User equipment, wireless communication method, and computer readable storage medium

Abstract

The invention relates to user equipment, a wireless communication method and a computer readable storage medium. The user equipment according to the present disclosure comprises a processing circuit configured to: generate and send link quality indication information to an opposite-end user equipment, the link quality indication information indicating the quality of a link between the user equipment and each of a plurality of communication devices; and receiving link priority indication information determined according to the link quality indication information from the opposite-end user equipment, wherein the link priority indication information comprises priority information of a plurality of links between the opposite-end user equipment and the user equipment. By using the user equipment, the wireless communication method and the computer readable storage medium disclosed by the invention, the communication link between the user equipment can be quickly switched, so that the communication quality is ensured.

Description

User equipment, wireless communication method, and computer-readable storage medium

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the China Patent Office on September 21, 2022, with application number 202211154938.X and invention name “User Equipment, Wireless Communication Method and Computer-readable Storage Medium”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of wireless communications, and more particularly, to user equipment, a wireless communication method performed by the user equipment, and a computer-readable storage medium. More specifically, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a transmitting user equipment, a receiving user equipment, a wireless communication method performed by the transmitting user equipment, a wireless communication method performed by the receiving user equipment, and a computer-readable storage medium. Background Art

[0003] Sidelink (SL) communication can be applied in a wider range of scenarios, such as the Internet of Vehicles, XR (Extended Reality, including AR, VR, and MR), autonomous driving, and industrial automation. These advanced application scenarios place higher demands on SL communication, such as higher transmission speeds and lower transmission latency.

[0004] In SL communications, the locations of the transmitting and receiving devices can change in a short period of time. Furthermore, the rapid mobility of devices and the presence of obstructions can cause rapid deterioration in the quality of the communication link. In such situations, rapidly switching links when link quality degrades is crucial for maintaining communication quality.

[0005] Therefore, it is necessary to propose a technical solution to quickly switch the communication links between user equipments in SL communication, so as to ensure the communication quality.

[0006] Summary of the Invention

[0007] This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.

[0008] The present disclosure aims to provide a user equipment, a wireless communication method and a computer-readable storage medium, so as to quickly switch the communication links between user equipments, thereby ensuring the communication quality.

[0009] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a user equipment is provided, comprising a processing circuit configured to: generate and send link quality indication information to an opposite user equipment, the link quality indication information indicating the quality of a link between the user equipment and each of a plurality of communication devices; and receive link priority indication information determined based on the link quality indication information from the opposite user equipment, the link priority indication information including priority information of a plurality of links between the opposite user equipment and the user equipment.

[0010] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a user equipment is provided, comprising a processing circuit, configured to: receive link quality indication information from an opposite user equipment, the link quality indication information indicating the quality of a link between the opposite user equipment and each of a plurality of communication devices; determine link priority indication information based on the link quality indication information, the link priority indication information including priority information of a plurality of links between the user equipment and the opposite user equipment; and send the link priority indication information to the opposite user equipment.

[0011] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a wireless communication method performed by a user equipment is provided, comprising: generating and sending link quality indication information to an opposite user equipment, the link quality indication information indicating the quality of a link between the user equipment and each of a plurality of communication devices; and receiving link priority indication information determined based on the link quality indication information from the opposite user equipment, the link priority indication information including priority information of a plurality of links between the opposite user equipment and the user equipment.

[0012] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a wireless communication method performed by a user equipment is provided, comprising: receiving link quality indication information from an opposite user equipment, the link quality indication information indicating the quality of a link between the opposite user equipment and each of a plurality of communication devices; determining link priority indication information based on the link quality indication information, the link priority indication information including priority information of a plurality of links between the user equipment and the opposite user equipment; and sending the link priority indication information to the opposite user equipment.

[0013] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, comprising executable computer instructions, which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the wireless communication method according to the present disclosure.

[0014] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program is provided, which, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform the wireless communication method according to the present disclosure.

[0015] Using the user equipment, wireless communication method, and computer-readable storage medium disclosed herein, a user equipment can receive link priority indication information from a peer user equipment, determined based on link quality indication information sent by the user equipment. This information includes priority information for multiple links between the peer user equipment and the user equipment. This information allows both the peer user equipment and the user equipment to store the link priority information, enabling link switching when necessary based on this priority information without requiring link measurement, reporting, and recovery operations. This allows for rapid link switching and ensures communication quality.

[0016] Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein.The description and specific examples in this summary are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. In the drawings:

[0018] FIG1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an application scenario of the present disclosure;

[0019] FIG2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a user equipment at a receiving end according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0020] FIG3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a scenario in which UE (User Equipment) 1 and UE2 communicate using a direct link according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0021] FIG4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a scenario in which UE1 and UE2 switch communication links according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0022] FIG5 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a user equipment at a transmitting end according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0023] FIG6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a scenario in which UE1 and UE2 switch communication links again according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0024] 7 is a signaling flow chart illustrating link switching using link priority indication information according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0025] 8 is a signaling flow chart illustrating link switching using link priority indication information according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0026] 9 is a flowchart illustrating a wireless communication method performed by a user equipment at a receiving end according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0027] FIG10 is a flowchart illustrating a wireless communication method performed by a user equipment at a transmitting end according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0028] FIG11 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a smartphone; and

[0029] FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a car navigation device.

[0030] While the present disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are described in detail herein. It should be understood, however, that the description of specific embodiments herein is not intended to limit the disclosure to the particular forms disclosed, but rather, the disclosure is intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the disclosure. It should be noted that throughout the several drawings, corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] Examples of the present disclosure will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses.

[0032] Example embodiments are provided so that the present disclosure will be exhaustive and will fully convey its scope to those skilled in the art. Numerous specific details such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods are set forth to provide a detailed understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be used and that the example embodiments can be implemented in many different forms, none of which should be construed as limiting the scope of the present disclosure. In some example embodiments, well-known processes, well-known structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail.

[0033] The description will be in the following order:

[0034] 1. Description of the scene;

[0035] 2. Configuration example of receiving user equipment;

[0036] 3. Configuration example of the sending user equipment;

[0037] 4. Method embodiment;

[0038] 5. Application examples.

[0039] <1. Description of the scene>

[0040] FIG1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an application scenario of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG1 , the transmitting user equipment of SL communication is identified as TX UE1, and the receiving user equipment is identified as RX UE2. Here, SL communication is applied to the Internet of Vehicles, so UE1 and UE2 are both vehicles. In addition, UE3 as a vehicle is also shown in FIG1 . As shown in FIG1 , UE1 and UE2 communicate through a direct link between them. Next, UE3 drives to the middle of UE1 and UE2 and blocks the direct link between UE1 and UE2, resulting in a decrease in the quality of the direct link between UE1 and UE2.

[0041] In the scenario shown in Figure 1, the rapid mobility of each UE and the presence of obstructions can cause rapid deterioration in communication link quality. In this scenario, quickly switching links when link quality degrades is crucial for maintaining communication quality. Figure 1 is merely an example; similar issues arise when SL communication is applied in other scenarios.

[0042] Aiming at such a scenario, the present disclosure proposes a user equipment in a wireless communication system, a wireless communication method performed by the user equipment in the wireless communication system, and a computer-readable storage medium to quickly switch the communication link between the user equipments, thereby ensuring the communication quality.

[0043] The user equipment according to the present disclosure may be a mobile terminal (such as a smartphone, a tablet personal computer (PC), a notebook PC, a portable game terminal, a portable / dongle-type mobile router, and a digital camera) or an in-vehicle terminal (such as a car navigation device). The user equipment may also be implemented as a terminal that performs machine-to-machine (M2M) communication (also known as a machine-type communication (MTC) terminal). In addition, the user equipment may be a wireless communication module (such as an integrated circuit module including a single chip) installed on each of the above-mentioned terminals.

[0044] In particular, the present disclosure may be used in a connected vehicle, that is, the user equipment may be integrated into a vehicle or provided in the vehicle separately from the vehicle.

[0045] The wireless communication system according to the present disclosure can be used in a 5G NR communication system, and can also be used in a higher-level communication system in the future. The wireless communication system may include a transmitting user device and a receiving user device that communicate using SL. In addition, the wireless communication system may also include one or more other communication devices, and the one or more communication devices may include user devices located at pedestrians, user devices located at vehicles, road side units (RSUs) and large intelligent surfaces (LISs), and all other devices that can forward data. In addition, the other communication devices are for the transmitting user device and the receiving user device in a specific SL communication, and the other communication devices may also be the transmitting user device or the receiving user device in another SL communication. That is, the wireless communication system may include multiple user devices, at least two of which communicate using SL, and optionally the wireless communication system may also include devices that can forward data, such as RSUs and LISs.

[0046] In the wireless communication system according to the present disclosure, the FR2 millimeter wave frequency band can be used to improve data throughput. Due to the high frequency, small coverage, and high propagation loss of the FR2 band, beamforming is often used for data transmission. In other words, the user equipment according to the present disclosure can use beamforming for SL communication. In addition, the communication device used for forwarding data can also use beamforming to communicate with the user equipment.

[0047] <2. Example Configuration of Receiving User Equipment>

[0048] 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a user equipment 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Here, the user equipment 200 may be a receiving-end user equipment in SL communication in a wireless communication system.

[0049] As shown in FIG. 2 , the user equipment 200 may include a generating unit 210 , a communicating unit 220 , and a storing unit 230 .

[0050] Here, each unit of user equipment 200 may be included in a processing circuit. It should be noted that user equipment 200 may include either one processing circuit or multiple processing circuits. Furthermore, the processing circuit may include various discrete functional units to perform various functions and / or operations. It should be noted that these functional units may be physical or logical entities, and units with different names may be implemented by the same physical entity.

[0051] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the generation unit 210 may generate link quality indication information, which indicates the quality of the link between the user equipment 200 and each of the multiple communication devices. Furthermore, the user equipment 200 may transmit the link quality indication information to the opposite user equipment via the communication unit 220. The opposite user equipment may be a transmitting user equipment in SL communication.

[0052] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, user equipment 200 may receive link priority indication information determined by the opposite user equipment based on link quality indication information from the opposite user equipment via communication unit 220. Here, the link priority indication information includes priority information of multiple links between the opposite user equipment and user equipment 200.

[0053] Furthermore, the user equipment 200 may store the link priority indication information in the storage unit 230 .

[0054] Thus, according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the user equipment 200 can receive, from the peer user equipment, link priority indication information determined based on the link quality indication information sent by the user equipment 200, including priority information of multiple links between the peer user equipment and the user equipment 200. In this way, both the peer user equipment and the user equipment 200 can store the link priority information, and thus, when necessary, can perform link switching based on the priority information without having to perform operations such as link measurement, reporting, and recovery, thereby achieving rapid link switching and ensuring communication quality.

