Long-term voucher sending method and device

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention discloses a long-term voucher sending method and device, which can be applied to systems of Internet of Vehicles, V2X, V2V and the like, and the method comprises the steps that a PCF sends a long-term voucher to terminal equipment, and the long-term voucher is used for the terminal equipment to establish sidelink communication connection. Therefore, a long-term voucher can be provided for the terminal equipment, so that the terminal equipment can establish sidelink communication connection.

Description

Long-term credential sending method and device Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a method and device for sending long-term credentials. Background Art

[0002] A terminal device can communicate with another terminal device through the relay of other terminal devices, or it can communicate directly with another terminal device.

[0003] Summary of the Invention

[0004] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method and apparatus for sending long-term credentials, which can provide long-term credentials for a terminal device to be used for the terminal device to establish a sidelink communication connection.

[0005] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method for sending a long-term credential, which is executed by a PCF, including: the PCF sends a long-term credential to a terminal device, wherein the long-term credential is used by the terminal device to establish a sidelink communication connection.

[0006] In this technical solution, the PCF sends a long-term credential to the terminal device, wherein the long-term credential is used by the terminal device to establish a sidelink communication connection. Thus, a long-term credential can be provided to the terminal device for use in establishing a sidelink communication connection.

[0007] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides another method for sending long-term credentials, which is executed by a terminal device, including: receiving a long-term credential sent by a PCF, wherein the long-term credential is used by the terminal device to establish a sidelink communication connection.

[0008] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication device that implements some or all of the functions of the PCF described in the method described in the first aspect. For example, the functions of the communication device may include some or all of the functions in the embodiments of the present disclosure, or may include the functions of implementing any one of the embodiments of the present disclosure separately. The functions may be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0009] The communication device includes: a transceiver module configured to send a long-term credential to a terminal device, wherein the long-term credential is used by the terminal device to establish a sidelink communication connection.

[0010] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides another communication device that has some or all of the functions of the terminal device in the method example described in the second aspect above. For example, the functions of the communication device may have some or all of the functions in the embodiments of the present disclosure, or may have the functions of implementing any one of the embodiments of the present disclosure alone. The functions may be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0011] The communication device includes: a transceiver module configured to receive a long-term credential sent by a PCF, wherein the long-term credential is used by a terminal device to establish a sidelink communication connection.

[0012] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication device, which includes a processor. When the processor calls a computer program in a memory, the method described in the first aspect is executed.

[0013] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication device, which includes a processor. When the processor calls a computer program in a memory, the method described in the second aspect is executed.

[0014] In the seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication device, which includes a processor and a memory, in which a computer program is stored; the processor executes the computer program stored in the memory so that the communication device executes the method described in the first aspect above.

[0015] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication device, which includes a processor and a memory, in which a computer program is stored; the processor executes the computer program stored in the memory so that the communication device executes the method described in the second aspect above.

[0016] In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication device, which includes a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is used to receive code instructions and transmit them to the processor, and the processor is used to run the code instructions to enable the device to execute the method described in the first aspect above.

[0017] In the tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication device, which includes a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is used to receive code instructions and transmit them to the processor, and the processor is used to run the code instructions to enable the device to execute the method described in the second aspect above.

[0018] In the eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication system, which includes the communication device described in the third aspect and the communication device described in the fourth aspect, or the system includes the communication device described in the fifth aspect and the communication device described in the sixth aspect, or the system includes the communication device described in the seventh aspect and the communication device described in the eighth aspect, or the system includes the communication device described in the ninth aspect and the communication device described in the tenth aspect.

[0019] In a twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing instructions used by the above-mentioned PCF, and when the instructions are executed, the PCF executes the method described in the first aspect.

[0020] In a thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a readable storage medium for storing instructions for the above-mentioned terminal device, and when the instructions are executed, the terminal device executes the method described in the second aspect.

[0021] In a fourteenth aspect, the present disclosure further provides a computer program product comprising a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method described in the first aspect above.

[0022] In a fifteenth aspect, the present disclosure further provides a computer program product comprising a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method described in the second aspect above.

[0023] In a sixteenth aspect, the present disclosure provides a chip system comprising at least one processor and an interface for supporting a PCF in implementing the functions described in the first aspect, such as determining or processing at least one of the data and information described in the aforementioned method. In one possible design, the chip system further comprises a memory for storing computer programs and data necessary for the PCF. The chip system may consist of a single chip or may include a chip and other discrete components.

[0024] In a seventeenth aspect, the present disclosure provides a chip system comprising at least one processor and an interface for supporting a terminal device in implementing the functions described in the second aspect, such as determining or processing at least one of the data and information described in the aforementioned method. In one possible design, the chip system further comprises a memory for storing computer programs and data necessary for the terminal device. The chip system may consist of a chip alone or may include a chip and other discrete components.

[0025] In an eighteenth aspect, the present disclosure provides a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method described in the first aspect above.

[0026] In a nineteenth aspect, the present disclosure provides a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method described in the second aspect above. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure or the background technology, the drawings required for use in the embodiments of the present disclosure or the background technology will be described below.

[0028] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of a U2U relay scenario provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0029] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0030] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0031] FIG4 is a flow chart of a method for sending a long-term credential provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0032] FIG5 is a flowchart of another method for sending long-term credentials provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0033] FIG6 is a flowchart of another method for sending long-term credentials provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0034] FIG7 is a flowchart of another method for sending long-term credentials provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0035] FIG8 is a flowchart of another method for sending long-term credentials provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0036] FIG9 is a flowchart of another method for sending long-term credentials provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0037] FIG10 is a flowchart of another method for sending long-term credentials provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0038] FIG11 is a flowchart of another method for sending long-term credentials provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0039] FIG12 is a flowchart of another method for sending long-term credentials provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0040] FIG13 is a structural diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0041] FIG14 is a structural diagram of another communication device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0042] FIG15 is a structural diagram of a chip provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0043] Long-term credentials are required when establishing a communication connection between a terminal device and another terminal device, another terminal device and another terminal device, and a terminal device directly and another terminal device.

[0044] To facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of the present disclosure, some terms involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure are briefly introduced below.

[0045] 1. Proximity Service (ProSe)

[0046] Proximity services are provided by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) system for devices in close proximity. ProSe services can support a variety of application scenarios, including public safety, the Internet of Things (IoT), and the Internet of Vehicles (IoV). ProSe technology primarily encompasses two aspects: ProSe discovery and ProSe communication. ProSe discovery allows devices to discover each other and pair with each other, while ProSe communication establishes a secure communication channel between devices for secure data communication.

[0047] In the Prose scenario, the source terminal device and the target terminal device can discover each other, complete pairing, establish a secure communication channel, and conduct secure data communication.

[0048] In a Prose scenario, when the source terminal device and the target terminal device cannot communicate directly, they can communicate with the target terminal device through a terminal device with a relay function (UE-to-UE relay, U2U relay). For example, the source terminal device sends the source terminal device information identifier and the target terminal device information identifier to the relay terminal device. The relay terminal device can determine the target terminal device based on the target terminal device information identifier and send a message to it. If the target terminal device agrees to communicate, it sends a response to the source terminal device through the relay terminal device.

[0049] 2. Vehicle to everything (V2X)

[0050] V2X can provide vehicle information through sensors or on-board terminal devices installed on the vehicle, realizing vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), vehicle-to-network (V2N), and vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communications.

[0051] 3. Ranging

[0052] Ranging is used to determine the distance between two terminal devices and / or the direction and / or position of one terminal device relative to another terminal device.

[0053] 4. Policy control function (PCF)

[0054] PCF includes policy control decision-making and flow-based charging control functions, including user subscription data management functions, policy control functions, charging policy control functions, QoS control, etc.

