Identification of relay user equipment for sidelink relay

Abstract

The present application relates to devices and components, including apparatus, systems, and methods, for managing relay identifiers for sidelink relay in wireless networks.

Description

Background Art

[0001] The Technical Specification (TS) of the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) defines the standards for the New Radio (NR) wireless network. These TSs describe aspects related to the relay service that can be provided by a relay user equipment (UE) for a remote UE.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0002] [Figure 1] Shows a network environment according to some embodiments.

[0003] [Figure 2] Shows a mobility scenario in a network according to some embodiments.

[0004] [Figure 3] Shows a signaling flow according to some embodiments.

[0005] [Figure 4] Shows the signaling of relay discovery notification according to some embodiments.

[0006] [Figure 5] Shows a procedure of the first aspect according to some embodiments.

[0007] [Figure 6] Shows a procedure of the second aspect according to some embodiments.

[0008] [Figure 7] Shows a procedure of the third aspect according to some embodiments.

[0009] [Figure 8]The following describes procedures for configuring and reporting identity history according to several embodiments.

[0010] [Figure 9] A fourth embodiment of the procedure, according to several embodiments, is shown below.

[0011] [Figure 10] A fifth embodiment of the procedure, according to several embodiments, is shown below.

[0012] [Figure 11] This figure shows examples of operational flow / algorithm structures according to several embodiments.

[0013] [Figure 12] This figure shows an example of a different operation flow / algorithm structure according to several embodiments.

[0014] [Figure 13] This figure shows an example of a different operation flow / algorithm structure according to several embodiments.

[0015] [Figure 14] The following shows user equipment according to several embodiments.

[0016] [Figure 15] Several embodiments of network devices are shown. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0017] The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers may be used in different drawings to identify the same or similar elements. In the following description, for purposes of explanation and not limitation, specific details of particular structures, architectures, interfaces, and techniques are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the various aspects of the various embodiments. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure that the various aspects of the various embodiments may be practiced in other examples that depart from these specific details. In some cases, descriptions of well-known devices, circuits, and methods are omitted so as not to obscure the description of the various embodiments with unnecessary detail. For the purposes of this written description, the phrases "A / B" and "A or B" mean (A), (B), or (A and B).

[0018] The following is a glossary of terms that may be used in this disclosure.

[0019] As used herein, the term "circuit" refers to, is part of, or includes hardware components configured to provide the described functionality. Hardware components can include electronic circuits, logic circuits, processors (shared, dedicated, or group), memories (shared, dedicated, or group), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable devices (FPDs) (e.g., field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), complex PLDs (CPLDs), high capacity PLDs (HCPLDs), structured ASICs, programmable system on chips (SoCs)), or digital signal processors (DSPs). In some embodiments, a circuit can execute one or more software or firmware programs to provide at least some of the described functionality. The term "circuit" can also refer to a combination of one or more hardware elements (or combination of circuits used in an electrical or electronic system) and program code used to execute the functionality of that program code. In these embodiments, the combination of the hardware elements and the program code can be referred to as a particular type of circuit configuration.

[0020] As used herein, the term "processor circuitry" refers to, is part of, or includes circuitry configured to sequentially and automatically execute a series of arithmetic or logical operations or record, store, or transfer digital data. The term "processor circuit" can refer to an application processor, a baseband processor, a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit, a single core processor, a dual core processor, a triple core processor, a quad core processor, or any other device capable of executing or otherwise operating on computer executable instructions such as program code, software modules, or functional processes.

[0021] As used herein, the term “interface circuit configuration” refers to, is part of, or includes a circuit configuration that enables the exchange of information between two or more components or devices. The term “interface circuit” may refer to one or more hardware interfaces, such as a bus, an I / O interface, a peripheral component interface, and a network interface card.

[0022] As used herein, the terms “User Equipment” or “UE” refer to a device having wireless communication capabilities that enable a user to access network resources within a communication network. The terms “User Equipment” or “UE” may be considered and may be referred to as synonymous with client, mobile, mobile device, mobile terminal, user terminal, mobile unit, mobile station, mobile user, subscriber, user, remote station, access agent, user agent, receiver, radio equipment, reconfigurable radio equipment, or reconfigurable mobile device. Furthermore, the terms “User Equipment” or “UE” may include any type of wireless / wired device or any computing device that includes a wireless communication interface.

