention, a data transmission method is presented. In the second UE of the wireless communication system, the information transmission method may include the following steps:

[101] in step 401, network information related to the network state of the second UE is transmitted to the first UE; And

[102] In step 402, indication information transmitted by the base station is received, the indication information is configured to cause the second UE to operate in the first operating state.

[103] The first UE may be a remote UE in a relay communication based on a direct connection, and the second UE may be an alternate relay UE in a relay communication based on a direct connection. One or more second UEs may be selected by the first UE from the plurality of UEs. The first UE may select a second UE from among the UEs capable of establishing a direct connection with the first UE. The second UE with which the network information is associated may also be identified by the base station, which may transmit a downlink instruction to the first UE to indicate the second UE with which the network information is associated.

[104] For example, the first UE may, based on the broadcast information received over the direct connection, determine a UE that is capable of establishing a direct connection, and determine a UE that is capable of establishing a direct connection as an alternate relay UE, that is, a second UE.

[105] The network information may be used to indicate the network state of the second UE, such as the connected or disconnected state, and the network information may include the following components: identification information of the base station in whose area the second UE is located, information about the cell in which the second UE is located, and/or the identifier of a public land mobile network (PLMN, Public Land Mobile Network), etc.

[106] The network information may also indicate a network connection state of the second UE, such as an idle state or an offline state of the second UE. After receiving the network information, the base station or the first UE may instruct the second UE to change the current network connection state by transmitting an instruction or other command in accordance with the network connection state of the second UE. For example, if the base station determines that the second UE is in an idle state based on the network information, it may send a paging instruction to wake up the second UE.

[107] The network information may also indicate whether the network of the second UE can satisfy the requirement of the second UE to operate in the first operating state, and the like. For example, the network information may indicate that the current operating state of the second UE does not satisfy the requirements of the first operating state, and after receiving the network information, the base station may not instruct the second UE to operate in the first operating state.

[108] The indication information transmitted to the second UE may be sent by the base station to the first UE and transmitted by the first UE to the second UE; the indication information may also be directly transmitted by the base station to the second UE to instruct the at least one second UE to operate in the first operating state.

[109] The first operating state may be a relay operating state, or the like. In the relay operating state, the second UE may operate as a relay UE communicating between the base station and the first UE.

[110] The second UE may transmit network information to the first UE in a broadcast mode, or the like. After receiving the network information of one or more second UEs, the first UE may transmit network information to the base station. In this case, the first UE may carry network information in an RRC message transmitted to the base station. The RRC information may include the following messages: SidelinkUEinformation, UEAssistanceInformation or measurementreport, and so on.

[111] After receiving the network information of one or more second UEs, the base station may select at least one second UE to operate in the first operating state. For example, the base station can determine the base station connected to the second UE based on the identification information contained in the network information, and select the second UE to operate in the first operating state if the base station connected to the second UE is the same as the base station connected to the first UE, whereby the second UE can perform relay communication under the control of the same base station, thereby reducing the complexity caused by relay communication under the control of different communication networks.

[112] For example, the base station can determine the cell in which the second UE is located based on the information about the cell in which the second UE belongs in the network information, and if the cell in which the second UE is located is located within the coverage of the base station, then the base station can use the second UE as a relay equipment communicating with the first UE. Thus, the second UE satisfying the relay transmission condition is selected to perform the relay transmission, thereby improving the communication quality.

[113] For example, if the first operating state is a relay operating state, the first UE receives the network information of one or more second UEs using the broadcast information transmitted by one or more second UEs, and transmits the network information to the base station, which determines the UE operating as the relay equipment and indicates the second UE selected as the relay equipment with the indication information. After receiving the indication information, the first UE may send the indication information to the selected second UE to instruct that UE to perform relay communication. According to a further embodiment, the indication information may be information related to the identity of the selected second UE, such as the identity of the selected second UE, or the like. According to another further embodiment, the indication information may be directly transmitted by the base station to the selected second UE, and the indication information may be an indication to put the selected second UE into a relay state.

[114] Thus, the base station can select the second UE operating in the first operating state based on network information, so that the network state of the selected second UE can satisfy the requirements of the first operating state, which improves communication quality.

[115] According to one embodiment, the network information is used by the base station to select at least one second UE from one or more second UEs.

[116] The network information may be used by the base station to determine the second UE for relay transmission. The base station can select a second UE that can communicate with it as a relay equipment, thereby eliminating the situation in which the base station and the relay station cannot communicate with each other. The first UE may receive indication information transmitted by the base station indicating at least one second UE from one or more second UEs determined by the base station based on the network information to operate in the first operating state.

[117] For example, network information may be used to characterize cells in which one or more UEs are located. The base station may select a second UE in the same cell as the relay UE in which the first UE is located. Thus, using a UE in the same cell as relay equipment for the first UE can reduce complexity and improve communication efficiency.

[118] Thus, the base station can select the second UE to operate in the first operating state based on network information, so that the network state of the selected second UE can satisfy the requirements of the first operating state, which improves communication quality.

[119] According to an embodiment, step 401 includes:

[120] broadcasting to the first UE network information over a direct connection;

[121] transmitting to the first UE in unicast mode network information over a direct connection.

[122] In this case, the second UE may broadcast its own network information, such as the cell in which it is located, or the PLMN ID, on a direct connection. The first UE can receive the network information of the second UE without establishing a direct connection with the second UE.

[123] The second UE may also transmit network information to the first UE in a unicast mode over a direct connection established by the first UE and the second UE through an instruction transmitted by the first UE to the second UE, and the like.

[124] Thus, the flexibility of transmitting network information can be increased.

[125] According to one embodiment, a method for transmitting information may include receiving RRC reconfiguration information carrying a network information transmission instruction, wherein the network information transmission instruction is configured to instruct the second UE to transmit network information;

[126] Step 401 may include transmitting, to the first UE, network information related to the network state of the second UE in accordance with an instruction to transmit network information.

[127] In this case, one or more second UEs may be identified by the base station by the identification information carried in the RRC reconfiguration information. After receiving the identification information, the first UE may transmit to the base station the network information of one or more second UEs indicated by the identification information.

