Bearer control method, terminal, and network side device

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a bearer control method, a terminal, and a network side device. A target radio bearer RB corresponding to the terminal is configured with a data duplication function, the target RB is configured with N transmission paths, N is an integer greater than 2, and the method includes: receiving (301) an indication message sent by a network side device, where the indication message is used to indicate to activate or deactivate the data duplication function of the target RB, and / or is used to indicate to activate or deactivate a transmission path of the target RB; and determining (302) an available transmission path of the target RB according to the indication message. (FIG. 3)

Description

Control methods, terminals and network-side equipment

[0001] Cross-references to related applications

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201811285532.9, filed in China on October 31, 2018, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] This disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a control method for a bearer, a terminal, and a network-side device. Background Technology

[0004] In New Radio (NR) technology, a data replication function is introduced at the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer to improve the reliability of data transmission. Network-side equipment can configure the replication function for the UE's Radio Bearer (RB), and the PDCP layer performs this function.

[0005] For RBs configured with data replication, currently, network-side devices configure two transmission paths for the PDCP entity corresponding to the RB, resulting in low data transmission reliability.

[0006] Summary of the Invention

[0007] This disclosure provides a control method, terminal, and network-side device for a bearer to address the problem of low data transmission reliability in related technologies.

[0008] To solve the above problems, this disclosure is implemented as follows:

[0009] In a first aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a bearer control method applied to a terminal, wherein the target radio bearer (RB) corresponding to the terminal is configured with a data replication function, and the target RB is configured with N transmission paths, where N is an integer greater than 2; the method includes:

[0010] Receive an indication message sent by a network-side device, the indication message being used to indicate the activation or deactivation of the data replication function of the target RB, and / or to indicate the activation or deactivation of the transmission path of the target RB;

[0011] Based on the instruction message, the available transmission path for the target RB is determined.

[0012] Secondly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a bearer control method applied to a network-side device, the method comprising:

[0013] Send an indication message to the terminal, the indication message being used to indicate the activation or deactivation of the data copying function of the target radio bearer RB corresponding to the terminal, and / or to indicate the activation or deactivation of the transmission path of the target RB;

[0014] The target RB is configured with a data replication function and has N transmission paths, where N is an integer greater than 2.

[0015] Thirdly, this disclosure also provides a terminal, wherein the target radio bearer (RB) corresponding to the terminal is configured with a data copying function, and the target RB is configured with N transmission paths, where N is an integer greater than 2; the terminal includes:

[0016] The receiving module is used to receive an indication message sent by the network-side device, the indication message being used to indicate the activation or deactivation of the data copying function of the target RB, and / or to indicate the activation or deactivation of the transmission path of the target RB;

[0017] The determination module is used to determine the available transmission path of the target RB based on the indication message.

[0018] Fourthly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a network-side device, including:

[0019] The sending module is used to send an indication message to the terminal, the indication message being used to indicate the activation or deactivation of the data copying function of the target radio bearer RB corresponding to the terminal, and / or to indicate the activation or deactivation of the transmission path of the target RB;

[0020] The target RB is configured with a data replication function and has N transmission paths, where N is an integer greater than 2.

[0021] Fifthly, embodiments of this disclosure also provide a terminal, the terminal including a processor, a memory, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the computer program, when executed by the processor, implements the steps of the control method carried out as described in the first aspect.

[0022] In a sixth aspect, embodiments of this disclosure also provide a network-side device, which includes a processor, a memory, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the computer program, when executed by the processor, implements the steps of the bearer control method as described in the second aspect.

[0023] In a seventh aspect, embodiments of this disclosure also provide a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the control method carried as described in the first aspect, or the steps of the control method carried as described in the second aspect.

[0024] In this embodiment, the target radio bearer (RB) corresponding to the terminal is configured with a data replication function, and the target RB is configured with N transmission paths, where N is an integer greater than 2. Further, the terminal can determine the available transmission paths of the target RB based on an indication message received from a network-side device. The indication message is used to indicate whether to activate or deactivate the data replication function of the target RB, and / or to indicate whether to activate or deactivate the transmission paths of the target RB. Thus, this disclosure not only improves the reliability of determining the available transmission paths of the target RB, but also increases the success rate of data transmission when the terminal uses the available transmission paths of the target RB for data transmission, thereby improving the reliability of data transmission. Therefore, this disclosure can improve data transmission performance. Attached Figure Description

[0025] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this disclosure, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments of this disclosure will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of this disclosure. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0026] Figure 1 is a structural diagram of a network system that can be applied to an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0027] Figure 2a is one of the schematic diagrams of the carrier provided in the embodiments of this disclosure;

[0028] Figure 2b is a second schematic diagram of the bearer provided in the embodiments of this disclosure;

[0029] Figure 3 is a flowchart of one of the control methods for a bearer provided in an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0030] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the first MAC CE signaling provided in an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0031] Figure 5a is a schematic diagram of the subheader of the second MAC CE signaling provided in an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0032] Figure 5b is one of the schematic diagrams of the body of the second MAC CE signaling provided in the embodiments of this disclosure;

[0033] Figure 5c is a second schematic diagram of the main body of the second MAC CE signaling provided in the embodiments of this disclosure;

[0034] Figure 5d is a third schematic diagram of the main body of the second MAC CE signaling provided in the embodiments of this disclosure;

[0035] Figure 6 is a second flowchart of the control method for the bearer provided in an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0036] Figure 7 is a structural diagram of one of the terminals provided in the embodiments of this disclosure;

[0037] Figure 8 is a structural diagram of one of the network-side devices provided in the embodiments of this disclosure;

[0038] Figure 9 is a second structural diagram of the terminal provided in an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0039] Figure 10 is a second structural diagram of the network-side device provided in an embodiment of this disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0040] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this disclosure will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of this disclosure. Based on the embodiments of this disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this disclosure.

[0041] The terms "first," "second," etc., used in this application are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. Furthermore, the terms "comprising" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus that includes a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units explicitly listed, but may include other steps or units not explicitly listed or inherent to these processes, methods, products, or apparatuses. Additionally, the use of "and / or" in this application indicates at least one of the connected objects, such as A and / or B and / or C, representing seven possibilities: including A alone, B alone, C alone, and the presence of both A and B, both B and C, both A and C, and the presence of A, B, and C.

[0042] Please refer to Figure 1. Figure 1 is a structural diagram of a network system applicable to an embodiment of this disclosure. As shown in Figure 1, it includes a terminal 11 and a network-side device 12, wherein the terminal 11 and the network-side device 12 can communicate with each other through the network.

[0043] In this embodiment of the disclosure, terminal 11 can also be referred to as user equipment (UE). Specifically, terminal 11 can be a mobile phone, tablet personal computer, laptop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), mobile internet device (MID), wearable device, or vehicle-mounted device, etc. It should be noted that the specific type of terminal 11 is not limited in this embodiment of the disclosure.

[0044] Network-side device 12 can be a base station, relay, or access point, etc. For example, network-side device 12 can be a serving base station in a single-connection architecture, a master node in a multi-connection architecture, or a secondary node in a multi-connection architecture. The base station can be a 5G or later version base station (e.g., 5G NR NB), or a base station in other communication systems (e.g., eNB (Evolutionary Node B)). It should be noted that the specific type of network-side device 12 is not limited in this embodiment.

[0045] For ease of description, the following describes some aspects related to the embodiments of this disclosure:

[0046] I. Introduction to PDCP Duplication Function

[0047] In NR, a data replication function is introduced at the PDCP layer to improve the reliability of data transmission. Network-side equipment can configure data replication for a specific RB (Radio Link Control) of the UE, and the PDCP layer executes this function. If the data replication function of a RB is activated, the PDCP layer corresponding to that RB will replicate the data to be delivered to the lower layer, and transmit the original data and the replicated data through two different transmission paths, such as two different Radio Link Control (RLC) entities, with different RLC entities corresponding to different logical channels.

[0048] In one implementation, the network-side device can initiate (i.e. activate) or deactivate (i.e. deactivate) the PDCP data copying function via signaling instructions from the Medium Access Control Element (MAC CE).

[0049] In another implementation, when configuring the data replication function of a certain RB, the network-side device can configure whether the function is enabled immediately after configuration, so that the MAC CE signaling instruction is not required to activate or deactivate the PDCP replication function.

[0050] II. Bearer Types for PDCP Replication Function

[0051] The 5th-generation (5G) mobile communication system adopts a DC architecture. This architecture includes two cell groups: the Master Cell Group (MCG) and the Secondary Cell Group (SCG). The MCG corresponds to the master node (MN) of the network-side equipment, and the SCG corresponds to the secondary node (SN) of the network-side equipment. The network-side equipment can configure multiple Signaling Radio Bearers (SRBs) for the UE, including SRB1 and SRB2 configured on the MCG, and SRB3 configured on the SCG.

