Configuration indication method and communication device

Abstract

Provided are a configuration indication method and a communication device, the method comprising: acquiring first control information, the first control information being used for indicating configuration of M-hop data transmission between a first device and a target device, the M-hop data transmission being used for transmitting first data, the M-hop transmission comprising transmission between the first device and a second device, the first control information comprises first information, second information and third information, the first information indicates configuration used for transmitting first data between the first device and the second device, the second information indicates configuration of M-1-hop transmission, and the M-1-hop transmission is M-1-hop transmission except transmission between the first device and the second device in M-hop transmission; the third information indicates configuration required by the target device for receiving the first data, and M is an integer greater than 1; the first control information is transmitted to the second device. Based on the method described by the invention, the multi-hop transmission resource configuration is scheduled in a centralized manner, so that the forwarding delay of the relay device is reduced.

Description

Configuration indication method and communication device Technical Field

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

[0002] With the widespread adoption of internet applications and wireless network devices, the demand for wireless communications is gradually increasing. To improve communication coverage, relay devices are now being introduced to support multi-hop transmission from a source device to a destination device. Taking a three-hop transmission as an example, a source device needs to send data to a destination device through two relay devices, referred to as the first relay device and the second relay device. The source device sends data to the first relay device. After receiving the data, the first relay device forwards the data to the second relay device. The second relay device then forwards the data to the destination device.

[0003] However, when a sending device configures corresponding transmission resources, it configures the resources required for the current hop separately through the high-level protocol stack. A sending device is a device used to send data in a multi-hop transmission. Specifically, each hop in a multi-hop transmission includes a data sending device and a data receiving device. The sending device is the device that sends data, and the receiving device is the device that receives data. When the sending device sends data to the receiving device based on the resources it has configured through the high-level protocol stack, after the receiving device receives the data, the data still needs to be processed by the physical (PHY) layer, the media access control (MAC) layer, and the radio link control (RLC) layer. Sometimes, it even needs to be processed by higher protocol layers in the protocol stack, such as the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, or the radio resource control (RRC) layer. Only after processing by the high-level protocol stack can it be forwarded to the next hop. This processing method will increase forwarding latency, which is not conducive to low-latency service transmission. How to reduce forwarding delay is an urgent problem that needs to be solved.

[0004] Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application proposes a configuration indication method and a communication device. Based on the method described in the present application, the configuration of multi-hop transmission parameters is centrally scheduled, which reduces the processing time of the relay device and thus reduces the forwarding delay.

[0006] In the first aspect, the present application proposes a configuration indication method, which includes: obtaining first control information, the first control information is used to indicate the configuration of M-hop data transmission between a first device and a target device, the M-hop data transmission is used to transmit first data, the M-hop transmission includes transmission between the first device and the second device, the first control information includes first information, second information and third information, the first information indicates the configuration for transmitting the first data between the first device and the second device, the second information indicates the configuration of M-1 hop transmission, the M-1 hop transmission is the M-1 hop transmission in the M-hop transmission except the transmission between the first device and the second device, the third information indicates the configuration required for the target device to receive the first data, and M is an integer greater than 1; sending the first control information to the second device.

[0007] Based on the method described in the first aspect, the first control information includes the configuration instructions required for M-hop transmission and the configuration required for reception by the destination device. Therefore, the configuration required for each hop transmission in the M-hop transmission can be centrally scheduled through the first control information. Among them, the first control information includes the configuration for transmitting the first data between the first device and the second device. Therefore, when the first device acts as a relay device, it is no longer necessary to configure the corresponding transmission parameters through the processing of the high-level protocol layer, which can reduce the time for configuring the transmission parameters, thereby reducing the data forwarding delay between the first device and the second device. In addition, in the M-1 hop transmission, for example, the parameter configuration required for the subsequent transmission of the second device can also be directly based on the M-1 hop transmission configuration indicated by the second information of the first control information, without waiting for the sending device in each hop transmission to separately configure the resources required for data transmission through the high-level protocol configuration, thereby reducing the data transmission delay. If the first device is a source device and a scheduling device, where the scheduling device refers to a device that configures resources for multi-hop transmission, the first device still needs to process and configure the transmission parameters corresponding to the M-hop transmission through the high-level protocol. The relay devices in the M-hop transmission, such as the second device, will no longer need to process and configure the corresponding transmission resources at the high-level protocol layer, thereby reducing the transmission delay.

[0008] In one possible implementation, the first information further indicates a transmission configuration for transmitting the second information, where the transmission configuration for transmitting the second information includes one or more of the following: aggregation level, code rate, modulation and coding strategy, time domain resources, and frequency domain resources. The transmission configuration of the second information also corresponds to the configuration of the control channel or data channel that carries its transmission, such as the configuration of its time domain resources and frequency domain resources.

[0009] In one possible implementation, the first information is carried on a first control channel, and the second and third information are carried on a second control channel. Based on this implementation, designing the first information to be carried on the first control channel facilitates the second device to read the first information and perform corresponding configuration more promptly. Designing the second and third information on the second control channel also helps avoid overloading the first control channel, thereby reducing its reliability. Alternatively, it can avoid allocating more resources for the first control information to ensure reliability, thereby reducing resource utilization and causing the second device to need to detect a larger bandwidth, increasing detection complexity.

[0010] In one possible implementation, the first information is carried on the first control channel, the second information is carried on the second control channel, and the third information is carried on the first data channel. Based on this implementation, the third information is designed to be carried on the first data channel, which helps reduce resource loss, especially control resource loss. Optionally, since the third information indicates the configuration required for the target device to receive the first data, if the second device is a relay device, when the second device transmits data using amplification and forwarding (AF), the second device will not apply the configuration and will not need to read the third information. The third information is carried on the data channel, avoiding the consumption of control resources, while AF forwarding reduces forwarding latency.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the second information further indicates a configuration for transmitting the third information, where the configuration for transmitting the third information includes one or more of the following: code rate, modulation and coding strategy, time domain resources, and frequency domain resources.

[0012] In one possible implementation, the first information or the second information further indicates a channel for transmitting the third information. If the first information or the second information indicates that the channel for transmitting the third information is the second control channel, it can be determined that the first control information is two-level control information, including first-level control information and second-level control information, wherein the first-level control information includes the first information, and the second-level control information includes the second information and the third information. Correspondingly, if the first information or the second information indicates that the channel for transmitting the third information is the first data channel, it can be determined that the first control information is three-level control information, including first-level control information, second-level control information and third-level control information, wherein the first-level control information includes the first information, the second-level control information includes the second information, and the third-level control information includes the third information. Based on this implementation, it is beneficial to control the available resources to adapt to control information of different sizes of loads, and reduce resource waste caused by the additional occupation of control resources.

[0013] In one possible implementation, the first information indicates one or more of the following configurations: the delay budget for transmission between the first device and the second device, the minimum time interval for forwarding the first data from the first link to the second link, the frequency domain resource configuration between the first device and the second device, and the time domain resource configuration between the first device and the second device. The first link is the link between the network device and the terminal device, and the second link is the link between the terminal device and the terminal device; the second information indicates one or more of the following configurations: the time domain resource configuration for M-1 hop transmission, the delay budget for M-1 hop transmission, the path information, the transmit beam configuration, the minimum interval between the reception and forwarding time of the M-1 hop side link transmission, and the quasi-co-location indication; the third information indicates one or more of the following configurations: a new data indicator, a redundant version, a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process number, HARQ feedback enable, HARQ feedback time, and a HARQ feedback resource.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the first information further indicates the configuration of the first data on the sidelink. Based on this implementation, since resources in the sidelink are acquired through competition, the first information can be carried in a control channel readable by other devices. This facilitates devices competing for resources other than M-hop transmission to read the first information regarding the configuration of the first data on the sidelink, thereby avoiding competition for the corresponding resources. This can also prevent the increase in the latency required for M-hop transmission due to competition for resources by other devices.

[0015] In one possible implementation, the first information also indicates one or more of the following information: end-to-end priority, carrier configuration on the sidelink, resource pool configuration, sidelink frequency domain resource configuration, sidelink resource reservation period configuration, and sidelink time domain transmission resource configuration.

[0016] In a possible implementation manner, a specific implementation manner of obtaining the first control information is: receiving second control information sent from a third device; and determining the first control information based on the second control information.

[0017] In one possible implementation, the third device is a network device, and the second control information includes fourth information and fifth information. The fourth information indicates one or more of the following configurations: the minimum time interval for forwarding the first data from the first link to the second link, the transmission configuration of the fifth information, the structure indication of the first control information, the carrier configuration on the sidelink, the resource pool configuration, and the sidelink frequency domain resource configuration. The fifth information indicates one or more of the following configurations: the time domain resource configuration for M-hop transmission, the delay budget for M-hop transmission, the path information, the transmit beam configuration for M-hop transmission, the minimum sidelink start time for M-hop transmission, and the quasi-co-location indication. The structure indication of the first control information indicates whether the control structure of the first control information generated by the first device is two-level control information or three-level control information. Optionally, if the structure of the first control information is indicated as three-level control information, the structure indication of the first control information further indicates the channel type of the control channel carrying the third information, specifically, whether it is a data channel or a control channel. The transmission configuration of the fifth information includes one or more of the following configurations: aggregation level (AL), code rate, modulation and coding strategy (MCS), time domain resources, and frequency domain resources. Optionally, the second control information has a two-level structure, where the second control information includes first-level control information and second-level control information, the first-level control information includes fourth information, the second-level control information includes fifth information, and the transmission configuration of the fifth information refers to the transmission configuration of the second-level control information. Based on this implementation, the configuration required for each hop in the M-hop transmission is configured by the third device, which facilitates centralized scheduling of the M-hop transmission.

[0018] In one possible implementation, determining the first control information based on the second control information involves determining sixth information, where the sixth information includes one or more of the following: end-to-end priority, resource reservation period, delay budget between the first and second devices, and delay budget for M-1 hop transmission; and determining the first control information based on the sixth information and the second control information. Based on this implementation, because the scheduling device is unaware of factors such as the service type and data type of the first data, it is unable to configure parameters such as transmission delay. Determining the sixth information through the first device facilitates configuring more reasonable parameters, thereby improving the user experience.

[0019] In one possible implementation, sending the first control information to the second device involves sending the first control information to a second set, where the second set includes multiple devices, and the second device is one of the devices in the second set. This implementation improves data transmission coverage and, by forwarding the first data to multiple relay devices, enhances data forwarding reliability.

[0020] In one possible implementation, the first device is a device in a first set, which includes multiple devices. The first control information is transmitted on a first time-frequency resource. The first time-frequency resource is also used by other devices in the first set to send the first control information to devices in a second set. This implementation improves data transmission coverage and, by forwarding the first data to multiple relay devices, enhances data forwarding reliability.

[0021] In one possible implementation, the second information further indicates a confirmation time and a confirmation resource, where the confirmation resource is a transmission resource used to transmit the confirmation information for the second set. The method further includes: if no confirmation information is received after the first data is sent to the second set by the confirmation time, and the number of retransmissions does not exceed a preset number, retransmitting the first data to the plurality of second devices. This implementation facilitates centralized management of the configuration of relay devices in each set, avoiding data forwarding confusion caused by a large number of relay devices in a set.

[0022] In one possible implementation, the second information also includes a zone ID indication. The Zone ID is an identifier of a set of multiple relay devices corresponding to a node in an M-hop transmission, such as the identifier of the first set and the identifier of the second set in the above implementation. Combined with the path information indicated in the second information described above, the path information may include a source device identifier, a target device identifier, and the Zone ID of a set corresponding to multiple relay nodes between the source device and the target device. The Zone ID enables the second device to determine the set corresponding to the next hop, thereby forwarding the first data received through the first set to the corresponding next hop set.

[0023] In one possible implementation, M is greater than 2.