[128] If the base station cannot determine the network state of the suitable relay UE reported by the first UE, the base station may carry identification information of the second UE serving as the suitable relay UE using the RRC reconfiguration information to instruct the first UE to report the network states of the suitable relay UEs. The first UE receives the network information transmitted on the direct connection in the broadcast mode by the second UE indicated by the identification information, and transmits the received network information to the base station. In this case, the identification information may be a unique identifier of the second UE in the network, such as the identifier of the second UE in direct connection with the first UE, or the like.

[129] Thus, the base station can instruct the first UE to transmit network information to the second UE whose network state cannot be determined by the base station with the downlink RRC reconfiguration information, and select the second UE to operate in the first operating state based on the network information. Due to this, the network state of the second UE can meet the requirements of the first operating state, and transmission errors caused by the second UE not meeting the requirements of the first operating state are reduced. The RRC reconfiguration information is used to carry identification information for realizing multiplexing of the RRC reconfiguration information.

[130] In an embodiment, step 401 may include one of the following:

[131] if the second UE is in the connected state, transmitting to the first UE the PLMN ID and/or the ID of the cell to which the second UE is connected and/or the measurement result of the second UE radio signal for the connected cell;

[132] if the second UE is in the idle state, transmitting the PLMN ID and/or the ID of the cell where the second UE is hosted and/or the measurement result of the second UE radio signal for the cell where it is hosted;

[133] if the second UE is in the idle state, transmitting the PLMN ID and/or the ID of the cell where the second UE is hosted and/or the measurement result of the second UE radio signal for the cell where it is hosted.

[134] In this case, the PLMNs make it possible to distinguish between different mobile networks, and the base station can select at least one second UE from one or more second UEs to operate in the first operating state based on the mobile network in which it is located. For example, the base station may select a second UE corresponding to a PLMN belonging to the same mobile communication network as the relay UE for relay communication between the first UE and the base station.

[135] For one or more second UEs in the connected state, the network information may be the identifier of the cell to which the second UE is connected, and the base station may determine whether the second UE is in the coverage area of the base station according to the identifier of the cell to which the second UE is connected. If the second UE is within the coverage area of the base station, the second UE may be selected to operate in the first operating state.

[136] For one or more second UEs in an idle state or in a dormant state, the network information may be the identifier of the cell in which the second UE is located, and the base station may determine whether the second UE is in the coverage area of the base station, in accordance with the identifier of the cell in which the second UE is located. If the second UE is within the coverage area of the base station, the second UE may be selected to operate in the first operating state.

[137] The second UE may also transmit to the base station the measurement result of the radio signal of the connected cell or the cell in which it is located, measured directly by the equipment, and the base station may determine whether the signal state of the second UE can satisfy the requirement of the first operation state, in accordance with the measurement result of the radio signal. If the measurement result of the radio signal satisfies the requirement of the first operating state, the second UE may be selected to operate in the first operating state. For example, according to the network information, the base station can determine the cell where the second UE is located and the measurement result of the radio signal of the cell where the second UE is located measured by the second UE. If the cell in which the second UE is located is within the coverage area of the base station and the radio signal measurement result is greater than or equal to the predicted signal measurement result threshold value, then it can be determined that the second UE satisfies the conditions of service as a relay equipment, and the base station can select the second UE as a relay UE. Thus, the base station can send to the first UE indication information instructing the second UE to operate in the first operating state.

[138] Thus, the base station determines whether the second UE can operate in the first operating state based on the mobile communication network in which the second UE is located, the cell in which the second UE is located, and the measurement result of the radio signal, etc., thereby reducing the number of communication failures caused by the second UE not meeting the requirements of the first operating state, thereby improving communication efficiency.

[139] According to one embodiment, the first operating state includes a relay operating state and/or a discontinuous direct connection operating state;

[140] The information transfer method may include at least one of the following:

[141] communication support between the first UE and the base station;

[142] performing discontinuous reception with the second UE.

[143] In the relay operating state, the second UE performs relay communication between the first UE and the base station, and the first UE may communicate with the base station outside the coverage area of the base station, or communicate with the base station without access to the base station.

[144] In this case, the operation state of the discontinuous reception on a direct connection may be the connection of the first UE and/or the second UE through a direct connection, and the operation mode of discontinuous reception may be used for communication. In the discontinuous reception operating state, the first UE and/or the second UE may go into a sleep period and only continue to monitor the direct connection broadcast channel for a predetermined period. Thus, on the one hand, their own power consumption can be saved, and on the other hand, the channel resources can be released during the idle period and can be used by other UEs to improve resource efficiency.

[145] According to one embodiment, network information is transmitted through the first UE to the base station for the base station to select a second UE from one or more second UEs.

[146] In this case, the second UE may broadcast its own network information, such as the cell in which it is located, or the PLMN ID, on a direct connection. The first UE can receive the network information of the second UE without establishing a direct connection with the second UE.

[147] The second UE may also transmit network information to the first UE in a unicast mode over a direct connection established by the first UE and the second UE through an instruction transmitted by the first UE to the second UE, and the like.

[148] Thus, the flexibility of transmitting network information can be increased.

[149] As shown in FIG. 5, in this embodiment of the present invention, a data transmission method is presented. In a base station of a wireless communication system, the method for transmitting information may include the following steps:

[150] in step 501, network information transmitted by the first UE and associated with the network states of one or more second UEs is received;

[151] in step 502, at least one second UE is selected from one or more second UEs to operate in the first operational state based on network information;

[152] In step 503, indication information is transmitted, the indication information being configured to cause at least one selected second UE to operate in the first operating state.

[153] Although FIG. 5 shows that the indication information is transmitted to the first UE, it should be understood that the indication information may also be directly transmitted to the second UE to instruct at least one second UE to operate in the first operating state.

[154] The first UE may be a remote UE in a relay communication based on a direct connection, and the second UE may be an alternate relay UE in a relay communication based on a direct connection. One or more second UEs may be selected by the first UE from the plurality of UEs. The first UE may select a second UE from among the UEs capable of establishing a direct connection with the first UE. The second UE with which the network information is associated may also be identified by the base station, which may transmit a downlink instruction to the first UE to indicate the second UE with which the network information is associated.