[0055] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the user equipment 200 may send link quality indication information to the opposite user equipment after the opposite user equipment establishes a link with the user equipment 200 .

[0056] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the peer user equipment and the user equipment 200 communicate using beamforming, a link can be established through a beam scanning process between the peer user equipment and the user equipment 200. Specifically, the peer user equipment can determine the optimal beam pair between the peer user equipment and the user equipment 200 through the beam scanning process, and then use the optimal beam pair to perform SL communication through a direct link.

[0057] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when both the opposite user device and the user device 200 are located within the coverage area of ​​the base station device, the base station device can configure part of the beam for beam scanning based on the location of the opposite user device and the user device 200 (optionally, based on the motion information of the opposite user device and the user device 200, such as the motion direction and motion speed). In this way, the opposite user device can perform partial beam scanning, and the user device 200 can perform partial beam scanning pairing, thereby reducing the time of the beam scanning process. Further, when the opposite user device or the user device 200 is outside the coverage area of ​​the base station device, the opposite user device can perform omnidirectional beam scanning, and the user device 200 can perform omnidirectional beam scanning pairing.

[0058] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a scenario in which UE1 and UE2 communicate using a direct link according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In Figure 3, UE1 is a transmitting user equipment, UE2 is a receiving user equipment, and three communication devices are located around UE1 and UE2: communication device 3, communication device 4, and communication device 5. Arrows pointing to two sides indicate established connections. That is, in addition to UE1 and UE2 communicating via a direct link, UE1 also has established connections with communication device 3 and communication device 5, and UE2 also has established connections with communication device 3, communication device 4, and communication device 5.

[0059] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, UE2 may send link quality indication information to UE1, where the link quality indication information indicates the quality of the link between UE2 and each of the multiple communication devices. Further, UE1 may determine link priority indication information based on the link quality indication information from UE2, where the link priority indication information includes priority information of the multiple links between UE1 and UE2.

[0060] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the multiple communication devices involved in the link quality indication information may be communication devices that have established a connection with the user equipment 200. These multiple communication devices include, but are not limited to, user equipment (e.g., user equipment at pedestrians or at vehicles), roadside units (RSUs), or smart reflective surfaces. In other words, these multiple communication devices may be any communication device capable of data forwarding.

[0061] As described above, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the generation unit 210 may generate link quality indication information that indicates the quality of a link between the user equipment 200 and each of the multiple communication devices with which the user equipment 200 has established a connection. For example, in FIG3 , the link quality indication information generated by UE2 may indicate the quality of the links between UE2 and communication device 3, UE2 and communication device 4, UE2 and communication device 5, and UE2 and UE1.

[0062] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the link quality indication information may indicate the absolute value of the quality of the link between the user equipment 200 and each communication device. For example, the absolute value of the link quality may be represented by parameters such as SIR (Signal to Interference Ratio), SINR (Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio), SNR (Signal Noise Ratio), RSRP (Reference Signal Receiving Power), and RSRQ (Reference Signal Receiving Quality). In addition, the link quality indication information may also indicate the relative value of the quality of the link between the user equipment 200 and each communication device. For example, the relative value of the link quality may be represented by a difference from a link quality reference value or a ratio to a link quality reference value, or by a normalized value. The present disclosure does not limit the method for representing link quality.

[0063] That is, in the example shown in Figure 3, the link quality indication information may include the following information: the link between UE2 and communication device 3: link quality A; the link between UE2 and communication device 4: link quality B; the link between UE2 and communication device 5: link quality C; the link between UE2 and UE1: link quality D.

[0064] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the link quality indication information may include priority information of the link between user equipment 200 and each communication device. For example, in FIG3 , the link quality indication information generated by UE2 may indicate the priority of the links between UE2 and communication device 3, UE2 and communication device 4, UE2 and communication device 5, and UE2 and UE1.

[0065] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in Figure 2, the user equipment 200 may further include a measuring unit 240 for measuring the quality of the link between the user equipment 200 and each communication device. As described above, parameters representing the quality of the link include but are not limited to SIR, SINR, SNR, RSRP, and RSRQ.

[0066] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in Figure 2, the user equipment 200 may further include a ranking unit 250 for ranking the links between the user equipment 200 and each communication device according to the quality of the link. For example, the ranking unit 250 may rank the links in descending order of quality.

[0067] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG2 , the user equipment 200 may further include a determining unit 260 configured to determine priority information of each link according to the sorting result of the sorting unit 250. For example, the determining unit 260 may determine that the higher the quality of the link, the higher the priority level.

[0068] That is, in the example shown in Figure 3, the link quality indication information may include the following information: link between UE2 and communication device 3: priority N1; link between UE2 and communication device 4: priority N2; link between UE2 and communication device 5: priority N3; link between UE2 and UE1: priority N4. Here, N1-N4 represent non-negative integers, with smaller numbers indicating higher priorities. For example, N1-N4 can be numbers from 0 to 3, respectively. For example, the link quality indication information may include the following information: link between UE2 and communication device 3: priority 0; link between UE2 and communication device 4: priority 1; link between UE2 and communication device 5: priority 2; link between UE2 and UE1: priority 3. In this way, priority information can be used instead of link quality information, thereby saving signaling overhead.

[0069] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, priority information may be explicitly indicated as described above, or implicitly indicated. Here, the order of the links in the link quality indication information may be used to implicitly indicate the priority of the link. For example, the higher the order of the link in the link quality indication information, the higher the priority of the link.

[0070] In other words, in the example shown in Figure 3, the link quality indication information may include the following information: the link between UE2 and communication device 3; the link between UE2 and communication device 5; the link between UE2 and communication device 4; and the link between UE2 and UE1. In other words, after receiving this link quality indication information, UE1 can determine that the following links are ranked in descending order of priority: the link between UE2 and communication device 3; the link between UE2 and communication device 5; the link between UE2 and communication device 4; and the link between UE2 and UE1. This allows priority information to be implicitly represented, further reducing signaling overhead.

[0071] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in the link quality indication information, the identifier of the communication device may be used to represent the link between the user equipment 200 and the communication device.

[0072] That is, in the example shown in FIG3 , the link quality indication information may include the following information: the identifier of communication device 3; the identifier of communication device 5; the identifier of communication device 4; and the identifier of UE 1. In this way, the priority of each link connected to user equipment 200 can be clearly indicated with minimal signaling overhead.

[0073] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the user equipment 200 may transmit the link quality indication information via MAC layer, RRC layer, or physical layer signaling. When the link quality indication information is transmitted via physical layer signaling, the PSSCH (Physical Sidelink Share Channel) may be used to carry the link quality indication information.

[0074] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, after generating unit 210 generates link quality indication information as described above, user equipment 200 may send the link quality indication information to a peer user equipment. User equipment 200 may then receive link priority indication information determined based on the link quality indication information from the peer user equipment via communication unit 220.

[0075] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the link priority indication information may include priority information of multiple links between the opposite user equipment and the user equipment 200. Here, the multiple links between the opposite user equipment and the user equipment 200 may include direct links and indirect links between the opposite user equipment and the user equipment 200.

[0076] That is, the link priority indication information may indicate the priorities of all or some of the reachable links between the peer user equipment and user equipment 200. In the example shown in FIG3 , all reachable links between UE1 and UE2 include: UE1 → UE2; UE1 → communication device 3 → UE2; UE1 → communication device 5 → UE2. The link priority indication information received by UE2 may indicate the priorities of all or some of these three links.

[0077] For example, the link priority indication information may include the following information: Link UE1 → communication device 3 → UE2: Priority M1; Link UE1 → communication device 5 → UE2: Priority M2; Link UE1 → UE2: Priority M3. Here, M1-M3 represent non-negative integers, with smaller numbers indicating higher priorities. For example, M1-M3 may be numbers between 0 and 2, respectively. For example, the link priority indication information may include the following information: Link UE1 → communication device 3 → UE2: Priority 0; Link UE1 → communication device 5 → UE2: Priority 1; Link UE1 → UE2: Priority 2.

[0078] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the priority of each link can be explicitly indicated as described above, or it can be implicitly indicated. Here, the order of the links in the link priority indication information can be used to implicitly indicate the priority of the link. For example, the higher the order of the link in the link priority indication information, the higher the priority of the link.

[0079] In other words, in the example shown in Figure 3, the link priority indication information may include the following information: link UE1 → communication device 3 → UE2; link UE1 → communication device 5 → UE2; link UE1 → UE2. In other words, after receiving this link priority indication information, UE2 can determine that the following links are arranged in descending priority order: link UE1 → communication device 3 → UE2; link UE1 → communication device 5 → UE2; link UE1 → UE2. This allows priority information to be implicitly represented, further reducing signaling overhead.

[0080] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in the link priority indication information, the identifier of the communication device on the indirect link may be used to represent the indirect link, and the identifier of the opposite user equipment may be used to represent the direct link.

[0081] That is, in the example shown in FIG3 , the link priority indication information may include the following information: the identifier of communication device 3; the identifier of communication device 5; and the identifier of UE 1. This allows the priorities of each reachable link between the peer user equipment and user equipment 200 to be clearly indicated with minimal signaling overhead.

[0082] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the user equipment 200 may receive the link priority indication information through MAC layer, RRC layer or physical layer signaling. When the link priority indication information is received through physical layer signaling, the link priority indication information may be received using PSSCH.

[0083] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, both the peer user device and the user device 200 can store such link priority indication information. In this way, when link switching is required, the peer user device and the user device 200 can switch links based on the link priority indication information, thereby improving the switching speed and ensuring communication quality.

[0084] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the process in which user equipment 200 sends link quality indication information to a peer user equipment, and then the peer user equipment sends link priority indication information to user equipment 200, can be periodically triggered. That is, user equipment 200 periodically generates link quality indication information. Preferably, the period is 10ms or 5ms. Here, the period can be configured by the peer user equipment, or by the base station device, or the period can be pre-configured in user equipment 200.

[0085] Optionally, the process in which the user equipment 200 sends link quality indication information to the peer user equipment, and then the peer user equipment sends link priority indication information to the user equipment 200, can be dynamically triggered, for example, by the peer user equipment or the user equipment 200 using SCI (Sidelink Control Information). Optionally, the process in which the user equipment 200 sends link quality indication information to the peer user equipment, and then the peer user equipment sends link priority indication information to the user equipment 200, can be semi-statically triggered. For example, it can be specified that the process is triggered periodically within a period of time, and the process is stopped after the period of time.

[0086] As described above, the link quality indication information and the link priority indication information are updateable, that is, the storage unit 230 only stores the latest version of the link priority indication information.