[0055] Exemplary embodiments will be described in detail herein, with examples illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the following description, unless otherwise indicated, like numbers in different figures represent like or similar elements. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments are not intended to represent all possible embodiments consistent with the present disclosure. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatus and methods consistent with certain aspects of the present disclosure, as detailed in the appended claims.

[0056] The terms used in this disclosure are for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and are not intended to limit the disclosure. As used in this disclosure and the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," "the," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the term "and / or" as used herein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0057] It should be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used in this disclosure to describe various information, such information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish information of the same type from each other. For example, without departing from the scope of this disclosure, first information may also be referred to as second information, and similarly, second information may also be referred to as first information. Depending on the context, for example, the word "if" as used herein may be interpreted as "at the time of" or "when" or "in response to determining."

[0058] It should be noted that the information (including but not limited to user device information, user personal information, terminal device information, etc.), data (including but not limited to data used for analysis, stored data, displayed data, etc.) and signals involved in this disclosure are all authorized by the user or fully authorized by all parties, and the collection, use and processing of relevant data must comply with the relevant laws, regulations and standards of relevant countries and regions.

[0059] Please refer to Figure 1, which is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of a U2U relay scenario provided by the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 1, the network architecture includes at least three terminal devices. It should be understood that the terminal devices in the embodiments of the present disclosure may also be referred to as: user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent or user device, etc. The network architecture includes at least one source terminal device (source UE), one relay terminal device (relay UE) and one target terminal device (Target UE). Among them, source UE may also be referred to as sending UE, and Target UE may also be referred to as receiving UE, which is not specifically limited in the present disclosure.

[0060] During U2U (i.e., UE to UE) relay communication, the source UE communicates with the target UE through one or more relay UEs. The source UE and the target UE can transmit data and signaling through the relay UE. This scenario can be used to enhance sidelink (SL) coverage (for example, when the source UE and the target UE have poor coverage signals or are out of coverage) or improve capacity (for example, when the relay UE is a highly capable device). The source UE, relay UE, and target UE can be in radio resource control (RRC) connected state, RRC idle state, RRC inactive state, or out of coverage (OOC) state. SL unicast communication is performed between the source UE and the relay UE, and between the relay UE and the target UE. In unicast communication mode, the two UEs need to first establish a unicast connection. After the unicast connection is established, the sending UE (Tx UE) can send unicast data to the receiving UE (Rx UE). Only the Rx UE can receive and parse the data. FIG1 is only a simplified schematic diagram for example. The relay scenario may also include other network devices, which are not shown in FIG1 .

[0061] It can be understood that in addition to the scenario shown in Figure 1 above, the long-term credential sending method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure is also applicable to the scenario of communication between two terminal devices, and can also be used for terminal devices to directly establish a sidelink communication connection with terminal devices without the need for relaying through a relay terminal device.

[0062] In order to better understand the long-term credential sending method disclosed in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the communication system to which the embodiment of the present disclosure is applicable is first described below.

[0063] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to Figure 2 , the communication system 100 may include a network-side device 10 and a terminal device 20. In another scenario, Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of another communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to Figure 3 , the communication system 100 may also include multiple terminal devices 20. Of course, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the types and number of network elements included in the communication system, as well as the connection relationships between the network elements, are not limited thereto.

[0064] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, a terminal device can communicate with a network-side device while also communicating with other terminal devices. The network-side device can configure, schedule, and coordinate resources for the sidelinks used for communication between terminal devices to facilitate direct communication between terminal devices. A terminal device can also independently configure, schedule, and coordinate resources for the sidelinks used for communication between other terminal devices, which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0065] In some possible implementations, the network side device is an entity on the network side for transmitting or receiving signals. For example, the network side device may be an evolved NodeB (eNB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation NodeB (gNB) in an NR system, a base station in other future mobile communication systems, or an access node in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system. The embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the network side device. The network side device provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure may be composed of a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU), wherein the CU may also be referred to as a control unit. The CU-DU structure may be used to split the base station, such as the protocol layer of the base station, and the functions of some protocol layers are placed in the CU for centralized control, while the functions of the remaining part or all of the protocol layers are distributed in the DU, and the DU is centrally controlled by the CU.

[0066] The terminal device in the embodiment of the present disclosure may be a device that provides voice / data connectivity to a user, for example, a handheld device or a vehicle-mounted device with a wireless connection function. Some examples of terminal devices include: mobile phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, cellular phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld devices with wireless communication capabilities, computing devices or other processing devices connected to wireless modems, vehicle-mounted devices, wearable devices, terminal devices in 5G networks or future evolved public land mobile communication networks (PLMNs). The present invention relates to a terminal device in a wireless communication system (PLMN) and / or any other suitable device for communicating on a wireless communication system, and the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto.

[0067] Wearable devices, also known as wearable smart devices, are a general term for wearable devices that use wearable technology to intelligently design and develop wearable devices for daily wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. Wearable devices are portable devices that are worn directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothing or accessories. Wearable devices are not just hardware devices, but also achieve powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. In a broad sense, wearable smart devices include those that are fully functional, large in size, and can achieve full or partial functions without relying on smartphones, such as smart watches or smart glasses, as well as those that only focus on a certain type of application function and need to be used in conjunction with other devices such as smartphones, such as various smart bracelets and smart jewelry for vital sign monitoring.

[0068] In addition, in the embodiments disclosed herein, the terminal device may also be a terminal device in an Internet of Things system. IoT is an important component of the future development of information technology. Its main technical feature is to connect objects to the network through communication technology, thereby realizing an intelligent network that interconnects humans and machines and things.

[0069] In addition, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminal device may also include sensors such as smart printers, train detectors, and gas stations. Its main functions include collecting data (part of the terminal device), receiving control information and downlink data from the network side device, and sending electromagnetic waves to transmit uplink data to the network side device.

[0070] The network device in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be a device for communicating with a terminal device. The network device may be a base transceiver station (BTS) in a global system for mobile communications (GSM) system or a code division multiple access (CDMA) system, a base station B (NB) in a wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) system, an evolved node B (eNB or eNodeB) in an LTE system, a wireless controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario, a radio network controller (RNC), a base station controller (BSC), a home base station (e.g., home evolved nodeB, or home nodeB, HNB), a baseband unit (BBU), or the network device may be a relay station, an access point, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, a network device in a 5G network, or a network device in a future evolved PLMN network, etc., and may be an access point in a WLAN. The present invention also provides a wireless access point (AP), a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, a transmission point (TP), or a transmission and reception point (TRP), etc., which can be a gNB or a transmission point (TRP or TP) in a new radio (NR) system, or one or a group of antenna panels (including multiple antenna panels) of a base station in a 5G system, or a network node constituting a gNB or a transmission point, such as a baseband unit (BBU), or a distributed unit (DU), etc., which is not limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0071] It should be noted that the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to various communication systems, such as long-term evolution (LTE) systems, fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication systems, 5G new radio (NR) systems, or other future new mobile communication systems.

[0072] It should be noted that the terms introduced above may have different names in different fields or different standards, so the names shown above should not be understood as limiting the embodiments of the present disclosure. The functions involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may also be referred to as network elements, functional devices or entities or functional entities. For example, the policy control function may also be referred to as a policy control function network element, a policy control function device or a policy control entity or a policy control function entity. The names are not limited in this disclosure, and those skilled in the art may replace the names of the above functional devices with other names and perform the same functions, which all fall within the scope of protection of this disclosure. The above functional devices may be network elements in hardware devices, software functions running on dedicated hardware, or virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform).

[0073] In addition, in order to facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the following points are explained.

[0074] First, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, "used to indicate" may include being used to indicate directly or indirectly. When describing that a certain information is used to indicate A, it may include that the information directly indicates A or indirectly indicates A, but it does not necessarily mean that the information carries A.

