Method and apparatus for releasing a connection

Abstract

The present application provides a method and apparatus for releasing a connection. The upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device sends a release request message and first identification information to the second terminal device through the access layer, the release request message is used to request the second terminal device to release the unicast connection, and the first identification information is used to identify the unicast connection; the access layer of the first terminal device obtains the release indication information, so that the access layer of the first terminal device searches for the corresponding unicast connection based on the first identification information, and releases the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection based on the release indication information, which can realize the release of the access layer and help avoid waste of resources and energy saving of terminal devices.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the invention application with an application date of April 30, 2019, Chinese application number 201910365507.X, and application name “Method and device for releasing connection”. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communications, and more particularly, to a method and device for releasing a connection. Background Art

[0003] In a device to device (D2D) system, unicast communication is supported between two user equipment (UE). An upper layer connection is established between two UEs in unicast communication. The upper layer refers to the vehicle to everything (V2X) layer above the access layer; the upper layer connection is called a PC5-S connection. D2D does not support the establishment of a connection at the access (AS) layer for unicast connections, that is, the maintenance and detection of unicast connections are all performed at the V2X layer. The current unicast connection detection mechanism is a keep-alive mechanism. In this unicast connection detection mechanism, the initiating user equipment (UE) sends a keep-alive message to the peer UE and starts a timer T4101. If an acknowledgment ack message is received from the peer UE, T4101 is stopped and the keep-alive process ends. At this time, it is considered that the connection between the two UEs still exists. If the UE still does not receive the ACK message from the peer UE before T4101 times out, the UE will retransmit the keep-alive message. If the maximum number of retransmissions is reached and the ACK message from the peer UE is still not received, the UE will consider that the current connection no longer exists.

[0004] Furthermore, in the prior art, there is no clear definition for the release of the AS layer of the terminal device. Summary of the invention

[0005] In view of this, the present application provides a method and apparatus for releasing a connection, which can realize the release of the access layer and help avoid waste of resources.

[0006] In the first aspect, a method for releasing a connection is provided, comprising: an upper layer of an access layer of a first terminal device sends a release request message and first identification information to an access layer of the first terminal device, the release request message is used to request a second terminal device to release a unicast connection, and the first identification information is used to identify the unicast connection; the access layer of the first terminal device obtains release indication information; the access layer of the first terminal device releases the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection based on the release indication information and the first identification information. The unicast connection is a unicast connection on a sidelink, and the sidelink is a wireless transmission link between the first terminal device and the second terminal device. Therefore, the access layer of the first terminal device searches for the corresponding unicast connection based on the first identification information, and releases the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection based on the release indication information, which can realize the release of the access layer and help avoid waste of resources.

[0007] In a possible implementation, the access layer of the first terminal device obtains the release indication information, including: the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device sends first indication information to the access layer of the first terminal device, the first indication information is used to indicate that the release request message is a unicast connection release request message, wherein the first indication information is the release indication information. Therefore, when the access layer of the first terminal device obtains the first indication information sent by the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device, it deems that the trigger indication information is obtained, and thus releases the access layer.

[0008] In a possible implementation, the access layer of the first terminal device obtains the release information, including: the access layer of the first terminal device sends the release request message to the access layer of the second terminal device; the access layer of the first terminal device receives a release confirmation message from the access layer of the second terminal device, the release confirmation message is used to respond to the release request message, and the release confirmation message is the release indication information. Therefore, after receiving the release confirmation message from the second terminal device, the access layer of the first terminal device can be considered to have obtained the trigger indication information, thereby releasing the access layer.

[0009] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device sends first indication information to the access layer of the first terminal device, the first indication information is used to indicate that the release request message is a unicast connection release request message; the first terminal device sends a first RRC message to the second terminal device, the first RRC message is used to instruct the second terminal device to release the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection; accordingly, the access layer of the first terminal device obtains the release information, including: the first terminal device receives a second RRC message from the second terminal device, the second RRC message is used to respond to the first RRC message, and the second RRC message is the release indication information. Therefore, after receiving the second RRC message from the second terminal device, the access layer of the first terminal device can be considered to have obtained the trigger indication information, thereby releasing the access layer.

[0010] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the access layer of the first terminal device sends the release request message to the access layer of the second terminal device; the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device releases the unicast connection of the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device; accordingly, the access layer of the first terminal device obtains release indication information, including: the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device sends second indication information to the access layer of the first terminal device, the second indication information is used to notify the access layer of the first terminal device that the upper layer of the first terminal device has completed the release, and the second indication information is the release indication information. Therefore, after receiving the second indication information from the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device, the access layer of the first terminal device can be considered to have obtained the trigger indication information, thereby releasing the access layer.

[0011] In one possible implementation, the access layer of the first terminal device obtains release indication information, including: the first terminal device receives third indication information from the network device, the third indication information is used to instruct the first terminal device to release the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection, and the third indication information is the release indication information. Therefore, after receiving the third indication information from the network device, the access layer of the first terminal device can be considered to have obtained the trigger indication information, thereby releasing the access layer. Optionally, the method also includes: the first terminal device sends a first signaling to the network device, and the first signaling includes the first identification information.

[0012] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the first terminal device sends a third RRC message to the second terminal device, the third RRC message includes the release request message, and the third RRC message is used to instruct the second terminal device to release the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection; accordingly, the access layer of the first terminal device obtains release indication information, including: the first terminal device receives a fourth RRC message from the second terminal device, the fourth RRC message indicates that the access layer of the second terminal device has been successfully released, the fourth RRC message includes a release confirmation message, the release confirmation message is used to indicate that the upper layer of the access layer of the second terminal device has been successfully released, and the fourth RRC message is the release indication information; the access layer of the first terminal device delivers the release confirmation message in the fourth RRC message to the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device. Therefore, when the first terminal device receives the fourth RRC message from the second terminal device, it can be considered that the trigger indication information has been obtained, thereby releasing the access layer.

[0013] Optionally, in the various possible implementations described above, the method further includes: the first terminal device sends a notification message to the network device, and the notification message is used to notify the network device that the unicast connection of the access layer of the first terminal device has been released. Optionally, the notification message includes an updated target identifier list. Therefore, after completing the release of the access layer, the first terminal device can inform the network device so that the network device no longer maintains the context configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection, thereby saving resource space of the network device.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the access layer of the first terminal device sends fourth indication information to the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device, and the fourth indication information is used to instruct the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device to perform unicast connection detection. The upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device initiates a unicast connection detection process based on the fourth indication information, for example, using a keep alive mechanism to perform detection. Therefore, the access layer of the first terminal device can actively instruct the upper layer to perform unicast connection detection, that is, the detection method is more flexible.

[0015] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: an upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device determines to release the unicast connection. If the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device determines that the unicast connection is unavailable or does not exist, it may decide to release the unicast connection.

[0016] In a possible implementation, the access layer of the first terminal device sends the fourth indication information to the upper layer of the first terminal device, including: the access layer of the first terminal device sends the fourth indication information to the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device based on a preset time. Therefore, the access layer of the first terminal device can instruct the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device to perform unicast connection detection according to the preset time.

[0017] Optionally, the preset time is achieved by a timer.

[0018] In a second aspect, a method for releasing a connection is provided, comprising: a network device receives a first signaling from a first terminal device, the first signaling includes the first identification information, and the first identification information is used to identify a unicast connection; the network device deletes the configuration corresponding to the unicast connection based on the first identification information; the network device sends a third indication information to the first terminal device, the third indication information is used to instruct the first terminal device to release the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection, the third indication information is a release indication information, and the release indication information is used for the first terminal device to release the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection. Therefore, after receiving the first identification information, the network device can instruct the first terminal device to release the configuration of the access layer.

[0019] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the network device receives notification information from the first terminal device, the notification information is used to notify the network device that the access layer unicast connection of the first terminal device has been released, and the notification information includes an updated target identifier list.

[0020] Here, after receiving the notification information, the network device may no longer maintain the context configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection, thereby saving resource space of the network device.

[0021] In a third aspect, a method for releasing a connection is provided, comprising: a second terminal device receives a first RRC message from a first terminal device, the first RRC message is used to instruct the second terminal device to release the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection; the access layer of the second terminal device releases the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection according to the first RRC message; the second terminal device sends a second RRC message to the first terminal device, the second RRC message is used to respond to the first RRC message. Therefore, after releasing the configuration of the access layer, the second terminal device can inform the first terminal device so that the access layer of the first terminal device also makes a corresponding release.

[0022] In a fourth aspect, a method for releasing a connection is provided, comprising: an upper layer of an access layer of a second terminal device receives a release request message, wherein the release request message is used to instruct the second terminal device to release the unicast connection; an upper layer of the access layer of the second terminal device generates a release confirmation message, wherein the release confirmation message is used to respond to the release request message; the upper layer of the access layer of the second terminal device sends the release confirmation message and fifth indication information to the access layer of the second terminal device, wherein the fifth indication information is used to instruct the access layer of the second terminal device to release the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection; the access layer of the second terminal device sends the release confirmation message to the first terminal device; the access layer of the second terminal device releases the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection.

[0023] Therefore, after receiving the release request message, the second terminal device releases the upper layer configuration of the unicast connection and generates a release confirmation message and the fifth indication information; the access layer of the second terminal device will release the access layer configuration corresponding to the unicast connection only after sending the release confirmation message to the first terminal device.