[0087] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG2 , user equipment 200 may further include an adjustment unit 290. When periodically triggering the process of user equipment 200 sending link quality indication information to a peer user equipment and then the peer user equipment sending link priority indication information to user equipment 200, user equipment 200 may monitor changes in the quality of the direct link between the peer user equipment and user equipment 200. Furthermore, if the rate of change in the quality of the direct link between the peer user equipment and user equipment 200 exceeds a speed threshold range, adjustment unit 290 may adjust the period for generating link quality indication information. The speed threshold range may include an upper limit and a lower limit. For example, if the rate of change in the quality of the direct link between the peer user equipment and user equipment 200 exceeds the upper limit of the speed threshold range, adjustment unit 290 may adjust the current period to be shorter; if the rate of change in the quality of the direct link between the peer user equipment and user equipment 200 is less than the lower limit of the speed threshold range, adjustment unit 290 may adjust the current period to be longer. Here, the user equipment 200 may monitor the quality of the direct link, and thus may use the amount of change in the quality of the direct link per unit time to represent the change speed of the quality of the direct link.

[0088] When link quality indication information is periodically generated, it may happen that the period for generating the link quality indication information does not match the communication environment surrounding the peer user equipment and the user equipment 200. For example, during the time interval between two times of generating link quality indication information, the location of the peer user equipment or the user equipment 200 has changed significantly, or the communication device that can forward data can no longer provide services, resulting in a significant change in the communication environment. In this case, the generated link quality indication information is no longer accurate, resulting in the link priority indication information also being no longer accurate. For another example, if the location of the peer user equipment and the user equipment 200 and the surrounding communication environment are relatively stable, if the period for generating the link quality indication information is too short, information exchange will be too frequent, increasing signaling overhead. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the period for generating the link quality indication information can be adjusted according to the rate of change of the link quality, so that the period is more compatible with the surrounding communication environment, the generated link quality indication information and link priority indication information are more accurate, and the signaling overhead is controlled while ensuring link reliability.

[0089] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in Figure 3, the user equipment 200 may further include a judgment unit 270 for judging whether the quality of the direct link between the opposite user equipment and the user equipment 200 meets the switching condition, that is, judging whether the quality of the direct link has dropped to a certain level so that link switching is required.

[0090] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when a peer user equipment communicates with user equipment 200 via a direct link, the measurement unit 240 may periodically, dynamically, or semi-statically measure the quality of the direct link. Furthermore, if the direct link quality is less than a quality threshold a number of times greater than a threshold within a predetermined time window, the judgment unit 270 may determine that the quality of the direct link meets the handover condition. For example, the judgment unit 270 may set a counter with an initial value of 0. Each time the direct link quality is less than the quality threshold within the predetermined time window, the counter is incremented by 1. If the counter value is greater than the threshold within the predetermined time window, the judgment unit 270 determines that the direct link quality meets the handover condition; if the counter value is not greater than the threshold, the counter is reset to 0. The length of the predetermined time window, the threshold, and the quality threshold may be configured by the peer user equipment, by user equipment 200, by a base station, or pre-configured in user equipment 200.

[0091] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG2 , user equipment 200 may further include a switching unit 280. If the determination unit 270 determines that the quality of the direct link between the opposite user equipment and user equipment 200 meets a switching condition, the switching unit 280 may switch the direct link based on the link priority indication information. For example, the switching unit 280 may cause user equipment 200 to switch to the link with the highest priority in the link priority indication information to communicate with the opposite user equipment. In this case, the generation unit 210 may further generate a switching notification, and user equipment 200 may send the switching notification to the opposite user equipment via the communication unit 220, notifying the opposite user equipment to also switch to the link with the highest priority to communicate with user equipment 200. Here, since the opposite user equipment stores the same link priority indication information as the link priority indication information stored by user equipment 200, the switching notification may include only one bit of information to indicate the switching operation, and the opposite user equipment will switch to the link with the highest priority based on its own stored link priority indication information. Here, user equipment 200 may send the switching notification via the SCI.

[0092] As described above, according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, user equipment 200 can determine whether to switch to a direct link. Furthermore, if a direct link switch is required, the link switch can be performed directly based on the latest version of the link priority indication information in user equipment 200, without the need to measure or report the link, thereby saving switching time and ensuring the communication quality between the peer user equipment and user equipment 200.

[0093] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, user equipment 200 may also receive a handover notification from a peer user equipment via communication unit 220. For example, the handover notification may include only one bit of information to indicate the handover operation. User equipment 200 may receive the handover notification via the SCI. Furthermore, determination unit 270 determines, based on the handover notification, that the quality of the direct link meets the handover conditions, so that handover unit 280 performs the handover as described above.

[0094] As described above, according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the peer user device can determine whether to switch to a direct link. Furthermore, if a direct link switch is required, the link switch can be performed directly based on the latest version of the link priority indication information in user device 200, without the need to perform link measurement, reporting, or other operations. This saves switching time and ensures the communication quality between the peer user device and user device 200.

[0095] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing a scenario in which UE1 and UE2 switch communication links according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In Figure 4, UE2 can be implemented by user equipment 200, and UE1 serves as a transmitting user equipment. Here, it is assumed that the link priority indication information indicates that the following links are arranged in order of priority from high to low: link UE1→communication device 3→UE2; link UE1→communication device 5→UE2; link UE1→UE2. As shown in Figure 4, when the direct link between UE1 and UE2 meets the switching conditions, it switches to the link UE1→communication device 3→UE2. That is, the information of UE1 is forwarded to UE2 through communication device 3. In this way, the communication quality between UE1 and UE2 can be guaranteed.

[0096] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a peer user device and other communication devices can communicate using beamforming, and other communication devices and user device 200 can also communicate using beamforming. In the link indicated in the link priority indication information, the forwarding communication device is a communication device that has already established a connection with the peer user device and user device 200, and therefore has already determined a beam pair. In other words, the forwarding communication device can use the previously determined beam pair to communicate with the peer user device and user device 200.

[0097] Thus, according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the user device 200 can receive link priority indication information from the opposite user device, including priority information of multiple links between the opposite user device and the user device 200. In this way, both the opposite user device and the user device 200 can store the link priority information. In addition, the link priority indication information can be updated. Furthermore, the user device 200 or the opposite user device can determine whether the direct link needs to be switched, and can perform link switching based on the link priority indication information without having to perform operations such as link measurement, reporting, and recovery, thereby achieving rapid link switching and ensuring the communication quality of the link between the user devices.

[0098] <3. Example Configuration of Transmitting User Equipment>

[0099] 5 is a block diagram illustrating a structure of a user equipment 500 in a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Here, the user equipment 500 may be a transmitting user equipment in SL communication.

[0100] As shown in FIG. 5 , the user equipment 500 may include a communication unit 510 , a priority determination unit 520 , and a generation unit 530 .

[0101] Here, each unit of user equipment 500 may be included in a processing circuit. It should be noted that user equipment 500 may include either one processing circuit or multiple processing circuits. Furthermore, the processing circuit may include various discrete functional units to perform various functions and / or operations. It should be noted that these functional units may be physical or logical entities, and units with different names may be implemented by the same physical entity.

[0102] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, user equipment 500 may receive link quality indication information from a peer user equipment via communication unit 510, where the link quality indication information indicates the quality of a link between the peer user equipment and each of a plurality of communication devices. The peer user equipment may be a receiving user equipment in SL communication.

[0103] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the priority determination unit 520 may determine priority information of multiple links between the user equipment 500 and the opposite user equipment according to the received link quality indication information.

[0104] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the generation unit 530 may generate link priority indication information, where the link priority indication information includes priority information of multiple links determined by the priority determination unit 520. Furthermore, the user equipment 500 may send the link priority indication information to the opposite user equipment via the communication unit 510.

[0105] Thus, according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, user equipment 500 can send link priority indication information to a peer user equipment, including priority information of multiple links between user equipment 500 and the peer user equipment. Furthermore, when link switching is required, link switching can be performed based on the link priority indication information, without the need to perform link measurement, reporting, and recovery operations, thereby achieving rapid link switching and ensuring the communication quality of the links between user equipment.

[0106] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG5 , the user equipment 500 may further include a storage unit 540 for storing link priority indication information.

[0107] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the user equipment 500 may receive link quality indication information from the opposite user equipment after the user equipment 500 establishes a link with the opposite user equipment.

[0108] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the user equipment 500 communicates with the opposite user equipment using beamforming, a link can be established through a beam scanning process between the user equipment 500 and the opposite user equipment. Specifically, the user equipment 500 can determine the optimal beam pair between the user equipment 500 and the opposite user equipment through the beam scanning process, and then use the optimal beam pair to perform SL communication over a direct link.

[0109] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when both the user equipment 500 and the opposite user equipment are within the coverage of the base station device, the base station device can configure part of the beam for beam scanning based on the location of the user equipment 500 and the opposite user equipment (optionally, based on the motion information of the user equipment 500 and the opposite user equipment, including the motion speed and motion direction). In this way, the user equipment 500 can perform partial beam scanning, and the opposite user equipment can perform partial beam scanning pairing, thereby reducing the time of the beam scanning process. Furthermore, when the user equipment 500 or the opposite user equipment is outside the coverage of the base station device, the user equipment 500 can perform omnidirectional beam scanning, and the opposite user equipment can perform omnidirectional beam scanning pairing.

[0110] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the user equipment 500 may receive the link quality indication information through MAC layer, RRC layer or physical layer signaling. When the link quality indication information is received through physical layer signaling, the link quality indication information may be received using PSSCH.

[0111] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the priority determination unit 520 can determine the quality of each link between the user equipment 500 and the opposite user equipment. Here, the multiple links may include direct links and indirect links between the user equipment 500 and the opposite user equipment. That is, the user equipment 500 can determine all reachable links between the user equipment 500 and the opposite user equipment. For example, the user equipment 500 can know the communication device that has established a connection with the user equipment 500, and can determine the communication device that has established a connection with the opposite user equipment based on the link quality indication information, thereby determining all reachable links based on the communication device that has established a connection with the user equipment 500 and the communication device that has established a connection with the opposite user equipment. For example, in the example shown in Figure 3, based on the link quality indication information sent by UE2, UE1 can determine that UE2 has established connections with communication device 3, communication device 4, and communication device 5. UE1 also knows that UE2, communication device 3, and communication device 5 have established connections with UE1. Therefore, it can be determined that all reachable links between UE1 and UE2 include: link UE1 → communication device 3 → UE2; link UE1 → communication device 5 → UE2; link UE1 → UE2. The first two links are indirect links, and the last one is a direct link.