[155] For example, the first UE may, based on broadcast information received over the direct connection, determine a UE that is capable of establishing a direct connection, and determine a UE that is capable of establishing a direct connection as an alternate relay UE, i.e., a second UE.

[156] The network information may be used to indicate the network state of the second UE, such as the connected or disconnected state, and the network information may include the following components: identification information of the base station in which the second UE is located, cell information in which the second UE is located, and/or a public land mobile network (PLMN) identifier, etc.

[157] The network information may also indicate a network connection state of the second UE, such as an idle state or an offline state of the second UE. After receiving the network information, the base station or the first UE may instruct the second UE to change the current network connection state by transmitting an instruction or other command in accordance with the network connection state of the second UE. For example, if the base station determines that the second UE is in an idle state based on the network information, it may send a paging instruction to wake up the second UE.

[158] The network information may also indicate whether the network of the second UE can satisfy the requirement of the second UE to operate in the first operating state, and the like. For example, the network information may indicate that the current operating state of the second UE does not satisfy the requirements of the first operating state, and after receiving the network information, the base station may not instruct the second UE to operate in the first operating state.

[159] The first operating state may be a relay operating state, or the like. In the relay operating state, the second UE may operate as a relay UE communicating between the base station and the first UE.

[160] The second UE may transmit network information to the first UE in a broadcast mode, and the like. After receiving the network information of one or more second UEs, the first UE may transmit network information to the base station. In this case, the first UE may carry network information in an RRC message transmitted to the base station. The RRC information may contain the following messages: SidelinkUEinformation, UEAssistanceInformation or measurementreport, and so on.

[161] After receiving the network information of one or more second UEs, the base station may select at least one second UE to operate in the first operating state. For example, the base station can determine the base station connected to the second UE based on the identification information contained in the network information, and select the second UE to operate in the first operating state if the base station connected to the second UE is the same as the base station connected to the first UE, whereby the second UE can perform relay communication under the control of the same base station, thereby reducing the complexity caused by relay communication under the control of different communication networks.

[162] For example, the base station can determine the cell in which the second UE is located based on the cell information in which the second UE belongs in the network information, and if the cell in which the second UE is located is located within the coverage of the base station, then the base station can use the second UE as a relay equipment communicating with the first UE. Thus, the second UE satisfying the relay transmission condition is selected to perform the relay transmission, thereby improving the communication quality.

[163] For example, if the first operating state is a relay operating state, the first UE receives the network information of one or more second UEs using the broadcast information transmitted by one or more second UEs, and transmits the network information to the base station, which determines the UE operating as the relay equipment and indicates the second UE selected as the relay equipment with the indication information. After receiving the indication information, the first UE may send the indication information to the selected second UE to instruct that UE to perform relay communication. According to a further embodiment, the indication information may be information related to the identity of the selected second UE, such as the identity of the selected second UE, or the like. According to another further embodiment, the indication information may be directly transmitted by the base station to the selected second UE, and the indication information may be an indication to put the selected second UE into a relay state.

[164] Thus, the base station can select the second UE operating in the first operating state based on network information, so that the network state of the selected second UE can satisfy the requirements of the first operating state, which improves communication quality.

[165] The network information may be used by the base station to determine the second UE for relay transmission. The base station can select a second UE that can communicate with it as a relay equipment, thereby eliminating the situation in which the base station and the relay station cannot communicate with each other. The first UE may receive indication information transmitted by the base station indicating at least one second UE from one or more second UEs determined by the base station based on the network information to operate in the first operating state.

[166] For example, network information may be used to characterize cells in which one or more UEs are located. The base station may select a second UE in the same cell as the relay UE in which the first UE is located. Thus, using a UE in the same cell as relay equipment for the first UE can reduce complexity and improve communication efficiency.

[167] Thus, the base station can select the second UE to operate in the first operating state based on network information, so that the network state of the selected second UE can satisfy the requirements of the first operating state, which improves communication quality.

[168] In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the method of transmitting information may also include:

[169] receiving measurement results of a direct connection radio signal of one or more second UEs transmitted by the first UE;

[170] selecting at least one second UE from one or more second UEs to operate in the first operational state based on network information includes:

[171] selecting at least one second UE from one or more second UEs to operate in the first operational state based on network information and measurement results of the direct connection radio signal.

[172] In this case, the first UE and the second UE may communicate through a direct connection, and upon receiving a report on one or more second UEs, i.e., alternative relay UEs, the first UE may report the measurement results of the direct connection radio signal obtained by the first UE over a direct connection with the second UEs. Direct connection radio signal measurements may include Reference Signal Receiving Power (RSRP) and/or Reference Signal Receiving Quality (RSRQ).

[173] After receiving the measurement results of the direct connection radio signal of each of the second UEs, that is, each suitable relay UE, the base station can select a UE used for relay transmission based on a predetermined selection rule in combination with network information. For example, a second UE whose RSRP and/or RSRQ value is greater than or equal to a preset threshold and which belongs to the same mobile communication network as the first UE may be selected as a relay UE; or a UE whose RSRP and/or RSRQ value is greater than or equal to a preset threshold and which belongs to the same cell as the first UE may also be selected as a relay UE.

[174] Thus, selecting a second UE suitable for operating in a first operating state, such as a relay operating state, through two measurements of communication signal quality and network compliance represented by network information, can improve the ability of the selected second UE to comply with the requirements of the first operating state, thereby improving communication quality and reducing errors in relayed data transmission.

[175] According to an embodiment, a method for transmitting information may include transmitting RRC reconfiguration information carrying identification information, wherein the identification information is configured to identify one or more second UEs;

[176] receiving network information transmitted by the first UE and associated with the network states of one or more second UEs includes:

[177] receiving network information of one or more second UEs identified by the identification information.

[178] Here, one or more second UEs may be identified by the base station by the identification information carried in the RRC reconfiguration information. After receiving the identification information, the first UE may transmit to the base station the network information of one or more second UEs indicated by the identification information.

