Communication method and device

Abstract

A communication method and device are used for improving the communication performance of a relay scene. The first terminal device receives first information, the first information is related to the first timer, and the value of the second timer is determined according to the first information. Wherein the first terminal device communicates with the second terminal device through the third terminal device; the first timer is a timer of the third terminal equipment; the second timer is used for side configuration between the first terminal equipment and the second terminal equipment. Therefore, the first terminal device can accurately determine the value of the second timer based on the first information, thereby realizing timer configuration in the relay scene, enabling the subsequent first terminal device to correctly start or stop the timer, and improving the communication performance of the relay scene.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and device. Background Art

[0002] In a wireless communication system, terminal devices can communicate with each other through a network, or they can communicate with each other directly without the help of network devices. When terminal devices communicate with each other directly, the link between them is called a sidelink (SL). Terminal devices can directly transmit data through a sidelink without going through a network, which can effectively reduce communication delays.

[0003] In some scenarios, terminal devices can communicate with each other through one or more relay terminal devices to improve the sidelink coverage and capacity. In this scenario, the source terminal device and the relay terminal device, the relay terminal device and the target terminal device, and the relay terminal devices communicate with each other through the sidelink.

[0004] Currently, in the scenario where two terminal devices communicate directly, when a terminal device sends a sidelink configuration message, it starts a timer for the target terminal device that receives the message, and stops the timer when it receives a configuration response message or a link failure message returned by the target terminal device. If the timer expires, the terminal device determines that the link has failed. However, there is currently no clear method for ensuring communication performance in relay scenarios. Based on this, how to ensure the normal execution of the sidelink configuration in the relay scenario is an urgent problem to be solved. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present application provides a communication method, device and communication system to ensure the normal execution of the side link configuration of the relay scenario and improve the communication performance of the relay scenario.

[0006] In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be applied to a first terminal device, or a component (such as a processor, a chip, a chip system, a circuit or other, etc.) configured in the first terminal device, or a software module. The method may include: receiving first information, the first information is related to a first timer, and determining the value of a second timer according to the first information. The first terminal device communicates with the second terminal device through a third terminal device; the first timer is a timer of the third terminal device; and the second timer is used for sideline configuration between the first terminal device and the second terminal device.

[0007] Through the above method, the first terminal device can accurately determine the value of the second timer based on the first information, thereby realizing the timer configuration in the relay scenario, so that the subsequent first terminal device can correctly start or stop the timer, thereby improving the communication performance of the relay scenario.

[0008] In a possible design, the first information is related to the first timer, which may include: the first information is related to the value of the first timer. Then, the first information may be determined based on the value of the first timer.

[0009] In one possible design, receiving the first information may include: receiving the first information from a third terminal device.

[0010] In one possible design, the first information may indicate a first duration, and the first duration may be equal to or less than the value of the first timer. In this way, the value of the second timer may be determined in combination with the first duration to implement timer configuration in a relay scenario.

[0011] In a possible design, the association relationship between the value of the second timer and the third terminal device is saved. In this way, in a scenario where there is a relay terminal device, it can be clear which relay terminal device the value of the second timer is associated with.

[0012] In one possible design, based on the association between the value of the second timer and the third terminal device, the value of the second timer is applied when sending the RRC reconfiguration message. In this way, the accurate value of the second timer can be applied so that the subsequent first terminal device can correctly start or stop the timer, thereby improving the communication performance of the relay scenario.

[0013] In one possible design, second information is received, the second information is related to a third timer, the third timer is a timer of a fourth terminal device, and the first terminal device communicates with the second terminal device through the third terminal device and the fourth terminal device. In this way, in a scenario where there are two relay terminal devices, the first terminal device can subsequently determine the value of the second timer based on the first information and the second information.

[0014] In one possible design, the second information is related to the third timer, which may include: the second information is related to the value of the third timer.

[0015] In one possible design, the second information may indicate a second duration, and the second duration may be equal to or less than the value of the third timer. In this way, the value of the second timer may be determined in combination with the second duration to implement timer configuration in a relay scenario.

[0016] In one possible design, the value of the second timer is determined based on the value of the fourth timer, the first information, and the second information. The value of the second timer determined in this way can meet the timer requirements from the first terminal device to the second terminal device, so that the first terminal device can correctly start or stop the timer later, thereby improving the communication performance of the relay scenario.

[0017] In one possible design, the first information is related to the first timer, which may include: the first information is related to the first timer and the third timer, the third timer is the timer of the fourth terminal device, and the first terminal device communicates with the second terminal device through the third terminal device and the fourth terminal device. In this way, when the value of the second timer is subsequently determined based on the first information, the first timer and the third timer are already combined, and the value of the second timer can meet the timer requirement from the first terminal device to the second terminal device, so that the first terminal device can correctly start or stop the timer later, thereby improving the communication performance of the relay scenario.

[0018] In one possible design, the first information is related to the first timer and the third timer, which may include: the first information is related to the value of the first timer and the value of the third timer.

[0019] In one possible design, the first information may indicate a third duration, which is equal to or less than the sum of the values ​​of the first timer and the third timer. In this way, the value of the second timer can be determined in combination with the third duration to implement timer configuration in a relay scenario.

[0020] In one possible design, any one of the first duration, the second duration, or the third duration is related to a processing delay, and the processing delay includes a processing delay of a radio resource control RRC layer and / or a packet data convergence layer protocol PDCP layer. In this way, any one of the first duration, the second duration, or the third duration can be flexibly determined.

[0021] In a possible design, the first information is received by: receiving the first information and the identifier of the second terminal device from a third terminal device, so as to determine which opposite terminal device the received first information is associated with.

[0022] In one possible design, the association between the value of the second timer and the second terminal device is saved. In this way, in a scenario where there are multiple relay terminal devices, it can be clear which opposite-end terminal device the value of the second timer is associated with.

[0023] In one possible design, based on the association between the value of the second timer and the second terminal device, the value of the second timer is applied when sending the RRC reconfiguration message. In this way, the accurate value of the second timer can be applied so that the subsequent first terminal device can correctly start or stop the timer, thereby improving the communication performance of the relay scenario.

[0024] In one possible design, the value of the second timer is determined based on the value of the fourth timer and the first information. In this way, the determined value of the second timer can meet the timer requirement from the first terminal device to the second terminal device, so that the first terminal device can correctly start or stop the timer later, thereby improving the communication performance of the relay scenario.

[0025] In one possible design, the value of the second timer is determined according to the value of the fourth timer, the first information, and the third information, the third information is related to the fifth timer, and the fifth timer is a timer of the fifth terminal device; the first terminal device communicates with the sixth terminal device through the fifth terminal device. In this way, in a relay scenario of multiple links, the first terminal device can determine a value of the second timer for all links.

[0026] In one possible design, the value of the second timer is one of the first value and the second value, the first value is determined by the value of the fourth timer and the first information, and the second value is determined by the value of the fourth timer and the third information. In this way, in a relay scenario of multiple links, the first terminal device can determine a value of the second timer for all links.

[0027] In one possible design, the value of the second timer is the maximum value of the first value and the second value. In this way, in a relay scenario of multiple links, the determined value of the second timer can be used for all links.

[0028] In one possible design, it is determined that when sending an RRC reconfiguration message in a relay scenario, the value of the second timer is applied. In this way, an accurate timer value can be applied in the relay scenario so that the subsequent first terminal device correctly starts or stops the timer, thereby improving the communication performance of the relay scenario.

[0029] In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be applied to a first terminal device, or a component (such as a processor, a chip, a chip system, a circuit or other, etc.) configured in the first terminal device, or a software module. The method may include: sending a first message to a network device, the first message is related to a first timer, and receiving a value of a second timer from the network device. The first terminal device communicates with the second terminal device through a third terminal device; the first timer is a timer of the third terminal device; and the second timer is used for sideline configuration between the first terminal device and the second terminal device.

[0030] Through the above method, the first terminal device can accurately obtain the value of the second timer, thereby realizing the timer configuration in the relay scenario, so that the subsequent first terminal device can correctly start or stop the timer, thereby improving the communication performance of the relay scenario.

[0031] In a possible design, the first information is related to the first timer, which may include: the first information is related to the value of the first timer. Then, the first information may be determined based on the value of the first timer.

[0032] In one possible design, the first information is received from a third terminal device.

[0033] In one possible design, the first information indicates a first duration, and the first duration is equal to or less than the value of the first timer. In this way, the network device can subsequently determine the value of the second timer in combination with the first duration, thereby realizing the timer configuration in the relay scenario.

[0034] In a possible design, when the first information is sent to the network device, the identifier of the third terminal device may also be sent to the network device, so that it can be clear which relay terminal device the first information is associated with.

[0035] In a possible design, the identifier of the third terminal device is received from the network device. In this way, in a scenario where there is a relay terminal device, it can be clear which relay terminal device the value of the second timer is associated with.

[0036] In a possible design, the association relationship between the value of the second timer and the third terminal device is saved. In this way, in a scenario where there is a relay terminal device, it can be clear which relay terminal device the value of the second timer is associated with.

[0037] In one possible design, based on the association between the value of the second timer and the third terminal device, the value of the second timer is applied when sending the RRC reconfiguration message. In this way, the accurate value of the second timer can be applied so that the subsequent first terminal device can correctly start or stop the timer, thereby improving the communication performance of the relay scenario.

[0038] In one possible design, second information is received and sent to the network device. The second information is related to a third timer, the third timer is a timer of a fourth terminal device, and the first terminal device communicates with the second terminal device through the third terminal device and the fourth terminal device. In this way, in a scenario where there are two relay terminal devices, the subsequent network device can determine the value of the second timer based on the first information and the second information.

[0039] In one possible design, the second information is related to the third timer, which may include: the second information is related to the value of the third timer.

[0040] In one possible design, the second information indicates a second duration, and the second duration is equal to or less than the value of the third timer. In this way, subsequent network devices can determine the value of the second timer in combination with the second duration to implement timer configuration in a relay scenario.

[0041] In one possible design, the value of the second timer is determined based on the value of the fourth timer, the first information, and the second information. The value of the second timer determined in this way can meet the timer requirements from the first terminal device to the second terminal device, so that the first terminal device can correctly start or stop the timer later, thereby improving the communication performance of the relay scenario.

[0042] In a possible design, the first information is related to the first timer, which may include: the first information is related to the first timer and the third timer, the third timer is the timer of the fourth terminal device, and the first terminal device communicates with the second terminal device through the third terminal device and the fourth terminal device. In this way, when the subsequent network device determines the value of the second timer based on the first information, the first timer and the third timer are already combined, and the value of the second timer can meet the timer requirement from the first terminal device to the second terminal device, so that the subsequent first terminal device correctly starts or stops the timer, thereby improving the communication performance of the relay scenario.