[0052] The bearer type for PDCP replication can include at least the following two bearers:

[0053] Split bearer: For the same split bearer, its corresponding PDCP entity is in one cell group, while its corresponding 2 RLC entities and 2 MACs are in different cell groups.

[0054] For example, as shown in Figure 2a, a separate bearer a is used as an example. The separate bearer a is configured with transmission path a1 and transmission path a2, wherein transmission path a1 corresponds to the PDCP entity, RLC entity 1, and MAC entity in the MCG; transmission path a2 corresponds to the PDCP entity, RLC entity 1, and MAC entity in the SCG.

[0055] Duplicate bearer: For the same duplicate bearer, there is one PDCP entity, two RLC entities and one MAC entity in one cell group.

[0056] For example, as shown in Figure 2b, a replication bearer a is used as an example. The replication bearer a is configured with transmission path a1 and transmission path a2, wherein transmission path a1 corresponds to the PDCP entity, RLC entity 1 and MAC entity in the MCG; transmission path a2 corresponds to the PDCP entity, RLC entity 2 and MAC entity in the MCG.

[0057] In addition, for replicated bearers, data from different RLC entities can be transmitted through different cells. The cell used to transmit data can be a secondary cell (SCell) or a primary cell (PCell).

[0058] It should be noted that in the embodiments of this disclosure, if the RLC entity corresponding to the bearer is distributed in different cell groups, the bearer can be called a separate bearer; if the RLC entity corresponding to the bearer is distributed in the same cell, the bearer can be called a replicated bearer. However, the standards organization may give it other names, and this disclosure is not affected by the naming.

[0059] In this embodiment of the disclosure, the target RB corresponding to the terminal is configured with a data replication function, and the target RB is configured with N transmission paths, where N is an integer greater than 2. Therefore, it can be understood that when the data replication function of the target RB is activated, the terminal can transmit data through the N transmission paths.

[0060] However, the number of transmission paths is positively correlated with the network resources required for the UE to send data; that is, the more transmission paths there are, the more network resources the UE needs to send data. Therefore, when a terminal transmits data through N transmission paths, it requires more network resources, resulting in lower resource utilization.

[0061] To improve resource utilization, embodiments of this disclosure provide a bearer control method to determine available transmission paths among N transmission paths of a target RB, and to perform data transmission through the available transmission paths. It should be understood that the number of available transmission paths is less than or equal to N. Thus, the bearer control method of this disclosure not only improves data transmission functionality, but also reduces network resources occupied by the UE when the number of available transmission paths is less than N, compared to transmitting data through N transmission paths, thereby improving resource utilization.

[0062] It should be noted that the bearer control method of this disclosure can be applied to dual connectivity (DC) and / or carrier aggregation (CA) architectures. That is, this disclosure can utilize at least one of dual connectivity (DC) and carrier aggregation (CA) to study more than two copies of PDCP data replication.

[0063] The following describes the control method for the bearer according to the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0064] Referring to Figure 3, Figure 3 is a flowchart of one of the bearer control methods provided in this embodiment of the present disclosure. The bearer control method of this embodiment can be applied to a terminal. As shown in Figure 3, the bearer control method of this embodiment may include the following steps:

[0065] Step 301: Receive an indication message sent by the network-side device. The indication message is used to indicate whether to activate or deactivate the data replication function of the target RB, and / or to indicate whether to activate or deactivate the transmission path of the target RB.

[0066] It should be noted that, in the embodiments of this disclosure, when the indication message is used to indicate the activation or deactivation of the transmission path of the target RB, it may indicate the activation or deactivation of all transmission paths of the target RB, or indicate the activation or deactivation of a portion of the transmission paths of the target RB. The specific method can be determined according to actual needs, and the embodiments of this disclosure do not limit this.

[0067] In a specific implementation, the indication message may optionally be:

[0068] Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling; or,

[0069] The first media access control layer control unit MAC CE signaling, wherein the first MAC CE signaling is used to indicate activation or deactivation of the data copying function of the target RB; or,

[0070] The second MAC CE signaling is used to indicate whether to activate or deactivate the transmission path of the target RB.

[0071] The following provides a detailed explanation of the instruction message based on its specific form.

[0072] Method 1: The indication message is Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

[0073] RRC signaling can be used to indicate the activation or deactivation of the data replication function of the target RB, and / or to indicate the activation or deactivation of the transmission path of the target RB.

[0074] Specifically, when RRC signaling is used to indicate the activation or deactivation of the data replication function of the target RB, the RRC signaling can indicate the activation or deactivation of the data replication function of the target RB through one bit. Furthermore, the bits in the RRC signaling can be carried in the PDCP configuration information element (PDCP-configuration IE), but this disclosure does not limit the placement of the bits in the RRC signaling.

[0075] For example, when the bit value of the RRC signaling is "1", the RRC signaling is used to indicate the activation of the data replication function of the target RB; when the bit value of the RRC signaling is "0", the RRC signaling is used to indicate the deactivation of the data replication function of the target RB.

[0076] It should be noted that, in the embodiments of this disclosure, the transmission path can be identified by at least one of the following: cell group identifier and / or logical channel identifier. Therefore, when RRC signaling is used to indicate the activation or deactivation of the transmission path of the target RB, the RRC signaling can indicate the activation or deactivation of the transmission path of the target RB through the cell group identifier and / or logical channel identifier.

[0077] For example, in the case where the RRC signaling carries a first cell group identifier and / or a first logical channel, and the first cell group identifier and / or the first logical channel identifies a first transmission path, in one embodiment, the RRC signaling can be used to indicate activation of the first transmission path; in another embodiment, the RRC signaling can be used to indicate deactivation of the first transmission path.

[0078] Method 2: The instruction message is the first MAC CE signaling.

[0079] The first MAC CE signaling is used to instruct the activation or deactivation of the data replication function of the target RB. That is, the first MAC CE signaling activates or deactivates the data replication function of the target RB based on the granularity of the bearer (i.e., MAC CE per RB).

[0080] In specific implementation, the signaling format of the first MAC CE can be seen in Figure 4. In Figure 4, the first MAC CE signaling may include a Di field, which can be used to indicate whether the data copying function of the RB (such as DRB) with sequence number i is activated.

[0081] For example, if the Di field is "1", it means that the data copying function of RB with sequence number i is activated; if the Di field is "0", it means that the data copying function of RB with sequence number i is deactivated.

[0082] It should be noted that Figure 4 is merely an example, and the embodiments disclosed herein do not limit the format of the first MAC CE signaling.

[0083] Method 3: The instruction message is the second MAC CE signaling.

[0084] The second MAC CE signaling is used to indicate whether to activate or deactivate the transmission path of the target RB. That is, the second MAC CE signaling activates or deactivates the transmission path of the target RB based on the granularity of the transmission path (i.e., MAC CE per leg).

[0085] In a specific implementation, optionally, the second MAC CE signaling includes: a cell group identifier and / or a logical channel identifier; or, the second MAC CE signaling includes: a first field for identifying the target RB, and a second field for indicating the status of the transmission path with sequence number i among the N transmission paths of the target RB; wherein i is an integer greater than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to N.

[0086] Scenario 1: The second MAC CE signaling includes: cell group identifier and / or logical channel identifier.

[0087] In this embodiment, the second MAC CE signaling may include a third field for identifying the transmission path of the target RB. Since cell group identifiers and / or logical channel identifiers can be used to uniquely identify a transmission path, in one embodiment, the second MAC CE signaling may include: cell group identifiers and / or logical channel identifiers. However, it should be understood that in other embodiments, the second MAC CE signaling may include other identifiers that can be used to identify the transmission path of the target RB, and this disclosure does not limit this.

[0088] In practice, the second MAC CE signaling can activate or deactivate the transmission path identified by the cell group identifier and / or logical channel identifier. For example, assuming the target RB is configured with transmission path 1, transmission path 2, and transmission path 3, if the cell group identifier and / or logical channel identifier can identify transmission path 2, then the second MAC CE signaling can be used to indicate the activation of transmission path 2.

[0089] Scenario 2: The second MAC CE signaling includes: a first field for identifying the target RB, and a second field for indicating the status of the transmission path with sequence number i among the N transmission paths of the target RB.

[0090] In this scenario, the UE can determine the status of the transmission path with sequence number i among the N transmission paths of the target RB based on the first domain and the second domain.

[0091] In specific implementation, if the first field identifies the target RB and the value of the second field is "1", it means that the transmission path with the sequence number i among the N transmission paths of the target RB is in an active state; if the first field identifies the target RB and the value of the second field is "0", it means that the transmission path with the sequence number i among the N transmission paths of the target RB is in a deactivated state.

