WO2025139973A1 - Information sending methods and apparatuses, and related device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present application belongs to the technical field of communications. Disclosed are information sending methods and apparatuses, and a related device. A method in the embodiments of the present application comprises: a first relay terminal receiving target information sent by a remote terminal; and the first relay terminal sending the target information to a network-side device by means of a first parent node, the first parent node being a relay terminal in a relay link that is connected to the first relay terminal and located between the first relay terminal and the network-side device, wherein the first relay terminal is connected to the remote terminal, and the relay link is a relay link between the remote terminal and the network-side device.

Description

Information sending method, device and related equipment

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202311809542.9 filed in China on December 26, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

The present application belongs to the field of communication technology, and specifically relates to an information sending method, device and related equipment.

Background Art

In the related art, a remote terminal is connected to a network-side device through a relay terminal. The link quality of the relay terminal needs to meet a certain reference signal received power (RSRP) threshold requirement. The remote terminal may not be able to find a suitable relay terminal to connect to the network-side device, which will make it impossible for the remote terminal to communicate with the network-side device, resulting in poor communication performance between the remote terminal and the network-side device.

Summary of the invention

The embodiments of the present application provide an information sending method, apparatus and related equipment, which can solve the problem of poor communication performance between a remote terminal and a network side device.

In a first aspect, a method for sending information is provided, comprising:

The first relay terminal receives target information sent by the remote terminal;

The first relay terminal sends the target information to the network side device through a first parent node, where the first parent node is a relay terminal connected to the first relay terminal in a relay link and located between the first relay terminal and the network side device;

The first relay terminal is connected to the remote terminal, and the relay link is a relay link between the remote terminal and the network side device.

In a second aspect, a method for sending information is provided, comprising:

The second relay terminal receives target information sent by the remote terminal through a first sub-node, where the first sub-node is a relay terminal connected to the second relay terminal in a relay link and located between the second relay terminal and the remote terminal;

The second relay terminal sends the target information to the network side device;

The second relay terminal is connected to the network side device, and the relay link is a relay link between the remote terminal and the network side device.

In a third aspect, a method for sending information is provided, comprising:

The third relay terminal receives the target information sent by the remote terminal through the second sub-node, where the second sub-node is a relay terminal connected to the third relay terminal in the relay link and located between the third relay terminal and the remote terminal;

The third relay terminal sends the target information to the network side device through a second parent node, where the second parent node is a relay terminal connected to the third relay terminal in the relay link and located between the third relay terminal and the network side device;

The relay link is a relay link between the remote terminal and the network side device.

In a fourth aspect, a method for sending information is provided, comprising:

The remote terminal sends target information to the network side device through at least two relay terminals;

The relay link between the remote terminal and the network side device includes the at least two relay terminals, and the at least two relay terminals include a first relay terminal connected to the remote terminal and a second relay terminal connected to the network side device.

In a fifth aspect, an information sending device is provided. The first relay terminal includes the information sending device, and the device includes:

A first receiving module, used for receiving target information sent by a remote terminal;

a sending module, configured to send the target information to a network-side device through a first parent node, wherein the first parent node is a relay terminal connected to the first relay terminal in a relay link and located between the first relay terminal and the network-side device;

The first relay terminal is connected to the remote terminal, and the relay link is a relay link between the remote terminal and the network side device.

In a sixth aspect, an information sending device is provided, the second relay terminal includes the information sending device, and the device includes:

A first receiving module, configured to receive target information sent by a remote terminal through a first sub-node, wherein the first sub-node is a relay terminal connected to the second relay terminal in a relay link and located between the second relay terminal and the remote terminal;

A first sending module, used to send the target information to a network side device;

The second relay terminal is connected to the network side device, and the relay link is a relay link between the remote terminal and the network side device.

In a seventh aspect, an information sending device is provided, where the third relay terminal includes the information sending device, and the device includes:

a first receiving module, configured to receive target information sent by a remote terminal through a second sub-node, wherein the second sub-node is a relay terminal connected to the third relay terminal in a relay link and located between the third relay terminal and the remote terminal;

a sending module, configured to send the target information to the network side device through a second parent node, where the second parent node is a relay terminal connected to the third relay terminal in the relay link and located between the third relay terminal and the network side device;

The relay link is a relay link between the remote terminal and the network side device.

In an eighth aspect, an information sending device is provided, the remote terminal includes the information sending device, and the device includes:

A sending module, used to send target information to a network side device through at least two relay terminals;

The relay link between the remote terminal and the network side device includes the at least two relay terminals, and the at least two relay terminals include a first relay terminal connected to the remote terminal and a second relay terminal connected to the network side device.

In the ninth aspect, a communication device is provided, which includes a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores a program or instruction that can be run on the processor, and when the program or instruction is executed by the processor, the steps of the method described in the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, or the fourth aspect are implemented.

In a tenth aspect, a communication device is provided, where the communication device is a first relay terminal, including a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is used to:

Receive target information sent by a remote terminal;

Sending the target information to the network side device through a first parent node, where the first parent node is a relay terminal connected to the first relay terminal in a relay link and located between the first relay terminal and the network side device;

The first relay terminal is connected to the remote terminal, and the relay link is a relay link between the remote terminal and the network side device.

In an eleventh aspect, a communication device is provided, where the communication device is a second relay terminal, including a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is used to:

receiving target information sent by a remote terminal through a first sub-node, where the first sub-node is a relay terminal connected to the second relay terminal in a relay link and located between the second relay terminal and the remote terminal;

Sending the target information to the network side device;

The second relay terminal is connected to the network side device, and the relay link is a relay link between the remote terminal and the network side device.

In a twelfth aspect, a communication device is provided, where the communication device is a third relay terminal, and includes a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is used to:

receiving target information sent by a remote terminal through a second sub-node, where the second sub-node is a relay terminal connected to the third relay terminal in a relay link and located between the third relay terminal and the remote terminal;

Sending the target information to the network side device through a second parent node, where the second parent node is a relay terminal connected to the third relay terminal in the relay link and located between the third relay terminal and the network side device;

The relay link is a relay link between the remote terminal and the network side device.

In a thirteenth aspect, a communication device is provided, wherein the communication device is a remote terminal, comprising a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is used to:

Sending target information to a network side device through at least two relay terminals;

The relay link between the remote terminal and the network side device includes the at least two relay terminals, and the at least two relay terminals include a first relay terminal connected to the remote terminal and a second relay terminal connected to the network side device.

In the fourteenth aspect, an information sending system is provided, comprising: a first relay terminal, a second relay terminal, a third relay terminal and a remote terminal, wherein the first relay terminal can be used to execute the steps of the method described in the first aspect, the second relay terminal can be used to execute the steps of the method described in the second aspect, the third relay terminal can be used to execute the steps of the method described in the third aspect, and the remote terminal can be used to execute the steps of the method described in the fourth aspect.

In the fifteenth aspect, a readable storage medium is provided, on which a program or instruction is stored. When the program or instruction is executed by a processor, the steps of the method described in the first aspect are implemented, or the steps of the method described in the second aspect are implemented, or the steps of the method described in the third aspect are implemented, or the steps of the method described in the fourth aspect are implemented.

In the sixteenth aspect, a chip is provided, comprising a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is used to run a program or instructions to implement the method as described in the first aspect, or the method as described in the second aspect, or the method as described in the third aspect, or the method as described in the fourth aspect.

In the seventeenth aspect, a computer program/program product is provided, wherein the computer program/program product is stored in a storage medium, and the computer program/program product is executed by at least one processor to implement the steps of the method described in the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, or the fourth aspect.

In an embodiment of the present application, a first relay terminal receives target information sent by a remote terminal; the first relay terminal sends the target information to a network side device through a next-hop relay terminal; wherein the first relay terminal is connected to the remote terminal, and the first relay terminal is a relay terminal among at least two relay terminals included in a relay link between the remote terminal and the network side device. In this way, it is possible to support the remote terminal to communicate with the network side device through a relay link including at least two relay terminals, avoiding the remote terminal being unable to find a suitable relay terminal to connect to the network side device due to the remote terminal being able to connect to the network side device only through one relay terminal, thereby improving the communication performance between the remote terminal and the network side device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG1 is a block diagram of a wireless communication system to which an embodiment of the present application can be applied;

Figure 2 is a diagram of a UE-to-Network relay scenario;

FIG3 is a flowchart of a method for sending information provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG4 is a second flowchart of an information sending method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG5 is a third flowchart of an information sending method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG6 is a fourth flowchart of an information sending method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG7 is one of the schematic diagrams of a multi-hop U2N link provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG8 is a second schematic diagram of a multi-hop U2N link provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG9 is a schematic diagram of a structure of an information sending device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG10 is a second structural diagram of an information sending device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG11 is a third structural diagram of an information sending device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG12 is a fourth structural diagram of an information sending device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG13 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal provided in an embodiment of the present application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application to clearly describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field belong to the scope of protection of this application.

The terms "first", "second", etc. of the present application are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that the terms used in this way are interchangeable where appropriate, so that the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in an order other than those illustrated or described herein, and the objects distinguished by "first" and "second" are generally of one type, and the number of objects is not limited, for example, the first object can be one or more. In addition, "or" in the present application represents at least one of the connected objects. For example, "A or B" covers three schemes, namely, Scheme 1: including A but not including B; Scheme 2: including B but not including A; Scheme 3: including both A and B. The character "/" generally indicates that the objects associated with each other are in an "or" relationship.

The term "indication" in this application can be a direct indication (or explicit indication) or an indirect indication (or implicit indication). A direct indication can be understood as the sender explicitly informing the receiver of specific information, operations to be performed, or request results in the sent indication; an indirect indication can be understood as the receiver determining the corresponding information according to the indication sent by the sender, or making a judgment and determining the operation to be performed or the request result according to the judgment result.

It is worth noting that the technology described in the embodiments of the present application is not limited to the Long Term Evolution (LTE)/LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) system, but can also be used in other wireless communication systems, such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Single-carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) or other systems. The terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of the present application are often used interchangeably, and the described technology can be used for the above-mentioned systems and radio technologies as well as other systems and radio technologies. The following description describes a New Radio (NR) system for example purposes, and NR terms are used in most of the following descriptions, but these technologies can also be applied to systems other than NR systems, such as ^6th Generation (6G) communication systems.

FIG1 shows a block diagram of a wireless communication system applicable to the embodiment of the present application. The wireless communication system includes a terminal 11 and a network side device 12 . Among them, the terminal 11 can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer (Tablet Personal Computer), a laptop computer (Laptop Computer), a notebook computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld computer, a netbook, an ultra-mobile personal computer (Ultra-mobile Personal Computer, UMPC), a mobile Internet device (Mobile Internet Device, MID), an augmented reality (Augmented Reality, AR), a virtual reality (Virtual Reality, VR) device, a robot, a wearable device (Wearable Device), a flight vehicle (flight vehicle), a vehicle user equipment (VUE), a shipborne equipment, a pedestrian terminal (Pedestrian User Equipment, PUE), a smart home (home appliances with wireless communication functions, such as refrigerators, televisions, washing machines or furniture, etc.), a game console, a personal computer (Personal Computer, PC), a teller machine or a self-service machine and other terminal side devices. Wearable devices include: smart watches, smart bracelets, smart headphones, smart glasses, smart jewelry (smart bracelets, smart bracelets, smart rings, smart necklaces, smart anklets, smart anklets, etc.), smart wristbands, smart clothing, etc. Among them, the vehicle-mounted device can also be called a vehicle-mounted terminal, a vehicle-mounted controller, a vehicle-mounted module, a vehicle-mounted component, a vehicle-mounted chip or a vehicle-mounted unit, etc. It should be noted that the specific type of the terminal 11 is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. The network side device 12 may include an access network device or a core network device, wherein the access network device may also be called a radio access network (Radio Access Network, RAN) device, a radio access network function or a radio access network unit. The access network device may include a base station, a wireless local area network (Wireless Local Area Network, WLAN) access point (Access Point, AS) or a wireless fidelity (Wireless Fidelity, WiFi) node, etc. Among them, the base station can be called Node B (Node B, NB), Evolved Node B (Evolved Node B, eNB), the next generation Node B (the next generation Node B, gNB), New Radio Node B (New Radio Node B, NR Node B), access point, relay station (relay Base Station, RBS), serving base station (Serving Base Station, SBS), base transceiver station (Base Transceiver Station, BTS), radio base station, radio transceiver, base Basic Service Set (BSS), Extended Service Set (ESS), home Node B (HNB), home evolved Node B (home evolved Node B), Transmission Reception Point (TRP) or other appropriate term in the field, as long as the same technical effect is achieved, the base station is not limited to specific technical vocabulary. It should be noted that, in the embodiments of the present application, only the base station in the NR system is taken as an example for introduction, and the specific type of the base station is not limited.

The core network equipment may include but is not limited to at least one of the following: core network nodes, core network functions, mobility management entity (MME), access mobility management function (AMF), session management function (SMF), user plane function (UPF), policy control function (PCF), policy and charging rules function unit (PCRF), edge application service discovery function (EASDF), unified data management (UDM), unified data warehouse (UDRM), etc. The following are some functions of the present invention: the core network device of the NR system is used as an example, the core network device of the NR system is used as an example, and the specific type of the core network device is not limited.

For ease of understanding, some terms involved in the embodiments of the present application are explained below:

1. Sidelink relay mechanism

The relay technology in the wireless communication system is to add one or more relay nodes between the base station and the terminal, which is responsible for forwarding the wireless signal once or multiple times, that is, the wireless signal has to go through multiple hops to reach the terminal.

Wireless relay technology can not only be used to expand cell coverage and fill in cell coverage blind spots, but also to increase cell capacity through spatial resource reuse. For indoor coverage, relay technology can also overcome penetration loss and improve indoor coverage quality.

Taking the simpler two-hop relay as an example, wireless relay splits a base station-terminal link into two links: base station-relay station and relay station-terminal. This provides the opportunity to replace a link with poor quality with two links with better quality to obtain higher link capacity and better coverage.

The relay currently supported in LTE is UE-to-Network (U2N) relay, that is, one end of the relay is connected to the UE, and the other end is connected to the network side. The UE connected to the relay is called remote UE. Remote UE can also be described as a remote terminal.

