Communication method and device

Abstract

The invention provides a communication method which is used for clearing invalid data in time. The communication device receives the first data packet and the second data packet, and discards the first data packet according to the second data packet. In the application, the communication device can clear the failure data according to the received data packet, and does not need to clear the failure data after the timer corresponding to the failure data is overtime. And the problem that the transmission of the valid data increases the time delay of the transmission of the valid data is avoided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communications, and in particular, to a data transmission method and apparatus. Background Art

[0002] In the technologies of image quality upscaling and downscaling based on artificial intelligence (AI) models, cloud gaming enhancement technologies, and photo cloud processing, a transmission object containing a large amount of data (such as an AI model, three dimensions (3D) model data, photo source data, etc.) needs to be transmitted within a certain period of time. Taking the uplink transmission as an example, whether it is the upload of photo source data or the upload of three dimensions (3D) model data, the application layer of the terminal first sends the data to the access layer of the terminal, and the access layer sends the data to the access network device. If a new model needs to be transmitted, the application layer generates new service data and sends it to the access layer. For example, during the transmission of the service data in Scenario 1, due to a scene change, the service data in Scenario 2 also needs to be sent. The application layer will choose to terminate the transmission of the remaining data of the service data in Scenario 1 and start sending the service data of the second scene. That is, when new model data is generated, the application layer will terminate the transmission of the remaining data of the old model data, resulting in the invalidation of the old model data. However, some old model data has already been sent to the access layer. These old model data that have been sent to the access layer will start a discard timer according to the packet delay budget (PDB) requirement. Before the discard timer times out, these old model data that have been sent to the access layer will continue to be sent. However, at this time, these old model data that have been sent to the access layer have already become invalid. Continuing to send the old model data that has been sent to the access layer will increase the transmission delay of the new model data. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This application provides a communication method and a communication apparatus for reducing the transmission delay of data.

[0004] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, which is characterized in that it is applied to a first communication device, and the method includes: the first communication device receives a first data packet; the first communication device receives a second data packet; the first communication device discards the first data packet according to the second data packet.

[0005] In this way, the first communication device discards the first data packet according to the second data packet, without waiting for the discard timer to time out before discarding the first data packet, which is beneficial to reducing the transmission delay of data and saving the power consumption of the first communication device.

[0006] In a possible implementation, the data included in the first data packet belongs to a first data sequence, and the data included in the second data packet belongs to a second data sequence. The first communication device discards the first data packet according to the second data packet, specifically, discards the first data packet according to the difference between the second data sequence and the first data sequence.

[0007] In this case, if the first communication device determines that the second data sequence to which the data in the received data packet belongs is a new data sequence, the first communication device discards the first data packet corresponding to the first data sequence that was originally to be transmitted.

[0008] In a possible implementation, the data included in the first data packet belongs to a first data sequence, the data included in the second data packet belongs to a second data sequence, and the second data packet carries first indication information indicating the second data sequence. The first communication device discards the first data packet according to the first indication information. In this case, the second data packet carries first indication information indicating that the second data sequence is a new data sequence, or the first indication information indicates the start identifier of the new data sequence. The first communication device learns that the second data packet has arrived through the first indication information, and thus discards the first data packet.

[0009] In a possible implementation, the second data packet carries second indication information indicating to discard the first data packet, and the first communication device discards the first data packet according to the second indication information. In this case, by explicitly carrying in the second data packet the indication of the first data packet that needs to be discarded by the first communication device, the first communication device can discard the first data packet according to the second data packet.

[0010] In a possible implementation, the data included in the first data packet belongs to a first data sequence, the data included in the second data packet belongs to a second data sequence, the second indication information indicates the first data sequence, and the first data packet is discarded according to the first data sequence. In this case, by carrying in the second data packet the indication of the first data sequence corresponding to the first data packet, the first communication device can determine to discard the data packet corresponding to the data sequence indicated in the second data packet.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the second indication information indicates the sequence identifier of the first data sequence.

[0012] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving first information indicating that it is allowed to discard the first data packet according to the second data packet. In this case, whether the first communication device is allowed to implement the function of discarding the first data packet according to the second data packet can be designed as a configurable feature, improving the flexibility of communication.

[0013] In a possible implementation, the first data packet belongs to a first Quality of Service (QoS) flow, and the second data packet belongs to a second QoS flow. The discarding of the first data packet according to the second data packet is specifically: clearing the first data packet of the first QoS flow according to the second QoS flow.

[0014] In a possible implementation, the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are associated. In this case, by designing the binding relationship between the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow, it enables the first communication device to clear the data of another QoS flow when the data of the QoS flow arrives.

[0015] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the first communication device receives first configuration information, and the first configuration information indicates that the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are in a relationship of mutual clearing.

[0016] In a possible implementation, the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are respectively mapped to different Data Radio Bearers (DRBs).

[0017] In a possible implementation, the discarding of the first data packet according to the second data packet is specifically: the first communication device discards the first data packet if the time interval between the time when the second data packet arrives at the access stratum and the time when the first data packet arrives at the access stratum is greater than a threshold.

[0018] In a possible implementation, the first data packet includes data that has been processed by the DRB and data that has not been processed by the DRB. The first communication device discards the first data packet specifically by discarding the data in the first data packet that has not been processed by the DRB.

[0019] In a possible implementation, the first communication device determines that the discard timer of the first data packet has timed out according to the second data packet and discards the first data packet, or discards all the data of the Data Radio Bearer (DRB) mapped by the first data packet according to the second data packet.

[0020] In a possible implementation, the time when the first data packet arrives at the access stratum is earlier than that of the second data packet, or the generation time of the data included in the first data packet is earlier than the data included in the second data packet.

[0021] In a possible implementation, the first communication device may be a terminal, or a module (such as a chip) located in a terminal device. Alternatively, the first communication device may be an access network device, or a module (such as a chip) located in an access network device.