[0092] In Method 3, further, when the target RB is a detached bearer, the second MAC CE also includes a detached bearer indication field, used to indicate whether the target RB deactivates the data replication function and falls back to the detached bearer mode.

[0093] In practice, if the value of the Separate Bearer Indicator field is "0", it means that the target RB does not fall back to the Separate Bearer mode and is in the Data Replication Activation mode; if the value of the Separate Bearer Indicator field is "1", it means that the target RB deactivates the Data Replication function and falls back to the Separate Bearer mode and is in the Separate Bearer mode.

[0094] When the target RB is in split bearer mode, the data replication function of the target RB is deactivated. The UE can predetermine the available transmission paths of the target RB in split bearer mode and transmit data through the aforementioned available transmission paths.

[0095] It should be noted that, in this embodiment of the disclosure, the second MAC CE signaling corresponds to a MAC entity. Specifically, the second MAC CE signaling can be used to indicate the activation or deactivation of the transmission path of the bearer associated with the MAC entity corresponding to the second MAC CE signaling. For ease of understanding, an example is provided below:

[0096] Assume that the transmission paths of RB1 are all distributed across the MCG, the transmission paths of RB2 are distributed across the MCG and SCG, and the transmission paths of RB3 are all distributed across the SCG. Alternatively, the MAC entity of the MCG is associated with RB1 and RB2, and the MAC entity of the SCG is associated with RB2 and RB3. Under this condition, if a second MAC CE signaling corresponding to the MAC entity of the MCG is received, this second MAC CE signaling can be used to indicate the activation or deactivation of the transmission paths of RB1 and RB2; similarly, if a second MAC CE signaling corresponding to the MAC entity of the SCG is received, this second MAC CE signaling can be used to indicate the activation or deactivation of the transmission paths of RB2 and RB3.

[0097] In practical applications, the second MAC CE signaling may include a MAC CE subheader and a MAC CE body. The format of the MAC CE subheader can be seen in Figure 5a, and the MAC CE body can be seen in Figures 5b, 5c, and 5d. It should be noted that the second MAC CE signaling corresponding to Figure 5b is the second MAC CE signaling for scenario one described above, while the second MAC CE signaling corresponding to Figures 5c and 5d is the second MAC CE signaling for scenario two described above.

[0098] As shown in Figure 5a, the MAC CE subheader may include the R field, F field, LCID field and L field.

[0099] The R field is a reserved bit. As shown in Figure 5a, the R field can be set as the first bit of Oct (byte) 1.

[0100] The F field indicates the length of the L field, in bytes. For example, an F field value of "0" indicates an L field length of one byte, and an F field value of "1" indicates an L field length of two bytes. As shown in Figure 5a, the F field can be set in the second bit of Oct1.

[0101] The LCID field is used to indicate the type of MAC CE signaling corresponding to this sub-header, such as MAC CE signaling activation / deactivation for data replication function. The value of the LCID field can reuse the LCID value used in the first MAC CE signaling to indicate its type, or it can be a newly introduced LCID value. The specific choice depends on actual needs, and this embodiment does not limit this. As shown in Figure 5a, the LCID field can be set in the last 6 bytes of Oct1.

[0102] The L field is used to indicate the length of the variable-length MAC CE. As shown in Figure 5a, the L field can be set in Oct2 and Oct3.

[0103] As shown in Figure 5b, the ontology of MAC CE includes the Dn field, the Serving Cell Group ID field, and the LCID field.

[0104] The Dn field is used to identify whether the RB with sequence number n is in data replication active mode or detached bearer mode, and can be equivalent to the detached bearer indication field mentioned above. For example, if the value of the Dn field is "0", it can indicate that the RB is in data replication active mode; if the value of the Dn field is "1", it can indicate that the RB is in detached bearer mode.

[0105] The Dn domain can be sorted in ascending order according to the Data Radio Bearer (DRB) identifier of the radio bearer configured with data replication.

[0106] It should be noted that the RB identified by the Dn field must satisfy the condition that it has a corresponding RLC entity belonging to the cell group where the MAC entity receiving the MAC CE signaling belongs. In the embodiments of this disclosure, the second MAC CE signaling can be used to indicate the transmission path for activating or deactivating the target RB, which indicates that the target RB satisfies the condition that: among the RLC entities corresponding to the target RB, there exists an RCL entity belonging to the same cell group as the MAC entity receiving the second MAC CE signaling.

[0107] The Serving Cell Group ID field can be used to identify the cell group identifier, and the LCID field can be used to identify the logical channel identifier. It should be understood that the Serving Cell Group ID field and / or the LCID field can uniquely identify a transmission path.

[0108] In specific implementation, when the target RB is in data replication active mode, if the second MAC CE signaling carries a field identifying the transmission path associated with the target RB, the transmission path identified by that field in the target RB can be activated; otherwise, the transmission path is deactivated by default. When the target RB is in decoupled bearer mode (i.e., data replication function deactivated mode), if the second MAC CE signaling carries a field identifying the transmission path associated with the radio bearer, it indicates that the transmission path identified by that field in the target RB is an available transmission path; otherwise, the transmission path is an unavailable transmission path.

[0109] As shown in Figures 5c and 5d, the ontology of MAC CE includes the D / Sm domain, the DRB IDm domain, the Lmi domain, and the R domain.

[0110] The R field contains reserved bits.

[0111] The D / Sm field can be used to identify whether the RB with sequence number m is in data replication active mode or detached bearer mode. For example, a D / Sm field value of "0" indicates that the RB with sequence number m is in data replication active mode; a D / Sm field value of "1" indicates that the RB with sequence number m is in detached bearer mode.

[0112] The DRB IDm field can be used to identify the RB that is configured with data replication functionality, and can be equivalent to the first field mentioned above.

[0113] Lmi indicates whether the transmission path with sequence number i associated with the radio bearer of DRB IDm is active, and can be equivalent to the second field mentioned above. For example, an Lmi value of "1" indicates that the transmission path with sequence number i is active, and an Lmi value of "0" indicates that the transmission path with sequence number i is deactivated.

[0114] The numbering rules for transmission paths associated with RBs are as follows: for transmission paths in different cell groups, the transmission paths can be numbered in ascending order of cell group identifiers; for transmission paths in the same cell group, the transmission paths can be numbered in ascending order of their corresponding LCIDs.

[0115] It should be noted that in practical applications, the format of the second MAC CE signaling can be represented as shown in Figures 5a and 5b, or Figures 5a and 5c, or Figures 5a and 5d. However, it should be understood that the formats of Figures 5a, 5b, 5c, and 5d are merely examples, and the embodiments disclosed herein do not limit the specific form of the second MAC CE signaling.

[0116] Step 302: Determine the available transmission path of the target RB according to the instruction message.

[0117] As can be seen from the foregoing, after the network-side device configures the data replication function for the target RB, the PDCP entity corresponding to the target RB executes the data replication function and transmits the data through the available transmission path of the target RB.

[0118] Therefore, optionally, determining the available transmission path of the target RB based on the indication message includes:

[0119] The entity in the terminal that receives the indication message sends indication information to the PDCP entity corresponding to the target RB, and the indication information is determined according to the indication message;

[0120] The PDCP entity determines the available transmission path for the target RB based on the indication information.

[0121] In practice, the UE can determine the indication information based on the specific format and content of the received indication message, and then determine the available transmission path of the target RB. The details are as follows:

[0122] Implementation Method 1

[0123] In this embodiment, the indication message is an RRC signaling message, and the RRC signaling message indicates that the data replication function of the target RB is deactivated. Therefore, it can be determined that the entity receiving the indication message is an RRC entity, and the indication information is used to indicate that the data replication function of the target RB has been deactivated.

[0124] Optionally, the PDCP entity determines the available transmission path of the target RB based on the indication information, including:

[0125] Based on the indicated information, the transmission path of the target RB pre-configured by the network-side device is determined as the available transmission path of the target RB; or,

[0126] When the target RB is a split bearer, the target RB is controlled to switch to split bearer mode according to the indication information, and the transmission path in the split bearer mode is determined as the available transmission path of the target RB.

[0127] In this way, when transmitting data through the available transmission path of the target RB, not only can the reliability of data transmission be improved, but also the resource utilization rate can be increased.

[0128] Implementation Method 2

[0129] In this embodiment, the indication message is RRC signaling, and the RRC signaling indicates j transmission paths that activate the target RB. Therefore, it can be determined that the entity receiving the indication message is an RRC entity, and the indication information includes the j transmission paths, where j is a positive integer less than or equal to N;

[0130] Optionally, the PDCP entity determines the available transmission path of the target RB based on the indication information, including:

[0131] The j transmission paths are determined as the available transmission paths for the target RB.