[0112] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG5 , the user equipment 500 may further include a measuring unit 550 for measuring the quality of the link between the user equipment 500 and other communication devices. For example, the measuring unit 550 may measure the quality of the direct link between the user equipment 500 and the opposite user equipment. Further, the measuring unit 550 may measure the quality of the link between the user equipment 500 and the communication device on each indirect link, and the priority determination unit 520 may determine the quality of the link between the communication device on each indirect link and the opposite user equipment based on the link quality indication information from the opposite user equipment, thereby determining the quality of the indirect link based on the quality of the link between the user equipment and the communication device on each indirect link and the quality of the link between the communication device and the opposite user equipment.

[0113] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the priority determination unit 520 may determine the quality of the entire link by comprehensively considering the quality of the link between the user equipment 500 and the communication device, as well as the quality of the link between the communication device and the opposite user equipment. For example, the priority determination unit 520 may determine the quality of the entire link as the weighted sum of the quality of the link between the user equipment 500 and the communication device, and the quality of the link between the communication device and the opposite user equipment, where the weight of each link may be determined by the user equipment 500 based on the importance of the link. Alternatively, the priority determination unit 520 may determine the quality of the entire link based solely on the quality of the link between the user equipment 500 and the communication device. For example, the user equipment 500 may be relatively busy and therefore desire to forward data from the user equipment 500 to the communication device with a better link quality. Alternatively, the priority determination unit 520 may determine the quality of the entire link based solely on the quality of the link between the communication device and the opposite user equipment. For example, the opposite user equipment 500 may be relatively busy and therefore desire to forward data to the opposite user equipment 500 using the communication device with a better link quality.

[0114] The present disclosure does not limit the manner in which the priority determination unit 520 determines the quality of each reachable link between the user equipment 500 and the peer user equipment. In other words, the priority determination unit 520 can determine the quality of each reachable link based on the measurement result of the measurement unit 550 and the link quality indication information from the peer user equipment.

[0115] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the priority determination unit 520 can rank multiple reachable links based on the quality of each reachable link. For example, the better the quality of the reachable link, the higher the ranking. Furthermore, the priority determination unit 520 can determine priority information for the multiple links based on the ranking results. For example, the higher the ranking, the higher the priority of the link. In other words, the priority determination unit 520 can rank each reachable link based on its quality, so that the better the quality, the higher the priority.

[0116] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, after the priority determination unit 520 determines the priority of each reachable link, the generation unit 530 may generate link priority indication information. The link priority indication information includes the priority of each reachable link. Taking the example shown in Figure 3 as an example, the link priority indication information may include the following information: link UE1→communication device 3→UE2: priority M1; link UE1→communication device 5→UE2: priority M2; link UE1→UE2: priority M3. Here, M1-M3 represent non-negative integers, and the smaller the number, the higher the priority. For example, M1-M3 can be numbers from 0 to 2 respectively. For example, the link priority indication information may include the following information: link UE1→communication device 3→UE2: priority 0; link UE1→communication device 5→UE2: priority 1; link UE1→UE2: priority 2.

[0117] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the priority of each link can be explicitly indicated as described above, or it can be implicitly indicated. Here, the order of the links in the link priority indication information can be used to implicitly indicate the priority of the link. For example, the higher the order of the link in the link priority indication information, the higher the priority of the link.

[0118] In other words, in the example shown in Figure 3, the link priority indication information may include the following information: link UE1 → communication device 3 → UE2; link UE1 → communication device 5 → UE2; link UE1 → UE2. In other words, after receiving this link priority indication information, UE2 can determine that the following links are arranged in descending priority order: link UE1 → communication device 3 → UE2; link UE1 → communication device 5 → UE2; link UE1 → UE2. This allows priority information to be implicitly represented, further reducing signaling overhead.

[0119] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in the link priority indication information, the identifier of the communication device on the indirect link may be used to represent the indirect link, and the identifier of the user equipment 500 may be used to represent the direct link.

[0120] That is, in the example shown in FIG3 , the link priority indication information may include the following information: the identifier of communication device 3; the identifier of communication device 5; and the identifier of UE 1. This allows the priorities of each reachable link between user equipment 500 and the peer user equipment to be clearly indicated with minimal signaling overhead.

[0121] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the user equipment 500 may send the link priority indication information via MAC layer, RRC layer or physical layer signaling. When the link priority indication information is sent via physical layer signaling, the link priority indication information may be sent via PSSCH.

[0122] As described above, according to embodiments of the present disclosure, the process in which user equipment 500 receives link quality indication information from a peer user equipment and then transmits link priority indication information to the peer user equipment can be triggered periodically, dynamically, or semi-statically. In other words, the link quality indication information and the link priority indication information are updateable, meaning that storage unit 540 only stores the latest version of the link priority indication information.

[0123] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG5 , the user equipment 500 may further include an adjustment unit 580. When the user equipment 500 periodically triggers the process of receiving link quality indication information from the peer user equipment and then sending link priority indication information to the peer user equipment, the user equipment 500 may monitor changes in the quality of the direct link between the user equipment 500 and the peer user equipment. Furthermore, if the rate of change in the quality of the direct link between the user equipment 500 and the peer user equipment exceeds a speed threshold range, the adjustment unit 580 may adjust the period at which the peer user equipment generates link quality indication information. For example, if the rate of change in the quality of the direct link between the user equipment 500 and the peer user equipment is greater than the upper limit of the speed threshold range, the adjustment unit 580 may adjust the current period to be shorter; if the rate of change in the quality of the direct link between the user equipment 500 and the peer user equipment is less than the lower limit of the speed threshold range, the adjustment unit 580 may adjust the current period to be longer. Here, the user equipment 500 may monitor the quality of the direct link, and thus may use the amount of change in the quality of the direct link per unit time to represent the change speed of the quality of the direct link.

[0124] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, both the user equipment 500 and the opposite user equipment can monitor the quality of the direct link, thereby adjusting the period for generating link quality indication information according to the quality of the direct link.

[0125] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG5 , the user equipment 500 may further include a determination unit 560 configured to determine whether the quality of the direct link between the user equipment 500 and the opposite user equipment meets a switching condition.

[0126] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when user equipment 500 communicates with an opposite user equipment via a direct link, the measurement unit 550 may periodically, dynamically, or semi-statically measure the quality of the direct link. Furthermore, if the direct link quality is less than a quality threshold a number of times greater than a threshold within a predetermined time window, the judgment unit 560 may determine that the quality of the direct link meets a handover condition. For example, the judgment unit 560 may set a counter with an initial value of 0. Each time the direct link quality is less than the quality threshold within the predetermined time window, the counter is incremented by 1. If the counter value is greater than the threshold within the predetermined time window, the judgment unit 560 determines that the quality of the direct link meets the handover condition; if the counter value is not greater than the threshold, the counter is reset to 0. The length of the predetermined time window, the threshold, and the quality threshold may be configured by the user equipment 500, by the opposite user equipment, by the base station, or pre-configured in the user equipment 500.

[0127] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG5 , user equipment 500 may further include a switching unit 570. If the determination unit 560 determines that the quality of the direct link between user equipment 500 and a peer user equipment meets a switching condition, the switching unit 570 may switch the direct link based on the link priority indication information. For example, the switching unit 570 may cause user equipment 500 to switch to the link with the highest priority in the link priority indication information to communicate with the peer user equipment. In this case, the generation unit 530 may further generate a switching notification, and user equipment 500 may send the switching notification to the peer user equipment via the communication unit 510, notifying the peer user equipment to also switch to the link with the highest priority to communicate with user equipment 500. Here, since the peer user equipment stores the same link priority indication information as the link priority indication information stored by user equipment 500, the switching notification may include only one bit of information to indicate the switching operation, and the peer user equipment will switch to the link with the highest priority based on its own stored link priority indication information. Here, user equipment 500 may send the switching notification via the SCI.

[0128] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, user equipment 500 may also receive a handover notification from a peer user equipment via communication unit 510. For example, the handover notification may include only one bit of information to indicate the handover operation. Here, user equipment 500 may receive the handover notification via the SCI. Furthermore, determination unit 560 determines, based on the handover notification, that the quality of the direct link meets the handover conditions, so that handover unit 570 performs the handover as described above.

[0129] As described above, according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the transmitting user equipment may determine whether to switch the direct link, and the receiving user equipment may also determine whether to switch the direct link.

[0130] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, after communicating with a peer user device using the link with the highest priority, the user device 500 can determine whether the communication has failed. For example, it can be specified that the peer user device must send ACK information to the user device 500 upon receiving data from the user device 500. If the user device 500 does not receive ACK information from the peer user device for the data from the user device 500 from the communication device on the link with the highest priority within a predetermined time, the user device 500 can determine that the communication has failed. Alternatively, if the communication device on the link with the highest priority does not receive ACK information from the peer user device for the data from the user device 500 within a predetermined time, the communication device can send a notification indicating a communication failure to the user device 500. In other words, if the user device 500 receives a notification indicating a communication failure from the communication device, the user device 500 can determine that the communication has failed.

[0131] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the user equipment 500 determines that communication with the opposite user equipment via the highest priority link fails, the switching unit 570 may switch to the second highest priority link to communicate with the opposite user equipment.

[0132] As described above, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the quality of the direct link between the user device 500 and the opposite user device degrades and needs to be switched, the link with the highest priority indicated in the link priority indication information can be switched first. Further, in the event that communication using the link with the highest priority fails, the link with the second highest priority indicated in the link priority indication information can be switched. Of course, if communication using the link with the highest priority fails, the link priority indication information is updated, that is, the link with the highest priority indicated in the latest version of the priority indication information is different from before, the link with the highest priority indicated in the latest version of the link priority indication information can also be switched. In short, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the link for communication between the user device 500 and the opposite user device can be switched according to the priority of the link indicated in the link priority indication information, thereby improving the switching speed and ensuring the link quality.

[0133] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram showing a scenario in which UE1 and UE2 switch communication links again according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In Figure 6, UE2 can be implemented by user equipment 200, and UE1 can be implemented by user equipment 500. Here, it is assumed that the link priority indication information indicates that the following links are arranged in order of priority from high to low: link UE1→communication device 3→UE2; link UE1→communication device 5→UE2; link UE1→UE2. As shown in Figure 6, after switching to the link UE1→communication device 3→UE2, if the communication fails, it switches to the link UE1→communication device 5→UE2. That is, the information of UE1 is forwarded to UE2 through communication device 5. In this way, the communication quality between UE1 and UE2 can be guaranteed.

[0134] It can be seen that according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the user equipment 500 can generate link priority indication information based on the link quality indication information of the opposite user equipment, including the priority information of multiple links between the user equipment 500 and the opposite user equipment. In this way, the user equipment 500 and the opposite user equipment can both store the priority information of the link. In addition, the link priority indication information can be updated. Furthermore, the user equipment 500 or the opposite user equipment can determine whether the direct link needs to be switched, and can perform link switching based on the link priority indication information without having to perform operations such as link measurement, reporting and recovery, thereby achieving rapid switching of the link and ensuring the communication quality of the link between the user equipment. In addition, the user equipment 500 can also switch the link again based on the link priority indication information according to whether the communication fails.