[0024] In a fifth aspect, a method for releasing a connection is provided, comprising: a second terminal device receives a third RRC message from a first terminal device, the third RRC message including a release request message, and the third RRC message is used to instruct the second terminal device to release the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection; the access layer of the second terminal device sends the release request message to the upper layer of the access layer of the second terminal device; the upper layer of the access layer of the second terminal device generates a release confirmation message, and sends the release confirmation message to the access layer of the second terminal device; the access layer of the second terminal device sends a fourth RRC message to the first terminal device, the fourth RRC message indicates that the access layer of the second terminal device has been successfully released, and the fourth RRC message includes the release confirmation message, and the release confirmation message is used to indicate that the upper layer of the access layer of the second terminal device has been successfully released.

[0025] Therefore, the second terminal device sends the fourth RRC message to the first terminal device, causing the access layer of the first terminal device to release the access layer.

[0026] In a sixth aspect, a method for releasing a connection is provided, comprising: an access layer of a terminal device sends fourth indication information to an upper layer of the access layer of the terminal device, the fourth indication information being used to instruct the upper layer of the access layer of the terminal device to perform unicast connection detection; the upper layer of the access layer of the terminal device performs the unicast connection detection based on the fourth indication information. Therefore, the access layer of the first terminal device can actively instruct the upper layer to perform unicast connection detection, that is, the detection method is relatively flexible.

[0027] In a possible implementation, the access layer of the terminal device sends detection indication information to the upper layer of the terminal device, including: the terminal device sends the detection indication information to the upper layer of the first terminal device based on a preset time.

[0028] Therefore, the access layer of the terminal device can instruct the upper layer of the access layer of the terminal device to perform unicast connection detection according to the preset time.

[0029] Optionally, the preset time is achieved by a timer.

[0030] In the seventh aspect, a communication device is provided, which includes a module for executing the method in the above-mentioned first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect, or a module for executing the method in the above-mentioned sixth aspect or any possible implementation of the sixth aspect.

[0031] In an eighth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a module for executing the method in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0032] In the ninth aspect, a communication device is provided, which is used for a module of the method in the third aspect or any possible implementation of the third aspect, or is used for a module of the method in the fourth aspect or any possible implementation of the fourth aspect, or includes a module for executing the method in the fifth aspect or any possible implementation of the fifth aspect.

[0033] In a tenth aspect, a communication device is provided, which may be a terminal device in the above method design, or a chip set in the terminal device. The communication device includes: a processor, coupled to a memory, and can be used to execute instructions in the memory to implement the method executed by the first terminal device in the above first aspect and any possible implementation thereof, or to implement the method executed by the terminal device in the above sixth aspect and any possible implementation thereof. Optionally, the communication device also includes a memory. Optionally, the communication device also includes a communication interface, and the processor is coupled to the communication interface.

[0034] When the communication device is a terminal device, the communication interface may be a transceiver, or an input / output interface.

[0035] When the communication device is a chip arranged in a terminal device, the communication interface may be an input / output interface.

[0036] Optionally, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface may be an input / output circuit.

[0037] In an eleventh aspect, a communication device is provided, which may be a network device in the above method design, or a chip set in the network device. The communication device includes: a processor, coupled to a memory, and can be used to execute instructions in the memory to implement the method executed by the network device in the above second aspect and any possible implementation thereof. Optionally, the communication device also includes a memory. Optionally, the communication device also includes a communication interface, and the processor is coupled to the communication interface.

[0038] When the communication device is a network device, the communication interface may be a transceiver, or an input / output interface.

[0039] When the communication device is a chip disposed in a network device, the communication interface may be an input / output interface.

[0040] Optionally, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface may be an input / output circuit.

[0041] In a twelfth aspect, a communication device is provided, which may be a terminal device in the above-mentioned method design, or a chip set in the terminal device. The communication device includes: a processor, coupled with a memory, and can be used to execute instructions in the memory to implement the method executed by the second terminal device in the above-mentioned third aspect and any possible implementation thereof, or to implement the method executed by the second terminal device in the above-mentioned fourth aspect and any possible implementation thereof, or to implement the method executed by the second terminal device in the above-mentioned fifth aspect and any possible implementation thereof. Optionally, the communication device also includes a memory. Optionally, the communication device also includes a communication interface, and the processor is coupled to the communication interface.

[0042] When the communication device is a terminal device, the communication interface may be a transceiver, or an input / output interface.

[0043] When the communication device is a chip arranged in a terminal device, the communication interface may be an input / output interface.

[0044] Optionally, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface may be an input / output circuit.

[0045] In the thirteenth aspect, a program is provided, which, when executed by a processor, is used to execute any method in the first aspect and its possible implementation methods, or to execute any method in the second aspect and its possible implementation methods, or to execute any method in the third aspect, the fourth aspect or the fifth aspect and their possible implementation methods, or to execute any method in the sixth aspect and its possible implementation methods.

[0046] In a fourteenth aspect, a program product is provided, comprising: a program code, wherein when the program code is executed by a communication unit, a processing unit or a transceiver, or a processor of a communication device (e.g., a terminal device), the communication device executes any method in the above-mentioned first aspect and any method in its possible implementation manner, or the communication device executes any method in the above-mentioned second aspect and any method in its possible implementation manner, or the communication device executes any method in the above-mentioned third aspect or fourth aspect or fifth aspect and any method in its possible implementation manner, or the communication device executes any method in the above-mentioned sixth aspect and any method in its possible implementation manner.

[0047] In the fifteenth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores a program, and when the program is executed, the communication device (e.g., a terminal device) executes any method in the above-mentioned first aspect and any method in its possible implementation manner, and the communication device (e.g., a terminal device) executes any method in the above-mentioned third aspect and any method in its possible implementation manner; or, when the program is executed, the communication device (e.g., a terminal device) executes any method in the above-mentioned fourth aspect and any method in its possible implementation manner, or, the communication device (e.g., a terminal device) executes any method in the above-mentioned fifth aspect and any method in its possible implementation manner, or, the communication device (e.g., a terminal device) executes any method in the above-mentioned sixth aspect and any method in its possible implementation manner.

[0048] In the sixteenth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores a program, and when the program is executed, the communication device (for example, a network device) executes any method in the above-mentioned second aspect and its possible implementation methods.

[0049] In a seventeenth aspect, a communication system is provided, including: a first terminal device, a second terminal device, and a network device, wherein the first terminal device is used to execute any method in the first aspect and any possible implementation manner thereof, the network device is used to execute any method in the second aspect and any possible implementation manner thereof, and the second terminal device is used to execute any method in the third aspect, the fourth aspect, or the fifth aspect and any possible implementation manner thereof;

[0050] Alternatively, the first terminal device is used to execute any method in the above-mentioned sixth aspect and its possible implementation methods.

[0051] Optionally, the communication system may further include other devices that interact or communicate with one or more of the first terminal device, the second terminal device and the network device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0052] Figure 1is an example diagram of a system architecture to which an embodiment of the present application is applied;

[0053] Figure 2 is a schematic flow chart of a method for releasing a connection according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] Figure 3 is a schematic flow chart of a method for releasing a connection according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0055] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of an example according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] Figure 5 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] Figure 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] Figure 7 is a schematic block diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] Figure 8 It is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0060] Fig. 9 is a schematic block diagram of yet another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0061] Fig.10 It is a schematic structural diagram of yet another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0062] The technical solution in this application will be described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0063] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified, “plurality” or “multiple items” means two or more.

[0064] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, for example: global system for mobile communications (GSM) system, code division multiple access (CDMA) system, wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) system, general packet radio service (GPRS), long term evolution (LTE) system, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, LTE time division duplex (TDD), universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communication system, future fifth generation (5G) system or new radio (NR), vehicle to everything (V2X) system, device to device (D2D), etc. Optionally, the V2X system may specifically be any one of the following systems: vehicle to network (V2N), vehicle to vehicle (V2V), vehicle to pedestrian (V2P) and vehicle to infrastructure (V2I).

[0065] One participant of V2N is the terminal device, and the other participant is the service entity. V2N is currently the most widely used form of vehicle networking. Its main function is to connect vehicles to cloud servers through mobile networks, thereby providing navigation, entertainment, anti-theft and other functions through cloud servers.

[0066] Both participants in V2P are terminal devices. V2V can be used as information exchange reminders between vehicles, and its most typical application is in the anti-collision safety system between vehicles.

[0067] Both participants in V2P are terminal devices. V2P can be used to provide safety warnings to pedestrians or non-motor vehicles on the road.

[0068] One participant in V2I is the terminal device, and the other participant is the infrastructure (or road facilities). V2I can be used for communication between vehicles and infrastructure. For example, the infrastructure can be roads, traffic lights, roadblocks, etc., and road management information such as traffic light signal timing can be obtained.

[0069] The terminal device in the embodiment of the present application may refer to user equipment (UE), subscriber station (SS), customer premise equipment (CPE), access terminal, subscriber unit, subscriber station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent or user device. The terminal device may also be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a future 5G network or a terminal device in a future evolved public land mobile communication network (PLMN), etc., and the embodiment of the present application does not limit this. The terminal device may also be a software and / or hardware module deployed in an autonomous vehicle, a smart car, a digital car or a vehicle network car. The terminal device in the embodiments of the present application may refer to a D2D device, a V2X device, or a road side unit (RSU).