[0132] In this way, when transmitting data through the available transmission path of the target RB, not only can the reliability of data transmission be improved, but also the resource utilization rate can be increased.

[0133] Implementation Method 3

[0134] In this embodiment, the indication message is a first MAC CE signaling, and the first MAC CE signaling indicates that the data replication function of the target RB is deactivated. Therefore, it can be determined that the entity receiving the indication message is a MAC entity, and the indication information is used to indicate that the data replication function of the target RB has been deactivated.

[0135] Optionally, the PDCP entity determines the available transmission path of the target RB based on the indication information, including:

[0136] Based on the indicated information, the transmission path of the target RB pre-configured by the network-side device is determined as the available transmission path of the target RB; or,

[0137] When the target RB is a split bearer, the target RB is controlled to switch to split bearer mode according to the indication information, and the transmission path in the split bearer mode is determined as the available transmission path of the target RB.

[0138] It should be noted that the method for determining the available transmission paths of the target RB in this embodiment is the same as that in embodiment one. The difference is that the specific form of the indication message is the first MAC CE signaling, and correspondingly, the entity receiving the indication message is the MAC entity.

[0139] In this way, when transmitting data through the available transmission path of the target RB, not only can the reliability of data transmission be improved, but also the resource utilization rate can be increased.

[0140] Implementation Method 4

[0141] In this embodiment, the indication message is a second MAC CE signaling. Therefore, it can be determined that the entity receiving the indication message is a MAC entity, and the indication information includes: m deactivated transmission paths; and / or n active transmission paths, where m and n are positive integers, and m+n≤N; wherein the m deactivated transmission paths and / or the n active transmission paths are determined according to the second MAC CE signaling.

[0142] Optionally, the PDCP entity determines the available transmission path of the target RB based on the indication information, including:

[0143] If the indication information includes the n active transmission paths, then the n active transmission paths are determined as the available transmission paths for the target RB; or,

[0144] If the indication information only includes the m deactivated transmission paths, then the transmission paths other than the m deactivated transmission paths among the N transmission paths of the target RB are determined as available transmission paths.

[0145] In practical applications, the second MAC CE signaling can manifest as activation signaling, and it may include cell group identifiers and / or logical channel identifiers that can be used to characterize the n active transmission paths of the target RB. In this application scenario, the second MAC CE signaling can be used to indicate the n active transmission paths of the target RB.

[0146] The second MAC CE signaling can be manifested as deactivation signaling, and the second MAC CE signaling can include cell group identifiers and / or logical channel identifiers that can be used to characterize the m deactivated transmission paths of the target RB. In this application scenario, the second MAC CE signaling can be used to indicate the m deactivated transmission paths of the target RB.

[0147] Therefore, the m deactivated transmission paths and / or the n activated transmission paths included in the indication information can be determined based on the second MAC CE signaling.

[0148] If the indication information includes the n active transmission paths, then the n active transmission paths can be determined as the available transmission paths of the target RB. Specifically, the n active transmission paths can be added from the set of available transmission paths of the target RB.

[0149] If the indication information only includes the m deactivated transmission paths, then the transmission paths other than the m deactivated transmission paths among the N transmission paths of the target RB can be determined as available transmission paths. Specifically, the m deactivated transmission paths can be removed from the set of available transmission paths of the target RB.

[0150] In this way, when transmitting data through the available transmission path of the target RB, not only can the reliability of data transmission be improved, but also the resource utilization rate can be increased.

[0151] The bearer control method of this embodiment allows the terminal to determine the available transmission path of the target RB based on the indication message sent by the network-side device, thereby improving the reliability of the determination of the available transmission path of the target RB. Furthermore, when the terminal uses the available transmission path of the target RB for data transmission, it can not only improve the success rate of data transmission and thus improve the reliability of data transmission, but also improve resource utilization. Therefore, this disclosure can improve data transmission performance.

[0152] It should be noted that the various optional implementation methods described in the embodiments of this disclosure can be combined with each other or implemented individually, and the embodiments of this disclosure do not limit this.

[0153] For ease of understanding, the following example illustrates that the control method for the bearer in this embodiment of the disclosure may include the following steps:

[0154] Step 1: The network-side device sends an activation / deactivation indication for the data replication function to the UE. It should be understood that the "activation / deactivation indication for the data replication function" in this step can be equivalent to the "indication message" in the above method embodiment.

[0155] The activation / deactivation indication type for this data replication function can be any of the following:

[0156] RRC signaling;

[0157] Legacy duplication activation / deactivation MAC CE signaling;

[0158] The newly introduced duplication activation / deactivation MAC CE signaling.

[0159] It should be noted that the above-mentioned "Legacy duplication activation / deactivation MAC CE signaling" can be equivalent to the first MAC CE signaling in the above method embodiment; the above-mentioned "newly introduced duplication activation / deactivation MAC CE signaling" can be equivalent to the second MAC CE signaling in the above method embodiment.

[0160] The RRC signaling indicating activation or deactivation of the replication function can be a single bit and can be carried in the PDCP-config IE. For example, a value of "1" indicates activation of the data replication function of a certain radio bearer, in which case the original data and replicated data corresponding to that radio bearer can be transmitted through the N RLC entities associated with that bearer; if a value of "0" indicates deactivation of the data replication function of a certain radio bearer, then the data corresponding to that radio bearer is transmitted through the transmission path pre-configured for that radio bearer by the network-side equipment or falls back to the split bearer operation mode. In one implementation, the RRC signaling can be used to indicate activation and / or deactivation of one or more transmission paths for a certain radio bearer.

[0161] Specifically, for legacy duplication activation / deactivation MAC CE signaling, if the signaling indicates activation of the data duplication function of a radio bearer, the original data and the duplicated data corresponding to the radio bearer can be transmitted through the N RLC entities associated with the bearer; if the signaling indicates deactivation of the data duplication function of a radio bearer, the data corresponding to the radio bearer is transmitted through the transmission path pre-configured by the network or falls back to the decoupled bearer operation mode.

[0162] If the activation / deactivation instruction is a newly introduced duplication activation / deactivation MAC CE signaling, this MAC CE signaling is per MAC entity, meaning it corresponds to the RLC entity. The format of this MAC CE signaling is illustrated below:

[0163] Example 1:

[0164] The subheader of this MAC CE signaling can be seen in Figure 5a.

[0165] In this context, R is a reserved bit, the F field indicates the length of the L field, for example, a value of "0" indicates that the length of the L field is one byte, and a value of "1" indicates that the length of the L field is two bytes. The L field is used to indicate the length (in bytes) of the variable-length replication MAC CE. The LCID field is used to indicate whether the MAC CE corresponding to this subheading is a replication MAC CE. This LCID value can reuse the LCID value that identifies the legacy replication MAC CE, or it can be a newly introduced LCID value used to identify the multipath replication MAC CE.

[0166] The main body of the MAC CE signaling can be seen in Figure 5b.

[0167] The Dn field indicates whether the radio bearer with sequence number n is in data replication active mode or separate bearer mode. For example, a value of "0" indicates that the radio bearer is in data replication mode, while a value of "1" indicates that the radio bearer needs to be switched to separate bearer mode.

[0168] The Dn domain can be sorted in ascending order according to the DRB ID of radio bearers configured with data replication function. Among them, radio bearers configured with data replication function must have a corresponding RLC entity belonging to the cell group where the MAC entity receiving the MAC CE is located.

[0169] The Serving Cell Group ID field can be used to represent the cell group identifier, and the LCID field represents the logical channel identifier. The Serving Cell Group ID field and / or the LCID field uniquely identify a transmission path. When a radio bearer is in data replication active mode, if the MAC CE carries a field identifying the transmission path associated with that radio bearer, it indicates that the corresponding transmission path is activated; otherwise, the corresponding transmission path is deactivated by default. When a radio bearer is in split bearer mode, if the MAC CE carries a field identifying the transmission path associated with that radio bearer, it indicates that the transmission path is available in split bearer mode; otherwise, it is not available.

[0170] Example 2:

[0171] The subheader of this MAC CE signaling can be seen in Figure 5a.

[0172] In this context, R is a reserved bit, the F field indicates the length of the L field, for example, a value of "0" indicates that the length of the L field is one byte, and a value of "1" indicates that the length of the L field is two bytes. The L field is used to indicate the length (in bytes) of the variable-length replication MAC CE. The LCID field is used to indicate whether the MAC CE corresponding to this subheading is a replication MAC CE. This LCID value can reuse the LCID value that identifies the legacy replication MAC CE, or it can be a newly introduced LCID value used to identify the multipath replication MAC CE.

[0173] The main body of this MAC CE signaling can be found in Figure 5c or Figure 5d.

