Path establishment method and device, UE and network side equipment

Abstract

Disclosed are a path establishment method, device, UE and network side device, belonging to the technical field of communications, the path establishment method of the embodiment of the present application comprising: a first UE receiving a first signaling from a network side device, the first signaling indicating the first UE to establish a first indirect link between the first UE and the network side device through a second UE; the first UE establishes a first indirect link based on the first signaling to form at least two links, the at least two links comprise at least two indirect links, and the at least two indirect links comprise the first indirect link.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application belongs to the field of communication technology, and specifically relates to a path establishment method, device, UE and network side equipment. Background Art

[0002] In the related art, the sidelink relay (SL relay) architecture can currently support the remote user equipment (UE) to establish a direct link and an indirect link at the same time, that is, to form a multi-path architecture, and use the two links to communicate with the network side equipment at the same time.

[0003] However, due to the limitations of current technology on existing multi-path support scenarios, there is currently no effective solution to establish at least two indirect links to communicate with network-side devices. Therefore, how to establish at least two indirect links is an urgent problem to be solved in this application. Summary of the invention

[0004] The embodiments of the present application provide a path establishment method, apparatus, UE, and network-side equipment, which can establish at least two indirect links for the UE.

[0005] In a first aspect, a path establishment method is provided, which is executed by a first UE, and the method includes: the first UE receives a first signaling from a network side device, the first signaling instructing the first UE to establish a first indirect link between the first UE and the network side device through a second UE; the first UE establishes the first indirect link based on the first signaling to form at least two links, the at least two links include at least two indirect links, and the at least two indirect links include the first indirect link.

[0006] In a second aspect, a path establishment method is provided, which is executed by a network side device, and the method includes: the network side device sends a first signaling to a first UE, and the first signaling indicates establishment of a first indirect link between the first UE and the network side device through a second UE; wherein, after the first indirect link is established, at least two links are formed, and the at least two links include at least two indirect links, and the at least two indirect links include the first indirect link.

[0007] According to a third aspect, a path establishment device is provided, which includes: a receiving module and an establishment module; the receiving module is used to receive a first signaling from a network side device, the first signaling instructing a first UE to establish a first indirect link between the first UE and the network side device via a second UE; the establishment module is used to establish the first indirect link based on the first signaling to form at least two links, the at least two links include at least two indirect links, and the at least two indirect links include the first indirect link.

[0008] In a fourth aspect, a path establishment device is provided, which includes: a sending module; the sending module is used to send a first signaling to a first UE, and the first signaling indicates the establishment of a first indirect link between the first UE and a network side device through a second UE; wherein, after the first indirect link is established, at least two links are formed, the at least two links include at least two indirect links, and the at least two indirect links include the first indirect link.

[0009] In a fifth aspect, a terminal is provided, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores a program or instruction that can be run on the processor, and when the program or instruction is executed by the processor, the steps of the method described in the first aspect are implemented.

[0010] In a sixth aspect, a terminal is provided, comprising a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is used to receive a first signaling from a network side device, the first signaling instructing a first UE to establish a first indirect link between the first UE and the network side device through a second UE; the processor is used to establish the first indirect link based on the first signaling to form at least two links, the at least two links including at least two indirect links, and the at least two indirect links including the first indirect link.

[0011] In a seventh aspect, a network side device is provided, which includes a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores programs or instructions that can be run on the processor, and when the program or instructions are executed by the processor, the steps of the method described in the first aspect are implemented.

[0012] In an eighth aspect, a network side device is provided, comprising a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is used to send a first signaling to a first UE, the first signaling indicating establishment of a first indirect link between the first UE and the network side device via a second UE; wherein, after the first indirect link is established, at least two links are formed, the at least two links include at least two indirect links, and the at least two indirect links include the first indirect link.

[0013] In a ninth aspect, a readable storage medium is provided, on which a program or instruction is stored. When the program or instruction is executed by a processor, the steps of the method described in the first aspect are implemented, or the steps of the method described in the second aspect are implemented.

[0014] In the tenth aspect, a wireless communication system is provided, including: a terminal and a network side device, wherein the terminal can be used to execute the steps of the method described in the first aspect, and the network side device can be used to execute the steps of the method described in the second aspect.

[0015] In the eleventh aspect, a chip is provided, comprising a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is used to run a program or instruction to implement the method described in the first aspect, or to implement the method described in the second aspect.

[0016] In a twelfth aspect, a computer program / program product is provided, wherein the computer program / program product is stored in a storage medium, and the program / program product is executed by at least one processor to implement the steps of the path establishment method as described in the first aspect.

[0017] In an embodiment of the present application, the first UE receives a first signaling from a network-side device, the first signaling instructing the first UE to establish a first indirect link between the first UE and the network-side device through the second UE; the first UE establishes the first indirect link based on the first signaling to form at least two links, the at least two links include at least two indirect links, and the at least two indirect links include the first indirect link. In this way, the first UE can establish a second indirect link through the first signaling sent by the network-side device when an indirect link has been established, and finally form at least two indirect links, thereby improving the efficiency of data transmission. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Figure 1 is a possible structural diagram of a communication system involved in an embodiment of the present application;

[0019] Figure 2 This is one of the flowcharts of a path establishment method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0020] Figure 3 This is a second flow chart of a path establishment method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0021] Figure 4 This is a flowchart of a path establishment method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0022] Figure 5 This is a fourth flowchart of a path establishment method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0023] Figure 6 This is a fifth flow chart of a path establishment method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0024] Figure 7 This is a sixth flow chart of a path establishment method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0025] Figure 8 This is a seventh flow chart of a path establishment method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0026] Fig. 9 This is a flowchart of a path establishment method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0027] Fig.10 This is a ninth flowchart of a path establishment method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0028] Fig.11 This is a flowchart of a path establishment method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0029] Fig.12 This is a flowchart of a path establishment method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0030] Fig.13 This is one of the structural schematic diagrams of a path establishment device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0031] Fig.14 This is a second structural diagram of a path establishment device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0032] Fig.15 This is a third structural diagram of a path establishment device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0033] Fig.16 This is a fourth structural diagram of a path establishment device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0034] Fig.17 This is a fifth structural diagram of a path establishment device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0035] Fig.18 It is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0036] Fig.19 is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a terminal provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0037] Fig. 20 It is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a network side device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application to clearly describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field belong to the scope of protection of this application.

[0039] The terms "first", "second", etc. of the present application are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that the terms used in this way are interchangeable where appropriate, so that the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in an order other than those illustrated or described herein, and the objects distinguished by "first" and "second" are generally of one type, and the number of objects is not limited, for example, the first object can be one or more. In addition, "or" in the present application represents at least one of the connected objects. For example, "A or B" covers three schemes, namely, Scheme 1: including A but not including B; Scheme 2: including B but not including A; Scheme 3: including both A and B. The character " / " generally indicates that the objects associated with each other are in an "or" relationship.

[0040] The term "indication" in this application can be a direct indication (or explicit indication) or an indirect indication (or implicit indication). A direct indication can be understood as the sender explicitly informing the receiver of specific information, operations to be performed, or request results in the sent indication; an indirect indication can be understood as the receiver determining the corresponding information according to the indication sent by the sender, or making a judgment and determining the operation to be performed or the request result according to the judgment result.

[0041] The following is an explanation of the technical terms involved in the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application:

[0042] 1) Sidelink Relay Mechanism

[0043] Relay technology in wireless communication systems is to add one or more relay nodes between the base station and the terminal, which is responsible for forwarding the wireless signal once or multiple times, that is, the wireless signal has to go through multiple hops to reach the terminal.

[0044] Wireless relay technology can not only be used to expand the cell coverage area and fill in the blind spots of the cell coverage, but also to increase the cell capacity through spatial resource reuse. For indoor coverage, Relay technology can also overcome the problem of penetration loss, thereby improving the quality of indoor coverage.

[0045] Taking the simpler two-hop relay as an example, wireless relay splits a base station-terminal link into two links: base station-relay station and relay station-terminal. This provides the opportunity to replace a link with poor quality with two links with better quality to obtain higher link capacity and better coverage.

[0046] At present, the relay supported in Long Term Evolution (LTE) is a scenario where the UE and the network side device are relayed to each other (ie, UE-to-Network relay), where one end of the Relay UE is connected to the remote UE (RemoteUE) and the other end is connected to the network side device.