[0022] In a possible implementation, the first communication device is the access layer of a terminal.

[0023] In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication device, including units or modules for performing the method described in the first aspect above.

[0024] In a possible way, the communication device is a chip system.

[0025] In a possible way, the communication device can execute the method described in the first aspect or the third aspect. The functions of the communication device can be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the above functions. The unit or module can be software and / or hardware. For the operations performed by the communication device and the beneficial effects, reference can be made to the method and beneficial effects described in the first aspect above, and the repeated parts will not be elaborated again.

[0026] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication device. The communication device includes a processor. When the processor calls a computer program in a memory, the method and its possible implementations described in the first aspect are executed.

[0027] In a possible implementation, the communication device further includes a memory, and the memory is coupled to the processor. Optionally, the memory and the processor are integrated together.

[0028] In a possible implementation, the communication device further includes a transceiver, and the transceiver is used for receiving and transmitting data and / or signaling.

[0029] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication device. The communication device includes a processor and an interface circuit. The interface circuit is used for receiving a signal from another communication device outside the communication device and transmitting it to the processor, or for transmitting a signal from the processor to another communication device outside the communication device. The processor is used to implement the method and its possible implementations described in the first aspect through logic circuits or by executing code instructions.

[0030] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium. The storage medium stores a computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are executed by a communication device, the method and its possible implementations described in the first aspect are realized.

[0031] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a computer program or a computer program product, including codes or instructions. When the codes or instructions are run on a computer, the computer executes the method described in any one of the first to fourth aspects and its possible implementation methods.

[0032] In a seventh aspect, a communication method is provided, comprising: an application layer of a terminal device sends a first data packet and a second data packet to an access layer of the terminal device, and the access layer of the terminal device discards the first data packet based on the second data packet.

[0033] In an eighth aspect, a communication method is provided, including: a core network or a server sends a first data packet and a second data packet to an access network device, and the access network device discards the first data packet based on the second data packet.

[0034] In a ninth aspect, a communication method is provided, comprising: an application layer of a terminal generates a first data packet and a second data packet, and sends the first data packet and the second data packet to an access layer of the terminal. The access layer of the terminal discards the first data packet according to the second data packet. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0036] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0037] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0038] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0039] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system 1000 used in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 As shown, the communication system includes a radio access network (RAN) 100, wherein the RAN 100 includes at least one RAN node (such as Figure 1 110a and 110b in the figure, collectively referred to as 110), and may also include at least one terminal (such as Figure 1 RAN 100 may also include other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay equipment and / or wireless backhaul equipment ( Figure 1(not shown in the figure). The terminal 120 is connected to the RAN node 110 wirelessly. Terminals can be connected to each other, and RAN nodes can be connected to each other, either wired or wirelessly. The communication system 1000 may also include a core network 200. The RAN node 110 is connected to the core network 200 wirelessly or wired. The core network devices in the core network 200 and the RAN node 110 in the RAN 100 can be independent and different physical devices, or the same physical device integrating the logical functions of the core network devices and the logical functions of the RAN nodes. The communication system 1000 may also include the Internet 300.

[0041] The RAN 100 can be an evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) system, a new radio (NR) system, and a future radio access system defined in the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP), or a WiFi system. The RAN 100 can also include two or more different radio access systems mentioned above. The RAN 100 can also be an open RAN (O-RAN).

[0042] The RAN node, also known as a radio access network device, a RAN entity, or an access node, is used to help the terminal access the communication system wirelessly. In one application scenario, the RAN node can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation NodeB (gNB) in the 5th generation (5G) mobile communication system, a next generation NodeB in the 6th generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system. The RAN node can be a macro base station (such as Figure 1 110a in the figure), or a micro base station or an indoor station (such as Figure 1 110b in the figure), or a relay node or a donor node.

[0043] In another application scenario, wireless access for a terminal can be assisted through the cooperation of multiple RAN nodes, with different RAN nodes respectively implementing partial functions of a base station. For example, the RAN nodes can be a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), or a radio unit (RU). Here, the CU completes the functions of the radio resource control protocol and the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) of the base station, and can also complete the function of the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP); the DU completes the functions of the radio link control layer and the medium access control (MAC) layer of the base station, and can also complete partial or all of the functions of the physical layer. For specific descriptions of the above various protocol layers, reference can be made to the relevant technical specifications of 3GPP. The RU can be used to implement the functions of transmitting and receiving radio frequency signals. The CU and the DU can be two independent RAN nodes, or can be integrated in the same RAN node, for example, integrated in the baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in radio frequency equipment, such as included in a remote radio unit (RRU) or an active antenna unit (AAU). The CU can be further divided into two types of RAN nodes: CU-control plane and CU-user plane.

[0044] In different systems, the RAN nodes may have different names. For example, in the O-RAN system, the CU can be called an open CU (O-CU), the DU can be called an open DU (O-DU), and the RU can be called an open RU (O-RU). The RAN nodes in the embodiments of this application can be implemented in the form of software modules, hardware modules, or a combination of software modules and hardware modules. For example, the RAN node can be a server loaded with the corresponding software module. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technologies and specific device forms adopted by the RAN nodes. For ease of description, in the following text, an access network device is used as an example of a RAN node for description.

[0045] A terminal is a device with wireless transceiver capabilities that can send signals to an access network device or receive signals from an access network device. A terminal can also be referred to as a terminal device, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. Terminals can be widely applied in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle to everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), internet of things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart home, smart office, smart wearables, smart transportation, smart city, etc. A terminal can be a mobile phone, tablet computer, computer with wireless transceiver capabilities, wearable device, vehicle, aircraft, ship, robot, robotic arm, smart home device, etc. Embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technologies and specific device forms adopted by the terminal.

[0046] The access network device and the terminal can be in fixed positions or movable. The access network device and the terminal can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on water; they can also be deployed on aircraft, balloons, and artificial satellites. Embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of the access network device and the terminal.