[0023] As used herein, the term “computer system” refers to any type of interconnected electronic devices, computer devices, or components thereof. In addition, the term “computer system” or “system” may refer to various components of a computer that are interconnected in a communicative manner. Furthermore, the term “computer system” or “system” may refer to multiple computer devices or multiple computing systems that are interconnected in a communicative manner and configured to share computing resources or networking resources.

[0024] As used herein, the term “resource” means a physical or virtual device, a physical component or virtual component in a computing environment, or a physical component or virtual component in a particular device, such as a computer device, mechanical device, memory space, processor / CPU time, processor / CPU usage, processor and accelerator load, hardware time or usage, power, I / O operation, port or network socket, channel / link allocation, throughput, memory usage, storage, network, database and application, or workload unit. “Hardware resource” may mean a computing resource, storage resource or network resource provided by a physical hardware element. “Virtualization resource” may mean a computing resource, storage resource or network resource provided by a virtualization infrastructure to an application, device or system. The terms “network resource” or “communication resource” may mean a resource accessible by a computer device / system via a communication network. The term “system resource” may mean any kind of shared entity providing a service, which may include computing resources or network resources. A system resource may also be considered a set of coherent functions, network data objects or services that reside on a single host or multiple hosts and are accessible through a clearly identifiable server.

[0025] As used herein, the term “channel” refers to a tangible or intangible transmission medium used to communicate data or a data stream. The term “channel” may be synonymous or equivalent to any other similar term indicating a path or medium through which data is communicated, such as “communication channel,” “data communication channel,” “transmission channel,” “data transmission channel,” “access channel,” “data access channel,” “link,” “data link,” “carrier,” “radio frequency carrier,” or any other similar term. In addition, as used herein, the term “link” refers to a connection between two devices for the purpose of sending and receiving information.

[0026] As used herein, terms such as "instantiate" and "instantiate" refer to the creation of an instance. "Instance" also refers to the specific occurrence of an object that may occur, for example, during the execution of program code.

[0027] The term "connected" can mean that two or more elements in a common communication protocol layer have a signaling relationship established with each other via a communication channel, link, interface, or reference point.

[0028] As used herein, the term “Network Element” refers to physical or virtualized equipment or infrastructure used to provide wired or wireless communication network services. The term “Network Element” may be considered synonymous with, or may be referred to as, a networked computer, network hardware, network equipment, network node, or virtualized network function.

[0029] The term "information element" refers to a structural element that contains one or more fields. The term "field" refers to the individual contents of an information element or data element that contains content. An information element may contain one or more further information elements.

[0030] Figure 1 shows a network environment 100 according to several embodiments. The network environment 100 may include a UE 104, a UE 106, and a base station 108 of a radio access network (RAN). The base station (BS) 108 may be a next-generation node B (gNB) of a next-generation (NG)-RAN providing one or more 5G New Radio (NR) cells. The NR cells may present NR user plane and control plane protocol terminations to UE 104 / 106.

[0031] The network environment 100 may further include a core network (CN) 112. For example, CN112 may comprise a fifth-generation core network (5GC). CN112 may be coupled to a base station 108 via optical fiber or wireless backhaul. CN112 may provide functions for UE 104 via base station 108. These functions may include managing subscriber profile information, subscriber location, service authentication, or switching between voice and data sessions. CN112 may include access and mobility functions (AMF) 120 involved in registration management (e.g., for registering UE 104, etc.), connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception of AMF-related events, and access authentication and authorization. CN112 may also include policy control functions (PCF) that provide policies associated with mobility and session management. The functions provided by CN112 may be implemented in one or more servers or other devices in a centralized or distributed location.

[0032] UE104 may be located within an NR cell provided by base station 108 and may be coupled to base station 108 via an NR Uu interface. UE104 may also have a sidelink connection to UE106, which may also be called remote UE106, via a sidelink physical interface, which may also be called a PC5 interface. UE104 may act as a UE-to-network (U2N) relay to extend network coverage to remote UE106. UE104 may also be called relay UE104. Remote UE106 may be outside network coverage due to its location being outside an NR cell, or due to remote UE106 having its Uu modem turned off, for example to conserve power, and only its sidelink modem operating. By providing Layer 2 UE-to-NW relay, remote UE106 may be accessible and controllable by base station 108 via an end-to-end NR Uu interface, including a PC5 interface and an NR Uu interface.