[0047] New radio (NR) will also study how to support the UE-to-Network Relay mechanism. Remote UE needs to transmit data with network-side equipment, but due to poor coverage, it finds Relay UE to transfer the data. Among them, the Uu interface is between Relay UE and base station, and the sidelink (PC5) interface is between Relay UE and Remote UE. Generally speaking, Relay UE is open and can serve any Remote UE.

[0048] 3) Multiple path scenario definition

[0049] For the SL relay architecture, multipath means that the Remote UE establishes both an indirect path and a direct path.

[0050] 4) Indirect path: refers to the wireless link established between the Remote UE (or Primary UE) and the base station through the Relay UE (or Secondary UE) and the Uu air interface of the Relay UE (or Secondary UE).

[0051] 5) Direct path: refers to the wireless link established between the Remote UE (or Primary UE) and the base station through its own Uu air interface.

[0052] It is worth noting that the technology described in the embodiments of the present application is not limited to the Long Term Evolution (LTE) / LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) system, but can also be used in other wireless communication systems, such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Single-carrier Frequency-Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) or other systems. The terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of the present application are often used interchangeably, and the described technology can be used for the systems and radio technologies mentioned above as well as for other systems and radio technologies. The following description describes a New Radio (NR) system for illustrative purposes, and NR terminology is used in most of the following descriptions, but these technologies can also be applied to systems other than NR systems, such as the 6th generation (6 th Generation, 6G) communication system.

[0053] Figure 1A block diagram of a wireless communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application is shown. The wireless communication system includes a terminal 11 and a network side device 12. Among them, the terminal 11 can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer (Tablet Personal Computer), a laptop computer (Laptop Computer), a notebook computer, a personal digital assistant (Personal Digital Assistant, PDA), a handheld computer, a netbook, an ultra-mobile personal computer (Ultra-mobile Personal Computer, UMPC), a mobile Internet device (Mobile Internet Device, MID), an augmented reality (Augmented Reality, AR), a virtual reality (Virtual Reality, VR) device, a robot, a wearable device (Wearable Device), an aircraft (flight vehicle), a vehicle-mounted device (Vehicle User Equipment, VUE), a ship-mounted device, a pedestrian terminal (Pedestrian User Equipment, PUE), a smart home (home appliances with wireless communication functions, such as refrigerators, televisions, washing machines or furniture, etc.), a game console, a personal computer (Personal Computer, PC), a teller machine or a self-service machine and other terminal side devices. Wearable devices include: smart watches, smart bracelets, smart headphones, smart glasses, smart jewelry (smart bracelets, smart bracelets, smart rings, smart necklaces, smart anklets, smart anklets, etc.), smart wristbands, smart clothing, etc. Among them, the vehicle-mounted device can also be called a vehicle-mounted terminal, a vehicle-mounted controller, a vehicle-mounted module, a vehicle-mounted component, a vehicle-mounted chip or a vehicle-mounted unit, etc. It should be noted that the specific type of the terminal 11 is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. The network side device 12 may include an access network device or a core network device, wherein the access network device may also be referred to as a radio access network (Radio Access Network, RAN) device, a radio access network function or a radio access network unit. The access network device may include a base station, a wireless local area network (Wireless Local Area Network, WLAN) access point (Access Point, AS) or a wireless fidelity (Wireless Fidelity, WiFi) node, etc.Among them, the base station may be referred to as a Node B (NB), an evolved Node B (eNB), a next generation Node B (gNB), a New Radio Node B (NR Node B), an access point, a Relay Base Station (RBS), a Serving Base Station (SBS), a Base Transceiver Station (BTS), a radio base station, a radio transceiver, a Basic Service Set (BSS), an Extended Service Set (ESS), a Home Node B (HNB), a Home Evolved Node B, a Transmission Reception Point (TRP) or other appropriate terms in the field. As long as the same technical effect is achieved, the base station is not limited to specific technical terms. It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, only the base station in the NR system is used as an example for introduction, and the specific type of the base station is not limited.

[0054] In the following, in combination with the accompanying drawings, the path establishment method, apparatus, UE and network side equipment provided in the embodiments of the present application are described in detail through some embodiments and their application scenarios.

[0055] The path establishment method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be performed by a path establishment device. In the embodiment of the present application, the path establishment device can be a first UE, a communication device, or a network side device.

[0056] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a path establishment method provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown. Figure 2 As shown, taking the path establishment device as the first UE as an example, the network access method is executed by the first UE and may include the following steps 201 and 202:

[0057] Step 201: A first UE receives a first signaling from a network side device.

[0058] In the embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned first signaling instructs the first UE to establish a first indirect link between the first UE and the network side device through the second UE.

[0059] In an embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned first signaling may be a medium access control control element (MAC CE) signaling, or may be an RRC signaling or a physical layer signaling, which is not limited in the present application.

[0060] In the embodiment of the present application, the first UE may be a remote UE.

[0061] Step 202: The first UE establishes a first indirect link based on the first signaling to form at least two links.

[0062] In the embodiment of the present application, the at least two links include at least two indirect links. Further, the two indirect links include a first indirect link established by the first UE through the second UE and the network side device.

[0063] In an embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned first indirect link is a link connecting the first UE and the network side device with the second UE as a relay node.

[0064] Exemplarily, the second UE may be a relay UE.

[0065] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, combined with Figure 2 ,like Figure 3 As shown, in the path establishment method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the above step 201 also includes the following steps 201a and 201b:

[0066] Step 201a: The network side device sends a first signaling to the UE.

[0067] Step 201b: The UE receives a first signaling from a network-side device.

[0068] In an embodiment of the present application, a network-side device sends a first signaling to a first UE. After the first UE receives the first signaling, a first indirect link is established between the first UE and the network-side device through a second UE based on the first signaling.

[0069] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, the above step 202 specifically includes the following steps 202a:

[0070] Step 202a: When the first UE has established the second indirect link, the first UE establishes the first indirect link based on the first signaling.

[0071] In the embodiment of the present application, the second indirect link is an indirect link between the first UE and the network side device through the third UE.

[0072] Exemplarily, the first UE first establishes a second indirect link with the network side device through the third UE, that is, the first UE first establishes a connection with the network side device, so that the first UE receives the first signaling from the network side device and establishes a first indirect link according to the first signaling.

[0073] Exemplarily, the process of establishing the second indirect link by the first UE can reuse the existing process, that is, the first UE and the third UE can establish a link when they meet their respective Uu reference signal received power (RSRP) thresholds. For example, if the Uu RSRP of the first UE is lower than threshold 1, and the Uu RSRP threshold of the third UE is lower than threshold 2 or higher than threshold 3, then an indirect link between the first UE and the third UE is established; or, if the Uu RSRP of the first UE is lower than threshold 1, and the Uu RSRP threshold of the third UE is lower than threshold 2 and higher than threshold 3, then an indirect link between the first UE and the third UE is established.

[0074] It should be noted that the service cells corresponding to the second UE and the third UE may be the same or different, and the network side devices corresponding to the second UE and the third UE may be the same or different.

[0075] In addition, in the traditional indirect link switching scenario:

[0076] The first UE switches the second indirect link to the first indirect link, and the RRC reconfiguration signaling carrying the switching information is sent down through the source relay UE, that is, the indirect link path of the third UE mentioned above. After the UE executes the switching behavior, it responds to the RRC reconfiguration complete message through the indirect link of the second UE. If the second UE is in a non-RRC connected state, it will transition to an RRC connected state upon receiving the complete message, and forward the message to the serving cell. When the serving cell receives the complete message, it knows that the switching has been completed and the new link has been established, and the first UE's data transmission can be carried out on the new path subsequently.

[0077] For the scenario of adding an indirect link (i.e., the scenario of establishing a second indirect link provided in the embodiment of the present application):

[0078] The RRC Reconfiguration signaling that carries the added information of the first UE is also sent down through the indirect link path of the third UE, because at this time, the wireless signaling bearer SRB1 that carries the Uu RRC signaling has only one transmission path, which is the indirect link of the third UE. However, when the remote UE adds the new indirect link configuration according to the configuration message, the RRC reconfiguration complete message may not be transmitted through the indirect link of the newly added second UE. The main reason is that the path of SRB1 may not necessarily be reconfigured. After reconfiguration to the newly added indirect link, the only path or main path of SRB1 may still be maintained on the indirect link of the third UE. At this time, RRC reconfiguration complete still needs to be transmitted through the indirect link of the source relay UE, that is, the third UE. In this way, if the second UE is in a non-RRC connected state, there is a lack of a Complete message to trigger it to enter a connected state. At this time, a new mechanism is needed to trigger the second UE to perform a state transition, such as the New PC5 RRC signaling sent by the remote UE to the second UE to trigger the second UE to perform a state transition and complete the subsequent establishment of a new indirect link.