[0075] The information indicated by the information is called the information to be indicated. In the specific implementation process, there are many ways to indicate the information to be indicated. For example, but not limited to, the information to be indicated can be directly indicated, such as the information to be indicated itself or the index of the information to be indicated. The information to be indicated can also be indirectly indicated by indicating other information, where there is an association between the other information and the information to be indicated. It is also possible to indicate only a part of the information to be indicated, while the other parts of the information to be indicated are known or agreed in advance. For example, the indication of specific information can be achieved by using the arrangement order of each piece of information that is pre-agreed (for example, specified by the protocol), thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent.

[0076] The information to be indicated can be sent as a whole or as multiple sub-information messages that are sent separately. The transmission periods and / or timings of these sub-information messages can be the same or different. The specific transmission method is not limited in this disclosure. The transmission periods and / or timings of these sub-information messages can be predefined, for example, according to a protocol.

[0077] Second, the embodiments of the present disclosure list multiple implementation methods to clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure. Of course, those skilled in the art will understand that the multiple embodiments provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented individually, combined with the methods of other embodiments of the embodiments of the present disclosure, or implemented individually or in combination with some methods in other related technologies; the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to this.

[0078] The long-term credential sending method and device provided by the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0079] [Corrected 07.03.2023 in accordance with Regulation 26] 5G Proximity Service enables peer end devices to communicate with each other via an end-to-end device relay. This means that if a source end device cannot reach a target end device directly, it will attempt to discover an end-to-end device relay to reach the target end device, which may also trigger the relay end device to discover the target end device.

[0080] [Corrected 07 / 03 / 2023 in accordance with Regulation 26] The vehicle-to-everything (V2X) security establishment procedure can be reused in U2U relay scenarios. To establish a U2U connection between end devices (also known as neighboring server UEs), long-term credentials can be used as root keys. Providing long-term credentials to end devices (including neighboring server UEs (which can be source or destination end devices) and U2U relays (which can be relaying end devices) requires further study.

[0081] Based on this, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, a long-term credential sending method is provided, which can be applied to the Internet of Vehicles, such as vehicle to everything (V2X) communication, long-term evolution-vehicle (LTE-V) communication technology, vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communication, etc., or can be used in the fields of intelligent driving, intelligent connected vehicles, etc., and can also be used for Prose communication, ranging service / sidelink positioning service, and can provide a long-term credential for the terminal device to establish a sidelink communication connection for the terminal device. Among them, the PCF sends a long-term credential to the terminal device, wherein the long-term credential is used for the terminal device to establish a sidelink communication connection. Thus, a long-term credential can be provided for the terminal device.

[0082] Please refer to Figure 4, which is a flow chart of a method for sending long-term credentials provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method is executed by the PCF, as shown in Figure 4, and may include but is not limited to the following steps:

[0083] S41: Sending a long-term credential to the terminal device, wherein the long-term credential is used by the terminal device to establish a sidelink communication connection.

[0084] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the PCF may send a long-term credential to the terminal device, wherein the PCF may send the long-term credential to the terminal device directly or indirectly.

[0085] Exemplarily, the PCF may send long-term credentials to the terminal device via an access and mobility management function (AMF) and / or a radio access network (RAN) device.

[0086] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the PCF sends a long-term credential to the terminal device, which may be sent to the terminal device during the service authorization and distribution phase.

[0087] Of course, the PCF may send the long-term credential to the terminal device based on the request of the terminal device, or may send it at the same time as any information sent by the PCF to the terminal device. There is no specific limitation on this in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0088] In the disclosed embodiment, the PCF sends a long-term credential to the terminal device, thereby providing the terminal device with a long-term credential.

[0089] Among them, the long-term certificate is used by the terminal device to establish a sidelink communication connection.

[0090] Exemplarily, the terminal device establishes a sidelink communication connection, which may be a ProSe direct communication connection, or a ProSe U2U relay communication connection, or a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication connection, and so on.

[0091] In some embodiments, the terminal device includes at least one of the following:

[0092] Relay terminal equipment;

[0093] Target terminal device;

[0094] Source terminal device.

[0095] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal device may be a relay terminal device.

[0096] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal device may be a target terminal device.

[0097] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal device may be a source terminal device.

[0098] In one possible implementation, the terminal device may be a source terminal device, and the PCF sends a long-term credential to the source terminal device to provide the source terminal device with a long-term credential, and the long-term credential is used by the source terminal device to establish a ProSe U2U relay communication connection, for example, to establish a communication connection with the relay terminal device, and to establish a communication connection with the target terminal device.

[0099] In another possible implementation, the terminal device may be a target terminal device, and the PCF sends a long-term credential to the target terminal device to provide the target terminal device with a long-term credential, and the long-term credential is used by the target terminal device to establish a ProSe U2U relay communication connection, for example, for establishing a communication connection with the relay terminal device, and for establishing a communication connection with the source terminal device.

[0100] In another possible implementation, the terminal device may be a relay terminal device, and the PCF sends a long-term credential to the relay terminal device to provide the relay terminal device with a long-term credential, where the long-term credential is used by the relay terminal device to establish a ProSe U2U relay communication connection, for example, to establish a communication connection with a source terminal device and / or a target terminal device.

[0101] In another possible implementation, the terminal device may be a source terminal device, and the PCF sends a long-term credential to the source terminal device to provide the source terminal device with a long-term credential, where the long-term credential is used by the source terminal device to establish a V2X communication connection, for example, to establish a communication connection with a target terminal device.

[0102] In another possible implementation, the terminal device may be a source terminal device, and the PCF sends a long-term credential to the source terminal device to provide the source terminal device with a long-term credential, which is used by the source terminal device to establish a Ranging / SL Positioning communication connection, for example, to establish a communication connection with a target terminal device.

[0103] It should be noted that in the above implementation, the expressions of source terminal device, relay terminal device and target terminal device only represent different roles or identities corresponding to the terminal device in different situations. It should be understood that the same terminal device can be a source terminal device in a certain situation, and in another situation, the terminal device can be a target terminal device or a relay terminal device.

[0104] In some embodiments, the terminal device is a terminal device that performs sidelink communication.

[0105] It can be understood that the terminal device is a terminal device that performs sidelink communication, that is, the terminal device needs to establish a sidelink connection with other terminal devices to perform sidelink communication.

[0106] It is understandable that the PCF sends the long-term credential to the terminal device. The PCF can generate the long-term credential or obtain the long-term credential from other network devices.

[0107] In some embodiments, the PCF generates long-term credentials.

[0108] In the disclosed embodiment, PCF can generate long-term credentials.

[0109] In some embodiments, the PCF generates the long-term credential based on identification information of the sidelink communication connection.

[0110] Exemplarily, the PCF can generate the long-term credential based on the identification information of the sidelink communication connection, for example: generating a long-term credential based on the relay service code (RSC), generating a long-term credential based on the ranging service code (Rangingservicecode), generating a long-term credential based on other sidelink communication type identifiers, generating a long-term credential based on other sidelink communication identifiers, and so on.

[0111] In some embodiments, the PCF receives the long-term credentials sent by the first network device.

[0112] In the disclosed embodiment, the PCF may receive a long-term credential sent by a first network device, where the first network device may be an application server, an application function (AF), a ProSe application server, a Ranging application server, or the like.

[0113] In some embodiments, the PCF sends the long-term credential to the terminal device, including: sending sidelink communication connection information to the terminal device, wherein the sidelink communication connection information includes the long-term credential.

[0114] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the PCF may send sidelink communication connection information to the terminal device, wherein the sidelink communication connection information includes long-term credentials to provide the terminal device with long-term credentials.

[0115] In some embodiments, the sidelink communication connection information further includes at least one of the following:

[0116] identification information of the sidelink communication connection;

[0117] Security policy.