[179] If the base station cannot determine the network state of the suitable relay UE reported by the first UE, the base station may carry the identification information of the second UE serving as the suitable relay UE using the RRC reconfiguration information to instruct the first UE to report the network states of the suitable relay UEs. The first UE receives the network information transmitted on the direct connection in the broadcast mode by the second UE indicated by the identification information, and transmits the received network information to the base station. In this case, the identification information may be a unique identifier of the second UE in the network, such as the identifier of the second UE in direct connection with the first UE, or the like.

[180] Thus, the base station can instruct the first UE to transmit network information to the second UE whose network state cannot be determined by the base station with the downlink RRC reconfiguration information, and select the second UE to operate in the first operating state based on the network information. Due to this, the network state of the second UE can meet the requirements of the first operating state, and transmission errors caused by the second UE not meeting the requirements of the first operating state are reduced. The RRC reconfiguration information is used to carry identification information for realizing multiplexing of the RRC reconfiguration information.

[181] According to one embodiment, the identification information comprises a direct connection identifier, including a direct connection layer 1 identifier and/or a direct connection layer 2 identifier.

[182] During direct connection communication between the first UE and the second UE, the direct connection identifier may uniquely characterize one second UE. If the first UE reports alternate relay UEs, then the message transmission may be performed by transmitting direct connection identifiers. If the base station cannot determine the network state of any second UE, then the base station may instruct the first UE to obtain the network information of the corresponding second UE through the identification information. Thus, the applicability and efficiency of the network information acquisition process can be improved.

[183] According to an embodiment, the RRC reconfiguration information also includes a network information transmission instruction, wherein the RRC reconfiguration information is sent by the first UE to one or more second UEs, and the network information transmission instruction is configured to instruct one or more second UEs to transmit network information.

[184] In this case, the RRC reconfiguration information received from the base station may also contain an instruction to transmit network information. Upon receiving the instruction to transmit network information, the first UE may send to the second UE RRC reconfiguration information that is configured to instruct the second UE to transmit its own network information over the direct connection. After receiving the RRC reconfiguration information, the second UE in the unicast mode may send network information to the first UE over a direct connection. After receiving the network information in the unicast mode, the first UE forwards the network information to the base station. The RRC reconfiguration information may be a sidelinkRRCReconfigure message.

[185] In this case, after receiving the RRC reconfiguration information, the first UE may transmit the network information transmission instruction to the second UE indicated by the identification information, together with the identification information and the network information transmission instruction. Thus, in order to obtain network information, an instruction to transmit network information is transmitted only to the second UE whose network information has not been received. For the second UE whose network information has been received, the network information transmission instruction is not transmitted, thereby saving network transmission resources.

[186] Thus, the network information transmission instruction is only transmitted to the second UE whose network information has not been received to obtain network information; different second UEs use different methods for acquiring network information, which increases the variety of methods for acquiring network information.

[187] According to an embodiment, the network information comprises one of the following components:

[188] PLMN IDs of one or more second UEs in connected state and/or cell IDs to which one or more second UEs in connected state are connected and/or radio signal measurements of one or more second UEs in connected state for connected cells;

[189] PLMN IDs of one or more second idle state UEs and/or cell IDs in which one or more second idle state UEs are located and/or radio signal measurements of one or more second idle state UEs for the cells in which they are located;

[190] PLMN identifiers of one or more second UEs in the dormant state and/or cell identifiers in which one or more second UEs in the dormant state are located and/or radio signal measurements of one or more second UEs in the dormant state for the cells in which they are located.

[191] In this case, the PLMNs make it possible to distinguish between different mobile networks, and the base station can select at least one second UE from one or more second UEs to operate in the first operating state based on the mobile network in which it is located. For example, the base station may select a second UE corresponding to a PLMN belonging to the same mobile communication network as the relay UE for relay communication between the first UE and the base station.

[192] For one or more second UEs in the connected state, the network information may be the identifier of the cell to which the second UE is connected, and the base station may determine whether the second UE is in the coverage area of the base station according to the identifier of the cell to which the second UE is connected. If the second UE is within the coverage area of the base station, the second UE may be selected to operate in the first operating state.

[193] For one or more second UEs in the idle state or in the idle state, the network information may be the identifier of the cell in which the second UE is located, and the base station may determine whether the second UE is in the coverage area of the base station, in accordance with the identifier of the cell in which the second UE is located. If the second UE is within the coverage area of the base station, the second UE may be selected to operate in the first operating state.

[194] The second UE may also transmit to the base station the measurement result of the radio signal of the connected cell or the cell in which it is located, measured directly by the equipment, and the base station may determine whether the signal state of the second UE can satisfy the requirement of the first operating state, in accordance with the measurement result of the radio signal. If the measurement result of the radio signal satisfies the requirement of the first operating state, the second UE may be selected to operate in the first operating state. For example, according to the network information, the base station can determine the cell where the second UE is located and the measurement result of the radio signal of the cell where the second UE is located measured by the second UE. If the cell in which the second UE is located is within the coverage area of the base station and the radio signal measurement is greater than or equal to the predicted signal measurement result threshold, then the second UE may be determined to satisfy the conditions of service as a relay equipment, and the base station may select the second UE as a relay UE. Thus, the base station can send to the first UE indication information instructing the second UE to operate in the first operating state.

[195] In this way, the base station determines whether the second UE can operate in the first operating state based on the mobile communication network in which the second UE is located, the cell in which the second UE is located, and the measurement result of the radio signal, etc., thereby reducing the number of communication failures caused by the second UE not meeting the requirements of the first operating state, thereby improving communication efficiency.

[196] According to one embodiment, the first operating state includes a relay operating state and/or a discontinuous direct connection operating state;

[197] the method of transmitting information may include maintaining communication with the first UE through at least one second UE in a relay operating state.

[198] In the relay operating state, the second UE performs relay communication between the first UE and the base station, and the first UE may communicate with the base station outside the coverage area of the base station, or communicate with the base station without access to the base station.

[199] In this case, the operation state of the discontinuous reception on a direct connection may be the connection of the first UE and/or the second UE through a direct connection, and the operation mode of discontinuous reception may be used for communication. In the discontinuous reception operating state, the first UE and/or the second UE may go into a sleep period and only continue to monitor the direct connection broadcast channel for a predetermined period. Thus, on the one hand, their own power consumption can be saved, and on the other hand, the channel resources can be released during the idle period and can be used by other UEs to improve resource efficiency.