[0033] Unless otherwise described herein, devices in network environment 100 may provide proximity services (ProSe) direct discovery, direct communication, and UE-network relay in accordance with the description provided in 3GPP TS 24.555 v0.4.0 (2021-08).

[0034] Figure 2 shows devices of the network environment 100 for mobility scenarios according to several embodiments. In particular, the mobility scenario may correspond to an intra-BS direct-indirect handover. This type of handover may occur when a remote UE 106 selects a relay (e.g., relay UE 104) that has been camped on to the same base station (e.g., base station 108) to which the remote UE 106 was initially connected as the handover target. Thus, the remote UE 106 may remain under the control of the same base station before and after the handover. These types of handovers may occur for several reasons, including, for example, the remote UE 106 moving out of the coverage of base station 108, the remote UE 106 powering down its NR Uu modem, or based on a decision that the remote UE 106 can be better served by the relay UE 104 in terms of uplink throughput or reliability.

[0035] Figure 3 shows a signaling flow 300 illustrating direct-indirect handover within the BS according to several embodiments.

[0036] The signaling flow 300 may include, in 304, the exchange of uplink / downlink data directly between the remote UE 106 and the base station 108 via the NR Uu interface.

[0037] The signaling flow 300 may further include measurement configuration and reporting in 308. The remote UE 106 may measure / discover several candidate U2N relay UEs and send the resulting report to the network. The report may correspond to one or more candidate U2N relay UEs and legacy Uu measurements. The remote UE 106 may filter appropriate U2N relay UEs based on relay selection criteria before reporting. The remote UE 106 may report only U2N relay UE candidates that meet higher-layer criteria that may be configured for the remote UE 106 by the network. The report may include the U2N relay UE identifier (ID), the NR serving cell ID (NCI) of the U2N relay UE, and sidelink discovery-reference signal received power (SD-RSRP) information.

[0038] In 316, base station 108 may decide to switch remote UE 106 to a target U2N relay UE, for example, relay UE 104. Base station 108 may then, in 312, send a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration message to relay UE 104 to configure it to provide relay services for remote UE 106. Base station 108 may also, in 316, send an RRC reconfiguration message to remote UE 106. The RRC reconfiguration message sent to remote UE 106 may include the relay UE ID and a PC5 radio link control (RLC) configuration for relay traffic and associated end-to-end radio bearers. After receiving the RRC reconfiguration message from base station 108, remote UE 106 may stop user plane and control plane transmissions via the Uu interface.

[0039] Signaling flow 300 may further include, in 320, the remote UE106 establishing a PC5 connection with relay UE104. In some cases, the PC5 connection may have already been established, and it is not necessary to establish the connection at this point.

[0040] In 324, the signaling flow 300 may include the remote UE 106 sending an RRC reconfiguration complete message to the base station 108 to complete the route switching procedure. The RRC reconfiguration complete message may be sent to the base station 108 via the relay UE 104. Subsequently, the data route may be switched from the direct route to the indirect route. In 328, uplink and downlink data may be exchanged between the remote UE 104 and the base station 108 via an end-to-end NR Uu connection. As shown in Figure 1, the end-to-end NR Uu connection includes a PC5 connection between the remote UE 106 and the relay UE 104, and an NR Uu connection between the relay UE 104 and the base station 108.

[0041] The U2N relay UE ID (or simply "relay UE ID") used in the mobility scenario described in Figure 3 is an identifier shared in common between the remote UE 106, the relay UE 104, and the base station 108. This sharing may be desired in L2 relay but may not be required in L3 relay. In contrast to L2 relay UEs, L3 relay UEs may not need to be synchronized with the base station because the relay service may be transparent to the NG-RAN.

[0042] Figure 4 shows the signaling of the relay discovery notification 400 according to several embodiments. The relay UE 104 may send the relay discovery notification 400 to the remote UE 106 as part of a discovery procedure. The discovery procedure may be a Model A or B procedure similar to that described in Section 5.3.1.2 of Technical Specification (TS) 23.303 v16.0.0 (2020-07-09).

[0043] The Model A procedure, sometimes colloquially called the "I am here" procedure, can define two roles for UEs participating in ProSe direct discovery. The first role may be that of announcing UEs, which announce certain information that can be used by nearby UEs that have permission to discover. Relay UE 104 can fulfill the first role and act as announcing UE. The second role may be that of a monitoring UE, which monitors for specific information of interest near the announcing UE. Remote UE 104 can fulfill the second role and act as a monitoring UE. In this model, the announcing UE may broadcast relay discovery announcements 400 at predefined discovery intervals. Monitoring UEs interested in these announcements can read and process them.