NR will also study how to support the UE-to-Network relay mechanism. The typical scenario is shown in Figure 2. This is a typical UE-to-Network scenario. The remote UE needs to transmit data to the network side, but due to poor coverage, it finds a relay UE to transfer the data. The Uu interface is between the relay UE and the base station, and the sidelink (PC5) interface is between the relay UE and the remote UE. Generally speaking, the relay UE is open and can serve any remote UE.

In the related technology, the remote terminal may not be able to find a suitable relay UE to connect to the network side device, which will make the remote terminal unable to communicate with the network side device, resulting in poor communication performance between the remote terminal and the network side device.

The information sending method, apparatus and related equipment provided by the embodiments of the present application are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings through some embodiments and their application scenarios.

Referring to FIG. 3 , FIG. 3 is a flow chart of an information sending method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 3 , the information sending method includes the following steps:

Step 101: The first relay terminal receives target information sent by the remote terminal;

Step 102: The first relay terminal sends the target information to a network-side device through a first parent node, where the first parent node is a relay terminal connected to the first relay terminal in a relay link and located between the first relay terminal and the network-side device;

The first relay terminal is connected to the remote terminal, and the relay link is a relay link between the remote terminal and the network side device.

The relay link may include at least two relay terminals, and the relay link may also be described as a multi-hop U2N relay link. The first relay terminal being connected to the remote terminal may mean that the first relay terminal is directly connected to the remote terminal, that is, the first relay terminal is not connected to the remote terminal through other relay terminals.

The target information may be any information, and this embodiment does not limit the target information. For example, the target information may be user data.

The first parent node may be a second relay terminal or a third relay terminal. The second relay terminal is connected to a network side device. It should be noted that the second relay terminal is connected to the network side device, which may mean that the second relay terminal is directly connected to the network side device, that is, the second relay terminal is not connected to the network side device through other relay terminals.

In one implementation, taking the relay link including two relay terminals as an example, the relay link is composed of a first relay terminal and a second relay terminal, and the target information is transmitted in the following manner: remote terminal>first relay terminal>second relay terminal>network side device. At this time, the first parent node of the first relay terminal is the second relay terminal. The child node of the second relay terminal is the first relay terminal.

In one implementation, taking the relay link including three relay terminals as an example, the relay link is composed of a first relay terminal, a third relay terminal, and a second relay terminal, and the target information is transmitted in the following manner: remote terminal>first relay terminal>third relay terminal>second relay terminal>network side device. In this case, the first parent node is the third relay terminal.

In one implementation, taking the relay link including N (N is an integer) third relay terminals as an example, the relay link is composed of a first relay terminal, multiple third relay terminals and a second relay terminal, and the target information is transmitted in the following manner: remote terminal>first relay terminal>first third relay terminal>second third relay terminal, ..., N-1th third relay terminal>Nth third relay terminal>second relay terminal>network side device. At this time, the first parent node of the first relay terminal is the first third relay terminal. The parent node of the first third relay terminal is the second third relay terminal; the child node of the first third relay terminal is the first third relay terminal; and so on, the parent node of the Nth third relay terminal is the second relay terminal, the child node of the Nth third relay terminal is the N-1th third relay terminal; and the child node of the second relay terminal is the Nth third relay terminal.

In the related art, only the remote terminal (remote UE) is supported to connect to the network through a relay terminal (relay UE), that is, a one-hop relay link. The single-hop scenario is relatively simple, and the connection establishment process only involves the processing of one relay UE. However, the single-hop relay link requires that the relay UE must be a terminal within the network coverage, and the link quality of the relay UE must meet certain RSRP high threshold or low threshold requirements, so the effect on coverage expansion is limited. The remote UE may not find an available relay UE around it and cannot communicate with the network. The relay link in the embodiment of the present application is a multi-hop relay link, which can better solve the coverage problem. The remote UE can establish a connection with the network through the relay of multiple relay UEs.

In an embodiment of the present application, a first relay terminal receives target information sent by a remote terminal; the first relay terminal sends the target information to a network side device through a next-hop relay terminal; wherein the first relay terminal is connected to the remote terminal, and the first relay terminal is a relay terminal among at least two relay terminals included in a relay link between the remote terminal and the network side device. In this way, it is possible to support the remote terminal to communicate with the network side device through a relay link including at least two relay terminals, avoiding the remote terminal being unable to find a suitable relay terminal to connect to the network side device due to the remote terminal being able to connect to the network side device only through one relay terminal, thereby improving the communication performance between the remote terminal and the network side device.

Optionally, before the first relay terminal receives the target information sent by the remote terminal, the method further includes at least one of the following:

The first relay terminal receives the first discovery message sent by the remote terminal, adds the device identifier of the first relay terminal to the routing information carried in the first discovery message, and sends the added first discovery message;

The first relay terminal receives a first response message sent by the first parent node;

The first relay terminal sends a first response message to the remote terminal;

The first response message carries the routing information of the relay link.

The first discovery message may carry the needs of the remote terminal, such as the desire to communicate with the network side for a certain type of service through a multi-hop relay link. The first relay terminal receives the first discovery message. Since the first relay terminal does not have the conditions to communicate directly with the network side (such as a base station), but can support multi-hop services according to the capabilities of the first relay terminal, the first relay terminal can help the remote UE forward the first discovery message and add the identifier of the first relay terminal to the routing table.

It should be noted that before establishing the relay link, a hop-by-hop discovery process can be implemented through the first discovery message or the first response message to determine the route of the multi-hop U2N relay link, that is, through which relay UEs the remote terminal (remote UE) accesses the network in sequence.

Taking the relay link including two relay terminals as an example, the first relay terminal receives the first discovery message sent by the remote terminal, adds the device identifier of the first relay terminal to the routing information carried in the first discovery message, and sends the first discovery message after adding; the second relay terminal receives the first discovery message sent by the first relay terminal, adds the device identifier of the second relay terminal to the routing information carried in the first discovery message, and sends the first discovery message after adding; the second relay terminal sends a first response message to the first relay terminal, and the first response message carries the routing information of the relay link; the first relay terminal receives the first response message sent by the second relay terminal; the first relay terminal sends the first response message to the remote terminal. A hop-by-hop discovery process can be implemented.

In one implementation, the first relay terminal adds the device identifier of the first relay terminal to the routing information carried by the first discovery message, and sends the first discovery message after the addition; the first parent node of the first relay terminal (i.e., the second relay terminal or the first third relay terminal) receives the first discovery message sent by the first relay terminal, adds the device identifier of the first parent node to the routing information carried by the first discovery message, and sends the first discovery message after the addition; 0-N third relay terminals sequentially receive the first discovery message and routing table forwarded by the first relay terminal, and since they themselves do not have the conditions to directly communicate with the network side device (such as the base station), they can continue to communicate according to the capabilities and business requirements (for example, some businesses have time delay requirements, which cannot exceed 3 hops at most). Continue to support the forwarding of the multi-hop demand, and therefore continue to help the remote terminal forward the first discovery message, and sequentially add its own identifier to the routing table. Finally, the second relay terminal receives the first discovery message. Since it has the conditions to communicate directly with the network side device, such as RSRP meeting certain threshold requirements, it can respond to the first discovery message, and add its own identifier to the routing table. In the first response message, it carries the routing information of the relay link (such as a complete routing table), and sends the first response message in reverse to the previous hop relay terminal according to the node information recorded in the routing table in the first discovery message. After that, each hop relay terminal sends the first response message step by step according to the routing table. Finally, the first relay terminal sends the first response message carrying the complete routing table to the remote terminal.

Furthermore, since the first discovery message is sent in broadcast mode, there may be more than one multi-hop relay link after a discovery process response. The remote terminal can select the most suitable one as its final multi-hop relay route, for example, the one that meets at least one of the following conditions: the minimum number of link hops, the shortest response delay, the best overall link quality, or the lightest overall link load, as the final multi-hop relay route.

In addition, after completing the discovery process, the remote terminal can also establish a PC5 link connection with the third relay terminal through the Direct Communication Request (DCR) process, and inform the third relay terminal of the routing information of the relay link. The third relay terminal then establishes a PC5 link connection with its next hop, the parent node, through the DCR process, and informs its parent node of the routing information of the relay link. The process is executed in sequence, and finally the second relay terminal also establishes a PC5 connection with its child node through the DCR process and obtains the routing information of the relay link. Thus, the routing discovery and PC5 link establishment process between the remote terminal and the second relay terminal is completed.

It should be noted that the above discovery process and DCR process can be combined, that is, the same set of signaling process can complete both the discovery of routes and the step-by-step establishment of PC5 links, thereby saving signaling delay.

In this embodiment, the first relay terminal receives a first discovery message sent by the remote terminal, adds the device identifier of the first relay terminal to the routing information carried by the first discovery message, and sends the added first discovery message; or, the first relay terminal receives a first response message sent by the first parent node; or, the first relay terminal sends a first response message to the remote terminal; in this way, the first relay terminal participates in the process of discovering or establishing a relay link through the first discovery message initiated by the remote terminal, and realizes the establishment of a relay link including at least two relay terminals.

Optionally, before the first relay terminal receives the target information sent by the remote terminal, the method further includes at least one of the following:

The first relay terminal receives the second discovery message sent by the first parent node, adds the device identifier of the first relay terminal to the routing information carried in the second discovery message, and sends the added second discovery message;

The first relay terminal receives a second response message sent by the remote terminal;

The first relay terminal sends a second response message to the first parent node;

The second response message carries the routing information of the relay link.

It should be noted that since the second relay terminal communicates directly with the gNB through the Uu interface, it can actively initiate a discovery process to the surrounding area, declare which multi-hop relay donor operations for specific services it can support, and add its own identification to the routing table.

Taking the relay link including two relay terminals as an example, the second relay terminal sends a second discovery message; the first relay terminal receives the second discovery message sent by the second relay terminal, adds the device identifier of the first relay terminal to the routing information carried by the second discovery message, and sends the added second discovery message; the remote terminal receives the second discovery message sent by the first relay terminal, sends a second response message to the first relay terminal, and the second response message carries the routing information of the relay link; the first relay terminal receives the second response message sent by the remote terminal; the first relay terminal sends a second response message to the second relay terminal; the second relay terminal receives the second response message sent by the first relay terminal. A hop-by-hop discovery process can be implemented.

In one implementation, the second relay terminal sends a second discovery message; the 0-N third relay terminals that receive the second discovery message can sequentially add their own identifications to the routing table and forward the second discovery message; the first relay terminal can receive the second discovery message sent by the third relay terminal, add the device identification of the first relay terminal to the routing information carried by the second discovery message, and send the added second discovery message; after the remote terminal receives the second discovery message, it has a U2N service that meets the requirements to initiate, so it can respond to the second discovery message, and subsequently sends the second response message step by step in the reverse direction of the routing table until the second relay terminal. At this point, a multi-hop U2N route has completed the discovery process. In particular, when the remote terminal has multiple routes to choose from, it can also select the most suitable one as its final multi-hop relay route, for example, at least one of the conditions that meets the minimum link hops, the shortest response delay, the best overall link quality, or the lightest overall link load is used as the final multi-hop relay route.

It should be noted that after the route discovery is completed, the DCR process of each hop can be performed to establish a PC5 link connection between two. Since the remote terminal finally selects the route, the remote terminal generally initiates the DCR process with the first relay terminal to establish a PC5 link connection, and then the first relay terminal establishes a PC5 link connection with the first third relay terminal, and so on, until the PC5 link is established between the second relay terminal and the last third relay terminal. Thus, the route discovery and PC5 link establishment process between the remote terminal and the second relay terminal is completed.

In this implementation, the first relay terminal receives a second discovery message sent by the next-hop relay terminal, adds the device identifier of the first relay terminal to the routing information carried by the second discovery message, and sends the added second discovery message; or, the first relay terminal receives a second response message sent by the remote terminal; or, the first relay terminal sends a second response message to the next-hop relay terminal; in this way, the first relay terminal participates in the process of discovering or establishing a relay link through the second discovery message initiated by other relay terminals, thereby realizing the establishment of a relay link including at least two relay terminals.

Optionally, the method further comprises:

The first relay terminal receives a first message sent by the remote terminal, where the first message is an end-to-end message between the remote terminal and the network side device;

When the first relay terminal is in a non-connected state, the first relay terminal initiates entering a connected state; or, when the first relay terminal is in a connected state, the first relay terminal sends a first relay request to the network side device through a Radio Resource Control (RRC) process;

The first relay request includes at least one of the following:

Remote terminal identification;

Multi-hop relay link indication;

Routing information of the relay link stored in the first relay terminal;

Indication information indicating the number of relay terminals included in the routing information of the relay link stored in the first relay terminal.

The first message may be used to establish a connection between a remote terminal and a network-side device. For example, the first message may be a connection establishment request carried by SRB0, a connection recovery request carried by SRB1, or a reconstruction request carried by SRB0. A multi-hop relay link indication may be used to indicate that a multi-hop relay link establishment is desired. SRB refers to a signaling radio bearer.

In addition, the counterpart of the first message may be the network side device.

The remote terminal identifier may identify the identity of the remote terminal. The routing information of the relay link stored by the first relay terminal may include routing information between the remote terminal and the network side device. The number of relay terminals included in the routing information of the relay link stored by the first relay terminal may include the number of relay terminals included in the routing information between the remote terminal and the network side device.

It should be noted that the connection between the remote terminal and the network side device may be established after the route discovery or PC5 link establishment process between the remote terminal and the second relay terminal is completed.

The embodiment of the present application provides a method for establishing a multi-hop U2N relay link, which can enable the remote UE to perform the initial establishment process with the network side through a multi-hop relay connection (link), and support relay UEs in different RRC states, thereby providing a feasible solution for establishing a multi-hop link, which not only ensures the data transmission performance of the remote UE, but also reduces the processing complexity of the relay UE, thereby improving the overall network efficiency, capacity and coverage.

In this implementation, the first relay terminal receives a first message sent by the remote terminal, the first message being an end-to-end message between the remote terminal and the network-side device; when the first relay terminal is in a non-connected state, the first relay terminal initiates entry into a connected state; or, when the first relay terminal is in a connected state, the first relay terminal sends a first relay request to the network-side device through an RRC process. In this way, the first message sent by the remote terminal triggers the first relay terminal to enter a connected state, or triggers the first relay terminal to send a first relay request, so that the remote terminal can enter a connected state by sending a first message to the first relay terminal whose counterpart is the network side.