[200] According to one embodiment, network information is received by a first UE from one or more second UEs over a direct connection.

[201] In this case, the second UE may broadcast its own network information, such as the cell in which it is located, or the PLMN ID, on a direct connection. The first UE can receive the network information of the second UE without establishing a direct connection with the second UE.

[202] The second UE may also transmit network information to the first UE in a unicast mode over a direct connection established by the first UE and the second UE through an instruction transmitted by the first UE to the second UE, and the like.

[203] Thus, the flexibility of transmitting network information can be increased.

[204] The following is a specific example in connection with any of the embodiments described above.

[205] On the first UE side, the first UE receives from the second UE network information related to the network state of the second UE; transmits network information to the base station; receives from the base station an indication that the second UE has been activated to operate in the first operating state.

[206] On the second UE side, the second UE transmits to the first UE network information related to the network state of the second UE; and receives from the base station an indication that the second UE has been activated to operate in the first operating state.

[207] On the base station side, the base station receives network information related to the network states of the plurality of second UEs and transmitted by the first UE; selects at least one second UE from the plurality of UEs based on network information; transmits an activation indication of the second UE to operate in the first operational state.

[208] The base station may send to the first UE an RRC reconfiguration message that carries the identifiers of one or more second UEs, and this identifier may be a direct connection identifier or a direct connection layer 1 identifier.

[209] The second UE may broadcast its network state over the direct connection, in which case the first UE does not need to establish a direct connection, and the first UE may obtain the network state of the second UE by reading the broadcast information.

[210] The first UE reads the corresponding broadcast information according to the second UE ID indicated by the base station, obtains network status information, and reports it to the base station with an RRC message, which may be a SidelinkUEinformation, UEAAssistanceInformation, or measurementreport message.

[211] If the network information of the second UE cannot be received by broadcasting, the first UE sends a sidelinkRRCReconfigure message carrying the indication to the second UE indicated by the base station. After receiving the message, the second UE sends its network state to the first UE.

[212] The network information contains the state in which the UE is located, including the connected state, the idle state, and the idle state.

[213] The network information includes the ID of the cell with which the UE is connected in the connected state, the PLMN ID, etc., or the ID of the cell in which the UE is in the idle state or in the idle state, the PLMN ID, etc.

[214] The information transmission method presented in this example, as shown in FIG. 6 specifically includes the following operations.

[215] The remote UE is A, and the three suitable relay UEs are UE B, UE C, and UE D, respectively.

[216] 1) the cell ID to which UE A is connected is 01 and the PLMN ID is 000;

[217] 2) UE B broadcasts on the direct connection that it is in the connected state, the cell ID to which it is connected is 01, and the PLMN ID is 000;

[218] 3) UE C broadcasts on the direct connection that it is in the connected state, the cell ID to which it is connected is 02, and the PLMN ID is 000;

[219] 4) UE D broadcasts on the direct connection that it is in the idle state, the cell ID in which it is located is 01, and the PLMN ID is 001.

[220] Step 601: UE A informs the base station that the following measurements of the direct connection radio signal of the three relay UEs are obtained: -97 dB, -98 dB and -96 dB, respectively, and simultaneously reports the network information broadcasted in the broadcast mode by the relay UEs.

[221] Step 602: After receiving the information reported by UE A, the base station selects UE B as the relay UE and transmits the identifier of UE B to UE A. Then, UE A may perform relay transmission through UE B.

[222] Another method for transmitting information presented in this example, as shown in Fig. 7, specifically includes the following operations.

[223] The remote UE is A, and the three suitable relay UEs are UE B, UE C, and UE D, respectively.

[224] 1) the cell ID to which UE A is connected is 01 and the PLMN ID is 000;

[225] 2) relay UE B is in the connected state, the cell ID to which it is connected is 01, and the PLMN ID is 000;

[226] 3) relay UE C is in the connected state, the cell ID to which it is connected is 02, and the PLMN ID is 000;

[227] 4) Relay UE D is in the idle state, the cell ID it is in is 01, and the PLMN ID is 001.

[228] Step 701: UE A informs the base station that the following direct connection radio measurements of the three candidate relay UEs are obtained: -97 dB, -98 dB, and -96 dB, respectively.

[229] Step 702: After receiving the message from UE A, the base station detects that UE B is in its own cell, but there is no network information of UE C and UE D, and sends an RRC reconfiguration message to UE A that carries the identifiers of UE C and UE D, as well as an instruction to send a network information message.

[230] Step 703: After receiving the RRC reconfiguration message sent by the base station, UE A sends a direct connection RRC reconfiguration message to UE C and UE D, instructing them to transmit network information.

[231] Step 704: After receiving the direct connection RRC reconfiguration message sent from UE A, UE C and UE D transmit network information to UE A with a direct connection unicast message.

[232] Step 705: UE A reports network information to UE C and UE D to the base station.

[233] Step 706: After receiving the message transmitted from UE A, the base station selects UE B as a relay UE and transmits the identifier of UE B to UE A, then UE A can perform relay communication through UE B.

[234] Within the framework of the disclosure of the present invention, an information transmission device applicable to the first UE is also provided. In FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a communication device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 8, the device 100 includes a first receiving module 110, a first transmitting module 120, and a second receiving module 130.

[235] The first receiving module 110 is configured to receive network information related to the network state of each of the second UEs and transmitted by one or more second UEs, respectively.

[236] The first transmission module 120 is configured to transmit one or more network information to the base station.

[237] The second receiving module 130 is configured to receive indication information transmitted by the base station, the indication information being configured to cause at least one second UE of one or more second UEs to operate in the first operating state.

[238] According to an embodiment, the network information is used by a base station to select at least one second UE from one or more second UEs.

[239] In an embodiment, device 100 also includes:

[240] a second transmission module configured to transmit to the base station the measurement results of the direct connection radio signal of one or more second UEs, wherein the network information and the measurement results of the direct connection radio signal are used by the base station to select at least one second UE from one or more second UEs.