[0174] The D / Sm field is used to identify whether the radio bearer with sequence number m is in data replication active mode or split bearer mode. For example, a value of "0" indicates data replication active mode, and a value of "1" indicates split bearer mode.

[0175] The DRB IDm field represents the radio bearer identifier configured with data replication function, and Lmi indicates whether the transmission path with sequence number i associated with the radio bearer identified by DRB IDm is activated. For example, a value of "1" indicates that the transmission path with sequence number i is activated, and a value of "0" indicates that the transmission path with sequence number i is deactivated. The numbering rule for the transmission paths associated with a radio bearer is as follows: for transmission paths in different cell groups, the transmission paths are numbered in ascending order of cell group identifiers; while for transmission paths in the same cell group, the transmission paths are numbered in ascending order of their corresponding LCIDs.

[0176] Step 2: The UE processes the data copy function activation or deactivation indication received from the network-side device.

[0177] Step 2.1: The UE receives the data copy function activation / deactivation indication from the network-side device. The processing behavior of this indication signaling is as follows:

[0178] Case 1: If the RRC signaling received by the UE instructs the UE to disable the data replication function of a certain radio bearer, then the RRC layer indicates that the PDCP entity corresponding to that radio bearer has disabled its data replication function.

[0179] Case 2: If the RRC signaling received by the UE reconfigures the transmission path available for the data replication function of a certain radio bearer, the RRC layer indicates the transmission path available for subsequent transmissions of the PDCP entity corresponding to that radio bearer.

[0180] Case 3: If the UE receives a legacy duplication activation / deactivation MAC CE, and the MAC CE instructs the UE to deactivate the data duplication function of a certain radio bearer, then the MAC entity receiving the MAC CE indicates to the PDCP entity corresponding to the radio bearer that its data duplication function has been completely deactivated.

[0181] Case 4: If the UE receives a data copying function activation / deactivation MAC CE based on the transmission path granularity, the MAC entity receiving the activation / deactivation instruction sends indication information to the PDCP entity corresponding to the radio bearer. This indication information includes one or more of the following combinations:

[0182] m deactivated transmission paths;

[0183] n active transmission paths;

[0184] Where m+n≤N.

[0185] Step 2.2: The UE's PDCP entity processes the activation / deactivation indication for data replication function received from the RRC or MAC entity as follows:

[0186] Remove m deactivated transmission paths from the set of available transmission paths for the data replication function of this wireless bearer;

[0187] Add n activated transmission paths to the set of available transmission paths for the data replication function of this wireless bearer.

[0188] It should be noted that the control method of the carrier in the embodiments of this disclosure can be applied to 5G and subsequent evolved communication systems.

[0189] Using the method of this disclosure, the network-side device can activate or deactivate the data replication function of the RB based on the granularity indication of the bearer, and / or activate or deactivate the transmission path of the RB based on the granularity indication of the transmission path. The UE can control the transmission of data on a specific transmission path of a bearer according to the activation or deactivation indication of the network-side device, thereby improving resource utilization.

[0190] Referring to Figure 6, Figure 6 is a second flowchart of the bearer control method provided in this embodiment. The bearer control method of this embodiment can be applied to network-side devices. As shown in Figure 6, the bearer control method of this embodiment may include the following steps:

[0191] Step 601: Send an indication message to the terminal. The indication message is used to indicate whether to activate or deactivate the data copying function of the target radio bearer (RB) corresponding to the terminal, and / or to indicate whether to activate or deactivate the transmission path of the target RB.

[0192] The target RB is configured with a data replication function and has N transmission paths, where N is an integer greater than 2.

[0193] Optionally, the indication message is:

[0194] Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling; or,

[0195] The first media access control layer control unit MAC CE signaling, wherein the first MAC CE signaling is used to indicate activation or deactivation of the data copying function of the target RB; or,

[0196] The second MAC CE signaling is used to indicate whether to activate or deactivate the transmission path of the target RB.

[0197] Optionally, the second MAC CE signaling includes: a cell group identifier and / or a logical channel identifier; or, the second MAC CE signaling includes: a first field for identifying the target RB, and a second field for indicating the status of the transmission path with sequence number i among the N transmission paths of the target RB;

[0198] Where i is an integer greater than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to N.

[0199] Optionally, if the target RB is a split bearer, the second MAC CE further includes a split bearer indication field for indicating whether the target RB has fallen back to the split bearer mode.

[0200] It should be noted that this embodiment is an implementation of the network-side device corresponding to the method embodiment in Figure 3. Therefore, the relevant descriptions in the above method embodiments can be referred to, and the same beneficial effects can be achieved. To avoid repetition, further details will not be provided here.

[0201] Referring to Figure 7, which is one of the structural diagrams of a terminal provided in this embodiment of the present disclosure, the target radio bearer (RB) corresponding to terminal 700 is configured with a data copying function, and the target RB is configured with N transmission paths, where N is an integer greater than 2; as shown in Figure 7, terminal 700 includes:

[0202] The receiving module 701 is used to receive an indication message sent by the network-side device, the indication message being used to indicate the activation or deactivation of the data copying function of the target RB, and / or to indicate the activation or deactivation of the transmission path of the target RB;

[0203] The determination module 702 is used to determine the available transmission path of the target RB based on the indication message.

[0204] Based on Figure 7, the following describes the modules that the terminal 700 also includes and the units included in each module.

[0205] Optionally, the indication message is:

[0206] Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling; or,

[0207] The first media access control layer control unit MAC CE signaling, wherein the first MAC CE signaling is used to indicate activation or deactivation of the data copying function of the target RB; or,

[0208] The second MAC CE signaling is used to indicate whether to activate or deactivate the transmission path of the target RB.

[0209] Optionally, the second MAC CE signaling includes: a cell group identifier and / or a logical channel identifier; or, the second MAC CE signaling includes: a first field for identifying the target RB, and a second field for indicating the status of the transmission path with sequence number i among the N transmission paths of the target RB;

[0210] Where i is an integer greater than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to N.

[0211] Optionally, if the target RB is a split bearer, the second MAC CE further includes a split bearer indication field for indicating whether the target RB has fallen back to the split bearer mode.

[0212] Optionally, the determining module 702 includes:

[0213] The sending unit is used by the entity in the terminal 700 that receives the indication message to send indication information to the PDCP entity corresponding to the target RB, wherein the indication information is determined according to the indication message;

[0214] A determining unit is used by the PDCP entity to determine the available transmission path of the target RB based on the indication information.

[0215] Optionally, if the indication message is an RRC signaling message, and the RRC signaling message indicates that the data replication function of the target RB is deactivated, the entity receiving the indication message is an RRC entity, and the indication information is used to indicate that the data replication function of the target RB has been deactivated;

[0216] The determining module 702 is specifically used for:

[0217] Based on the indicated information, the transmission path of the target RB pre-configured by the network-side device is determined as the available transmission path of the target RB; or,

[0218] When the target RB is a split bearer, the target RB is controlled to switch to split bearer mode according to the indication information, and the transmission path in the split bearer mode is determined as the available transmission path of the target RB.

[0219] Optionally, if the indication message is an RRC signaling message, and the RRC signaling message indicates that j transmission paths of the target RB are activated, the entity receiving the indication message is an RRC entity, and the indication information includes the j transmission paths, where j is a positive integer less than or equal to N;

[0220] The determining module 702 is specifically used for:

[0221] The j transmission paths are determined as the available transmission paths for the target RB.

[0222] Optionally, if the indication message is a first MAC CE signaling, and the first MAC CE signaling indicates that the data replication function of the target RB is deactivated, the entity receiving the indication message is a MAC entity, and the indication information is used to indicate that the data replication function of the target RB has been deactivated;

[0223] The determining module 702 is specifically used for:

[0224] Based on the indicated information, the transmission path of the target RB pre-configured by the network-side device is determined as the available transmission path of the target RB; or,

[0225] When the target RB is a split bearer, the target RB is controlled to switch to split bearer mode according to the indication information, and the transmission path in the split bearer mode is determined as the available transmission path of the target RB.

[0226] Optionally, when the indication message is a second MAC CE signaling, the entity receiving the indication message is a MAC entity, and the indication information includes: m deactivated transmission paths; and / or n active transmission paths, where m and n are positive integers, and m+n≤N; wherein the m deactivated transmission paths and / or the n active transmission paths are determined according to the second MAC CE signaling;

[0227] The determining module 702 is specifically used for:

[0228] If the indication information includes the n active transmission paths, then the n active transmission paths are determined as the available transmission paths for the target RB; or,

[0229] If the indication information only includes the m deactivated transmission paths, then the transmission paths other than the m deactivated transmission paths among the N transmission paths of the target RB are determined as available transmission paths.