[0043] In one possible design, the first information is related to the first timer and the third timer, which may include: the first information is related to the value of the first timer and the value of the third timer.

[0044] In one possible design, the first information indicates a third duration, and the third duration is equal to or less than the sum of the values ​​of the first timer and the third timer. In this way, subsequent network devices can determine the value of the second timer in combination with the third duration to implement timer configuration in a relay scenario.

[0045] In one possible design, any one of the first duration, the second duration, or the third duration is related to a processing delay, and the processing delay includes a processing delay of a radio resource control RRC layer and / or a packet data convergence layer protocol PDCP layer. In this way, any one of the first duration, the second duration, or the third duration can be flexibly determined.

[0046] In a possible design, the identification of the second terminal device is received from the third terminal device, so that it can be determined which opposite terminal device the first information is associated with.

[0047] In a possible design, when the first information is sent to the network device, the identifier of the second terminal device may also be sent to the network device, so that it can be determined which opposite-end terminal device the first information is associated with.

[0048] In one possible design, the identifier of the second terminal device is received from the network device. In this way, in a scenario where there are multiple relay terminal devices, it can be clear which opposite terminal device the value of the second timer is associated with.

[0049] In one possible design, the association between the value of the second timer and the second terminal device is saved. In this way, in a scenario where there are multiple relay terminal devices, it can be clear which opposite-end terminal device the value of the second timer is associated with.

[0050] In one possible design, based on the association between the value of the second timer and the second terminal device, the value of the second timer is applied when sending the RRC reconfiguration message. In this way, the accurate value of the second timer can be applied so that the subsequent first terminal device can correctly start or stop the timer, thereby improving the communication performance of the relay scenario.

[0051] In one possible design, third information is received and sent to the network device. The third information is related to a fifth timer, which is a timer of a fifth terminal device; the first terminal device communicates with the sixth terminal device through the fifth terminal device. In this way, the network device can subsequently determine the value of the second timer based on the first information and the third information.

[0052] In one possible design, the value of the second timer is determined based on the value of the fourth timer, the first information, and the third information. In this way, the determined value of the second timer can meet the timer requirement from the first terminal device to the second terminal device, so that the first terminal device can correctly start or stop the timer later, thereby improving the communication performance of the relay scenario.

[0053] In one possible design, the value of the second timer is one of the first value and the second value, the first value is determined by the value of the fourth timer and the first information, and the second value is determined by the value of the fourth timer and the third information. In this way, in a relay scenario of multiple links, the first terminal device can determine a value of the second timer for all links.

[0054] In one possible design, the value of the second timer is the maximum value of the first value and the second value. In this way, in a relay scenario of multiple links, the determined value of the second timer can be used for all links.

[0055] In one possible design, if the second timer expires, a first indication message is sent to the network device, and the first indication message is used to indicate that the second timer has expired. In this way, the network device can be notified after the first timer expires.

[0056] In one possible design, the first indication information includes the value of the second timer, which can indicate that the second timer has expired.

[0057] In one possible design, the first indication information includes an identifier of the third terminal device or an identifier of the second terminal device, which can implicitly indicate that the second timer has expired.

[0058] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be applied to a network device, or a component (such as a processor, a chip, a chip system, a circuit or other, etc.) configured in the network device, or a software module. The method may include: receiving first information from a first terminal device, the first information is related to a first timer, and sending a value of a second timer to the first terminal device. The first terminal device communicates with the second terminal device through a third terminal device; the first timer is a timer of the third terminal device.

[0059] Through the above method, the first terminal device can accurately obtain the value of the second timer, thereby realizing the timer configuration in the relay scenario, so that the subsequent first terminal device can correctly start or stop the timer, thereby improving the communication performance of the relay scenario.

[0060] In a possible design, the first information is related to the first timer, which may include: the first information is related to the value of the first timer. Then, the first information may be determined based on the value of the first timer.

[0061] In one possible design, the value of the second timer is determined based on the first information.

[0062] In one possible design, the first information indicates a first duration, and the first duration is equal to or less than the value of the first timer. In this way, the network device can subsequently determine the value of the second timer in combination with the first duration, thereby realizing the timer configuration in the relay scenario.

[0063] In a possible design, when the first information is received from the first terminal device, the identification of the third terminal device can also be received from the first terminal device, so that it can be clear which relay terminal device the first information is associated with.

[0064] In one possible design, the identifier of the third terminal device is sent to the first terminal device. In this way, in a scenario where there is a relay terminal device, it can be clear which relay terminal device the value of the second timer is associated with.

[0065] In one possible design, second information is received from a first terminal device, and a value of a second timer is determined based on the first information and the second information. The second information is related to a third timer, and the third timer is a timer of a fourth terminal device, and the first terminal device communicates with the second terminal device through the third terminal device and the fourth terminal device. In this way, in a scenario where there are two relay terminal devices, a subsequent network device can determine the value of the second timer based on the first information and the second information.

[0066] In one possible design, the second information is related to the third timer, including: the second information is related to the value of the third timer.

[0067] In one possible design, the second information indicates a second duration, and the second duration is equal to or less than the value of the third timer. In this way, subsequent network devices can determine the value of the second timer in combination with the second duration to implement timer configuration in a relay scenario.

[0068] In one possible design, the value of the second timer is determined based on the value of the fourth timer, the first information, and the second information. The value of the second timer determined in this way can meet the timer requirements from the first terminal device to the second terminal device, so that the first terminal device can correctly start or stop the timer later, thereby improving the communication performance of the relay scenario.

[0069] In one possible design, the first information is related to the first timer, including: the first information is related to the first timer and the third timer, the third timer is the timer of the fourth terminal device, and the first terminal device communicates with the second terminal device through the third terminal device and the fourth terminal device. In this way, when the subsequent network device determines the value of the second timer based on the first information, the first timer and the third timer are already combined, and the value of the second timer can meet the timer requirement from the first terminal device to the second terminal device, so that the subsequent first terminal device correctly starts or stops the timer, thereby improving the communication performance of the relay scenario.

[0070] In one possible design, the first information is related to the first timer and the third timer, including: the first information is related to the value of the first timer and the value of the third timer.

[0071] In one possible design, the first information indicates a third duration, and the third duration is equal to or less than the sum of the values ​​of the first timer and the third timer. In this way, subsequent network devices can determine the value of the second timer in combination with the third duration to implement timer configuration in a relay scenario.

[0072] In one possible design, any one of the first duration, the second duration, or the third duration is related to a processing delay, and the processing delay includes a processing delay of a radio resource control RRC layer and / or a packet data convergence layer protocol PDCP layer. In this way, any one of the first duration, the second duration, or the third duration can be flexibly determined.

[0073] In a possible design, when the first information is received from the first terminal device, the identification of the second terminal device may also be received from the first terminal device, so that it can be determined which opposite terminal device the first information is associated with.

[0074] In one possible design, the identifier of the second terminal device is sent to the first terminal device. In this way, in a scenario where there are multiple relay terminal devices, it can be clear which opposite terminal device the value of the second timer is associated with.

[0075] In one possible design, third information is received from the first terminal device, and the value of the second timer is determined based on the first information and the third information. The third information is related to a fifth timer, and the fifth timer is a timer of a fifth terminal device; the first terminal device communicates with the sixth terminal device through the fifth terminal device. In this way, the network device can subsequently determine the value of the second timer based on the first information and the third information.

[0076] In one possible design, the value of the second timer is determined based on the value of the fourth timer, the first information, and the third information. In this way, the determined value of the second timer can meet the timer requirement from the first terminal device to the second terminal device, so that the first terminal device can correctly start or stop the timer later, thereby improving the communication performance of the relay scenario.

[0077] In one possible design, the value of the second timer is one of the first value and the second value, the first value is determined by the value of the fourth timer and the first information, and the second value is determined by the value of the fourth timer and the third information. In this way, in a relay scenario of multiple links, the first terminal device can determine a value of the second timer for all links.

[0078] In one possible design, the value of the second timer is the maximum value of the first value and the second value. In this way, in a relay scenario of multiple links, the determined value of the second timer can be used for all links.

[0079] In one possible design, the value of the second timer is determined based on the value of the fourth timer and the first information.

[0080] In one possible design, first indication information is received from the first terminal device, and the first indication information is used to indicate that the second timer has expired. In this way, after the first timer expires, the network device can be notified.

[0081] In one possible design, the first indication information includes the value of the second timer, which can indicate that the second timer has expired.

[0082] In one possible design, the first indication information includes an identifier of the third terminal device or an identifier of the second terminal device, which can implicitly indicate that the second timer has expired.

[0083] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be applied to a third terminal device, or a component (such as a processor, a chip, a chip system, a circuit or other, etc.) configured in the third terminal device, or a software module. The method may include: sending first information to a first terminal device, the first information is related to a first timer, the first terminal device communicates with the second terminal device through the third terminal device; the first timer is a timer of the third terminal device.

[0084] Through the above method, the value of the second timer can be accurately determined based on the first information, so that the first terminal device can accurately obtain the value of the second timer, thereby realizing the timer configuration in the relay scenario, so that the subsequent first terminal device can correctly start or stop the timer, thereby improving the communication performance of the relay scenario.

[0085] In a possible design, the first information is related to the first timer, including: the first information is related to the value of the first timer. Then, the first information can be determined based on the value of the first timer.

[0086] In one possible design, the first information indicates a first duration, and the first duration is equal to or less than the value of the first timer. In this way, the network device can subsequently determine the value of the second timer in combination with the first duration, thereby realizing the timer configuration in the relay scenario.

[0087] In one possible design, the second information is received from the fourth terminal device and sent to the first terminal device. The second information is related to the third timer, which is the timer of the fourth terminal device. The first terminal device communicates with the second terminal device through the third terminal device and the fourth terminal device. In this way, in a scenario where there are two relay terminal devices, the value of the second timer can be determined based on the first information and the second information.

[0088] In one possible design, the second information is related to the third timer, including: the second information is related to the value of the third timer.

[0089] In one possible design, the second information indicates a second duration, and the second duration is equal to or less than the value of the third timer. In this way, the value of the second timer can be determined in combination with the second duration to implement timer configuration in the relay scenario.

[0090] In one possible design, the first information is related to the first timer, including: the first information is related to the first timer and the third timer, the third timer is the timer of the fourth terminal device, and the first terminal device communicates with the second terminal device through the third terminal device and the fourth terminal device. In this way, when the subsequent network device determines the value of the second timer based on the first information, the first timer and the third timer are already combined, and the value of the second timer can meet the timer requirement from the first terminal device to the second terminal device, so that the subsequent first terminal device correctly starts or stops the timer, thereby improving the communication performance of the relay scenario.