[0024] In a second aspect, the present application proposes a configuration indication method, the method comprising: receiving first control information from a first device, the first control information being used to indicate the configuration of M-hop data transmission between the first device and a target device, the M-hop data transmission being used to transmit first data, the M-hop transmission including transmission between the first device and the second device, the first control information comprising first information, second information, and third information, the first information indicating the configuration for transmitting the first data between the first device and the second device, the second information indicating the configuration of M-1-hop transmission, the M-1-hop transmission being the M-1-hop transmission in the M-hop transmission excluding the transmission between the first device and the second device, the third information indicating the configuration required for the target device to receive the first data, and M being an integer greater than 1. The corresponding beneficial effects of the second aspect and its possible implementation methods can be found in the corresponding description of the first aspect, and the embodiments of the present application will not be repeated here.

[0025] In a possible implementation, the first information further indicates a configuration for transmitting the second information, where the configuration for transmitting the second information includes one or more of the following: aggregation level, code rate, modulation and coding strategy, time domain resources, and frequency domain resources.

[0026] In a possible implementation manner, the first information is carried on a first control channel, and the second information and the third information are carried on a second control channel.

[0027] In a possible implementation, the first information is carried on a first control channel, the second information is carried on a second control channel, and the third information is carried on a first data channel.

[0028] In a possible implementation, the configuration for transmitting the third information includes one or more of the following: code rate, modulation and coding strategy, time domain resources, and frequency domain resources.

[0029] In a possible implementation manner, the first information or the second information further indicates a channel for transmitting the third information.

[0030] In one possible implementation, the first information indicates one or more of the following configurations: the minimum time interval for forwarding the first data from the first link to the second link, the frequency domain resource configuration between the first device and the second device, and the time domain resource configuration between the first device and the second device. The first link is the link between the network device and the terminal device, and the second link is the link between the terminal device and the terminal device; the second information indicates one or more of the following configurations: the time domain resource configuration for M-1 hop transmission, the delay budget for M-1 hop transmission, the path information, the transmit beam configuration, the minimum interval between the reception and forwarding time of the M-1 hop side link transmission, and the quasi-co-location indication; the third information indicates one or more of the following configurations: retransmission configuration information, the new data indicator, and the redundant version.

[0031] In a possible implementation manner, the first information further indicates configuration of the first data on the sidelink.

[0032] In one possible implementation, the configuration of the first data on the sidelink includes one or more of the following information: end-to-end priority, carrier configuration on the sidelink, resource pool configuration, sidelink frequency domain resource configuration, and sidelink resource reservation period configuration.

[0033] In a possible implementation manner, first control information is received from a first device. Specifically, the first control information is received from a first set, where the first set includes multiple devices, and the first device is one device in the first set.

[0034] In one possible implementation, the second information also indicates a confirmation time and a confirmation resource, and the confirmation resource is a transmission resource used to transmit confirmation information of the second set. The method also includes: if the first data from the first set is received, the confirmation information is sent to the first set on the confirmation resource within the confirmation time.

[0035] In a possible implementation, the second information further includes a zone ID indication.

[0036] In one possible implementation, M is greater than 2.

[0037] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which may also be a chip system. The communication device can perform the method described in the first aspect. The functions of the communication device can be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the above functions. The units or modules can be software and / or hardware. The operations and beneficial effects performed by the communication device can refer to the methods and beneficial effects described in the first aspect above, and repeated parts will not be repeated.

[0038] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which may also be a chip system. The communication device can perform the method described in the second aspect. The functions of the communication device can be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the above-mentioned functions. The units or modules can be software and / or hardware. The operations and beneficial effects performed by the communication device can refer to the methods and beneficial effects described in the second aspect above, and any repetitions will not be repeated.

[0039] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which includes a processor. When the processor calls a computer program in a memory, the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect is executed.

[0040] In a possible implementation, the communication device further includes a memory, and the memory and the processor are coupled to each other. Optionally, the memory and the processor are integrated together.

[0041] In a possible implementation, the communication device further includes a transceiver, which is used to send and receive data and / or signaling.

[0042] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which includes a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor or send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device, and the processor is used to implement the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect through logic circuits or executing code instructions.

[0043] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program or instruction is stored. When the computer program or instruction is executed by a communication device, the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect is implemented.

[0044] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program or a computer program product, comprising code or instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method described in the first or second aspect.

[0045] In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which includes the communication device provided in the third and fourth aspects above. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0046] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a three-hop transmission provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] FIG3 is an interactive diagram of a configuration indication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a resource structure provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0050] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of another resource structure provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0051] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of another resource structure provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of another three-hop transmission provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0053] FIG8 is a transmission diagram of a first set and a second set provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of another multi-hop transmission provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] FIG10 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] FIG11 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] FIG12 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] FIG13 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the chip provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0059] The specific embodiments of the present application are further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0060] The terms "first" and "second" and the like in the specification, claims, and drawings of this application are used to distinguish between different objects, not to describe a particular order. Furthermore, the terms "including" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus comprising a series of steps or elements is not limited to the listed steps or elements, but may optionally include steps or elements not listed, or may optionally include other steps or elements inherent to the process, method, product, or apparatus.

[0061] References herein to "embodiments" mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments may be included in at least one embodiment of the present application. The appearance of this phrase in various places in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor does it constitute an independent or alternative embodiment that is mutually exclusive of other embodiments. It is understood, both explicitly and implicitly, by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein may be combined with other embodiments.

[0062] In this application, "at least one (item)" refers to one or more, "more than one" refers to two or more, "at least two (items)" refers to two or three and more than three, and "and / or" is used to describe the corresponding relationship of associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, "A and / or B" can mean: only A exists, only B exists, and A and B exist at the same time, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following items" 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 and b and c", where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0063] In order to enable a terminal device with low bandwidth capability to receive a candidate physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) with a high aggregation level, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for data transmission. The following is an introduction to the professional terms involved in this application:

[0064] The following describes the system architecture of the embodiment of the present application:

[0065] To facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the system architecture of the method provided in the embodiments of the present application is briefly described below. It is understood that the system architecture described in the embodiments of the present application is for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application.

[0066] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as satellite communication systems and traditional mobile communication systems. The satellite communication system can be integrated with a traditional mobile communication system (i.e., a terrestrial communication system). Communication systems include, for example, wireless local area network (WLAN) communication systems, wireless fidelity (WiFi) systems, long term evolution (LTE) systems, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) systems, LTE time division duplex (TDD) systems, fifth generation (5G) systems or new radio (NR), sixth generation (6G) systems, and other future communication systems. It also supports communication systems that integrate multiple wireless technologies. For example, it can also be applied to systems that integrate non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) such as drones, satellite communication systems, and high altitude platform stations (HAPS) communications with terrestrial mobile communication networks.

[0067] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system applicable to embodiments of the present application. The communication system includes at least one first device and at least one second device. Figure 1 uses one first device and one second device as an example; embodiments of the present application do not limit the number of first and second devices. The first and second devices can communicate with each other and, in addition, can establish communication connections with other devices or equipment.

[0068] In one possible implementation, the first device and / or the second device may be a network device, or a device that implements a network device function, or a device that can support the network device to implement the function, such as a chip system, which may be installed in the network device. The network device mentioned in the embodiment of the present application may be a device for communicating with a terminal device, or a device that connects a terminal device to a wireless network. The network device may be a node in a radio access network, which may also be referred to as a base station, or a radio access network (RAN) node (or device). Exemplarily, the base station in the embodiment of the present application may include various forms of base stations, such as: a macro base station, a micro base station (also known as a small station), a relay station, an access point, an evolved Node B (eNB or eNodeB) in LTE, a next-generation base station (gNodeB, gNB) in a 5G network, a broadband network service gateway (BNG), an aggregation switch or a non-third generation partnership project (3GPP) access device, a transmitting and receiving point (TRP), a transmitting point (TP), a mobile switching center, a home base station (e.g., home evolved NodeB, or home Node B, HNB), a baseband unit (BBU), a baseband pool BBU pool, or a Wi-Fi access point (AP), a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) in a cloud radio access network (C-RAN) system, an integrated access and backhaul link (IAM), and a baseband unit (BBU). Devices that perform base station functions in communication systems that evolve beyond 5G, such as 6G, include:

[0069] In another possible implementation, the first device and / or the second device may be a terminal device, or a device that implements the function of the terminal device, or a device that can support the terminal device to implement the function, such as a chip system, which can be installed in the terminal device. The terminal device mentioned in the embodiment of the present application may be a device with wireless transceiver functions, specifically a user terminal (UE), an access terminal, a subscriber unit, a user station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent or a user device. The terminal device may also be a satellite phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a wireless data card, a wireless modem, a machine type communication device, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a communication device carried on a high-altitude aircraft, a wearable device, a drone, a robot, a terminal in D2D, a terminal in V2X, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, or a terminal device in a future communication network, etc., and this application does not impose any restrictions.

[0070] Among them, the first device and the second device are two devices in a multi-hop transmission. Generally, a multi-hop transmission includes at least one source device, at least one destination device, and at least one relay device. Multi-hop transmission means that data is not transmitted directly from the source device to the destination device, but is forwarded through multiple relay devices between the source device and the destination device, that is, the data is forwarded through one or more relay devices on the link. The source device is used to transmit data to the destination device and is the first device to send data in a multi-hop transmission. The destination device is used to receive data from the source device and is the last device to receive data in a multi-hop transmission. The relay device is used to assist the source device in forwarding data to the destination device and is an intermediate node between the source device and the destination device. In addition, the source device can also receive data sent from the destination device, and the relay device can also be used to assist the destination device in forwarding data to the source device.

[0071] For example, Figure 2 shows a three-hop transmission method, with device 1 as the source device, device 4 as the destination device, and devices 2 and 3 as relay devices. Device 1 sends data to device 2. After receiving the data, device 2 forwards the data to device 3. Device 3 then forwards the data to device 4.

[0072] In multi-hop transmission, a single hop represents a single data transmission process. The first hop represents the first data transmission, and the second hop represents the second data transmission. For example, an M-hop transmission involves M+1 devices. During data transmission, the data passes through these M+1 devices in sequence. The i-th device can be understood as the i-th device that receives the data. Accordingly, the first hop represents the first device sending data to the second device, the second hop represents the second device sending data to the third device, and the i-th hop represents the i-th device sending data to the i+1-th device.

[0073] Based on the communication system described above, the technical background of the embodiments of the present application will be mainly introduced below.

[0074] With the widespread adoption of internet applications and wireless network devices, the demand for wireless communications is gradually increasing. To improve communication coverage, relay devices are now being introduced to support multi-hop transmission from a source device to a destination device. Taking a three-hop transmission as an example, a source device needs to send data to a destination device through two relay devices, referred to as the first relay device and the second relay device. The source device sends data to the first relay device. After receiving the data, the first relay device forwards the data to the second relay device. The second relay device then forwards the data to the destination device.

[0075] However, when the sending device configures the corresponding transmission resources, the sending device separately configures the resources required for the current hop through the high-level protocol stack. The sending device is a device used to send data in multi-hop transmission. Specifically, each hop in the multi-hop transmission includes a device for sending data and a device for receiving data. Among them, the sending device is the device that sends data, and the receiving device is the device that receives data. When the sending device sends data to the receiving device based on the resources configured by itself through the high-level protocol stack, after the receiving device receives the data, the data still needs to be processed by the PHY layer, MAC layer, and RLC layer, and sometimes even needs to be processed by a higher protocol layer in the protocol stack, such as the PDCP layer, SDAP layer or RRC layer. Only after being processed by the high-level protocol stack can it be forwarded to the next hop. This processing method will lead to an increase in forwarding delay, which is not conducive to low-latency service transmission. How to reduce the forwarding delay is an urgent problem that needs to be solved.

[0076] How to reduce the forwarding delay of the relay device? The embodiment of the present application provides a configuration indication method. This solution can be mainly applied to D2D, V2V, IAB, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), smart factories, automated machine manufacturing and other fields. In addition, it can also be applied to other fields. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the application fields to which this technical solution is applicable.