[0070] The network device in the embodiment of the present application can be a device for communicating with a terminal device. The network device can be a base station (base transceiver station, BTS) in a global system for mobile communications (GSM) system or code division multiple access (CDMA), or a base station (NodeB, NB) in a wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) system, or an evolved base station (evolved NodeB, eNB or eNodeB) in an LTE system, or a wireless controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario, or the network device can be a relay station, an access point, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a network device (gNB) in a future 5G network, or a network device in a future evolved PLMN network, etc., and the embodiment of the present application is not limited.

[0071] In an embodiment of the present application, a terminal device or a network device includes a hardware layer, an operating system layer running on the hardware layer, and an application layer running on the operating system layer. The hardware layer includes hardware such as a central processing unit (CPU), a memory management unit (MMU), and a memory (also called main memory). The operating system can be any one or more computer operating systems that implement business processing through a process, such as a Linux operating system, a Unix operating system, an Android operating system, an iOS operating system, or a windows operating system. The application layer includes applications such as a browser, an address book, a word processing software, and an instant messaging software. In addition, the embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit the specific structure of the execution subject of the method provided in the embodiment of the present application, as long as it can communicate according to the method provided in the embodiment of the present application by running a program that records the code of the method provided in the embodiment of the present application, for example, the execution subject of the method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be a terminal device or a network device, or a functional module in a terminal device or a network device that can call a program and execute a program.

[0072] In addition, various aspects or features of the present application can be implemented as methods, devices or products using standard programming and / or engineering techniques. The term "product" used in this application covers computer programs that can be accessed from any computer-readable device, carrier or medium. For example, computer-readable media may include, but are not limited to: magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disks, floppy disks or tapes, etc.), optical disks (e.g., compact discs (CDs), digital versatile discs (DVDs), etc.), smart cards and flash memory devices (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), cards, sticks or key drives, etc.). In addition, the various storage media described herein may represent one or more devices and / or other machine-readable media for storing information. The term "machine-readable medium" may include, but is not limited to, wireless channels and various other media capable of storing, containing and / or carrying instructions and / or data.

[0073] Figure 1 FIG. 1 is an example diagram of a system architecture using an embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 As shown, the communication system includes: a V2X application server, a V2X device (including V2X device 1 and V2X device 2) and a network device. The V2X devices communicate with each other through the PC5 interface. The direct communication link between V2X devices can be called a sidelink (SL). The communication between the V2X device and the V2X application server needs to be forwarded through the network device, specifically: for the uplink, the transmitting V2X device sends the V2X data to the network device through the Uu interface, and the network device sends the data to the V2X application server for processing, and then the V2X application server sends it to the receiving V2X device; for the downlink, the V2X application server sends the V2X data to the network device, and the network device sends the V2X data to the V2X device through the Uu interface.

[0074] It should be understood that Figure 1 The V2X devices in this article are IoT devices, such as UE.

[0075] It should also be understood that Figure 1 The direction of the arrows in the figure is only described by way of example with reference to the V2X device 1 and does not constitute a limitation on the embodiments of the present application. In fact, the communication between the V2X device 1 and the V2X device 2 may be bidirectional, and the V2X device 2 may also perform uplink communication with the network device, without any specific limitation on this.

[0076] Currently, the unicast connection detection mechanism is performed at the V2X layer, lacking the connection maintenance process at the access layer. Figures 2 to 4A method for releasing a connection according to an embodiment of the present application is described.

[0077] Figure 2 FIG. 2 is a schematic flow chart of a method 200 for releasing a connection according to an embodiment of the present application. It should be understood that in the method 200, the behavior of the first terminal device side may be controlled or executed by the first terminal device or a module (eg, a chip) in the first terminal device. Figure 2 As shown, the method 200 includes:

[0078] S210, the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device sends a release request message and first identification information to the access layer of the first terminal device, the release request message is used to request the second terminal device to release the unicast connection, and the first identification information is used to identify the unicast connection. The unicast connection is a unicast connection on a sidelink, and the sidelink is a wireless transmission link between the first terminal device and the second terminal device.

[0079] The access (AS) layer includes one or more of the following: a service data adaptation protocol layer, a radio resource control layer, a sidelink radio resource control layer, a media access control layer, and a physical layer. The upper layer of the access layer of the terminal device can be called a non-access layer. The non-access layer includes an application (APP) layer or a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) layer. It should be understood that the description of the access layer and the non-access layer is applicable to the first terminal device or the second terminal device.

[0080] The release request message may be a PC5-S connection release message, and may be, for example, V2X layer signaling, such as PC5-S signaling, or may be an inter-layer source language.

[0081] The first identification information may be generated or allocated by the first terminal device itself. The first identification information may be an ID of a unicast connection, used to identify the unicast connection. For example, it may be an identifier allocated by the V2X layer to the unicast connection.

[0082] The first terminal device and the second terminal device can be transceivers to each other. For example, the first terminal device is a transmitter and the second terminal device is a receiver. For another example, the first terminal device is a receiver and the first terminal device is a transmitter.

[0083] Optionally, before S210, the method further includes: the upper layer of the first terminal device determines to release the unicast connection. Specifically, the upper layer of the first terminal device may determine to release the unicast connection when it finds that the unicast connection is unavailable, or may determine to release the unicast connection after the service data transmission of the unicast connection is completed. After determining to release the unicast connection, the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device may execute S210. Of course, this does not limit the embodiments of the present application.

[0084] Among them, "unicast connection is unavailable" can be understood as: the unicast connection has been deleted, the unicast connection does not exist, the communication quality of the unicast connection is poor, etc.

[0085] Here, the embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit how the first terminal device determines whether the unicast connection is unavailable. For example, a keep-alive mechanism may be used, or another embodiment provided by the present application, namely method 300 (which will be described in detail below), or other methods may be used.

[0086] S220, the access layer of the first terminal device obtains release indication information.

[0087] The access layer of the first terminal device can obtain the release indication information in a variety of ways. For example, the access layer of the first terminal device generates the release indication information itself, or obtains the release indication information from a network device, or obtains the release indication information from the second terminal device, or obtains the release indication information from an upper layer of the first terminal device.

[0088] S230: The access layer of the first terminal device releases the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection based on the release indication information and the first identification information.

[0089] The first identification information may include a source identification (e.g., source ID) and / or a destination identification (e.g., destination ID). The source identification may be an identification assigned by the first terminal device to the unicast connection. The destination identification may be an identification assigned by the second terminal device to the unicast connection. The unicast connection is established between the first terminal device and the second terminal device.

[0090] After obtaining the release indication information, the access layer of the first terminal device searches for the corresponding unicast connection based on the first identification information, and then releases the context or configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection. Specifically, the access layer of the first terminal device can release one or more of the following: the user plane bearer corresponding to the unicast connection, the signaling plane bearer corresponding to the unicast connection, the measurement configuration corresponding to the unicast connection, the resource pool corresponding to the unicast connection, and the side chain wireless bearer corresponding to the unicast connection. The side chain refers to the wireless direct communication link between the first terminal device and the second terminal device.

[0091] In an embodiment of the present application, the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device can trigger the access layer of the first terminal device to obtain release indication information by sending a release request message and first identification information to the access layer of the first terminal device, and then search for the corresponding unicast connection based on the first identification information, and finally release the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection based on the release indication information, thereby realizing the release of the access layer and helping to avoid waste of resources.

[0092] The following describes various ways in which the access layer of the first terminal device in an embodiment of the present application obtains release indication information.

[0093] Method 1

[0094] Optionally, the access layer of the first terminal device obtains release indication information, including: the upper layer of the first terminal device sends first indication information to the access layer of the first terminal device, and the first indication information is used to indicate that the release request message is a unicast connection release request message, wherein the first indication information is the release indication information.

[0095] The purpose of adding the first indication information here is that the access layer of the first terminal device may not be able to recognize the content of the release request message sent by the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device, so an indication information is needed to clearly tell the access layer of the first terminal device: the release request message is a unicast connection release request message. After obtaining the first indication information, the upper layer of the first terminal device can be considered to have obtained the release indication information, and thus release the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection based on the release indication information.

[0096] That is to say, in mode 1, the release indication information obtained by the access layer of the first terminal device comes from the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device.

[0097] Method 2

[0098] Optionally, the access layer of the first terminal device obtains release indication information, including:

[0099] The access layer of the first terminal device receives a release confirmation message from the access layer of the second terminal device, where the release confirmation message is used to respond to the release request message, and the release confirmation message is the release indication information.

[0100] Optionally, before the access layer of the first terminal device receives the release confirmation message from the access layer of the second terminal device, the access layer of the first terminal device may send the release request message to the access layer of the second terminal device.

[0101] Optionally, the release confirmation message indicates that the upper layer of the second terminal device has released the unicast connection, or indicates that the access layer of the second terminal device has released the context or configuration related to the unicast connection. Exemplarily, the release confirmation message may be PC5-S signaling.

[0102] Exemplarily, the first terminal device may transmit PC5-S signaling through a specific logical channel, so that the access layer of the second terminal device may identify the PC5-S signaling through a logical channel (logical channel, LCH) identifier ID.

[0103] Exemplarily, if the access layer of the first terminal device receives a release confirmation message from the access layer of the second terminal device, the access layer of the first terminal device can be informed that the access layer of the second terminal device has performed a corresponding release operation based on the release request message, and then understand the release confirmation message as release indication information, thereby releasing the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection based on the release indication information.

[0104] That is to say, in mode 2, the release indication information obtained by the access layer of the first terminal device comes from the access layer of the second terminal device.