[0118] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the sidelink communication connection information sent by the PCF to the terminal device may include identification information of the sidelink communication connection.

[0119] Exemplarily, the identification information may be RSC, or a sidelink communication type identifier, or a sidelink communication identifier, or other identification information, and the like.

[0120] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the sidelink communication connection information sent by the PCF to the terminal device may include a security policy.

[0121] In some embodiments, the long-term credentials are associated with identification information.

[0122] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the long-term credential is related to the identification information. For example, the long-term credential is related to the RSC. Thus, the long-term credential related to the RSC can be provided to the terminal device.

[0123] It should be noted that the sidelink communication connection information sent by the PCF to the terminal device may also include other information, such as the security policy of the RSC, etc., which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0124] In some embodiments, the PCF sending the long-term credentials to the terminal device includes: sending the long-term credentials to the terminal device in response to determining that the terminal device is authorized.

[0125] [Corrected 07.03.2023 according to Rule 26] The related art does not provide a method for providing long-term credentials to the UE during the UE-to-UE relay link establishment process. In addition, the authorization of the neighboring service UE (which can be the source terminal device or the target terminal device) and the U2U relay (which can be the relay terminal device) needs to be considered to protect the security of sidelink communications.

[0126] Based on this, in the disclosed embodiment, the PCF can determine whether the terminal device is authorized. If the PCF determines that the terminal device is authorized, it can send a long-term credential to the terminal device. This allows the long-term credential to be sent to the terminal device if the terminal device is authorized, thereby protecting the security of SideLink communications.

[0127] In some embodiments, the PCF determines that the terminal device is authorized, including: determining that the terminal device is authorized based on at least one of the subscription data of the terminal device and the indication information sent by the first network device.

[0128] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the PCF may determine whether the terminal device is authorized based on the contract data of the terminal device, wherein the PCF may obtain the contract data of the terminal device from a unified data management (UDM) or locally stored data. The PCF may check the contract data of the terminal device to determine whether the terminal device is authorized.

[0129] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the PCF may receive indication information from a first network device and determine whether the terminal device is authorized based on the indication information. The first network device may be an application server, an application function (AF), a ProSe application server, a Ranging application server, or the like.

[0130] The indication information may be any information exchanged between the PCF and the first network device, and may be any information as long as it can be transmitted to enable the PCF to determine that the terminal device is authorized. The PCF may determine that the terminal device is authorized based on the indication information sent by the first network device.

[0131] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, and the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined and can be arbitrarily combined with other embodiments or examples.

[0132] By implementing the embodiments of the present disclosure, the PCF sends a long-term credential to the terminal device, wherein the long-term credential is used for the terminal device to establish a sidelink communication connection. Thus, a long-term credential can be provided for the terminal device to be used for the terminal device to establish a sidelink communication connection. In addition, by sending sidelink communication connection information to the terminal device through the PCF, the sidelink communication connection information includes the long-term credential, thereby enabling the long-term credential to be sent to the terminal device through the sidelink communication connection information. In addition, by sending the long-term credential to the terminal device in response to determining that the terminal device is authorized, the PCF can send the long-term credential to the authorized terminal device, thereby protecting the security of the sidelink communication. In addition, by determining that the terminal device is authorized based on the contract data of the terminal device; or receiving the indication information of the first network device, and determining that the terminal device is authorized based on the indication information, the PCF can determine that the terminal device is authorized. In addition, by generating a long-term credential through the PCF; or receiving the long-term credential sent by the first network device, the PCF can determine the long-term credential to provide to the terminal device.

[0133] Please refer to Figure 5, which is a flow chart of another method for sending long-term credentials provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method is executed by the PCF, as shown in Figure 5, and may include but is not limited to the following steps:

[0134] S51: Sending sidelink communication connection information to the terminal device, wherein the sidelink communication connection information includes a long-term credential, and the long-term credential is used by the terminal device to establish a sidelink communication connection.

[0135] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the PCF may send sidelink communication connection information to the terminal device, wherein the sidelink communication connection information includes long-term credentials, so as to provide the terminal device with long-term credentials.

[0136] In some embodiments, the sidelink communication connection information further includes at least one of the following:

[0137] identification information of the sidelink communication connection;

[0138] Security policy.

[0139] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the sidelink communication connection information sent by the PCF to the terminal device may include identification information of the sidelink communication connection.

[0140] Exemplarily, the identification information may be RSC, or a sidelink communication type identifier, or a sidelink communication identifier, or other identification information, and the like.

[0141] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the sidelink communication connection information sent by the PCF to the terminal device may include a security policy.

[0142] In some embodiments, the long-term credentials are associated with identification information.

[0143] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the long-term credential is related to the identification information. For example, the long-term credential is related to the RSC. Thus, the long-term credential related to the RSC can be provided to the terminal device.

[0144] It should be noted that the sidelink communication connection information sent by the PCF to the terminal device may also include other information, such as the security policy of the RSC, etc., which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0145] Among them, the long-term certificate is used by the terminal device to establish a sidelink communication connection.

[0146] Exemplarily, the terminal device establishes a sidelink communication connection, which may be a ProSe direct communication connection, or a ProSe U2U relay communication connection, or a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication connection, and so on.

[0147] It should be noted that the detailed description of the long-term credentials used for the terminal device to establish a sidelink communication connection can be found in the relevant description in the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0148] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, and the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined and can be arbitrarily combined with other embodiments or examples.

[0149] It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, S51 can be implemented alone or in combination with any other step in the embodiment of the present disclosure, for example, in combination with S41 in the embodiment of the present disclosure, and the embodiment of the present disclosure does not limit this.

[0150] By implementing the disclosed embodiments, the PCF sends SideLink communication connection information to the terminal device, where the SideLink communication connection information includes a long-term credential used by the terminal device to establish a SideLink communication connection. Thus, the terminal device can be provided with a long-term credential for establishing a SideLink communication connection.

[0151] Please refer to Figure 6, which is a flowchart of another method for sending long-term credentials provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method is executed by the PCF, as shown in Figure 6, and may include but is not limited to the following steps:

[0152] S61: In response to determining that the terminal device is authorized, sending a long-term credential to the terminal device, wherein the long-term credential is used by the terminal device to establish a sidelink communication connection.

[0153] [Corrected 07.03.2023 according to Rule 26] The related art does not provide a method for providing long-term credentials to the UE during the UE-to-UE relay link establishment process. Furthermore, authorization of the neighboring service UE (which can be either the source or target terminal device) and the U2U relay (which can be a relay terminal device) needs to be considered to improve the security of sidelink communications.

[0154] Based on this, in the disclosed embodiment, the PCF can determine whether the terminal device is authorized. If the PCF determines that the terminal device is authorized, it can send a long-term credential to the terminal device. This allows the PCF to send a long-term credential to the terminal device if the terminal device is authorized, thereby improving the security of SideLink communications.

[0155] In some embodiments, the PCF determines that the terminal device is authorized, including: determining that the terminal device is authorized based on at least one of the subscription data of the terminal device and the indication information sent by the first network device.

[0156] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the PCF may determine whether the terminal device is authorized based on the contract data of the terminal device, wherein the PCF may obtain the contract data of the terminal device from a unified data management (UDM) or locally stored data. The PCF may check the contract data of the terminal device to determine whether the terminal device is authorized.

[0157] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the PCF may receive indication information from a first network device and determine, based on the indication information, whether the terminal device is authorized. The first network device may be an application server, an application function (AF), a ProSe application server, a Ranging application server, or the like.

[0158] The indication information may be any information exchanged between the PCF and the first network device, and may be any information as long as it can be transmitted to enable the PCF to determine that the terminal device is authorized. The PCF may determine that the terminal device is authorized based on the indication information sent by the first network device.

[0159] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, and the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined and can be arbitrarily combined with other embodiments or examples.