[0077] Please refer to Figure 3, which is an interactive diagram of a configuration indication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 3, the configuration indication method includes steps 301 to 302. The execution subject of the method shown in Figure 3 can be the first device and the second device. Alternatively, the execution subject of the method shown in Figure 3 can be the chip in the first device and the second device. Figure 3 is illustrated using the first device and the second device as an example. The execution subjects of the subsequent figures are similar and will not be repeated. Among them:

[0078] 301. A first device obtains first control information, where the first control information is used to indicate a configuration of M-hop data transmission between the first device and a target device, where the M-hop data transmission is used to transmit first data, and the M-hop transmission includes transmission between the first device and the second device. The first control information includes first information, second information, and third information. The first information indicates a configuration for transmitting the first data between the first device and the second device, the second information indicates a configuration of M-1-hop transmission, where the M-1-hop transmission is an M-1-hop transmission in the M-hop transmission excluding the transmission between the first device and the second device, and the third information indicates a configuration required for the target device to receive the first data, where M is an integer greater than 1.

[0079] In the embodiment of the present application, M-hop transmission between the first device and the target device means that the data transmitted by the first device to the target device needs to be forwarded through M-1 relay devices before the data can be transmitted to the target device. Among them, the M-1 hop transmission described in the embodiment of the present application refers to the M-1 hop transmission other than the transmission between the first device and the second device in the M-hop transmission. The transmission between the first device and the second device can be understood as the first hop transmission in the M-hop transmission. Correspondingly, the M-1 hop transmission can be understood as the remaining hop transmission except the first hop in the M-hop transmission. For example, assuming that M is 3, the transmission between the first device and the second device is the first hop transmission in the M-hop transmission, and the M-1 hop transmission is the second hop transmission and the third hop transmission in the M-hop transmission.

[0080] The M-hop transmission between the first device and the target device is a K-hop transmission between the source device and the target device, where K is an integer greater than or equal to M. Based on the above description of multi-hop transmission, K-hop transmission between the source device and the target device means that when the source device transmits data to the target device, it also needs to be forwarded through K-1 relay devices before the data can be transmitted to the target device. The source device is used to transmit data to the target device and is the first device to send data in the multi-hop transmission. The target device is used to receive data from the source device and is the last device to receive data in the multi-hop transmission. The relay device is used to assist the source device in forwarding data to the target device and is an intermediate node between the source and target devices. In addition, the source device can also receive data sent by the target device, and the relay device can also assist the target device in forwarding data to the source device, but this is not limited to this in the present embodiment. The subsequent description of the present embodiment mainly uses the source device as the data transmitter and the target device as the data receiver. The solution with the source device as the receiver and the target device as the transmitter can be similarly achieved and will not be further described in the present embodiment.

[0081] When K is greater than M, the first device is a relay device between the source device and the destination device; when K is equal to M, the first device is the source device. M-hop transmission includes transmission between the first device and the second device. Optionally, the first device and the second device are two adjacent devices in the M-hop transmission. It can be understood that the transmission between the first device and the second device is a one-hop transmission in the M-hop transmission. Alternatively, one or more relay devices may be included between the first device and the second device, that is, the transmission between the first device and the second device is a multi-hop transmission in the M-hop transmission. When the source device is the transmitter and the destination device is the receiver, in the transmission between the first and second devices, the first device is the transmitter and the second device is the receiver.

[0082] Based on the method described in the present application, the first control information includes the configuration instructions required for M-hop transmission and the configuration required for reception by the destination device. Therefore, the configuration required for each hop transmission in the M-hop transmission can be centrally scheduled through the first control information. Among them, the first control information includes the configuration for transmitting the first data between the first device and the second device. Therefore, when the first device acts as a relay device, it does not need to configure the corresponding transmission resources through the processing of the high-level protocol layer, and can directly forward the data, thereby reducing the data forwarding delay between the first device and the second device. In addition, in the M-1 hop transmission, for example, the parameter configuration required for the subsequent transmission of the second device can also be directly based on the M-1 hop transmission configuration indicated by the second information in the first control information, without waiting for the sending device in each hop transmission to separately configure the resources required for data transmission through the high-level protocol configuration, thereby reducing the data transmission delay. If the first device is a source device and a scheduling device, where the scheduling device refers to a device that configures multi-hop resources, the first device still needs to process and configure the transmission parameters corresponding to the M-hop transmission through the high-level protocol. The relay devices in the M-hop transmission, such as the second device, will no longer need to process and configure the corresponding transmission resources at the high-level protocol layer, thereby reducing the transmission delay.

[0083] In one possible implementation, M is an integer greater than 2. In this implementation, at least two relay devices exist between the first device and the target device. If M is larger, the delay required for the relay device to forward the first data increases when the prior art method of separately indicating the required configuration for each hop through high-level signaling is used. If the method described in the embodiment of the present application is used, the required configuration for each hop can be centrally scheduled. There is no need to wait for the sender to obtain configuration parameters through the high-level protocol during each hop transmission, which helps reduce the delay in data transmission.

[0084] In one possible implementation, the data forwarding method used in this M-hop transmission can support an amplify and forward (AF) method at layer 0 (L0), or a decode and forward (DF) method at layer 1 (L1) or the lower MAC layer. This L0 or L1 relay forwarding method based on centralized scheduling eliminates the need for relay devices to process the control and data planes of the protocol stack, requiring only the underlying protocol stack, significantly reducing processing time at each relay device. Specifically, for L0 forwarding, on the data plane, received data undergoes radio frequency amplification and forwarding. From reception to transmission, no physical layer decoding / encoding, such as PHY, is required, nor is reception and transmission processing at protocol layers such as MAC, RLC, and PDCP. On the control plane, the control information required for scheduling is configured by the centralized scheduling device and can be delivered hop by hop to the relay device via a multi-hop physical layer control channel, eliminating the need for the relay device to independently process each protocol layer of the protocol stack from reception to transmission. For L1 forwarding or low MAC forwarding, received data is decoded / encoded on the data plane. This decoding can jointly decode retransmitted data. Specifically, it requires processing at the PHY or PHY and low MAC layers, such as HARQ retransmission merging, but does not require high-level MAC layer processing, such as RLC data multiplexing and demultiplexing. It also does not require processing by higher-level protocols such as RLC and PDCP. On the control plane, the primary information required for scheduling comes from the configuration of the centralized scheduling device. This information can be delivered hop-by-hop to the relay device via a multi-hop physical layer control channel, without requiring the relay device to obtain the information from reception to transmission through the upper layers of the protocol stack, such as the MAC layer, and the RLC, PDCP, and RRC layers. AF or DF forwarding can be combined with a mutually supportive relationship between the centralized scheduling device or source device and the multi-hop relay devices. For example, the centralized scheduling device or source device can also serve as a relay device, and the relay device can also serve as a centralized scheduling or source device. The relay device configures the required forwarding resources from the available resources for forwarding based on the priority or quality of service (QoS) of the service to be forwarded, combined with the received transmission parameter configuration, while other available resources can be configured for the service of the relay itself. For example, assuming that the first device is a relay device in M-hop transmission, but the first device itself may also communicate with other devices as a source device, the first device can determine the transmission resources required to forward the first data as a relay device in M-hop transmission based on the transmission parameter configuration it obtains, and the remaining resources can be used by the first device as a transmission resource for sending data as a source device. Therefore, this low-latency multi-hop forwarding solution can be performed on various devices, does not depend on specific device types, and can be widely used.

[0085] In one possible implementation, the first device may be a terminal device or a network device, and the second device may also be a terminal device or a network device. Therefore, the embodiments of the present application can support forwarding transmission between network devices, forwarding transmission between terminal devices, and forwarding transmission between terminal devices and network devices, thereby improving the coverage of data transmission.

[0086] The following embodiments of the present application will introduce the method described in this application from multiple aspects, including the structure of the first control information, the configuration indicated by the first information, the second information, and the third information, and the implementation method of the first device obtaining the first control information:

[0087] 1. Structure of the first control information:

[0088] In one possible implementation, the structure of the first control information is a multi-level control information structure. In the multi-level control information, the first-level control information is transmitted in a control channel, while the second or higher-level control information is transmitted in one or more separate channels. The channel carrying the second or higher-level control information may be an additional control channel or a data channel. The multi-level control information configures relatively fixed control information in the first-level control channel that requires blind detection, avoids detecting control channels that carry variable loads, and can reduce the complexity of blind decoding. At the same time, in the design of the multi-level control information, the size of the multi-level control information is supported to be variable. By configuring the multi-hop control information with a variable number of hops and a variable load on the channel corresponding to the second or higher-level control information, the transmission of the second or higher-level control information is indicated by the first-level control information, thereby achieving effective transmission of data in multi-hop transmission scenarios with different hop numbers.

[0089] Optionally, the first control information adopts a two-level control information structure, wherein the first-level control information includes the first information, and the second-level control information includes the second information and the third information.

[0090] Further optionally, the first-level control information is transmitted on the first control channel, and the second-level control information is transmitted on the second control channel. Correspondingly, the first information is carried in the first control channel, and the second information and the third information are carried on the second control channel. The resource method for configuring the control channel carrying the first-level control information and the second-level control information can be to determine the bandwidth of the resources of the control channel carrying the first-level control information within the first bandwidth, and the second-level control channel is transmitted on the first bandwidth. When the second device obtains the first information through the first bandwidth, it can also obtain the second information. Alternatively, the time domain resources of the control channel carrying the first information are the same as the time domain resources of the control channel carrying the second information, or the time domain resources of the control channel carrying the first information are before the time domain resources of the control channel carrying the second information.

[0091] Exemplarily, as shown in FIG4 , the control channels carrying the first-level control information and the second-level control information are transmitted in the same symbol, the time domain resources carrying the first-level control information are the same as the time domain resources of the control channels carrying the second-level control information, and the frequency domain resources carrying the first-level control information are continuous with the frequency domain resources of the control channels carrying the second-level control information. The first information also indicates the configuration for transmitting the second information, that is, the configuration for transmitting the second-level control information. The configuration for transmitting the second information includes one or more of the following: aggregation level (AL), code rate, modulation and coding scheme (MCS), time domain resources, and frequency domain resources. The configuration of the second information is also the configuration of the control channel or data channel corresponding to its transmission, such as the configuration of its time domain resources and frequency domain resources. The first-level control information and the second-level control information can use the same modulation method. AL refers to the number of control channel elements (CCEs) constituting the control channel. That is, if a control channel is composed of a CCEs, the aggregation level of the control channel is a. The MCS indicates the data transmission rate and the corresponding modulation method through an index. The modulation mode can also be pre-configured, in which case the MCS indication for control is equivalent to the controlled bit rate, ie, the corresponding aggregation level.

[0092] Because the first information indicates the configuration for transmitting the first data between the first and second devices, i.e., the configuration required for the first hop of an M-hop transmission, it is the configuration currently applied by the first and second devices during the data transmission. The configuration for M-1 hop transmission indicated by the second information, and the configuration required for the target device to receive the first data indicated by the third information, are both applied after the data transmission between the first and second devices, and are temporarily less susceptible to interference from neighboring devices around the current hop. Therefore, the configuration indicated by the first information is applied more quickly and is more susceptible to interference from neighboring devices around the current hop. Furthermore, the configuration indicated by the first information includes the configuration required for a one-hop transmission (transmission between the first and second devices), and the size of the first information is relatively fixed. However, the configuration indicated by the second information includes the configuration for M-1 hops, and the size of the second information varies with the number of hops. Designing the first information within the first control information, carried on the first control channel, facilitates the second device to read the first information and execute the corresponding configuration more promptly. It also enables neighboring devices to read the information promptly, avoiding occupying their corresponding resources. Neighboring devices can also configure current and future resources based on the first information, thereby avoiding mutual interference. Designing the second information and the third information in the second control information is also beneficial to avoid causing the first control channel to carry too much load, thereby reducing its reliability or, in order to ensure reliability, allocating more resources to the first control channel, reducing resource utilization, and also causing the second device to have increased complexity due to detecting a larger bandwidth.

[0093] Optionally, the first control information adopts a three-level control information structure, wherein the first-level control information includes the first information, the second-level control information includes the second information, and the third-level control information includes the third information.