[0091] In one possible design, the first information is related to the first timer and the third timer, including: the first information is related to the value of the first timer and the value of the third timer.

[0092] In one possible design, the first information indicates a third duration, and the third duration is equal to or less than the sum of the values ​​of the first timer and the third timer. In this way, subsequent network devices can determine the value of the second timer in combination with the third duration to implement timer configuration in a relay scenario.

[0093] In one possible design, any one of the first duration, the second duration, or the third duration is related to a processing delay, and the processing delay includes a processing delay of a radio resource control RRC layer and / or a packet data convergence layer protocol PDCP layer. In this way, any one of the first duration, the second duration, or the third duration can be flexibly determined.

[0094] In a possible design, when sending the first information to the first terminal device, the identifier of the second terminal device may also be sent to the first terminal device, so that it can be determined which opposite terminal device the first information is associated with.

[0095] In a fifth aspect, the present application further provides a communication device, which may be a first terminal device. The communication device has the function of implementing the first aspect or each possible design example of the first aspect, or the second aspect or each possible design example of the second aspect. The function may be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0096] In one possible design, the structure of the communication device includes a processing unit, and optionally, may also include a transceiver unit. These units may perform the corresponding functions in the first aspect or each possible design example of the first aspect, or in the second aspect or each possible design example of the second aspect, and refer to the detailed description in the method example for details, which will not be described here.

[0097] In one possible design, the structure of the communication device includes a processor, and optionally also includes a transceiver and / or a memory. The transceiver is used to send and receive information, and to communicate and interact with other devices in the system, and the processor is configured to support the communication device to perform the corresponding functions in the first aspect or each possible design example of the first aspect, or in the second aspect or each possible design example of the second aspect. The memory is coupled to the processor, and stores the necessary program instructions and data for the communication device.

[0098] In a sixth aspect, the present application further provides a communication device, which may be a network device. The communication device has the functions of implementing the third aspect or each possible design example of the third aspect. The functions may be implemented by hardware or by executing corresponding software implementations by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0099] In one possible design, the structure of the communication device includes a processing unit, and optionally, a transceiver unit. These units can perform the corresponding functions in the third aspect or each possible design example of the third aspect, and refer to the detailed description in the method example for details, which will not be repeated here.

[0100] In one possible design, the structure of the communication device includes a processor, and optionally also includes a transceiver and / or a memory. The transceiver is used to send and receive information, and to communicate and interact with other devices in the system, and the processor is configured to support the communication device to perform the corresponding functions in the third aspect or each possible design example of the third aspect. The memory is coupled to the processor, and stores the necessary program instructions and data for the communication device.

[0101] In a seventh aspect, the present application further provides a communication device, which may be a third terminal device. The communication device has the function of implementing the fourth aspect or each possible design example of the fourth aspect. The function may be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0102] In one possible design, the structure of the communication device includes a processing unit, and optionally, a transceiver unit. These units can perform the corresponding functions in the fourth aspect or each possible design example of the fourth aspect, and refer to the detailed description in the method example for details, which will not be repeated here.

[0103] In one possible design, the structure of the communication device includes a processor, and optionally also includes a transceiver and / or a memory. The transceiver is used to send and receive information, and to communicate and interact with other devices in the system, and the processor is configured to support the communication device to perform the corresponding functions in the fourth aspect or each possible design example of the fourth aspect. The memory is coupled to the processor, and stores the necessary program instructions and data for the communication device.

[0104] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a communication system, which may include a first terminal device, a second terminal device, a network device, and a relay terminal device between the first terminal device and the second terminal device (such as a third terminal device, etc.); or the communication system may include a first terminal device and a second terminal device, and a relay terminal device between the first terminal device and the second terminal device (such as a third terminal device, etc.).

[0105] In the ninth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium provided by an embodiment of the present application stores program instructions, and when the program instructions are run on a computer, the computer executes the method in the first aspect of the embodiment of the present application and any possible design thereof, or the method in the second aspect and any possible design thereof, or the method in the third aspect and any possible design thereof, or the method in the fourth aspect and any possible design thereof. Exemplarily, the computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. Taking this as an example but not limited to: the computer-readable medium can include a non-transient computer-readable medium, a random-access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, a disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of an instruction or data structure and can be accessed by a computer.

[0106] In the tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, including computer program codes or instructions. When the computer program codes or instructions are run on a computer, the method in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect, or the method in the second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect, or the method in the third aspect or any possible design of the third aspect, or the method in the fourth aspect or any possible design of the fourth aspect is executed.

[0107] In the eleventh aspect, the present application also provides a chip, including a processor, which is coupled to a memory and is used to read and execute program instructions stored in the memory, so that the chip implements the method of the above-mentioned first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect, or the above-mentioned second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect, or the above-mentioned third aspect or any possible design of the third aspect, or the above-mentioned fourth aspect or any possible design of the fourth aspect.

[0108] For each of the above-mentioned fifth to eleventh aspects and the technical effects that may be achieved by each of the aspects, please refer to the above-mentioned description of the technical effects that can be achieved by the first aspect or the various possible schemes in the first aspect, or the above-mentioned second aspect or the various possible schemes in the second aspect, or the third aspect and the various possible schemes in the third aspect, or the fourth aspect and the various possible schemes in the fourth aspect, and no repetition will be given here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0109] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided for this application;

[0110] Figure 2 A flow chart of a communication method provided for this application;

[0111] Figure 3a A schematic diagram of a scenario provided for this application;

[0112] Figure 3b A schematic diagram of a protocol stack for a relay scenario provided in this application;

[0113] Figure 4 Another scenario diagram provided for this application;

[0114] Figure 5 Another scenario diagram provided for this application;

[0115] Figure 6 Another scenario diagram provided for this application;

[0116] Figure 7 A flow chart of another communication method provided by the present application;

[0117] Figure 8 A flowchart of an example of a communication method provided by the present application;

[0118] Fig. 9 A flowchart of another example of a communication method provided by the present application;

[0119] Fig.10 A flowchart of another example of a communication method provided by the present application;

[0120] Fig.11 A flowchart of another example of a communication method provided by the present application;

[0121] Fig.12 A schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided by the present application;

[0122] Fig.13 A structural diagram of a communication device provided in this application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0123] The present application will be described in further detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0124] The embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, device and communication system to ensure the normal execution of the sidelink configuration of the relay scenario and improve the communication performance of the relay scenario. The method and device described in the present application are based on the same technical concept. Since the principles of solving the problem by the method and device are similar, the implementation of the device and the method can refer to each other, and the repeated parts will not be repeated.

[0125] In the description of this application, words such as "first" and "second" are only used for the purpose of distinguishing the description and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or order.

[0126] In the description of this application, "at least one" means one or more, and more means two or more. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can mean: a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or a, b and c, where a, b, c can be single or plural.

[0127] In the description of this application, "and / or" describes the association relationship of the associated objects, indicating that there may be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. " / " means "or", for example, a / b means a or b.

[0128] In order to more clearly describe the technical solution of the embodiments of the present application, the communication method and device provided in the embodiments of the present application are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0129] The embodiments of the present application can be applied to user equipment-to-user equipment (U2U) relay communication scenarios. Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the architecture of a possible communication system applicable to the communication method provided by the present application is shown. The architecture of the communication system may include network devices (such as Figure 1 The network devices 1 and 2 shown in the figure), and the terminal devices (eg Figure 1 The source terminal device, relay terminal device and target terminal device shown in FIG. 1 are shown in FIG. 1 .

[0130] A network device is a device that provides access to a terminal device. A network device may include a radio access network (RAN) device, such as a base station. A network device may be a base station, an evolved Node B in a long term evolution (LTE) system or an advanced long term evolution (LTE-A), which may be referred to as eNB or e-NodeB for short), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation base station (next generation NodeB, gNB) in a fifth generation (5G) mobile communication system, a next generation base station in a sixth generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a wireless local area network (WiFi) system, etc. It may also be an access network device in an open access network (open RAN, ORAN) system, etc. Optionally, the network device may also be a module or unit that completes part of the functions of the base station. For example, the network device may be a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU). The CU here completes the functions of the radio resource control protocol and the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) of the base station, and can also complete the function of the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP); the DU completes the functions of the radio link control layer and the medium access control (MAC) layer of the base station, and can also complete the functions of part of the physical layer or all of the physical layer. Among them, in different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in the ORAN system, CU can also be called O-CU, DU can also be called open (open, O)-DU, CU-CP can also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP can also be called O-CUP-UP, and RU can also be called O-RU.

[0131] Exemplarily, the network device may be a macro base station, a micro base station (also called a small station) or an indoor station, or a relay node or a donor node, etc. The network device may also be a radio network controller (RNC), a node B (NB), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a home base station (e.g., a home evolved NodeB, or a homeNode B, HNB), a base band unit (BBU) or a remote radio unit (RRU), or a wireless fidelity (Wifi) access point (AP), or a base band pool (BBU pool) and RRU in a cloud radio access network (CRAN), etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the network device.

[0132] In the present application, the network device may also be a functional module, a chip or a chip system. Optionally, the functional module, the chip or the chip system may be arranged in the network device.

[0133] Terminal equipment, which can also be called user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), etc., is a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to users. For example, terminal equipment may include handheld devices, vehicle-mounted devices, etc. with wireless connection functions. At present, terminal equipment may be: mobile phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MID), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, XR devices, MR devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, or wireless terminals in smart homes, etc.

[0134] The terminal device may also be a device-to-device (D2D) communication terminal device, a vehicle to everything (V2X) communication terminal device, an intelligent vehicle, a vehicle-to-machine system (or a vehicle networking system) (telematics box, TBOX), a machine-to-machine / machine-type communication (machine-to-machine / machine-typecommunications, M2M / MTC) terminal device, or an Internet of Things (IoT) terminal device. For example, the terminal device may be a vehicle, ship, or aircraft, or a terminal-type roadside unit, or a communication module or chip built into a vehicle or roadside unit. For example, the terminal device may be a vehicle-mounted module. The terminal device may also be a roadside unit (RSU).

[0135] In the present application, the terminal device may also be a functional module, a chip or a chip system. Optionally, the functional module, the chip or the chip system may be arranged in the terminal device.

[0136] In the present application, a relay terminal device is a terminal device that supports providing a relay service, and a source terminal device and a target terminal device support communicating with each other through a relay service. The relay terminal device can assist the source terminal device and the target terminal device in communicating, thereby achieving the effect of expanding the communication range, and forwarding data between the source terminal device and the target terminal device. Sidelink (SL) communication can be performed between terminal devices. For example, SL unicast communication is performed between the source terminal device and the relay terminal device, and between the relay terminal device and the target terminal device.