[0135] In addition, although the user equipment 200 at the receiving end and the user equipment 500 at the transmitting end are described with reference to FIG2 and FIG5 , respectively, the user equipment 200 can also be used as the transmitting end in other SL communications, and the user equipment 500 can also be used as the receiving end in other SL communications. Therefore, the user equipment according to the embodiment of the present disclosure can have all the functions of the user equipment 200 and the user equipment 500, wherein the user equipment can have only one of the units with the same functions in FIG2 and FIG5 . In other words, the user equipment according to the embodiment of the present disclosure may include a generation unit 210, a communication unit 220, a storage unit 230, a measurement unit 240, a sorting unit 250, a determination unit 260, a judgment unit 270, a switching unit 280, an adjustment unit 290, and a priority determination unit 520.

[0136] <4. Method Example>

[0137] The following describes a signaling flow chart for link switching using link priority indication information according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in conjunction with Figures 7 and 8. In Figures 7 and 8, Tx UE represents a transmitting user equipment, which may be implemented by user equipment 500, and Rx UE represents a receiving user equipment, which may be implemented by user equipment 200.

[0138] As shown in Figure 7, in step S701, a Tx UE establishes a link with an Rx UE. Specifically, a beam pair is determined through a beam scanning process, allowing communication via a direct link using the optimal beam pair. In step S702, the Rx UE determines the quality of the link between it and each of the multiple communication devices with which it has established a link. In step S703, the Rx UE sends link quality indication information to the Tx UE. In step S704, the Tx UE determines the priorities of the multiple links between it and the Rx UE based on the link quality indication information from the Rx UE and its own measurement results, and generates link priority indication information. In step S705, the Tx UE sends the link priority indication information to the Rx UE. In step S706, the Rx UE determines that the quality of the direct link meets the handover condition. In step S707, the Rx UE switches to the link with the highest priority indicated in the link priority indication information to communicate with the Tx UE. In step S708, the Rx UE sends a handover notification to the Tx UE, instructing the Tx UE to also switch to the link with the highest priority. In step S709, the Tx UE and the Rx UE communicate using the link with the highest priority. As shown in Figure 7, the Rx UE determines that a link handover is necessary, and the Tx UE and the Rx UE switch to the link with the highest priority for communication.

[0139] As shown in Figure 8, in step S801, a Tx UE establishes a link with an Rx UE. Specifically, a beam pair is determined through a beam scanning process, allowing communication via a direct link using the optimal beam pair. In step S802, the Rx UE determines the quality of the link between it and each of the multiple communication devices with which it has established a link. In step S803, the Rx UE sends link quality indication information to the Tx UE. In step S804, the Tx UE determines the priorities of the multiple links between it and the Rx UE based on the link quality indication information from the Rx UE and its own measurement results, and generates link priority indication information. In step S805, the Tx UE sends the link priority indication information to the Rx UE. In step S806, the Tx UE determines that the quality of the direct link meets the handover condition. In step S807, the Tx UE switches to the link with the highest priority indicated in the link priority indication information to communicate with the Rx UE. In step S808, the Tx UE sends a handover notification to the Rx UE, informing the Rx UE to also switch to the link with the highest priority. In step S809, the Tx UE and the Rx UE communicate using the link with the highest priority. As shown in Figure 8, the Tx UE determines that a link handover is necessary, and the Tx UE and the Rx UE switch to the link with the highest priority for communication.

[0140] Next, a wireless communication method performed by the user equipment 200 in the wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail. FIG9 is a flowchart illustrating a wireless communication method performed by the user equipment 200 in the wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0141] As shown in FIG9 , in step S910 , link quality indication information is generated and sent to the opposite user equipment, where the link quality indication information indicates the quality of the link between the user equipment 200 and each of the multiple communication devices.

[0142] Next, in step S920 , link priority indication information determined according to the link quality indication information is received from the opposite user equipment. The link priority indication information includes priority information of multiple links between the opposite user equipment and the user equipment 200 .

[0143] Preferably, the link quality indication information includes priority information of the link between the user equipment 200 and each communication device.

[0144] Preferably, the wireless communication method also includes: measuring the quality of the link between the user equipment 200 and each communication device; sorting the links between the user equipment 200 and each communication device according to the measurement results; and determining the priority information of the link between the user equipment 200 and each communication device according to the sorting results.

[0145] Preferably, the wireless communication method further comprises: using an identifier of the communication device to represent a link between the user equipment 200 and the communication device.

[0146] Preferably, the plurality of communication devices are communication devices that have established a connection with the user equipment 200 , and the plurality of communication devices are user equipments, roadside units, or smart reflective surfaces.

[0147] Preferably, the multiple links between the opposite user equipment and the user equipment 200 include a direct link and an indirect link between the opposite user equipment and the user equipment 200 .

[0148] Preferably, the wireless communication method further comprises: when the quality of the direct link between the opposite user equipment and the user equipment 200 meets the switching condition, switching to the link with the highest priority to communicate with the opposite user equipment.

[0149] Preferably, the wireless communication method further comprises: determining that the quality of the direct link satisfies a switching condition when the number of times that the quality of the direct link is less than a quality threshold within a predetermined time window is greater than a number threshold.

[0150] Preferably, the wireless communication method further includes: when it is determined that the quality of the direct link meets the switching condition, sending a switching notification to the opposite user equipment to notify the opposite user equipment to switch to the link with the highest priority to communicate with the user equipment 200.

[0151] Preferably, the wireless communication method further comprises: receiving a handover notification from the opposite user equipment; and determining, according to the handover notification, that the quality of the direct link meets the handover condition.

[0152] Preferably, the wireless communication method further comprises: periodically generating link quality indication information.

[0153] Preferably, the wireless communication method further comprises: adjusting a period for generating link quality indication information when a change speed of the quality of the direct link between the opposite user equipment and the user equipment 200 exceeds a speed threshold range.

[0154] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the subject that executes the above method may be the user equipment 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and therefore all the embodiments regarding the user equipment 200 in the foregoing text are applicable hereto.

[0155] Next, a wireless communication method performed by a user equipment 500 in a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail. Figure 10 is a flowchart illustrating a wireless communication method performed by a user equipment 500 in a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0156] As shown in FIG. 10 , in step S1010 , link quality indication information is received from a peer user equipment, where the link quality indication information indicates the quality of a link between the peer user equipment and each of a plurality of communication devices.

[0157] Next, in step S1020, link priority indication information is determined according to the link quality indication information. The link priority indication information includes priority information of multiple links between the user equipment 500 and the opposite user equipment.

[0158] Next, in step S1030, the link priority indication information is sent to the opposite user equipment.

[0159] Preferably, the wireless communication method further comprises: determining the quality of each link between the user equipment 500 and the opposite user equipment; sorting the multiple links according to the determination result; and determining priority information of the multiple links according to the sorting result.

[0160] Preferably, the multiple links include direct links and indirect links between the user equipment 500 and the opposite user equipment, and the wireless communication method also includes: determining the quality of the indirect link based on the quality of the link between the user equipment 500 and the communication device on each indirect link and the quality of the link between the communication device and the opposite user equipment.

[0161] Preferably, the wireless communication method further comprises: using an identifier of a communication device on the indirect link to indicate the indirect link.

[0162] Preferably, the wireless communication method further comprises: when the quality of the direct link between the user equipment 500 and the opposite user equipment meets the switching condition, switching to the link with the highest priority to communicate with the opposite user equipment.

[0163] Preferably, the wireless communication method further comprises: determining that the quality of the direct link satisfies a switching condition when the number of times that the quality of the direct link is less than a quality threshold within a predetermined time window is greater than a number threshold.

[0164] Preferably, the wireless communication method further includes: when it is determined that the quality of the direct link meets the switching condition, sending a switching notification to the opposite user equipment to notify the opposite user equipment to switch to the link with the highest priority to communicate with the user equipment 500.

[0165] Preferably, the wireless communication method further comprises: receiving a handover notification from the opposite user equipment; and determining, according to the handover notification, that the quality of the direct link meets the handover condition.

[0166] Preferably, the wireless communication method further comprises: periodically receiving link quality indication information.

[0167] Preferably, the wireless communication method further comprises: when the speed of change of the quality of the direct link between the user equipment 500 and the opposite user equipment exceeds a speed threshold range, adjusting the period for the opposite user equipment to generate link quality indication information.

[0168] Preferably, the wireless communication method further comprises: when communicating with the opposite user equipment using the link with the highest priority, if the communication fails, switching to the link with the second highest priority to communicate with the opposite user equipment.

[0169] Preferably, the wireless communication method further comprises: determining that the communication has failed if no ACK information for the data from the user equipment 500 is received from the opposite user equipment within a predetermined time.

[0170] Preferably, the wireless communication method further comprises: receiving a notification indicating a communication failure from the communication device on the link with the highest priority.

[0171] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the subject that executes the above method may be the user equipment 500 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and therefore all the embodiments regarding the user equipment 500 in the foregoing text are applicable hereto.

[0172] <5. Application Examples>

[0173] The technology of the present disclosure can be applied to various products.

[0174] For example, the user equipment may be implemented as a mobile terminal (such as a smartphone, a tablet personal computer (PC), a notebook PC, a portable game terminal, a portable / dongle-type mobile router, and a digital camera) or an in-vehicle terminal (such as a car navigation device). The user equipment may also be implemented as a terminal that performs machine-to-machine (M2M) communication (also known as a machine-type communication (MTC) terminal). In addition, the user equipment may be a wireless communication module (such as an integrated circuit module including a single chip) installed on each of the above-mentioned user equipment.

[0175] <Application examples for terminal devices>

[0176] (First application example)

[0177] 11 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a smartphone 1100 to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied. The smartphone 1100 includes a processor 1101, a memory 1102, a storage device 1103, an external connection interface 1104, a camera 1106, a sensor 1107, a microphone 1108, an input device 1109, a display device 1110, a speaker 1111, a wireless communication interface 1112, one or more antenna switches 1115, one or more antennas 1116, a bus 1117, a battery 1118, and an auxiliary controller 1119.

[0178] The processor 1101 may be, for example, a CPU or a system on a chip (SoC), and controls the functions of the application layer and other layers of the smartphone 1100. The memory 1102 includes RAM and ROM, and stores data and programs executed by the processor 1101. The storage device 1103 may include storage media such as semiconductor memories and hard disks. The external connection interface 1104 is an interface for connecting external devices (such as memory cards and universal serial bus (USB) devices) to the smartphone 1100.