[0094] Further optionally, the first-level control information is transmitted on the first control channel, the second-level control information is transmitted on the second control channel, and the third-level control information is transmitted on the first data channel. Correspondingly, the first information is carried on the first control channel, the second information is carried on the second control channel, and the third information is carried on the first data channel. The method for configuring the resources for carrying the first information and the second information can be the same as the description of the structure of the first control information using the secondary control information, and the embodiments of the present application will not be repeated here. Further optionally, the M-hop transmission adopts the AF forwarding method, and the control channel and the data channel are separated from the resource mapping, that is, the control channel resources carrying the first-level control information are time-division multiplexed with the resources of the data channel carrying the third-level control information, and the resources of the control channel carrying the second-level control information are time-division multiplexed with the resources of the data channel carrying the third-level control information. For example, as shown in Figure 5, the time domain resources of the control channel carrying the first-level control information are the same as the time domain resources of the control channel carrying the second-level control information. On the same symbol, the time domain resources of the control channel carrying the first-level control information and the time domain resources of the data channel carrying the third-level control information are on different symbols, and the two do not overlap. Furthermore, the second information also indicates the configuration of the data channel used to transmit the third information and carry it, specifically including one or more of the following: code rate, MCS, time domain resources, and frequency domain resources.

[0095] Since the first information indicates the configuration for transmitting the first data between the first device and the second device, that is, the configuration required for the first hop transmission in the M-hop transmission, it is the configuration applied when the first device and the second device perform data transmission. The configuration of the M-1 hop transmission indicated by the second information and the configuration required for the target device to receive the first data indicated by the third information are both configurations applied after the first device and the second device perform data transmission, and are temporarily not susceptible to interference from adjacent devices around the current hop. Therefore, the configuration indicated by the first information is the configuration that will be applied the fastest in terms of time, and is more susceptible to interference from adjacent devices around the current hop. Designing the first information in the first control information and the corresponding first information being carried on the first control channel is conducive to the second device being able to read the first information more promptly and execute the corresponding configuration. Similarly, since the third information indicates the configuration required by the target device to receive the first data, in an M-hop transmission process, it is the configuration required by the last target device after receiving the first data. The configuration indicated by the second information is applied sooner than the configuration indicated by the third information. Therefore, transmitting the second information on the second control channel allows the second device to read the second information and execute the corresponding configuration more promptly. It also enables nearby devices to read the information promptly, avoiding occupying their corresponding resources. Neighboring devices can also configure current and future resources based on the first information, thus avoiding mutual interference. Furthermore, in AF forwarding, control information may occupy a small portion of the last symbol in the transmission resource, resulting in waste of that symbol's resources. Therefore, carrying the third information on the first data channel helps reduce resource loss. Since the third information indicates the configuration required by the target device to receive the first data, if the second device is a relay device in AF forwarding, the second device will not apply that configuration. The third information is carried in the data channel, and the relay device can only perform AF forwarding on the third information, avoiding additional resource occupation of the control channel and improving resource utilization. The relay does not need to read the forwarded data, reducing the forwarding delay.

[0096] The first control information adopts a three-level control information structure. In addition to being transmitted on the first data channel, the third-level control information can also be transmitted on a third control channel. The second information also indicates the configuration of the control channel used to transmit and carry the third information, specifically including one or more of the following: code rate, MCS, time domain resources, and frequency domain resources. Because the third information indicates the configuration required for the target device to receive the first data, the second device, acting as a relay, does not need to read the third information. Designing the third information into the third control channel helps avoid overloading the first control channel, thereby reducing its reliability.

[0097] In one possible implementation, the first device is a network device and the second device is a terminal device, and the first control information is downlink control information (DCI). Optionally, if the first control information is multi-level control information, and is two-level control information, the first-level control information included in the first control information is first-level DCI, and the second-level control information is second-level DCI. If the first control information is three-level control information, the third-level control information in the first control information is third-level DCI.

[0098] In one possible implementation, the first device is a terminal device, and the second device is a terminal device, and the first control information is sidelink control information (SCI) or enhanced sidelink control information (SSCI). Optionally, if the first control information is multi-level control information, and is two-level control information, the first-level control information included in the first control information is a first-level SCI or a first-level SSCI, and the second-level control information is a second-level SCI or a second-level SSCI. If the first control information is three-level control information, the third-level control information in the first control information is a third-level SCI or a third-level SSCI.

[0099] In conjunction with the above-described case where the structure of the first control information is two-level control information or three-level control information, in one possible implementation, the first information or the second information further indicates the channel for transmitting the third information. It is understandable that if the first information or the second information indicates that the channel for transmitting the third information is the second control channel, then the first control information can be determined to be two-level control information, including first-level control information and second-level control information, wherein the first-level control information includes the first information, and the second-level control information includes the second information and the third information. Correspondingly, if the first information or the second information indicates that the channel for transmitting the third information is the first data channel, then the first control information can be determined to be three-level control information, including first-level control information, second-level control information, and third-level control information, wherein the first-level control information includes the first information, the second-level control information includes the second information, and the third-level control information includes the third information. Based on this implementation, it is beneficial to be able to control available resources to adapt to control information of different payload sizes, reducing resource waste caused by excessive control resource occupation. For example, the structure of the first control information can be configured according to different conditions. If the payload of the first control information is greater than a preset threshold, the first control information is configured as level-three control information, and the first information or the second information indicates that the channel for transmitting the third information is the first data channel. If the first control information is less than or equal to the preset threshold, the first control information is configured as level-two control information, and the first information or the second information indicates that the channel for transmitting the third information is the second control channel. Whether the size of the first control information is greater than the preset threshold is merely an example provided in the embodiments of the present application. The condition can also be other content, such as whether K is greater than a preset threshold, where K is the number of hops for transmitting the first data between the source device and the target device. This embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

[0100] Optionally, the first information or the second information can indicate the channel for transmitting the third information by indicating whether to enable (on) or disable (off) the third-level control information. Specifically, if the first information or the second information indicates that the third-level control information is enabled, it is determined that the first control information is three-level control information, including first-level control information, second-level control information and third-level control information, wherein the first-level control information includes the first information, the second-level control information includes the second information, and the third-level control information includes the third information, and the corresponding third information is carried on the first data channel or the third control channel. If the first information or the second information indicates that the third-level control information is disabled, the first control information is two-level control information, including first-level control information and second-level control information, wherein the first-level control information includes the first information, the second-level control information includes the second information and the third information, and the corresponding third information is carried on the second control channel. Based on this implementation method, it is beneficial for the second device to be able to determine the structure of the first control information in a timely manner.

[0101] Optionally, the structure of the first control information may be pre-configured. In this case, the first information or the second information does not need to indicate a channel for transmitting the third information. Based on this implementation, the size of the first control information, especially the size of the dynamic indication control information, can be reduced.

[0102] It should also be noted that the structure of the first control information can also be a single-level control information structure, which is not described in detail in the embodiment of the present application.

[0103] II. Configurations Indicated by the First, Second, and Third Information

[0104] 1. The first information indicates one or more of the following configurations: a packet delay budget (PDB) for transmission between the first device and the second device, a time domain resource configuration for transmission between the first device and the second device, and a frequency domain resource configuration for transmission between the first device and the second device. Wherein:

[0105] The PDB transmitted between the first device and the second device refers to the maximum delay interval required for the transmission of the first data between the first device and the second device. That is, the delay caused when the first device forwards the first data to the second device should not exceed the PDB transmitted between the first device and the second device. The PDB transmitted between the first device and the second device can be configured based on the end-to-end PDB. The PDB transmitted between the first device and the second device is indicated by the first information, which is conducive to the adjacent devices around the current hop to read the parameter and determine whether to occupy the corresponding resources in combination with the available resources, end-to-end service quality, and reference signal receiving power (RSRP) threshold. When the link between the first device and the second device is an SSL link or an SL link, the first information will include the parameter. If the link between the first device and the second device is a Uu link, the first information may not include the parameter.

[0106] The time domain resource configuration for transmission between the first device and the second device refers to the time domain resource configuration required for the transmission of the first data between the first device and the second device, and is indicated in units of time slots or subslots. Optionally, the time domain resource configuration also includes an indication of whether to perform one grant for repeated transmission of multiple data and an indication of the number of repetitions. Among them, one grant corresponds to one scheduling signaling. Using one scheduling signaling to schedule multiple transmissions of the same data can reduce signaling overhead and improve data transmission reliability compared to each transmission corresponding to one scheduling signaling. Among them, if subslot is used as a unit to indicate the time domain resources and whether to perform one grant for repeated transmission of multiple data, it is beneficial to reduce delay and improve reliability. In AF forwarding, the control channel and the time domain channel are time-division multiplexed. Since the control information does not occupy the resource symbols where it is located, the remaining resource symbols cannot be shared with the data channel. The use of one grant for repeated transmission of multiple data can avoid the configuration of multiple scheduling signaling grants, which is beneficial to reducing AF control overhead. Optionally, the time domain resource configuration includes a start time of the time domain and a time domain length, which is usually configured by the source device. Further optionally, the time domain length of each hop transmission in the multi-hop transmission configured by the source device is the same.

[0107] The frequency domain resource configuration for transmission between the first device and the second device refers to the frequency domain resource configuration required for transmission of the first data between the first device and the second device. Optionally, if the first device is a network device and the second device is a terminal device, the frequency domain resource configuration is the frequency domain resource configuration used by the Uu link to transmit the first data. Optionally, the frequency domain resource configuration includes a frequency domain starting position and a frequency domain length. Among them, the Uu link may have different carriers, and compared with the side link, the Uu link may have a different bandwidth such as a larger system bandwidth. Therefore, when performing AF forwarding, the frequency domain configuration of the Uu link also needs to consider the bandwidth that the side link can support. One possible frequency domain bandwidth configuration is that the Uu link is also configured as the bandwidth supported by the side link.

[0108] In a possible implementation, the first data in the M-hop transmission can be transmitted through two types of links, and the first information also includes the following configuration: the minimum time interval for forwarding the first data from the first link to the second link. Further optionally, the first link is a link between a network device and a terminal device, such as a Uu link, and the second link is a link between a terminal device and a terminal device, such as a sidelink (SL) or an enhanced sidelink (SSL) link. Optionally, the minimum time interval for forwarding the first data from the first link to the second link can be expressed as the minimum time interval for forwarding the first data from the Uu link to the SSL link (Time gap slot & symbol UutSSL). The minimum time interval for forwarding the first data from the first link to the second link can be understood as the earliest time when the second link starts transmission after the first data is transmitted through the first link to reach the sending device of the second link, and is indicated in units of slot and / or subslot. For example, assuming that in the M-hop transmission only the first device is a network device and the other devices are all terminal devices, that is, there is a Uu link between the first device and the second device, and the links in the M-1-hop transmission are all SL links or SSL links, then the minimum time interval for forwarding the first data from the first link to the second link can be understood as the interval from the time the second device receives the first data sent from the first device to the start time when the second device starts forwarding the first data.

[0109] In one possible implementation, the M-hop transmission includes a side link, and the first information also indicates the configuration of the first data on the side link. The side link referred to here includes an SL link and an SSL link. Optionally, the configuration of the first data on the side link includes one or more of the following configurations: end-to-end priority (E2E Priority), common carrier (CC) configuration on the side link, resource pool (Resource pool) configuration, side link frequency domain resource configuration, side link resource reservation (Resource reservation) period configuration, side link time domain transmission resource configuration. Based on this implementation, since resources are obtained in a competitive manner in the side link, the first information is carried in a control channel that can be read by other devices, which is conducive to other devices competing for resources other than the M-hop transmission to read the first information about the configuration of the first data on the side link, thereby avoiding the increase in the delay required for the M-hop transmission or data loss due to the adjacent devices occupying the corresponding resources.

[0110] E2E Priority refers to the priority of data from the sender to the receiver. Each priority corresponds to a PDB, which is used to limit the maximum time required for the data to travel from the sender to the receiver. Each priority also corresponds to the reliability of the service or the allowable packet error rate. It will be understood that the E2E Priority indicated in the first information can be used to determine the maximum time interval between the first data transmission from the source device to the destination device.