Optionally, the first relay terminal initiates entering a connected state, including at least one of the following:

The first relay terminal sends a second message to the first parent node, where the second message is an end-to-end message between the first relay terminal and the network side device;

The first relay terminal receives an RRC response message corresponding to the second message sent by the first parent node;

The method further comprises:

The first relay terminal sends a first relay request to the network side device through the RRC process.

The RRC response message corresponding to a message (such as the first message, the second message or the third message, etc.) may be a response message of the network side device to the message. For example, the RRC response message may be RRC setup or RRC resume.

In addition, the counterpart of the second message may be the network side device.

Taking the relay link including two relay terminals as an example, the first parent node is the second relay terminal, the first relay terminal sends a second message to the second relay terminal (in this case, the second message is equivalent to the third message); when the second relay terminal is in a non-connected state, the second relay terminal initiates to enter a connected state; or, when the second relay terminal is in a connected state, the second relay terminal sends a second relay request to the network side device through an RRC process (in this case, the second relay request is equivalent to the third relay request). The second relay terminal receives an RRC response message corresponding to the second message sent by the network side device; the second relay terminal sends an RRC response message corresponding to the second message to the first relay terminal; the first relay terminal receives an RRC response message corresponding to the second message sent by the second relay terminal; at this time, the first relay terminal enters a connected state, and the first relay terminal sends a first relay request to the network side device through an RRC process.

Take the relay link including more than two relay terminals as an example, that is, the relay link includes N (N is an integer) third relay terminals, the first parent node is a third relay terminal directly connected to the first relay terminal, and the first relay terminal sends a second message to the first parent node (at this time, the second message is equivalent to the fourth message); when the first parent node is in a non-connected state, the first parent node initiates to enter a connected state; or, when the first parent node is in a connected state, the first parent node sends a second relay request to the network side device through an RRC process (at this time, the second relay request is equivalent to the fourth relay request). When the first parent node is in a connected state and sends the second relay request, the first parent node receives an RRC response message corresponding to the second message sent by the network side device; the first parent node sends an RRC response message corresponding to the second message to the first relay terminal; the first relay terminal receives an RRC response message corresponding to the second message sent by the first parent node; at this time, the first relay terminal enters a connected state, and the first relay terminal sends a first relay request to the network side device through an RRC process.

The embodiments of the present application can solve the problem that in a multi-hop U2N relay link, the remote UE initiates a connection establishment process to the network side through the first relay terminal and the multi-hop relay link, wherein each relay node, if not in the RRC connected (CONNECTED) state when receiving the end-to-end signaling trigger of the downstream remote UE or relay UE, first enters the connected state and reports the demand to the network, obtains the relay link configuration, and then forwards the end-to-end signaling.

In this implementation, the first relay terminal sends a second message to the next-hop relay terminal, and the second message is an end-to-end message between the first relay terminal and the network side device, so that the first relay terminal can transmit the second message whose opposite end is the network side through the next-hop relay terminal; the first relay terminal receives the RRC response message corresponding to the second message sent by the next-hop relay terminal, so that the network side can send the RRC response message whose opposite end is the first relay terminal to the first relay terminal through the next-hop relay terminal; the first relay terminal sends a first relay request to the network side device through the RRC process, so that the first relay request can be transmitted after the first relay terminal enters the connected state.

Optionally, the second message is used to: when the first parent node is in a non-connected state, trigger the first parent node to initiate entry into a connected state; or, when the first parent node is in a connected state, trigger the first parent node to send a second relay request to the network side device through an RRC process.

The second relay request includes at least one of the following:

Remote terminal identification;

an identifier of the first relay terminal;

Multi-hop relay link indication;

Routing information of the relay link stored by the first parent node;

Indication information indicating the number of relay terminals included in the routing information of the relay link stored by the first parent node.

It should be noted that in a multi-hop U2N relay route, no matter how many relay nodes are involved, only the second relay terminal can directly communicate with the network side device via the Uu interface, and there is no direct Uu interface link between other relay terminals and the network side device. However, since other relay terminals need to transfer data for remote UE, the other relay terminals also need to be centrally controlled by the network side device, obtain configuration or resources from the network side, and perform centralized bearer configuration and mapping management by the network side device, so all relay terminals in the relay link need to enter the connected state.

Optionally, after the first relay terminal sends the first relay request to the network side device through an RRC process, the method further includes at least one of the following:

The first relay terminal receives an RRC response message corresponding to the first message sent by the network side device;

The first relay terminal sends the RRC response message corresponding to the first message to the remote terminal through the PC5 radio link control RLC channel.

In this implementation, the first relay terminal receives the RRC response message corresponding to the first message sent by the network side device, so that the network side can send the RRC response message of the remote terminal to the remote terminal through the first relay terminal; the first relay terminal sends the RRC response message corresponding to the first message to the remote terminal through the PC5 RLC channel, thereby realizing the transmission of the RRC response message of the remote terminal through the first relay terminal, thereby realizing the establishment of the RRC connection between the remote terminal and the network side device.

Optionally, before the first relay terminal receives the target information sent by the remote terminal, the method further includes:

The first relay terminal receives first configuration information sent by the network side device;

The first configuration information is used to configure at least one of the following:

The local identification of the remote terminal; the first PC5 RLC channel; the mapping relationship between E2E SRB0 or E2ESRB1 of the remote terminal and the first PC5 RLC channel;

Wherein, the local identifier of the remote terminal is used to identify the data of the remote terminal in the first PC5 RLC channel;

The first PC5 RLC channel is a PC5 RLC channel between the first relay terminal and the first parent node.

In this implementation, the first relay terminal receives the first configuration information sent by the network side device, so that the network side can configure the bearer and mapping relationship of the remote terminal for the first relay terminal, so that the first relay terminal can transmit the information transmitted between the terminal and the network side device according to the configuration of the network side.

It should be noted that the structure of a multi-hop relay link is relatively complex, and the establishment process of a one-hop relay link in the related technology cannot be directly reused. The embodiment of the present application redesigns the connection establishment process for a multi-hop relay link to avoid the remote terminal being unable to find a suitable relay terminal to connect to the network side device due to the remote terminal being able to connect to the network side device only through one relay terminal, thereby improving the communication performance between the remote terminal and the network side device.

Referring to FIG. 4 , FIG. 4 is a flow chart of an information sending method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 4 , the information sending method includes the following steps:

Step 201: A second relay terminal receives target information sent by a remote terminal through a first subnode, where the first subnode is a relay terminal connected to the second relay terminal in a relay link and located between the second relay terminal and the remote terminal;

Step 202: The second relay terminal sends the target information to a network side device;

The second relay terminal is connected to the network side device, and the relay link is a relay link between the remote terminal and the network side device.

Optionally, before the second relay terminal receives the target information sent by the remote terminal through the first subnode, the method further includes at least one of the following:

The second relay terminal receives a first discovery message sent by the first sub-node;

The second relay terminal sends a first response message to the first sub-node, where the first response message carries routing information of the relay link.

Optionally, before the second relay terminal receives the target information sent by the remote terminal through the first subnode, the method further includes at least one of the following:

The second relay terminal sends a second discovery message;

The second relay terminal receives a second response message sent by the first sub-node, where the second response message carries routing information of the relay link.

Optionally, the method further comprises:

When the first sub-node is in a non-connected state, the second relay terminal receives a third message sent by the first sub-node, where the third message is an end-to-end message between the first sub-node and the network side device.

Among them, the counterpart of the third message may be the network side device.

Optionally, after the second relay terminal receives the third message sent by the first subnode, the method further includes:

When the second relay terminal is in a non-connected state, the second relay terminal initiates entry into a connected state; or, when the second relay terminal is in a connected state, the second relay terminal sends a third relay request to the network side device through an RRC process;

The third relay request includes at least one of the following:

Remote terminal identification;

First child node identifier;

Multi-hop relay link indication;

Routing information of the relay link stored by the second relay terminal;

Indication information indicating the number of relay terminals included in the routing information of the relay link stored in the second relay terminal.

The remote terminal identifier may identify the identity of the remote terminal. The routing information of the relay link stored by the second relay terminal may include routing information from the first subnode to the network side device. The number of relay terminals included in the routing information of the relay link stored by the first relay terminal may include the number of relay terminals included in the routing information from the first subnode to the network side device.

Optionally, after the second relay terminal initiates entering the connected state, the method further includes:

When the second relay terminal enters the connected state, the second relay terminal sends a third relay request to the network side device through the RRC process.

Optionally, after the second relay terminal sends the third relay request to the network side device through the RRC process, the method further includes at least one of the following:

The second relay terminal receives an RRC response message corresponding to the third message sent by the network side device;

The second relay terminal sends an RRC response message corresponding to the third message to the first subnode through the PC5 RLC channel.

Optionally, after the second relay terminal sends a third relay request to the network side device through an RRC process, the method further includes:

The second relay terminal receives second configuration information sent by the network side device;

The second configuration information is used to configure at least one of the following:

The local identifier of the first child node; the Uu RLC channel; the mapping relationship between the E2E SRB0 or E2E SRB1 of the first child node and the Uu RLC channel;

The local identifier of the first subnode is used to identify data of the first subnode in the Uu RLC channel;

The Uu RLC channel is the Uu RLC channel between the second relay terminal and the network side device.

Optionally, before the second relay terminal receives the target information sent by the remote terminal through the first subnode, the method further includes:

The second relay terminal receives third configuration information sent by the network side device;

The third configuration information is used to configure at least one of the following:

The local identification of the remote terminal; Uu RLC channel; the mapping relationship between E2E SRB0 or E2E SRB1 of the remote terminal and the Uu RLC channel;

Wherein, the local identifier of the remote terminal is used to identify the data of the remote terminal in the Uu RLC channel;

The Uu RLC channel is the Uu RLC channel between the second relay terminal and the network side device.

It should be noted that this embodiment is an implementation of the second relay terminal corresponding to the embodiment shown in Figure 3. Its same or corresponding implementation can refer to the relevant description of the embodiment shown in Figure 3. To avoid repeated description, this embodiment will not be repeated.

Referring to FIG. 5 , FIG. 5 is a flow chart of an information sending method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 5 , the information sending method includes the following steps:

Step 301: A third relay terminal receives target information sent by a remote terminal through a second sub-node, where the second sub-node is a relay terminal connected to the third relay terminal in a relay link and located between the third relay terminal and the remote terminal;

Step 302: The third relay terminal sends the target information to the network side device through a second parent node, where the second parent node is a relay terminal connected to the third relay terminal in the relay link and located between the third relay terminal and the network side device;

The relay link is a relay link between the remote terminal and the network side device.

Optionally, before the third relay terminal receives the target information sent by the remote terminal through the second subnode, the method further includes at least one of the following:

The third relay terminal receives the first discovery message sent by the second sub-node, adds the device identifier of the third relay terminal to the routing information carried in the first discovery message, and sends the first discovery message after the addition;

The third relay terminal receives a first response message sent by the second parent node;

The third relay terminal sends a first response message to the second sub-node;

The first response message carries the routing information of the relay link.

Optionally, before the third relay terminal receives the target information sent by the remote terminal through the second subnode, the method further includes at least one of the following:

The third relay terminal receives the second discovery message sent by the second parent node, adds the device identifier of the third relay terminal to the routing information carried in the second discovery message, and sends the added second discovery message;

The third relay terminal receives a second response message sent by the second sub-node;

The third relay terminal sends a second response message to the second parent node;

The second response message carries the routing information of the relay link.

Optionally, the method further comprises:

A PC5 link connection is established between the third relay terminal and the second parent node through a DCR process; or a PC5 link connection is established between the third relay terminal and the second child node through a DCR process.

Optionally, the method further comprises:

When the second sub-node is in a non-connected state, the third relay terminal receives a fourth message sent by the second sub-node, where the fourth message is an end-to-end message between the second sub-node and the network-side device.

Among them, the counterpart of the fourth message may be the network side device.

Optionally, after the third relay terminal receives the fourth message sent by the second subnode, the method further includes:

When the third relay terminal is in a non-connected state, the third relay terminal initiates entry into a connected state; or, when the third relay terminal is in a connected state, the third relay terminal sends a fourth relay request to the network side device through an RRC process;

The fourth relay request includes at least one of the following:

Remote terminal identification;

The second child node identifier;

Multi-hop relay link indication;

The routing information of the relay link stored by the third relay terminal;

Indication information indicating the number of relay terminals included in the routing information of the relay link stored in the third relay terminal.

The remote terminal identifier may identify the identity of the remote terminal. The routing information of the relay link stored by the third relay terminal may include routing information between the second subnode and the network side device. The number of relay terminals included in the routing information of the relay link stored by the third relay terminal may include the number of relay terminals included in the routing information between the second subnode and the network side device.

Optionally, the third relay terminal initiates entering a connected state, including at least one of the following:

The third relay terminal sends a fifth message to the second parent node, where the fifth message is an end-to-end message between the third relay terminal and the network side device;

The third relay terminal receives an RRC response message corresponding to the fifth message sent by the second parent node;

The method further comprises:

The third relay terminal sends a fourth relay request to the network side device through the RRC process.

Among them, the counterpart of the fifth message may be the network side device.

Optionally, the fifth message is used to: when the second parent node is in a non-connected state, trigger the second parent node to initiate entry into a connected state; or, when the second parent node is in a connected state, trigger the second parent node to send a fifth relay request to the network side device through an RRC process.

The fifth relay request includes at least one of the following:

Remote terminal identification;

an identifier of a third relay terminal;

Multi-hop relay link indication;

Routing information of the relay link stored by the second parent node;

Indication information indicating the number of relay terminals included in the routing information of the relay link stored by the second parent node.

Optionally, after the third relay terminal sends a fourth relay request to the network side device through an RRC process, the method further includes at least one of the following:

The third relay terminal receives an RRC response message corresponding to the fourth message sent by the network side device;

The third relay terminal sends an RRC response message corresponding to the fourth message to the second subnode through the PC5 RLC channel.

Optionally, after the third relay terminal sends a fourth relay request to the network side device through an RRC process, the method further includes:

The third relay terminal receives fourth configuration information sent by the network side device;

The fourth configuration information is used to configure at least one of the following:

The local identifier of the second child node; the second PC5 RLC channel; the mapping relationship between the E2E SRB0 or E2E SRB1 of the second child node and the second PC5 RLC channel;

Wherein, the local identifier of the second sub-node is used to identify the data of the remote terminal in the second PC5 RLC channel;

The second PC5 RLC channel is a PC5 RLC channel between the third relay terminal and the second parent node.