[0079] In a possible embodiment, the at least two links include at least two indirect links.

[0080] In another possible embodiment, the at least two links include at least two indirect links and a direct link between the first UE and the network side device, and the at least two indirect links include a first indirect link.

[0081] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, before the above step 201, the path establishment method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes steps 301 and 302:

[0082] Step 301: The first UE receives a second signaling from a network side device.

[0083] In this embodiment of the present application, the second signaling is used to configure the first UE to perform measurement.

[0084] In an embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned second signaling can be MAC CE signaling, or it can be RRC signaling or physical layer signaling, and the present application does not limit it.

[0085] Exemplarily, after the first UE establishes the first indirect link with the network side device through the third UE, the first UE enters the RRC connection state, and can interact with the service cell corresponding to the third UE through dedicated RRC signaling, that is, the above-mentioned second signaling. At this time, the service cell corresponding to the third UE can configure measurement for the first UE through signaling, requiring the first UE to continue measuring other available relay UEs around it.

[0086] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, Figure 4 As shown, in the path establishment method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the above step 301 also includes the following steps 301a and 301b:

[0087] Step 301a: The network side device sends a second signaling to the first UE.

[0088] Step 301b: The first UE receives a second signaling from the network side device.

[0089] In an embodiment of the present application, the network side device sends a second signaling to the first UE to instruct the first UE to measure nearby UEs.

[0090] Step 302: Based on the measurement result, the first UE sends information of the second UE that matches the measurement result to the network side device.

[0091] Exemplarily, the first UE may send the measurement result to the network side device through MAC CE signaling, or RRC signaling or physical layer signaling.

[0092] Exemplarily, the first UE measures nearby UEs through the received second signaling, determines a UE that meets the measurement conditions as a second UE, and sends information of the second UE to the network side device.

[0093] In one example, the UE that meets the measurement conditions may be a UE whose SL RSRP meets a preset threshold.

[0094] For example, when the SL RSRP between a certain UE and the first UE is greater than a threshold, the UE is determined as the second UE, and the identity (Identity) ID information of the UE, the serving cell information of the UE, and the link measurement result are reported.

[0095] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, combined with Figure 4 ,like Figure 5 As shown, in the path establishment method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the above step 302 also includes the following steps 302a and 302b:

[0096] Step 302a: The first UE sends information of the second UE that matches the measurement result to the network side device.

[0097] Step 302b: The network side device receives information of the second UE that is consistent with the measurement result from the first UE.

[0098] Exemplarily, the information of the second UE includes: identity information of the second UE and serving cell information of the second UE.

[0099] Exemplarily, the above-mentioned serving cell information includes at least one of the following: cell identification information of the serving cell of the second UE, and measurement result corresponding to the serving cell of the second UE.

[0100] In this way, the first UE can measure nearby UEs after having established an indirect link, and when an available UE is measured, establish a second indirect link on the premise of ensuring the first indirect link.

[0101] It should be noted that the measurement of the relay UE in the path establishment method of the second indirect link provided in the embodiment of the present application is obviously different from the measurement related to the switching from indirect link to indirect link in the prior art: in the prior art, the condition for the UE to switch the indirect link is that the SL link quality between the current serving relay UE and the remote UE is lower than the RSRP threshold, and the SL link quality between the relay UE to be switched and the remote UE is higher than the RSRP threshold, that is, the switching will be performed only when the source service node is poor and the target service node is good.

[0102] In the embodiment of the present application, taking the first UE as the remote UE and the second UE as the target relay UE as an example, the remote UE only needs to pay attention to the link quality of the target node to meet the communication requirements, and does not need the link difference of the source relay UE. After the remote UE reports the target relay UE, the network side device can add a new indirect link for the remote UE, that is, the first indirect link mentioned above. The adding method is similar to the switching of the indirect link to another indirect link, but the newly added second indirect link will not cause the source indirect link, that is, the second indirect link mentioned above, to be replaced and released, but the two coexist. Therefore, when designing the Uu RRC reconfiguration (Reconfiguration), it is also necessary to strictly distinguish the switching scenario and the adding scenario of the second indirect link, and to instruct the UE to perform different operations with explicit domains. For example, the switched indirect link configuration and the added indirect link are represented by different structure domains, or are distinguished in the same structure with explicit instructions, etc.

[0103] In the path establishment method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the first UE receives a first signaling from a network side device, the first signaling instructing the first UE to establish a first indirect link between the first UE and the network side device through the second UE; the first UE establishes the first indirect link based on the first signaling to form at least two links, the at least two links include at least two indirect links, and the at least two indirect links include the first indirect link. In this way, the first UE can establish a second indirect link through the first signaling sent by the network side device when an indirect link has been established, and finally form at least two indirect links, thereby improving the efficiency of data transmission.

[0104] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, before the above step 201, the path establishment method provided by the present application further includes step 401:

[0105] Step 401: A first UE reports capability information of the first UE to a network-side device.

[0106] Exemplarily, the capability information of the first UE is used to indicate that the first UE has the capability of supporting at least two indirect links.

[0107] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, combined with Figure 2 ,like Figure 6 As shown, in the path establishment method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the above step 401 also includes the following steps 401a and 401b:

[0108] Step 401a: The first UE reports capability information of the first UE to a network-side device.

[0109] Step 401b: The network side device receives capability information of the first UE from the first UE.

[0110] Optionally, in this embodiment of the present application, the capability information of the first UE includes at least one of the following:

[0111] Multilink version information supported by the first UE;

[0112] whether the first UE supports more than two links;

[0113] a maximum number of links supported by the first UE;

[0114] a maximum number of indirect links supported by the first UE;

[0115] Information about indirect link types supported by the first UE.

[0116] Exemplarily, the capability information of the first UE in the above-mentioned first UE can be used to indicate the multi-path combination introduced by the new version supported by the UE, for example, one direct link plus 2 indirect links, or 3 indirect links, or one direct link plus 3 indirect links, etc.

[0117] Exemplarily, the first UE needs to report new UE capabilities to the network side device for the multipath combination introduced in the new version supported by the UE, because the UE that only supports the R18 version cannot support the subsequent new combined multipath establishment behavior.

[0118] Exemplarily, the capability information of the first UE can explicitly support all multipath combinations introduced in new versions through 1 bit, or can explicitly support each corresponding multipath combination introduced in new versions through multiple bits. Both are feasible, and the standardization team can choose one.

[0119] It should be noted that, for the relay UE, since the relay UE is only responsible for its own indirect link, the two indirect links will be assisted in the transmission by two different relay UEs respectively. Each relay UE is not affected by the increase or decrease of other indirect links and direct links. That is, the multipath combination introduced in the new version is transparent to the relay UE. Therefore, the relay UE does not need to introduce new capabilities for the multipath combination introduced in the new version.

[0120] In addition, the capability information of the network-side devices also needs to be updated.

[0121] Exemplarily, the network side device needs to upgrade its function to support new multipath combinations on the basis of supporting the R18 SL relay Multipath function, such as supporting two indirect links, and or supporting more than two directlink+indirect link combinations, and the network side device can inform the UE of its support for the new combination in an explicit manner, for example, through a 1bit to nbit new public signaling (such as in SIB) or a field in dedicated signaling (such as RRC Dedicated signaling) to indicate that the network side device supports new multipath combinations. Among them, 1bit can represent all new multipath combinations, or each bit can represent one or a group of new multipath combinations. Alternatively, the UE is informed of its support for new multipath combinations in an implicit manner. For example, the network side device implicitly indicates the new multipath combinations supported by the network side device through the appearance of new configuration fields in some public signaling or dedicated signaling.

[0122] In this way, the UE can inform the network side device what kind of multipath combination can be established by reporting its own capability information to the network side device, thereby improving the efficiency of establishing the multipath architecture.