[0047] The roles of the access network device and the terminal can be relative. For example, Figure 1 the helicopter or drone 120i in [description] can be configured as a mobile access network device. For the terminals 120j that access the wireless access network 100 through 120i, the terminal 120i is an access network device; but for the access network device 110a, 120i is a terminal, that is, the communication between 110a and 120i is through a wireless air interface protocol. Of course, the communication between 110a and 120i can also be through the interface protocol between access network devices. At this time, relative to 110a, 120i is also an access network device. Therefore, both the access network device and the terminal can be uniformly referred to as communication devices. Figure 1 The 110a and 110b in [description] can be referred to as communication devices with access network device functions. Figure 1 The 120a - 120j in [description] can be referred to as communication devices with terminal functions.

[0048] Communication can be carried out between an access network device and a terminal, between access network devices, and between terminals through licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or both simultaneously; communication can be carried out through spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz), through spectrum above 6 GHz, or by using both spectrum below 6 GHz and spectrum above 6 GHz simultaneously. Embodiments of this application do not limit the spectrum resources used for wireless communication.

[0049] In embodiments of this application, the functions of the access network device can also be performed by a module (such as a chip) in the access network device or by a control subsystem that includes the functions of the access network device. The control subsystem that includes the functions of the access network device here can be a control center in the above application scenarios such as smart grid, industrial control, intelligent transportation, and smart city. The functions of the terminal can also be performed by a module (such as a chip or a modem) in the terminal or by a device that includes the functions of the terminal.

[0050] In this application, the access network device sends a downlink signal or downlink information to the terminal, and the downlink information is carried on a downlink channel; the terminal sends an uplink signal or uplink information to the access network device, and the uplink information is carried on an uplink channel. In order to communicate with the access network device, the terminal needs to establish a wireless connection on a cell controlled by the access network device. The cell that has established a wireless connection with the terminal is called the serving cell of the terminal. When the terminal communicates with the serving cell, it is also interfered by signals from neighboring cells.

[0051] Before describing specific embodiments, some terms or scenarios related to this application are introduced in detail.

[0052] (1) Quality of Service (QoS) flow

[0053] A QoS flow is a user service data flow that adopts QoS parameters and is used to transmit data to realize the interaction between the user and the data network. The QoS flow in this application refers to a channel resource for transmitting data packets with the same or similar QoS requirements for vehicles, and it can also have other names, such as service flow, bearer service pipeline, etc. The name of the QoS flow is exemplary, and this application does not limit the name of the channel resource with this function. The core network maps services to QoS flows, and this process can be called the first-level mapping. After the QoS flow reaches the RAN, the RAN maps the QoS flow to a data radio bearer (DRB) for transmission, and this process can be called the second-level mapping. That is to say, the first-level mapping is executed by the core network, and the second-level mapping is executed by the radio access network.

[0054] (2) Image Quality Enhancement and Degradation AI Model

[0055] The principle of this model is that at the sending end, for high-quality or high-resolution pictures, a degradation AI algorithm is used for degradation processing to obtain low-quality pictures. The transmission of low-quality pictures can reduce bandwidth consumption. At the receiving end, an enhancement AI algorithm is run to enhance the low-quality image to obtain a high-quality image. Since the picture types and scenarios often change, resulting in frequent changes in the degradation AI algorithm, in order to run the video quality enhancement and degradation AI processing, the receiving end needs to dynamically update and download the enhancement AI model to match the enhancement AI model and the degradation AI model.

[0056] (3) Cloud Gaming Enhancement

[0057] The rendering effect of the game on the terminal is usually restricted by the rendering algorithm. In order to obtain a better rendering effect, the terminal can upload the three-dimensional model data to be rendered, as well as information such as the user's location and rendering perspective to the server. The server renders the data model and then returns the rendering result to the terminal. The terminal performs post-processing and then displays it to the user. When the user moves or the map changes, new 3D model data needs to be uploaded to the server. The size of the 3D model data that the user needs to upload is usually in the range of 5 - 20 Mb, and there are also scenarios where the 3D model data is about 100 Mb.

[0058] (4) Layer

[0059] In a communication system, the transport network functions are divided into a series of layers for hierarchical description. Each layer is considered to independently produce and forward characteristic information. For example, the transport network functions can include an access layer and an application layer, where the access layer can be further divided into a data link layer and a physical layer.

[0060] The communication among the terminal device, network device, and server follows a certain protocol stack architecture. Taking the example of a terminal device sending a data packet to the server through a network device, the data packet transmission sequentially passes through the application layer, transport layer, network layer, access layer, and physical layer of the terminal device, and then sequentially passes through the access layer, data link layer, and physical layer of the network device to reach the physical layer, data link layer, network layer, transport layer, and application layer of the server.

[0061] The access layer is the protocol of the access technology between the access layer of the terminal and the access network device. The data link layer can be further divided into the MAC layer, radio link control (RLC) layer, SDAP layer, PDCP layer, etc. The access layer protocol can also be understood as the way for a specific physical medium between the user equipment and the infrastructure to carry information. Another example is that the Application Layer is the highest layer of the Open System Interconnect (OSI) reference model. It is the interface between computer users, various application programs, and the network. Its function is to directly provide services to users and complete various tasks that users hope to perform on the network. Based on the work of other layers, it establishes and ends the connection with users and completes various protocols such as supervision, management, and services required for various network services and applications proposed by network users. In addition, the application layer is also responsible for coordinating the work among various application programs. The services and protocols provided by the application layer for users include: file service, directory service, file transfer service (FTP), remote login service (Telnet), email service (E-mail), printing service, security service, network management service, database service, etc. The above various network services are completed by different application protocols and programs at this layer. The differences between different network operating systems are very large in terms of functions, interfaces, implementation technologies, support for hardware, security and reliability, and various application program interfaces they have.