[0105] Method 3

[0106] Optionally, the method 200 also includes: an upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device sends first indication information to the access layer of the first terminal device, and the first indication information is used to indicate that the release request message is a unicast connection release request message.

[0107] The first terminal device sends a first RRC message to the second terminal device, and the first RRC message is used to instruct the second terminal device to release the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection. Correspondingly, the second terminal device receives the first RRC message. The second terminal device can release the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection according to the first RRC message. The second terminal device sends a second RRC message to the first terminal device, and the second RRC message is used to respond to the first RRC message.

[0108] Correspondingly, the access layer of the first terminal device obtains release indication information, including: the first terminal device receives a second RRC message from the second terminal device, and the second RRC message is used to respond to the first RRC message. After the first terminal device receives the second RRC message from the second terminal device, it means that the connection between the first terminal device and the second terminal device has been released.

[0109] Specifically, after receiving the second RRC message sent by the second terminal device, the first terminal device releases the context or configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection. At this time, the second RRC message is the release indication information.

[0110] Among them, optionally, the first RRC message can be sent by the first terminal device to the second terminal device instructing the network device. Specifically, after the access layer of the first terminal device receives the first indication information from the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device, it further reports it to the network device, and the network device instructs the first terminal device to send it to the second terminal device. Alternatively, the first RRC message can also be sent by the access layer of the first terminal device to the second terminal device after receiving the first indication information from the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device, and there is no specific limitation on this.

[0111] Here, the access layer of the first terminal device may not be able to identify the content of the release request message sent by the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device, so an indication information is required to clearly tell the access layer of the first terminal device that the release request message is a unicast connection release request message.

[0112] The upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device sends the first indication information to the access layer of the first terminal device. In this way, after the access layer of the first terminal device learns that the release request message is a unicast connection release request message, it can notify the second terminal device through the first RRC message to release the access layer configuration of the unicast connection. The second terminal device can send a second RRC message to the first terminal device, that is, in response to a confirmation message of the first RRC message, and the second RRC message can indicate that the second terminal device has released the access layer configuration of the unicast connection. The access layer of the first terminal device can understand the second RRC message as the release indication information, thereby releasing the access layer configuration corresponding to the unicast connection based on the release indication information.

[0113] Alternatively, optionally, after the first terminal device sends the first RRC message to the second terminal device, the access layer of the first terminal device determines the release indication information itself.

[0114] For example, the first terminal device sends a first RRC message to the second terminal device. If, after a certain period of time, no release confirmation response is received from the second terminal device, i.e., a response to the first RRC message, then the access layer of the first terminal device decides to release the device by itself, i.e., the access layer of the first terminal device determines the release indication information by itself, thereby releasing the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection based on the release indication information.

[0115] For another example, the first RRC message may fail to be sent. The first terminal device sends the first RRC message to the second terminal device multiple times. For example, if the second RRC message from the second terminal device is not received after a certain period of time, the first terminal device will retransmit the first RRC message again. When the maximum number of retransmissions has been reached but it has not been successful, the access layer of the first terminal device decides to release it, that is, the access layer of the first terminal device determines the release indication information by itself, and thereby releases the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection based on the release indication information.

[0116] Therefore, in method 3, the release indication information obtained by the access layer of the first terminal device is determined based on the second RRC message of the second terminal device.

[0117] Method 4

[0118] Optionally, the method 200 also includes: the access layer of the first terminal device sends the release request message to the access layer of the second terminal device; the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device releases the unicast connection of the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device; accordingly, the access layer of the first terminal device obtains release indication information, including: the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device sends second indication information to the access layer of the first terminal device, the second indication information is used to notify the access layer of the first terminal device that the upper layer of the first terminal device has completed the release, and the second indication information is the release indication information.

[0119] For the second terminal device, after receiving the release request message, the upper layer of the access layer of the second terminal device determines to accept the release request; the upper layer of the access layer of the second terminal device generates a release confirmation message, and the release confirmation message is used to respond to the release request message; the upper layer of the access layer of the second terminal device sends the release confirmation message and the fifth indication information to the access layer of the second terminal device, and the fifth indication information is used to instruct the access layer of the second terminal device to release the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection; the access layer of the second terminal device sends the release confirmation message to the first terminal device; the access layer of the second terminal device releases the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection. Optionally, the fifth indication information can also be understood as being used to indicate that the upper layer has confirmed the release of the unicast connection, or understood as being used to indicate that the message is the release confirmation message.

[0120] That is to say, after receiving the release request message from the first terminal device, the upper layer of the access layer of the second terminal device can generate a release confirmation message, and then send the release confirmation message down to the access layer, and add an additional indication to instruct the access layer of the second terminal device to release the context / configuration. After the access layer of the second terminal device sends the release confirmation message to the first terminal device, it releases the context / configuration of the access layer of the second terminal device related to the unicast connection.

[0121] Optionally, the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device may decide by itself to release the unicast connection of the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device.

[0122] Alternatively, after receiving the release confirmation message, the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device can release the unicast connection of the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device. Specifically, after the first terminal device sends a release request message to the second terminal device, it receives a release confirmation message from the second terminal device, and the release confirmation message is used to respond to the release request message. After receiving the release confirmation message, the access layer of the first terminal device cannot recognize the content of the release confirmation message and will submit the release confirmation message to the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device.

[0123] After releasing the unicast connection of the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device, the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device sends a second indication message to the access layer of the first terminal device, and the second indication message is used to notify the access layer of the first terminal device that the upper layer of the first terminal device has completed the release. The access layer of the first terminal device may understand the second indication message as release indication message, thereby releasing the context / configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection based on the release indication message. Or, optionally, the second indication message is used to instruct the access layer of the first terminal device to release the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection. The access layer of the first terminal device may understand the second indication message as release indication message, thereby releasing the context / configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection based on the release indication message.

[0124] Alternatively, after receiving the second indication information, the first terminal device decides whether to release the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection, that is, determines the release indication information by itself.

[0125] Therefore, in mode 4, the release indication information obtained by the access layer of the first terminal device is determined based on the second indication information sent by the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device.

[0126] Method 5

[0127] Optionally, the access layer of the first terminal device obtains release indication information, including: the first terminal device receives third indication information from the network device, the third indication information is used to instruct the first terminal device to release the context / configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection, and the third indication information is the release indication information.

[0128] Optionally, the method 200 further includes: the first terminal device sends a first signaling to the network device, the first signaling including the first identification information. Correspondingly, the network device receives the first signaling. Optionally, the first signaling may be an RRC message sent by the first terminal device to the network device, for example, a sidelink UE notification message (sidelink UEinformation). Correspondingly, the network device receives the first signaling.

[0129] The first terminal device does not directly release the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection by itself, but carries the identification information of the unicast connection, that is, the first identification information, in the first signaling and sends it to the network device, with the purpose of requesting the network device to trigger the release of the access layer configuration of the network device corresponding to the unicast connection. After receiving the first signaling, the network device can generate third indication information and send it to the first terminal device to instruct the first terminal device to release the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection. The access layer of the first terminal device can understand the third indication information as release indication information, and release the context / configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection based on the release indication information.

[0130] Correspondingly, the network device releases or deletes the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection based on the first signaling; and sends a third indication message to the first terminal device, where the third indication message is used to instruct the first terminal device to release the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection.

[0131] The purpose of sending the first signaling to the network device here is that the network device will maintain the context or configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection. If the network device instructs the first terminal device to release the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection, the network device will also cancel or delete the maintained context or configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection, or release the context or configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection, which can avoid unnecessary occupation or waste of resource space and help save resource space of the network device.

[0132] That is to say, in mode 5, the release indication information obtained by the access layer of the first terminal device comes from the network device.

[0133] The situation described above corresponds to the situation where the first terminal device releases the configuration of the access layer based on the third indication information. Here, there is another situation: the first terminal device can release the configuration of the access layer by itself. At this time, for the network device, it is not a necessary step for the network device to receive the first signaling of the first terminal device.

[0134] Specifically, the first terminal device sends a notification message to the network device, indicating that the first terminal device has released the access layer configuration corresponding to the unicast connection based on other methods (such as self-determination). Correspondingly, after receiving the notification message, the network device can delete the configuration corresponding to the unicast connection.

[0135] Method 6

[0136] Optionally, the method 200 further includes: the first terminal device sends a third RRC message to the second terminal device, the third RRC message is used to instruct the second terminal device to release the access layer configuration of the unicast connection, and the third RRC message may also include a release request message. Correspondingly, the second terminal device receives the third RRC message. The third RRC message includes the first identification information, or the third RRC message is sent using the first identification information.

[0137] Among them, "sending the third RRC message with the first identification information" can be understood as the first terminal device carrying the first identification information on the MAC header when sending the third RRC message to the second terminal device. For example, the MAC header includes a source identifier (e.g., source ID) and / or a destination identifier (e.g., destination ID). Alternatively, an optional implementation method is that the MAC header only carries a source identifier and a part of the destination identifier, and the other part of the destination identifier is carried in the physical layer. Alternatively, an optional implementation method is that the MAC header only carries a part of the source identifier and a part of the destination identifier, and the other part of the source identifier and the other part of the destination identifier are carried in the physical layer. The first identification information is used to indicate to the second terminal device that the third RRC message corresponds to the unicast connection.