Optionally, before the third relay terminal sends the target information to the network side device through the second parent node, the method further includes:

The third relay terminal receives fifth configuration information sent by the network side device;

The fifth configuration information is used to configure at least one of the following:

The local identification of the remote terminal; the second PC5 RLC channel; the mapping relationship between the E2E SRB0 or E2E SRB1 of the remote terminal and the second PC5 RLC channel;

Wherein, the local identifier of the remote terminal is used to identify the data of the remote terminal in the second PC5 RLC channel;

The second PC5 RLC channel is a PC5 RLC channel between the third relay terminal and the second parent node.

It should be noted that this embodiment is an implementation of the third relay terminal corresponding to the embodiment shown in Figure 3. Its same or corresponding implementation can refer to the relevant description of the embodiment shown in Figure 3. To avoid repeated description, this embodiment will not be repeated.

Referring to FIG. 6 , FIG. 6 is a flow chart of an information sending method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 6 , the information sending method includes the following steps:

Step 401: The remote terminal sends target information to the network side device through at least two relay terminals;

The relay link between the remote terminal and the network side device includes the at least two relay terminals, and the at least two relay terminals include a first relay terminal connected to the remote terminal and a second relay terminal connected to the network side device.

Optionally, before the remote terminal sends the target information to the network side device through at least two relay terminals, the method further includes at least one of the following:

The remote terminal sends a first discovery message, and receives a first response message sent by the first relay terminal, where the first response message carries routing information of the relay link;

The remote terminal receives the second discovery message sent by the first relay terminal, and sends a second response message to the first relay terminal, where the second response message carries the routing information of the relay link;

A PC5 link connection is established between the remote terminal and the first relay terminal through a DCR process.

Optionally, the method further comprises at least one of the following:

The remote terminal sends a first message to the first relay terminal, where the first message is an end-to-end message between the remote terminal and the network side device;

The remote terminal receives an RRC response message corresponding to the first message sent by the first relay terminal through the PC5 RLC channel.

It should be noted that this embodiment is an implementation of the remote terminal corresponding to the embodiment shown in Figure 3. Its same or corresponding implementation can refer to the relevant description of the embodiment shown in Figure 3. To avoid repeated description, this embodiment will not be repeated.

The information sending method provided by the embodiment of the present application is described below through several specific embodiments:

In the following embodiments, the first relay terminal is an access relay UE, the third relay terminal is an intermediate relay UE, the second relay terminal is a donor relay UE, and the network side device is a gNB.

The embodiment of the present application mainly solves the problem of establishing a multi-hop U2N relay link, and may include the following contents:

Before the remote UE performs the signaling process of establishing a multi-hop U2N link, the remote UE needs to first establish the overall multi-hop routing through a hop-by-hop discovery process, a hop-by-hop DCR (Direct Communication Request) process, or even an end-to-end DCR process, such as determining the path of remote UE-relay UE1-relay UE2-gNB, to provide a prerequisite for subsequent connection establishment;

The remote UE initiates the end-to-end signaling of the connection establishment request to the network side through the first relay UE (access relay UE). The signaling is sent through the default PC5 Radio Link Control (RLC) channel between the remote UE and the access relay UE, such as SL RLC 0.

After the access relay UE receives the end-to-end connection establishment request message, if the UE is in the RRC CONNECTED state, it directly reports the relay requirements such as the remote UE identification (ID) and carries its own position in the relay link (for example, the first hop) to the network, and the network establishes or configures the mapping of the RLC channel for the SRB0 message of the remote UE to transmit the end-to-end connection establishment message of the remote UE; or, if the UE is in the non-RRC CONNECTED state, it first performs the RRC connection state transition to its parent relay UE, which also initiates the end-to-end establishment process with the network side, enters the connected state first, and then reports the relay requirements and the remote UE ID to the network, carries its own position in the relay link (for example, the first hop), and the network establishes or configures the mapping of the RLC channel for the SRB0 message of the remote UE to transmit the end-to-end connection establishment message of the remote UE.

When the access relay UE is in the connected state, its parent relay UE should enter the connected state in advance, which is equivalent to the request process of each downstream UE entering the connected state, which first triggers its parent node to enter the connected state, and then supports the end-to-end establishment process between the child node and the network node, so that the child node enters the connected state.

Example 1: Discovery/DCR process

This embodiment realizes the establishment of a multi-hop U2N relay link. However, before the establishment, it is necessary to first determine the route of the multi-hop U2N relay link through a hop-by-hop discovery process, or a hop-by-hop DCR (Direct Communication Request) process, or even an end-to-end DCR process, that is, through which relay UEs the remote UE sequentially accesses the network. In this embodiment, a general description is first given of the multi-hop link discovery process and the DCR process to ensure the smooth progress and connection of subsequent processes.

As shown in Figure 7, it is a typical multi-hop U2N link, where the remote UE is the real demander of the service, and the gNB is the network node that the remote UE needs to establish a connection and communicate with. Other relay UEs are relay nodes to assist the communication between the remote UE and the gNB, and the number of these relay nodes is greater than or equal to 2, forming a multi-hop scenario. The interface between two adjacent UEs is the PC5/SL interface, and the interface between the UE and the gNB is the Uu interface.

For the convenience of description, the relay directly connected to the remote UE is defined as access relay UE, the relay directly connected to the gNB through the Uu interface is defined as donor relay UE, and the relay between the two is intermediate relay UE. In a multi-hop U2N link, access relay UE and donor relay UE must exist, and the number of intermediate relay UE is 0-N.

In addition, due to the particularity of the U2N link, gNB is the global control node and has control over configuration and resources. Therefore, the direction close to the gNB is the upstream direction, and the direction away from the gNB is the downstream direction. Between two adjacent UE nodes, the one close to the gNB is the parent node, and the one away from the gNB is the child node.

Before a remote UE establishes a connection with a gNB through a multi-hop U2N relay link, it first needs to determine the route of the multi-hop U2N link. That is, the remote UE needs to find its own access relay UE, optional 0-N intermediate relay UEs, and the final donor relay UE, so that it can reach the gNB through the found path.

The two UEs exchange their needs and capabilities information through the discovery and/or DCR process of the PC5 interface, thereby establishing a multi-hop route. A simple example is as follows:

Example 1: The remote UE sends a discovery message to the surroundings, carrying its own needs, such as the desire to communicate with the network for a certain type of service through a multi-hop relay link. The access relay UE receives the discovery message. Since it does not have the conditions to communicate directly with the base station, but can support the multi-hop service according to its capabilities, it helps the remote UE forward the discovery message and adds its own identifier to the routing table. 0-N intermediate relay UEs receive the discovery message and routing table forwarded by the access relay UE in turn. Since they do not have the conditions to communicate directly with the base station, but can continue to support the forwarding of the multi-hop demand according to their capabilities and service requirements (for example, some services have a time delay requirement, which cannot exceed 3 hops at most), they continue to help the remote UE forward the discovery message. The mote UE forwards the discovery message and adds its own identifier to the routing table in turn. Finally, the donor relay UE receives the discovery message. Since it has the conditions to communicate directly with the base station, such as RSRP meeting certain threshold requirements (such as high threshold and/or low threshold, etc.), it can respond to the discovery message and add its own identifier to the routing table. It carries the complete routing table in the response message and sends a response message to the intermediate relay UE in the reverse direction according to the node information recorded in the routing table in the discovery message. After that, each intermediate relay UE sends the response message step by step according to the routing table. Finally, the access relay UE sends the response message carrying the complete routing table to the remote UE.

After receiving the response message, the remote UE can determine that the multi-hop relay link can be used for the data transmission it requested. Furthermore, since the discover message is sent in broadcast mode, there may be more than one multi-hop relay link after a discovery process response. The remote UE can select the most suitable one as its final multi-hop relay route, such as one that meets at least one of the following conditions: the minimum number of link hops, the shortest response delay, the best overall link quality, or the lightest overall link load.

After the Discovery process, the remote UE can also establish a PC5 link connection with the access relay UE through the DCR process, and inform the access relay UE of the final selected route. The access relay UE then establishes a PC5 link connection with its next hop, the parent node, through the DCR process, and informs the parent node of the final routing information. The process is executed in sequence, and finally the donor relay UE also establishes a PC5 connection with its child node through the DCR process and obtains the routing information.

In another way, the above discovery process and DCR process can be combined, that is, the same set of signaling processes can complete both the discovery of routes and the step-by-step establishment of PC5 links. The advantage of this is that signaling delay is saved, but there is a risk that when a multi-hop path is found, the establishment of a non-final selected path is wasted.

The above DCR process establishes a PC5 connection between two adjacent UEs. Furthermore, if necessary, the remote UE can also establish an end-to-end PC5 connection with non-adjacent nodes, such as donor relay UE and/or intermediate relay UE, through the end-to-end DCR process. The transmission of end-to-end PC5 signaling can reuse the U2U relay architecture and map the end-to-end DCR related messages to the default RLC channel for transit transmission.

Example 2, another discovery and route establishment process can also be initiated by the donor relay UE. Since the donor relay UE can communicate directly with the gNB through the Uu interface, it can actively initiate the discovery process to the surrounding, declare which specific services it can support as a multi-hop relay donor, and add its own identity to the routing table. The 0-N intermediate relay UEs that receive the discovery message, according to their services and capabilities, can be relay nodes in the multi-hop relay link, so they add their own identities to the routing table in sequence and forward the discovery message. The access relay UE also forwards in a similar way and adds its own identity to the routing table in sequence. After receiving the remote UE, it has a U2N service to initiate, so it can respond to the discovery message, and then respond step by step in the reverse direction of the routing table until the donor relay UE. At this point, a multi-hop U2N route has completed the discovery process. In particular, when the remote UE has multiple routes to choose from, it can also select the most suitable one as its final multi-hop relay route, such as one that meets at least one of the following conditions: the minimum number of link hops, the shortest response delay, the best overall link quality, or the lightest overall link load.

After the route discovery is completed, the DCR process of each hop can be performed to establish a PC5 link connection between each other. Since the remote UE finally selects the route, the remote UE usually initiates the DCR process with the access relay UE to establish a PC5 link connection, then between the access relay UE and the first intermediate relay UE, and so on, until the PC5 link is established between the donor relay UE and the last intermediate relay UE.

Similar to Example 1, the above discovery process and DCR process can be combined, that is, the same set of signaling processes can complete both the discovery of routes and the step-by-step establishment of PC5 links. And further, if necessary, the remote UE can also establish an end-to-end PC5 connection with non-adjacent nodes, such as donor relay UE and/or intermediate relay UE through the end-to-end DCR process.

In particular, the above-mentioned route discovery and establishment processes are all based on new creation as an example. In practice, it is not ruled out that some relay UEs have already completed the discovery and establishment process due to the needs of other UEs. In this case, when a new remote UE has a need, it can directly respond and complete the incremental establishment.

For example, if a remote UE 1 has discovered and established a multi-hop relay link, a multi-hop link between two relay nodes of the access relay UE and the donor relay UE, then if a new remote UE 2 has a multi-hop service demand and conducts a discovery process around it, and the basic PC5 communication link threshold is met between the access relay UE and the remote UE 2, the access relay UE can directly respond to the remote UE 2 and carry the established routing table. In this way, the remote UE 2 quickly completes the route discovery, and only needs to establish a PC5 link connection with the access relay UE to reuse the existing route and PC5 link to complete the overall discovery and establishment process, greatly shortening the delay. However, the disadvantage of this method is that one node responds on behalf of other nodes in the routing table, and there may be a risk that other nodes cannot support route reuse due to excessive load, resulting in failure of establishment.

Example 2: Connected relay UE

In Example 1, the route discovery and PC5 link establishment process between the remote UE and the donor relay UE are completed, which are the basis for the remote UE to establish a connection with the base station. In this example, how the remote UE and the base station establish a connection is further introduced.

First, in a multi-hop U2N relay route, no matter how many relay nodes are involved, only the donor relay UE can directly communicate with the gNB via the Uu interface, and there is no direct Uu interface link between other intermediate relay UE/access relay UE and the gNB. However, since the intermediate relay UE and access relay UE need to transfer data for the remote UE, they also need to be centrally controlled by the base station, obtain configuration or resources from the base station, and be centrally configured and mapped by the base station. Therefore, the intermediate relay UE and access relay UE also need to enter the connected state, access the gNB indirectly (for example, through the donor relay UE), and be controlled and receive and send signaling by the gNB.

Generally speaking, for a child node on a multi-hop relay link to enter RRC CONNECTED, it needs its parent node to transfer, so the parent node needs to enter the RRC CONNECTED state first before helping the child node to enter. Therefore, if a relay UE is in the RRC CONNECTED state, it means that its parent node and subsequent parent nodes must also be in the RRC CONNECTED state.

The simplest scenario is that the donor relay UE has entered the RRC CONNECTED state for other reasons, and the intermediate relay UE and access relay UE have also established an indirect connection with the gNB through the donor relay UE due to their own or other remote UE's needs, and have also entered the RRC CONNECTED state.

In this scenario, the remote UE sends an end-to-end RRC connection establishment request message with the gNB as the destination to the access relay UE through the PC5 interface between the remote UE and the access relay UE. The message is generally carried by E2E SRB0. The message has a default mapping relationship on the PC5 interface, for example, it is mapped to SL RLC 0 (the configuration information of this PC5 RLC channel includes the logical channel identification (LCID) specified in the protocol). The access relay UE can recognize that the data received from the default LCID is the E2E SRB0 message of the remote UE. Therefore, it reports the relay demand of the remote UE to the network through its own RRC process, including carrying the remote UE identification to indicate that this is a remote UE, and further indicating that this is a multi-hop remote UE, and even carrying its own stored routing table about the remote UE.