[0179] The camera 1106 includes an image sensor (such as a charge coupled device (CCD) and a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS)) and generates a captured image. The sensor 1107 may include a group of sensors such as a measurement sensor, a gyroscope sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, and an acceleration sensor. The microphone 1108 converts the sound input to the smartphone 1100 into an audio signal. The input device 1109 includes, for example, a touch sensor, a keypad, a keyboard, a button, or a switch configured to detect a touch on the screen of the display device 1110, and receives an operation or information input from the user. The display device 1110 includes a screen (such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) and an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display) and displays an output image of the smartphone 1100. The speaker 1111 converts the audio signal output from the smartphone 1100 into sound.

[0180] The wireless communication interface 1112 supports any cellular communication scheme (such as LTE and LTE-Advanced) and performs wireless communication. The wireless communication interface 1112 may generally include, for example, a BB processor 1113 and an RF circuit 1114. The BB processor 1113 may perform, for example, encoding / decoding, modulation / demodulation, and multiplexing / demultiplexing, and perform various types of signal processing for wireless communication. Meanwhile, the RF circuit 1114 may include, for example, a mixer, a filter, and an amplifier, and transmit and receive wireless signals via an antenna 1116. The wireless communication interface 1112 may be a chip module on which the BB processor 1113 and the RF circuit 1114 are integrated. As shown in FIG11 , the wireless communication interface 1112 may include multiple BB processors 1113 and multiple RF circuits 1114. Although FIG11 shows an example in which the wireless communication interface 1112 includes multiple BB processors 1113 and multiple RF circuits 1114, the wireless communication interface 1112 may also include a single BB processor 1113 or a single RF circuit 1114.

[0181] In addition, in addition to the cellular communication scheme, the wireless communication interface 1112 can support other types of wireless communication schemes, such as a short-range wireless communication scheme, a near-field communication scheme, and a wireless local area network (LAN) scheme. In this case, the wireless communication interface 1112 may include a BB processor 1113 and an RF circuit 1114 for each wireless communication scheme.

[0182] Each of the antenna switches 1115 switches the connection destination of the antenna 1116 between a plurality of circuits (eg, circuits for different wireless communication schemes) included in the wireless communication interface 1112 .

[0183] Each of the antennas 1116 includes a single or multiple antenna elements (such as multiple antenna elements included in a MIMO antenna) and is used for transmitting and receiving wireless signals via the wireless communication interface 1112. As shown in FIG11 , the smartphone 1100 may include multiple antennas 1116. Although FIG11 shows an example in which the smartphone 1100 includes multiple antennas 1116, the smartphone 1100 may also include a single antenna 1116.

[0184] In addition, the smartphone 1100 may include an antenna 1116 for each wireless communication scheme. In this case, the antenna switch 1115 may be omitted from the configuration of the smartphone 1100.

[0185] The bus 1117 connects the processor 1101, the memory 1102, the storage device 1103, the external connection interface 1104, the camera 1106, the sensor 1107, the microphone 1108, the input device 1109, the display device 1110, the speaker 1111, the wireless communication interface 1112, and the auxiliary controller 1119. The battery 1118 supplies power to the various blocks of the smartphone 1100 shown in FIG11 via feeders, which are partially shown as dashed lines in the figure. The auxiliary controller 1119 operates the minimum necessary functions of the smartphone 1100, for example, in sleep mode.

[0186] In the smartphone 1100 shown in FIG11 , the generation unit 210, measurement unit 240, ranking unit 250, determination unit 260, judgment unit 270, switching unit 280, and adjustment unit 290 described in FIG2 , and the priority determination unit 520, generation unit 530, measurement unit 550, judgment unit 560, switching unit 570, and adjustment unit 580 described in FIG5 , can be implemented by the processor 1101 or the auxiliary controller 1119. At least a portion of the functionality can also be implemented by the processor 1101 or the auxiliary controller 1119. For example, the processor 1101 or the auxiliary controller 1119 can execute instructions stored in the memory 1102 or the storage device 1103 to generate link quality indication information, measure link quality, rank links, determine link priorities, determine whether the quality of a direct link meets a switching condition, switch links, adjust the period for generating link quality indication information, and generate link priority indication information.

[0187] (Second application example)

[0188] 12 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a car navigation device 1220 to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied. The car navigation device 1220 includes a processor 1221, a memory 1222, a global positioning system (GPS) module 1224, a sensor 1225, a data interface 1226, a content player 1227, a storage medium interface 1228, an input device 1229, a display device 1230, a speaker 1231, a wireless communication interface 1233, one or more antenna switches 1236, one or more antennas 1237, and a battery 1238.

[0189] The processor 1221 may be, for example, a CPU or an SoC, and controls a navigation function and other functions of the car navigation device 1220. The memory 1222 includes a RAM and a ROM, and stores data and programs executed by the processor 1221.

[0190] The GPS module 1224 uses GPS signals received from GPS satellites to measure the location (such as latitude, longitude, and altitude) of the car navigation device 1220. The sensor 1225 may include a group of sensors such as a gyroscope sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, and an air pressure sensor. The data interface 1226 is connected to, for example, the vehicle network 1241 via a terminal (not shown) and acquires data generated by the vehicle (such as vehicle speed data).

[0191] The content player 1227 reproduces content stored in a storage medium (such as a CD or DVD) inserted into the storage medium interface 1228. The input device 1229 includes, for example, a touch sensor, button, or switch configured to detect a touch on the screen of the display device 1230, and receives an operation or information input from the user. The display device 1230 includes a screen such as an LCD or OLED display and displays an image of a navigation function or reproduced content. The speaker 1231 outputs the sound of the navigation function or the reproduced content.

[0192] The wireless communication interface 1233 supports any cellular communication scheme (such as LTE and LTE-Advanced) and performs wireless communication. The wireless communication interface 1233 may generally include, for example, a BB processor 1234 and an RF circuit 1235. The BB processor 1234 may perform, for example, encoding / decoding, modulation / demodulation, and multiplexing / demultiplexing, and perform various types of signal processing for wireless communication. Meanwhile, the RF circuit 1235 may include, for example, a mixer, a filter, and an amplifier, and transmit and receive wireless signals via an antenna 1237. The wireless communication interface 1233 may also be a chip module on which the BB processor 1234 and the RF circuit 1235 are integrated. As shown in FIG12 , the wireless communication interface 1233 may include multiple BB processors 1234 and multiple RF circuits 1235. Although FIG12 shows an example in which the wireless communication interface 1233 includes multiple BB processors 1234 and multiple RF circuits 1235, the wireless communication interface 1233 may also include a single BB processor 1234 or a single RF circuit 1235.

[0193] In addition, in addition to the cellular communication scheme, the wireless communication interface 1233 can support other types of wireless communication schemes, such as short-range wireless communication schemes, near field communication schemes, and wireless LAN schemes. In this case, for each wireless communication scheme, the wireless communication interface 1233 can include a BB processor 1234 and an RF circuit 1235.

[0194] Each of the antenna switches 1236 switches a connection destination of the antenna 1237 between a plurality of circuits included in the wireless communication interface 1233 , such as circuits for different wireless communication schemes.

[0195] Each of the antennas 1237 includes a single or multiple antenna elements (such as multiple antenna elements included in a MIMO antenna) and is used for transmitting and receiving wireless signals via the wireless communication interface 1233. As shown in FIG12, the car navigation device 1220 may include multiple antennas 1237. Although FIG12 shows an example in which the car navigation device 1220 includes multiple antennas 1237, the car navigation device 1220 may also include a single antenna 1237.

[0196] In addition, the car navigation device 1220 may include an antenna 2137 for each wireless communication scheme. In this case, the antenna switch 1236 may be omitted from the configuration of the car navigation device 1220.

[0197] The battery 1238 supplies power to the respective blocks of the car navigation device 1220 shown in Fig. 12 via a feeder line, which is partially shown as a dotted line in the figure. The battery 1238 accumulates the power supplied from the vehicle.

[0198] In the car navigation device 1220 shown in FIG12 , the generation unit 210, measurement unit 240, sorting unit 250, determination unit 260, judgment unit 270, switching unit 280, and adjustment unit 290 described in FIG2 , and the priority determination unit 520, generation unit 530, measurement unit 550, judgment unit 560, switching unit 570, and adjustment unit 580 described in FIG5 , can be implemented by the processor 1221. At least a portion of the functions can also be implemented by the processor 1221. For example, the processor 1221 can execute instructions stored in the memory 1222 to generate link quality indication information, measure link quality, sort links, determine link priorities, determine whether the quality of a direct link meets a switching condition, switch links, adjust the period for generating link quality indication information, and generate link priority indication information.

[0199] The technology of the present disclosure can also be implemented as an in-vehicle system (or vehicle) 1240 including a car navigation device 1220, an in-vehicle network 1241, and one or more blocks in a vehicle module 1242. The vehicle module 1242 generates vehicle data (such as vehicle speed, engine speed, and fault information) and outputs the generated data to the in-vehicle network 1241.

[0200] The preferred embodiments of the present disclosure are described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present disclosure is of course not limited to the above examples. Those skilled in the art may obtain various changes and modifications within the scope of the appended claims, and it should be understood that these changes and modifications will naturally fall within the technical scope of the present disclosure.

[0201] For example, the units shown in dotted boxes in the functional block diagrams shown in the accompanying drawings all indicate that the functional units are optional in the corresponding device, and the various optional functional units can be combined in an appropriate manner to achieve the required functions.

[0202] For example, a plurality of functions included in one unit in the above embodiments may be implemented by separate devices. Alternatively, a plurality of functions implemented by a plurality of units in the above embodiments may be implemented by separate devices, respectively. In addition, one of the above functions may be implemented by a plurality of units. Needless to say, such a configuration is included in the technical scope of the present disclosure.

[0203] In this specification, the steps described in the flowchart include not only processing executed in time series in the order described, but also processing executed in parallel or individually rather than necessarily in time series. In addition, even in the steps processed in time series, it goes without saying that the order can be changed as appropriate.

[0204] Furthermore, the present disclosure may have configurations as described below.

[0205] 1. A user equipment comprising a processing circuit configured to:

[0206] generating and sending link quality indication information to a corresponding user equipment, wherein the link quality indication information indicates the quality of a link between the user equipment and each of the plurality of communication devices; and

[0207] Link priority indication information determined according to the link quality indication information is received from the opposite user equipment, where the link priority indication information includes priority information of multiple links between the opposite user equipment and the user equipment.

[0208] 2. The user equipment according to 1, wherein the link quality indication information includes priority information of the link between the user equipment and each communication device.

[0209] 3. The user equipment according to 2, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:

[0210] measuring the quality of the link between the user equipment and each communication device;

[0211] sorting the links between the user equipment and each communication device according to the measurement results; and

[0212] Priority information of the link between the user equipment and each communication device is determined according to the sorting result.