[241] According to an embodiment, the first receiving module 110 comprises:

[242] a first receiving sub-module 111 configured to receive network information broadcast by one or more second UEs on a direct connection;

[243] a second receiving sub-module 112, configured to receive network information transmitted in unicast mode by one or more second UEs on a direct connection.

[244] In an embodiment, device 100 also includes:

[245] a third receiving module 150, configured to receive radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration information carrying identification information, the identification information configured to identify one or more second UEs;

[246] the first transmission module 120 comprises:

[247] a first transmission submodule configured to transmit, to the base station, network information of one or more second UEs identified by the identification information.

[248] According to an embodiment, the identification information comprises a direct connection identifier, wherein the direct connection identifier includes a direct connection layer 1 identifier and/or a direct connection layer 2 identifier.

[249] In an embodiment, device 100 also includes:

[250] a third transmission module 160 configured to transmit RRC reconfiguration information carrying a network information transmission instruction to one or more second UEs, the network information transmission instruction configured to instruct one or more second UEs to transmit network information;

[251] The first receiving module 110 includes:

[252] A third receiving sub-module 113, configured to receive network information respectively transmitted by one or more second UEs in response to the network information transmission instruction.

[253] According to an embodiment, the network information comprises one of the following components:

[254] PLMN IDs of one or more second UEs in connected state and/or cell IDs to which one or more second UEs in connected state are connected and/or measurements of the radio signal of one or more second UEs in connected state for connected cells;

[255] PLMN IDs of one or more second idle state UEs and/or cell IDs in which one or more second idle state UEs are located and/or radio signal measurements of one or more second idle state UEs for the cells in which they are located;

[256] PLMN identifiers of one or more second UEs in the dormant state and/or cell identifiers in which one or more second UEs in the dormant state are located and/or radio signal measurements of one or more second UEs in the dormant state for the cells in which they are located.

[257] According to an embodiment, the first operating state includes a relay operating state and/or a discontinuous direct connection operating state;

[258] The device also includes at least one of the following modules:

[259] a first communication module 170 configured to support communication with a base station via at least one second UE in a relayed operational state;

[260] A second communication unit 180 configured to perform discontinuous direct connection reception with at least one second UE that is in a direct connection discontinuous reception operating state.

[261] Within the framework of the disclosure of the present invention, an information transfer device applicable to the second UE is also provided. In FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a communication device 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 9, the device 200 includes a fourth transmission module 210 and a fourth reception module 220.

[262] The fourth transmission module 210 is configured to transmit to the first UE network information related to the network state of the second UE.

[263] The fourth receiving module 220 is configured to receive indication information transmitted by the base station, the indication information is configured to cause the second UE to operate in the first operating state.

[264] According to an embodiment, the fourth transmission module 210 comprises:

[265] a second transmission sub-module 211 configured to broadcast network information to the first UE over a direct connection;

[266] a third transmission sub-module 212 configured to transmit network information to the first UE in unicast mode over a direct connection.

[267] In an embodiment, device 200 also includes:

[268] a fifth receiving unit 230, configured to receive radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration information carrying a network information transmission instruction, the network information transmission instruction configured to instruct the second UE to transmit network information;

[269] the fourth transmission module 210 comprises:

[270] a fourth transmission sub-module 213, configured to transmit to the first UE network information related to the network state of the second UE in accordance with the network information transmission instruction.

[271] According to an embodiment, the fourth transmission module 210 comprises one of the following submodules:

[272] a fifth transmission sub-module 214, configured such that if the second UE is in the connected state, the PLMN ID and/or the ID of the cell to which the second UE is connected and/or the measurement result of the second UE's radio signal for the connected cell is transmitted to the first UE;

[273] a sixth transmission sub-module 215, configured such that if the second UE is in an idle state, transmission of the PLMN ID and/or the ID of the cell hosting the second UE and/or the measurement result of the second UE radio signal for the cell hosting it is hosted;

[274] A seventh transmission sub-module 216, configured such that if the second UE is in an idle state, the PLMN ID and/or the ID of the cell hosting the second UE and/or the measurement result of the second UE radio signal for the cell hosting the second UE is transmitted.

[275] According to an embodiment, the first operating state includes a relay operating state and/or a discontinuous direct connection operating state;

[276] Device 200 also includes at least one of the following modules:

[277] a third communication module 240 configured for relay communication between the first UE and the base station;

[278] the fourth communication unit 250 configured to perform discontinuous reception with the second UE.

[279] According to an embodiment, the network information is used to transmit via the first UE to the base station for the base station to select a second UE from one or more second UEs.

[280] Within the framework of the disclosure of the present invention, an information transmission device applicable to a base station is also provided. In FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a communication device 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 10, the device 300 includes a sixth receiving module 310, a selection module 320, and a fifth transmitting module 330.

[281] The sixth receiving module 310 is configured to receive network information transmitted by the first UE and associated with the network states of one or more second UEs.

[282] The selection module 320 is configured to select at least one second UE from one or more second UEs to operate in the first operating state based on network information.

[283] The fifth transmission module 330 is configured to transmit indication information, wherein the indication information is configured to cause at least one second UE to operate in the first operating state.

[284] In an embodiment, device 300 also includes:

[285] a seventh receiving module 340, configured to receive measurement results of a direct connection radio signal of one or more second UEs transmitted by the first UE;

[286] selection module 320 includes:

[287] A selection sub-module 321, configured to select at least one second UE from one or more second UEs to operate in the first operating state based on network information and measurement results of the direct connection radio signal.

[288] In an embodiment, device 300 also includes:

[289] a sixth transmission module 350, configured to transmit radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration information carrying identification information, wherein the identification information is configured to identify one or more second UEs;

[290] the sixth receiving module 310 comprises:

[291] a fourth receiving sub-module 311 configured to receive network information of one or more second UEs identified by the identification information.

[292] According to an embodiment, the identification information comprises a direct connection identifier, wherein the direct connection identifier includes a direct connection layer 1 identifier and/or a direct connection layer 2 identifier.