[0062] The main functions of the application layer include user interface and implementation of various services. Specifically: For the function of the user interface, the application layer is the direct interface between users and the network, as well as between application programs and the network, enabling users to have an interactive connection with the network. For the function of implementing various services: The various application programs at this layer can complete and implement various services requested by users. Among them, the protocols supported by the application layer can include the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), file transfer protocol (FTP), real-time transport protocol (RTP), etc.

[0063] The protocols supported by the transport layer may include the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), the User Datagram Protocol (UDP), etc. The protocols supported by the network layer may include the Internet Protocol (IP), such as the IPv4 protocol or the IPv6 protocol. The access layer may include the Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer, the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, the Medium Access Control (MAC) layer, and the Physical layer (PHY).

[0064] (5) Data packet

[0065] A data packet is a unit of data transmission. In addition to data, a data packet may also include the addresses of the sender and the receiver and / or error control information. For example, an Internet Protocol (IP) data packet, a Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP) data packet, etc. A data sequence can be understood as a set composed of a group of logically related data packets generated by the application layer. For example, the set of all data packets generated by the application layer for encoding a 3D model of a rendering scene can be understood as a data sequence, or the set of all data packets generated by the application layer for encoding an AI model can also be understood as a data sequence.

[0066] From the above description, it can be seen that when new model data is generated, the application layer will terminate the transmission of the remaining data of the old model data, resulting in the invalidation of the old model data. However, some old model data has already been sent to the access layer. These old model data that have been sent to the access layer will start a discard timer according to the requirements of the Packet Delay Budget (PDB). Before the discard timer times out, these old model data that have been sent to the access layer will continue to be sent. However, at this time, these old model data that have been sent to the access layer have already become invalid, and continuing to send the old model data that has been sent to the access layer will increase the transmission delay of the new model data. Or, the application layer generates a group of data under a certain model and sends it to the access layer. However, during the sending process, the user cancels the sending of this group of data. At this time, this group of data has also become invalid. If the data that has already been sent to the access layer continues to be sent, the access layer will increase a large number of invalid transmissions, resulting in a waste of resources.

[0067] Based on the above analysis, the present application proposes a communication method for the access layer to promptly clear the invalidated data and reduce the transmission delay of service data.

[0068] Figure 2 The figure shows a schematic diagram of a communication method provided by the present application. Figure 2For uplink transmission, it includes steps S201 - S203. For uplink transmission, the execution entity is the terminal. Inside the terminal, the application layer of the terminal generates information and sends it to the access layer, and the access layer sends the corresponding information out. For example, the access layer sends the corresponding information to the access network device. The application layer can be understood as a unit or module that generates information inside the terminal, and the access layer can be understood as a unit or module that is used to transmit information to other devices inside the terminal.

[0069] S201: The access layer receives the first data packet.

[0070] Specifically, the data included in the first data packet can belong to the first data sequence, or the first data packet can also be mapped to the first Qos flow for transmission. The first data sequence can be understood as a set composed of a group of data packets with logical associations generated by the application layer. For example, all the data packets generated by the application layer for encoding a 3D model of a rendering scene, or all the data packets generated by the application layer for encoding an AI model.

[0071] S202: The access layer receives the second data packet.

[0072] Specifically, similar to the first data packet. The data included in the second data packet can belong to the second data sequence, or the second data packet can also be mapped to the second Qos flow for transmission. Optionally, the first data sequence and the second data sequence can be data sequences of different models. The model can be an AI model or a digital model of three - dimensional physics. For the case where the first data packet belongs to the first Qos flow and the second data packet belongs to the second Qos flow, in a possible way, the first Qos flow and the second Qos flow are respectively mapped to different DRBs.

[0073] In a possible way, the first data packet is earlier than the second data packet. The following lists several specific forms where the first data packet is earlier than the second data packet, that is, the first data packet in this application being earlier than the second data packet can be replaced and described as one or more of the following.

[0074] Way 1, the time when the application layer generates the first data sequence is earlier than the time when the application layer generates the second data sequence.

[0075] For example, the first data sequence is the data sequence of the first AI model, and the second data sequence is the data sequence of the second AI model. The generation time of the application layer of the first AI model is earlier than the generation time of the second AI model. For example, the first AI model is used for image compression in Scenario 1 (cartoon scenario), and the second AI model is used for image compression in Scenario 2 (real - person scenario). The terminal first starts Scenario 1 and generates the first AI model, and then switches to Scenario 2 and generates the second AI model at this time.

[0076] In the second method, the arrival time of the first data packet at the access layer is earlier than that of the second data packet. The first method and the second method can be in a combined relationship or two independent branches. For example, if the generation time of the first data packet at the application layer is earlier than that of the second data packet, then the arrival time of the first data packet at the access layer is also earlier than that of the second data packet. Another example is that the generation time of the first data packet at the application layer is equal to or later than that of the second data packet, but the arrival time of the first data packet at the access layer is still earlier than that of the second data packet.

[0077] In the third method, the first data packet and the second data packet are data packets in different services or different scenarios respectively. The scenario corresponding to the first data packet is the prior scenario, and the scenario corresponding to the second data packet is the subsequent scenario. The described scenarios correspond to different application maps. For example, scenario one is a forest scenario, and scenario two is an ocean scenario. Another example is that scenario one is a combat mode, and scenario two is a walking mode.

[0078] S203: The access layer discards the first data packet according to the second data packet.

[0079] Specifically, discarding the first data packet can be understood as the access layer no longer transmitting the first data packet. For example, not clearing the cache of the first data packet but no longer transmitting it. Another example is no longer transmitting the first data packet and clearing the cache of the first data packet. The specific operation of discarding the first data packet can be that the access layer considers that the discard timer of the first data packet has timed out, and then discards the first data packet.