After receiving the report from the access relay UE, the gNB can configure the bearer and mapping relationship of the remote UE for the access relay UE based on the information, including at least one of the following:

(1) Assign a local identifier (i.e., the local identifier of the remote terminal) to the remote UE, the local UE ID, which is used to distinguish the data of the remote UE in an RLC channel of the PC5 interface between the access relay UE and its parent node. The local UE ID has a small size, such as 8 bits, which is much smaller than the 24-bit overhead of the remote UE Layer 2 ID. Of course, if no additional short-size Local UE ID is allocated, the existing remote UE layer 2 ID (24 bits) can also be directly used to carry it in the data packet for distinction;

(2) Establish a new PC5 RLC channel (i.e., the first PC5 RLC channel) between the access relay UE and its parent node to carry the E2E SRB0 message of the remote UE;

(3) Use the existing PC5 RLC channel between the access relay UE and its parent node or a newly created PC5 RLC channel to carry the remote UE's E2E SRB0 message and configure the mapping between the remote UE's E2E SRB0 and the PC5 RLC channel;

Furthermore, since the access relay UE can carry complete routing information in its report, the base station can also learn the parent node of the access relay UE, such as the first intermediate relay UE or donor relay UE, and the identity of the subsequent relay UE nodes in the entire route. As analyzed above, if the access relay UE is in a connected state, then its parent node should also be in a connected state, and the subsequent relay UEs in the entire route are all in a connected state. Therefore, the base station can configure the bearer and mapping relationship of the remote UE for its parent node and each relay UE in the subsequent route. Similarly, the content configured for each subsequent relay node includes at least one of the following:

(1) Assign a local identifier (i.e., the local identifier of the remote terminal), Local UE ID, to the remote UE. This identifier is used to distinguish the data of the remote UE in an RLC channel of the PC5 interface between the current relay UE and its parent node;

(2) Establish a new PC5 RLC channel (i.e., the second PC5 RLC channel) between the relay UE and its parent node to carry the E2E SRB0 message of the remote UE;

(3) Use the existing PC5 RLC channel between the relay UE and its parent node or a newly created PC5 RLC channel to carry the remote UE's E2E SRB0 message and configure the mapping between the remote UE's E2E SRB0 and the PC5 RLC channel.

In particular, for the donor relay UE, since the configuration it needs is the configuration of the Uu interface, the content obtained is slightly different from that of other relay UEs, including at least one of the following:

(1) Assign a local identifier, Local UE ID, to the remote UE. This identifier is used to distinguish the remote UE’s data in an RLC channel of the Uu interface between the current donor relay UE and the gNB.

(2) Establish a new Uu RLC channel between the donor relay UE and the gNB to carry the E2E SRB0 message of the remote UE;

(3) Use the existing Uu RLC channel between the relay UE and the gNB or a newly created Uu RLC channel to carry the E2E SRB0 message of the remote UE and configure the mapping between the E2E SRB0 of the remote UE and the Uu RLC channel;

Through the above process, gNB configures the transmission channel (PC5 RLC channel and mapping) and identification method (such as local UE ID) for the E2E SRB0 message of the remote UE on the PC5 interface between each relay UE and its parent node, and also configures the Uu RLC channel and local UE ID on the Uu interface from the donor relay UE to the gNB. Therefore, the E2E SRB0 message of the remote UE can be smoothly transmitted from access relay UE->intermediate relay UE->donor relay->gNB. After receiving the RRC setup request message, the gNB returns the RRC setup message to the remote UE. The channel and mapping relationship between the gNB and the access relay UE are the same as the uplink E2E SRB0 RRC setup request message. After reaching the access relay UE, it can be identified as the E2E SRB0DL message of the remote UE, so it is sent to the remote UE through the default RLC channel between the access relay UE and the remote UE. At this point, the RRC connection between the remote UE and the gNB is established, and the remote UE enters the connected state. After that, other SRB1/SRB2/DRB channels can be established, so that the remote UE can communicate with the gNB normally.

In each level of relay UE, local UE ID and E2E RB ID are used to identify the remote UE's bearer, thereby completing multi-hop transmission. It can also support the end-to-end bearer aggregation of multiple remote UEs for common transmission in the same RLC channel, reducing the processing complexity and channel overhead of the relay UE. As shown in the example of Figure 8, a multi-hop relay path is established from remote UE1->access relay UE 3->intermediate relay UE 4->donor relay UE 5->gNB, and another multi-hop relay path is established from remote UE2->access relay UE 4->donor relay UE 5->gNB. The mapping relationship and identification of the E2E RB of each remote UE in the RLC channel of each hop are shown in the pipeline of Figure 8. Therefore, it can be seen that the full aggregation of pipelines can greatly reduce the number of pipelines and the processing complexity, and the identity and bearer type of the remote UE to which the E2E bearer belongs can be well identified through the combination of local ID+E2E RB ID.

Furthermore, on the PC5 interface between the remote UE and its access relay UE node, only the initial E2E SRB0 and the E2E SRB1 used for recovery failure adopt the default RLC channel configuration, which are SL RLC 0 and SL RLC 1 respectively. Other SRBs and DRBs can also be configured to be aggregated into certain RLC channels. In order to highlight the subsequent routing focus, the bearer aggregation between remote and access is not shown in Figure 8.

As shown in Figure 8, when remote UE1 (i.e., remote terminal 1) has established a multi-hop connection and remote UE2 (i.e., remote terminal 2) initiates it later, the access relay UE4 and donor relay UE5 it can find are in the RRC CONNECTED state, which can just execute the end-to-end establishment process in this example.

Example 3: Non-connected relay UE

Based on the completion of the route discovery and PC5 link establishment process between the remote UE and the donor relay UE, in this embodiment, another situation of establishing a connection between the remote UE and the base station is further introduced.

In the second embodiment, a relatively simple end-to-end connection establishment method is given. Each relay UE has entered the connected state in advance, so it is convenient to report and configure the multi-hop request and bearer mapping of the remote UE. However, this scenario is not always satisfied. A more general method is to assume that the remote UE is the one that initiates the initial connection, such as remote UE 1 in embodiment 2. At this time, its access relay UE, intermediate relay UE and donor relay UE are all in a non-connected state. Then how to trigger all relay UEs involved in the route to enter the connected state and configure each transmission path on the network side is a problem that needs to be solved. The process generally includes the following steps:

Step 0: Complete route discovery and PC5 link establishment between remote UE and donor relay UE;

Step 1: The remote UE sends an end-to-end RRC connection establishment request message with the gNB as the destination to the access relay UE through the PC5 interface between the remote UE and the access relay UE.

This message is usually carried by E2E SRB0. This message has a default mapping relationship on the PC5 interface. For example, it is mapped to SL RLC 0. The access relay UE can recognize that the data received from the default LCID is the E2E SRB0 message of the remote UE. If the access relay UE is in a non-connected state at this time, it needs to enter the connected state first;

Step 2: The access relay UE sends an end-to-end RRC connection establishment request message with the gNB as the endpoint to its parent node through the PC5 interface between it and its parent node.

It should be noted that since the route discovery and establishment of PC5 connections have been completed in step 0, the access relay UE is also clear about the routing information between itself and the gNB. For example, it can find its next hop parent node in the routing table of the remote UE, so the parent node is already determined;

Similarly, this message is generally carried by E2E SRB0 and has a default mapping relationship on the PC5 interface. For example, it is mapped to SL RLC 0. The next-hop parent node receives data from the default LCID, and it can recognize that this is the E2E SRB0 message of the access relay UE. If the parent node of the access relay UE is in a non-connected state at this time, it also needs to enter the connected state first;

Step 3: Each subsequent relay node repeats the process similar to steps 1 and 2 to initiate its own transition to the connected state;

Step 4: When the donor relay UE receives the E2E RRC setup message from its child node, if the donor relay UE itself is not in the connected state, the donor relay UE directly establishes a connection with the gNB through the RACH process and RRC setup process of the Uu interface and enters the RRC connected state;

Step 5: After the donor relay UE enters the connected state, it can establish SRB1 and perform security activation and other operations according to the existing process, and then report its own child node to the gNB. For example, an intermediate relay UE or access relay UE wants to initiate the establishment of a relay link, so it reports the relay demand of the child node to the network through its own RRC process, specifically carrying the child node UE identifier to indicate that this is a remote UE (at this time, the child node itself opens its own transmission channel as a remote UE).

Step 6: After receiving the report from the donor relay UE, the gNB can configure the bearer and mapping relationship of the child node for the donor relay UE based on this information, including at least one of the following:

(1) Assign a local identifier, Local UE ID, to the child node. This identifier is used to distinguish the data of the child node in an RLC channel on the Uu interface between the donor relay UE and the gNB.

(2) Establish a new Uu RLC channel between the donor relay UE and the gNB to carry the E2E SRB0 message of the child node;

(3) Use the existing Uu RLC channel between the donor relay UE and the gNB or a newly created Uu RLC channel to carry the E2E SRB0 message of the child node and configure the mapping between the E2E SRB0 of the child node and the Uu RLC channel;

Step 7: After obtaining the E2E SRB0 bearer configuration and local UE ID configuration of the child node, the donor relay UE can forward the E2E SRB0 message of the child node to the gNB through the configured Uu RLC channel;

Step 8: The gNB receives the E2E SRB0 message from the child node and returns E2E SRB0DL (RRC setup message) via the same Uu RLC channel.

Step 9: The donor relay UE sends the E2E SRB0DL (RRC setup message) to the child node through the default RLC channel between the UE and the child node, such as SL RLC 0.

Step 10: When the donor relay UE's child node receives the end-to-end RRC setup message, it enters the connected state and the signaling channel between it and the gNB is opened.

Step 11: After the child node of the donor relay UE in the connected state enters the connected state, it can help its child node enter the connected state in a similar process to that between steps 5 to 10;

By analogy, after entering the connected state, each parent node executes the process between steps 5 and 10 to help its child nodes enter the connected state;

Take the link of remote UE 1->access relay UE 2->intermediate relay UE 3->donor relay UE 4->gNB as an example:

(1) remote UE 1->access relay UE 2 sends E2E SRB 0 message, triggering access relay UE 2 to enter the connected state;

(2) Then, access relay UE2 sends its own E2E SRB 0 message to intermediate relay UE 3, triggering intermediate relay UE 3 to initiate entering the connected state;

(3) Then, intermediate relay UE 3 sends its own E2E SRB 0 message to donor relay UE 4, triggering donor relay UE 4 to enter the connected state;

(4) donor relay UE 4 has an available Uu interface, so it can enter the connected state in the usual UE way and obtain SRB1 configuration and security activation, etc.; and donor relay UE 4 reports to the gNB that intermediate relay UE 3 hopes to establish a relay link through itself as a remote UE. At this time, it is a one-hop relay link, so it reports the intermediate relay UE 3 ID (Layer 2 ID) and the remote UE identity. After reporting, the donor relay UE can obtain the bearer configuration and mapping configuration, the intermediate relay UE 3 local UE ID from the gNB, and can forward the first UL SRB0 RRC setup request message for the intermediate relay UE 3;

(5) The network sends a UL SRB0 RRC setup message to intermediate relay UE 3 through the same path as the UL SRB0 RRC setup request of intermediate relay UE 3. Intermediate relay UE 3 enters the connected state and obtains SRB1 configuration and security activation. Intermediate relay UE 3 reports to the gNB that access relay UE 2 wishes to establish a relay link as a remote UE. At this time, it is a two-hop relay link. Therefore, in addition to reporting the access relay UE 2 (Layer 2 ID) and the remote UE identity, it can also indicate that this is a multi-hop relay link request and carry the routing information between access relay UE 2 and the gNB. After reporting, intermediate relay UE 3 obtains the bearer configuration and mapping configuration, access relay UE 2 local UE ID, and can forward the first UL SRB0 RRC setup request message for access relay UE 2.

(6) The network sends a UL SRB0 RRC setup message to access relay UE 2 through the same path as the UL SRB0 RRC setup request of access relay UE 2. Access relay UE 2 enters the connected state and obtains SRB1 configuration and security activation. Access relay UE 2 also reports to the gNB that remote UE 1 wishes to establish a relay link through itself as a remote UE. At this time, it is a three-hop relay link. Therefore, in addition to reporting the remote UE 1 ID (Layer 2 In addition to the local UE ID and remote UE identity, it can also indicate that this is a multi-hop relay link request and carry the routing information between remote UE 1 and gNB. After reporting, access relay UE 2 obtains the bearer configuration and mapping configuration, remote UE 1 local UE ID, and can forward the first UL SRB0 RRC setup request message for remote UE 1;

(7) The network sends a UL SRB0 RRC setup message to remote UE 1 through the same path as the UL SRB0 RRC setup request of remote UE 1. Remote UE 1 enters the connected state and obtains SRB1 configuration and security activation. Subsequently, the remote UE can directly communicate with the gNB to obtain subsequent DRB configuration and data transmission.

In the above process, it is assumed that each relay node needs to be triggered to enter the connected state. If a relay UE at a certain level is already in the connected state, the step of entering the connected state can be omitted, and the needs of the child node can be directly reported to help the child node enter the connected state.

The embodiments of the present application are not limited to NR Uu and Sidelink (SL), and can be extended to other different versions.

The embodiment of the present application provides a method for establishing a multi-hop U2N relay link, so that the remote UE can establish a connection with the network through a multi-hop relay path, ensuring the feasibility and efficiency of transmission, expanding the coverage, and reducing the complexity of the UE and improving the system efficiency while ensuring the transmission effect.

The information sending method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be executed by an information sending device. In the embodiment of the present application, an information sending device executing the information sending method is taken as an example to illustrate the information sending device provided in the embodiment of the present application.

Please refer to FIG. 9 , which is a structural diagram of an information sending device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The first relay terminal includes the information sending device. As shown in FIG. 9 , the information sending device 500 includes:

The first receiving module 501 is used to receive target information sent by a remote terminal;

A sending module 502, configured to send the target information to a network side device through a first parent node, where the first parent node is a relay terminal connected to the first relay terminal in a relay link and located between the first relay terminal and the network side device;

The first relay terminal is connected to the remote terminal, and the relay link is a relay link between the remote terminal and the network side device.

Optionally, the device further includes a first transceiver module, configured to perform at least one of the following:

receiving a first discovery message sent by the remote terminal, adding a device identifier of the first relay terminal to routing information carried in the first discovery message, and sending the first discovery message after the addition;

Receiving a first response message sent by the first parent node;

Sending a first response message to the remote terminal;

The first response message carries the routing information of the relay link.

Optionally, the device further includes a second transceiver module, configured to perform at least one of the following:

receiving a second discovery message sent by the first parent node, adding a device identifier of the first relay terminal to routing information carried in the second discovery message, and sending the added second discovery message;

receiving a second response message sent by the remote terminal;

Sending a second response message to the first parent node;

The second response message carries the routing information of the relay link.