[0111] The CC configuration on the sidelink refers to the CC configuration required for transmitting the first data on the sidelink, as well as whether to coordinate and the corresponding CC configuration. For example, it is configured in a 1+3-bit format, where 1 bit indicates whether to coordinate transmission between different CCs, and 3 bits can be used to indicate the selection of a CC from a maximum of 8 CCs for data transmission on the current CC. Transmission of the same data by different CCs can be considered a form of frequency-division repeated transmission, which is used to obtain frequency diversity gain and improve reliability.

[0112] Resource pool configuration refers to the time-frequency domain resources available for transmitting the first data. The maximum frequency domain bandwidth can be a partial bandwidth (BWP). When more than one resource pool is configured, a control channel can be sent using the corresponding bandwidth of each resource pool. Data resource mapping is configured sequentially across each resource pool, for example, once for bandwidth 1 corresponding to resource pool 1 and once for bandwidth 2 corresponding to resource pool 2. This implementation ensures that bandwidth-limited devices can monitor control information sent via the AF forwarding method in their respective resource pools, while also enabling AF forwarding to utilize a sufficiently large bandwidth. The resource pool configuration includes two frequency domain resource bandwidth configurations for the control channel that can be accessed by other devices. For example, frequency domain resource configuration 1 and frequency domain resource configuration 2. The bandwidth range of frequency domain resource configuration 1 is limited to one subchannel, while the bandwidth range of frequency domain resource configuration 2 can be greater than one subchannel. For example, the bandwidth range of frequency domain resource configuration 2 can be between one and six subchannels. Frequency domain resource configuration 1 primarily considers the perceived bandwidth support capabilities of each device within the system and is used for the transmission of first-level control information, such as cell-specific configurations. Resources for second-level control information are configured using first-level control information, for example, by indicating parameters such as the aggregation level of second-level control information. The bandwidth of frequency domain resource configuration 1 is typically smaller than that of frequency domain resource configuration 2.

[0113] The sidelink frequency domain resource configuration refers to the frequency domain resource configuration required for transmitting the first data on the sidelink. Optionally, if AF forwarding is adopted in M-hop transmission, the sidelink frequency domain resource configuration is a sidelink amplification and forwarding frequency domain resource configuration. The sidelink frequency domain resource configuration of each hop is the same. This configuration is mainly used for the destination device to perform resource demapping based on the frequency domain resource configuration when receiving the first data. In addition, the modulation symbols of the data carried by the frequency domain resource are obtained. The relay device does not need to read the configuration when forwarding, but the frequency domain resource configuration can be transmitted on a control channel that can be obtained by other devices through the first information carrier. This is conducive to other devices competing for resources other than M-hop transmission to read the configuration and avoid occupying the corresponding resources. Optionally, if DF forwarding is adopted in M-hop transmission, the sidelink frequency domain resource configuration is a sidelink decoding and forwarding frequency domain resource configuration. Optionally, the configuration can be configured by the source device, and the configuration is the same for each hop, wherein the frequency domain resources corresponding to the time domain reserved resources are also the same.

[0114] The sidelink time domain transmission resource configuration refers to the time domain resource configuration required for transmitting the first data on the sidelink. The time domain resource configuration includes the time domain transmission resource configuration and the time domain reserved resource configuration. The time domain transmission resource refers to the time domain resource currently used to transmit the first data, and the time domain reserved resource refers to the time domain resource used to retransmit the first data or the resource reserved for transmitting other data.

[0115] The sidelink reserved resource period configuration refers to the period between various resources reserved in advance for retransmission or transmission of other data in M-hop transmission.

[0116] 2. The second information indicates one or more of the following configurations: time domain resource configuration of M-1 hop transmission, PDB of M-1 hop transmission, minimum interval of M-1 hop sidelink transmission reception and forwarding time (inter SSL min GAP), quasi-colocation (QCL) indication, path information, and transmit beam configuration.

[0117] The time domain resource configuration for M-1 hop transmission refers to the time domain resource configuration required for transmission of each hop in the M-1 hop, excluding the first and second devices. This specifically includes time domain transmission resource configuration and time domain reserved resource configuration. Optionally, the time domain resource configuration can be simplified to indicate the start time of each hop in the M-1 hop, with the time domain length being the same as the time domain length specified in the time domain resource configuration required for transmission between the first and second devices in the first information. Furthermore, optionally, the start time can be the first symbol of the received control information.

[0118] The PDB for an M-1-hop transmission refers to the maximum latency for each of the M-1 hops, excluding the latency between the first and second devices. Optionally, the PDB for the M-1-hop transmission and the PDB for transmission between the first and second devices can be configured based on a pre-configured E2E PDB. For example, the PDB for each hop can be evenly distributed based on the E2E PDB.

[0119] The minimum interval between receiving and forwarding data for an M-1-hop sidelink transmission is the minimum time interval between the first data received and the data forwarded by each device in the M-1-hop transmission. The minimum interval between receiving and forwarding data for an M-1-hop sidelink transmission is dependent on the configured subcarrier spacing, slot, and subslot time granularity.

[0120] The QCL indicator is a parameter used to indicate the quasi-co-location relationship between the Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) antenna port and the reference signal. The reference signal can be a Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS) or a Synchronization Signal and PBCH block (SSB). The quasi-co-location relationship is an assumption about the channel conditions. QCL can be used to determine the receive beam information corresponding to the transmit beam used for data transmission, thereby using the corresponding receive beam to receive data.

[0121] Path information refers to the device identification (ID) information corresponding to each node in an M-hop transmission. Optionally, if a node corresponds to a group of devices, including one or more devices, the ID information is the ID information corresponding to the group of devices. A group of devices can also be located in a specific geographic area, in which case the group of devices in that area can be associated with a zone ID.

[0122] The transmit beam configuration refers to the transmit beam of each relay device. Optionally, the transmit beam can be configured by selecting from a pre-configured high-layer signaling beam set.

[0123] In one possible implementation, the second information may further indicate one or more of the following configurations: a DMRS pattern, a DMRS port number, and an MCS corresponding to the first data. Optionally, if the first control information is level-three control information and the third information is carried on a data channel, the second information may further indicate the QCL corresponding to the first data and the third information.

[0124] DMRS pattern refers to the type of DMRS in M-hop transmission. Specifically, it includes different time domain resource types, such as the DMRS pattern of slot and subslot, including the impact of the automatic gain control (AGC) symbol on the DMRS pattern. When considering that DMRS is affected by AGC, the DMRS symbol in front of the slot or subslot of SL or SSL will be affected. One case is when the first symbol of the slot or subslot is used for AGC, the DMRS symbol located at the second symbol is repeated in the first symbol. Another case is that when the AGC impact is controllable, the reserved symbol can be turned off. At this time, there is no need for the first symbol of the slot or subslot to repeat the transmission of the DMRS located in the second symbol.

[0125] DMRS port number refers to the number of antenna ports of each device in M-hop transmission, for example, the number is 1 or 2.

[0126] The QCL corresponding to the first data and the third information refers to the receiving QCL relationship between the first data and the third information, which can be understood as the assumed QCL relationship between the DMRS of the channel carried by the first data and the third information and the CSI-RS or SSB of each hop in the M-hop transmission.

[0127] 3. The third information indicates one or more of the following configurations: New Data Indicator (NDI), redundancy version (RV), hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process, HARQ feedback enable, HARQ feedback time, and HARQ feedback resource.

[0128] The HARQ process includes a HARQ process ID. The destination device can perform retransmission merging based on data of the same process, or distinguish data corresponding to different processes.

[0129] HARQ feedback enablement, including whether HARQ feedback is supported or enabled, and if HARQ feedback is supported, the device that needs to obtain feedback information or the device receiving the feedback information, such as the corresponding sending device, or the source device, or the centralized scheduling device, or both the sending device and the source device can receive the feedback information, or both the sending device and the centralized scheduling device can receive the feedback information. The sending device here refers to the device that sends the first data to the receiving device, and the receiving device refers to the device that receives the first data forwarded from the sending device in the M-hop transmission. For example, in the transmission between the first device and the second device, the first device sends the first data to the second device, the first device is the sending device, and the second device is the receiving device. The sending device can be a source device or a relay device, and the receiving device can be a relay device or a destination device.

[0130] The HARQ feedback time refers to the time for sending feedback information. The reference time corresponding to the HARQ feedback time may be the last symbol of the received data channel.

[0131] HARQ feedback resources refer to the transmission resources of the channel that carries HARQ feedback information.

[0132] RV refers to the redundant version corresponding to the first data. Optionally, in AF forwarding, the relay device does not need to decode the first data and therefore does not need to obtain the RV, but the destination device obtains the RV so that data of the same process can be retransmitted and merged.

[0133] NDI is used to indicate whether new data is sent or old data is resent. Optionally, in AF forwarding, the relay device does not need to decode the first data, and therefore does not need to obtain NDI.

[0134] It should also be added that, in addition to the configurations indicated by the first information, second information and third information described above, the first information, second information and third information may also indicate other configurations, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0135] 3. Implementation method of the first device obtaining the first control information:

[0136] The implementation manner in which the first device obtains the first control information is mainly divided into the following multiple implementation manners according to whether the first device is a relay device or a source device.

[0137] 1. The first device is a relay device:

[0138] In a possible implementation manner, the first device obtains the first control information, and the specific implementation manner is: the first device receives the second control information sent by the third device; the first device determines the first control information based on the second control information.

[0139] In this implementation, there is M+1 hop transmission between the third device and the target device, where the M+1 hop transmission includes M hop transmission and transmission between the third device and the first device. The third device can be a source device or a relay device. Correspondingly, the second control information includes information indicating the configuration required for transmission between the third device and the first device, configuration information indicating M hop transmission, and third information. Therefore, the first device can receive the first data based on the configuration information transmitted between the third device and the first device. A specific implementation method for the first device to determine the first control information based on the second control information is to generate the first information based on the configuration required for transmission between the first device and the second device in the configuration information indicating M hop transmission, generate the second information based on the configuration required for M-1 hop transmission in the configuration information indicating M hop transmission, and generate the third information based on the configuration required by the indicated third information. The third information in the second control information is the same as the third information in the first control information, and the first device generates the first control information based on the first information, the second information, and the third information. Based on this implementation method, each relay device can receive the first data according to the control information obtained in the current hop, and generate the control information required for the remaining hop transmission according to the control information, thereby realizing the centralized indication of the configuration required for each hop transmission through control information in multi-hop transmission.

[0140] Optionally, the frequency domain resources carrying the first control information are the same as the frequency domain resources carrying the second control information. Based on the above description, it can be seen that in the multi-hop transmission between the source device and the target device, each hop transmission needs to generate a control information to indicate the transmission configuration of the current hop and the configuration of the remaining hops, wherein the control information of each hop can be transmitted on the same frequency domain resources. Further optionally, the first control information and the second control information are both two-level control information structures, the frequency domain resources carrying the first-level control information in the first control information are the same as the frequency domain resources carrying the first-level control information in the second control information, and the frequency domain resources carrying the second-level control information in the first control information are the same as the frequency domain resources carrying the second-level control information in the second control information; or, when the first control information and the second control information are both three-level control information structures, similarly, the frequency domain resources carrying the third-level control information in the first control information are the same as the frequency domain resources carrying the third-level control information in the second control information. For example, as shown in Figure 6, the source device transmits control information 1 to the relay device, and the relay device sends control information 2 to the target device. Both control information 1 and control information 2 have a three-level structure. It can be seen from the relay device receiving control information 1 and the relay device sending control information 2 that control information 1 and control information 2 are on the same frequency domain resources, and the first-level control information in control information 1 and control information 2 are both on the same frequency domain resources, the second-level control information in control information 1 and control information 2 are both on the same frequency domain resources, and the third-level control information in control information 1 and control information 2 are both on the same frequency domain resources.

[0141] 2. The first device is the source device:

[0142] In one possible implementation, the first device has the ability to schedule resources, and the first device obtains the first control information. The specific implementation is as follows: the first device can determine the first control information based on various factors such as the data type corresponding to the first data, the service type, the quality of service requirements, and the multi-hop channel quality information. The channel quality information can be parameters such as RSRP and Channel Quality Indicator (CQI), which are not limited in the embodiments of the present application. Based on this implementation, the first device can centrally schedule the configuration required for each hop in the M-hop transmission without the need for scheduling by other devices, thereby reducing the delay of data transmission.