[0080] Since the data packet can be carried in the DRB, therefore, discarding the first data packet can also be understood as resetting the DRB carrying the first data packet. Resetting the DRB of the first data packet can also be understood as clearing all data packets in the DRB carrying the first data packet. In this application, resetting the DRB carrying the first data packet can be to clear all data in the DRB mapped to the first data packet and then set the relevant state variables of the DRB to zero. The state variables are, for example, transmission window variables.

[0081] In a possible way, if the first data packet contains data that has been processed by the DRB and data that has not been processed by the DRB, discarding the first data packet in this application specifically means discarding the data in the first data packet that has not been processed by the DRB and the data that has been processed by the DRB. The data that has been processed by the DRB in this application can be understood as that these data have added the packet header of the data link layer. Or, discard the data in the first data packet that has not been processed by the DRB, and for the data that has been processed by the DRB, it can be continued to be sent.

[0082] In this application, when the access layer discards the first data packet based on the second data packet, it may identify and discard the first data packet according to the header of the second data packet, or identify the arrival of a new data sequence based on the QoS flow corresponding to the second data packet. The following provides possible implementation manners on how to trigger the access layer to discard the first data packet based on the second data packet. It should be noted that the specific forms in the following examples can replace the foregoing manner in which the access layer discards the first data packet based on the second data packet.

[0083] Method A: The access layer discards the second data packet because the second data packet is different from the first data packet. In a possible manner, when the first data packet arrives earlier than the second data packet, if the access layer receives the second data packet and identifies that the second data packet is a new data packet, it discards the earlier-arrived data packet, that is, discards the first data packet. A possible scenario is that the application layer generates a set of data packets with a logical association of the first data sequence for Scenario 1, and the first data packet is included in this set of data packets. At this time, the data included in the first data packet belongs to the first data sequence. During the process of the application layer sending the first data packet to the access layer, the user switches the scenario, and the application layer generates a set of data packets with a logical association of the second data sequence for Scenario 2, and the second data packet is included in this set of data packets. At this time, the data included in the second data packet belongs to the second data sequence. For the access layer, the access layer identifies that the second data sequence to which the data in the received second data packet belongs is different from the first data sequence to which the data in the first data packet belongs, or in other words, the access layer identifies that the second data sequence is a new sequence, and then the access layer discards the first data packet and no longer transmits the first data packet.

[0084] Method B: The second data packet carries the first indication information, and the first indication information indicates the second data sequence. The access layer discards the first data packet according to the first indication information. For example, the first indication information indicates the sequence number of the second data sequence.

[0085] In one possible way, each data packet carries an indication of the data sequence to which the data it contains belongs. The application layer can determine whether a new data packet has arrived based on the data sequence indications carried by two data packets. For example, the data of the first data sequence includes data packets 1 to 10, the sequence number of the first data sequence is 10, and each of the data packets 1 to 10 carries the sequence number 10 of the data sequence. The data of the second data sequence includes data packets 11 to 30, the sequence number of the second data sequence is 11, that is, each of the data packets 11 to 30 carries the sequence number 11 of the data sequence. Data packets 1 to 10 have been sent to the access layer, and the access layer receives data packet 11. It identifies that the sequence number 11 of the data sequence carried in the second data packet is different from the sequence number 10 of the data sequence carried in data packets 1 to 10. The access layer discards the first data packet. For example, the access layer clears the first data packet as the data packets among 1 to 10 that the access layer has not yet sent out. Or the access layer no longer sends the first data packet as the data packets among 1 to 10 that the access layer has not yet sent out, but does not clear the data packets among 1 to 10 that the access layer has not yet sent out.

[0086] In another possible way, it is not required that each data packet carries an indication of the data sequence to which the data it contains belongs. Instead, the first indication information is carried in the second data packet, and the first indication information indicates that the second data sequence is a new data sequence or the start of a new data sequence. For example, the data of the first data sequence includes data packets 1 to 10, the sequence number of the first data sequence is 10, the data of the second data sequence includes data packets 11 to 30, the sequence number of the second data sequence is 11. Data packets 1 to 10 have been sent to the access layer, and the application layer carries the sequence number 11 in data packet 11. The access layer receives data packet 11 and identifies that the sequence number 11 of the data sequence is carried in the second data packet, thereby learning that a data packet of a new data sequence has arrived. The access layer discards the first data packet. At this time, the first data packet is the data packet among 1 to 10 that the access layer has not yet sent out. For example, the access layer clears the first data packet as the data packets among 1 to 10 that the access layer has not yet sent out. Or the access layer no longer sends the first data packet as the data packets among 1 to 10 that the access layer has not yet sent out, but does not clear the data packets among 1 to 10 that the access layer has not yet sent out.

[0087] Mode C. The second data packet carries second indication information, and the second indication information indicates to discard the first data packet. That is, the second data packet contains indication information indicating the first data packet to be discarded. In a possible mode, the second indication information indicates a first data sequence, and the access stratum discards the first data packet according to the first data sequence. For example, the first indication information may indicate the sequence identifier of the first data sequence. A possible scenario is that the application layer generates a set of data under a certain object (such as a picture, an AI model, 3D model data, a file, etc.) and sends a series of data packets of this set of data to the access stratum. However, during the sending process, the user cancels the sending of the object. At this time, this set of data has also become invalid. The application layer can carry the second indication information in a certain data packet, or the application layer generates a data packet that does not belong to the first set of data and carries the second indication information. The second indication information can also be understood as a discard indication. In this scenario, a set of data packets of a certain object is cancelled by the user, but there may be no generation of data packets of a new model. At this time, the data sequences to which the data in the first data packet and the second data packet belong are the same, or the data contained in the second data packet does not belong to the data sequence to which the data contained in the first data packet belongs. Therefore, the second data packet needs to carry a second indication information to enable the access stratum to trigger the access stratum to discard the first data packet according to the second indication information. For example, the terminal intends to send a photo to the access network device. The application layer generates 100 data packets for this photo, namely data packet 1 to data packet 100. After the application layer sends data packet 1 to data packet 50 to the access stratum, the user cancels the sending of this photo. The application layer can carry the first indication information in data packet 51 to trigger the access stratum to discard the data packets in data packet 1 to data packet 50 that have not been sent out. That is, data packet 51 is the second data packet, and the data packets in data packet 1 to data packet 50 that have not been sent out are the first data packets. Or, the application layer can generate a new data packet 101 outside data packet 1 to data packet 100 and carry the second indication information in data packet 101. The access stratum receives data packet 101 and thus discards the data packets in data packet 1 to data packet 50 that have not been sent out. That is, data packet 101 is the second data packet, that is, data packet 51 is the second data packet, and the data packets in data packet 1 to data packet 50 that have not been sent out are the first data packets.