[0044] The Model B procedure, which can be colloquially referred to as the "Who is there? / Are you there?" procedure, can also define two roles for ProSe-enabled UEs participating in ProSe direct discovery. The first role may be that of a discovering UE that sends a request containing specific information about what it is interested in discovering. Remote UE 106 can fulfill the first role and act as a discovering UE. The second role may be that of a discovered UE that receives the request message and can respond with some information related to the discovering UE's request. Relay UE 104 can fulfill the second role and act as a discovered UE. Thus, the discovering UE can send information about other UEs from which it would like to receive a response. For example, the information may be about a ProSe application identity corresponding to a group, from which members of the group can respond. In response, relay UE 104 may send relay discovery notification 400.

[0045] The relay discovery notification 400 may include various fields organized within the Layer 1 (L1) / L2 header, higher layer discovery message content, and application layer information.

[0046] The L1 / L2 header may include fields for carrying the source (src) L2 ID, destination (dst) L2 ID, media access control (MAC) content, radio link control (RLC) content, and the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) header.

[0047] The upper layer discovery message content may include a Model A / B field to carry an indication of whether a Model A or Model B discovery type is supported. The upper layer discovery message content may further include a Layer 2 / 3 field to carry an indication of whether the relay UE 104 can operate as an L2 or L3 relay. The upper layer discovery message content may further include an RSC field to carry a relay service code (RSC) that indicates the type of relay service provided by the relay UE 104. The upper layer discovery message content may further include an NCI field to include the ID of the NR cell to which the relay UE 104 is camped. The upper layer discovery message content may further include a PLMN field to indicate the public land mobile network (PLMN) to which the relay UE 104 is connected.

[0048] Application layer information may include user information that can be provided to the application layer of the remote UE106.

[0049] Relay discovery messages can be used by relay UEs to advertise access services on behalf of the network. However, when the network uses relay discovery messages in legacy discovery procedures, it may not be able to track which advertisements are being advertised by which relay UE. This may be because legacy messages lack a relay UE ID, and existing fields are insufficient to uniquely identify the relay UE. For example, a relay service code, which may be assigned by a higher layer, is not a unique identifier and may be shared by a group of relay UEs. The source L2 ID is self-selected by the relay UE, and the destination L2 ID is a common broadcast address. This can lead to various deambiguation and reachability issues. For example, a base station may have difficulty reaching a relay UE due to handover.

[0050] Accordingly, the embodiments describe how the relay UE ID should be defined, the temporal nature of the relay UE ID (e.g., whether it is persistent, semi-persistent, or dynamically modified), and how all parties modify the relay UE ID in sync with the changes.

[0051] Various embodiments also describe how the relay UE 104 should signal the relay UE ID in the relay discovery notification. As will be described in more detail below, the relay UE ID may be provided in the source L2 ID field or in a new field in the upper layer discovery message content. In some cases, the new field may be in the ProSe layer. If the relay UE ID is provided in the source L2 ID field, it may be part or all of the 24-bit source L2 ID. If the relay UE ID is provided in a new field in the upper layer discovery message content, it may or may not be 24 bits.

[0052] Figure 5 shows a procedure 500 in a first aspect of the present disclosure, in which a higher-layer technique is used to create and assign a relay UE ID, according to several embodiments. In the first aspect, the network function of CN112 may provide a higher-layer relay UE ID to relay UE 104. The relay UE ID may also be provided to base station 108 via Next Generation Application Protocol (NGAP) signaling, along with ProSe relay authorization. Changing the relay UE ID may be controlled by CN112.

[0053] PCF 120 may provision ProSe parameters to relay UE104 (and other relay UEs). ProSe parameters may include relay UE IDs along with relay service codes. ProSe parameters may be provisioned to relay UEs as part of a UE policy encoded within a ProSeP (ProSe policy) data structure. In particular, relay UE IDs(s) may be provided along with an RSC list. ProSeP may be provided to relay UE104 using a UE policy distribution service such as those described in 3GPP TS 24.501 v17.4.1 (2021-09-27).

[0054] The AMF116 can send an NGAP message to the NG-RAN (e.g., base station 108) based on ProSe parameters. The NGAP message may include the relay UE ID along with a ProSe authorization indicating whether the relay UE 104 is permitted to operate as a 5G ProSe L2 U2N relay. In some embodiments, the NGAP message may be part of a UE context modification request or an initial context setup request message.