[0123] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, after the above step 202, the path establishment method provided by the present application further includes steps 501 and 502:

[0124] Step 501: When a radio link failure (RLF) is detected in a third link, the first UE reports first failure information to a network-side device and starts a timer.

[0125] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, Figure 7 As shown, in the path establishment method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the above step 501 also includes the following steps 501a and 501b:

[0126] Step 501a: The first UE reports first failure information to the network side device.

[0127] Step 501b: The network side device receives first failure information from the first UE.

[0128] In the embodiment of the present application, the first failure information includes connection failure information of the third link.

[0129] Exemplarily, the first failure information may be a master cell group (Master Cell Group, MCG) failure message (Failure Information).

[0130] Step 502: When receiving indication information sent by the network side device within the timing duration of the timer, the first UE executes a first behavior based on the indication of the indication information.

[0131] In an embodiment of the present application, the timing duration of the above-mentioned timer can be configured by the network side device or agreed upon by the protocol.

[0132] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, combined with Figure 7 ,like Figure 8 As shown, in the path establishment method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the above step 502 also includes the following steps 502a and 502b:

[0133] Step 502a: The network side device sends indication information to the first UE.

[0134] Step 502b: The first UE receives indication information from the network side device.

[0135] In this embodiment of the present application, the above indication information is used to instruct the UE to perform the first behavior on the third link.

[0136] In the embodiment of the present application, the above indication information is related to the processing result of the RLF of the third link by the network side device.

[0137] Exemplarily, the above-mentioned processing result of the RLF of the third link may be to instruct the first UE to perform processing on the third link.

[0138] In an embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned first behavior is used to restore the third link, or the first behavior is used to reconfigure the available link.

[0139] Exemplarily, the third link is one of the at least two links.

[0140] Exemplarily, the above-mentioned available link is a link different from the third link.

[0141] In a possible embodiment, when RLF occurs in the third link, a timer is started, and within the timing duration of the timer, the UE receives indication information from the network side device, that is, the processing result of the RLF of the third link. At this time, the first UE can perform processing operations on the third link according to the processing method indicated by the indication information, for example, restoring the connection of the third link, or reconfiguring a new available link for the first UE.

[0142] In another possible embodiment, after the first UE starts the timer, if the first UE does not receive the indication information sent by the network side device within the timing duration of the timer, the first UE re-establishes the RRC connection between the first UE and the network side device.

[0143] Further optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, after the above step 501, the path establishment method provided by the present application further includes step 503:

[0144] Step 503: If the first UE does not receive the indication information within the timing duration of the timer, the first UE re-establishes the RRC connection between the first UE and the network side device.

[0145] Exemplarily, when the third link RLF is detected and the first UE does not receive the indication information sent by the network side device within the timing duration of the timer start, the first UE is triggered to perform the RRC reconstruction operation.

[0146] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, when the first UE establishes two indirect links, since the two indirect links have similar status, there is no obvious primary-slave relationship. Therefore, in the multipath composed of the two indirect links, there is no default primary path or natural primary path, so it is necessary to configure one of the indirect links to have the identity of the primary path through signaling. Alternatively, when the first UE includes a direct link, the direct link is directly defaulted to the primary path of the first UE.

[0147] The following three possible embodiments are combined with the above step 501 and step 502 to describe the processing process after the third link connection fails in the embodiment of the present application, with the third link being an indirect link or a direct link.

[0148] In a first possible embodiment, the third link is an indirect link corresponding to the primary serving cell.

[0149] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, before the above step 501, the path establishment method provided by the present application further includes step 601:

[0150] Step 601: The first UE receives a third signaling from a network side device.

[0151] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, combined with Figure 8 ,like Fig. 9 As shown, in the path establishment method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the above step 601 also includes the following steps 601a and 601b:

[0152] Step 601a: The network side device sends a third signaling to the first UE.

[0153] Step 601b: The first UE receives a third signaling from the network side device.

[0154] In the embodiment of the present application, the third UE is the UE through which the second indirect link established between the first UE and the network side device passes.

[0155] In an embodiment of the present application, the third signaling may be MAC CE signaling, or may be RRC signaling or physical layer signaling.

[0156] In this embodiment of the present application, the third signaling is used to indicate the primary serving cell.

[0157] Exemplarily, the primary service cell is a service cell of the second UE or the third UE.

[0158] Exemplarily, when the third signaling indicates the serving cell of the second UE, the indirect link between the first UE and the network side device through the second UE is used as the third link.

[0159] Exemplarily, when the first UE establishes two indirect links, the third signaling is used to instruct the second UE or the third UE to be the primary serving cell, and the indirect link between the second UE or the third UE and the first UE is configured as the identity of the primary path.

[0160] In a second possible embodiment, the third link is a main path of a signaling radio bearer (SRB1), or is the only path of the signaling radio bearer SRB1.

[0161] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, before the above step 501, the path establishment method provided by the present application further includes step 701:

[0162] Step 701: The first UE receives a fourth signaling from a network side device.

[0163] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, combined with Figure 8 ,like Fig.10 As shown, in the path establishment method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the above step 701 also includes the following steps 701a and 701b:

[0164] Step 701a: The network side device sends a fourth signaling to the first UE.

[0165] Step 701b: The first UE receives a fourth signaling from the network side device.

[0166] In an embodiment of the present application, the fourth signaling may be MAC CE signaling, or may be RRC signaling or physical layer signaling.

[0167] In a possible embodiment, the fourth signaling is used to indicate the primary path of SRB1.

[0168] Exemplarily, the primary path is an indirect link among the at least two links.

[0169] Exemplarily, the third link is a primary path.

[0170] In another possible embodiment, the fourth signaling is used to indicate a unique path of SRB1.

[0171] Exemplarily, the third link is a unique path, and the unique path is an indirect link among the at least two links.

[0172] In a third possible embodiment, the third link is a direct link.

[0173] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, before the above step 501, the path establishment method provided by the present application further includes step 801:

[0174] Step 801: The first UE uses a serving cell corresponding to a direct link between the first UE and a network-side device as a primary serving cell.

[0175] Exemplarily, the third link is a direct link corresponding to the primary serving cell.

[0176] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, before the above step 501, the path establishment method provided by the present application further includes step 901:

[0177] Step 901: The first UE sets the direct link between the first UE and the network side device as the primary path or the only path of SRB1 by default.

[0178] Exemplarily, the third link is a primary path or a unique path of SRB1.

[0179] Exemplarily, in the architecture of R18 SL relay Multipath, when there is a direct link, it is generally believed that the direct link will have a more stable link quality, and the configuration of the direct link reuses the existing Uu interface configuration method. Therefore, the service cell (PCell) of this direct link is finally determined as the PCell of the remote UE, and the main path of SRB1 is also defaulted to the direct link. When the direct link fails, the UE executes the relevant process of MCG RLF, that is, when SRB1 has no other available paths except the direct link, MCG RLF directly triggers the remote UE RRC connection re-establishment (Connection Re-establishment) process; if SRB1 still has other available paths, such as an indirect link, the remote UE can report the MCG Failure Information message through the path, and start the relevant timer to monitor the network's processing of the MCG RLF.

[0180] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, after the above step 202, the path establishment method provided by the present application further includes step 1001:

[0181] Step 1001: When detecting that RLF occurs in the fourth link, the first UE reports second failure information to the network side device.

[0182] In this embodiment of the present application, the second failure information includes connection failure information of the fourth link.

[0183] Exemplarily, the first failure information may be an MCG Failure Information message.

[0184] Exemplarily, the fourth link is an available link currently established by the UE except for the third link.

[0185] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, Fig.11 As shown, in the path establishment method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the above step 1001 also includes the following steps 1001a and 1001b:

[0186] Step 1001a: The first UE reports second failure information to the network side device.

[0187] Step 1001b: The network side device receives second failure information from the first UE.

[0188] Exemplarily, since the fourth link is in an auxiliary position, when RLF occurs in the fourth link, the remote UE only needs to report it to the network side device and will not actively trigger the RRC Connection Re-establishment process. The main reason is that other paths can also be used as the main path.

[0189] It is understandable that when establishing more than two multi-paths, the first indirect or direct link is first established according to the process of the prior art, and then new paths are added one by one according to the path establishment method provided in the embodiment of the present application. Multiple new paths can also be added at one time.