[0088] Mode D, the first data packet belongs to the first Qos flow, and the second data packet belongs to the second Qos flow. The access layer discards the first data packet according to the second data packet. Specifically, the access layer clears the first data packet of the first Qos flow according to the arrival of the data packet of the second Qos flow. Specifically, clearing the first data packet of the first Qos flow may include clearing all untransmitted data packets in the DRB corresponding to the first Qos flow and / or clearing the data packets waiting for data link layer processing in the first Qos flow. In a possible way, the first Qos flow is associated with the second Qos flow. The access layer receives the second data packet and discards one or more data packets in the first Qos flow through the second Qos flow to which the second data packet belongs and the association between the first Qos flow and the second Qos flow. One or more data packets in the first Qos flow include the first data packet. For example, the association relationship between the first Qos flow and the second Qos flow is that the first Qos flow and the second Qos flow are in a mutually clearing relationship. The two Qos flows in this application are in a mutually clearing relationship, which can also be understood as that the access layer clears the data packets of another Qos flow after the data packets of one Qos flow arrive. The association relationship between the first Qos flow and the second Qos flow can be predefined or configured. For the case where the association relationship between the first Qos flow and the second Qos flow is configured, Figure 2 The method shown also includes: the access layer receives the first configuration information, and the first configuration information indicates that the first Qos flow and the second Qos flow are in a mutually clearing relationship. The following table is an example of the first configuration information. The first configuration information may be sent by the core network or the access network device.

[0089] Table 1

[0090] First Qos flow Second Qos flow Third Qos flow Fourth Qos flow Fifth Qos flow Sixth Qos flow

[0091] In Table 1, through the first configuration information, multiple Qos flows with a mutually clearing relationship are configured. The access layer receives the first configuration information and can obtain the first Qos flow by looking up the table according to the second Qos flow and Table 1, so as to clear the first data packet in the first Qos flow.

[0092] Among the above methods A to D, how the access layer determines the first data packet according to the second data packet is introduced from the content of the second data packet itself. In a possible method, in this application, the access layer discards the first data packet according to the second data packet. It can also be reflected from the perspective of the time when the access layer receives the second data packet. For detailed description, method E is provided.

[0093] Method E: The access layer discards the first data packet according to the second data packet. Specifically, the access layer discards the first data packet if the time interval between the time when the second data packet arrives at the access layer and the time when the first data packet arrives at the access layer is greater than a threshold. In this method, if the time interval between the time when the access layer receives a new data packet and the time of the previous data packet is large, the access layer can discard the previous data packet. This method is because usually data in the same data sequence is generated by the application layer at the same time and then sent to the access layer, and arrives at the access layer continuously. If there is a time interval between two data packets, it is very likely that these two data packets belong to different data sequences.

[0094] In a possible embodiment, Figure 2 The method shown further includes: the access layer receives first information, and the first information indicates that the access layer is allowed to discard the first data packet according to the second data packet. The first information can be sent by the access network device or the core network. In this method, whether the access layer needs to discard the first data packet according to the second data packet can be a configurable feature, for example, configured by the access network device or the core network, which improves the flexibility of the terminal to process data packets. The first information has different interpretations in different methods. For example, for the above methods A and B, the first information can be understood as indicating that the access layer is allowed to identify and receive a new data packet and thus discard the old data packet. For the above method C, the first information can be understood as indicating that the access layer is allowed to discard the first data packet according to the second indication information in the second data packet. For the above method D, the first information can be understood as indicating that the subsequent data sequence arrival of the Qos flow can clear the previous data sequence. For the above method E, the first information can be understood as allowing the access layer to discard the first data packet if the time interval between the time when the second data packet arrives at the access layer and the time when the first data packet arrives at the access layer is greater than a threshold.

[0095] In a possible manner, the access layer may also receive second information from the application layer of the terminal, and the second information is used to trigger the access layer to discard the first data packet according to the second data packet. The difference between the first information and the second information is that the first information is to allow the terminal or the access layer to enable the ability to discard the first data according to the second data, and the second information is used to actually trigger the terminal or the access layer to execute the behavior of discarding the first data packet according to the second data packet. For example, the first information is carried in semi-statically configured signaling, and the second information is carried in a data packet, so as to individually determine whether to trigger the previous data sequence for each data sequence. Specifically, the access network device or the core network configures through the first information that within a relatively long period, the terminal is allowed to discard the second data packet according to the first data packet, and the application layer of the terminal uses the second information to trigger the access layer to discard the first data packet according to the second data packet in real time.

[0096] Figure 3 The figure shows a schematic diagram of a communication method provided by this application. Figure 3 For downlink transmission, Figure 3 It includes steps S301 - S303. For downlink transmission, the access network device executes Figure 2 the corresponding functions of the access layer, and the core network or the server executes Figure 2 the corresponding functions of the application layer. The following takes the interaction between the access network device and the core network as an example for description.

[0097] S301: The core network device sends the first data packet to the access network device. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the first data packet.

[0098] The description of the first data packet can refer to Figure 2 S201 in it, and will not be elaborated here.

[0099] S302: The core network sends the second data packet to the access network device. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the second data packet.