Optionally, the device further comprises:

A second receiving module, configured to receive a first message sent by the remote terminal, where the first message is an end-to-end message between the remote terminal and the network side device;

A processing module, configured to initiate entry into a connected state when the first relay terminal is in a non-connected state; or, when the first relay terminal is in a connected state, send a first relay request to the network side device through an RRC process;

The first relay request includes at least one of the following:

Remote terminal identification;

Multi-hop relay link indication;

Routing information of the relay link stored in the first relay terminal;

Indication information indicating the number of relay terminals included in the routing information of the relay link stored in the first relay terminal.

Optionally, the initiating entering the connected state includes at least one of the following:

Sending a second message to the first parent node, where the second message is an end-to-end message between the first relay terminal and the network side device;

receiving an RRC response message corresponding to the second message sent by the first parent node;

The device also includes:

A sending module is used to send a first relay request to the network side device through an RRC process.

Optionally, the second message is used to: when the first parent node is in a non-connected state, trigger the first parent node to initiate entry into a connected state; or, when the first parent node is in a connected state, trigger the first parent node to send a second relay request to the network side device through an RRC process.

Optionally, the device further includes a third transceiver module, configured to perform at least one of the following:

Receiving an RRC response message corresponding to the first message sent by the network side device;

The RRC response message corresponding to the first message is sent to the remote terminal through the PC5 radio link control RLC channel.

Optionally, the device further comprises:

A third receiving module, used to receive the first configuration information sent by the network side device;

The first configuration information is used to configure at least one of the following:

The local identification of the remote terminal; the first PC5 RLC channel; the mapping relationship between E2E SRB0 or E2ESRB1 of the remote terminal and the first PC5 RLC channel;

Wherein, the local identifier of the remote terminal is used to identify the data of the remote terminal in the first PC5 RLC channel;

The first PC5 RLC channel is a PC5 RLC channel between the first relay terminal and the first parent node.

The information sending device in the embodiment of the present application can be an electronic device, such as an electronic device with an operating system, or a component in an electronic device, such as an integrated circuit or a chip. The electronic device can be a terminal, or it can be other devices other than a terminal. Exemplarily, the terminal can include but is not limited to the types of terminal 11 listed above, and other devices can be servers, network attached storage (NAS), etc., which are not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

The information sending device provided in the embodiment of the present application can implement each process implemented by the method embodiment of Figure 3 and achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

Please refer to FIG. 10 , which is a structural diagram of an information sending device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The second relay terminal includes the information sending device. As shown in FIG. 10 , the information sending device 600 includes:

A first receiving module 601 is configured to receive target information sent by a remote terminal through a first sub-node, where the first sub-node is a relay terminal connected to the second relay terminal in a relay link and located between the second relay terminal and the remote terminal;

A first sending module 602, configured to send the target information to a network side device;

The second relay terminal is connected to the network side device, and the relay link is a relay link between the remote terminal and the network side device.

Optionally, the device further includes a first transceiver module, configured to perform at least one of the following:

Receiving a first discovery message sent by the first subnode;

A first response message is sent to the first subnode, where the first response message carries routing information of the relay link.

Optionally, the device further includes a second transceiver module, configured to perform at least one of the following:

sending a second discovery message;

A second response message sent by the first subnode is received, where the second response message carries routing information of the relay link.

Optionally, the device further comprises:

The second receiving module is used to receive a third message sent by the first sub-node when the first sub-node is in a non-connected state, where the third message is an end-to-end message between the first sub-node and the network side device.

Optionally, the device further comprises:

A processing module, configured to initiate entry into a connected state when the second relay terminal is in a non-connected state; or, when the second relay terminal is in a connected state, send a third relay request to the network side device through an RRC process;

The third relay request includes at least one of the following:

Remote terminal identification;

First child node identifier;

Multi-hop relay link indication;

Routing information of the relay link stored by the second relay terminal;

Indication information indicating the number of relay terminals included in the routing information of the relay link stored in the second relay terminal.

Optionally, the device further comprises:

The second sending module is used to send a third relay request to the network side device through the RRC process when the second relay terminal enters the connected state.

Optionally, the device further includes a third transceiver module, configured to perform at least one of the following:

Receiving an RRC response message corresponding to the third message sent by the network side device;

An RRC response message corresponding to the third message is sent to the first subnode through the PC5 RLC channel.

Optionally, the device further comprises:

A third receiving module, used to receive second configuration information sent by the network side device;

The second configuration information is used to configure at least one of the following:

The local identifier of the first child node; the Uu RLC channel; the mapping relationship between the E2E SRB0 or E2ESRB1 of the first child node and the Uu RLC channel;

The local identifier of the first subnode is used to identify data of the first subnode in the Uu RLC channel;

The Uu RLC channel is the Uu RLC channel between the second relay terminal and the network side device.

Optionally, the device further comprises:

A fourth receiving module, used to receive third configuration information sent by the network side device;

The third configuration information is used to configure at least one of the following:

The local identification of the remote terminal; Uu RLC channel; the mapping relationship between E2E SRB0 or E2E SRB1 of the remote terminal and the Uu RLC channel;

Wherein, the local identifier of the remote terminal is used to identify the data of the remote terminal in the Uu RLC channel;

The Uu RLC channel is the Uu RLC channel between the second relay terminal and the network side device.

The information sending device in the embodiment of the present application can be an electronic device, such as an electronic device with an operating system, or a component in an electronic device, such as an integrated circuit or a chip. The electronic device can be a terminal, or it can be other devices other than a terminal. Exemplarily, the terminal can include but is not limited to the types of terminal 11 listed above, and other devices can be servers, network attached storage (NAS), etc., which are not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

The information sending device provided in the embodiment of the present application can implement each process implemented by the method embodiment of Figure 4 and achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

Please refer to FIG. 11, which is a structural diagram of an information sending device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The third relay terminal includes the information sending device. As shown in FIG. 11, the information sending device 500 includes:

The first receiving module 701 is configured to receive target information sent by a remote terminal through a second sub-node, where the second sub-node is a relay terminal connected to the third relay terminal in a relay link and located between the third relay terminal and the remote terminal;

A sending module 702 is configured to send the target information to a network side device through a second parent node, where the second parent node is a relay terminal connected to the third relay terminal in the relay link and located between the third relay terminal and the network side device;

The relay link is a relay link between the remote terminal and the network side device.

Optionally, the device further includes a first transceiver module, configured to perform at least one of the following:

receiving a first discovery message sent by the second sub-node, adding a device identifier of the third relay terminal to routing information carried in the first discovery message, and sending the first discovery message after the addition;

receiving a first response message sent by the second parent node;

Sending a first response message to the second sub-node;

The first response message carries the routing information of the relay link.

Optionally, the device further includes a second transceiver module, configured to perform at least one of the following:

receiving a second discovery message sent by the second parent node, adding a device identifier of the third relay terminal to the routing information carried in the second discovery message, and sending the added second discovery message;

receiving a second response message sent by the second subnode;

Sending a second response message to the second parent node;

The second response message carries the routing information of the relay link.

Optionally, the device further comprises:

An establishing module is used to establish a PC5 link connection between the third relay terminal and the second parent node through a DCR process; or, to establish a PC5 link connection between the third relay terminal and the second child node through a DCR process.

Optionally, the device further comprises:

The second receiving module is used to receive a fourth message sent by the second sub-node when the second sub-node is in a non-connected state, where the fourth message is an end-to-end message between the second sub-node and the network side device.

Optionally, the device further comprises:

A processing module, configured to initiate entry into a connected state when the third relay terminal is in a non-connected state; or, when the third relay terminal is in a connected state, send a fourth relay request to the network side device through an RRC process;

The fourth relay request includes at least one of the following:

Remote terminal identification;

The second child node identifier;

Multi-hop relay link indication;

The routing information of the relay link stored by the third relay terminal;

Indication information indicating the number of relay terminals included in the routing information of the relay link stored in the third relay terminal.

Optionally, the third relay terminal initiates entering a connected state, including at least one of the following:

The third relay terminal sends a fifth message to the second parent node, where the fifth message is an end-to-end message between the third relay terminal and the network side device;

The third relay terminal receives an RRC response message corresponding to the fifth message sent by the second parent node;

The method further comprises:

The third relay terminal sends a fourth relay request to the network side device through the RRC process.

Optionally, the fifth message is used to: when the second parent node is in a non-connected state, trigger the second parent node to initiate entry into a connected state; or, when the second parent node is in a connected state, trigger the second parent node to send a fifth relay request to the network side device through an RRC process.

Optionally, the device further includes a third transceiver module, configured to perform at least one of the following:

Receiving an RRC response message corresponding to the fourth message sent by the network side device;

An RRC response message corresponding to the fourth message is sent to the second subnode through the PC5 RLC channel.

Optionally, after the third relay terminal sends a fourth relay request to the network side device through an RRC process, the apparatus further includes:

A third receiving module, used to receive fourth configuration information sent by the network side device;

The fourth configuration information is used to configure at least one of the following:

The local identifier of the second child node; the second PC5 RLC channel; the mapping relationship between the E2E SRB0 or E2E SRB1 of the second child node and the second PC5 RLC channel;

Wherein, the local identifier of the second sub-node is used to identify the data of the remote terminal in the second PC5 RLC channel;

The second PC5 RLC channel is a PC5 RLC channel between the third relay terminal and the second parent node.

Optionally, the device further comprises:

A fourth receiving module, used to receive fifth configuration information sent by the network side device;

The fifth configuration information is used to configure at least one of the following:

The local identification of the remote terminal; the second PC5 RLC channel; the mapping relationship between E2E SRB0 or E2ESRB1 of the remote terminal and the second PC5 RLC channel;

Wherein, the local identifier of the remote terminal is used to identify the data of the remote terminal in the second PC5 RLC channel;

The second PC5 RLC channel is a PC5 RLC channel between the third relay terminal and the second parent node.

The information sending device in the embodiment of the present application can be an electronic device, such as an electronic device with an operating system, or a component in an electronic device, such as an integrated circuit or a chip. The electronic device can be a terminal, or it can be other devices other than a terminal. Exemplarily, the terminal can include but is not limited to the types of terminal 11 listed above, and other devices can be servers, network attached storage (NAS), etc., which are not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

The information sending device provided in the embodiment of the present application can implement each process implemented by the method embodiment of Figure 5 and achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

Please refer to FIG. 12 , which is a structural diagram of an information sending device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The remote terminal includes the information sending device. As shown in FIG. 12 , the information sending device 800 includes:

A sending module 801 is used to send target information to a network side device through at least two relay terminals;

The relay link between the remote terminal and the network side device includes the at least two relay terminals, and the at least two relay terminals include a first relay terminal connected to the remote terminal and a second relay terminal connected to the network side device.

Optionally, the device further comprises a processing module, configured to perform at least one of the following:

Sending a first discovery message, and receiving a first response message sent by the first relay terminal, where the first response message carries routing information of the relay link;

receiving a second discovery message sent by the first relay terminal, and sending a second response message to the first relay terminal, where the second response message carries routing information of the relay link;

A PC5 link connection is established with the first relay terminal through a DCR process.

Optionally, the device further includes a transceiver module, configured to perform at least one of the following:

Sending a first message to the first relay terminal, where the first message is an end-to-end message between the remote terminal and the network-side device;

An RRC response message corresponding to the first message sent by the first relay terminal is received through the PC5 RLC channel.

The information sending device in the embodiment of the present application can be an electronic device, such as an electronic device with an operating system, or a component in an electronic device, such as an integrated circuit or a chip. The electronic device can be a terminal, or it can be other devices other than a terminal. Exemplarily, the terminal can include but is not limited to the types of terminal 11 listed above, and other devices can be servers, network attached storage (NAS), etc., which are not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

The information sending device provided in the embodiment of the present application can implement each process implemented by the method embodiment of Figure 6 and achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

As shown in Figure 13, an embodiment of the present application also provides a communication device 900, including a processor 901 and a memory 902, and the memory 902 stores a program or instruction that can be run on the processor 901. When the program or instruction is executed by the processor 901, the various steps of the above-mentioned information sending method embodiment are implemented and the same technical effect can be achieved.

The embodiment of the present application also provides a terminal, including a processor and a communication interface, the communication interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is used to run a program or instruction to implement the steps in the method embodiment shown in Figure 3, Figure 4, Figure 5 or Figure 6. This terminal embodiment corresponds to the above-mentioned terminal side method embodiment, and each implementation process and implementation method of the above-mentioned method embodiment can be applied to the terminal embodiment and can achieve the same technical effect. Specifically, Figure 14 is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a terminal implementing an embodiment of the present application.

The terminal 1000 includes but is not limited to: a radio frequency unit 1001, a network module 1002, an audio output unit 1003, an input unit 1004, a sensor 1005, a display unit 1006, a user input unit 1007, an interface unit 1008, a memory 1009 and at least some of the components of a processor 1010.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the terminal 1000 may also include a power source (such as a battery) for supplying power to each component, and the power source may be logically connected to the processor 1010 through a power management system, so as to implement functions such as managing charging, discharging, and power consumption management through the power management system. The terminal structure shown in FIG14 does not constitute a limitation on the terminal, and the terminal may include more or fewer components than shown in the figure, or combine certain components, or arrange components differently, which will not be described in detail here.

It should be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the input unit 1004 may include a graphics processing unit (GPU) 10041 and a microphone 10042, and the graphics processor 10041 processes the image data of the static picture or video obtained by the image capture device (such as a camera) in the video capture mode or the image capture mode. The display unit 1006 may include a display panel 10061, and the display panel 10061 may be configured in the form of a liquid crystal display, an organic light emitting diode, etc. The user input unit 1007 includes a touch panel 10071 and at least one of other input devices 10072. The touch panel 10071 is also called a touch screen. The touch panel 10071 may include two parts: a touch detection device and a touch controller. Other input devices 10072 may include, but are not limited to, a physical keyboard, function keys (such as a volume control key, a switch key, etc.), a trackball, a mouse, and a joystick, which will not be repeated here.

In the embodiment of the present application, after receiving downlink data from the network side device, the RF unit 1001 can transmit the data to the processor 1010 for processing; in addition, the RF unit 1001 can send uplink data to the network side device. Generally, the RF unit 1001 includes but is not limited to an antenna, an amplifier, a transceiver, a coupler, a low noise amplifier, a duplexer, etc.