[0137] In the present application, the source terminal device, the relay terminal device and the target terminal device may be in a radio resource control (RRC) connected state, an RRC idle state, an RRC inactive state, or an out of coverage (OOC) state.

[0138] It should be understood that Figure 1 The number of devices in the communication system shown is only an example and is not intended to limit the present application. For example, more relay terminal devices may be included.

[0139] At present, in the scenario where two terminal devices communicate directly, when the source terminal device sends a sidelink reconfiguration message, it will start a timer for the target terminal device that receives the message, such as timer T400, and stop the timer when the configuration response message or link failure message returned by the target terminal device is received. If the timer expires, the source terminal device determines that the link has failed. However, the above-mentioned timer is currently only applicable to the scenario where two terminal devices communicate directly, that is, the scenario where there is no relay terminal device. In the scenario where there are one or more relay terminal devices between the terminal devices, if the judgment method of the above-mentioned timer is still used, the source terminal device will prematurely judge that the timer has expired, resulting in communication failure. Based on this, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method that can improve the communication performance of the relay scenario. For example, the communication performance of the relay scenario can be improved by flexibly configuring the timer of the source terminal device in the scenario where a relay terminal device exists.

[0140] It should be noted that in the following description of this application, the operation performed by a certain device may also be performed by a processor of a certain device, or a chip or chip system, or a functional module, etc. This application is only described by taking the execution of a certain device as an example, but it is not intended to limit this application.

[0141] Based on the above description, a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application is applicable to Figure 1 The communication system shown. Figure 2 As shown, the specific process of the method may include:

[0142] Step 201: A first terminal device receives first information, wherein the first information is related to a first timer, and the first timer is a timer of a third terminal device. The first terminal device communicates with a second terminal device through the third terminal device.

[0143] Exemplarily, the first terminal device receives first information from the third terminal device, wherein: Figure 2 Step 201 is shown as an example. Accordingly, the third terminal device sends the first information to the first terminal device.

[0144] Step 202: The first terminal device determines a value of a second timer according to the first information, where the second timer is used for sideline configuration between the first terminal device and the second terminal device.

[0145] Optionally, step 202 may also be described as the first terminal device applying the value of a second timer, where the value of the second timer is related to the first information.

[0146] Through the above method, the first terminal device can accurately determine the value of the second timer based on the first information, thereby realizing the timer configuration in the relay scenario, so that the subsequent first terminal device can correctly start or stop the timer, thereby improving the communication performance of the relay scenario.

[0147] In one example, the first terminal device communicates with the second terminal device through the third terminal device, such as Figure 3a As shown. Figure 3a It can be seen that the third terminal device is a relay terminal device between the first terminal device and the second terminal device. It can also be understood that, Figure 3a In the embodiment, the first terminal device communicates with the second terminal device through a relay terminal device.

[0148] Exemplarily, the first timer is used to serve end-to-end transmission, for example, the first timer can be used to determine whether end-to-end message transmission fails, etc. For example, the first timer is used for sideline configuration between the third terminal device and the second terminal device. For example, the sideline configuration can be an RRC reconfiguration or other configuration on the measurement link. Optionally, the first timer can be timer T400.

[0149] Optionally, the first information is related to the first timer, and the first information may be related to the value of the first timer.

[0150] In an optional implementation, before the third terminal device sends the first information to the first terminal device, it may first obtain the value of the first timer.

[0151] In some embodiments, when the third terminal device is in a different state, the third terminal device may obtain the value of the first timer in the following manner:

[0152] When the third terminal device is in an idle (IDLE) state or an inactive (INACTIVE) state, the third terminal device can obtain the value of the first timer from a system information block (SIB).

[0153] When the third terminal device is in an out of coverage (OOC) state, the third terminal device may obtain a value of the first timer from a pre-configuration.

[0154] When the third terminal device is in a connected (CONNECTED) state, the third terminal device may obtain the value of the first timer from a serving base station to which the third terminal device is connected.

[0155] In an optional implementation, the first information may indicate a first duration, where the first duration is equal to or less than a value of the first timer.

[0156] For example, when the first duration is equal to the value of the first timer, it can be understood that the third terminal device sends the duration of the first timer to the first terminal device.

[0157] Optionally, the first duration may be related to a processing delay, and the processing delay may include a processing delay of an RRC layer and / or a PDCP layer. For example, in the present application, in a relay scenario, the protocol stack applicable to the first terminal device, the second terminal device, and the relay terminal device may be as follows: Figure 3b shown.

[0158] In the present application, the processing delay may be a processing delay related to the sideline configuration. For example, the processing delay may be a delay related to assisting the configuration of the first terminal device to the second terminal device, or may be a forwarding delay.

[0159] For example, the first duration may be related to the processing delay of the RRC layer and / or the PDCP layer of the third terminal device.

[0160] For another example, the first duration may be related to the processing delay of the adaptation layer and the following protocol layers of the third terminal device.

[0161] Optionally, the first duration may be determined by the third terminal device based on the processing delay of the RRC layer and / or the PDCP layer.

[0162] In one example, when the first duration is less than the value of the first timer, the first duration is related to a processing delay.

[0163] For example, the RRC layer processing delay of the third terminal device is T1, the PDCP layer processing delay is T2, and the first duration = the value of the first timer - 2*(T1+T2), where T1 and T2 are positive numbers. It should be understood that in addition to this method, there are many other methods for determining the first duration, which are not limited in this application.

[0164] For another example, assuming that the processing delay of the adaptation layer can be ignored, the processing delay of the radio link control (RLC) layer of the third terminal device is T1, the processing delay of the media access control (MAC) layer is T2, and the processing delay of the physical (PHY) layer is T3. The first duration = T1 + T2 + T3, where T1, T2 and T3 are positive numbers. It should be understood that in addition to this method, there are many other methods to determine the first duration, which is not limited in this application.

[0165] Optionally, the third terminal device may also determine the first duration by other methods. For example, the third terminal device may determine the first duration by link transmission quality and / or transmission delay.

[0166] For example, the first duration determined by the third terminal device based on link transmission quality and / or transmission delay, etc. may be smaller than the value of the first timer.

[0167] In an optional implementation, the value of the second timer may be determined according to the value of the fourth timer and the first information.

[0168] For example, the value of the second timer is determined according to the value of the fourth timer and the first duration.

[0169] Optionally, the value of the second timer is the sum of the value of the fourth timer and the first duration.

[0170] Among them, the fourth timer is a timer used for side link RRC configuration in a direct communication scenario between the first terminal device and other terminal devices.

[0171] The second timer is used to serve end-to-end transmission, for example, the second timer can be used to determine whether end-to-end message transmission fails, etc. For example, the second timer is used for sidelink configuration between the first terminal device and the second terminal device. For example, the sidelink configuration can be an RRC reconfiguration or other configuration on the sidelink.

[0172] In a possible case, the second timer and the fourth timer are the same, for example, the second timer and the fourth timer may be timer T400. In this case, the value of the second timer is different from the value of the fourth timer.

[0173] In another possible situation, the second timer and the fourth timer may be different. For example, the fourth timer may be timer T400, and the second timer may be another newly defined timer, which is not limited in the present application.

[0174] Optionally, before the first terminal device determines the value of the second timer, the first terminal device may first obtain the value of the fourth timer.

[0175] In an optional implementation, the first terminal device in a non-connected state may obtain the value of the fourth terminal device by the following method: when the first terminal device is in an IDLE state or an INACTIVE state, the first terminal device may obtain the value of the fourth timer from the SIB. Alternatively, when the first terminal device is in an OOC state, the first terminal device may obtain the value of the fourth timer from a preconfiguration.

[0176] Optionally, in a scenario where there is a relay terminal device, the first terminal device can maintain the timer of each unicast connection, that is, maintain the association between the E2E timer and the unicast connection with the relay terminal device, or maintain the association between the E2E timer and the layer 2 (layer 2, L2) identification (identification, ID) of the relay terminal device. For example, after the first terminal device receives information from multiple different terminal devices, it will determine the value of an E2E timer for each relay terminal device and maintain the association between the E2E timer and the relay terminal device.

[0177] For example, the first terminal device may save the association between the value of the second timer and the third terminal device.

[0178] Exemplarily, the first terminal device may save the correspondence between the value of the second timer and the L2 ID of the third terminal device.

[0179] Furthermore, the first terminal device may apply the value of the second timer when sending an RRC reconfiguration message based on an association between the value of the second timer and the third terminal device.

[0180] In another example, the first terminal device may communicate with the second terminal device through the third terminal device and the fourth terminal device, such as Figure 4 As shown. Figure 4 It can be seen that the third terminal device and the fourth terminal device are relay terminal devices between the first terminal device and the second terminal device. It can also be understood that, Figure 4 In the embodiment, the first terminal device communicates with the second terminal device through two relay terminal devices.

[0181] In a possible manner, the first terminal device further receives second information, where the second information is related to a third timer, and the third timer is a timer of a fourth terminal device.

[0182] Exemplarily, the third terminal device receives the second information from the fourth terminal device, and then the third terminal device sends the second information to the first terminal device.

[0183] Optionally, the second information and the first information may be sent via the same message or different messages, which is not limited in this application.

[0184] The second information is related to the third timer, which may be the case where the second information is related to the value of the third timer.

[0185] Exemplarily, the third timer is used to serve end-to-end transmission, for example, the third timer can be used to determine whether end-to-end message transmission fails. For example, the third timer is used for sideline configuration between the third terminal device and the fourth terminal device. For example, the sideline configuration can be an RRC reconfiguration or other configuration on the measurement link. Optionally, the third timer can be timer T400.

[0186] In an optional implementation, the second information may indicate a second duration, where the second duration is equal to or less than a value of the third timer.

[0187] Optionally, the second duration may be related to a processing delay, and the processing delay may include a processing delay of an RRC layer and / or a PDCP layer.

[0188] For example, the second duration may be related to the processing delay of the RRC layer and / or the PDCP layer of the fourth terminal device.

[0189] Optionally, the second duration may be determined by the fourth terminal device based on the processing delay of the RRC layer and / or the PDCP layer.

[0190] In an example, when the second time duration is less than the value of the third timer, the second time duration is related to the processing delay.

[0191] For example, the RRC layer processing delay of the fourth terminal device is T3, the PDCP layer processing delay is T4, and the second duration = the value of the third timer - 2*(T3+T4), where T3 and T4 are positive numbers. It should be understood that in addition to this method, there are many other methods for determining the second duration, which are not limited in this application.

[0192] Optionally, the fourth terminal device may also determine the second duration by other methods. For example, the fourth terminal device may determine the second duration by link transmission quality and / or transmission delay.