[0230] Terminal 700 can implement the various processes in the method embodiment of Figure 3 of this disclosure and achieve the same beneficial effects. To avoid repetition, it will not be described again here.

[0231] Referring to Figure 8, which is one of the structural diagrams of a network-side device provided in an embodiment of this disclosure, the network-side device 800 includes:

[0232] The sending module 801 is used to send an indication message to the terminal, the indication message being used to indicate the activation or deactivation of the data copying function of the target radio bearer RB corresponding to the terminal, and / or to indicate the activation or deactivation of the transmission path of the target RB;

[0233] The target RB is configured with a data replication function and has N transmission paths, where N is an integer greater than 2.

[0234] Optionally, the indication message is:

[0235] Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling; or,

[0236] The first media access control layer control unit MAC CE signaling, wherein the first MAC CE signaling is used to indicate activation or deactivation of the data copying function of the target RB; or,

[0237] The second MAC CE signaling is used to indicate whether to activate or deactivate the transmission path of the target RB.

[0238] Optionally, the second MAC CE signaling includes: a cell group identifier and / or a logical channel identifier; or, the second MAC CE signaling includes: a first field for identifying the target RB, and a second field for indicating the status of the transmission path with sequence number i among the N transmission paths of the target RB;

[0239] Where i is an integer greater than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to N.

[0240] Optionally, if the target RB is a split bearer, the second MAC CE further includes a split bearer indication field for indicating whether the target RB has fallen back to the split bearer mode.

[0241] The network-side device 800 can implement the various processes in the method embodiment of Figure 6 of this disclosure and achieve the same beneficial effects. To avoid repetition, it will not be described again here.

[0242] Please refer to Figure 9, which is a second structural diagram of a terminal provided in an embodiment of this disclosure. This terminal can be a hardware structure diagram of a terminal implementing various embodiments of this disclosure. The target wireless bearer RB corresponding to terminal 900 is configured with a data copying function, and the target RB is configured with N transmission paths, where N is an integer greater than 2. As shown in Figure 9, terminal 900 includes, but is not limited to: radio frequency unit 901, network module 902, audio output unit 903, input unit 904, sensor 905, display unit 906, user input unit 907, interface unit 908, memory 909, processor 910, and power supply 911, etc. Those skilled in the art will understand that the terminal structure shown in Figure 9 does not constitute a limitation on the terminal. The terminal may include more or fewer components than shown, or combine certain components, or have different component arrangements. In the embodiments of this disclosure, the terminal includes, but is not limited to, mobile phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, PDAs, vehicle terminals, wearable devices, and pedometers, etc.

[0243] The radio frequency unit 901 is used to: receive an indication message sent by a network-side device, the indication message being used to indicate the activation or deactivation of the data copying function of the target RB, and / or to indicate the activation or deactivation of the transmission path of the target RB;

[0244] Processor 910 is configured to: determine the available transmission path of the target RB based on the indication message.

[0245] Optionally, the indication message is:

[0246] Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling; or,

[0247] The first media access control layer control unit MAC CE signaling, wherein the first MAC CE signaling is used to indicate activation or deactivation of the data copying function of the target RB; or,

[0248] The second MAC CE signaling is used to indicate whether to activate or deactivate the transmission path of the target RB.

[0249] Optionally, the second MAC CE signaling includes: a cell group identifier and / or a logical channel identifier; or, the second MAC CE signaling includes: a first field for identifying the target RB, and a second field for indicating the status of the transmission path with sequence number i among the N transmission paths of the target RB;

[0250] Where i is an integer greater than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to N.

[0251] Optionally, if the target RB is a split bearer, the second MAC CE further includes a split bearer indication field for indicating whether the target RB has fallen back to the split bearer mode.

[0252] Optionally, the processor 910 is also used for:

[0253] The entity in the terminal that receives the indication message sends indication information to the PDCP entity corresponding to the target RB, and the indication information is determined according to the indication message;

[0254] The PDCP entity determines the available transmission path for the target RB based on the indication information.

[0255] Optionally, if the indication message is an RRC signaling message, and the RRC signaling message indicates that the data replication function of the target RB is deactivated, the entity receiving the indication message is an RRC entity, and the indication information is used to indicate that the data replication function of the target RB has been deactivated;

[0256] The 910 processor is also used for:

[0257] Based on the indicated information, the transmission path of the target RB pre-configured by the network-side device is determined as the available transmission path of the target RB; or,

[0258] When the target RB is a split bearer, the target RB is controlled to switch to split bearer mode according to the indication information, and the transmission path in the split bearer mode is determined as the available transmission path of the target RB.

[0259] Optionally, if the indication message is an RRC signaling message, and the RRC signaling message indicates that j transmission paths of the target RB are activated, the entity receiving the indication message is an RRC entity, and the indication information includes the j transmission paths, where j is a positive integer less than or equal to N;

[0260] The 910 processor is also used for:

[0261] The j transmission paths are determined as the available transmission paths for the target RB.

[0262] Optionally, if the indication message is a first MAC CE signaling, and the first MAC CE signaling indicates that the data replication function of the target RB is deactivated, the entity receiving the indication message is a MAC entity, and the indication information is used to indicate that the data replication function of the target RB has been deactivated;

[0263] The 910 processor is also used for:

[0264] Based on the indicated information, the transmission path of the target RB pre-configured by the network-side device is determined as the available transmission path of the target RB; or,

[0265] When the target RB is a split bearer, the target RB is controlled to switch to split bearer mode according to the indication information, and the transmission path in the split bearer mode is determined as the available transmission path of the target RB.

[0266] Optionally, when the indication message is a second MAC CE signaling, the entity receiving the indication message is a MAC entity, and the indication information includes: m deactivated transmission paths; and / or n active transmission paths, where m and n are positive integers, and m+n≤N; wherein the m deactivated transmission paths and / or the n active transmission paths are determined according to the second MAC CE signaling;

[0267] The 910 processor is also used for:

[0268] If the indication information includes the n active transmission paths, then the n active transmission paths are determined as the available transmission paths for the target RB; or,

[0269] If the indication information only includes the m deactivated transmission paths, then the transmission paths other than the m deactivated transmission paths among the N transmission paths of the target RB are determined as available transmission paths.

[0270] It should be noted that the terminal 900 described above in this embodiment can implement the various processes in the method embodiment of Figure 3 in this disclosure and achieve the same beneficial effects. To avoid repetition, it will not be described again here.

[0271] It should be understood that in this embodiment, the radio frequency unit 901 can be used for receiving and transmitting signals during information transmission or calls. Specifically, it receives downlink data from the base station and processes it with the processor 910; additionally, it transmits uplink data to the base station. Typically, the radio frequency unit 901 includes, but is not limited to, an antenna, at least one amplifier, a transceiver, a coupler, a low-noise amplifier, a duplexer, etc. Furthermore, the radio frequency unit 901 can also communicate with networks and other devices through a wireless communication system.

[0272] The terminal provides users with wireless broadband internet access through the network module 902, such as helping users send and receive emails, browse web pages, and access streaming media.

[0273] The audio output unit 903 can convert audio data received by the radio frequency unit 901 or the network module 902 or stored in the memory 909 into audio signals and output them as sound. Furthermore, the audio output unit 903 can also provide audio output related to specific functions performed by the terminal 900 (e.g., call signal reception sound, message reception sound, etc.). The audio output unit 903 includes a speaker, a buzzer, and a receiver, etc.

[0274] Input unit 904 is used to receive audio or video signals. Input unit 904 may include a graphics processing unit (GPU) 9041 and a microphone 9042. The GPU 9041 processes image data of still images or videos acquired by an image capture device (such as a camera) in video capture mode or image capture mode. The processed image frames can be displayed on display unit 906. The image frames processed by GPU 9041 can be stored in memory 909 (or other storage medium) or transmitted via radio frequency unit 901 or network module 902. Microphone 9042 can receive sound and process such sound into audio data. The processed audio data can be converted into a format that can be transmitted to a mobile communication base station via radio frequency unit 901 in telephone call mode.

[0275] Terminal 900 also includes at least one sensor 905, such as a light sensor, a motion sensor, and other sensors. Specifically, the light sensor includes an ambient light sensor and a proximity sensor. The ambient light sensor can adjust the brightness of the display panel 9061 according to the ambient light level, and the proximity sensor can turn off the display panel 9061 and / or backlight when the terminal 900 is moved to the ear. As a type of motion sensor, an accelerometer sensor can detect the magnitude of acceleration in various directions (generally three axes). When stationary, it can detect the magnitude and direction of gravity and can be used to identify the terminal's posture (such as landscape / portrait switching, related games, magnetometer posture calibration), vibration recognition related functions (such as pedometer, tapping), etc. Sensor 905 may also include fingerprint sensors, pressure sensors, iris sensors, molecular sensors, gyroscopes, barometers, hygrometers, thermometers, infrared sensors, etc., which will not be described in detail here.