[293] According to an embodiment, the RRC reconfiguration information also comprises an instruction to transmit network information, wherein the RRC reconfiguration information is sent by the first UE to one or more second UEs, and the network information transmission instruction is configured to instruct one or more second UEs to transmit network information.

[294] According to an embodiment, the network information comprises one of the following components:

[295] PLMN IDs of one or more second UEs in connected state and/or cell IDs to which one or more second UEs in connected state are connected and/or radio signal measurements of one or more second UEs in connected state for connected cells;

[296] PLMN IDs of one or more second idle state UEs and/or cell IDs in which one or more second idle state UEs are located and/or radio signal measurements of one or more second idle state UEs for the cells in which they are located;

[297] PLMN identifiers of one or more second UEs in the dormant state and/or cell identifiers in which one or more second UEs in the dormant state are located and/or radio signal measurements of one or more second UEs in the dormant state for the cells in which they are located.

[298] According to an embodiment, the first operating state includes a relay operating state and/or a discontinuous direct connection receiving operating state;

[299] The device also includes a fifth communication module 360 configured to support communication with the first UE through at least one second UE in a relayed operational state.

[300] According to an embodiment, network information is received by a first UE from one or more second UEs over a direct connection.

[301] According to an embodiment, the first receiving module 110, the first transmitting module 120, the second receiving module 130, the second transmitting module 140, the third receiving module 150, the third transmitting module 160, the first communication module 170, the second communication module 180, the fourth transmitting module 210, the fourth receiving module 220, the fifth receiving module 230, the third communication module 240, the fourth communication module 250, the sixth module 310 receiving unit, selection unit 320, fifth transmission unit 330, seventh receive unit 340, sixth transmission unit 350, and fifth communication unit 360, and so on. can be implemented using one or more central processing units (CPU, Central Processing Unit), graphic processors (GPU, Graphics Processing Unit), baseband processors (BP, Baseband Processor), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC, Application Specific Integrated Circuit), DSP, programmable logic devices (PLD, Programmable Logic Device), compound programmable logic devices (CPLD, Complex Programmable Logic Device), user programmable gate arrays (FPGA, Field-Programmable Gate Array) ), general purpose processors, controllers, microcontrollers (MCU, Microcontroller Unit), microprocessors or other electronic components, and can also be implemented in combination with one or more radio frequency (RF, Radio Frequency) antennas to perform the above methods.

[302] In FIG. 11 shows a block diagram of a communication apparatus 3000 according to an embodiment. For example, device 3000 may be a mobile phone, a computer, a digital broadcast terminal, a messaging device, a game console, a tablet, a medical device, exercise equipment, a personal information device, and the like.

[303] In FIG. 11 shows that the device 3000 may include one or more of the following components: a processing component 3002, a memory 3004, a power component 3006, a multimedia component 3008, an audio signal processing component 3010, an input/output (I/O, Input/Output) interface 3012, a sensor component 3014, and a communication component 3016.

[304] The processing component 3002 typically manages all operations performed by the device 3000, such as operations related to display, phone calls, data transmission, camera control, and data recording. Processing component 3002 may include one or more processors 3020 for executing instructions that perform all or some of the steps of the methods described above. In addition, the processing component 3002 may include one or more modules that facilitate interaction between the processing component 3002 and other components. For example, the processing component 3002 may include a multimedia module that facilitates interaction between the multimedia component 3008 and the processing component 3002.

[305] The memory 3004 is configured to store various types of data necessary for the operation of the device 3000. Examples of such data include instructions for any disclosures or methods performed on the device 3000, contact data, phone book data, messages, images, video files, and so on. Memory 3004 can be implemented using any type of non-volatile or volatile memory devices, or a combination of such devices, for example, using static random access memory (SRAM, Static Random Access Memory), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM, Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM, Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), programmable read-only memory (PROM, Programmable Read -Only Memory), read-only memory (ROM, Read-Only Memory), magnetic storage device, flash memory, magnetic or optical disk.

[306] Power component 3006 provides power to various components of device 3000. Power component 3006 may include a power management system, one or more power supplies, and any other components associated with power generation, control, and distribution in device 3000.

[307] The multimedia component 3008 includes a screen that provides an output interface between the device 3000 and the user. In some embodiments of the present invention, the screen may be a liquid crystal display (LCD, Liquid Crystal Display) and a touch panel (TP, Touch Panel). The screen, implemented in the form of a touch panel, allows you to receive input signals from the user. The touch panel contains one or more tactile sensors that respond to touch, pressure, and other gestures. Tactile sensors can not only detect the area of touch or pressure, but also respond to the time period and pressure associated with touches and pressures. In some embodiments of the present invention, the multimedia component 3008 includes a front video camera and/or a rear video camera. The front video camera and the rear video camera can receive external media data while the device 3000 is in an operating mode, such as in a photo or video mode. Both the front and rear cameras can be equipped with a fixed optical lens system or with focus and optical zoom.

[308] The audio signal processing component 3010 is configured to transmit and/or receive audio signals. For example, the audio signal processing component 3010 includes a microphone ("MIC") capable of receiving an external audio signal when the device 3000 is in an operating mode such as making a call, recording, and voice recognition. The received audio signal can then be stored in the memory 3004 or transmitted through the communication component 3016. In some embodiments of the present invention, the audio signal processing component 3010 also includes a speaker for outputting audio signals.

[309] The input/output interface 3012 supports an interface between the processing component 3002 and peripheral interface modules such as keyboard, mouse wheel, buttons, and the like. The buttons may include, but are not limited to, a back button, a volume adjustment button, a start button, and a lock button.

[310] The sensor component 3014 includes one or more sensors for evaluating various aspects of the device 3000. For example, the sensor component 3014 can detect the opening/closing of the device 3000, the relative positioning of components such as the display and keyboard of the device 3000, a change in the position of the device 3000 or a component of the device 3000, the presence or absence of user contact with the device 3000, the orientation or acceleration/deceleration of the device 30 00 and temperature change of device 3000. Sensor component 3014 may include a proximity sensor configured to detect nearby objects without physically contacting them. The sensor component 3014 may also include a photosensitive element, such as a CMOS or CCD image sensor, for use in imaging disclosures. In some embodiments of the present invention, sensor component 3014 may also include an accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetic sensor, pressure or temperature sensor.