[0143] In another possible implementation, the first device lacks the ability to schedule resources. Instead, the first device obtains the first control information. Specifically, the first device receives second control information from a third device; the first device determines the first control information based on the second control information. In this implementation, the third device is a scheduling device capable of scheduling resources for multi-hop transmission. Based on this implementation, the scheduling device configures the required configuration for each hop in the M-hop transmission, facilitating centralized scheduling of the M-hop transmission.

[0144] In one possible implementation, the second control information includes fourth information and fifth information, wherein the fourth information indicates one or more of the following configurations: the minimum time interval for forwarding the first data from the first link to the second link, the transmission configuration for transmitting the second-level control information, the structure indication of the first control information, the carrier configuration on the sidelink, the resource pool configuration, and the sidelink frequency domain resource configuration; and the fifth information indicates one or more of the following configurations: the time domain resource configuration for M-hop transmission, the PDB for M-hop transmission, the path information, the transmit beam configuration for M-hop transmission, the minimum sidelink start time for M-hop transmission, and the QCL. Further optionally, the first link is a link between a network device and a terminal device, such as a Uu link, and the second link is a link between terminal devices, such as an SL or SSL link. The structure indication of the first control information indicates whether the control structure of the first control information generated by the first device is two-level control information or three-level control information. Optionally, if the structure of the first control information is indicated as third-level control information, the structure indication of the first control information also indicates whether the control channel carrying the third information is a channel type, specifically a data channel or a control channel. The transmission configuration of the fifth information includes AL, code rate, MCS, time domain resources, and frequency domain resources.

[0145] In one possible implementation, the second control information has a two-level control information structure, wherein the second control information includes first-level control information and second-level control information, the first-level control information includes fourth information, and the second-level control information includes fifth information. Optionally, the third device is a network device, and the second control information is DCI. Since there is no data transmission in the Uu link, the second control information has a two-level control information structure, and the time domain resources and frequency domain bandwidth carrying the second control information are unconstrained, and the second-level control information can be used to cope with multi-hop variable control quantities. Since the third device is a scheduling device and does not need to transmit data, it is not necessary to enable other adjacent devices to obtain the content of the second control information. A fixed control indication message is configured in the first-level control information, and variable control parameters are stored in the second-level control information. The relatively fixed control information is configured in the first-level control information that requires blind detection, thereby avoiding detecting control channels carrying variable loads and reducing the complexity of blind decoding.

[0146] Among them, some of the configurations indicated in the fourth information and the fifth information are the same as the configurations indicated in the first information or the second information above, and some of the configurations are a collection of the configurations indicated in the first information and the second information. The embodiments of the present application will not be repeated here. Specifically, the minimum time interval for forwarding the first data from the first link to the second link, the carrier configuration on the side link, the resource pool configuration, and the side link frequency domain resource configuration are the same as those described in the first information above. The path information and QCL are the same as those described in the second information above. The time domain resource configuration of the M-hop transmission includes the time domain resource configuration transmitted between the first device and the second device of the first information and the time domain resource configuration of the M-1 hop transmission in the second information. The PDB of the M-hop transmission includes the PDB transmitted between the first device and the second device of the first information and the PDB of the M-1 hop transmission in the second information. The transmit beam configuration of the M-hop transmission is the transmit beam configuration transmitted between the first device and the second device of the first information and the transmit beam configuration of the M-1 hop transmission in the second information.

[0147] When the second control information has a two-level control information structure, the first-level control information includes the fourth information, and the second-level control information includes the fifth information. Accordingly, the fourth and fifth information are carried on different control channels. The time domain resources of the control channel carrying the first-level control information and the time domain resources of the control channel carrying the second-level control information are mapped to the available bandwidth in a frequency domain-first, then time domain manner. Alternatively, the resources of the control channel carrying the second-level control information are indicated by the first-level control information, and the transmission configuration of the second-level control information indicated in the fourth information, i.e., the transmission configuration of the fifth information, specifically includes the AL, code rate, MCS, time domain resources, and frequency domain resources. Optionally, the AL, code rate, and MCS of the fourth and fifth information are the same. Based on this implementation, multi-level control information can reduce the complexity of blind decoding. Furthermore, the design of the multi-level control information supports variable size of the multi-level control information, thereby facilitating different sizes of corresponding control information in multi-hop transmission scenarios with different hop counts.

[0148] In one possible implementation, the fourth information further indicates one or more of the following parameters: DMRS pattern, number of DMRS ports, NDI, RV, HARQ process, HARQ feedback enable, HARQ feedback time, and HARQ feedback resources. The DMRS pattern and number of DMRS ports indicated in the fourth information are the same as those in the second information above, and are not described in detail in this embodiment of the present application. The NDI, RV, HARQ process, HARQ feedback enable, HARQ feedback time, and HARQ feedback resources are the same as those indicated in the third information above, and are not described in detail in this embodiment of the present application.

[0149] In one possible implementation, the first device determines the first control information based on the second control information. The specific implementation method is: the first device determines the sixth information, and the sixth information includes one or more of the following: end-to-end priority, resource reservation period, delay budget between the first device and the second device, and delay budget for M-1 hop transmission; the first device determines the first control information based on the sixth information and the second control information. In this implementation, the first device can determine the sixth information based on factors such as the data type or service type of the first data, quality of service requirements, etc. Based on this implementation, since the scheduling device is unaware of factors such as the service type and data type of the first data, it is impossible to configure appropriate parameters (such as transmission delay, etc.). Determining the sixth information through the first device is conducive to configuring more reasonable parameters, thereby improving the user experience.

[0150] Based on the above introduction, the following will mainly introduce a special scenario to which the embodiment of the present application can be applicable, that is, in multi-hop transmission, the number of relay devices corresponding to the node forwarding the first data can be multiple, that is, the source device or relay device can forward the first data to multiple relay devices corresponding to the next node through multicast, groupcast or broadcast.

[0151] For example, as shown in FIG7 , FIG7 is a schematic diagram of a three-hop transmission, wherein the three-hop transmission includes a source device, a first set, a second set, and a destination device, wherein the first set and the second set include multiple relay devices, for example, the first set includes relay device 1, relay device 2, and relay device 3, and the second set includes relay device 4, relay device 5, and relay device 6. The first set and the second set are used to assist the source device in forwarding the first data to the destination device. Specifically, the source device sends the first data to the multiple relay devices in the first set. After receiving the first data, the multiple relay devices in the first set forward the first data to the multiple relay devices in the second set. After receiving the first data, the multiple relay devices in the second set forward the data to the destination device.

[0152] In combination with the scenario described above, in one possible implementation, the second device is a relay device, and the first device sends the first control information to the second device. The specific implementation is: the first device sends the first control information to the second set, the second set includes multiple devices, and the second device is one of the devices in the second set. Among them, the way in which the first device sends the control information to the second set can be a multicast, groupcast or broadcast method, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. Optionally, the relay devices included in the set corresponding to a node can be divided based on the geographical location. In addition to the geographical location method, other division methods can also be adopted, which are not limited in the embodiment of the present application. Based on this implementation method, it is beneficial to improve the coverage of data transmission, and at the same time, forwarding the first data to multiple relay devices can also enhance the reliability of data forwarding.

[0153] In one possible implementation, the first device is a relay device, and the first device is a device in a first set, which includes multiple devices. Optionally, the first control information is transmitted on a first time-frequency resource, and the first time-frequency resource is also used by other devices in the first set to send the first control information to devices in a second set. For example, as shown in FIG8 , FIG8 is a schematic diagram of data transmission from the first set to the second set. The first set includes relay devices 1, 2, and 3, and the second set includes relay devices 4, 5, and 6. Relay device 1 is the first device, and relay device 4 is the second device. Each device in the first set that correctly receives the data sends the first control information to the devices in the second set on the first time-frequency resource. Since both the first and second sets implement the configuration in the first control information, each device in the first set that correctly receives the data also sends the first data to each device in the second set on the same resource. Correspondingly, each device in the second set also receives the first data on the same resource. Specifically, when multiple relay devices in the first set forward the first data to multiple relay devices in the second set, they can use the same time-frequency resources, MCS, reserved resources, path information, DMRS configuration, and HARQ configuration. This implementation facilitates centralized management of the configuration of the relay devices in each set, avoiding data forwarding confusion caused by a large number of relay devices in a set.

[0154] In one possible implementation, the second information also indicates a zone identifier (Zone ID). The Zone ID is the identifier of a set of multiple relay devices corresponding to a node in M ​​hops, for example, the identifier of the first set and the identifier of the second set. Combined with the path information indicated in the second information in the above description, in this scenario, the path information includes the source device identifier, the target device identifier, and the Zone ID of the set corresponding to multiple relay nodes between the source device and the target device. The Zone ID enables the second device to determine the set corresponding to the next hop, so that the first data received through the first set can be forwarded to the corresponding next hop set. Optionally, the transmitting beam configuration included in the second information is specifically a set-based beam transmitting configuration, and the second information can also include a set-based beam receiving configuration. The transmitting beam configuration and the beam receiving configuration can be stored in the local storage of each device, and triggered to activate when the first control information is received.

[0155] In one possible implementation, the second information further indicates a HARQ acknowledgment (ACK) time and an acknowledgment resource, where the acknowledgment resource is a transmission resource used for transmitting HARQ acknowledgment information by the second set. The method further includes: if the first device does not receive ACK information on a preconfigured resource, i.e., the acknowledgment resource, after sending the first data to the second set by the acknowledgment time, and the number of retransmissions does not exceed a preset number, then the first device retransmits the first data to the plurality of second devices. Optionally, the preset number is a maximum number of retransmissions, which can be configured via higher-layer signaling. Based on this implementation, the reliability of successful data transmission is improved.

[0156] In one possible implementation, the corresponding set of relay nodes in M ​​hops includes multiple subsets, each subset includes one or more relay devices, and each subset includes at least one relay device for forwarding data. The path for the source device to forward data to the destination device can generate multiple paths based on the subsets, and the forwarding resources corresponding to each path are orthogonal. For example, as shown in FIG9 , the first set and the second set each include two subsets, the first set includes subset 1 and subset 2, and the second set includes subset 3 and subset 4. Correspondingly, the path for the source device to transmit the first data to the destination device via the first set and the second set is also divided into two paths, path 1 and path 2. Path 1 involves the source device transmitting the first data to subset 1, then subset 1 transmits the first data to subset 3, and finally subset 3 transmits the data to the destination device. Path 2 involves the source device transmitting the first data to subset 2, then subset 2 transmits the first data to subset 4, and finally subset 4 transmits the data to the destination device. The forwarding resources used by each path are orthogonal to each other, which helps to avoid interference and resource competition. At the same time, the multipath transmission method helps to improve the reliability of data transmission.

[0157] 302. The first device sends first control information to the second device. Correspondingly, the second device receives the first control information sent by the first device.

[0158] In the embodiment of the present application, after the second device receives the first control information sent from the first device, the second device receives the first data sent from the first device based on the first information in the first control information.

[0159] After the second device receives the first data, the second device may also generate third control information based on the first control information, and send the third control information to the fourth device. The third control information includes the configuration for transmitting the first data between the second device and the fourth device, and the configuration required for the target device to receive the first data. The fourth device refers to the next-hop transmission device corresponding to the second device, and the configuration required for the target device to receive the first data here is the same as the third information in the above-mentioned first control information. If M is an integer greater than 2, the third control information also includes the configuration of M-2 hop transmission, wherein the M-2 hop transmission is the M-2 hop transmission in the M-1 hop transmission except for the transmission between the second device and the fourth device. Among them, the specific implementation method of transmitting the third control information and the first data between the second device and the fourth device is the same as the transmission method between the first device and the second device. Please refer to the above description, and the embodiments of the present application will not be repeated here.