[0190] In one example, when a direct link is included in multiple paths, the direct link can be used as the main path by default or naturally. Then, the PCell of the direct link is the PCell of the UE. If the direct link fails, the UE executes the relevant processes of the MCG failure. If other indirect failures occur, the UE only reports to the network.

[0191] In another example, when the multi-path does not include a direct link, that is, when all paths of the remote UE are indirect links, the network-side RRC signaling is required to explicitly indicate that one of the indirect links has the primary path identity, for example, the PCell of the indirect link is used as the PCell of the UE, and or the indirect link is configured as the only path of SRB1 or the primary path of SRB1. When the indirect link fails, the UE executes the relevant processes of the MCG failure. For other indirect failures, the UE only needs to report to the network-side device.

[0192] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, after the above step 202, the path establishment method provided by the present application further includes step A1:

[0193] Step A1: The first UE receives sixth signaling from a network side device.

[0194] In this embodiment of the present application, the sixth signaling is used to activate or deactivate one or more of the at least two links.

[0195] In the embodiment of the present application, the sixth signaling may be layer 1 signaling (L1), layer 2 signaling (L2), or layer 3 signaling (L3).

[0196] Exemplarily, the above L1 and L2 may be MAC CE signaling, or may be physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) downlink control information (DCI) signaling or physical layer signaling.

[0197] Exemplarily, the above-mentioned L3 may be RRC signaling.

[0198] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, Fig.12 As shown, in the path establishment method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the above step A1 also includes the following steps A1a and A1b:

[0199] Step A1a: The network side device sends a sixth signaling to the first UE.

[0200] Step A1b: The first UE receives the sixth signaling sent by the network side device.

[0201] In an example, when the remote UE is configured with more than two paths, and at least one of them is a direct link, the network-side device can perform activation and deactivation management on the multiple paths through the control process of L1 or L2.

[0202] In another example, since the indirect link does not communicate directly with the remote UE due to the serving cell, when the remote UE has more than two paths configured, and direct link is not included, it needs to be transferred through the relay UE, and the transferred signal is generally L3 signaling, such as RRC signaling.

[0203] Exemplarily, the main link (e.g., direct link) should remain in the default activated state and cannot be deactivated. Other links except the main link can be numbered by default in the order in which they appear in the RRC reconfiguration signaling, or the signaling can carry explicit numbers, for example, path 0, 1, 2, 3, etc., and the corresponding positions of bit0, bit1, bit2, and bit3 in the MAC CE are used to represent activation (e.g., value 1) or deactivation (e.g., value 0), for example, 1001, which means that path0 and path3 are activated, and path1 and path2 are deactivated.

[0204] In this way, when there are more than two paths, the network side device sends activation and deactivation signaling, which not only avoids the complexity and power consumption of the remote UE maintaining multiple path transmissions at the same time, but also can flexibly select and switch among multiple paths, thereby avoiding the problem of service rate loss and poor experience caused by the failure of one path.

[0205] It should be noted that in the embodiments provided above in the present application, the SL / PC5 interface between two UEs is used as an example for explanation, but in fact it can also be extended to other UE-UE interface forms, such as Wireless Fidelity (wifi), Bluetooth, etc., and even different interfaces can coexist, for example, the UE has 4 paths at the same time, direct link, indirect link 1 with ideal backhaul, indirect link 2 with wifi interface, indirect link 4 with Bluetooth interface.

[0206] The path establishment method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be executed by a path establishment device. In the embodiment of the present application, the path establishment device provided in the embodiment of the present application is described by taking the path establishment method executed by the path establishment device as an example.

[0207] Fig.13 FIG. 1 shows a possible structural diagram of a path establishment device involved in an embodiment of the present application. Fig.13 As shown, the path establishing device 60 may include: a receiving module 61 and an establishing module 62;

[0208] Among them, the receiving module 61 is used to receive a first signaling from a network side device, and the first signaling instructs the first UE to establish a first indirect link between the first UE and the network side device through the second UE; the above-mentioned establishing module 62 is used to establish a first indirect link based on the first signaling received by the above-mentioned receiving module 61, forming at least two links, the at least two links include at least two indirect links, and the at least two indirect links include the first indirect link.

[0209] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, combined with Fig.13 ,like Fig.14 As shown, the above-mentioned path establishing device 60 further includes: a sending module 63;

[0210] The sending module 63 is used to report the capability information of the first UE to the network side device before the first UE receives the first signaling from the network side device, where the capability information is used to indicate that the first UE has the capability of supporting at least two indirect links.

[0211] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, the capability information includes at least one of the following:

[0212] Multilink version information supported by the first UE;

[0213] whether the first UE supports more than two links;

[0214] a maximum number of links supported by the first UE;

[0215] a maximum number of indirect links supported by the first UE;

[0216] Information about indirect link types supported by the first UE.

[0217] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned establishment module 62 is specifically used to establish a first indirect link based on the first signaling received by the above-mentioned receiving module 61 when the first UE has established a second indirect link, and the second indirect link is an indirect link between the first UE and the network side device through the third UE.

[0218] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned receiving module 61 is also used to receive a second signaling from the network side device before the first UE receives the first signaling from the network side device, and the second signaling is used to configure the first UE to perform measurement; the above-mentioned sending module 63 is also used to send information of the second UE that conforms to the measurement result to the network side device based on the measurement result; wherein the information of the second UE includes the identity information of the second UE and the service cell information of the second UE; the service cell information includes at least one of the following: cell identification information of the service cell of the second UE, and measurement result corresponding to the service cell of the second UE.

[0219] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the at least two links include a direct link between the first UE and the network side device.

[0220] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, combined with Fig.13 ,like Fig.15 As shown, the above-mentioned path establishing device 60 further includes: a processing module 64;

[0221] The processing module 64 is used for the first UE to establish a first indirect link based on the first signaling, and then, when a radio link failure RLF is detected in the third link, report the first failure information to the network side device and start the timer; the above-mentioned processing module 64 is also used for receiving indication information sent by the network side device within the timing duration of the timer, and executing the first behavior based on the indication of the indication information; wherein the first failure information includes connection failure information of the third link; the indication information is related to the processing result of the RLF of the third link by the network side device; the first behavior is used to restore the third link, or the first behavior is used to reconfigure the available link; the third link is one of at least two links; the available link is a link different from the third link.

[0222] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned receiving module 61 is also used to, when a radio link failure RLF is detected in the third link, the first UE reports the first failure information to the network side device, and before starting the timer, receives a third signaling from the network side device, the third signaling being used to indicate the primary service cell, the primary service cell being the service cell of the second UE or the third UE; wherein the third UE is the UE through which the second indirect link established between the first UE and the network side device passes; the third link is an indirect link corresponding to the primary service cell.

[0223] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned receiving module 61 is also used to receive a fourth signaling from the network side device before the first UE reports the first failure information to the network side device and starts the timer when a radio link failure RLF is detected in the third link; wherein the fourth signaling is used to indicate the main path of the wireless signaling bearer SRB1, the main path is one of the indirect links among at least two links, and the third link is the main path; or, the fourth signaling is used to indicate the only path of SRB1, the third link is the only path, and the only path is one of the indirect links among at least two links.

[0224] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned processing module 64 is also used to, when a radio link failure RLF is detected in the third link, the first UE reports the first failure information to the network side device, and before starting the timer, the service cell corresponding to the direct link between the first UE and the network side device is used as the main service cell, and the third link is the direct link corresponding to the main service cell.

[0225] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned processing module 64 is also used to, when a radio link failure RLF is detected in the third link, the first UE reports the first failure information to the network side device, and before starting the timer, the direct link between the first UE and the network side device is defaulted to the main path or the only path of SRB1; the third link is the main path or the only path of SRB1.

[0226] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned establishment module 62 is also used to re-establish the RRC connection between the first UE and the network side device after starting the timer, if no indication information is received within the timing duration of the timer.

[0227] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned sending module 63 is also used for the first UE to establish the first indirect link based on the first signaling, and then, when an RLF is detected in the fourth link, to report second failure information to the network side device, and the second failure information includes connection failure information of the fourth link.

[0228] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned receiving module 61 is also used for the first UE to receive a sixth signaling from the network side device after the first UE establishes the first indirect link based on the first signaling, and the sixth signaling is used to activate or deactivate one or more of the at least two links.