[0100] The description of the second data packet can refer to Figure 2 S202 in it, and will not be elaborated here.

[0101] In a possible manner, the first data packet is earlier than the second data packet. Similar to Figure 2 Method 1, the first data packet being earlier than the second data packet can mean that the time when the core network or the server generates the first data sequence is earlier than the time when it generates the second data sequence. Similar to Figure 2 Method 2, the first data packet being earlier than the second data packet can mean that the time when the access network device receives the first data sequence is earlier than the time when the access network device receives the second data sequence. Similar to Figure 2 Method 3, the first data packet and the second data packet are respectively data packets for different services or different scenarios.

[0102] S303: The access network device discards the first data packet according to the second data packet.

[0103] Specifically, the specific operation for the access network device to discard the first data packet can be that the access network device considers that the discard timer of the first data packet has timed out, thereby triggering the discard of the first data packet. Since data packets can be carried in the DRB, therefore, discarding the first data packet can also be understood as the access network device resetting the DRB carrying the first data packet in order to clear all data packets in the DRB carrying the first data packet. How the access network device discards the first data packet according to the second data packet can refer to Figure 2 S203 in it, which will not be elaborated here.

[0104] In a possible embodiment, Figure 3 The method shown further includes: The access network device receives first configuration information sent by the core network, and the first configuration information indicates that the first Qos flow and the second Qos flow are in a mutually clearing relationship.

[0105] In a possible embodiment, Figure 3 The method shown further includes: The access network device receives configuration information of the Qos flow sent by the core network, and this configuration information indicates that the arrival of the subsequent data sequence of this Qos flow can clear the previous data sequence.

[0106] In a possible embodiment, Figure 3 The method further includes: The access network device receives first information sent by the core network, and the first information indicates that the access network device is allowed to discard the first data packet according to the second data packet.

[0107] It can be understood that, in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the access network device and the terminal include corresponding hardware structures and / or software modules for executing each function. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, combining the units and method steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed in this application, this application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a certain function is executed in the way of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application scenario and design constraint conditions of the technical solution.

[0108] Figure 4 and Figure 5 are schematic structural diagrams of possible communication devices provided by the embodiments of this application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the terminal or the access network device in the above method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects possessed by the above method embodiments. In the embodiments of this application, this communication device can be the Figure 1 shown terminal 120, or can also be the Figure 1The access network device 110 shown may also be a module (such as a chip) applied to a terminal or an access network device.

[0109] As Figure 4 shown, the communication device 400 includes a processing unit 410 and a transceiver unit 420. The communication device 400 is used to implement the functions of the terminal or the access network device in the method embodiments described above. Figure 2 and Figure 3 above.

[0110] When the communication device 400 is used to implement the functions of the terminal in the method embodiment shown Figure 2 above: The transceiver unit 420 is used to perform the related functions of the access layer in the above Figure 2 above; the processing unit 410 is used to perform the related functions of the application layer.

[0111] In a possible way, the processing unit 410 sends a first data packet and a second data packet to the transceiver unit 420, and the transceiver unit 420 discards the first data packet according to the second data packet. In a possible way, the transceiver unit 420 receives first configuration information, and the first configuration information indicates that the first Qos flow and the second Qos flow are in a mutually clearing relationship.

[0112] In a possible way, the transceiver unit 420 receives first information, and the first information indicates that the communication device 400 is allowed to discard the first data packet according to the second data packet.

[0113] In a possible way, the transceiver unit 420 receives second information, and the second information is used to trigger the transceiver unit 420 to discard the first data packet according to the second data packet.

[0114] When the communication device 400 is used to implement the functions of the access network device or the core network in the method embodiment shown Figure 2 above, optionally, the communication device 400 may not include the processing unit 410. In a possible way, the transceiver unit 420 is used to send first configuration information. The first configuration information indicates that the first Qos flow and the second Qos flow are in a mutually clearing relationship. Further, in a possible way, the transceiver unit 420 is used to send first information, and the first information indicates that the terminal is allowed to discard the first data packet according to the second data packet.

[0115] When the communication device 400 is used to implement the functions of the access network device in the method embodiment shown Figure 3 above, optionally, the communication device 400 may not include the processing unit 410.

[0116] In a possible way, the transceiver unit 410 receives a first data packet and a second data packet.

[0117] In a possible manner, the transceiver unit 410 discards the first data packet according to the second data packet.

[0118] In a possible manner, the transceiver unit 420 receives first configuration information, and the first configuration information indicates that the first Qos flow and the second Qos flow are in a mutually exclusive relationship.

[0119] In a possible manner, the transceiver unit 420 receives first information, and the first information indicates that the communication device 400 is allowed to discard the first data packet according to the second data packet.

[0120] In a possible manner, the transceiver unit 420 receives second information, and the second information is used to trigger the transceiver unit 420 to discard the first data packet according to the second data packet.

[0121] When the communication device 400 is used to implement Figure 3 the functions of the core network or the server in the method embodiments shown, optionally, the communication device 400 may not include the processing unit 410.

[0122] In a possible manner, the transceiver unit 410 sends the first data packet and the second data packet.

[0123] In a possible manner, the transceiver unit 410 sends first configuration information, and the first configuration information indicates that the first Qos flow and the second Qos flow are in a mutually exclusive relationship.

[0124] In a possible manner, the transceiver unit 410 sends first information, and the first information indicates that the access network device is allowed to discard the first data packet according to the second data packet.

[0125] As Figure 5 shown, the communication device 500 includes a processor 510 and an interface circuit 520. The processor 510 and the interface circuit 520 are coupled to each other. It can be understood that the interface circuit 520 may be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the communication device 500 may further include a memory 530, which is used to store instructions executed by the processor 510 or store input data required for the processor 510 to run instructions or store data generated after the processor 510 runs instructions.