[0160] Based on this implementation, the first control information includes the configuration instructions required for the M-hop transmission and the configuration required for reception by the destination device. Therefore, the configuration required for each hop of the M-hop transmission can be centrally scheduled through the first control information. Among them, the first control information includes the configuration for transmitting the first data between the first device and the second device. Therefore, when the first device is not the source device, the first device and the second device do not need to wait for the first device to configure the corresponding transmission resources, and data can be directly transmitted, thereby reducing the delay in data forwarding between the first device and the second device. In addition, in the M-1 hop transmission, for example, the resources required for the subsequent transmission of the second device can also be directly based on the M-1 hop transmission configuration of the first control information, without waiting for the sending device to separately configure the corresponding transmission resources, thereby reducing the delay in data transmission.

[0161] To implement the various functions of the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application, the first device and the second device may each include hardware structures and / or software modules, and implement the aforementioned functions in the form of hardware structures, software modules, or a combination of hardware structures and software modules. Whether a particular function is implemented in the form of hardware structures, software modules, or a combination of hardware structures and software modules depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0162] Please refer to Figure 10, which shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device may be a first device. In one possible implementation, the communication device may include a module or unit corresponding to the method / operation / step / action performed by the first device in the above method embodiment. The module or unit may be a hardware circuit, software, or a combination of hardware circuit and software.

[0163] The communication device shown in Figure 10 can be a first device, or a device that can be used in combination with the first device. The communication device can also be a chip system. The device can be used to perform some or all of the functions of the first device in the method embodiment described in Figure 3 above. The communication device shown in Figure 10 may include a communication unit 1001 and a processing unit 1002. The processing unit 1002 is used to perform data processing. The communication unit 1001 integrates a receiving unit and a sending unit. The communication unit 1001 can also be called a transceiver unit. Alternatively, the communication unit 1001 can also be split into a receiving unit and a sending unit. Wherein:

[0164] The processing unit 1002 is used to obtain first control information, where the first control information is used to indicate a configuration of M-hop data transmission between the first device and the target device, where the M-hop data transmission is used to transmit the first data, and the M-hop transmission includes transmission between the first device and the second device. The first control information includes first information, second information, and third information. The first information indicates a configuration for transmitting the first data between the first device and the second device, the second information indicates a configuration of M-1-hop transmission, where the M-1-hop transmission is an M-1-hop transmission in the M-hop transmission excluding the transmission between the first device and the second device, and the third information indicates a configuration required for the target device to receive the first data, where M is an integer greater than 1. The communication unit 1001 is used to send the first control information to the second device.

[0165] In a possible implementation, the first information further indicates a configuration for transmitting the second information, where the configuration for transmitting the second information includes one or more of the following: aggregation level, code rate, modulation and coding strategy, time domain resources, and frequency domain resources.

[0166] In a possible implementation manner, the first information is carried on a first control channel, and the second information and the third information are carried on a second control channel.

[0167] In a possible implementation, the first information is carried on a first control channel, the second information is carried on a second control channel, and the third information is carried on a first data channel.

[0168] In a possible implementation, the second information further indicates a configuration for transmitting the third information, where the configuration for transmitting the third information includes one or more of the following: code rate, modulation and coding strategy, time domain resources, and frequency domain resources.

[0169] In a possible implementation manner, the first information or the second information further indicates a channel for transmitting the third information.

[0170] In one possible implementation, the first information indicates one or more of the following configurations: the delay budget for transmission between the first device and the second device, the minimum time interval for forwarding the first data from the first link to the second link, the frequency domain resource configuration between the first device and the second device, and the time domain resource configuration between the first device and the second device. The first link is the link between the network device and the terminal device, and the second link is the link between the terminal device and the terminal device; the second information indicates one or more of the following configurations: the time domain resource configuration for M-1 hop transmission, the delay budget for M-1 hop transmission, the path information, the transmit beam configuration, the minimum interval between the reception and forwarding time of the M-1 hop side link transmission, and the quasi-co-location indication; the third information indicates one or more of the following configurations: a new data indicator, a redundant version, a HARQ process number, a HARQ feedback enable, a HARQ feedback time, and a HARQ feedback resource.

[0171] In a possible implementation manner, the first information further indicates configuration of the first data on the sidelink.

[0172] In one possible implementation, the configuration of the first data on the sidelink includes one or more of the following information: end-to-end priority, carrier configuration on the sidelink, resource pool configuration, sidelink frequency domain resource configuration, sidelink resource reservation period configuration, and sidelink time domain transmission resource configuration.

[0173] In a possible implementation, when the processing unit 1002 obtains the first control information, it is specifically configured to: receive second control information sent from a third device; and determine the first control information based on the second control information.

[0174] In one possible implementation, the third device is a network device, and the second control information includes fourth information and fifth information; the fourth information indicates one or more of the following configurations: the minimum time interval for forwarding the first data from the first link to the second link, the transmission configuration of the fifth information, the structure indication of the first control information, the configuration for transmitting the fifth information, the carrier configuration on the side link, the resource pool configuration, and the side link frequency domain resource configuration; the fifth information indicates one or more of the following configurations: the time domain resource configuration of M-hop transmission, the delay budget of M-hop transmission, the path information, the transmit beam configuration of M-hop transmission, the minimum side link start time of M-hop transmission, and the quasi-co-location indication.

[0175] In one possible implementation, the processing unit 1002 determines the first control information based on the second control information, and is specifically used to: determine the sixth information, the sixth information including one or more of the following: end-to-end priority, resource reservation period, delay budget between the first device and the second device, delay budget of M-1 hop transmission; determine the first control information based on the sixth information and the second control information.

[0176] In a possible implementation, the communication unit 1001 is configured to send the first control information to the second device, specifically to send the first control information to a second set, where the second set includes multiple devices, and the second device is one device in the second set.

[0177] In one possible implementation, the first device is a device in a first set, which includes multiple devices. The first control information is transmitted on a first time-frequency resource, and the first time-frequency resource is also used by other devices in the first set to send the first control information to the device in the second set.

[0178] In one possible implementation, the second information also indicates a confirmation time and a confirmation resource, and the confirmation resource is a transmission resource used to transmit confirmation information of the second set. The communication unit 1001 is also used to send confirmation information to the first set on the confirmation resource within the confirmation time if the first data from the first set is received.

[0179] In a possible implementation, the second information further includes a zone ID indication.

[0180] Please refer to Figure 11, which shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device may be a second device. In one possible implementation, the communication device may include a module or unit that performs the method / operation / step / action performed by the second device in the above method embodiment. The module or unit may be a hardware circuit, software, or a combination of hardware circuit and software.

[0181] The communication device shown in Figure 11 can be a second device, or a device that can be used in combination with the second device. The communication device can also be a chip system. The device can be used to perform some or all of the functions of the second device in the method embodiment described in Figure 3 above. The communication device shown in Figure 11 may include a communication unit 1101. The communication unit 1101 integrates a receiving unit and a sending unit. The communication unit 1101 can also be called a transceiver unit. Alternatively, the communication unit 1101 can also be split into a receiving unit and a sending unit. Among them:

[0182] Communication unit 1101 is used to receive first control information from a first device, where the first control information is used to indicate a configuration of M-hop data transmission between the first device and a target device, where the M-hop data transmission is used to transmit first data, and the M-hop transmission includes transmission between the first device and the second device. The first control information includes first information, second information, and third information, where the first information indicates a configuration for transmitting the first data between the first device and the second device, the second information indicates a configuration of M-1-hop transmission, where the M-1-hop transmission is an M-1-hop transmission in the M-hop transmission excluding the transmission between the first device and the second device, and the third information indicates a configuration required for the target device to receive the first data, where M is an integer greater than 1.

[0183] In a possible implementation, the first information further indicates a configuration for transmitting the second information, where the configuration for transmitting the second information includes one or more of the following: aggregation level, code rate, modulation and coding strategy, time domain resources, and frequency domain resources.

[0184] In a possible implementation manner, the first information is carried on a first control channel, and the second information and the third information are carried on a second control channel.

[0185] In a possible implementation, the first information is carried on a first control channel, the second information is carried on a second control channel, and the third information is carried on a first data channel.

[0186] In a possible implementation, the second information further indicates a configuration for transmitting the third information, where the configuration for transmitting the third information includes one or more of the following: code rate, modulation and coding strategy, time domain resources, and frequency domain resources.

[0187] In a possible implementation manner, the first information or the second information further indicates a channel for transmitting the third information.

[0188] In one possible implementation, the first information indicates one or more of the following configurations: the delay budget for transmission between the first device and the second device, the minimum time interval for forwarding the first data from the first link to the second link, the frequency domain resource configuration between the first device and the second device, and the time domain resource configuration between the first device and the second device. The first link is the link between the network device and the terminal device, and the second link is the link between the terminal device and the terminal device; the second information indicates one or more of the following configurations: the time domain resource configuration for M-1 hop transmission, the delay budget for M-1 hop transmission, the path information, the transmit beam configuration, the minimum interval between the reception and forwarding time of the M-1 hop side link transmission, and the quasi-co-location indication; the third information indicates one or more of the following configurations: the hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process number, the HARQ feedback enable, the HARQ feedback time, and the HARQ feedback resource.

[0189] In a possible implementation manner, the first information further indicates configuration of the first data on the sidelink.

[0190] In one possible implementation, the configuration of the first data on the sidelink includes one or more of the following information: end-to-end priority, carrier configuration on the sidelink, resource pool configuration, sidelink frequency domain resource configuration, and sidelink resource reservation period configuration.

[0191] In a possible implementation, when the communication unit 1101 is used to receive the first control information from the first device, it is specifically used to: receive the first control information from a first set, where the first set includes multiple devices, and the first device is one device in the first set.

[0192] In one possible implementation, the second device is a device in a second set, the second set includes multiple devices, the first control information is transmitted on the first time-frequency resource, and the first time-frequency resource is also used by other devices in the second set to receive the first control information sent by the first set.

[0193] In one possible implementation, the second information also indicates a confirmation time and a confirmation resource, and the confirmation resource is a transmission resource used to transmit confirmation information of the second set. The communication unit 1101 is also used to retransmit the first data to multiple second devices if no confirmation information is received after sending the first data to the second set until the confirmation time, and the number of retransmissions does not exceed the preset number.

[0194] In a possible implementation, the second information further includes a zone ID indication.

[0195] In one possible implementation, M is greater than 2.

[0196] Figure 12 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device. The communication device 1200 can be the first device in the above method embodiment, or can be a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the first device in implementing the above method. The communication device can be used to implement the method described in the above method embodiment. For details, please refer to the description of the above method embodiment.

[0197] Alternatively, the communication device 1200 may be the second device in the above method embodiment, or may be a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the second device to implement the above method. The communication device may be used to implement the method described in the above method embodiment, and details may be found in the description of the above method embodiment.

[0198] The communication device 1200 may include one or more processors 1201. The processor 1201 may be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor. For example, it may be a baseband processor or a central processing unit (CPU). The baseband processor may be used to process communication protocols and communication data, while the CPU may be used to control the communication device (e.g., a base station, a baseband chip, a terminal, a terminal chip, a DU or a CU), execute software programs, and process software program data.

[0199] Optionally, the communication device 1200 may include one or more memories 1202, on which instructions 1204 may be stored. The instructions may be executed on the processor 1201, causing the communication device 1200 to perform the method described in the above method embodiment. Optionally, the memory 1202 may also store data. The processor 1201 and memory 1202 may be provided separately or integrated together.

[0200] Optionally, the communication device 1200 may further include a transceiver 1205 and an antenna 1206. The transceiver 1205 may be referred to as a transceiver unit, a transceiver, or a transceiver circuit, etc., and is configured to implement transceiver functions. The transceiver 1205 may include a receiver and a transmitter. The receiver may be referred to as a receiver or a receiving circuit, etc., and is configured to implement a receiving function; the transmitter may be referred to as a transmitter or a transmitting circuit, etc., and is configured to implement a transmitting function.

[0201] The communication device 1200 is a first device: the processor 1201 is used to perform the data processing operation of the first device in the above method embodiment. The transceiver 1205 is used to perform the data transceiver operation of the first device in the above method embodiment.

[0202] Alternatively, the communication device 1200 is a second device: the processor 1201 is configured to execute the data processing operation of the second device in the above method embodiment. The transceiver 1205 is configured to execute the data transceiver operation of the second device in the above method embodiment.