[0229] Fig.16 Another possible structural diagram of the path establishment device involved in the embodiment of the present application is shown. Fig.16 As shown, the path establishing device 70 may include: a sending module 71;

[0230] Among them, the sending module is used to send a first signaling to the first UE, and the first signaling indicates the establishment of a first indirect link between the first UE and the network side device through the second UE; wherein, after the first indirect link is established, at least two links are formed, and the at least two links include at least two indirect links, and the at least two indirect links include the first indirect link.

[0231] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, combined with Fig.16 ,like Fig.17 As shown, the above-mentioned path establishment device 70 also includes: a receiving module 72; the receiving module 72 is used to receive capability information of the first UE from the first UE before the network side device sends the first signaling to the first UE, and the capability information is used to indicate that the first UE has the ability to support at least two indirect links.

[0232] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, the capability information includes at least one of the following:

[0233] Multilink version information supported by the first UE;

[0234] whether the first UE supports more than two links;

[0235] a maximum number of links supported by the first UE;

[0236] a maximum number of indirect links supported by the first UE;

[0237] Information about indirect link types supported by the first UE.

[0238] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned sending module 71 is also used to send a second signaling to the first UE after the network side device sends the first signaling to the first UE, and the second signaling is used to configure the first UE to perform measurement; the above-mentioned receiving module 72 is also used to receive information of the second UE that is consistent with the measurement result from the first UE; wherein the information of the second UE includes the identity information of the second UE and the service cell information of the second UE; the service cell information includes at least one of the following: cell identification information of the service cell of the second UE, and the measurement result corresponding to the service cell of the second UE.

[0239] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the at least two links mentioned above also include a direct link between the first UE and the network side device.

[0240] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned receiving module 72 is also used to receive first failure information from the first UE after the network side device sends the first signaling to the first UE; the above-mentioned sending module 71 is also used to send indication information to the first UE based on the first failure information; wherein the first failure information includes connection failure information of the third link; the indication information is used to indicate the execution of a first behavior on the third link; the first behavior is used to restore the third link, or the first behavior is used to reconfigure the available link; the third link is one of at least two links; the available link is a link different from the third link.

[0241] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned sending module 71 is also used for the network side device to send a third signaling to the first UE before receiving the first failure information from the first UE, and the third signaling is used to indicate the main service cell, and the main service cell is the service cell of the second UE or the third UE; wherein the third UE is the UE through which the second indirect link established between the first UE and the network side device passes, and the third link is an indirect link corresponding to the main service cell.

[0242] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned sending module 71 is also used to send a fourth signaling to the first UE before the network side device receives the first failure information from the first UE; wherein the fourth signaling is used to indicate the main path of the wireless signaling bearer SRB1, the main path is one of the indirect links among at least two links, and the third link is the main path; or, the fourth signaling is used to indicate the only path of SRB1, the third link is the only path, and the only path is one of the indirect links among at least two links.

[0243] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned receiving module 72 is also used to receive second failure information from the first UE after the network side device sends the first signaling to the first UE; the second failure information includes connection failure information of the fourth link.

[0244] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned sending module 71 is also used to send a sixth signaling to the first UE after the network side device sends the first signaling to the first UE, and the sixth signaling is used to activate or deactivate one or more of the at least two links.

[0245] In the path establishment device provided in the embodiment of the present application, the device receives a first signaling from a network side device, the first signaling instructs the first UE to establish a first indirect link between the first UE and the network side device through the second UE; based on the first signaling, the first indirect link is established to form at least two links, the at least two links include at least two indirect links, and the at least two indirect links include the first indirect link. In this way, the first UE can establish a second indirect link through the first signaling sent by the network side device when an indirect link has been established, and finally form at least two indirect links, thereby improving the efficiency of data transmission.

[0246] The path establishment device in the embodiment of the present application can be an electronic device, such as an electronic device with an operating system, or a component in an electronic device, such as an integrated circuit or a chip. The electronic device can be a terminal, or it can be other devices other than a terminal. Exemplarily, the terminal can include but is not limited to the types of terminals 11 listed above, and other devices can be servers, network attached storage (NAS), etc., which are not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0247] The path establishment device provided in the embodiment of the present application can achieve Figures 1 to 12 The various processes implemented by the method embodiment and achieving the same technical effect are not described here to avoid repetition.

[0248] like Fig.18 As shown, the embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device 80, including a processor 81 and a memory 82, and the memory 82 stores a program or instruction that can be run on the processor 81. For example, when the communication device 80 is a terminal, the program or instruction is executed by the processor 81 to implement the various steps of the above-mentioned path establishment method embodiment, and can achieve the same technical effect. When the communication device 80 is a network side device, the program or instruction is executed by the processor 81 to implement the various steps of the above-mentioned path establishment method embodiment, and can achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

[0249] The embodiment of the present application also provides a terminal, including a processor and a communication interface, the communication interface and the processor are coupled, and the processor is used to run a program or instruction to implement the following Figures 1 to 12 The steps in the method embodiment shown. This terminal embodiment corresponds to the above-mentioned terminal side method embodiment, and each implementation process and implementation mode of the above-mentioned method embodiment can be applied to this terminal embodiment and can achieve the same technical effect.

[0250] Specifically, Fig.19 A schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a terminal for implementing an embodiment of the present application, wherein the terminal may be the first UE in the embodiment of the present application.

[0251] The terminal 100 includes but is not limited to: a radio frequency unit 101, a network module 102, an audio output unit 103, an input unit 104, a sensor 105, a display unit 106, a user input unit 107, an interface unit 108, a memory 109 and at least some of the components of a processor 110.

[0252] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the terminal 100 may also include a power source (such as a battery) for supplying power to various components, and the power source may be logically connected to the processor 110 through a power management system, thereby implementing functions such as managing charging, discharging, and power consumption management through the power management system. Fig.19 The terminal structure shown in the figure does not constitute a limitation on the terminal. The terminal may include more or fewer components than shown in the figure, or combine certain components, or arrange the components differently, which will not be described in detail here.

[0253] It should be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the input unit 104 may include a graphics processing unit (GPU) 1041 and a microphone 1042, and the graphics processor 1041 processes the image data of a static picture or video obtained by an image capture device (such as a camera) in a video capture mode or an image capture mode. The display unit 106 may include a display panel 1061, and the display panel 1061 may be configured in the form of a liquid crystal display, an organic light emitting diode, etc. The user input unit 107 includes a touch panel 1071 and at least one of other input devices 1072. The touch panel 1071 is also called a touch screen. The touch panel 1071 may include two parts: a touch detection device and a touch controller. Other input devices 1072 may include, but are not limited to, a physical keyboard, function keys (such as a volume control button, a switch button, etc.), a trackball, a mouse, and a joystick, which will not be repeated here.

[0254] In the embodiment of the present application, after receiving downlink data from the network side device, the RF unit 101 can transmit the data to the processor 110 for processing; in addition, the RF unit 101 can send uplink data to the network side device. Generally, the RF unit 101 includes but is not limited to an antenna, an amplifier, a transceiver, a coupler, a low noise amplifier, a duplexer, etc.

[0255] The memory 109 can be used to store software programs or instructions and various data. The memory 109 may mainly include a first storage area for storing programs or instructions and a second storage area for storing data, wherein the first storage area may store an operating system, an application program or instruction required for at least one function (such as a sound playback function, an image playback function, etc.), etc. In addition, the memory 109 may include a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM), a static random access memory (SRAM), a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), a double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDRSDRAM), an enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), a synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM) and a direct memory bus random access memory (DRRAM). The memory 109 in the embodiment of the present application includes but is not limited to these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0256] The processor 110 may include one or more processing units; optionally, the processor 110 integrates an application processor and a modem processor, wherein the application processor mainly processes operations related to an operating system, a user interface, and application programs, and the modem processor mainly processes wireless communication signals, such as a baseband processor. It is understandable that the modem processor may not be integrated into the processor 110.

[0257] Among them, the radio frequency unit 107 is used to receive a first signaling from a network side device, and the first signaling instructs the first UE to establish a first indirect link between the first UE and the network side device through the second UE; the processor 110 is used to establish a first indirect link based on the first signaling to form at least two links, and the at least two links include at least two indirect links, and the at least two indirect links include the first indirect link.