The memory 1009 can be used to store software programs or instructions and various data. The memory 1009 may mainly include a first storage area for storing programs or instructions and a second storage area for storing data, wherein the first storage area may store an operating system, an application program or instruction required for at least one function (such as a sound playback function, an image playback function, etc.), etc. In addition, the memory 1009 may include a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM), a static random access memory (SRAM), a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), a double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDRSDRAM), an enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), a synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM) and a direct memory bus random access memory (DRRAM). The memory 1009 in the embodiment of the present application includes but is not limited to these and any other suitable types of memory.

The processor 1010 may include one or more processing units; optionally, the processor 1010 integrates an application processor and a modem processor, wherein the application processor mainly processes operations related to an operating system, a user interface, and application programs, and the modem processor mainly processes wireless communication signals, such as a baseband processor. It is understandable that the modem processor may not be integrated into the processor 1010.

In the case where the terminal is a first relay terminal:

The radio frequency unit 1001 is used for:

Receive target information sent by a remote terminal;

Sending the target information to the network side device through a first parent node, where the first parent node is a relay terminal connected to the first relay terminal in a relay link and located between the first relay terminal and the network side device;

The first relay terminal is connected to the remote terminal, and the relay link is a relay link between the remote terminal and the network side device.

Optionally, the radio frequency unit 1001 is further used for at least one of the following:

receiving a first discovery message sent by the remote terminal, adding a device identifier of the first relay terminal to routing information carried in the first discovery message, and sending the first discovery message after the addition;

Receiving a first response message sent by the first parent node;

Sending a first response message to the remote terminal;

The first response message carries the routing information of the relay link.

Optionally, the radio frequency unit 1001 is further used for at least one of the following:

receiving a second discovery message sent by the first parent node, adding a device identifier of the first relay terminal to routing information carried in the second discovery message, and sending the added second discovery message;

receiving a second response message sent by the remote terminal;

Sending a second response message to the first parent node;

The second response message carries the routing information of the relay link.

Optionally, the radio frequency unit 1001 is further used to: receive a first message sent by the remote terminal, where the first message is an end-to-end message between the remote terminal and the network side device;

The processor 1010 is configured to: when the first relay terminal is in a non-connected state, initiate entry into a connected state; or, when the first relay terminal is in a connected state, send a first relay request to the network side device through an RRC process;

The first relay request includes at least one of the following:

Remote terminal identification;

Multi-hop relay link indication;

Routing information of the relay link stored in the first relay terminal;

Indication information indicating the number of relay terminals included in the routing information of the relay link stored in the first relay terminal.

Optionally, the initiating entering the connected state includes at least one of the following:

Sending a second message to the first parent node, where the second message is an end-to-end message between the first relay terminal and the network side device;

receiving an RRC response message corresponding to the second message sent by the first parent node;

The device also includes:

A sending module is used to send a first relay request to the network side device through an RRC process.

Optionally, the second message is used to: when the first parent node is in a non-connected state, trigger the first parent node to initiate entry into a connected state; or, when the first parent node is in a connected state, trigger the first parent node to send a second relay request to the network side device through an RRC process.

Optionally, the radio frequency unit 1001 is further used for at least one of the following:

Receiving an RRC response message corresponding to the first message sent by the network side device;

The RRC response message corresponding to the first message is sent to the remote terminal through the PC5 radio link control RLC channel.

Optionally, the radio frequency unit 1001 is further used to: receive first configuration information sent by the network side device;

The first configuration information is used to configure at least one of the following:

The local identification of the remote terminal; the first PC5 RLC channel; the mapping relationship between E2E SRB0 or E2ESRB1 of the remote terminal and the first PC5 RLC channel;

Wherein, the local identifier of the remote terminal is used to identify the data of the remote terminal in the first PC5 RLC channel;

The first PC5 RLC channel is a PC5 RLC channel between the first relay terminal and the first parent node.

In the case where the terminal is a second relay terminal:

The radio frequency unit 1001 is used for:

receiving target information sent by a remote terminal through a first sub-node, where the first sub-node is a relay terminal connected to the second relay terminal in a relay link and located between the second relay terminal and the remote terminal;

Sending the target information to the network side device;

The second relay terminal is connected to the network side device, and the relay link is a relay link between the remote terminal and the network side device.

Optionally, the radio frequency unit 1001 is further used for at least one of the following:

Receiving a first discovery message sent by the first subnode;

A first response message is sent to the first subnode, where the first response message carries routing information of the relay link.

Optionally, the radio frequency unit 1001 is further used for at least one of the following:

sending a second discovery message;

A second response message sent by the first subnode is received, where the second response message carries routing information of the relay link.

Optionally, the radio frequency unit 1001 is further used to: when the first sub-node is in a non-connected state, receive a third message sent by the first sub-node, where the third message is an end-to-end message between the first sub-node and the network side device.

Optionally, the processor 1010 is configured to: when the second relay terminal is in a non-connected state, initiate entry into a connected state; or, when the second relay terminal is in a connected state, send a third relay request to the network side device through an RRC process;

The third relay request includes at least one of the following:

Remote terminal identification;

First child node identifier;

Multi-hop relay link indication;

Routing information of the relay link stored by the second relay terminal;

Indication information indicating the number of relay terminals included in the routing information of the relay link stored in the second relay terminal.

Optionally, the radio frequency unit 1001 is further used to: when the second relay terminal enters a connected state, send a third relay request to the network side device through an RRC process.

Optionally, the radio frequency unit 1001 is further used for at least one of the following:

Receiving an RRC response message corresponding to the third message sent by the network side device;

An RRC response message corresponding to the third message is sent to the first subnode through the PC5 RLC channel.

Optionally, the device further comprises:

The radio frequency unit 1001 is further used to: receive second configuration information sent by the network side device;

The second configuration information is used to configure at least one of the following:

The local identifier of the first child node; the Uu RLC channel; the mapping relationship between the E2E SRB0 or E2ESRB1 of the first child node and the Uu RLC channel;

The local identifier of the first subnode is used to identify data of the first subnode in the Uu RLC channel;

The Uu RLC channel is the Uu RLC channel between the second relay terminal and the network side device.

Optionally, the radio frequency unit 1001 is further used to: receive third configuration information sent by the network side device;

The third configuration information is used to configure at least one of the following:

The local identification of the remote terminal; Uu RLC channel; the mapping relationship between E2E SRB0 or E2E SRB1 of the remote terminal and the Uu RLC channel;

Wherein, the local identifier of the remote terminal is used to identify the data of the remote terminal in the Uu RLC channel;

The Uu RLC channel is the Uu RLC channel between the second relay terminal and the network side device.

In the case where the terminal is a third relay terminal:

The radio frequency unit 1001 is used for:

receiving target information sent by a remote terminal through a second sub-node, where the second sub-node is a relay terminal connected to the third relay terminal in a relay link and located between the second relay terminal and the remote terminal;

Sending the target information to the network side device through a second parent node, where the second parent node is a relay terminal connected to the third relay terminal in the relay link and located between the third relay terminal and the network side device;

The relay link is a relay link between the remote terminal and the network side device.

Optionally, the radio frequency unit 1001 is further used for at least one of the following:

receiving a first discovery message sent by the second sub-node, adding a device identifier of the third relay terminal to routing information carried in the first discovery message, and sending the first discovery message after the addition;

receiving a first response message sent by the second parent node;

Sending a first response message to the second sub-node;

The first response message carries the routing information of the relay link.

Optionally, the radio frequency unit 1001 is further used for at least one of the following:

receiving a second discovery message sent by the second parent node, adding a device identifier of the third relay terminal to the routing information carried in the second discovery message, and sending the added second discovery message;

receiving a second response message sent by the second subnode;

Sending a second response message to the second parent node;

The second response message carries the routing information of the relay link.

Optionally, the processor 1010 is configured to establish a PC5 link connection between the third relay terminal and the second parent node through a DCR process; or to establish a PC5 link connection between the third relay terminal and the second child node through a DCR process.

Optionally, the radio frequency unit 1001 is further used to: when the second sub-node is in a non-connected state, receive a fourth message sent by the second sub-node, where the fourth message is an end-to-end message between the second sub-node and the network side device.

Optionally, the processor 1010 is configured to: when the third relay terminal is in a non-connected state, initiate entry into a connected state; or, when the third relay terminal is in a connected state, send a fourth relay request to the network side device through an RRC process;

The fourth relay request includes at least one of the following:

Remote terminal identification;

The second child node identifier;

Multi-hop relay link indication;

The routing information of the relay link stored by the third relay terminal;

Indication information indicating the number of relay terminals included in the routing information of the relay link stored in the third relay terminal.

Optionally, the third relay terminal initiates entering a connected state, including at least one of the following:

The third relay terminal sends a fifth message to the second parent node, where the fifth message is an end-to-end message between the third relay terminal and the network side device;

The third relay terminal receives an RRC response message corresponding to the fifth message sent by the second parent node;

The method further comprises:

The third relay terminal sends a fourth relay request to the network side device through the RRC process.

Optionally, the fifth message is used to: when the second parent node is in a non-connected state, trigger the second parent node to initiate entry into a connected state; or, when the second parent node is in a connected state, trigger the second parent node to send a fifth relay request to the network side device through an RRC process.

Optionally, the radio frequency unit 1001 is further used for at least one of the following:

Receiving an RRC response message corresponding to the fourth message sent by the network side device;

An RRC response message corresponding to the fourth message is sent to the second subnode through the PC5 RLC channel.

Optionally, the radio frequency unit 1001 is further used to: receive fourth configuration information sent by the network side device;

The fourth configuration information is used to configure at least one of the following:

The local identifier of the second child node; the second PC5 RLC channel; the mapping relationship between the E2E SRB0 or E2E SRB1 of the second child node and the second PC5 RLC channel;

Wherein, the local identifier of the second sub-node is used to identify the data of the remote terminal in the second PC5 RLC channel;

The second PC5 RLC channel is a PC5 RLC channel between the third relay terminal and the second parent node.

Optionally, the radio frequency unit 1001 is further used to: receive fifth configuration information sent by the network side device;

The fifth configuration information is used to configure at least one of the following:

The local identification of the remote terminal; the second PC5 RLC channel; the mapping relationship between E2E SRB0 or E2ESRB1 of the remote terminal and the second PC5 RLC channel;

Wherein, the local identifier of the remote terminal is used to identify the data of the remote terminal in the second PC5 RLC channel;

The second PC5 RLC channel is a PC5 RLC channel between the third relay terminal and the second parent node.

In the case where the terminal is a remote terminal:

The radio frequency unit 1001 is used for:

Sending target information to a network side device through at least two relay terminals;

The relay link between the remote terminal and the network side device includes the at least two relay terminals, and the at least two relay terminals include a first relay terminal connected to the remote terminal and a second relay terminal connected to the network side device.

Optionally, the radio frequency unit 1001 is further used to: send a first discovery message, receive a first response message sent by the first relay terminal, where the first response message carries routing information of the relay link;

receiving a second discovery message sent by the first relay terminal, and sending a second response message to the first relay terminal, where the second response message carries routing information of the relay link;

or

The processor 1010 is configured to establish a PC5 link connection with the first relay terminal through a DCR process.

Optionally, the radio frequency unit 1001 is further used for at least one of the following:

Sending a first message to the first relay terminal, where the first message is an end-to-end message between the remote terminal and the network-side device;

An RRC response message corresponding to the first message sent by the first relay terminal is received through the PC5 RLC channel.

It can be understood that the implementation process of each implementation method mentioned in this embodiment can refer to the relevant description of the method embodiment Figure 3, Figure 4, Figure 5 or Figure 6, and achieve the same or corresponding technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

An embodiment of the present application also provides a readable storage medium, on which a program or instruction is stored. When the program or instruction is executed by a processor, the various processes of the above-mentioned information sending method embodiment are implemented, and the same technical effect can be achieved. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

The processor is the processor in the terminal described in the above embodiment. The readable storage medium includes a computer readable storage medium, such as a computer read-only memory ROM, a random access memory RAM, a magnetic disk or an optical disk. In some examples, the readable storage medium may be a non-transient readable storage medium.

An embodiment of the present application further provides a chip, which includes a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is used to run programs or instructions to implement the various processes of the above-mentioned information sending method embodiment, and can achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

It should be understood that the chip mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can also be called a system-level chip, a system chip, a chip system or a system-on-chip chip, etc.

The embodiments of the present application further provide a computer program/program product, which is stored in a storage medium. The computer program/program product is executed by at least one processor to implement the various processes of the above-mentioned information sending method embodiment and can achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

An embodiment of the present application also provides an information sending system, including: a first relay terminal, a second relay terminal, a third relay terminal and a remote terminal, wherein the first relay terminal can be used to execute the steps of the information sending method applied to the first relay terminal as described above, the second relay terminal can be used to execute the steps of the information sending method applied to the second relay terminal as described above, the third relay terminal can be used to execute the steps of the information sending method applied to the third relay terminal as described above, and the remote terminal can be used to execute the steps of the information sending method applied to the remote terminal as described above.

It should be noted that, in this article, the terms "comprise", "include" or any other variant thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, an element defined by the sentence "comprises one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device including the element. In addition, it should be pointed out that the scope of the method and device in the embodiment of the present application is not limited to performing functions in the order shown or discussed, and may also include performing functions in a substantially simultaneous manner or in reverse order according to the functions involved, for example, the described method may be performed in an order different from that described, and various steps may also be added, omitted or combined. In addition, the features described with reference to certain examples may be combined in other examples.

Through the description of the above implementation methods, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the above-mentioned embodiment methods can be implemented by means of a computer software product plus a necessary general hardware platform, and of course, can also be implemented by hardware. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM, RAM, disk, CD, etc.), including several instructions to enable a terminal or a network-side device to execute the methods described in each embodiment of the present application.

The embodiments of the present application are described above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, but the present application is not limited to the above-mentioned specific implementation methods. The above-mentioned specific implementation methods are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Under the guidance of the present application, ordinary technicians in this field can also make many forms of implementation methods without departing from the purpose of the present application and the scope of protection of the claims, and these implementation methods are all within the protection of the present application.