[0276] The display unit 906 is used to display information input by the user or information provided to the user. The display unit 906 may include a display panel 9061, which may be configured in the form of a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light-emitting diode (OLED), or the like.

[0277] User input unit 907 can be used to receive input numeric or character information, and generate key signal inputs related to user settings and function control of the terminal. Specifically, user input unit 907 includes a touch panel 9071 and other input devices 9072. Touch panel 9071, also known as a touch screen, can collect touch operations performed by the user on or near it (such as operations performed by the user using a finger, stylus, or any suitable object or accessory on or near touch panel 9071). Touch panel 9071 may include two parts: a touch detection device and a touch controller. The touch detection device detects the user's touch position and the signal generated by the touch operation, and transmits the signal to the touch controller; the touch controller receives touch information from the touch detection device, converts it into touch point coordinates, and sends it to processor 910, which receives and executes commands from processor 910. In addition, touch panel 9071 can be implemented using various types such as resistive, capacitive, infrared, and surface acoustic wave. Besides touch panel 9071, user input unit 907 may also include other input devices 9072. Specifically, other input devices 9072 may include, but are not limited to, physical keyboards, function keys (such as volume control buttons, power buttons, etc.), trackballs, mice, joysticks, etc., which will not be described in detail here.

[0278] Furthermore, the touch panel 9071 can cover the display panel 9061. When the touch panel 9071 detects a touch operation on or near it, it transmits the information to the processor 910 to determine the type of touch event. Subsequently, the processor 910 provides corresponding visual output on the display panel 9061 according to the type of touch event. Although in Figure 9, the touch panel 9071 and the display panel 9061 are shown as two separate components to implement the input and output functions of the terminal, in some embodiments, the touch panel 9071 and the display panel 9061 can be integrated to implement the input and output functions of the terminal. Specific details are not limited here.

[0279] Interface unit 908 serves as an interface for connecting external devices to terminal 900. For example, external devices may include a wired or wireless headset port, an external power supply (or battery charger) port, a wired or wireless data port, a memory card port, a port for connecting a device with an identification module, an audio input / output (I / O) port, a video I / O port, a headphone port, and so on. Interface unit 908 can be used to receive input from external devices (e.g., data, power, etc.) and transmit the received input to one or more elements within terminal 900, or it can be used to transmit data between terminal 900 and external devices.

[0280] The memory 909 can be used to store software programs and various data. The memory 909 may primarily include a program storage area and a data storage area. The program storage area may store the operating system, applications required for at least one function (such as sound playback, image playback, etc.), etc.; the data storage area may store data created based on the use of the mobile phone (such as audio data, phonebook, etc.). Furthermore, the memory 909 may include high-speed random access memory, and may also include non-volatile memory, such as at least one disk storage device, flash memory device, or other volatile solid-state storage device.

[0281] The processor 910 is the control center of the terminal, connecting various parts of the terminal through various interfaces and lines. It performs various functions and processes data by running or executing software programs and / or modules stored in the memory 909, and by calling data stored in the memory 909, thereby providing overall monitoring of the terminal. The processor 910 may include one or more processing units; optionally, the processor 910 may integrate an application processor and a modem processor. The application processor primarily handles the operating system, user interface, and applications, while the modem processor primarily handles wireless communication. It is understood that the modem processor may not be integrated into the processor 910.

[0282] Terminal 900 may also include a power supply 911 (such as a battery) that supplies power to various components. Optionally, the power supply 911 may be logically connected to the processor 910 through a power management system, thereby enabling functions such as charging, discharging, and power consumption management through the power management system.

[0283] In addition, terminal 900 includes some functional modules not shown, which will not be described in detail here.

[0284] Optionally, this disclosure also provides a terminal, including a processor 910, a memory 909, and a computer program stored in the memory 909 and executable on the processor 910. When the computer program is executed by the processor 910, it implements the various processes of the method embodiment in FIG3 above and can achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be described again here.

[0285] Referring to Figure 10, which is a second structural diagram of the network-side device provided in this embodiment of the present disclosure, the network-side device 1000 includes: a processor 1001, a memory 1002, a user interface 1003, a transceiver 1004, and a bus interface.

[0286] In this embodiment of the disclosure, the network-side device 1000 further includes: a computer program stored in the memory 1002 and executable on the processor 1001, wherein the computer program, when executed by the processor 1001, performs the following steps:

[0287] Send an indication message to the terminal, the indication message being used to indicate the activation or deactivation of the data copying function of the target radio bearer RB corresponding to the terminal, and / or to indicate the activation or deactivation of the transmission path of the target RB;

[0288] The target RB is configured with a data replication function and has N transmission paths, where N is an integer greater than 2.

[0289] Optionally, the indication message is:

[0290] Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling; or,

[0291] The first media access control layer control unit MAC CE signaling, wherein the first MAC CE signaling is used to indicate activation or deactivation of the data copying function of the target RB; or,

[0292] The second MAC CE signaling is used to indicate whether to activate or deactivate the transmission path of the target RB.

[0293] Optionally, the second MAC CE signaling includes: a cell group identifier and / or a logical channel identifier; or, the second MAC CE signaling includes: a first field for identifying the target RB, and a second field for indicating the status of the transmission path with sequence number i among the N transmission paths of the target RB;

[0294] Where i is an integer greater than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to N.

[0295] Optionally, if the target RB is a split bearer, the second MAC CE further includes a split bearer indication field for indicating whether the target RB has fallen back to the split bearer mode.

[0296] In Figure 10, the bus architecture may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, specifically linking various circuits of one or more processors represented by processor 1001 and memory represented by memory 1002 together. The bus architecture may also link various other circuits such as peripheral devices, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art and therefore will not be described further herein. The bus interface provides an interface. Transceiver 1004 may be multiple elements, including transmitters and receivers, providing a unit for communicating with various other devices over a transmission medium. For different user equipment, user interface 1003 may also be an interface capable of connecting external or internal devices, including but not limited to keypads, displays, speakers, microphones, joysticks, etc.

[0297] The processor 1001 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, while the memory 1002 can store the data used by the processor 2601 when performing operations.

[0298] The network-side device 1000 can implement the various processes implemented by the network-side device in the method embodiment of Figure 6 above. To avoid repetition, these processes will not be described again here.

[0299] This disclosure also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program. When executed by a processor, the computer program implements the various processes of the method embodiments shown in FIG3 or FIG6 above, and achieves the same technical effects. To avoid repetition, it will not be described again here. The computer-readable storage medium may be a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk, etc.

[0300] It should be noted that, in this document, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Unless otherwise specified, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes that element.

[0301] Through the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the methods of the above embodiments can be implemented by means of software plus necessary general-purpose hardware platforms. Of course, they can also be implemented by hardware, but in many cases the former is a better implementation method. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this disclosure, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM / RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk), and includes several instructions to cause a terminal (which may be a mobile phone, computer, server, air conditioner, or network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in the various embodiments of this disclosure.

[0302] The embodiments of this disclosure have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, this disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments described above. The specific embodiments described above are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Those skilled in the art can make many other forms under the guidance of this disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims, and all of these forms are within the protection scope of this disclosure.

Claims

1. A control method for a bearer, applied to a terminal, wherein, The target radio bearer (RB) corresponding to the terminal is configured with a data replication function, and the target RB is configured with N transmission paths, where N is an integer greater than 2; the method includes: Receive an indication message sent by a network-side device, the indication message being used to indicate the activation or deactivation of the data replication function of the target RB, and / or to indicate the activation or deactivation of the transmission path of the target RB; Based on the instruction message, the available transmission path for the target RB is determined.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The instruction message is: Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling; or, The first media access control layer control unit MAC CE signaling, wherein the first MAC CE signaling is used to indicate activation or deactivation of the data copying function of the target RB; or, The second MAC CE signaling is used to indicate whether to activate or deactivate the transmission path of the target RB.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein: The second MAC CE signaling includes: a cell group identifier and / or a logical channel identifier; or, The second MAC CE signaling includes: a first field for identifying the target RB, and a second field for indicating the status of the transmission path with sequence number i among the N transmission paths of the target RB; Where i is an integer greater than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to N.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein, In the case that the target RB is a split bearer, the second MAC CE also includes a split bearer indication field for indicating whether the target RB has fallen back to the split bearer mode.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein determining the available transmission path of the target RB based on the indication message comprises: The entity in the terminal that receives the indication message sends indication information to the PDCP entity corresponding to the target RB, and the indication information is determined according to the indication message; The PDCP entity determines the available transmission path for the target RB based on the indication information.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein, When the indication message is an RRC signaling message, and the RRC signaling message indicates that the data replication function of the target RB is deactivated, the entity receiving the indication message is an RRC entity, and the indication information is used to indicate that the data replication function of the target RB has been deactivated; The PDCP entity determines the available transmission path for the target RB based on the indication information, including: Based on the instruction information, the transmission path of the target RB pre-configured by the network-side device is determined as the available transmission path of the target RB; or, When the target RB is a split bearer, the target RB is controlled to switch to split bearer mode according to the indication information, and the transmission path in the split bearer mode is determined as the available transmission path of the target RB.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein, When the indication message is an RRC signaling message, and the RRC signaling message indicates that j transmission paths of the target RB are activated, the entity that receives the indication message is an RRC entity, and the indication information includes the j transmission paths, where j is a positive integer less than or equal to N; The PDCP entity determines the available transmission path for the target RB based on the indication information, including: The j transmission paths are determined as the available transmission paths for the target RB.