[0193] For example, the second duration determined by the fourth terminal device based on link transmission quality and / or transmission delay, etc. may be smaller than the value of the third timer.

[0194] Optionally, if the second information and the first information can be sent through the same message, the third terminal device can send the first information and the second information to the first terminal device in the form of a duration list. For example, the third terminal device can send a list including the first duration and the second duration to the first terminal device.

[0195] In some embodiments, before the fourth terminal device sends the second information to the third terminal device, the fourth terminal device may first obtain the value of the third timer.

[0196] Optionally, when the fourth terminal device is in a different state, the method for the fourth terminal device to obtain the value of the third timer is similar to the method for obtaining the value of the first timer when the third terminal device is in a different state, and they can refer to each other and are not described in detail here.

[0197] In an optional implementation, the value of the second timer is determined according to the value of the fourth timer, the first information, and the second information.

[0198] For example, the value of the second timer is determined according to the value of the fourth timer, the first duration, and the second duration.

[0199] Optionally, the value of the second timer may be a sum of the value of the fourth timer, the first duration, and the second duration.

[0200] In another possible manner, after receiving the second information from the fourth terminal device, the third terminal device may determine the first information based on the second information and the value of the first timer.

[0201] It can also be understood that the first information is related to the first timer, that is, the first information is related to the first timer and the third timer.

[0202] The first information is related to the first timer and the third timer, and may be related to the value of the first timer and the value of the third timer.

[0203] Optionally, the first information may indicate a third duration, and the third duration is equal to or less than the sum of the values ​​of the first timer and the third timer.

[0204] Exemplarily, the third duration may be equal to the sum of the first duration and the second duration. For example, when the first duration is equal to the value of the first timer and the second duration is equal to the value of the third timer, the third duration may be equal to the sum of the values ​​of the first timer and the third timer. When the first duration is less than the value of the first timer and the third duration is less than the value of the third timer, the third duration may be less than the sum of the values ​​of the first timer and the third timer.

[0205] At this time, the value of the second timer is determined according to the value of the fourth timer and the first information.

[0206] For example, the value of the second timer is the sum of the value of the fourth timer and the third duration.

[0207] In an optional implementation, in a scenario where the first terminal device communicates with the second terminal device through the third terminal device and the fourth terminal device, when the first terminal device receives the first information, it can receive the first information and the identifier of the second terminal device from the third terminal device.

[0208] Optionally, in a scenario with multiple relay terminal devices, the first terminal device may maintain a timer for each E2E unicast connection, that is, maintain an association between an E2E timer and an E2E unicast connection, or maintain an association between an E2E timer and an L2 ID of a second terminal device. For example, after receiving information from multiple relay terminal devices, the first terminal device determines a value for an E2E timer for each relay terminal device, and maintains an association between an E2E timer and an E2E unicast connection.

[0209] For example, the first terminal device may save the association between the value of the second timer and the second terminal device.

[0210] Exemplarily, the first terminal device may save the correspondence between the value of the second timer and the L2 ID of the second terminal device.

[0211] Furthermore, the first terminal device may apply the value of the second timer when sending the RRC reconfiguration message based on the association between the value of the second timer and the second terminal device.

[0212] It should be understood that the above only uses the example of the first terminal device and the second terminal device communicating through one relay terminal device and two relay terminal devices. Optionally, the first terminal device can also communicate with the second terminal device through three or more relay terminal devices. The principle of determining the value of the second timer is the same as that of the scenario of two relay terminal devices, and they can be referred to each other, and will not be described in detail here.

[0213] In some embodiments, Figure 5 As shown, the first terminal device can also communicate with the sixth terminal device through the fifth terminal device.

[0214] Optional, Figure 3a The link through which the first terminal device communicates with the second terminal device via the third terminal device can be recorded as the first link, such as Figure 5 The first link is shown. Figure 5The link through which the first terminal device communicates with the sixth terminal device via the fifth terminal device can be recorded as the second link, such as Figure 5 That is to say, the first terminal device can communicate through two links. It should be understood that only two links are used as an example here, and there may be more links in practice, which is not limited in this application.

[0215] The value of the second timer is determined according to the value of the fourth timer, the first information and the third information, and the third information may be related to the second link.

[0216] Optionally, the third information may be related to a fifth timer, where the fifth timer is a timer of a fifth terminal device.

[0217] For example, the third information may be related to the value of the fifth timer.

[0218] Optionally, the first terminal device may receive the third information from the fifth terminal device, and further determine the value of the second timer according to the value of the fourth timer, the first information and the third information.

[0219] Exemplarily, the value of the second timer may be one of a first value and a second value, the first value being determined by the value of the fourth timer and the first information, and the second value being determined by the value of the fourth timer and the third information.

[0220] Optionally, the first value may be the sum of the value of the fourth timer and the first duration indicated by the first information; the second value may be the sum of the value of the fourth timer and the duration indicated by the third information. The duration indicated by the third information may be equal to or less than the value of the fifth timer.

[0221] For example, the value of the second timer may be the maximum value of the first value and the second value.

[0222] Of course, there may be many other methods to determine the value of the second timer based on the value of the fourth timer, the first information and the third information, and this application does not limit this.

[0223] Optionally, the relationship between the first duration indicated by the first information and the duration indicated by the third information may be determined first, and the value obtained by adding the larger duration of the two to the value of the fourth timer may be used as the value of the second timer.

[0224] Furthermore, the first terminal device may maintain the value of the second timer as the value of the E2E timer in the relay scenario. That is, in the relay scenario, the value of the second timer is applied to any link.

[0225] In some embodiments, Figure 6 As shown, the first terminal device can also communicate with the sixth terminal device through the fifth terminal device and the seventh terminal device.

[0226] Optional, Figure 4 The link through which the first terminal device communicates with the second terminal device via the third terminal device and the fourth terminal device can be recorded as the third link, such as Figure 6 The third link is shown in FIG. Figure 6 The link through which the first terminal device communicates with the sixth terminal device via the fifth terminal device and the seventh terminal device can be recorded as the fourth link, such as Figure 6 The fourth link is shown in FIG.

[0227] Optionally, the fifth terminal device may also receive fourth information from the seventh terminal device, and then the fifth terminal device sends the fourth information to the first terminal device. The fourth information is related to the sixth timer, and the sixth timer is the timer of the seventh terminal device. Afterwards, the first terminal device determines the value of the second timer according to the value of the fourth timer, the first information, the second information, the third information and the fourth information.

[0228] Optionally, the fourth information and the third information may be sent through the same message or through different messages, which is not limited in this application.

[0229] For example, the value of the second timer may be a third value and a fourth value, the third value being determined by the value of the fourth timer, the first information, and the second information, and the fourth value being determined by the value of the fourth timer, the third information, and the fourth information.

[0230] Optionally, the third value may be the sum of the value of the fourth timer, the duration indicated by the first information, and the duration indicated by the second information; the fourth value may be the sum of the value of the fourth timer, the duration indicated by the third information, and the duration indicated by the fourth information. The duration indicated by the fourth information may be equal to or less than the value of the sixth timer.

[0231] For example, the value of the second timer may be the maximum value of the third value and the fourth value.

[0232] Of course, there may be many other methods, which are not limited in this application.

[0233] Alternatively, the third information may be related to the value of the third timer and the value of the sixth timer. Furthermore, the first terminal device may determine the value of the second timer according to the value of the fourth timer, the first information, and the third information. Optionally, the specific determination method may refer to the aforementioned method for determining based on the first value and the second value, which will not be described in detail here.

[0234] Furthermore, the first terminal device may maintain the value of the second timer as the value of the E2E timer in the relay scenario. That is, in the relay scenario, the value of the second timer is applied to any link.

[0235] For example, the first terminal device determines to apply the value of the second timer when sending an RRC reconfiguration message in a relay scenario.

[0236] Optionally, the fifth terminal device may be the same terminal device as the third terminal device, or may be a different terminal device, which is not limited in the present application.

[0237] Based on the above description, the present application also provides a communication method suitable for Figure 1 The communication system shown. Figure 7 As shown, the specific process of the method may include:

[0238] Step 701: A first terminal device sends first information to a network device, where the first information is related to a first timer, and the first timer is a timer of a third terminal device.

[0239] Step 702: The network device sends the value of a second timer to the first terminal device, where the second timer is used for sideline configuration between the first terminal device and the second terminal device.

[0240] Through the above method, the first terminal device can accurately obtain the value of the second timer, thereby realizing the timer configuration in the relay scenario, so that the subsequent first terminal device can correctly start or stop the timer, thereby improving the communication performance of the relay scenario.

[0241] Optionally, the first terminal device communicates with the second terminal device through a third terminal device, and can still refer to Figure 3a . Optional, Figure 4-Figure 6 The communications shown still apply to this embodiment.

[0242] Optionally, before the first terminal device sends the first information to the network device, the first terminal device receives the first information from the third terminal device.

[0243] The relevant description of the first information can be found in the above Figure 2 The relevant descriptions involved in the illustrated embodiments will not be repeated here.

[0244] In an optional embodiment, Figure 3a In the scenario shown, when the first terminal device sends the first information to the network device, it can also send the identifier of the third terminal device to the network device at the same time.

[0245] Correspondingly, when the first terminal device receives the value of the second timer from the network device, it can simultaneously receive the identifier of the third terminal device from the network device.

[0246] In an optional embodiment, Figure 4In the scenario shown, when the first terminal device sends the first information to the network device, it can also send the identifier of the second terminal device to the network device at the same time.

[0247] Correspondingly, when the first terminal device receives the value of the second timer from the network device, it can simultaneously receive the identifier of the second terminal device from the network device.

[0248] In an optional implementation, after receiving the third information from the fifth terminal device, the first terminal device may send the third information to the network device so that the network device determines the value of the second timer based on the value of the fourth timer, the first information and the third information.

[0249] Among them, the relevant description of the third information can be found in the above description and will not be repeated here.

[0250] Optionally, before the network device sends the value of the second timer to the first terminal device, the network device may determine the value of the second timer according to the first information. Figure 2 The method for the first terminal device to determine the second timer in the illustrated embodiment is similar and can be referenced to each other, and will not be described in detail here.

[0251] In an optional implementation, in a scenario where the first terminal device communicates with the sixth terminal device through the fifth terminal device, after the first terminal device receives the third information from the fifth terminal device, the first information may also be determined based on the third information and the value of the fourth timer.

[0252] In an optional embodiment, Figure 2 The difference between the illustrated embodiment and the embodiment is that the value of the fourth timer is determined by the network device. For example, the network device may send the value of the fourth timer to the first terminal via an RRC message of the Uu interface.