[0203] In another possible design, processor 1201 may include a transceiver for implementing receiving and transmitting functions. For example, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit, an interface, or an interface circuit. The transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit for implementing the receiving and transmitting functions may be separate or integrated. The transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit may be used for reading and writing code / data, or the transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit may be used for transmitting or delivering signals.

[0204] In another possible design, processor 1201 may optionally store instructions 1203. Instructions 1203, when executed on processor 1201, may cause communication device 1200 to perform the method described in the above method embodiment. Instructions 1203 may be fixed in processor 1201. In this case, processor 1201 may be implemented by hardware.

[0205] In another possible design, the communication device 1200 may include a circuit that can implement the functions of sending, receiving, or communicating in the aforementioned method embodiments. The processor and transceiver described in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented on an integrated circuit (IC), an analog IC, a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), a mixed signal IC, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a printed circuit board (PCB), an electronic device, etc.

[0206] The communication device described in the above embodiment may be a first device or a second device, but the scope of the communication device described in the embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto, and the structure of the communication device may not be limited to Figure 12. The communication device may be an independent device or may be part of a larger device. For example, the communication device may be:

[0207] (1) An independent integrated circuit (IC), or chip, or chip system or subsystem;

[0208] (2) A set of one or more ICs, optionally including a storage component for storing data and instructions;

[0209] (3) ASIC, such as modem (Mobile Station Modem, MSM);

[0210] (4) Modules that can be embedded in other devices;

[0211] (5) Receivers, terminals, smart terminals, cellular phones, wireless devices, handheld devices, mobile units, vehicle-mounted devices, network devices, cloud devices, artificial intelligence devices, etc.;

[0212] (6)Others, etc.

[0213] In the case where the communication device can be a chip or a chip system, please refer to the chip structure diagram shown in Figure 13. The chip shown in Figure 13 includes a processor 1301 and an interface 1302. Optionally, it may also include a memory 1303. The number of processors 1301 can be one or more, and the number of interfaces 1302 can be multiple.

[0214] In one design, for a case where the chip is used to implement the functions of the terminal device in the embodiments of the present application:

[0215] The interface 1302 is used to input or output signals;

[0216] The processor 1301 is configured to execute the data processing operation of the terminal device in the above method embodiment.

[0217] In another design, for the case where the chip is used to implement the functions of the network device in the embodiments of the present application:

[0218] The interface 1302 is used to input or output signals;

[0219] The processor 1301 is configured to execute the data processing operation of the network device in the above method embodiment.

[0220] It is understandable that some optional features in the embodiments of the present application may, in certain scenarios, be implemented independently of other features, such as the solution on which they are currently based, to solve corresponding technical problems and achieve corresponding effects. They may also be combined with other features in certain scenarios as needed. Accordingly, the communication device provided in the embodiments of the present application may also implement these features or functions accordingly, which will not be described in detail here.

[0221] It should be understood that the processor in the embodiment of the present application can be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. During implementation, each step of the above method embodiment can be completed by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in the processor or instructions in the form of software. The above processor can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component.

[0222] It is understood that the memory in the embodiments of the present application may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct RAM bus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0223] The present application also provides a computer-readable medium for storing computer software instructions, which, when executed by a communication device, implement the functions of any of the above method embodiments.

[0224] The present application also provides a computer program product for storing computer software instructions, which, when executed by a communication device, implements the functions of any of the above method embodiments.

[0225] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated therein. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a high-density digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state drive (SSD)).

[0226] In the above embodiments, the description of each embodiment has its own focus. For parts that are not described in detail in a certain embodiment, reference can be made to the relevant descriptions of other embodiments.

[0227] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, rather than to limit them. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments, or make equivalent replacements for some or all of the technical features therein. These modifications or replacements do not deviate the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A configuration indication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: A first device obtains first control information, where the first control information is used to indicate a configuration of M-hop data transmission between the first device and a target device, where the M-hop data transmission is used to transmit first data, and the M-hop transmission includes transmission between the first device and a second device. The first control information includes first information, second information, and third information. The first information indicates a configuration for transmitting the first data between the first device and the second device, the second information indicates a configuration of M-1-hop transmission, where the M-1-hop transmission is the M-1-hop transmission in the M-hop transmission excluding the transmission between the first device and the second device, and the third information indicates a configuration required for the target device to receive the first data, where M is an integer greater than 1. The first device sends the first control information to the second device.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first information also indicates a configuration for transmitting the second information, where the configuration for transmitting the second information includes one or more of the following: aggregation level, code rate, modulation and coding strategy, time domain resources, and frequency domain resources.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The first information is carried on a first control channel, and the second information and the third information are carried on a second control channel.

4. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The first information is carried on a first control channel, the second information is carried on a second control channel, and the third information is carried on a first data channel.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The second information further indicates a configuration for transmitting the third information, where the configuration for transmitting the third information includes one or more of the following: code rate, modulation and coding strategy, time domain resources, and frequency domain resources.

6. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 5, characterized in that The first information or the second information further indicates a channel for transmitting third information.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The first information indicates one or more of the following configurations: a minimum time interval for forwarding the first data from the first link to the second link, a delay budget for transmission between the first device and the second device, a frequency domain resource configuration between the first device and the second device, and a time domain resource configuration between the first device and the second device, where the first link is a link between a network device and a terminal device, and the second link is a link between terminal devices; The second information indicates one or more of the following configurations: Time domain resource configuration of the M-1 hop transmission, delay budget of the M-1 hop transmission, path information, transmit beam configuration, minimum interval between reception and forwarding time of the M-1 hop sidelink transmission, and quasi co-location indication; The third information indicates one or more of the following configurations: New data indicator, redundancy version, hybrid automatic repeat request HARQ process number, HARQ feedback enable, HARQ feedback time, HARQ feedback resource.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The first information also indicates a configuration of the first data on a sidelink.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The configuration of the first data on the sidelink includes one or more of the following information: End-to-end priority, carrier configuration on the sidelink, resource pool configuration, sidelink frequency domain resource configuration, sidelink resource reservation period configuration, and sidelink time domain transmission resource configuration.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The first device acquiring the first control information includes: The first device receives second control information sent from a third device; The first device determines the first control information based on the second control information.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The third device is a network device, and the second control information includes fourth information and fifth information; The fourth information indicates one or more of the following configurations: configuration for transmitting the fifth information, carrier configuration on the sidelink, the resource pool configuration, the sidelink frequency domain resource configuration, the minimum time interval for forwarding the first data from the first link to the second link, the transmission configuration of the fifth information, and a structure indication of the first control information; The fifth information indicates one or more of the following configurations: The time domain resource configuration of the M-hop transmission, the delay budget of the M-hop transmission, the path information, the transmit beam configuration of the M-hop transmission, the minimum sidelink start time of the M-hop transmission, and the quasi-co-location indication.

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that The first device determining the first control information based on the second control information includes: The first device determines sixth information, where the sixth information includes one or more of the following: the end-to-end priority, the resource reservation period, a delay budget between the first device and the second device, and a delay budget for the M-1 hop transmission; The first device determines the first control information based on the sixth information and the second control information.

13. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 10, characterized in that The first device sending the first control information to the second device includes: The first device sends the first control information to a second set, where the second set includes multiple devices, and the second device is one of the devices in the second set.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that The first device is a device in a first set, which includes multiple devices. The first control information is transmitted on a first time-frequency resource, and the first time-frequency resource is also used by other devices in the first set to send the first control information to devices in the second set.

15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that The second information further indicates a confirmation time and a confirmation resource, where the confirmation resource is a transmission resource used for transmitting the second set of confirmation information. The method further includes: If the first device does not receive the confirmation information after sending the first data to the second set within the confirmation time, and the number of retransmissions does not exceed a preset number, the first data is retransmitted to the multiple second devices.

16. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 15, characterized in that The second information also includes a zone ID indication.

17. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, characterized in that: The M is greater than 2.

18. A configuration indication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: The second device receives first control information from the first device, where the first control information is used to indicate a configuration of M-hop data transmission between the first device and a target device, where the M-hop data transmission is used to transmit first data, and the M-hop transmission includes transmission between the first device and the second device. The first control information includes first information, second information, and third information. The first information indicates a configuration for transmitting the first data between the first device and the second device, the second information indicates a configuration of M-1-hop transmission, where the M-1-hop transmission is an M-1-hop transmission in the M-hop transmission excluding the transmission between the first device and the second device, and the third information indicates a configuration required for the target device to receive the first data, where M is an integer greater than 1. The second device receives the first data from the first device based on the first control information.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that The first information also indicates a configuration for transmitting the second information, where the configuration for transmitting the second information includes one or more of the following: aggregation level, code rate, modulation and coding strategy, time domain resources, and frequency domain resources.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein The first information is carried on a first control channel, and the second information and the third information are carried on a second control channel.

21. The method according to claim 19, wherein The first information is carried on a first control channel, the second information is carried on a second control channel, and the third information is carried on a first data channel.

22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that The second information further indicates a configuration for transmitting the third information, where the configuration for transmitting the third information includes one or more of the following: code rate, modulation and coding strategy, time domain resources, and frequency domain resources.

23. The method according to any one of claims 20 to 22, characterized in that The first information or the second information further indicates a channel for transmitting third information.

24. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 23, characterized in that: The first information indicates one or more of the following configurations: a minimum time interval for forwarding the first data from the first link to the second link, a delay budget for transmission between the first device and the second device, a frequency domain resource configuration between the first device and the second device, and a time domain resource configuration between the first device and the second device, where the first link is a link between a network device and a terminal device, and the second link is a link between terminal devices; The second information indicates one or more of the following configurations: Time domain resource configuration of the M-1 hop transmission, delay budget of the M-1 hop transmission, path information, transmit beam configuration, minimum interval between reception and forwarding time of the M-1 hop sidelink transmission, and quasi co-location indication; The third information indicates one or more of the following configurations: Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process ID, HARQ feedback enable, HARQ feedback time, and HARQ feedback resource.

25. The method according to claim 24, characterized in that The first information also indicates a configuration of the first data on a sidelink.

26. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that The configuration of the first data on the sidelink includes one or more of the following information: End-to-end priority, carrier configuration on the sidelink, resource pool configuration, sidelink frequency domain resource configuration, sidelink resource reservation period configuration, and sidelink time domain transmission resource configuration.

27. The method according to any one of claims 24 to 26, characterized in that: The second device receiving the first control information from the first device includes: The second device receives first control information from a first set, where the first set includes a plurality of devices, and the first device is one of the devices in the first set.

28. The method according to claim 27, characterized in that The second device is a device in a second set, which includes multiple devices. The first control information is transmitted on a first time-frequency resource, and the first time-frequency resource is also used by other devices in the second set to receive the first control information sent by the first set.

29. The method according to claim 28, characterized in that The second information further indicates a confirmation time and a confirmation resource, where the confirmation resource is a transmission resource used for transmitting the second set of confirmation information. The method further includes: If the second device receives the first data from the first set, it sends confirmation information to the first set on the confirmation resource within the confirmation time.

30. The method according to any one of claims 27 to 29, characterized in that: The second information also includes a zone ID indication.

31. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 30, characterized in that The M is greater than 2.

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

33. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device includes a module or unit for executing the method according to any one of claims 18 to 31.

34. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a processor coupled to a memory, wherein the processor is configured to execute a computer program or instruction stored in the memory to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17 or the method according to any one of claims 18 to 31.

35. The device according to claim 34, characterized in that The device further includes the memory and / or a transceiver, and the transceiver is configured to transmit and receive data and / or signaling.

36. A communication device, characterized in that The method comprises a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor or send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device, and the processor is used to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17 through a logic circuit or an execution instruction, or the processor is used to implement the method according to any one of claims 18 to 31 through a logic circuit or an execution instruction.

37. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The storage medium stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed by the communication device, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 18 to 31 is executed.

38. A computer program product comprising instructions, characterized in that When it is run on a computer, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 18 to 31 is executed.

39. A communication system, characterized in that: The communication system includes a first device and a second device, the first device is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17, and the second device is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 18 to 31.

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