[0138] After the second terminal device receives the third RRC message, the access layer of the second terminal device sends the release request message in the third RRC message to the upper layer of the access layer of the second terminal device. Next, the upper layer of the access layer of the second terminal device generates a release confirmation message and sends the release confirmation message to the access layer of the second terminal device. Subsequently, the second terminal device releases the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection, and the access layer of the second terminal device sends a fourth RRC message to the first terminal device. The fourth RRC message indicates that the access layer of the second terminal device has been successfully released. Optionally, the access layer of the second terminal device may also release the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection after sending the fourth RRC message.

[0139] The fourth RRC message may also include the release confirmation message, where the release confirmation message is used to indicate to the first terminal device that the upper layer of the access layer of the second terminal device has been successfully released.

[0140] Correspondingly, the access layer of the first terminal device obtains the release indication information, including: the first terminal device receives a fourth RRC message from the second terminal device, the fourth RRC message indicates that the access layer of the second terminal device has been successfully released, the fourth RRC message includes a release confirmation message, the release confirmation message is used to indicate that the upper layer of the access layer of the second terminal device is successfully released, and the fourth RRC message is the release indication information;

[0141] The access layer of the first terminal device delivers the release confirmation message in the fourth RRC message to the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device.

[0142] Here, the difference from mode 3 is that the first RRC message in mode 3 does not include the release request message and is only used to release the access layer connection of the unicast connection. The third RRC message sent here has two functions: one is the release request message included in the third RRC message, which is used to transmit the release request message, and the release request message is used to request the upper layer of the access layer of the second terminal device to release; the other is that the third RRC message itself is used to indicate that the second terminal device releases the access layer connection of the unicast connection. The second terminal device sends a fourth RRC message to the first terminal device, and the fourth RRC message also has two functions: one is the release confirmation message included in the fourth RRC message, which is used to transmit the release request confirmation message, and the release request confirmation message indicates that the upper layer of the access layer of the second terminal device is successfully released; the other is that the fourth RRC message itself is used to indicate that the second terminal device has successfully released the access layer connection of the unicast connection. The access layer of the first terminal device can deliver the release confirmation message in the fourth RRC message to the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device, so that the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device can release. The access layer of the first terminal device can understand the four RRC messages as release indication information, and thus release the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection based on the release indication information.

[0143] Alternatively, optionally, after the first terminal device sends a third RRC message to the second terminal device, the access layer of the first terminal device determines the release indication information itself.

[0144] For example, the first terminal device sends a third RRC message to the second terminal device. If, after a certain period of time, the fourth RRC message from the second terminal device is not received, i.e., a response message to the third RRC message, the access layer of the first terminal device decides to release the connection by itself, i.e., the access layer of the first terminal device determines the release indication information by itself, thereby releasing the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection based on the release indication information.

[0145] For another example, the third RRC message may fail to be sent, and the first terminal device sends the third RRC message to the second terminal device multiple times. For example, if the fourth RRC message from the second terminal device is not received after a certain period of time, the first terminal device will retransmit the third RRC message again. When the maximum number of retransmissions has been reached but it has not been successful, the access layer of the first terminal device decides to release it, that is, the access layer of the first terminal device determines the release indication information by itself, and thereby releases the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection based on the release indication information.

[0146] For the second terminal device, after receiving the third RRC message, the access layer of the second terminal device can submit the release request message in the third RRC message to the upper layer of the access layer of the second terminal device. Optionally, the access layer of the second terminal device can also submit the identification information of the unicast connection (for example, the second identification information) to the upper layer of the access layer of the second terminal device. The second identification information can be generated by the second terminal device for the unicast connection.

[0147] Among them, the second identification information may include a source identification (for example, source ID) and a destination identification (for example, destination ID). It should be noted that, for the second terminal device, the meaning of the ID included in the second identification information is different from the ID included in the first identification information on the first terminal device side. For example, on the first terminal device, the ID assigned by the first terminal device to the unicast connection is the source ID, and the ID assigned by the second terminal device to the unicast connection is the destination ID. On the second terminal device side, it is the opposite. The ID assigned by the first terminal device to the unicast connection is the destination ID, and the ID assigned by the second terminal device to the unicast connection is the source ID.

[0148] Optionally, before sending the third RRC message to the second terminal device, the first terminal device may report relevant release information of the unicast connection to the network device.

[0149] Optionally, the third RRC message may be sent by the network device to the second terminal device by instructing the first terminal device. Specifically, after receiving the first indication information from the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device, the access layer of the first terminal device requests the network device to send the third RRC message to the second terminal device, and the network device instructs the first terminal device to send the third RRC message to the second terminal device. Alternatively, the first RRC message may also be sent by the access layer of the first terminal device to the second terminal device after receiving the first indication information from the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device, and there is no specific limitation on this.

[0150] In the above various implementations, after the access layer of the first terminal device releases the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection, it can notify the network device. Optionally, the method 200 also includes:

[0151] The first terminal device sends a notification message to the network device, where the notification message is used to notify the network device that the access layer unicast connection of the first terminal device has been released, and the notification message includes an updated target identifier list.

[0152] The updated target identifier list does not include the target identifier corresponding to the deleted unicast connection, but includes the target identifiers corresponding to other unicast connections that have not been deleted.

[0153] Optionally, the updated target identifier list may also include multicast and broadcast identifiers. The multicast and broadcast identifiers are also called target identifiers, but their meanings are different from those of unicast target identifiers. Specifically, the multicast target identifier is used to identify a group, and the broadcast target identifier is used to identify a V2X service or V2X service type.

[0154] Specifically, after deleting the unicast connection, the first terminal device can update the target identifier list, delete the target identifier corresponding to the deleted unicast connection, and inform the network device. In this way, the network device does not need to maintain unnecessary context or configuration, thereby saving resource space of the network device.

[0155] The present application provides another embodiment, in which the access layer of the terminal device can actively instruct the upper layer of the access layer of the terminal device to perform unicast connection detection.

[0156] Figure 3 FIG. 3 is a schematic flow chart of a method 300 for releasing a connection according to another embodiment of the present application. It should be understood that in the method 300, the behavior of the terminal device side can be executed by the first terminal device or a module (eg, a chip) in the first terminal device. Figure 3 As shown, the method 300 includes:

[0157] S310, the access layer of the first terminal device sends fourth indication information to the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device, and the fourth indication information is used to instruct the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device to perform unicast connection detection.

[0158] Optionally, the fourth indication information may instruct an upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device to initiate a keep-alive detection.

[0159] Optionally, the fourth indication information may include identification information of the unicast connection, wherein the identification information of the unicast connection may include a layer 2 identifier (L2 ID) assigned by the first terminal device to the unicast connection, and the L2 ID may be a source ID used by the first terminal device when sending data of the unicast connection; or, the L2 ID may be an L2 ID assigned by the second terminal device (i.e., the opposite device of the first terminal device) to the unicast connection, i.e., a destination ID used by the first terminal device when sending the unicast connection. Alternatively, the identification information of the unicast connection includes a source ID and a destination ID. After receiving the fourth indication information, the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device may determine for which unicast connection to initiate a keep-alive process based on the identification information of the unicast connection included in the fourth indication information, generate a corresponding keep-live message, and send it to the access layer of the first terminal device for sending.

[0160] Optionally, the timing at which the access layer of the first terminal device sends the fourth indication information to the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device may depend on the first terminal device.

[0161] Optionally, for the unicast connection, the first terminal device may send the fourth indication information to an upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device at any time by the access layer of the first terminal device.

[0162] Optionally, the access layer of the first terminal device may send the fourth indication information to an upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device based on a preset time. The preset time may be an absolute time or a relative time. For example, the preset time may be a period or a moment.

[0163] For example, the access layer of the first terminal device may periodically send fourth indication information to an upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device according to a preset period.

[0164] For example, for the unicast connection, the first terminal device can send the fourth indication information to the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device based on a set of rules. For example, for a certain unicast connection, when the data of the unicast connection is not received and / or sent within a preset time, the access layer of the first terminal device can send the fourth indication information to the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device. The duration T of the preset time can be determined by the first terminal device itself, or it can be pre-configured, or it can be received from a network device. Optionally, the duration T of the preset time can be achieved by a timer. Specifically, after the first terminal device receives or sends the data of the unicast connection, it is necessary to start the timer, and the duration of the timer is T. If the data of the unicast connection has not been received or sent before the timer times out, the access layer of the first terminal device sends the fourth indication information to the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device.

[0165] Optionally, the timer can be maintained at the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer / radio link control (RLC) layer / media access control (MAC) layer, and the corresponding data is the protocol data unit (PDU) or service data unit (SDU) of the corresponding protocol layer.

[0166] S320: The upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device performs detection of the unicast connection based on the fourth indication information.

[0167] Specifically, after obtaining the fourth indication information, the first terminal device sends a detection message to the second terminal device. The second terminal device replies a confirmation message to the first terminal device, and the confirmation message is used to respond to the detection message, indicating that the unicast connection still exists. For example, if no confirmation message is received after the timeout, the first terminal device believes that the unicast connection does not exist. If the unicast connection does not exist, the first terminal device can execute the above method 200.