[0253] Similarly, the first terminal device can still refer to the above-mentioned scheme for applying the value of the second timer after obtaining the value of the second timer. Figure 2 The relevant descriptions involved in the illustrated embodiments will not be repeated here.

[0254] In some embodiments, when the first terminal device is in a connected state, if the second timer expires, a first indication message may be sent to the network device, where the first indication message is used to indicate that the second timer has expired.

[0255] Optionally, the first indication information may include the value of the second timer.

[0256] Optionally, the first indication information may include an identifier of a third terminal device or an identifier of a second terminal device to implicitly indicate that a second timer associated with the third terminal device or the second terminal device has expired.

[0257] Optionally, when the terminal device is in a connected state, the first terminal device may determine the value of the second timer after receiving the first information without sending it to the network device. This implementation method can refer to the aforementioned Figure 2 The method of the embodiment shown.

[0258] Based on the above embodiments, the following Figure 8-Figure 11 The example shown illustrates the communication method provided in the present application. In the following example, the terminal device is UE and the network device is gNB.

[0259] For example, Figure 8 An example of a communication method is shown. In this example, UE1 and UE2 communicate through a relay terminal device UE3. In this example, after UE1 receives first information from UE3, UE1 determines the value of the second timer based on the first information. For example, Figure 8 The example shown may include the following steps:

[0260] Step 801: UE1 obtains the value of the fourth timer.

[0261] Optionally, UE1 is in a non-connected state.

[0262] The method for UE1 to obtain the value of the fourth timer can be referred to in the above Figure 2 The scheme in which the first terminal device obtains the value of the fourth timer in the illustrated embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0263] Step 802: UE3 obtains the value of the first timer.

[0264] The method for UE3 to obtain the value of the first timer can be referred to in the above Figure 2 The scheme in which the third terminal device obtains the value of the first timer in the illustrated embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0265] Optionally, the order of step 801 and step 802 is not limited, and is only provided for example.

[0266] Step 803: UE3 sends first information to UE1.

[0267] Among them, the first information can indicate the first duration. The relevant description of the first information and the first duration can refer to the aforementioned relevant description, which will not be repeated here.

[0268] Step 804: UE1 determines the value of the second timer according to the first information.

[0269] Among them, the method for determining the value of the second timer can refer to the relevant description in the aforementioned scenario in which the first terminal device communicates with the second terminal device through the third terminal device, and will not be repeated here.

[0270] Step 805: UE1 sends an RRC reconfiguration message to UE2 via UE3.

[0271] Step 806: UE1 starts the second timer and applies the value of the second timer.

[0272] Optionally, step 805 and step 806 may be performed simultaneously.

[0273] Through the above example, UE1 can accurately determine the value of the second timer based on the first information, thereby realizing the timer configuration in the relay scenario, so that UE1 can correctly start or stop the timer later, thereby improving the communication performance of the relay scenario.

[0274] For example, Fig. 9 Another example of a communication method is shown. In this example, UE1 is in a connected state and UE1 communicates with UE2 through a relay terminal device UE3. In this example, the gNB determines the value of the second timer and sends it to UE1. For example, Fig. 9 The example shown may include the following steps:

[0275] Step 901: UE3 obtains the value of a first timer.

[0276] The method for UE3 to obtain the value of the first timer can be referred to in the above Figure 2 The scheme in which the third terminal device obtains the value of the first timer in the illustrated embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0277] Step 902: UE3 sends first information to UE1.

[0278] Among them, the first information can indicate the first duration. The relevant description of the first information and the first duration can refer to the aforementioned relevant description, which will not be repeated here.

[0279] Step 903: UE1 sends first information to gNB.

[0280] Step 904: gNB sends the value of the second timer to UE1.

[0281] Optionally, the gNB determines the value of the second timer based on the first information and then sends the value of the second timer to the value of the second timer.

[0282] Among them, the method for determining the value of the second timer can refer to the relevant description in the aforementioned scenario in which the first terminal device communicates with the second terminal device through the third terminal device, and will not be repeated here.

[0283] Step 905 - Step 906 are similar to step 805 - Step 806 , and they can refer to each other, and will not be repeated here.

[0284] Through the above example, UE1 can accurately obtain the value of the second timer, thereby realizing the timer configuration in the relay scenario, so that UE1 can correctly start or stop the timer later, thereby improving the communication performance of the relay scenario.

[0285] For example, Fig.10 An example of a communication method is shown. In this example, UE1 communicates with UE2 through UE3 and UE4 as an example. In this example, UE1 determines the value of the second timer. For example, Figure 8 The example shown may include the following steps:

[0286] Step 1001: UE1 obtains the value of the fourth timer.

[0287] Optionally, UE1 is in a non-connected state.

[0288] The method for UE1 to obtain the value of the fourth timer can be referred to in the above Figure 2 The scheme in which the first terminal device obtains the value of the fourth timer in the illustrated embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0289] Step 1002: UE3 obtains the value of the first timer.

[0290] The method for UE3 to obtain the value of the first timer can be referred to in the above Figure 2 The scheme in which the third terminal device obtains the value of the first timer in the illustrated embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0291] Step 1003: UE4 obtains the value of the third timer.

[0292] The method for UE4 to obtain the value of the third timer can be referred to in the aforementioned Figure 2 The scheme in which the fourth terminal device obtains the value of the third timer in the illustrated embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0293] Optionally, the order of step 1001 to step 1003 is not limited, and is only provided for example.

[0294] Step 1004: UE4 sends second information to UE3.

[0295] The relevant description of the second information can be found in the above Figure 2 The relevant descriptions involved in the illustrated embodiments will not be repeated here.

[0296] Step 1005: UE3 sends first information to UE1.

[0297] Optionally, UE3 may send the first information and the second information to UE1, or the first information may be related to the first timer and the third timer. For details, see the foregoing Figure 2 The relevant descriptions involved in the illustrated embodiments will not be repeated here.

[0298] Step 1006: UE1 determines the value of the second timer according to the first information.

[0299] Correspondingly, UE3 may send the first information and the second information to UE1, and UE1 may determine the value of the second timer according to the first information and the second information.

[0300] Corresponding to the first information being related to the first timer and the third timer, UE1 may directly determine the value of the second timer according to the first information.

[0301] Specifically, the method for determining the value of the second timer in the two cases can refer to the above Figure 2 The relevant descriptions involved in the illustrated embodiments will not be repeated here.

[0302] Step 1007: UE1 sends an RRC reconfiguration message to UE2 through UE3 and UE4.

[0303] Step 1008: UE1 starts the second timer and applies the value of the second timer.

[0304] Optionally, step 1007 and step 1008 may be performed simultaneously.

[0305] Through the above example, in a multi-relay scenario, UE1 can accurately determine the value of the second timer based on the first information, thereby realizing the timer configuration in the relay scenario, so that UE1 can subsequently correctly start or stop the timer, thereby improving the communication performance of the relay scenario.

[0306] For example, Fig.11 Another example of a communication method is shown. In this example, UE1 is in a connected state and UE1 communicates with UE2 through UE3 and UE4. In this example, the gNB determines the value of the second timer and sends it to UE1. For example, Fig.11 The example shown may include the following steps:

[0307] Step 1101 to step 1103 are similar to step 1002 to step 1004, and they can refer to each other and will not be repeated here.

[0308] Step 1104: UE3 sends first information to UE1.

[0309] Optionally, UE3 may send the first information and the second information to UE1, or the first information may be related to the first timer and the third timer. For details, see the foregoing Figure 2 The relevant descriptions involved in the illustrated embodiments will not be repeated here.

[0310] Step 1105: UE1 sends first information to gNB.

[0311] Optionally, when UE3 sends the first information and the second information to UE1, UE1 may send the first information and the second information to the gNB.

[0312] Alternatively, optionally, the first information sent by UE1 to gNB may be related to the first timer and the third timer.

[0313] Step 1106: gNB sends the value of the second timer to UE1.

[0314] Optionally, the gNB determines the value of the second timer based on the first information and then sends the value of the second timer to the value of the second timer.

[0315] Correspondingly, UE1 can send the first information and the second information to the gNB, and the gNB can determine the value of the second timer based on the first information and the second information.

[0316] Corresponding to the first information being related to the first timer and the third timer, the gNB can directly determine the value of the second timer based on the first information.

[0317] Specifically, the method for determining the value of the second timer in the two cases can refer to the above Figure 2 The relevant descriptions involved in the illustrated embodiments will not be repeated here.

[0318] Step 1107 - Step 1108 are similar to step 1007 - Step 1008 , and they can refer to each other and will not be repeated here.

[0319] Through the above example, in a multi-relay scenario, UE1 can accurately obtain the value of the second timer, thereby implementing the timer configuration in the relay scenario, so that UE1 can subsequently correctly start or stop the timer, thereby improving the communication performance of the relay scenario.

[0320] Based on the above embodiments, the present application also provides a communication device, referring to Fig.12 As shown, the communication device 1200 may include a processing unit 1202. Optionally, the communication device may further include a transceiver unit 1201. The transceiver unit 1201 may be used to send and receive information, etc. The processing unit 1202 may control and manage the actions of the communication device 1200. The processing unit 1202 may also control the operations performed by the transceiver unit 1201.

[0321] Exemplarily, the communication device 1200 may be the first terminal device, the processor of the first terminal device, or a chip, or a chip system, or a functional module, etc. in the above-mentioned embodiment. Alternatively, the communication device 1200 may also be the network device, the processor of the network device, or a chip, or a chip system, or a functional module, etc. in the above-mentioned embodiment. Alternatively, the communication device 1200 may also be the third terminal device, the processor of the third terminal device, or a chip, or a chip system, or a functional module, etc. in the above-mentioned embodiment.

[0322] In one embodiment, the communication device 1200 is used to implement the above Figure 2 The functions of the first terminal device in the illustrated embodiment may include: the transceiver unit 1201 may be used to receive first information, the first information is related to a first timer, the first terminal device communicates with the second terminal device via a third terminal device; the first timer is a timer of the third terminal device; the processor 1202 may be used to determine a value of a second timer based on the first information, the second timer being used for sideline configuration between the first terminal device and the second terminal device.

[0323] The first information is related to the first timer, including: the first information is related to the value of the first timer.

[0324] Optionally, when receiving the first information, the transceiver unit 1201 may be used to: receive the first information from the third terminal device.

[0325] Exemplarily, the first information indicates a first duration, and the first duration is equal to or less than a value of the first timer.

[0326] Optionally, the processing unit 1202 may also be configured to save an association between the value of the second timer and the third terminal device.

[0327] Optionally, the processing unit 1202 can also be used to apply the value of the second timer when sending the RRC reconfiguration message according to the association between the value of the second timer and the third terminal device.