Claims (38)

A method for sending information, comprising: The first relay terminal receives target information sent by the remote terminal; The first relay terminal sends the target information to the network side device through a first parent node, where the first parent node is a relay terminal connected to the first relay terminal in a relay link and located between the first relay terminal and the network side device; The first relay terminal is connected to the remote terminal, and the relay link is a relay link between the remote terminal and the network side device. The method according to claim 1, wherein before the first relay terminal receives the target information sent by the remote terminal, the method further comprises at least one of the following: The first relay terminal receives the first discovery message sent by the remote terminal, adds the device identifier of the first relay terminal to the routing information carried in the first discovery message, and sends the added first discovery message; The first relay terminal receives a first response message sent by the first parent node; The first relay terminal sends a first response message to the remote terminal; The first response message carries the routing information of the relay link. The method according to claim 1, wherein before the first relay terminal receives the target information sent by the remote terminal, the method further comprises at least one of the following: The first relay terminal receives the second discovery message sent by the first parent node, adds the device identifier of the first relay terminal to the routing information carried in the second discovery message, and sends the added second discovery message; The first relay terminal receives a second response message sent by the remote terminal; The first relay terminal sends a second response message to the first parent node; The second response message carries the routing information of the relay link. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: The first relay terminal receives a first message sent by the remote terminal, where the first message is an end-to-end message between the remote terminal and the network side device; When the first relay terminal is in a non-connected state, the first relay terminal initiates entry into a connected state; or, when the first relay terminal is in a connected state, the first relay terminal sends a first relay request to the network side device through an RRC process; The first relay request includes at least one of the following: Remote terminal identification; Multi-hop relay link indication; Routing information of the relay link stored in the first relay terminal; Indication information indicating the number of relay terminals included in the routing information of the relay link stored in the first relay terminal. The method according to claim 4, wherein the first relay terminal initiates entering a connected state, comprising at least one of the following: The first relay terminal sends a second message to the first parent node, where the second message is an end-to-end message between the first relay terminal and the network side device; The first relay terminal receives an RRC response message corresponding to the second message sent by the first parent node; The method further comprises: The first relay terminal sends a first relay request to the network side device through the RRC process. The method according to claim 5, wherein the second message is used to: when the first parent node is in a non-connected state, trigger the first parent node to initiate entry into a connected state; or, when the first parent node is in a connected state, trigger the first parent node to send a second relay request to the network side device through an RRC process. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein after the first relay terminal sends the first relay request to the network side device through the RRC process, the method further includes at least one of the following: The first relay terminal receives an RRC response message corresponding to the first message sent by the network side device; The first relay terminal sends the RRC response message corresponding to the first message to the remote terminal through the PC5 radio link control RLC channel. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein before the first relay terminal receives the target information sent by the remote terminal, the method further comprises: The first relay terminal receives first configuration information sent by the network side device; The first configuration information is used to configure at least one of the following: The local identifier of the remote terminal; the first PC5 RLC channel; the mapping relationship between the E2E SRB0 or E2E SRB1 of the remote terminal and the first PC5 RLC channel; Wherein, the local identifier of the remote terminal is used to identify the data of the remote terminal in the first PC5 RLC channel; The first PC5 RLC channel is a PC5 RLC channel between the first relay terminal and the first parent node. A method for sending information, comprising: The second relay terminal receives target information sent by the remote terminal through a first sub-node, where the first sub-node is a relay terminal connected to the second relay terminal in a relay link and located between the second relay terminal and the remote terminal; The second relay terminal sends the target information to the network side device; The second relay terminal is connected to the network side device, and the relay link is a relay link between the remote terminal and the network side device. The method according to claim 9, wherein before the second relay terminal receives the target information sent by the remote terminal through the first subnode, the method further comprises at least one of the following: The second relay terminal receives a first discovery message sent by the first sub-node; The second relay terminal sends a first response message to the first sub-node, where the first response message carries routing information of the relay link. The method according to claim 9, wherein before the second relay terminal receives the target information sent by the remote terminal through the first subnode, the method further comprises at least one of the following: The second relay terminal sends a second discovery message; The second relay terminal receives a second response message sent by the first sub-node, where the second response message carries routing information of the relay link. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 11, further comprising: When the first sub-node is in a non-connected state, the second relay terminal receives a third message sent by the first sub-node, where the third message is an end-to-end message between the first sub-node and the network side device. The method according to claim 12, wherein after the second relay terminal receives the third message sent by the first subnode, the method further comprises: When the second relay terminal is in a non-connected state, the second relay terminal initiates entry into a connected state; or, when the second relay terminal is in a connected state, the second relay terminal sends a third relay request to the network side device through an RRC process; The third relay request includes at least one of the following: Remote terminal identification; First child node identifier; Multi-hop relay link indication; Routing information of the relay link stored by the second relay terminal; Indication information indicating the number of relay terminals included in the routing information of the relay link stored in the second relay terminal. The method according to claim 13, wherein after the second relay terminal initiates entering the connected state, the method further comprises: When the second relay terminal enters the connected state, the second relay terminal sends a third relay request to the network side device through the RRC process. The method according to claim 13 or 14, wherein after the second relay terminal sends a third relay request to the network side device through an RRC process, the method further includes at least one of the following: The second relay terminal receives an RRC response message corresponding to the third message sent by the network side device; The second relay terminal sends an RRC response message corresponding to the third message to the first subnode through the PC5 RLC channel. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 15, wherein after the second relay terminal sends a third relay request to the network side device through an RRC process, the method further comprises: The second relay terminal receives second configuration information sent by the network side device; The second configuration information is used to configure at least one of the following: The local identifier of the first child node; the Uu RLC channel; the mapping relationship between the E2E SRB0 or E2E SRB1 of the first child node and the Uu RLC channel; The local identifier of the first subnode is used to identify data of the first subnode in the Uu RLC channel; The Uu RLC channel is the Uu RLC channel between the second relay terminal and the network side device. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 16, wherein before the second relay terminal receives the target information sent by the remote terminal through the first subnode, the method further comprises: The second relay terminal receives third configuration information sent by the network side device; The third configuration information is used to configure at least one of the following: The local identification of the remote terminal; Uu RLC channel; the mapping relationship between E2E SRB0 or E2E SRB1 of the remote terminal and the Uu RLC channel; Wherein, the local identifier of the remote terminal is used to identify the data of the remote terminal in the Uu RLC channel; The Uu RLC channel is the Uu RLC channel between the second relay terminal and the network side device. A method for sending information, comprising: The third relay terminal receives the target information sent by the remote terminal through the second sub-node, where the second sub-node is a relay terminal connected to the third relay terminal in the relay link and located between the third relay terminal and the remote terminal; The third relay terminal sends the target information to the network side device through a second parent node, where the second parent node is a relay terminal connected to the third relay terminal in the relay link and located between the third relay terminal and the network side device; The relay link is a relay link between the remote terminal and the network side device. The method according to claim 18, wherein, before the third relay terminal receives the target information sent by the remote terminal through the second subnode, the method further comprises at least one of the following: The third relay terminal receives the first discovery message sent by the second sub-node, adds the device identifier of the third relay terminal to the routing information carried in the first discovery message, and sends the first discovery message after the addition; The third relay terminal receives a first response message sent by the second parent node; The third relay terminal sends a first response message to the second sub-node; The first response message carries the routing information of the relay link. The method according to claim 18, wherein, before the third relay terminal receives the target information sent by the remote terminal through the second subnode, the method further comprises at least one of the following: The third relay terminal receives the second discovery message sent by the second parent node, adds the device identifier of the third relay terminal to the routing information carried in the second discovery message, and sends the added second discovery message; The third relay terminal receives a second response message sent by the second sub-node; The third relay terminal sends a second response message to the second parent node; The second response message carries the routing information of the relay link. The method according to claim 18, further comprising: The third relay terminal and the second parent node establish a PC5 link connection through a direct communication request DCR process; or, the third relay terminal and the second child node establish a PC5 link connection through a DCR process. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 21, wherein the method further comprises: When the second sub-node is in a non-connected state, the third relay terminal receives a fourth message sent by the second sub-node, where the fourth message is an end-to-end message between the second sub-node and the network-side device. The method according to claim 22, wherein after the third relay terminal receives the fourth message sent by the second subnode, the method further comprises: When the third relay terminal is in a non-connected state, the third relay terminal initiates entry into a connected state; or, when the third relay terminal is in a connected state, the third relay terminal sends a fourth relay request to the network side device through an RRC process; The fourth relay request includes at least one of the following: Remote terminal identification; The second child node identifier; Multi-hop relay link indication; The routing information of the relay link stored by the third relay terminal; Indication information indicating the number of relay terminals included in the routing information of the relay link stored in the third relay terminal. The method according to claim 23, wherein the third relay terminal initiates entering the connected state, comprising at least one of the following: The third relay terminal sends a fifth message to the second parent node, where the fifth message is an end-to-end message between the third relay terminal and the network side device; The third relay terminal receives an RRC response message corresponding to the fifth message sent by the second parent node; The method further comprises: The third relay terminal sends a fourth relay request to the network side device through the RRC process. The method according to claim 24, wherein the fifth message is used to: when the second parent node is in a non-connected state, trigger the second parent node to initiate entry into a connected state; or, when the second parent node is in a connected state, trigger the second parent node to send a fifth relay request to the network side device through an RRC process. The method according to any one of claims 23 to 25, wherein after the third relay terminal sends a fourth relay request to the network side device through an RRC process, the method further includes at least one of the following: The third relay terminal receives an RRC response message corresponding to the fourth message sent by the network side device; The third relay terminal sends an RRC response message corresponding to the fourth message to the second subnode through the PC5 RLC channel. The method according to any one of claims 23 to 26, wherein after the third relay terminal sends a fourth relay request to the network side device through an RRC process, the method further comprises: The third relay terminal receives fourth configuration information sent by the network side device; The fourth configuration information is used to configure at least one of the following: The local identifier of the second child node; the second PC5 RLC channel; the mapping relationship between the E2E SRB0 or E2E SRB1 of the second child node and the second PC5 RLC channel; Wherein, the local identifier of the second sub-node is used to identify the data of the remote terminal in the second PC5 RLC channel; The second PC5 RLC channel is a PC5 RLC channel between the third relay terminal and the second parent node. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 27, wherein, before the third relay terminal sends the target information to the network side device through the second parent node, the method further comprises: The third relay terminal receives fifth configuration information sent by the network side device; The fifth configuration information is used to configure at least one of the following: The local identification of the remote terminal; the second PC5 RLC channel; the mapping relationship between the E2E SRB0 or E2E SRB1 of the remote terminal and the second PC5 RLC channel; Wherein, the local identifier of the remote terminal is used to identify the data of the remote terminal in the second PC5 RLC channel; The second PC5 RLC channel is a PC5 RLC channel between the third relay terminal and the second parent node. A method for sending information, comprising: The remote terminal sends target information to the network side device through at least two relay terminals; The relay link between the remote terminal and the network side device includes the at least two relay terminals, and the at least two relay terminals include a first relay terminal connected to the remote terminal and a second relay terminal connected to the network side device. The method according to claim 29, wherein, before the remote terminal sends the target information to the network side device through at least two relay terminals, the method further comprises at least one of the following: The remote terminal sends a first discovery message, and receives a first response message sent by the first relay terminal, where the first response message carries routing information of the relay link; The remote terminal receives the second discovery message sent by the first relay terminal, and sends a second response message to the first relay terminal, where the second response message carries the routing information of the relay link; A PC5 link connection is established between the remote terminal and the first relay terminal through a DCR process. The method according to claim 29 or 30, wherein the method further comprises at least one of the following: The remote terminal sends a first message to the first relay terminal, where the first message is an end-to-end message between the remote terminal and the network side device; The remote terminal receives an RRC response message corresponding to the first message sent by the first relay terminal through the PC5 RLC channel. An information sending device, a first relay terminal includes the information sending device, the device includes: A first receiving module, used for receiving target information sent by a remote terminal; a sending module, configured to send the target information to a network-side device through a first parent node, wherein the first parent node is a relay terminal connected to the first relay terminal in a relay link and located between the first relay terminal and the network-side device; The first relay terminal is connected to the remote terminal, and the relay link is a relay link between the remote terminal and the network side device. An information sending device, the second relay terminal includes the information sending device, the device includes: A first receiving module, configured to receive target information sent by a remote terminal through a first sub-node, wherein the first sub-node is a relay terminal connected to the second relay terminal in a relay link and located between the second relay terminal and the remote terminal; A first sending module, used to send the target information to a network side device; The second relay terminal is connected to the network side device, and the relay link is a relay link between the remote terminal and the network side device. An information sending device, the third relay terminal includes the information sending device, the device includes: a first receiving module, configured to receive target information sent by a remote terminal through a second sub-node, wherein the second sub-node is a relay terminal connected to the third relay terminal in a relay link and located between the third relay terminal and the remote terminal; a sending module, configured to send the target information to the network side device through a second parent node, where the second parent node is a relay terminal connected to the third relay terminal in the relay link and located between the third relay terminal and the network side device; The relay link is a relay link between the remote terminal and the network side device. An information sending device, a remote terminal includes the information sending device, the device comprising: A sending module, used to send target information to a network side device through at least two relay terminals; The relay link between the remote terminal and the network side device includes the at least two relay terminals, and the at least two relay terminals include a first relay terminal connected to the remote terminal and a second relay terminal connected to the network side device. A communication device comprises a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores a program or instruction that can be run on the processor, and when the program or instruction is executed by the processor, it implements the steps of the information sending method as described in any one of claims 1 to 8, or implements the steps of the information sending method as described in any one of claims 9 to 17, or implements the steps of the information sending method as described in any one of claims 18 to 28, or implements the steps of the information sending method as described in any one of claims 29 to 31. A chip, the chip comprising a processor and a communication interface, the communication interface being coupled to the processor, the processor being used to run a program or instruction to implement the steps of the information sending method as described in any one of claims 1 to 8, or the steps of the information sending method as described in any one of claims 9 to 17, or the steps of the information sending method as described in any one of claims 18 to 28, or the steps of the information sending method as described in any one of claims 29 to 31. A readable storage medium storing a program or instruction, wherein the program or instruction, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the information sending method as described in any one of claims 1 to 8, or implements the steps of the information sending method as described in any one of claims 9 to 17, or implements the steps of the information sending method as described in any one of claims 18 to 28, or implements the steps of the information sending method as described in any one of claims 29 to 31.