[0168] For ease of understanding, here we combine Figure 4 Assume that the first terminal device is an initiating UE and the second terminal device is a peer UE. Figure 4 As shown, the AS layer of the initiating UE sends the fourth indication information to the V2X layer of the initiating UE. After receiving the fourth indication information, the V2X layer of the initiating UE can initiate a keep-alive detection process. It should be understood that Figure 4Although the arrow of the keep-alive detection process is drawn between the V2X layers of the two UEs, this only means that the keep-alive process ends at the V2X layers of the two UEs from end to end, and does not mean that the V2X layer directly sends it to the V2X layer. The actual transmission still needs to rely on the AS layer for transmission. Specifically, the two messages of the keep-alive process can be carried on the user plane bearer of the corresponding unicast connection at the AS layer, or reported by the signaling bearer. If the existence of a unicast connection is detected, the V2X layer of the initiating UE sends an indication to the AS layer to indicate the existence of a unicast connection. Optionally, the fourth indication information may include identification information of the unicast connection.

[0169] It should be understood that the above method 300 can be implemented alone or in combination with the above method 200, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited to this.

[0170] It should also be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, the size of the serial numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0171] In the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or provided in a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between the different embodiments are consistent and may be referenced to each other, and the technical features in the different embodiments may be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

[0172] Combination of the above Figures 1 to 4 The method for releasing a connection according to an embodiment of the present application is described in detail. Figures 5 to 10 A communication device according to an embodiment of the present application is described. It should be understood that the technical features described in the method embodiment are also applicable to the following device embodiment.

[0173] Figure 5 A schematic block diagram of a communication device 500 according to an embodiment of the present application is shown. The device 500 is used to execute the method executed by the first terminal device in the method embodiment above. Optionally, the specific form of the device 500 can be a terminal device or a module (e.g., a chip) in the terminal device, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. For example, the device 500 is a first terminal device, and the device 500 includes: a transceiver module 510 and a processing module 520.

[0174] The transceiver module 510 is used to send a release request message and first identification information to the access layer of the first terminal device, where the release request message is used to request the second terminal device to release the unicast connection, and the first identification information is used to identify the unicast connection.

[0175] The processing module 520 is used to obtain release indication information; based on the release indication information and the first identification information, release the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection.

[0176] The unicast connection is a unicast connection on a side link, and the side link is a wireless transmission link between the first terminal device and the second terminal device.

[0177] In one possible implementation, the processing module 520 is used to obtain release indication information, specifically including: calling the transceiver module 510 to send first indication information to the access layer of the first terminal device, the first indication information being used to indicate that the release request message is a unicast connection release request message, wherein the first indication information is the release indication information.

[0178] In one possible implementation, the processing module 520 is used to obtain release indication information, specifically including: calling the transceiver module 510 to send the release request message to the access layer of the second terminal device; calling the transceiver module 510 to receive a release confirmation message from the access layer of the second terminal device, the release confirmation message being used to respond to the release request message, and the release confirmation message being the release indication information.

[0179] In one possible implementation, the processing module 520 is also used to: call the transceiver module 510 to send a first indication message to the access layer of the first terminal device, and the first indication message is used to indicate that the release request message is a unicast connection release request message; call the transceiver module 510 to send a first RRC message to the second terminal device, and the first RRC message is used to instruct the second terminal device to release the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection; accordingly, the processing module 520 is used to obtain the release indication information, specifically including: calling the transceiver module 510 to receive a second RRC message from the second terminal device, and the second RRC message is used to respond to the first RRC message, and the second RRC message is the release indication information.

[0180] In one possible implementation, the transceiver module 510 is also used to: send the release request message to the access layer of the second terminal device; the processing module 520 is also used to release the unicast connection of the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device; accordingly, the processing module 520 is used to obtain release indication information, specifically including: sending second indication information to the access layer of the first terminal device, the second indication information is used to notify the access layer of the first terminal device that the upper layer of the first terminal device has completed the release, and the second indication information is the release indication information.

[0181] In one possible implementation, the transceiver module 510 is also used to send a first signaling to the network device, and the first signaling includes the first identification information; accordingly, the processing module 520 is used to obtain release indication information, specifically including: receiving third indication information from the network device, and the third indication information is used to instruct the first terminal device to release the access layer configuration corresponding to the unicast connection, and the third indication information is the release indication information.

[0182] In one possible implementation, the transceiver module 510 is also used to send a third RRC message to the second terminal device, the third RRC message including the release request message, and the third RRC message is used to instruct the second terminal device to release the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection; accordingly, the processing module 520 is used to obtain release indication information, specifically including: calling the transceiver module 510 to receive a fourth RRC message from the second terminal device, the fourth RRC message indicating that the access layer of the second terminal device has been successfully released, the fourth RRC message including a release confirmation message, the release confirmation message is used to indicate that the upper layer of the access layer of the second terminal device has been successfully released, and the fourth RRC message is the release indication information; calling the transceiver module 510 to deliver the release confirmation message in the fourth RRC message to the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device.

[0183] In a possible implementation, the transceiver module 510 is further used to send notification information to the network device, where the notification information is used to notify the network device that the unicast connection of the access layer of the first terminal device has been released. Optionally, the notification information includes an updated target identifier list.

[0184] In a possible implementation, the transceiver module 510 is further used to send fourth indication information to an upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device, where the fourth indication information is used to instruct the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device to perform unicast connection detection.

[0185] In a possible implementation manner, the processing module 520 is further configured to determine to release the unicast connection.

[0186] Optionally, the transceiver module 510 is used to send detection indication information to the upper layer of the first terminal device, specifically including: based on a preset time, sending fourth indication information to the upper layer of the first terminal device.

[0187] It should be understood that the apparatus 500 according to the embodiment of the present application may correspond to the method of the first terminal device in the aforementioned method embodiment, for example, Figure 2The method in the embodiment, and the above-mentioned and other management operations and / or functions of each module in the device 500 are respectively for implementing the corresponding steps of the method of the first terminal device in the aforementioned method embodiment, so the beneficial effects in the aforementioned method embodiment can also be achieved. For the sake of brevity, they are not repeated here.

[0188] Alternatively, the apparatus 500 is also used to perform another embodiment of the present application. The apparatus 500 may be a first terminal device, specifically including:

[0189] A transceiver module, used to send fourth indication information to an upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device, where the fourth indication information is used to instruct the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device to perform unicast connection detection;

[0190] The processing module is used to perform detection of the unicast connection based on the fourth indication information.

[0191] The transceiver module is used to send detection indication information to the upper layer of the first terminal device, including: sending detection indication information to the upper layer of the terminal device based on a preset time.

[0192] It should be understood that the apparatus 500 according to the embodiment of the present application may correspond to the method of the terminal device in the foregoing method embodiment, for example, Figure 3 The method in the embodiment, and the above-mentioned and other management operations and / or functions of each module in the device 500 are respectively for implementing the corresponding steps of the method of the first terminal device in the aforementioned method embodiment, so the beneficial effects in the aforementioned method embodiment can also be achieved. For the sake of brevity, they are not repeated here.

[0193] It should also be understood that each module in the device 500 can be implemented in software and / or hardware form, and there is no specific limitation on this. In other words, the device 500 is presented in the form of functional modules. The "module" here can refer to an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a circuit, a processor and memory that executes one or more software or firmware programs, an integrated logic circuit, and / or other devices that can provide the above functions. Optionally, in a simple embodiment, a person skilled in the art can imagine that the device 500 can adopt Figure 6 The processing module 520 can be Figure 6 The transceiver module 1010 can be implemented by the processor 601 shown in FIG. Figure 6The transceiver 603 shown in the figure is implemented. Specifically, the processor is implemented by executing a computer program stored in the memory. Optionally, when the device 500 is a chip, the function and / or implementation process of the transceiver module 510 can also be implemented by pins or circuits. Optionally, the memory is a storage unit in the chip, such as a register, a cache, etc. The storage unit can also be a storage unit in the computer device located outside the chip, such as Figure 6 The memory 602.

[0194] The above-mentioned transceiver module 510 can be an internal logical interface of the first terminal device, which is used to realize the interaction between layers in the first terminal device, such as the interaction between the access layer and the upper layer.

[0195] Optionally, in hardware implementation, the transceiver module 510 may also be a transceiver. Figure 5 The communication unit (shown as a transceiver module 510) forms a communication interface in the communication unit. It should be understood that the communication interface can be a software or hardware interface. The communication interface can be a communication interface including wireless transceiver, or an interface for inputting digital signals after receiving wireless signals processed by other processing circuits, or a software or hardware interface for communicating with other modules.

[0196] Figure 6 FIG. 6 shows a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 600 according to an embodiment of the present application. Figure 6 As shown, the device 600 includes: a processor 601.

[0197] In one possible implementation, the device 600 is a first terminal device, and the processor 601 is used to call an interface to perform the following actions: sending a release request message and first identification information to the access layer of the first terminal device, the release request message is used to request the second terminal device to release the unicast connection, and the first identification information is used to identify the unicast connection; the processor 601 is used to obtain release indication information; based on the release indication information and the first identification information, the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection is released.

[0198] In another possible implementation, the apparatus 600 is a terminal device, and the processor 601 is used to call an interface to perform the following actions: sending a fourth indication message to an upper layer of an access layer of the terminal device, the fourth indication message being used to instruct the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device to perform detection of a unicast connection; and the processor 601 being used to perform detection of the unicast connection based on the fourth indication message.

[0199] It should be understood that the processor 601 can call an interface to perform the above-mentioned transceiver action, wherein the called interface can be a logical interface or a physical interface, which is not limited. Optionally, the physical interface can be implemented by a transceiver. Optionally, the device 600 also includes a transceiver 603.