[0328] In an optional manner, the transceiver unit 1201 can also be used to receive second information, where the second information is related to a third timer, the third timer is a timer of a fourth terminal device, and the first terminal device communicates with the second terminal device through the third terminal device and the fourth terminal device.

[0329] The second information is related to the third timer, including: the second information is related to the value of the third timer.

[0330] Exemplarily, the second information indicates a second duration, and the second duration is equal to or less than the value of the third timer.

[0331] Optionally, the value of the second timer is determined based on the value of the fourth timer, the first information and the second information.

[0332] In one example, the first information is related to the first timer, including: the first information is related to the first timer and a third timer, the third timer is a timer of a fourth terminal device, and the first terminal device communicates with the second terminal device through the third terminal device and the fourth terminal device.

[0333] Optionally, the first information is related to the first timer and the third timer, including: the first information is related to the value of the first timer and the value of the third timer.

[0334] For example, the first information indicates a third duration, and the third duration is equal to or less than the sum of the values ​​of the first timer and the third timer.

[0335] In some embodiments, any one of the first duration, the second duration or the third duration is related to a processing delay, and the processing delay includes a processing delay of a radio resource control RRC layer and / or a packet data convergence layer protocol PDCP layer.

[0336] Optionally, when receiving the first information, the transceiver unit 1201 may be configured to: receive the first information and an identifier of the second terminal device from the third terminal device.

[0337] Exemplarily, the processing unit 1202 may also be configured to save an association between the value of the second timer and the second terminal device.

[0338] Exemplarily, the processing unit 1202 may also be configured to apply the value of the second timer when sending an RRC reconfiguration message, based on an association between the value of the second timer and the second terminal device.

[0339] In one example, the value of the second timer is determined according to the value of the fourth timer and the first information.

[0340] In an optional implementation, the value of the second timer is determined based on the value of the fourth timer, first information and third information, the third information is related to a fifth timer, and the fifth timer is a timer of a fifth terminal device; the first terminal device communicates with the sixth terminal device through the fifth terminal device.

[0341] Exemplarily, the value of the second timer is one of a first value and a second value, the first value is determined by the value of the fourth timer and the first information, and the second value is determined by the value of the fourth timer and the third information.

[0342] Optionally, the value of the second timer is the maximum value between the first value and the second value.

[0343] Exemplarily, the processing unit 1202 may also be configured to determine the value of the second timer to be applied when sending an RRC reconfiguration message in a relay scenario.

[0344] In yet another embodiment, the communication device 1200 is used to implement the above Figure 7 In the embodiment shown, the functions of the first terminal device may include: the transceiver unit 1201 may be used to send first information to the network device, the first information is related to the first timer, the first terminal device communicates with the second terminal device through the third terminal device; the first timer is the timer of the third terminal device; and the value of the second timer is received from the network device, the second timer is used for the sideline configuration between the first terminal device and the second terminal device. The processing unit 1202 may be used to control the transceiver unit 1201 to implement the transceiver operation.

[0345] The first information is related to the first timer, including: the first information is related to the value of the first timer.

[0346] In an optional manner, the transceiver unit 1201 may also be configured to receive the first information from the third terminal device.

[0347] Exemplarily, the first information indicates a first duration, and the first duration is equal to or less than a value of the first timer.

[0348] In an optional manner, when sending the first information to the network device, the transceiver unit 1201 can also be used to send the identifier of the third terminal device to the network device.

[0349] In an optional manner, the transceiver unit 1201 may also be configured to receive an identifier of the third terminal device from the network device.

[0350] Optionally, the processing unit 1202 may also be configured to save an association between the value of the second timer and the third terminal device.

[0351] Optionally, the processing unit 1202 can also be used to apply the value of the second timer when sending the RRC reconfiguration message according to the association between the value of the second timer and the third terminal device.

[0352] In an optional manner, the transceiver unit 1201 can also be used to receive second information, where the second information is related to a third timer, the third timer is a timer of a fourth terminal device, and the first terminal device communicates with the second terminal device through the third terminal device and the fourth terminal device; and sends the second information to the network device.

[0353] The second information is related to the third timer, including: the second information is related to the value of the third timer.

[0354] Exemplarily, the second information indicates a second duration, and the second duration is equal to or less than the value of the third timer.

[0355] In one example, the value of the second timer is determined according to the value of a fourth timer, the first information, and the second information.

[0356] In some embodiments, the first information is related to the first timer, including: the first information is related to the first timer and a third timer, the third timer is a timer of a fourth terminal device, and the first terminal device communicates with the second terminal device through the third terminal device and the fourth terminal device.

[0357] For example, the first information is related to the first timer and the third timer, including: the first information is related to the value of the first timer and the value of the third timer.

[0358] Optionally, the first information indicates a third duration, and the third duration is equal to or less than the sum of the values ​​of the first timer and the third timer.

[0359] In one example, any one of the first duration, the second duration or the third duration is related to a processing delay, and the processing delay includes a processing delay of a radio resource control RRC layer and / or a packet data convergence layer protocol PDCP layer.

[0360] In an optional manner, the transceiver unit 1201 may also be configured to receive an identifier of the second terminal device from the third terminal device.

[0361] In an optional manner, when sending the first information to the network device, the transceiver unit 1201 can also be used to send the identifier of the second terminal device to the network device.

[0362] In an optional manner, the transceiver unit 1201 may also be configured to receive an identifier of the second terminal device from the network device.

[0363] Optionally, the processing unit 1202 may also be configured to save an association between the value of the second timer and the second terminal device.

[0364] Optionally, the processing unit 1202 can also be used to apply the value of the second timer when sending the RRC reconfiguration message based on the association between the value of the second timer and the second terminal device.

[0365] In an optional manner, the transceiver unit 1201 can also be used to receive third information, where the third information is related to a fifth timer, and the fifth timer is a timer of a fifth terminal device; the first terminal device communicates with the sixth terminal device through the fifth terminal device; and sends the third information to the network device.

[0366] Exemplarily, the value of the second timer is determined according to the value of the fourth timer, the first information and the third information.

[0367] Optionally, the value of the second timer is one of a first value and a second value, the first value is determined by the value of the fourth timer and the first information, and the second value is determined by the value of the fourth timer and the third information.

[0368] For example, the value of the second timer is the maximum value of the first value and the second value.

[0369] In an optional manner, the transceiver unit 1201 may also be configured to send first indication information to the network device if the second timer expires, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the second timer has expired.

[0370] Optionally, the first indication information includes the value of the second timer.

[0371] Optionally, the first indication information includes an identifier of the third terminal device or an identifier of the second terminal device.

[0372] In yet another embodiment, the communication device 1200 is used to implement the above Figure 7The functions of the network device in the embodiment shown may include: the transceiver unit 1201 may be used to receive first information from a first terminal device, the first information is related to a first timer, the first terminal device communicates with the second terminal device through a third terminal device; the first timer is a timer of the third terminal device; and the value of the second timer is sent to the first terminal device. The processing unit 1202 may be used to control the transceiver unit 1201 to implement the transceiver operation.

[0373] The first information is related to the first timer, including: the first information is related to the value of the first timer.

[0374] Optionally, the processing unit 1202 may also be configured to determine a value of the second timer according to the first information.

[0375] In one example, the first information indicates a first duration, and the first duration is equal to or less than a value of the first timer.

[0376] Optionally, when receiving the first information from the first terminal device, the transceiver unit 1201 may also be used to receive an identifier of the third terminal device from the first terminal device.

[0377] In an optional implementation, the transceiver unit 1201 may also be configured to send an identifier of the third terminal device to the first terminal device.

[0378] In an optional embodiment, the transceiver unit 1201 can also be used to receive second information from the first terminal device, where the second information is related to a third timer, which is a timer of a fourth terminal device, and the first terminal device communicates with the second terminal device through the third terminal device and the fourth terminal device; the processing unit 1202 can also be used to determine the value of the second timer based on the first information and the second information.

[0379] The second information is related to the third timer, including: the second information is related to the value of the third timer.

[0380] For example, the second information indicates a second duration, and the second duration is equal to or smaller than a value of the third timer.

[0381] Optionally, the value of the second timer is determined based on the value of the fourth timer, the first information and the second information.

[0382] An example in which the first information is related to the first timer includes: the first information is related to the first timer and a third timer, the third timer is a timer of a fourth terminal device, and the first terminal device communicates with the second terminal device through the third terminal device and the fourth terminal device.

[0383] Optionally, the first information is related to the first timer and the third timer, including: the first information is related to the value of the first timer and the value of the third timer.

[0384] In a possible manner, the first information indicates a third duration, and the third duration is equal to or less than the sum of the values ​​of the first timer and the third timer.

[0385] Optionally, any one of the first duration, the second duration or the third duration is related to processing delay, and the processing delay includes the processing delay of the radio resource control RRC layer and / or the packet data convergence layer protocol PDCP layer.

[0386] In an optional implementation, when receiving the first information from the first terminal device, the transceiver unit 1201 may also be configured to receive an identifier of the second terminal device from the first terminal device.

[0387] In an optional implementation, the transceiver unit 1201 may also be configured to send an identifier of the second terminal device to the first terminal device.

[0388] In an optional embodiment, the transceiver unit 1201 can also be used to receive third information from the first terminal device, where the third information is related to a fifth timer, and the fifth timer is a timer of the fifth terminal device; the first terminal device communicates with the sixth terminal device through the fifth terminal device; the processing unit 1202 can also be used to determine the value of the second timer based on the first information and the third information.

[0389] Optionally, the value of the second timer is determined according to the value of the fourth timer, the first information and the third information.

[0390] Exemplarily, the value of the second timer is one of a first value and a second value, the first value is determined by the value of the fourth timer and the first information, and the second value is determined by the value of the fourth timer and the third information.

[0391] For example, the value of the second timer is the maximum value between the first value and the second value.

[0392] In an example, the value of the second timer is determined according to the value of the fourth timer and the first information.

[0393] In an optional implementation, the transceiver unit 1201 may also be configured to receive first indication information from the first terminal device, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the second timer has expired.

[0394] Optionally, the first indication information includes the value of the second timer.

[0395] Optionally, the first indication information includes an identifier of the third terminal device or an identifier of the second terminal device.

[0396] In another embodiment, when the communication device 1200 is used to implement the function of the third terminal device in the above embodiment, it may include: the transceiver unit 1201 can be used to send first information to the first terminal device, the first information is related to the first timer, and the first terminal device communicates with the second terminal device through the third terminal device; the first timer is the timer of the third terminal device.

[0397] The first information is related to the first timer, including: the first information is related to the value of the first timer.

[0398] Exemplarily, the first information indicates a first duration, and the first duration is equal to or less than a value of the first timer.