[0160] It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, S61 can be implemented alone or in combination with any other step in the embodiment of the present disclosure, for example, in combination with S41 and / or S51 in the embodiment of the present disclosure, and the embodiment of the present disclosure does not limit this.

[0161] By implementing the embodiments of the present disclosure, the PCF, in response to determining that the terminal device is authorized, sends a long-term credential to the terminal device, wherein the long-term credential is used by the terminal device to establish a sidelink communication connection. Thus, a long-term credential can be provided to the terminal device for use in establishing a sidelink communication connection, thereby improving the security of sidelink communications. Furthermore, the PCF can determine that the terminal device is authorized based on the terminal device's contract data; or receive indication information from the first network device and determine that the terminal device is authorized based on the indication information, thereby enabling the PCF to determine that the terminal device is authorized.

[0162] Please refer to Figure 7, which is a flow chart of another method for sending long-term credentials provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method is executed by the PCF, as shown in Figure 7, and may include but is not limited to the following steps:

[0163] S71: Generate long-term vouchers.

[0164] In the disclosed embodiment, PCF can generate long-term credentials.

[0165] Exemplarily, the PCF can generate the long-term credential based on the identification information of the sidelink communication connection, for example: generating a long-term credential based on the relay service code (RSC), generating a long-term credential based on the ranging service code (Rangingservicecode), generating a long-term credential based on other sidelink communication type identifiers, generating a long-term credential based on other sidelink communication identifiers, and so on.

[0166] S72: Send a long-term credential to the terminal device, where the long-term credential is used by the terminal device to establish a sidelink communication connection.

[0167] Among them, the relevant description of S72 can be found in the relevant description of the above embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

[0168] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, and the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined and can be arbitrarily combined with other embodiments or examples.

[0169] It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, S71 and S72 can be implemented separately, or they can be implemented together with any other steps in the embodiment of the present disclosure, for example, they can be implemented together with S41 and / or S51 and / or S61 in the embodiment of the present disclosure, and the embodiment of the present disclosure does not limit this.

[0170] By implementing the disclosed embodiments, the PCF generates a long-term credential and sends it to the terminal device, where the long-term credential is used by the terminal device to establish a sidelink communication connection. Thus, the PCF can determine the long-term credential and provide the long-term credential to the terminal device for use in establishing a sidelink communication connection.

[0171] Please refer to Figure 8, which is a flowchart of another method for sending long-term credentials provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method is executed by the PCF, as shown in Figure 8, and may include but is not limited to the following steps:

[0172] S81: Receive a long-term credential sent by the first network device.

[0173] In the disclosed embodiment, the PCF may receive a long-term credential sent by a first network device, where the first network device may be an application server, an application function (AF), a ProSe application server, a Ranging application server, or the like.

[0174] S82: Send a long-term credential to the terminal device, where the long-term credential is used by the terminal device to establish a sidelink communication connection.

[0175] For the relevant description of S.0082, please refer to the relevant description in the above embodiment and will not be repeated here.

[0176] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, and the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined and can be arbitrarily combined with other embodiments or examples.

[0177] It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, S81 and S82 can be implemented separately, or they can be implemented together with any other steps in the embodiment of the present disclosure, for example, they can be implemented together with S41 and / or S51 and / or S61 in the embodiment of the present disclosure, and the embodiment of the present disclosure does not limit this.

[0178] By implementing the disclosed embodiments, the PCF receives the long-term credential sent by the first network device and sends the long-term credential to the terminal device, where the long-term credential is used by the terminal device to establish a sidelink communication connection. Thus, the PCF can determine the long-term credential and provide the long-term credential to the terminal device for use in establishing a sidelink communication connection.

[0179] Please refer to Figure 9, which is a flowchart of another method for sending long-term credentials provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method is executed by a terminal device, as shown in Figure 9, and the method may include but is not limited to the following steps:

[0180] S91: Receive the long-term credential sent by the PCF, where the long-term credential is used by the terminal device to establish a sidelink communication connection.

[0181] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal device may receive the long-term credential sent by the PCF, wherein the terminal device may receive the long-term credential sent by the PCF directly or indirectly.

[0182] Exemplarily, the terminal device may receive the long-term credentials sent by the PCF through an access and mobility management function (AMF) and / or a radio access network (RAN) device.

[0183] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal device receives the long-term credential sent by the PCF, and may receive the long-term credential sent by the PCF during the service authorization and distribution phase.

[0184] Of course, the terminal device receives the long-term credentials sent by the PCF, and can also receive the long-term credentials sent to it by the PCF based on the request sent by the terminal device, or can also receive the long-term credentials sent by the PCF at the same time as any information sent by the PCF to the terminal device. There is no specific limitation on this in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0185] In the disclosed embodiment, the terminal device may receive the long-term credential sent by the PCF, thereby enabling the terminal device to determine the long-term credential.

[0186] Among them, the long-term certificate is used by the terminal device to establish a sidelink communication connection.

[0187] Exemplarily, the terminal device establishes a sidelink communication connection, which may be a ProSe direct communication connection, or a ProSe U2U relay communication connection, or a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication connection, and so on.

[0188] In some embodiments, the terminal device includes at least one of the following:

[0189] Relay terminal equipment;

[0190] Target terminal device;

[0191] Source terminal device.

[0192] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal device may be a relay terminal device.

[0193] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal device may be a target terminal device.

[0194] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal device may be a source terminal device.

[0195] In one possible implementation, the terminal device may be a source terminal device, which receives a long-term credential sent by the PCF. The long-term credential is used by the source terminal device to establish a ProSe U2U relay communication connection, for example, to establish a communication connection with the relay terminal device, and to establish a communication connection with the target terminal device.

[0196] In another possible implementation, the terminal device may be a target terminal device. The target terminal device receives the long-term credential sent by the PCF and may determine the long-term credential. The long-term credential is used by the target terminal device to establish a ProSe U2U relay communication connection, for example, to establish a communication connection with the relay terminal device, or to establish a communication connection with the source terminal device.

[0197] In another possible implementation, the terminal device may be a relay terminal device. The relay terminal device receives the long-term credentials sent by the PCF and may determine the long-term credentials. The long-term credentials are used by the relay terminal device to establish a ProSe U2U relay communication connection, for example, to establish a communication connection with a source terminal device and / or a target terminal device.

[0198] In another possible implementation, the terminal device may be a source terminal device. The source terminal device receives the long-term credential sent by the PCF and may determine the long-term credential. The long-term credential is used by the source terminal device to establish a V2X communication connection, for example, to establish a communication connection with a target terminal device.

[0199] In another possible implementation, the terminal device may be a source terminal device, and the PCF sends a long-term credential to the source terminal device to provide the source terminal device with a long-term credential, which is used by the source terminal device to establish a Ranging / SL Positioning communication connection, for example, to establish a communication connection with a target terminal device.

[0200] It should be noted that in the above implementation, the expressions of source terminal device, relay terminal device and target terminal device only represent different roles or identities corresponding to the terminal device in different situations. It should be understood that the same terminal device can be a source terminal device in a certain situation, and in another situation, the terminal device can be a target terminal device or a relay terminal device.

[0201] In some embodiments, the terminal device is a terminal device that performs sidelink communication.

[0202] It can be understood that the terminal device is a terminal device that performs sidelink communication, that is, the terminal device needs to establish a sidelink connection with other terminal devices to perform sidelink communication.

[0203] In some embodiments, the terminal device receives the long-term credentials sent by the PCF, including: receiving sidelink communication connection information sent by the PCF, wherein the sidelink communication connection information includes the long-term credentials.

[0204] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal device can receive sidelink communication connection information sent by the PCF, wherein the sidelink communication connection information includes long-term credentials to provide long-term credentials for the terminal device.