[0126] When the communication device 500 is used to implement Figure 4 the method shown, the processor 510 is used to implement the functions of the above-mentioned processing unit 410, and the interface circuit 520 is used to implement the functions of the above-mentioned transceiver unit 420.

[0127] When the above communication device is a chip applied to a terminal, the terminal chip implements the functions of the terminal in the above method embodiments. The terminal chip receives information from an access network device, which can be understood as the information is first received by other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the terminal and then sent by these modules to the terminal chip. The terminal chip sends information to the access network device, which can be understood as the information is first sent to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the terminal and then sent by these modules to the access network device.

[0128] When the above communication device is a chip applied to an access network device, the access network device chip implements the functions of the access network device in the above method embodiments. The access network device chip receives information from a terminal, which can be understood as the information is first received by other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the access network device and then sent by these modules to the access network device chip. The access network device chip sends information to the terminal, which can be understood as the information is sent to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the access network device and then sent by these modules to the terminal.

[0129] In this application, entity A sending information to entity B can be that A directly sends to B or A indirectly sends to B through other entities. Similarly, entity B receiving information from entity A can be that entity B directly receives the information sent by entity A or entity B indirectly receives the information sent by entity A through other entities. Here, entity A and B can be RAN nodes or terminals, or modules inside RAN nodes or terminals. The sending and receiving of information can be information interaction between a RAN node and a terminal, for example, information interaction between an access network device and a terminal; the sending and receiving of information can also be information interaction between two RAN nodes, for example, information interaction between a CU and a DU; the sending and receiving of information can further be information interaction between different modules within a device, for example, information interaction between a terminal chip and other modules of the terminal, or information interaction between an access network device chip and other modules in the access network device.

[0130] It can be understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or may also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0131] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented in hardware or in software instructions executable by a processor. The software instructions may be composed of corresponding software modules, and the software modules may be stored in a random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, registers, hard disk, removable hard disk, CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. The storage medium may also be a component of the processor. The processor and the storage medium may be located in an ASIC. Additionally, the ASIC may be located in an access network device or a terminal. The processor and the storage medium may also exist as discrete components in the access network device or the terminal.

[0132] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are executed in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user device, or other programmable devices. The computer program or instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer program or instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center in a wired or wireless manner. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer, or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, or a magnetic tape; it can also be an optical medium, such as a digital video disc; or it can be a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive. The computer-readable storage medium can be a volatile or non-volatile storage medium, or can include both volatile and non-volatile types of storage media.

[0133] In various embodiments of the present application, if there is no special description and logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced to each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their internal logical relationships.

[0134] In the present application, "at least one" means one or more, and "a plurality" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In the written description of the present application, the character " / " generally represents an "or" relationship between the associated objects before and after; in the formulas of the present application, the character " / " represents a "division" relationship between the associated objects before and after. "Including at least one of A, B, and C" can represent: including A; including B; including C; including A and B; including A and C; including B and C; including A, B, and C.

[0135] It can be understood that the various numerical numbers involved in the embodiments of the present application are only for the convenience of description and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. The magnitudes of the serial numbers of the above processes do not mean the sequence of execution. The execution sequence of each process should be determined according to its function and internal logic.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Receiving a first data packet; Receiving a second data packet; Discarding the first data packet according to the second data packet.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The data included in the first data packet belongs to a first data sequence, and the data included in the second data packet belongs to a second data sequence. The discarding of the first data packet according to the second data packet is specifically to discard the first data packet according to the difference between the second data sequence and the first data sequence.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The second data packet carries first indication information, and the first indication information indicates that the data sequence of the data in the second data packet is the second data sequence. The data included in the first data packet belongs to the first data sequence, and the second data sequence is different from the first data sequence.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein The discarding of the first data packet according to the second data packet includes: the second data packet carries second indication information, and the second indication information indicates to discard the first data packet, and the first data packet is discarded according to the second indication information.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein The data included in the first data packet belongs to a first data sequence, and the data included in the second data packet belongs to a second data sequence. The second indication information indicates the first data sequence, and the first data packet is discarded according to the second indication information.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The second indication information indicates the sequence identifier of the first data sequence.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, The method further includes: receiving first information, and the first information indicates that it is allowed to discard the first data packet according to the second data packet.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first data packet belongs to a first Qos Flow, and the second data packet belongs to a second Qos flow. The discarding of the first data packet according to the second data packet is specifically: clearing the first data packet of the first Qos flow according to the second Qos flow.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein The first Qos flow and the second Qos flow are associated.

10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that, The method further includes: receiving first configuration information, and the first configuration information indicates that the first Qos flow and the second Qos flow are in a relationship of mutual clearing.

11. The method according to any one of claims 8-10, characterized in that, The first Qos flow and the second Qos flow are respectively mapped to different DRBs.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that The discarding of the first data packet according to the second data packet is specifically: discarding the first data packet according to the time interval between the arrival time of the second data packet and the arrival time of the first data packet being greater than a threshold.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1-12, characterized in that, The first data packet includes data that has been processed by the DRB and data that has not been processed by the DRB. The discarding of the first data packet is specifically to discard the data in the first data packet that has not been processed by the DRB.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that, Discarding the first data packet according to the second data packet; Includes: determining that the discard timer of the first data packet expires according to the second data packet, and discarding the first data packet, or, Discarding all the data of the data radio bearer DRB mapped by the first data packet according to the second data packet.

15. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that, The arrival time of the first data packet at the access stratum is earlier than that of the second data packet, or, the generation time of the data included in the first data packet is earlier than the generation time of the data included in the second data packet.

16. According to the method described in any one of claims 1-15, the first communication device is a terminal device or an access network device.

17. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes a unit or module for executing the method described in any one of claims 1-16.

18. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed by a communication device, the method described in any one of claims 1-16 is executed.

19. A computer program product, characterized in that, When the computer program product runs on a computer, it causes the computer to execute the method described in any one of claims 1-16.

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