[0399] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1201 can also be used to receive second information from a fourth terminal device, where the second information is related to a third timer, the third timer is a timer of the fourth terminal device, and the first terminal device communicates with the second terminal device through the third terminal device and the fourth terminal device; and send the second information to the first terminal device.

[0400] For example, the second information is related to the third timer, including: the second information is related to the value of the third timer.

[0401] Optionally, the second information indicates a second duration, and the second duration is equal to or less than the value of the third timer.

[0402] In some embodiments, the first information is related to the first timer, including: the first information is related to the first timer and a third timer, the third timer is a timer of a fourth terminal device, and the first terminal device communicates with the second terminal device through the third terminal device and the fourth terminal device.

[0403] The first information is related to the first timer and the third timer, including: the first information is related to the value of the first timer and the value of the third timer.

[0404] In an optional implementation, the first information indicates a third duration, and the third duration is equal to or less than the sum of the values ​​of the first timer and the third timer.

[0405] Optionally, any one of the first duration, the second duration or the third duration is related to processing delay, and the processing delay includes the processing delay of the radio resource control RRC layer and / or the packet data convergence layer protocol PDCP layer.

[0406] In one example, when the transceiver unit 1201 sends the first information to the first terminal device, it can also be used to send the identifier of the second terminal device to the first terminal device.

[0407] It should be noted that the division of units in the embodiments of the present application is schematic and is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation. Each functional unit in the embodiments of the present application may be integrated into a processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit. The above-mentioned integrated unit may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional units.

[0408] If the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application is essentially or the part that contributes to the prior art or all or part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product, and the computer software product is stored in a storage medium, including a number of instructions to enable a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) or a processor (processor) to perform all or part of the steps of the various embodiments of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: U disk, mobile hard disk, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), disk or optical disk and other media that can store program code.

[0409] Based on the above embodiments, the present application also provides a communication device, referring to Fig.13As shown, the communication device 1300 may include a processor 1302. Optionally, the communication device 1300 may also include a transceiver 1301 and / or a memory 1303. The memory 1303 may be disposed inside the communication device 1300 or outside the communication device 1300. The processor 1302 may control the transceiver 1301 to receive and send messages, etc.

[0410] Specifically, the processor 1302 may be a central processing unit (CPU), a network processor (NP) or a combination of a CPU and a NP. The processor 1302 may further include a hardware chip. The hardware chip may be an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD) or a combination thereof. The PLD may be a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a generic array logic (GAL) or any combination thereof.

[0411] Among them, the transceiver 1301, the processor 1302 and the memory 1303 are interconnected. Optionally, the transceiver 1301, the processor 1302 and the memory 1303 are interconnected via a bus 1304; the bus 1304 can be a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus or an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of representation, Fig.13 Only one thick line is used in the diagram, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0412] In an optional implementation, the memory 1303 is used to store programs, etc. Specifically, the program may include a program code, and the program code includes a computer operation instruction. The memory 1303 may include a RAM, and may also include a non-volatile memory (non-volatile memory), such as one or more disk memories. The processor 1302 executes the application program stored in the memory 1303 to implement the above functions, thereby realizing the functions of the communication device 1300.

[0413] In one embodiment, the communication device 1300 is Figure 2 When the function of the first terminal device in the method embodiment shown is used, the transceiver 1301 can implement the above Figure 2 The sending and receiving operations performed by the first terminal device in the method embodiment shown in the figure; the processor 1302 can implement the above Figure 2 The operations performed by the first terminal device in the method embodiment shown are as follows. Figure 2 The relevant description in the illustrated embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0414] In yet another embodiment, the communication device 1300 is Figure 7 When the function of the first terminal device in the method embodiment shown is used, the transceiver 1301 can implement the above Figure 7 The sending and receiving operations performed by the first terminal device in the method embodiment shown in the figure; the processor 1302 can implement the above Figure 7 The operations performed by the first terminal device in the method embodiment shown are as follows. Figure 7 The relevant description in the illustrated embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0415] In yet another embodiment, the communication device 1300 is Figure 7 When the function of the network device in the method embodiment shown is used, the transceiver 1301 can implement the above Figure 7 The sending and receiving operations performed by the network device in the method embodiment shown in the figure; the processor 1302 can implement the above Figure 7 The operations performed by the network device in the method embodiment shown are described in detail in the above Figure 7 The relevant description in the illustrated embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0416] In another embodiment, when the communication device 1300 performs the function of the third terminal device in the above method embodiment, the transceiver 1301 can implement the transceiver operation performed by the third terminal device in the above method embodiment; the processor 1302 can implement the operation performed by the third terminal device in the above method embodiment. For specific related descriptions, please refer to the related descriptions in the above embodiments, which will not be described in detail here.

[0417] Based on the above embodiments, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which may include the first terminal device, the second terminal device, and the relay terminal device between the first terminal device and the second terminal device involved in the above embodiments.

[0418] An embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, which may include the network device, the first terminal device, the second terminal device, and the relay terminal device between the first terminal device and the second terminal device involved in the above embodiment.

[0419] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which is used to store a computer program. When the computer program is executed by a computer, the computer can implement the communication method provided by the above method embodiment.

[0420] The embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product, which is used to store a computer program. When the computer program is executed by a computer, the computer can implement the communication method provided by the above method embodiment.

[0421] An embodiment of the present application also provides a chip, including a processor, which is coupled to a memory and is used to call a program in the memory so that the chip implements the communication method provided by the above method embodiment.

[0422] An embodiment of the present application also provides a chip, which is coupled to a memory and is used to implement the communication method provided in the above method embodiment.

[0423] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the embodiments of the present application may be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, the present application may adopt the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment, or an embodiment in combination with software and hardware. Moreover, the present application may adopt the form of a computer program product implemented in one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) that include computer-usable program code.

[0424] The present application is described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of the methods, devices (systems), and computer program products according to the present application. It should be understood that each process and / or box in the flowchart and / or block diagram, as well as the combination of the processes and / or boxes in the flowchart and / or block diagram, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device generate instructions for implementing the processes in the flowchart and / or block diagram. Figure 1 A process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A device that provides the functions specified in a block or multiple blocks.

[0425] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory capable of directing a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture comprising an instruction device, which implements the process Figure 1 A process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A function specified in one or more boxes.

[0426] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device so that a series of operating steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process, thereby providing instructions for implementing the process. Figure 1 A process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A step that specifies a function in one or more boxes.

[0427] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the present application without departing from the scope of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is also intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A communication method, applied to a first terminal device or a chip in the first terminal device, characterized in that: include: receiving first information, where the first information is related to a first timer, and the first terminal device communicates with the second terminal device through a third terminal device; The first timer is a timer of the third terminal device; A value of a second timer is determined according to the first information, where the second timer is used for sideline configuration between the first terminal device and the second terminal device.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first information is related to the first timer and includes: The first information is related to a value of the first timer.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The first information indicates a first duration, and the first duration is equal to or less than a value of the first timer.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Second information is received, where the second information is related to a third timer, where the third timer is a timer of a fourth terminal device, and the first terminal device communicates with the second terminal device through the third terminal device and the fourth terminal device.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The second information is related to the third timer and includes: The second information is related to a value of the third timer.

6. The method according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that The second information indicates a second duration, and the second duration is equal to or smaller than a value of the third timer.

7. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that: The value of the second timer is determined according to the value of the fourth timer, the first information and the second information.

8. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The first information is related to the first timer and includes: The first information is related to the first timer and a third timer, the third timer is a timer of a fourth terminal device, and the first terminal device communicates with the second terminal device through the third terminal device and the fourth terminal device.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The first information is related to the first timer and the third timer, including: The first information is related to a value of the first timer and a value of the third timer.

10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that The first information indicates a third duration, and the third duration is equal to or less than the sum of values ​​of the first timer and the third timer.

11. The method according to claim 3, 6 or 10, characterized in that Any one of the first duration, the second duration or the third duration is related to a processing delay, and the processing delay includes a processing delay of a radio resource control RRC layer and / or a packet data convergence layer protocol PDCP layer.

12. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 10, characterized in that: Receiving the first information includes: The first information and the identification of the second terminal device are received from the third terminal device.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 and 8 to 10, characterized in that: The value of the second timer is determined according to the value of the fourth timer and the first information.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The value of the second timer is determined based on the value of the fourth timer, the first information and the third information, the third information is related to the fifth timer, the fifth timer is the timer of the fifth terminal device; the first terminal device communicates with the sixth terminal device through the fifth terminal device.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The value of the second timer is one of a first value and a second value, the first value is determined by the value of the fourth timer and the first information, and the second value is determined by the value of the fourth timer and the third information.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The value of the second timer is a maximum value between the first value and the second value.

17. A communication method, applied to a first terminal device or a chip in the first terminal device, characterized in that: include: Sending first information to a network device, where the first information is related to a first timer, and the first terminal device communicates with the second terminal device through a third terminal device; The first timer is a timer of the third terminal device; A value of a second timer is received from the network device, the second timer being used for sideline configuration between the first terminal device and the second terminal device.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first information is received from the third terminal device.

19. The method according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that When sending the first information to the network device, the method further includes: Sending the identifier of the third terminal device to the network device.

20. The method according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving second information, where the second information is related to a third timer, the third timer is a timer of a fourth terminal device, and the first terminal device communicates with the second terminal device through the third terminal device and the fourth terminal device; The second information is sent to the network device.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein: The method further comprises: An identification of the second terminal device is received from the third terminal device.

22. The method according to claim 20 or 21, characterized in that When sending the first information to the network device, the method further includes: Sending the identifier of the second terminal device to the network device.

23. The method according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving third information, wherein the third information is related to a fifth timer, and the fifth timer is a timer of a fifth terminal device; the first terminal device communicates with a sixth terminal device through the fifth terminal device; The third information is sent to the network device.

24. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a module or a unit for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, or comprises a module or a unit for executing the method according to any one of claims 17 to 23.

25. A communication device, characterized in that: comprising a processor, wherein: The processor is coupled to the memory, and is used to call computer instructions in the memory to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-16, or to execute the method according to any one of claims 17-23.

26. A communication system, characterized in that: A communication device comprising a method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, or a communication device comprising a method according to any one of claims 17 to 23.

27. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores computer-executable instructions, and when the computer-executable instructions are called by the computer, the computer-executable instructions are used to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, or to execute the method according to any one of claims 17 to 23.

28. A computer program product, characterized in that The method comprises instructions which, when executed on a computer, cause the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16 or the method according to any one of claims 17 to 23 to be executed.

29. A chip, characterized in that: The chip is coupled to the memory and is used to read and execute program instructions stored in the memory to implement the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 16, or to implement the method as claimed in any one of claims 17 to 23.

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