[0205] In some embodiments, the sidelink communication connection information further includes at least one of the following:

[0206] identification information of the sidelink communication connection;

[0207] Security policy.

[0208] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the sidelink communication connection information sent by the PCF and received by the terminal device may include identification information of the sidelink communication connection.

[0209] Exemplarily, the identification information may be RSC, or a sidelink communication type identifier, or a sidelink communication identifier, or other identification information, and the like.

[0210] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the sidelink communication connection information sent by the PCF to the terminal device may include a security policy.

[0211] In some embodiments, the long-term credentials are associated with identification information.

[0212] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the long-term credential is related to the identification information. For example, the long-term credential is related to the RSC. Thus, the long-term credential related to the RSC can be provided to the terminal device.

[0213] It should be noted that the sidelink communication connection information sent by the PCF and received by the terminal device may also include other information, such as the security policy of the RSC, etc., which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0214] In some embodiments, the terminal device receives the long-term credential sent by the PCF, including: receiving the long-term credential sent by the PCF when the PCF determines that the terminal device is authorized.

[0215] In the disclosed embodiment, the terminal device can receive the long-term credential sent by the PCF when the PCF determines that the terminal device is authorized. As a result, the terminal device can receive the long-term credential sent by the PCF during service authorization, thereby protecting the security of sidelink communications.

[0216] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, and the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined and can be arbitrarily combined with other embodiments or examples.

[0217] By implementing the embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminal device receives the long-term credential sent by the PCF, wherein the long-term credential is used by the terminal device to establish a sidelink communication connection. Thus, the terminal device can determine the long-term credential to establish the sidelink communication connection. In addition, the terminal device receives the sidelink communication connection information sent by the PCF, wherein the sidelink communication connection information includes the long-term credential, thereby realizing the reception of the long-term credential sent by the PCF through the sidelink communication connection information. In addition, by the terminal device receiving the long-term credential sent by the PCF when it is determined that the terminal device is authorized, the security of the sidelink communication can be protected.

[0218] Please refer to Figure 10, which is a flowchart of another method for sending long-term credentials provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method is executed by a terminal device, as shown in Figure 10, and the method may include but is not limited to the following steps:

[0219] S101: Receive sidelink communication connection information sent by the PCF, where the sidelink communication connection information includes a long-term credential, which is used by the terminal device to establish a sidelink communication connection.

[0220] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal device can receive sidelink communication connection information sent by the PCF, wherein the sidelink communication connection information includes long-term credentials to provide long-term credentials for the terminal device.

[0221] In some embodiments, the sidelink communication connection information further includes at least one of the following:

[0222] identification information of the sidelink communication connection;

[0223] Security policy.

[0224] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the sidelink communication connection information sent by the PCF and received by the terminal device may include identification information of the sidelink communication connection.

[0225] Exemplarily, the identification information may be RSC, or a sidelink communication type identifier, or a sidelink communication identifier, or other identification information, and the like.

[0226] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the sidelink communication connection information sent by the PCF to the terminal device may include a security policy.

[0227] In some embodiments, the long-term credentials are associated with identification information.

[0228] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the long-term credential is related to the identification information. For example, the long-term credential is related to the RSC. Thus, the long-term credential related to the RSC can be provided to the terminal device.

[0229] It should be noted that the sidelink communication connection information sent by the PCF and received by the terminal device may also include other information, such as the security policy of the RSC, etc., which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0230] It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, S101 can be implemented alone or in combination with any other step in the embodiment of the present disclosure, for example, in combination with S91 in the embodiment of the present disclosure, and the embodiment of the present disclosure does not limit this.

[0231] By implementing the disclosed embodiments, a terminal device sends a long-term credential to receive SideLink communication connection information sent by a PCF, wherein the SideLink communication connection information includes the long-term credential, which is used by the terminal device to establish a SideLink communication connection. Thus, the terminal device can determine the long-term credential to establish a SideLink communication connection at the terminal device.

[0232] Please refer to Figure 11, which is a flowchart of another method for sending long-term credentials provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method is executed by a terminal device, as shown in Figure 11, and the method may include but is not limited to the following steps:

[0233] S111: Receive a long-term credential sent by the PCF in response to determining that the terminal device is authorized, wherein the long-term credential is used by the terminal device to establish a sidelink communication connection.

[0234] In the disclosed embodiment, the terminal device can receive the long-term credential sent by the PCF when the PCF determines that the terminal device is authorized. As a result, the terminal device can receive the long-term credential sent by the PCF during service authorization, thereby protecting the security of sidelink communications.

[0235] It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, S111 can be implemented alone or in combination with any other step in the embodiment of the present disclosure, for example, in combination with S91 and / or S101 in the embodiment of the present disclosure, and the embodiment of the present disclosure does not limit this.

[0236] By implementing the disclosed embodiments, a terminal device receives a long-term credential sent by the PCF in response to determining that the terminal device is authorized. The long-term credential is used by the terminal device to establish a sidelink communication connection. Thus, the terminal device can determine the long-term credential to establish the sidelink communication connection while protecting the security of the sidelink communication.

[0237] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide the following exemplary embodiments.

[0238] In an exemplary embodiment, as shown in Figure 12, the terminal device includes a source UE (also known as a source terminal device), a target UE (also known as a target terminal device) and a U2U relay (also known as a relay terminal device) as an example, where the source UE and the target UE can also be called neighboring service UEs.

[0239] [Corrected 07.03.2023 according to Rule 26] 1. Authorize and issue services to the source UE, target UE, and 5G U2U relay. For authorized UEs (including source UE, target UE, and U2U relay), the PCF provides them with neighbor service policies / parameters, including RSCs, long-term credentials corresponding to each RSC, and security policies corresponding to each RSC.

[0240] [Corrected 07.03.2023 according to Rule 26] Note: Long-term credentials can be generated by the PCF based on the RSC, or generated by the proximity service application server and distributed to the UE through the PCF.

[0241] [Corrected 07.03.2023 as per Rule 26] Note: The PCF checks the subscription data of the UE or interacts with the Proximity Service Application Server to authorise the Proximity Service UE (including source UE and target UE) and the Proximity Service U2U Relay (including U2U Relay).

[0242] [Corrected 07.03.2023 according to Rule 26] 2. The discovery and relay selection process is performed between the neighbor server UE and the U2U relay, using the discovery parameters and discovery security material.

[0243] [Corrected 07.03.2023 according to Rule 26] 3. The source UE sends a direct communication request (DCR) to the U2U relay, which contains the source UE information, target UE information, U2U relay information, and the RSC. The DCR message may also include a long-term credential ID, which identifies the long-term credential associated with the RSC.

[0244] [Corrected 07.03.2023 according to Rule 26] 4. If security protection is enabled, the source UE and the U2U relay shall perform the security establishment procedure.

[0245] [Corrected 07.03.2023 according to Rule 26] 5. After the security establishment procedure is completed, the U2U relay sends a direct communication request to the target UE, which contains the source UE information, target UE information, U2U relay information and RSC. The DCR message may also include a long-term credential ID, which identifies the long-term credential associated with the RSC.

[0246] [Corrected 07.03.2023 according to Rule 26] 6. If security protection is enabled, the U2U relay and the target UE shall perform a security establishment procedure.

[0247] [Corrected 07.03.2023 according to Rule 26] 7. The target UE sends a direct communication success message to the U2U relay that has successfully established a secure communication link.

[0248] [Corrected 07.03.2023 according to Rule 26] 8. The U2U relay sends a direct communication success message to the source UE with which the secure communication link has been successfully established.

[0249] [Corrected 07.03.2023 according to Rule 26] 9. Establish a secure PC5 link between the source UE and the target UE via U2U relay. The U2U relay can relay traffic between peer neighboring service UEs.