8. The method according to claim 5, wherein, When the indication message is a first MAC CE signaling, and the first MAC CE signaling indicates that the data replication function of the target RB is deactivated, the entity receiving the indication message is a MAC entity, and the indication information is used to indicate that the data replication function of the target RB has been deactivated; The PDCP entity determines the available transmission path for the target RB based on the indication information, including: Based on the instruction information, the transmission path of the target RB pre-configured by the network-side device is determined as the available transmission path of the target RB; or, When the target RB is a split bearer, the target RB is controlled to switch to split bearer mode according to the indication information, and the transmission path in the split bearer mode is determined as the available transmission path of the target RB.

9. The method according to claim 5, wherein, When the indication message is a second MAC CE signaling, the entity receiving the indication message is a MAC entity, and the indication information includes: m deactivated transmission paths; and / or n active transmission paths, where m and n are positive integers, and m+n≤N; wherein the m deactivated transmission paths and / or the n active transmission paths are determined according to the second MAC CE signaling; The PDCP entity determines the available transmission path for the target RB based on the indication information, including: If the indication information includes the n active transmission paths, then the n active transmission paths are determined as the available transmission paths for the target RB; or, If the indication information only includes the m deactivated transmission paths, then the transmission paths other than the m deactivated transmission paths among the N transmission paths of the target RB are determined as available transmission paths.

10. A method for controlling a bearer, applied to a network-side device, wherein, The method includes: Send an indication message to the terminal, the indication message being used to indicate the activation or deactivation of the data copying function of the target radio bearer RB corresponding to the terminal, and / or to indicate the activation or deactivation of the transmission path of the target RB; The target RB is configured with a data replication function and has N transmission paths, where N is an integer greater than 2.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein, The instruction message is: Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling; or, The first media access control layer control unit MAC CE signaling, wherein the first MAC CE signaling is used to indicate activation or deactivation of the data copying function of the target RB; or, The second MAC CE signaling is used to indicate whether to activate or deactivate the transmission path of the target RB.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein: The second MAC CE signaling includes: a cell group identifier and / or a logical channel identifier; or, The second MAC CE signaling includes: a first field for identifying the target RB, and a second field for indicating the status of the transmission path with sequence number i among the N transmission paths of the target RB; Where i is an integer greater than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to N.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein, In the case that the target RB is a split bearer, the second MAC CE also includes a split bearer indication field for indicating whether the target RB has fallen back to the split bearer mode.

14. A terminal, wherein, The target radio bearer (RB) corresponding to the terminal is configured with a data replication function, and the target RB is configured with N transmission paths, where N is an integer greater than 2; the terminal includes: The receiving module is used to receive an indication message sent by the network-side device, the indication message being used to indicate the activation or deactivation of the data copying function of the target RB, and / or to indicate the activation or deactivation of the transmission path of the target RB; The determination module is used to determine the available transmission path of the target RB based on the indication message.

15. The terminal according to claim 14, wherein, The instruction message is: Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling; or, The first media access control layer control unit MAC CE signaling, wherein the first MAC CE signaling is used to indicate activation or deactivation of the data copying function of the target RB; or, The second MAC CE signaling is used to indicate whether to activate or deactivate the transmission path of the target RB.

16. The terminal according to claim 15, wherein: The second MAC CE signaling includes: a cell group identifier and / or a logical channel identifier; or, The second MAC CE signaling includes: a first field for identifying the target RB, and a second field for indicating the status of the transmission path with sequence number i among the N transmission paths of the target RB; Where i is an integer greater than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to N.

17. The terminal according to claim 16, wherein, In the case that the target RB is a split bearer, the second MAC CE also includes a split bearer indication field for indicating whether the target RB has fallen back to the split bearer mode.

18. The terminal according to any one of claims 14 to 17, wherein, The determining module includes: A sending unit is configured to send indication information to the PDCP entity corresponding to the target RB when the entity in the terminal receives the indication message; the indication information is determined according to the indication message. A determining unit is used by the PDCP entity to determine the available transmission path of the target RB based on the indication information.

19. The terminal according to claim 18, wherein, When the indication message is an RRC signaling message, and the RRC signaling message indicates that the data replication function of the target RB is deactivated, the entity receiving the indication message is an RRC entity, and the indication information is used to indicate that the data replication function of the target RB has been deactivated; The determining unit is specifically used for: Based on the indicated information, the transmission path of the target RB pre-configured by the network-side device is determined as the available transmission path of the target RB; or, When the target RB is a split bearer, the target RB is controlled to switch to split bearer mode according to the indication information, and the transmission path in the split bearer mode is determined as the available transmission path of the target RB.

20. The terminal according to claim 18, wherein, When the indication message is an RRC signaling message, and the RRC signaling message indicates that j transmission paths of the target RB are activated, the entity that receives the indication message is an RRC entity, and the indication information includes the j transmission paths, where j is a positive integer less than or equal to N; The determining unit is specifically used for: The j transmission paths are determined as the available transmission paths for the target RB.

21. The terminal according to claim 18, wherein, When the indication message is a first MAC CE signaling, and the first MAC CE signaling indicates that the data replication function of the target RB is deactivated, the entity receiving the indication message is a MAC entity, and the indication information is used to indicate that the data replication function of the target RB has been deactivated; The determining unit is specifically used for: Based on the indicated information, the transmission path of the target RB pre-configured by the network-side device is determined as the available transmission path of the target RB; or, When the target RB is a split bearer, the target RB is controlled to switch to split bearer mode according to the indication information, and the transmission path in the split bearer mode is determined as the available transmission path of the target RB.

22. The terminal according to claim 18, wherein, When the indication message is a second MAC CE signaling, the entity receiving the indication message is a MAC entity, and the indication information includes: m deactivated transmission paths; and / or n active transmission paths, where m and n are positive integers, and m+n≤N; wherein the m deactivated transmission paths and / or the n active transmission paths are determined according to the second MAC CE signaling; The determining unit is specifically used for: If the indication information includes the n active transmission paths, then the n active transmission paths are determined as the available transmission paths for the target RB; or, If the indication information only includes the m deactivated transmission paths, then the transmission paths other than the m deactivated transmission paths among the N transmission paths of the target RB are determined as available transmission paths.

23. A network-side device, comprising: The sending module is used to send an indication message to the terminal, the indication message being used to indicate the activation or deactivation of the data copying function of the target radio bearer RB corresponding to the terminal, and / or to indicate the activation or deactivation of the transmission path of the target RB; The target RB is configured with a data replication function and has N transmission paths, where N is an integer greater than 2.

24. The network-side device according to claim 23, wherein, The instruction message is: Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling; or, The first media access control layer control unit MAC CE signaling, wherein the first MAC CE signaling is used to indicate activation or deactivation of the data copying function of the target RB; or, The second MAC CE signaling is used to indicate whether to activate or deactivate the transmission path of the target RB.

25. The network-side device according to claim 24, wherein: The second MAC CE signaling includes: a cell group identifier and / or a logical channel identifier; or, The second MAC CE signaling includes: a first field for identifying the target RB, and a second field for indicating the status of the transmission path with sequence number i among the N transmission paths of the target RB; Where i is an integer greater than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to N.

26. The network-side device according to claim 25, wherein, In the case that the target RB is a split bearer, the second MAC CE also includes a split bearer indication field for indicating whether the target RB has fallen back to the split bearer mode.

27. A terminal comprising a processor, a memory, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the computer program, when executed by the processor, implements the steps of the control method carried out as described in any one of claims 1 to 9.

28. A network-side device, comprising a processor, a memory, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the computer program, when executed by the processor, implements the steps of the bearer control method as described in any one of claims 10 to 13.

29. A computer-readable storage medium, wherein, The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the bearer control method as described in any one of claims 1 to 9, or implements the steps of the bearer control method as described in any one of claims 10 to 13.