[0213] 4. The user equipment according to 3, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:

[0214] The link between the user equipment and the communication device is represented by an identifier of the communication device.

[0215] 5. The user equipment according to 1, wherein the multiple communication devices are communication devices that have established connections with the user equipment, and the multiple communication devices are user equipments, roadside units, or smart reflective surfaces.

[0216] 6. The user equipment according to 1, wherein the multiple links between the opposite user equipment and the user equipment include a direct link and an indirect link between the opposite user equipment and the user equipment.

[0217] 7. The user equipment according to 1, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:

[0218] When the quality of the direct link between the opposite user equipment and the user equipment meets the switching condition, switching is performed to the link with the highest priority to communicate with the opposite user equipment.

[0219] 8. The user equipment according to 7, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:

[0220] If the number of times that the quality of the direct link is less than the quality threshold within the predetermined time window is greater than the number threshold, it is determined that the quality of the direct link meets the switching condition.

[0221] 9. The user equipment according to 8, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:

[0222] If it is determined that the quality of the direct link meets the switching condition, a switching notification is sent to the opposite user equipment to notify the opposite user equipment to switch to the link with the highest priority to communicate with the user equipment.

[0223] 10. The user equipment according to 7, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:

[0224] receiving a handover notification from the opposite user equipment; and

[0225] Determining, according to the switching notification, that the quality of the direct link meets a switching condition.

[0226] 11. The user equipment according to 1, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:

[0227] The link quality indication information is generated periodically.

[0228] 12. The user equipment according to 11, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:

[0229] When a change speed of the quality of the direct link between the opposite user equipment and the user equipment exceeds a speed threshold range, a period for generating the link quality indication information is adjusted.

[0230] 13. A user equipment comprising a processing circuit configured to:

[0231] receiving link quality indication information from a peer user equipment, the link quality indication information indicating a quality of a link between the peer user equipment and each of a plurality of communication devices;

[0232] determining link priority indication information according to the link quality indication information, where the link priority indication information includes priority information of multiple links between the user equipment and the opposite user equipment; and

[0233] The link priority indication information is sent to the opposite user equipment.

[0234] 14. The user equipment according to 13, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:

[0235] Determining the quality of each link between the user equipment and the opposite user equipment;

[0236] sorting the plurality of links according to the determination result; and

[0237] Priority information of the multiple links is determined according to the sorting result.

[0238] 15. The user equipment according to 14, wherein the plurality of links include direct links and indirect links between the user equipment and the opposite user equipment, and

[0239] The processing circuit is further configured to determine the quality of the indirect link according to the quality of the link between the user equipment and the communication device on each indirect link and the quality of the link between the communication device and the opposite user equipment.

[0240] 16. The user equipment according to 15, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:

[0241] The indirect link is represented by an identifier of a communication device on the indirect link.

[0242] 17. The user equipment according to 13, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:

[0243] When the quality of the direct link between the user equipment and the opposite user equipment meets the switching condition, switching is performed to the link with the highest priority to communicate with the opposite user equipment.

[0244] 18. The user equipment according to 17, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:

[0245] If the number of times that the quality of the direct link is less than the quality threshold within the predetermined time window is greater than the number threshold, it is determined that the quality of the direct link meets the switching condition.

[0246] 19. The user equipment according to 18, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:

[0247] If it is determined that the quality of the direct link meets the switching condition, a switching notification is sent to the opposite user equipment to notify the opposite user equipment to switch to the link with the highest priority to communicate with the user equipment.

[0248] 20. The user equipment according to 17, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:

[0249] receiving a handover notification from the opposite user equipment; and

[0250] Determining, according to the switching notification, that the quality of the direct link meets a switching condition.

[0251] 21. The user equipment according to 13, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:

[0252] The link quality indication information is received periodically.

[0253] 22. The user equipment according to 21, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:

[0254] When a change speed of the quality of the direct link between the user equipment and the opposite user equipment exceeds a speed threshold range, a period for the opposite user equipment to generate the link quality indication information is adjusted.

[0255] 23. The user equipment according to 17, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:

[0256] In the case of communicating with the opposite user equipment by using the link with the highest priority, if the communication fails, switching to the link with the second highest priority to communicate with the opposite user equipment.

[0257] 24. The user equipment according to 23, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:

[0258] If no ACK information for the data from the user equipment is received from the opposite user equipment within a predetermined time, it is determined that the communication has failed.

[0259] 25. The user equipment according to 23, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:

[0260] A notification indicating the communication failure is received from the communication device on the link with the highest priority.

[0261] 26. A wireless communication method performed by a user equipment, comprising:

[0262] generating and sending link quality indication information to a corresponding user equipment, wherein the link quality indication information indicates the quality of a link between the user equipment and each of the plurality of communication devices; and

[0263] Link priority indication information determined according to the link quality indication information is received from the opposite user equipment, where the link priority indication information includes priority information of multiple links between the opposite user equipment and the user equipment.

[0264] 27. The wireless communication method according to 26, wherein the link quality indication information includes priority information of the link between the user equipment and each communication device.

[0265] 28. The wireless communication method according to 27, wherein the wireless communication method further comprises:

[0266] measuring the quality of the link between the user equipment and each communication device;

[0267] sorting the links between the user equipment and each communication device according to the measurement results; and

[0268] Priority information of the link between the user equipment and each communication device is determined according to the sorting result.

[0269] 29. The wireless communication method according to 28, wherein the wireless communication method further comprises:

[0270] The link between the user equipment and the communication device is represented by an identifier of the communication device.

[0271] 30. The wireless communication method according to 26, wherein the plurality of communication devices are communication devices that have established a connection with the user equipment, and the plurality of communication devices are user equipment, roadside units or smart reflective surfaces.

[0272] 31. The wireless communication method according to 26, wherein the multiple links between the opposite user equipment and the user equipment include a direct link and an indirect link between the opposite user equipment and the user equipment.

[0273] 32. The wireless communication method according to 26, wherein the wireless communication method further comprises:

[0274] When the quality of the direct link between the opposite user equipment and the user equipment meets the switching condition, switching is performed to the link with the highest priority to communicate with the opposite user equipment.

[0275] 33. The wireless communication method according to 32, wherein the wireless communication method further comprises:

[0276] If the number of times that the quality of the direct link is less than the quality threshold within the predetermined time window is greater than the number threshold, it is determined that the quality of the direct link meets the switching condition.

[0277] 34. The wireless communication method according to 33, wherein the wireless communication method further comprises:

[0278] If it is determined that the quality of the direct link meets the switching condition, a switching notification is sent to the opposite user equipment to notify the opposite user equipment to switch to the link with the highest priority to communicate with the user equipment.

[0279] 35. The wireless communication method according to 32, wherein the wireless communication method further comprises:

[0280] receiving a handover notification from the opposite user equipment; and

[0281] Determining, according to the switching notification, that the quality of the direct link meets a switching condition.

[0282] 36. The wireless communication method according to 26, wherein the wireless communication method further comprises:

[0283] The link quality indication information is generated periodically.

[0284] 37. The wireless communication method according to 36, wherein the wireless communication method further comprises:

[0285] When a change speed of the quality of the direct link between the opposite user equipment and the user equipment exceeds a speed threshold range, a period for generating the link quality indication information is adjusted.

[0286] 38. A wireless communication method performed by a user equipment, comprising:

[0287] receiving link quality indication information from a peer user equipment, the link quality indication information indicating a quality of a link between the peer user equipment and each of a plurality of communication devices;

[0288] determining link priority indication information according to the link quality indication information, where the link priority indication information includes priority information of multiple links between the user equipment and the opposite user equipment; and

[0289] The link priority indication information is sent to the opposite user equipment.

[0290] 39. The wireless communication method according to 38, wherein the wireless communication method further comprises:

[0291] Determining the quality of each link between the user equipment and the opposite user equipment;

[0292] sorting the plurality of links according to the determination result; and

[0293] Priority information of the multiple links is determined according to the sorting result.

[0294] 40. The wireless communication method according to 39, wherein the multiple links include direct links and indirect links between the user equipment and the opposite user equipment, and

[0295] The wireless communication method further includes: determining the quality of the indirect link according to the quality of the link between the user equipment and the communication equipment on each indirect link and the quality of the link between the communication equipment and the opposite user equipment.

[0296] 41. The wireless communication method according to 40, wherein the wireless communication method further comprises:

[0297] The indirect link is represented by an identifier of a communication device on the indirect link.

[0298] 42. The wireless communication method according to 38, wherein the wireless communication method further comprises:

[0299] When the quality of the direct link between the user equipment and the opposite user equipment meets the switching condition, switching is performed to the link with the highest priority to communicate with the opposite user equipment.

[0300] 43. The wireless communication method according to 42, wherein the wireless communication method further comprises:

[0301] If the number of times that the quality of the direct link is less than the quality threshold within the predetermined time window is greater than the number threshold, it is determined that the quality of the direct link meets the switching condition.

[0302] 44. The wireless communication method according to 43, wherein the wireless communication method further comprises:

[0303] If it is determined that the quality of the direct link meets the switching condition, a switching notification is sent to the opposite user equipment to notify the opposite user equipment to switch to the link with the highest priority to communicate with the user equipment.

[0304] 45. The wireless communication method according to 42, wherein the wireless communication method further comprises:

[0305] receiving a handover notification from the opposite user equipment; and

[0306] Determining, according to the switching notification, that the quality of the direct link meets a switching condition.

[0307] 46. ​​The wireless communication method according to 38, wherein the wireless communication method further comprises:

[0308] The link quality indication information is received periodically.

[0309] 47. The wireless communication method according to 46, wherein the wireless communication method further comprises:

[0310] When a change speed of the quality of the direct link between the user equipment and the opposite user equipment exceeds a speed threshold range, a period for the opposite user equipment to generate the link quality indication information is adjusted.

[0311] 48. The wireless communication method according to 42, wherein the wireless communication method further comprises:

[0312] In the case of communicating with the opposite user equipment by using the link with the highest priority, if the communication fails, switching to the link with the second highest priority to communicate with the opposite user equipment.

[0313] 49. The wireless communication method according to 48, wherein the wireless communication method further comprises:

[0314] If no ACK information for the data from the user equipment is received from the opposite user equipment within a predetermined time, it is determined that the communication has failed.

[0315] 50. The wireless communication method according to 48, wherein the wireless communication method further comprises:

[0316] A notification indicating the communication failure is received from the communication device on the link with the highest priority.

[0317] 51. A computer-readable storage medium comprising executable computer instructions, which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the wireless communication method according to any one of 26-50.