[0250] [Corrected 07.03.2023 according to Rule 26] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the neighboring service end UE and the U2U relay should be able to obtain long-term credentials from the PCF during service authorization and distribution.

[0251] [Corrected 07.03.2023 according to Rule 26] In the disclosed embodiments, the PCF shall be able to provide long-term credentials to the authorized neighboring server UE and U2U relay.

[0252] [Corrected 07.03.2023 according to Rule 26] The PCF may authorize the proximity service UE and the U2U relay based on the subscription data or interaction with the proximity service application server.

[0253] [Corrected 07.03.2023 in accordance with Rule 26] PCF should be able to generate long-term certificates related to RSC.

[0254] [Corrected 07.03.2023 according to Rule 26] The PCF shall be able to obtain long-term credentials from the proximity service application server.

[0255] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 12 , steps 2 to 9 are optional steps.

[0256] In the embodiment shown in FIG12 , optionally, in some implementations, steps 5, 6, and 7 may be executed before steps 3 and 4.

[0257] It can be understood that in addition to the scenario shown in Figure 12 above, the long-term credential sending method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure is also applicable to the scenario of communication between two terminal devices, and can also be used for terminal devices to directly establish a sidelink communication connection with terminal devices without the need for relaying through a relay terminal device.

[0258] In the embodiments provided by the present disclosure above, the solutions provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure are introduced from the perspectives of PCF and terminal devices respectively. It is understandable that, in order to implement the above functions, each device includes a hardware structure and / or software module corresponding to the execution of each function. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in combination with the algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the present disclosure can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware 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 the present disclosure.

[0259] Please refer to Figure 13, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 1 provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. The communication device 1 shown in Figure 13 may include a transceiver module 11 and a processing module 12. The transceiver module may include a sending module and / or a receiving module. The sending module is used to implement a sending function, and the receiving module is used to implement a receiving function. The transceiver module can implement a sending function and / or a receiving function.

[0260] The communication device 1 is provided at the PCF side and includes a transceiver module 11 and a processing module 12 .

[0261] The transceiver module 11 is configured to send a long-term credential to the terminal device, wherein the long-term credential is used by the terminal device to establish a sidelink communication connection.

[0262] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 11 is further configured to send sidelink communication connection information to the terminal device, wherein the sidelink communication connection information includes long-term credentials.

[0263] In some embodiments, the sidelink communication connection information also includes identification information of the sidelink communication connection, and the long-term credential is related to the identification information.

[0264] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 11 is further configured to send a long-term credential to the terminal device in response to determining that the terminal device is authorized.

[0265] In some embodiments, the processing module 12 is configured to determine whether the terminal device is authorized based on the contract data of the terminal device; or the transceiver module 11 is further configured to receive indication information of the first network device and determine whether the terminal device is authorized based on the indication information.

[0266] In some embodiments, the processing module 12 is further configured to generate a long-term credential; or the transceiver module 11 is further configured to receive a long-term credential sent by the first network device.

[0267] In some embodiments, the terminal device is a terminal device that performs sidelink communication.

[0268] The communication device 1 is provided at the terminal device side and includes a transceiver module 11 and a processing module 12 .

[0269] The transceiver module 11 is configured to receive a long-term credential sent by the PCF, wherein the long-term credential is used by the terminal device to establish a sidelink communication connection.

[0270] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 11 is further configured to receive sidelink communication connection information sent by the PCF, wherein the sidelink communication connection information includes long-term credentials.

[0271] In some embodiments, the sidelink communication connection information also includes identification information of the sidelink communication connection, and the long-term credential is related to the identification information.

[0272] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 11 is further configured to receive a long-term credential sent by the PCF when it determines that the terminal device is authorized.

[0273] In some embodiments, the terminal device is a terminal device that performs sidelink communication.

[0274] Regarding the communication device 1 in the above embodiment, the specific manner in which each module performs operations has been described in detail in the embodiment of the method, and will not be elaborated on here.

[0275] The communication device 1 provided in the above embodiments of the present disclosure achieves the same or similar beneficial effects as the long-term credential sending method provided in some of the above embodiments, and will not be described in detail here.

[0276] Please refer to Figure 14, which is a structural diagram of another communication device 1000 provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. Communication device 1000 can be a terminal device or a PCF. This device can be used to implement the method described in the above method embodiment. For details, please refer to the description of the above method embodiment.

[0277] The communication device 1000 may include one or more processors 1001. The processor 1001 may be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor. For example, it may be a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor may be used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processing unit may be used to control the communication device (e.g., a base station, a baseband chip, a terminal device, a terminal device chip, a DU or CU, etc.), execute computer programs, and process computer program data.

[0278] Optionally, the communication device 1000 may further include one or more memories 1002, on which a computer program 1004 may be stored. The memory 1002 executes the computer program 1004 to enable the communication device 1000 to perform the method described in the above method embodiment. Optionally, the memory 1002 may also store data. The communication device 1000 and the memory 1002 may be provided separately or integrated together.

[0279] Optionally, the communication device 1000 may further include a transceiver 1005 and an antenna 1006. The transceiver 1005 may be referred to as a transceiver unit, a transceiver, or a transceiver circuit, etc., and is configured to implement transceiver functions. The transceiver 1005 may include a receiver and a transmitter. The receiver may be referred to as a receiver or a receiving circuit, etc., and is configured to implement a receiving function; the transmitter may be referred to as a transmitter or a transmitting circuit, etc., and is configured to implement a transmitting function.

[0280] Optionally, the communication device 1000 may further include one or more interface circuits 1007. The interface circuit 1007 is configured to receive code instructions and transmit the code instructions to the processor 1001. The processor 1001 executes the code instructions to enable the communication device 1000 to perform the method described in the above method embodiment.

[0281] The communication device 1000 is a PCF, the transceiver 1005 is used to execute S41 in FIG. 4 ; S51 in FIG. 5 ; S61 in FIG. 6 ; S72 in FIG. 7 ; S81 and S82 in FIG. 8 ; and the processor 1001 is used to execute S71 in FIG. 7 .

[0282] The communication apparatus 1000 is a terminal device: the transceiver 1005 is used to execute S91 in FIG. 9 ; S101 in FIG. 10 ; and S111 in FIG. 11 .

[0283] In one implementation, processor 1001 may include a transceiver for implementing receiving and transmitting functions. For example, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit, an interface, or an interface circuit. The transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit for implementing the receiving and transmitting functions may be separate or integrated. The transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit may be used for reading and writing code / data, or may be used for transmitting or delivering signals.

[0284] In one implementation, processor 1001 may store a computer program 1003. Computer program 1003, when executed on processor 1001, enables communication device 1000 to perform the method described in the above method embodiment. Computer program 1003 may be embedded in processor 1001, in which case processor 1001 may be implemented by hardware.

[0285] In one implementation, the communication device 1000 may include a circuit that can implement the functions of sending, receiving, or communicating in the aforementioned method embodiments. The processor and transceiver described in the present disclosure can be implemented on an integrated circuit (IC), an analog IC, a radio frequency integrated circuit RFIC, a mixed signal IC, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a printed circuit board (PCB), an electronic device, etc. The processor and transceiver can also be manufactured using various IC process technologies, such as complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS), N-type metal oxide semiconductor (nMetal-oxide-semiconductor, NMOS), P-type metal oxide semiconductor (positive channel metal oxide semiconductor, PMOS), bipolar junction transistor (bipolar junction transistor, BJT), bipolar CMOS (BiCMOS), silicon germanium (SiGe), gallium arsenide (GaAs), etc.