[311] The communication component 3016 is configured to facilitate a wired or wireless communication process between the device 3000 and other devices. Device 3000 may access a wireless network using communication standards such as WiFi, 2G, or 3G, or combinations of these standards. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the communication component 3016 receives a broadcast signal or transmits corresponding information in a broadcast mode from an external broadcast control system via a broadcast channel. In one of the embodiments of the present invention, the communication component 3016 also contains a Near Field Communication (NFC) module that allows signals to be transmitted over short distances. For example, the NFC module may be implemented based on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, Infrared Data Association (IrDA) technology, Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology, Bluetooth (BT) technology, and other technologies.

[312] According to embodiments, device 3000 may be implemented using one or more of such components as application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), programmable logic devices (FPGAs), controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, or other electronic components designed to perform the methods described above.

[313] Embodiments also provide a computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions, such as instructions stored in memory 3004 and executed by processor 820 of device 3000 to implement the methods described above. For example, the computer-readable medium may be a ROM, RAM, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, optical storage device, and the like.

[314] A person skilled in the art should be aware of other ways of disclosing the invention based on this description and on the practical application of the disclosed invention. The disclosure of the present invention is intended to cover any modifications, uses, or adaptations of the disclosure consistent with its general principles, including such departures from the disclosure of the present invention as are known or common practice in this technical field. This description and illustrations should be considered as examples only, given that the essence and scope of the invention are presented in the following claims.

[315] It should be appreciated that the disclosure of the present invention is not limited exactly to the formulations given above and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and various modifications and changes may be made within the scope of the present invention. The scope of the invention is intended to be limited only by the appended claims.

Claims (60)

1. A method for transmitting information, comprising: receiving, by the first user equipment (UE), network information related to the network state of the second UE and transmitted by the second UE; receiving, by the first UE, radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration information carrying identification information, the identification information identifying the second UE; transmitting, by the first UE, network information to the base station; receiving, by the first UE, the first indication information transmitted by the base station, the first indication information indicating the second UE to operate in the first operating state; wherein the transmission, by the first UE, of the network information to the base station includes: transmitting, to the base station, network information of the second UE identified by the identification information. 2. The method according to p. 1, including also: transmitting, by the first UE, to the base station, the measurement result of the direct connection radio signal of the second UE. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein receiving network information related to the network state of the second UE and transmitted by the second UE includes: receiving, by the first UE, network information broadcast by the second UE on the direct connection. 4. The method of claim. 1, in which the identification information contains a layer 2 identifier of the direct connection. 5. The method according to p. 1, including also: transmitting, by the first UE, RRC reconfiguration information carrying the second indication information to the second UE, the second indication information indicating the second UE to transmit network information. 6. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the network information contains at least one of the following: the PLMN identifier of the second UE in the connected state; a cell identifier to which the second UE is connected while in the connected state; the PLMN of the second UE in the idle state; the identifier of the cell in which the second UE is located in the idle state; the PLMN of the second UE in the idle state, the identifier of the cell in which the second UE is located in the idle state. 7. The method according to claim. 1 or 2, in which the first operating state is a relay operating state; wherein the method also includes: maintaining communication with the base station via the second UE in the relay operating state. 8. A method for transmitting information, comprising: transmitting, by the second user equipment (UE), to the first UE, network information related to the network state of the second UE; receiving, by the second UE, the first indication information from the base station, the first indication information indicating the second UE to operate in the first operating state; wherein the second UE is identified by the identification information carried in the RRC reconfiguration information transmitted by the base station to the first UE. 9. The method of claim 8, wherein transmitting to the first UE network information related to the network state of the second UE includes: transmitting, by the second UE, to the first UE in broadcast mode the network information over the direct connection. 10. The method according to claim 8, which also includes: receiving Radio Resource Control (RRC) reconfiguration information transmitted by the first UE and carrying second indication information that indicates the second UE to transmit network information. 11. The method according to any one of paragraphs. 8-10, in which the network information contains at least one of the following: the PLMN identifier of the second UE in the connected state; a cell identifier to which the second UE is connected while in the connected state; the PLMN of the second UE in the idle state; the identifier of the cell in which the second UE is located in the idle state; the PLMN of the second UE in the idle state, the identifier of the cell in which the second UE is located in the idle state. 12. The method according to any one of paragraphs. 8-10, in which the first operating state is a relay operating state; wherein the method also includes: relaying communication between the first UE and the base station. 13. A method for transmitting information, comprising: transmitting, by the base station, radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration information carrying identification information, the identification information identifying the second UE; receiving, by the base station, network information transmitted by the first UE and related to the network state of the second UE; And transmitting, by the base station, the first indication information, the first indication information indicating the second UE to operate in the first operating state; wherein the reception, by the base station, of the network information transmitted by the first UE and associated with the network state of the second UE includes: receiving network information of the second UE identified by the identification information. 14. The method according to p. 13, including also: receiving, by the base station, a measurement result of the direct connection radio signal of the second UE transmitted by the first UE. 15. The method of claim 13, wherein the identification information comprises a layer 2 identifier of the direct connection. 16. The method of claim 13 or 14, wherein the network information comprises at least one of the following: the PLMN identifier of the second UE in the connected state; a cell identifier to which the second UE is connected while in the connected state; the PLMN of the second UE in the idle state; the identifier of the cell in which the second UE is located in the idle state; a PLMN identifier of the second UE in the dormant state; an identifier of the cell in which the second UE in the dormant state is located. 17. The method according to p. 13 or 14, in which the first operating state is a relay operating state; wherein the method also includes maintaining communication with the first UE via the second UE in the relayed operational state. 18. The method of claim 13 or 14, wherein the network information is received by the first UE from the second UE over a direct connection. 19. A communication device containing a processor, a transceiver, a memory and an executable program stored in the memory, during which the processor performs the steps of the method for transmitting information according to any one of paragraphs. 1-7 or 8-12 or 13-18. 20. A storage medium that stores an executable program that, when executed by the processor, implements the steps of the method for transmitting information according to any one of paragraphs. 1-7 or 8-12 or 13-18.

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