[0200] Optionally, the device 600 further includes a memory 602 , in which the program code in the above method embodiment can be stored, so as to be called by the processor 601 .

[0201] Specifically, if the device 600 includes a processor 601, a memory 602, and a transceiver 603, the processor 601, the memory 602, and the transceiver 603 communicate with each other through an internal connection path to transmit control and / or data signals. In a possible design, the processor 601, the memory 602, and the transceiver 603 can be implemented by a chip, and the processor 601, the memory 602, and the transceiver 603 can be implemented in the same chip, or they can be implemented in different chips, or any two of the functions can be combined and implemented in one chip. The memory 602 can store program code, and the processor 601 calls the program code stored in the memory 602 to implement the corresponding function of the device 600.

[0202] It should be understood that the device 600 can also be used to execute other steps and / or operations on the first terminal device side in the previous embodiment, which are not described here for the sake of brevity.

[0203] Figure 7 A schematic block diagram of a communication device 700 according to an embodiment of the present application is shown. The device 700 is used to execute the method executed by the network device in the method embodiment above. Optionally, the specific form of the device 700 can be a network device or a module (e.g., a chip) in the network device, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. For example, the device 700 is a network device, and the device 700 includes: a transceiver module 710 and a processing module 720.

[0204] The transceiver module 710 is used to receive a first signaling from a first terminal device, where the first signaling includes the first identification information, and the first identification information is used to identify the unicast connection.

[0205] The processing module 720 is used to delete the configuration corresponding to the unicast connection based on the first identification information.

[0206] The transceiver module 710 is also used to send a third indication message to the first terminal device, where the third indication message is used to instruct the first terminal device to release the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection. The third indication message is a release indication message, which is used by the first terminal device to release the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection.

[0207] In a possible implementation, the transceiver module 710 is also used to receive notification information from the first terminal device, where the notification information is used to notify the network device that the access layer unicast connection of the first terminal device has been released, and the notification information includes an updated target identifier list.

[0208] It should be understood that the apparatus 700 according to the embodiment of the present application may correspond to the method of the network device in the foregoing method embodiment, for example, Figure 3 The method in the embodiment, and the above-mentioned and other management operations and / or functions of each module in the device 700 are respectively the corresponding steps of the method for implementing the network device in the aforementioned method embodiment, so the beneficial effects in the aforementioned method embodiment can also be achieved. For the sake of brevity, they are not described here.

[0209] It should also be understood that each module in the device 700 can be implemented in software and / or hardware form, and there is no specific limitation on this. In other words, the device 700 is presented in the form of functional modules. The "module" here can refer to an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a circuit, a processor and memory that executes one or more software or firmware programs, an integrated logic circuit, and / or other devices that can provide the above functions. Optionally, in a simple embodiment, a person skilled in the art can imagine that the device 700 can be implemented in the form of software and / or hardware. Figure 8 The processing module 720 can be Figure 8 The transceiver module 1010 can be implemented by the processor 801 shown in FIG. Figure 8 The transceiver 803 shown in the figure is implemented. Specifically, the processor is implemented by executing a computer program stored in the memory. Optionally, when the device 700 is a chip, the function and / or implementation process of the transceiver module 710 can also be implemented by pins or circuits. Optionally, the memory is a storage unit in the chip, such as a register, a cache, etc. The storage unit can also be a storage unit in the computer device located outside the chip, such as Figure 8 The memory 802.

[0210] Optionally, in hardware implementation, the transceiver module 710 may also be a transceiver. Figure 7 The communication unit (shown as a transceiver module 710) forms a communication interface in the communication unit. It should be understood that the communication interface can be a software or hardware interface. The communication interface can be a communication interface including wireless transceiver, or an interface for inputting digital signals after other processing circuits process received wireless signals, or a software or hardware interface for communicating with other modules.

[0211] Figure 8 FIG. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 800 according to an embodiment of the present application. Figure 8 As shown, the device 800 includes: a processor 801.

[0212] In a possible implementation, the processor 801 is used to call an interface to perform the following actions: receive a first signaling from a first terminal device, where the first signaling includes the first identification information, where the first identification information is used to identify the unicast connection; the processor 801 is used to delete a configuration corresponding to the unicast connection based on the first identification information;

[0213] The processor 801 is also used to call the interface to perform the following actions: sending a third indication message to the first terminal device, the third indication message being used to instruct the first terminal device to release the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection, the third indication message being release indication message, and the release indication message being used by the first terminal device to release the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection.

[0214] It should be understood that the processor 801 can call an interface to perform the above-mentioned transceiver action, wherein the called interface can be a logical interface or a physical interface, which is not limited. Optionally, the physical interface can be implemented by a transceiver. Optionally, the device 800 also includes a transceiver 803.

[0215] Optionally, the device 800 further includes a memory 802 , in which the program code in the above method embodiment can be stored, so as to be called by the processor 801 .

[0216] Specifically, if the device 800 includes a processor 801, a memory 802, and a transceiver 803, the processor 801, the memory 802, and the transceiver 803 communicate with each other through an internal connection path to transmit control and / or data signals. In a possible design, the processor 801, the memory 802, and the transceiver 803 can be implemented by a chip, and the processor 801, the memory 802, and the transceiver 803 can be implemented in the same chip, or they can be implemented in different chips, or any two of the functions can be combined and implemented in one chip. The memory 802 can store program code, and the processor 801 calls the program code stored in the memory 802 to implement the corresponding function of the device 800.

[0217] It should be understood that the device 800 can also be used to execute other steps and / or operations on the network device side in the previous embodiments, which are not described here for the sake of brevity.

[0218] Fig. 9A schematic block diagram of a communication device 900 according to an embodiment of the present application is shown. The device 900 is used to execute the method executed by the terminal device in the method embodiment above. Optionally, the specific form of the device 900 can be a terminal device or a module (e.g., a chip) in the terminal device, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. For example, the device 900 is a second terminal device, and the device 900 includes: a transceiver module 910 and a processing module 920.

[0219] The transceiver module 910 is used to receive a first RRC message from a first terminal device, where the first RRC message is used to instruct the second terminal device to release the access layer configuration corresponding to the unicast connection.

[0220] The processing module 920 is used to release the access layer configuration corresponding to the unicast connection according to the first RRC message.

[0221] The transceiver module 910 is also used to send a second RRC message to the first terminal device, where the second RRC message is used to respond to the first RRC message.

[0222] Alternatively, the device 900 is further used to execute another method, which is specifically as follows:

[0223] The transceiver module 910 is used to receive a release request message, where the release request message is used to instruct the second terminal device to release the unicast connection.

[0224] The processing module 920 is used to generate a release confirmation message, where the release confirmation message is used to respond to the release request message.

[0225] The transceiver module 910 is also used to send the release confirmation message and the fifth indication information to the access layer of the second terminal device, and the fifth indication information is used to instruct the access layer of the second terminal device to release the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection; the transceiver module 910 is also used to send the release confirmation message to the first terminal device; and release the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection.

[0226] Alternatively, the device 900 is further used to execute another method, which is specifically as follows:

[0227] The transceiver module 910 is used to receive a third RRC message from the first terminal device, where the third RRC message includes a release request message, and the third RRC message is used to instruct the second terminal device to release the access layer configuration corresponding to the unicast connection.

[0228] The transceiver module 910 is also used to send the release request message to the upper layer of the access layer of the second terminal device.

[0229] The processing module 920 is used to generate a release confirmation message and send the release confirmation message to the access layer of the second terminal device.

[0230] The transceiver module 910 is also used to send a fourth RRC message to the first terminal device, where the fourth RRC message indicates that the access layer of the second terminal device has been successfully released. The fourth RRC message includes the release confirmation message, which is used to indicate that the upper layer of the access layer of the second terminal device has been successfully released.

[0231] It should be understood that the device 900 according to the embodiment of the present application may correspond to the method of the second terminal device in the aforementioned method embodiment, and the above-mentioned and other management operations and / or functions of each module in the device 900 are respectively for implementing the corresponding steps of the method of the terminal device in the aforementioned method embodiment, and therefore the beneficial effects in the aforementioned method embodiment can also be achieved. For the sake of brevity, they are not elaborated here.

[0232] It should also be understood that each module in the device 900 can be implemented in software and / or hardware form, and there is no specific limitation on this. In other words, the device 900 is presented in the form of functional modules. The "module" here can refer to an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a circuit, a processor and memory that executes one or more software or firmware programs, an integrated logic circuit, and / or other devices that can provide the above functions. Optionally, in a simple embodiment, a person skilled in the art can imagine that the device 900 can adopt Fig.10 The processing module 920 can be Fig.10 The transceiver module 1010 can be implemented by the processor 1001 shown in FIG. Fig.10 The transceiver 1003 shown in the figure is implemented. Specifically, the processor is implemented by executing a computer program stored in the memory. Optionally, when the device 900 is a chip, the function and / or implementation process of the transceiver module 910 can also be implemented by pins or circuits. Optionally, the memory is a storage unit in the chip, such as a register, a cache, etc. The storage unit can also be a storage unit in the computer device located outside the chip, such as Fig.10 The memory 1002.

[0233] The transceiver module 910 may be an internal logic interface of the terminal device, and is used to implement interaction between layers in the terminal device, such as interaction between an access layer and an upper layer.