[0286] The communication device described in the above embodiment may be a terminal device, a PCF, or a core network, but the scope of the communication device described in this disclosure is not limited thereto, and the structure of the communication device may not be limited to FIG14. The communication device may be an independent device or may be part of a larger device. For example, the communication device may be:

[0287] (1) An independent integrated circuit (IC), or chip, or chip system or subsystem;

[0288] (2) a collection of one or more ICs, optionally including a storage component for storing data and computer programs;

[0289] (3) ASIC, such as modem;

[0290] (4) Modules that can be embedded in other devices;

[0291] (5) Receivers, terminal devices, intelligent terminal devices, cellular phones, wireless devices, handheld devices, mobile units, vehicle-mounted devices, network devices, cloud devices, artificial intelligence devices, etc.;

[0292] (6)Others, etc.

[0293] For the case where the communication device may be a chip or a chip system, please refer to FIG15 , which is a structural diagram of a chip provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0294] As shown in Figure 13, the chip 1100 includes a processor 1101 and an interface 1103. There may be one or more processors 1101, and there may be more than one interface 1103.

[0295] For the case where the chip is used to implement the function of the PCF in the embodiments of the present disclosure:

[0296] The interface 1103 is used to receive code instructions and transmit them to the processor.

[0297] The processor 1101 is configured to run code instructions to execute the long-term credential sending method as described in some of the above embodiments.

[0298] For the case where the chip is used to implement the functions of the terminal device in the embodiments of the present disclosure:

[0299] The interface 1103 is used to receive code instructions and transmit them to the processor.

[0300] The processor 1101 is configured to run code instructions to execute the long-term credential sending method as described in some of the above embodiments.

[0301] Optionally, the chip 1100 further includes a memory 1102 , which is used to store necessary computer programs and data.

[0302] Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks and steps listed in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. Whether such functionality is implemented by hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design requirements of the entire system. Those skilled in the art may use various methods to implement the described functionality for each specific application, but such implementation should not be construed as exceeding the scope of protection of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0303] The embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a long-term credential sending system, which includes the communication device serving as the PCF and the communication device of the terminal device in the embodiment of FIG. 13 , or the communication device serving as the PCF and the communication device of the terminal device in the embodiment of FIG. 14 .

[0304] The present disclosure also provides a readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon, which implement the functions of any of the above method embodiments when executed by a computer.

[0305] The present disclosure also provides a computer program product, which implements the functions of any of the above method embodiments when executed by a computer.

[0306] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs. When the computer program is loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present disclosure are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer program can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated therein. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a high-density digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0307] Unless the context requires otherwise, throughout the specification and claims, the term "comprise" and its other forms, such as the third person singular form "comprises" and the present participle form "comprising", are to be interpreted as open and inclusive, that is, "including, but not limited to". In the description of the specification, the terms "some embodiments", "exemplary embodiments", etc. are intended to indicate that the particular features, structures, materials or characteristics associated with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present disclosure. The schematic representation of the above terms does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. In addition, the particular features, structures, materials or characteristics may be included in any one or more embodiments or examples in any appropriate manner.

[0308] Those skilled in the art will understand that the various numerical numbers such as first and second involved in the present disclosure are only for the convenience of description and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present disclosure, and also indicate the order of precedence.

[0309] The at least one in the present disclosure can also be described as one or more, and the multiple can be two, three, four or more, which is not limited in the present disclosure. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, for a technical feature, the technical features in the technical feature are distinguished by "first", "second", "third", "A", "B", "C" and "D", and there is no order of precedence or size between the technical features described by "first", "second", "third", "A", "B", "C" and "D".

[0310] In the absence of contradiction, each step in a certain embodiment or example can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the steps can be arbitrarily combined. For example, the solution after removing some steps in a certain embodiment or example can also be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the order of the steps in a certain embodiment or example can be arbitrarily exchanged. In addition, the optional methods or optional examples in a certain embodiment or example can be arbitrarily combined; in addition, the various embodiments or examples can be arbitrarily combined. For example, some or all steps of different embodiments or examples can be arbitrarily combined, and a certain embodiment or example can be arbitrarily combined with the optional methods or optional examples of other embodiments or examples. In addition, each element, each row, or each column in the table involved in the present disclosure can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the combination of any element, any row, or any column can also be implemented as an independent embodiment.

[0311] Regarding the description methods of the present disclosure such as "A or B", "A and / or B", "at least one of A and B", "A in one case, B in another case", "in response to one case A, in response to another case B", etc., at least one of the following schemes may be included according to the situation: executing A independently of B, that is, A in some embodiments; executing B independently of A, that is, B in some embodiments; selectively executing A and B, that is, selecting to execute from A and B in some embodiments; executing both A and B, that is, A and B in some embodiments.

[0312] Those skilled 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. Professionals and technicians can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this disclosure.

[0313] Those skilled in the art will 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.

[0314] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present disclosure, but the scope of protection of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this disclosure should be included in the scope of protection of the present disclosure. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present disclosure should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for sending a long-term credential, characterized in that: The method is performed by a policy control function PCF, and includes: Sending a long-term credential to a terminal device, wherein the long-term credential is used by the terminal device to establish a sidelink communication connection.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The sending of the long-term credential to the terminal device comprises: Sending sidelink communication connection information to the terminal device, wherein the sidelink communication connection information includes the long-term credential.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The sidelink communication connection information also includes at least one of the following: identification information of the sidelink communication connection; Security policy.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The long-term credential is associated with identification information of the sidelink communication connection.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The sending of the long-term credential to the terminal device comprises: In response to determining that the terminal device is authorized, the long-term credential is sent to the terminal device.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The determining that the terminal device is authorized includes: Determine whether the terminal device is authorized based on at least one of the subscription data of the terminal device and the indication information sent by the first network device.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The method further comprises: The long-term credential is generated.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The generating of the long-term credential comprises: The long-term credential is generated based on the identification information of the sidelink communication connection.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The method further comprises: The long-term credential sent by the first network device is received.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that The terminal device is a terminal device that performs sidelink communication.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that The terminal device includes at least one of the following: Relay terminal equipment; Target terminal device; Source terminal device.

12. A method for sending a long-term credential, characterized in that: The method is executed by a terminal device, and includes: Receive a long-term credential sent by the PCF, wherein the long-term credential is used by the terminal device to establish a sidelink communication connection.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The receiving of the long-term credential sent by the PCF includes: Receive sidelink communication connection information sent by the PCF, wherein the sidelink communication connection information includes the long-term credential.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that The sidelink communication connection information also includes at least one of the following: identification information of the sidelink communication connection; Security policy.

15. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, characterized in that The long-term credential is associated with identification information of the sidelink communication connection.

16. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 15, characterized in that The receiving of the long-term credential sent by the PCF includes: The long-term credential is received from the PCF in response to determining that the terminal device is authorized.

17. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 16, characterized in that The terminal device is a terminal device for performing sidelink communication.

18. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 17, characterized in that The terminal device includes at least one of the following: Relay terminal equipment; Target terminal device; Source terminal device.

19. A communication device, arranged on the PCF side, characterized in that: include: The transceiver module is configured to send long-term credentials to a terminal device, wherein the long-term credentials are used by the terminal device to establish a sidelink communication connection.

20. A communication device, arranged at a terminal device side, characterized in that: include: The transceiver module is configured to receive long-term credentials sent by the PCF, wherein the long-term credentials are used by the terminal device to establish a sidelink communication connection.

21. A communication device, characterized in that: The device includes a processor and a memory, wherein a computer program is stored in the memory, and the processor executes the computer program stored in the memory so that the device performs the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 11, or the processor executes the computer program stored in the memory so that the device performs the method as described in any one of claims 12 to 18.

22. A communication device, characterized in that: include: processor and interface circuits; The interface circuit is used to receive code instructions and transmit them to the processor; The processor is used to run the code instructions to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, or is used to run the code instructions to execute the method according to any one of claims 12 to 18.

23. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions, which, when executed, enable the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11 to be implemented, or, when executed, enable the method according to any one of claims 12 to 18 to be implemented.

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