[0258] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned radio frequency unit 107 is also used to report capability information of the first UE to the network side device before the first UE receives the first signaling from the network side device, and the capability information is used to indicate that the first UE has the ability to support at least two indirect links.

[0259] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, the capability information includes at least one of the following:

[0260] Multilink version information supported by the first UE;

[0261] whether the first UE supports more than two links;

[0262] a maximum number of links supported by the first UE;

[0263] a maximum number of indirect links supported by the first UE;

[0264] Information about indirect link types supported by the first UE.

[0265] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned processor 110 is specifically used to establish a first indirect link based on the first signaling when the first UE has established a second indirect link, and the second indirect link is an indirect link between the first UE and the network side device through the third UE.

[0266] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned radio frequency unit 107 is also used to receive a second signaling from the network side device before the first UE receives the first signaling from the network side device, and the second signaling is used to configure the first UE to perform measurement; the above-mentioned radio frequency unit 107 is also used to send information of the second UE that is consistent with the measurement result to the network side device based on the measurement result; wherein the information of the second UE includes the identity information of the second UE and the service cell information of the second UE; the service cell information includes at least one of the following: cell identification information of the service cell of the second UE, and measurement result corresponding to the service cell of the second UE.

[0267] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the at least two links also include a direct link between the first UE and the network side device.

[0268] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned processor 110 is also used for, after the first UE establishes the first indirect link based on the first signaling, when a radio link failure RLF is detected in the third link, to report the first failure information to the network side device and start the timer; the above-mentioned processor 110 is also used for, when the indication information sent by the network side device is received within the timing duration of the timer, to execute the first behavior based on the indication of the indication information; wherein the first failure information includes connection failure information of the third link; the indication information is related to the processing result of the RLF of the third link by the network side device; the first behavior is used to restore the third link, or the first behavior is used to reconfigure the available link; the third link is one of at least two links; the available link is a link different from the third link.

[0269] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned radio frequency unit 107 is also used to, when a radio link failure RLF is detected in the third link, the first UE reports the first failure information to the network side device, and before starting the timer, receives a third signaling from the network side device, the third signaling is used to indicate the main service cell, the main service cell is the service cell of the second UE or the third UE; the third link is an indirect link corresponding to the main service cell.

[0270] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned radio frequency unit 107 is also used to, when a radio link failure RLF is detected in the third link, the first UE reports the first failure information to the network side device, and before starting the timer, receives a fourth signaling from the network side device; wherein the fourth signaling is used to indicate the main path of the wireless signaling bearer SRB1, the main path is one of the indirect links among at least two links, and the third link is the main path; or, the fourth signaling is used to indicate the only path of SRB1, the third link is the only path, and the only path is one of the indirect links among at least two links.

[0271] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned processor 110 is also used to, when a radio link failure RLF is detected in the third link, the first UE reports the first failure information to the network side device, and before starting the timer, uses the service cell corresponding to the direct link between the first UE and the network side device as the main service cell, and the third link is the direct link corresponding to the main service cell.

[0272] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned processor 110 is also used to, when a radio link failure RLF is detected in the third link, the first UE reports the first failure information to the network side device, and before starting the timer, the direct link between the first UE and the network side device is defaulted to the main path or the only path of SRB1; the third link is the main path or the only path of SRB1.

[0273] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned processor 110 is also used to, after starting the timer, re-establish the RRC connection between the first UE and the network side device if no indication information is received within the timing duration of the timer.

[0274] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned radio frequency unit 107 is also used for the first UE to establish a first indirect link based on the first signaling, and then, when an RLF is detected in the fourth link, to report second failure information to the network side device, and the second failure information includes connection failure information of the fourth link.

[0275] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned radio frequency unit 107 is also used for the first UE to establish a first indirect link based on the first signaling, and the first UE receives a sixth signaling from the network side device, and the sixth signaling is used to activate or deactivate one or more of the at least two links.

[0276] In the terminal provided in the embodiment of the present application, the terminal receives a first signaling from a network side device, the first signaling instructing the first UE to establish a first indirect link between the first UE and the network side device through the second UE; based on the first signaling, the first indirect link is established to form at least two links, the at least two links include at least two indirect links, and the at least two indirect links include the first indirect link. In this way, the first UE can establish a second indirect link through the first signaling sent by the network side device when an indirect link has been established, and finally form at least two indirect links, thereby improving the efficiency of data transmission.

[0277] It can be understood that the implementation process of each implementation method mentioned in this embodiment can refer to the relevant description of the path establishment method embodiment, and achieve the same or corresponding technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

[0278] The embodiment of the present application also provides a network side device, including a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is used to run a program or instruction to implement the following Fig. 20 The steps of the method embodiment shown. This network side device embodiment corresponds to the above network side device method embodiment, and each implementation process and implementation mode of the above method embodiment can be applied to this network side device embodiment and can achieve the same technical effect.

[0279] Specifically, the embodiment of the present application also provides a network side device. Fig. 20As shown, the network side device 90 includes: an antenna 91, a radio frequency device 92, a baseband device 93, a processor 94 and a memory 95. The antenna 91 is connected to the radio frequency device 92. In the uplink direction, the radio frequency device 92 receives information through the antenna 91 and sends the received information to the baseband device 93 for processing. In the downlink direction, the baseband device 93 processes the information to be sent and sends it to the radio frequency device 92. The radio frequency device 92 processes the received information and sends it out through the antenna 91.

[0280] The method executed by the network-side device in the above embodiment may be implemented in the baseband device 93, which includes a baseband processor.

[0281] The baseband device 93 may include, for example, at least one baseband board on which a plurality of chips are arranged. Fig. 9 As shown, one of the chips is, for example, a baseband processor, which is connected to the memory 95 through a bus interface to call the program in the memory 95 to execute the network device operations shown in the above method embodiment.

[0282] The network side device may further include a network interface 96, which is, for example, a Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI).

[0283] Specifically, the network side device 90 of the embodiment of the present invention further includes: instructions or programs stored in the memory 95 and executable on the processor y4, and the processor 94 calls the instructions or programs in the memory 95 to execute Figures 13 to 17 The methods executed by the modules shown achieve the same technical effects, and therefore will not be described here in detail to avoid repetition.

[0284] An embodiment of the present application also provides a readable storage medium, on which a program or instruction is stored. When the program or instruction is executed by a processor, each process of the above-mentioned path establishment method embodiment is implemented, and the same technical effect can be achieved. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

[0285] The processor is the processor in the terminal described in the above embodiment. The readable storage medium includes a computer readable storage medium, such as a computer read-only memory ROM, a random access memory RAM, a magnetic disk or an optical disk. In some examples, the readable storage medium may be a non-transient readable storage medium.

[0286] An embodiment of the present application further provides a chip, which includes a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is used to run programs or instructions to implement the various processes of the above-mentioned path establishment method embodiment, and can achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

[0287] It should be understood that the chip mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can also be called a system-level chip, a system chip, a chip system or a system-on-chip chip, etc.

[0288] The embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program / program product, which is stored in a storage medium, and is executed by at least one processor to implement the various processes of the above-mentioned path establishment method embodiment, and can achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

[0289] An embodiment of the present application further provides a path establishment system, including: a terminal and a network side device, wherein the terminal can be used to execute the steps of the path establishment method described above, and the network side device can be used to execute the steps of the path establishment method described above.

[0290] It should be noted that, in this article, the terms "comprise", "include" or any other variant thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, an element defined by the sentence "comprises one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device including the element. In addition, it should be pointed out that the scope of the method and device in the embodiment of the present application is not limited to performing functions in the order shown or discussed, and may also include performing functions in a substantially simultaneous manner or in reverse order according to the functions involved, for example, the described method may be performed in an order different from that described, and various steps may also be added, omitted or combined. In addition, the features described with reference to certain examples may be combined in other examples.

[0291] Through the description of the above implementation methods, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the above-mentioned embodiment methods can be implemented by means of a computer software product plus a necessary general hardware platform, and of course, can also be implemented by hardware. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM, RAM, disk, CD, etc.), including several instructions to enable a terminal or a network-side device to execute the methods described in each embodiment of the present application.