[0318] Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that the embodiments described above are merely illustrative of the present disclosure and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and variations can be made to the above embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the scope of the present disclosure is solely defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A user equipment comprising a processing circuit configured to: generating and sending link quality indication information to a corresponding user equipment, where the link quality indication information indicates the quality of a link between the user equipment and each of the plurality of communication devices; and Link priority indication information determined according to the link quality indication information is received from the opposite user equipment, where the link priority indication information includes priority information of multiple links between the opposite user equipment and the user equipment.

2. The user equipment according to claim 1, wherein The link quality indication information includes priority information of the link between the user equipment and each communication device.

3. The user equipment according to claim 2, wherein: The processing circuit is further configured to: measuring the quality of the link between the user equipment and each communication device; sorting the links between the user equipment and each communication device according to the measurement results; as well as Priority information of the link between the user equipment and each communication device is determined according to the sorting result.

4. The user equipment according to claim 3, wherein: The processing circuit is further configured to: The link between the user equipment and the communication device is represented by an identifier of the communication device. The user equipment according to claim 1 , wherein: The plurality of communication devices are communication devices that have established connections with the user equipment, and the plurality of communication devices are user equipments, roadside units, or smart reflective surfaces. The user equipment according to claim 1 , wherein: The multiple links between the opposite user equipment and the user equipment include direct links and indirect links between the opposite user equipment and the user equipment.

7. The user equipment according to claim 1, wherein: The processing circuit is further configured to: When the quality of the direct link between the opposite user equipment and the user equipment meets the switching condition, switching is performed to the link with the highest priority to communicate with the opposite user equipment.

8. The user equipment according to claim 7, wherein: The processing circuit is further configured to: If the number of times that the quality of the direct link is less than the quality threshold within the predetermined time window is greater than the number threshold, it is determined that the quality of the direct link meets the switching condition.

9. The user equipment according to claim 8, wherein: The processing circuit is further configured to: If it is determined that the quality of the direct link meets the switching condition, a switching notification is sent to the opposite user equipment to notify the opposite user equipment to switch to the link with the highest priority to communicate with the user equipment.

10. The user equipment according to claim 7, wherein: The processing circuit is further configured to: receiving a handover notification from the opposite user equipment; and Determining, according to the switching notification, that the quality of the direct link meets a switching condition.

11. The user equipment according to claim 1, wherein: The processing circuit is further configured to: The link quality indication information is generated periodically.

12. The user equipment according to claim 11, wherein: The processing circuit is further configured to: When a change speed of the quality of the direct link between the opposite user equipment and the user equipment exceeds a speed threshold range, a period for generating the link quality indication information is adjusted.

13. A user equipment comprising a processing circuit configured to: receiving link quality indication information from a peer user equipment, the link quality indication information indicating a quality of a link between the peer user equipment and each of a plurality of communication devices; determining link priority indication information according to the link quality indication information, where the link priority indication information includes priority information of multiple links between the user equipment and the opposite user equipment; as well as The link priority indication information is sent to the opposite user equipment.

14. The user equipment according to claim 13, wherein: The processing circuit is further configured to: Determining the quality of each link between the user equipment and the opposite user equipment; sorting the plurality of links according to the determination result; as well as Priority information of the multiple links is determined according to the sorting result.

15. The user equipment according to claim 14, wherein: The multiple links include direct links and indirect links between the user equipment and the opposite user equipment, and The processing circuit is further configured to determine the quality of the indirect link according to the quality of the link between the user equipment and the communication device on each indirect link and the quality of the link between the communication device and the opposite user equipment.

16. The user equipment according to claim 15, wherein: The processing circuit is further configured to: The indirect link is represented by an identifier of a communication device on the indirect link.

17. The user equipment according to claim 13, wherein: The processing circuit is further configured to: When the quality of the direct link between the user equipment and the opposite user equipment meets the switching condition, switching is performed to the link with the highest priority to communicate with the opposite user equipment.

18. The user equipment according to claim 17, wherein: The processing circuit is further configured to: If the number of times that the quality of the direct link is less than the quality threshold within the predetermined time window is greater than the number threshold, it is determined that the quality of the direct link meets the switching condition.

19. The user equipment according to claim 18, wherein: The processing circuit is further configured to: If it is determined that the quality of the direct link meets the switching condition, a switching notification is sent to the opposite user equipment to notify the opposite user equipment to switch to the link with the highest priority to communicate with the user equipment.

20. The user equipment according to claim 17, wherein: The processing circuit is further configured to: receiving a handover notification from the opposite user equipment; and Determining, according to the switching notification, that the quality of the direct link meets a switching condition.

21. The user equipment according to claim 13, wherein: The processing circuit is further configured to: The link quality indication information is received periodically.

22. The user equipment according to claim 21, wherein: The processing circuit is further configured to: When a change speed of the quality of the direct link between the user equipment and the opposite user equipment exceeds a speed threshold range, a period for the opposite user equipment to generate the link quality indication information is adjusted.

23. The user equipment according to claim 17, wherein: The processing circuit is further configured to: In the case of communicating with the opposite user equipment by using the link with the highest priority, if the communication fails, switching to the link with the second highest priority to communicate with the opposite user equipment.

24. The user equipment according to claim 23, wherein: The processing circuit is further configured to: If no ACK information for the data from the user equipment is received from the opposite user equipment within a predetermined time, it is determined that the communication has failed.

25. The user equipment according to claim 23, wherein: The processing circuit is further configured to: A notification indicating the communication failure is received from the communication device on the link with the highest priority.

26. A wireless communication method performed by a user equipment, comprising: Generate and send link quality indication information to a peer user equipment, where the link quality indication information indicates the quality of a link between the user equipment and each of the plurality of communication devices; as well as Link priority indication information determined according to the link quality indication information is received from the opposite user equipment, where the link priority indication information includes priority information of multiple links between the opposite user equipment and the user equipment.

27. The wireless communication method according to claim 26, wherein: The link quality indication information includes priority information of the link between the user equipment and each communication device.

28. The wireless communication method according to claim 27, wherein: The wireless communication method further includes: measuring the quality of the link between the user equipment and each communication device; sorting the links between the user equipment and each communication device according to the measurement results; and Priority information of the link between the user equipment and each communication device is determined according to the sorting result.

29. The wireless communication method according to claim 28, wherein: The wireless communication method further includes: The link between the user equipment and the communication device is represented by an identifier of the communication device.

30. The wireless communication method according to claim 26, wherein: The plurality of communication devices are communication devices that have established connections with the user equipment, and the plurality of communication devices are user equipments, roadside units, or smart reflective surfaces.

31. The wireless communication method according to claim 26, wherein: The multiple links between the opposite user equipment and the user equipment include direct links and indirect links between the opposite user equipment and the user equipment.

32. The wireless communication method according to claim 26, wherein: The wireless communication method further includes: If the quality of the direct link between the opposite user equipment and the user equipment meets the switching condition, switch to the link with the highest priority to communicate with the opposite user equipment. communication.

33. The wireless communication method according to claim 32, wherein: The wireless communication method further includes: If the number of times that the quality of the direct link is less than the quality threshold within the predetermined time window is greater than the number threshold, it is determined that the quality of the direct link meets the switching condition.

34. The wireless communication method according to claim 33, wherein: The wireless communication method further includes: If it is determined that the quality of the direct link meets the switching condition, a switching notification is sent to the opposite user equipment to notify the opposite user equipment to switch to the link with the highest priority to communicate with the user equipment.

35. The wireless communication method according to claim 32, wherein: The wireless communication method further includes: receiving a handover notification from the opposite user equipment; and Determining, according to the switching notification, that the quality of the direct link meets a switching condition.

36. The wireless communication method according to claim 26, wherein: The wireless communication method further includes: The link quality indication information is generated periodically.

37. The wireless communication method according to claim 36, wherein: The wireless communication method further includes: When a change speed of the quality of the direct link between the opposite user equipment and the user equipment exceeds a speed threshold range, a period for generating the link quality indication information is adjusted.

38. A wireless communication method performed by a user equipment, comprising: receiving link quality indication information from a peer user equipment, the link quality indication information indicating a quality of a link between the peer user equipment and each of a plurality of communication devices; determining link priority indication information according to the link quality indication information, where the link priority indication information includes priority information of multiple links between the user equipment and the opposite user equipment; as well as The link priority indication information is sent to the opposite user equipment.

39. The wireless communication method according to claim 38, wherein: The wireless communication method further includes: Determining the quality of each link between the user equipment and the opposite user equipment; sorting the plurality of links according to the determination result; and Priority information of the multiple links is determined according to the sorting result.

40. The wireless communication method according to claim 39, wherein: The multiple links include direct links and indirect links between the user equipment and the opposite user equipment, and The wireless communication method further includes: determining the quality of the indirect link according to the quality of the link between the user equipment and the communication equipment on each indirect link and the quality of the link between the communication equipment and the opposite user equipment.

41. The wireless communication method according to claim 40, wherein: The wireless communication method further includes: The indirect link is represented by an identifier of a communication device on the indirect link.

42. The wireless communication method according to claim 38, wherein: The wireless communication method further includes: When the quality of the direct link between the user equipment and the opposite user equipment meets the switching condition, switching is performed to the link with the highest priority to communicate with the opposite user equipment.

43. The wireless communication method according to claim 42, wherein: The wireless communication method further includes: If the number of times that the quality of the direct link is less than the quality threshold within the predetermined time window is greater than the number threshold, it is determined that the quality of the direct link meets the switching condition.

44. The wireless communication method according to claim 43, wherein: The wireless communication method further includes: If it is determined that the quality of the direct link meets the switching condition, a switching notification is sent to the opposite user equipment to notify the opposite user equipment to switch to the link with the highest priority to communicate with the user equipment.

45. The wireless communication method according to claim 42, wherein: The wireless communication method further includes: receiving a handover notification from the opposite user equipment; and Determining, according to the switching notification, that the quality of the direct link meets a switching condition.

46. ​​The wireless communication method according to claim 38, wherein: The wireless communication method further includes: The link quality indication information is received periodically.

47. The wireless communication method according to claim 46, wherein: The wireless communication method further includes: When a change speed of the quality of the direct link between the user equipment and the opposite user equipment exceeds a speed threshold range, a period for the opposite user equipment to generate the link quality indication information is adjusted.

48. The wireless communication method according to claim 42, wherein: The wireless communication method further includes: In the case of communicating with the opposite user equipment by using the link with the highest priority, if the communication fails, switching to the link with the second highest priority to communicate with the opposite user equipment.

49. The wireless communication method according to claim 48, wherein: The wireless communication method further includes: If no ACK information for the data from the user equipment is received from the opposite user equipment within a predetermined time, it is determined that the communication has failed.

50. The wireless communication method according to claim 48, wherein: The wireless communication method further includes: A notification indicating the communication failure is received from the communication device on the link with the highest priority.

51. A computer-readable storage medium comprising executable computer instructions, which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the wireless communication method according to any one of claims 26-50.

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