[0234] Optionally, in hardware implementation, the transceiver module 910 may also be a transceiver. Fig. 9The communication unit (shown as a transceiver module 910) forms a communication interface. It should be understood that the communication interface can be a software or hardware interface. The communication interface can be a communication interface including wireless transceiver, or an interface for inputting digital signals after receiving wireless signals processed by other processing circuits, or a software or hardware interface for communicating with other modules.

[0235] Fig.10 FIG. 1 shows a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 1000 according to an embodiment of the present application. Fig.10 As shown, the device 1000 includes: a processor 1001.

[0236] In one possible implementation, the processor 1001 is used to call the interface to perform the following actions: receive a first RRC message from a first terminal device, the first RRC message being used to instruct the second terminal device to release the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection; the processor 1001 is used to release the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection according to the first RRC message; the processor 1001 is also used to call the interface to perform the following actions: send a second RRC message to the first terminal device, the second RRC message being used to respond to the first RRC message.

[0237] In another possible implementation, the processor 1001 is used to call the interface to perform the following actions: receive a release request message, which is used to instruct the second terminal device to release the unicast connection; the processor 1001 is used to generate a release confirmation message, which is used to respond to the release request message; the processor 1001 is also used to call the interface to perform the following actions: send the release confirmation message and the fifth indication information to the access layer of the second terminal device, and the fifth indication information is used to instruct the access layer of the second terminal device to release the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection; the processor 1001 is also used to call the interface to perform the following actions: send the release confirmation message to the first terminal device; the processor 1001 is used to release the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection.

[0238] In another possible implementation, the processor 1001 is used to call the interface to perform the following actions: receive a third RRC message from the first terminal device, the third RRC message including a release request message, the third RRC message being used to instruct the second terminal device to release the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection; send the release request message to the upper layer of the access layer of the second terminal device; the processor 1001 is also used to generate a release confirmation message, and send the release confirmation message to the access layer of the second terminal device; the processor 1001 is also used to call the interface to perform the following actions: send a fourth RRC message to the first terminal device, the fourth RRC message indicating that the access layer of the second terminal device has been successfully released, the fourth RRC message including the release confirmation message, and the release confirmation message being used to indicate that the upper layer of the access layer of the second terminal device has been successfully released.

[0239] It should be understood that the processor 1001 can call an interface to perform the above-mentioned transceiver action, wherein the called interface can be a logical interface or a physical interface, which is not limited. Optionally, the physical interface can be implemented by a transceiver. Optionally, the device 1000 also includes a transceiver 1003.

[0240] Optionally, the device 1000 further includes a memory 1002 , in which the program code in the above method embodiment can be stored, so as to be called by the processor 1001 .

[0241] Specifically, if the device 1000 includes a processor 1001, a memory 1002, and a transceiver 1003, the processor 1001, the memory 1002, and the transceiver 1003 communicate with each other through an internal connection path to transmit control and / or data signals. In a possible design, the processor 1001, the memory 1002, and the transceiver 1003 can be implemented by a chip, and the processor 1001, the memory 1002, and the transceiver 1003 can be implemented in the same chip, or they can be implemented in different chips, or any two of the functions can be combined and implemented in one chip. The memory 1002 can store program code, and the processor 1001 calls the program code stored in the memory 1002 to implement the corresponding function of the device 1000.

[0242] It should be understood that the device 1000 can also be used to execute other steps and / or operations on the second terminal device side in the previous embodiments, which are not described here for the sake of brevity.

[0243] The method disclosed in the above embodiment of the present application can be applied to a processor or implemented by a processor. The processor may be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, each step of the above method embodiment can be completed by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in the processor or an instruction in the form of software. The above processor can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (digital signal processor, DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (application specific integrated circuit, ASIC), a field programmable gate array (field programmable gate array, FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gates or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, and can also be a system on chip (system on chip, SoC), a central processor unit (central processor unit, CPU), a network processor (network processor, NP), a digital signal processing circuit (digital signal processor, DSP), a microcontroller (micro controller unit, MCU), a programmable logic device (programmable logic device, PLD) or other integrated chips. The disclosed methods, steps and logic block diagrams in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented or executed. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or the processor can also be any conventional processor, etc. The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as being executed by a hardware decoding processor, or can be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module can be located in a storage medium mature in the art such as a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, or an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register, etc. The storage medium is located in a memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and completes the steps of the above method in combination with its hardware.

[0244] It can be understood that the memory in the embodiments of the present application can be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or can include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory can be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory can be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchronous link DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0245] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the numbers "first", "second", etc. introduced for the terms are only for distinguishing different objects, such as to distinguish different messages, etc., and do not constitute a limitation on the scope of the embodiments of the present application. The embodiments of the present application are not limited to this.

[0246] It should also be understood that in various embodiments of the present application, the size of the sequence number of each process does not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic. The various digital numbers or sequence numbers involved in the above-mentioned processes are only for the convenience of description and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0247] It should also be understood that the term "and / or" in this article is only a description of the association relationship of the associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / " in this article generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship.

[0248] The meaning of expressions similar to "the project includes one or more of the following: A, B, and C" in this application, unless otherwise specified, generally means that the project can be any of the following: A; B; C; A and B; A and C; B and C; A, B and C; A and A; A, A and A; A, A and B; A, A and C, A, B and B; A, C and C; B and B, B, B and B, B, B and C, C and C; C, C and C, and other combinations of A, B and C. The above is an example of three elements, A, B and C, to illustrate the optional items of the project. When it is expressed as "the project includes at least one of the following: A, B, ..., and X", that is, when there are more elements in the expression, the items that can be applied to the project can also be obtained according to the above rules.

[0249] Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

[0250] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0251] In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only schematic. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0252] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed on multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0253] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0254] If the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application can be essentially or partly embodied in the form of a software product that contributes to the prior art. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of the present application. The aforementioned storage media include: various media that can store program codes, such as USB flash drives, mobile hard disks, read-only memories (ROM), random access memories (RAM), magnetic disks or optical disks.

[0255] The above is only a specific implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art who is familiar with the present technical field can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, which should be included in the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: The access layer of the first terminal device sends fourth indication information to the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device, where the fourth indication information is used to instruct the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device to initiate a keep-alive process for a unicast connection; The upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device initiates a keep-alive process for the unicast connection according to the fourth indication information.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The fourth indication information includes identification information of the unicast connection.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The relevant information of the activation maintenance process is carried on the access layer signaling of the first terminal device.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The first terminal device sends a detection message to the second terminal device; If the first terminal device does not receive a confirmation message from the second terminal device after the timer expires, the first terminal device determines that the unicast connection does not exist, and the confirmation message is used to respond to the detection message. The unicast connection is a unicast connection on a side chain, and the side chain is a wireless transmission link between the first terminal device and the second terminal device.

5. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The access layer of the first terminal device sends fourth indication information to an upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device, including: The access layer of the first terminal device sends the fourth indication information to the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device based on a preset time.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The preset time is realized by a timer.

7. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The method further comprises: An upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device sends a release request message and first identification information to the access layer of the first terminal device, where the release request message is used to request the second terminal device to release the unicast connection, and the first identification information is used to identify the unicast connection; The access layer of the first terminal device sends the release request message to the access layer of the second terminal device; An upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device receives a release confirmation message from the second terminal device; An upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device releases the unicast connection of the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device; An upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device sends second indication information to the access layer of the first terminal device, where the second indication information is used to notify the access layer of the first terminal device that the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device has released the unicast connection; The access layer of the first terminal device releases the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection according to the second indication information.

8. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A transceiver module, used to send fourth indication information to an upper layer of an access layer of a first terminal device, wherein the fourth indication information is used to instruct the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device to initiate a keep-alive process for a unicast connection; A processing module is used to initiate a keep-alive process for the unicast connection according to the fourth indication information.

9. The device according to claim 8, characterized in that The fourth indication information includes identification information of the unicast connection.

10. The device according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that The relevant information of the activation maintenance process is carried on the access layer signaling of the first terminal device.

11. The device according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that The transceiver module is used to send a detection message to the second terminal device; If the transceiver module does not receive a confirmation message from the second terminal device after the timer times out, the processing module determines that the unicast connection does not exist, and the confirmation message is used to respond to the detection message. The unicast connection is a unicast connection on a side chain, and the side chain is a wireless transmission link between the first terminal device and the second terminal device.

12. The device according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that The transceiver module sends fourth indication information to an upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device, including: The transceiver module sends the fourth indication information to an upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device based on a preset time.

13. The device according to claim 12, characterized in that The preset time is realized by a timer.

14. The device according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that The transceiver module is further used to send a release request message and first identification information to the access layer of the first terminal device, wherein the release request message is used to request the second terminal device to release the unicast connection, and the first identification information is used to identify the unicast connection; The transceiver module is also used to send the release request message to the access layer of the second terminal device; The transceiver module is also used to receive a release confirmation message from the second terminal device; The processing module is further used to release the unicast connection of the upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device; The transceiver module is further used to send second indication information to the access layer of the first terminal device, where the second indication information is used to notify the access layer of the first terminal device that an upper layer of the access layer of the first terminal device has released the unicast connection; The processing module is further used to release the configuration of the access layer corresponding to the unicast connection according to the second indication information.

15. A communication device, characterized in that: It includes a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor or send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device, and the processor is used to implement the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 7 through a logic circuit or executing code instructions.

16. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The storage medium stores a program or an instruction, and when the program or the instruction is executed, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 is implemented.

17. A computer program product comprising instructions, characterized in that When the method is executed on a computer, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 is executed.

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