[0292] The embodiments of the present application are described above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, but the present application is not limited to the above-mentioned specific implementation methods. The above-mentioned specific implementation methods are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Under the guidance of the present application, ordinary technicians in this field can also make many forms of implementation methods without departing from the purpose of the present application and the scope of protection of the claims, and these implementation methods are all within the protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A path establishment method, characterized in that: include: A first user equipment UE receives a first signaling from a network side device, where the first signaling instructs the first UE to establish a first indirect link between the first UE and the network side device via a second UE; The first UE establishes the first indirect link based on the first signaling to form at least two links, where the at least two links include at least two indirect links, and the at least two indirect links include the first indirect link.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that Before the first UE receives the first signaling from the network side device, the method further includes: The first UE reports capability information of the first UE to the network side device, where the capability information is used to indicate that the first UE has a capability of supporting at least two indirect links.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The capability information includes at least one of the following: Multilink version information supported by the first UE; whether the first UE supports more than two links; a maximum number of links supported by the first UE; a maximum number of indirect links supported by the first UE; Information about indirect link types supported by the first UE.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first UE establishing the first indirect link based on the first signaling includes: In a case where the first UE has established a second indirect link, the first UE establishes the first indirect link based on the first signaling, and the second indirect link is an indirect link between the first UE and the network side device through a third UE.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that Before the first UE receives the first signaling from the network side device, the method further includes: The first UE receives second signaling from the network side device, where the second signaling is used to configure the first UE to perform measurement; The first UE sends, based on the measurement result, information of the second UE that matches the measurement result to the network side device; The information of the second UE includes the identity information of the second UE and the serving cell information of the second UE; The serving cell information includes at least one of the following: cell identification information of the serving cell of the second UE, and a measurement result corresponding to the serving cell of the second UE.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The at least two links also include a direct link between the first UE and the network side device.

7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that After the first UE establishes the first indirect link based on the first signaling, the method further includes: When a radio link failure (RLF) is detected on the third link, the first UE reports first failure information to the network side device and starts a timer; When the indication information sent by the network side device is received within the timing duration of the timer, the first behavior is executed based on the indication of the indication information; Wherein, the first failure information includes connection failure information of the third link; The indication information is related to a processing result of the RLF of the third link by the network side device; The first behavior is used to restore the third link, or the first behavior is used to reconfigure an available link; The third link is one of the at least two links; The available link is a link different from the third link.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that In the case where a radio link failure RLF occurs in the third link, before the first UE reports first failure information to the network side device and starts a timer, the method further includes: The first UE receives a third signaling from the network side device, where the third signaling is used to indicate a primary serving cell, where the primary serving cell is a serving cell of the second UE or the third UE; Among them, the third UE is the UE passed by the second indirect link established between the first UE and the network side device; and the third link is the indirect link corresponding to the primary service cell.

9. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that: In the case where a radio link failure RLF occurs in the third link, before the first UE reports first failure information to the network side device and starts a timer, the method further includes: The first UE receives fourth signaling from the network side device; The fourth signaling is used to indicate a primary path of the radio signaling bearer SRB1, the primary path is one of the indirect links of the at least two links, and the third link is the primary path; Alternatively, the fourth signaling is used to indicate a unique path of SRB1, the third link is the unique path, and the unique path is an indirect link among the at least two links.

10. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that In the case where a radio link failure RLF occurs in the third link, before the first UE reports the first master cell group MCG configuration failure information to the network side device and starts the first timer, the method further includes: The first UE uses the serving cell corresponding to the direct link between the first UE and the network side device as the primary serving cell, and the third link is the direct link corresponding to the primary serving cell.

11. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that In the case where a radio link failure RLF occurs in the third link, before the first UE reports first failure information to the network side device and starts a timer, the method further includes: The first UE defaults the direct link between the first UE and the network-side device as the main path or the only path of SRB1; the third link is the main path or the only path of SRB1.

12. The method according to claims 7 to 11, characterized in that After starting the timer, the method further includes: If the first UE does not receive the indication information within the timing duration of the timer, the first UE re-establishes the RRC connection between the first UE and the network side device.

13. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that After the first UE establishes the first indirect link based on the first signaling, the method further includes: When detecting that RLF occurs in the fourth link, the first UE reports second failure information to the network side device, where the second failure information includes connection failure information of the fourth link.

14. The method according to claim 1 or 6, characterized in that: After the first UE establishes the first indirect link based on the first signaling, the method further includes: The first UE receives sixth signaling from the network side device, where the sixth signaling is used to activate or deactivate one or more of the at least two links.

15. A path establishment method, characterized in that: include: The network side device sends a first signaling to a first user equipment UE, where the first signaling indicates to establish a first indirect link between the first UE and the network side device through a second UE; After the first indirect link is established, at least two links are formed, the at least two links include at least two indirect links, and the at least two indirect links include the first indirect link.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that Before the network side device sends the first signaling to the first UE, the method further includes: The network-side device receives capability information of a first UE from the first UE, where the capability information is used to indicate that the first UE has a capability of supporting at least two indirect links.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The capability information includes at least one of the following: Multilink version information supported by the first UE; whether the first UE supports more than two links; a maximum number of links supported by the first UE; a maximum number of indirect links supported by the first UE; Information about indirect link types supported by the first UE.

18. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that After the network side device sends the first signaling to the first UE, the method further includes: The network side device sends a second signaling to the first UE, where the second signaling is used to configure the first UE to perform measurement; The network side device receives information of a second UE that matches the measurement result from the first UE; The information of the second UE includes the identity information of the second UE and the serving cell information of the second UE; The serving cell information includes at least one of the following: cell identification information of the serving cell of the second UE, and a measurement result corresponding to the serving cell of the second UE.

19. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The at least two links also include a direct link between the first UE and the network side device.

20. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that After the network side device sends the first signaling to the first UE, the method further includes: The network side device receives first failure information from the first UE; The network side device sends indication information to the first UE based on the first failure information; Wherein, the first failure information includes connection failure information of the third link; The indication information is used to instruct to execute a first behavior on the third link; The first behavior is used to restore the third link, or the first behavior is used to reconfigure an available link; The third link is one of the at least two links; The available link is a link different from the third link.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that Before the network side device receives first failure information from the first UE, the method further includes: The network side device sends a third signaling to the first UE, where the third signaling is used to indicate a primary serving cell, where the primary serving cell is a serving cell of the second UE or the third UE; The third UE is a UE through which the second indirect link established between the first UE and the network side device passes, and the third link is an indirect link corresponding to the primary service cell.

22. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that Before the network side device receives first failure information from the first UE, the method further includes: The network side device sends a fourth signaling to the first UE; The fourth signaling is used to indicate a primary path of the radio signaling bearer SRB1, the primary path is one of the indirect links of the at least two links, and the third link is the primary path; Alternatively, the fourth signaling is used to indicate a unique path of SRB1, the third link is the unique path, and the unique path is an indirect link among the at least two links.

23. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that After the network side device sends the first signaling to the first UE, the method further includes: The network side device receives second failure information from the first UE; The second failure information includes connection failure information of the fourth link.

24. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that After the network side device sends the first signaling to the first UE, the method further includes: The network side device sends a sixth signaling to the first UE, where the sixth signaling is used to activate or deactivate one or more of the at least two links.

25. A path establishing device, characterized in that: include: receiving module and establishing module; The receiving module is configured to receive a first signaling from a network side device, where the first signaling instructs a first user equipment UE to establish a first indirect link between the first UE and the network side via a second UE; The establishing module is used to establish the first indirect link based on the first signaling received by the receiving module to form at least two links, wherein the at least two links include at least two indirect links, and the at least two indirect links include the first indirect link.

26. A path establishing device, characterized in that: include: Send module; The sending module is used to send a first signaling to a first user equipment UE, where the first signaling indicates to establish a first indirect link between the first UE and a network side device via a second UE; After the first indirect link is established, at least two links are formed, the at least two links include at least two indirect links, and the at least two indirect links include the first indirect link.

27. A UE, characterized in that: The method comprises a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores a program or instruction that can be run on the processor, and when the program or instruction is executed by the processor, the steps of the path establishment method according to any one of claims 1 to 14 are implemented.

28. A network side device, characterized in that: The method comprises a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores a program or instruction that can be run on the processor, and when the program or instruction is executed by the processor, the steps of the path establishment method according to claims 15 to 24 are implemented.

29. A readable storage medium, characterized in that: The readable storage medium stores a program or instruction, and when the program or instruction is executed by the processor, it implements the path establishment method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, or implements the steps of the path establishment method according to claims 15 to 24.

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