[0055] The relay UE ID may be an N-bit identifier associated with the relay UE 104 for providing relay services. In some embodiments, if the relay UE 104 supports multiple relay services, it may be associated with multiple relay UE identifiers, each for each service. Each relay UE identifier may correspond to one or more relay UE services. The relay UE 104 may then identify the provided relay service by including the corresponding relay UE ID in a relay discovery message (e.g., a relay discovery notification).

[0056] When base station 108 receives a relay UE ID from a report by remote UE 106 (or from another base station via inter-base station signaling), it can determine the location of the UE context associated with relay UE 104 (assuming relay UE 104 is currently connected to base station 108). Base station 108 can then reconfigure relay UE 104 and remote UE 106 for relay services, as described above with respect to Figure 3.

[0057] Second and third aspects of this disclosure provide lower-layer techniques in which relay UE IDs are generated and managed by relay UE 104 or base station 108 without involvement from the core network 112. Base station 108 may discard a relay UE ID whenever a UE context is removed. This may occur when relay UE 104 enters an RRC idle state. Base station 108 may maintain an ID space so that relays within its cell(s) do not use the same ID. This can ensure uniqueness between relay UEs in an RRC connected state. A relay UE ID may be determined or confirmed whenever a relay UE enters an RRC connected state within a cell.

[0058] Figure 6 shows a procedure 600 of a second aspect of the present disclosure in which a lower-layer technique is used to create and assign a relay UE ID, according to several embodiments. In the second aspect, base station 108 may select a unique identifier for relay UE 104 to use as its relay UE ID. Base station 108 may then provide an ID instruction in an RRC message transmitted to relay UE 104. In some embodiments, the relay UE ID may be the same as, or at least based on, the cell RNTI (C-RNTI).

[0059] Procedure 600 may include, in 604, the relay UE 104 transmitting sidelink UE information to the base station 108. The sidelink UE information may include an ID request. In some embodiments, the sidelink UE information may also include a UE selection ID currently or previously used by the relay UE 104 for relay services.

[0060] In 608, the base station may select an unused ID. This may be based on an ID request in the sidelink UE information received in 604. However, in other embodiments, the base station 108 may spontaneously initiate procedure 600 without depending on a request from the relay UE 104.

[0061] Unused IDs may be selected based on an ID space that includes a list of currently associated or unassociated IDs. In this way, the base station can identify a unique identifier that can be assigned to a relay UE as a relay UE ID.

[0062] In some embodiments, the relay UE ID may be the same as, or at least based on, the 16-bit C-RNTI. This avoids the burden of having a separate cell management ID. Furthermore, given that the C-RNTI is already exposed at the access layer (AS) layer, there are fewer privacy concerns regarding the use of this identifier in the notification message.

[0063] In 612, the base station may transmit a NW-assigned ID to the relay UE for use as the relay UE ID. The identifier may be transmitted to the relay UE 104 in the RRC reconfiguration message.

[0064] Figure 7 shows a procedure 700 in a third aspect of the Disclosure in which a lower-layer technique is used to create and assign a relay UE ID, according to several embodiments. In the third aspect of the Disclosure, another lower-layer technique may be used to create and assign a relay UE ID. In this aspect, relay UE 104 may select an identifier and transport it to base station 108. Base station 108 may confirm the selection or override it with a different ID (for example, if the selected identifier is already associated with another relay UE and would result in a collision). Base station 108 may then send back confirmation or a new identifier to relay UE 104.

[0065] Procedure 700 may include, in 704, the relay UE 104 transmitting sidelink UE information to the base station 108. The sidelink UE information may include UE selection IDs. In some embodiments, the sidelink UE information may further include one or more UE selection IDs previously used as relay UE IDs.

[0066] In step 708, base station 108 may check whether the UE selection ID is being used by another UE in the same cell. The result of this check may affect whether base station 108 sends an acknowledgment or override instruction in the RRC reconfiguration message in step 712. If the UE selection ID is being used by another UE in the same cell, base station 108 may select an unused ID that relay UE 104 can use as a relay UE ID. Then, in step 712, the NW selection ID may be sent with an override instruction in the RRC reconfiguration message. This may be similar to what is described above with respect to Figure 6. If the UE selection ID is not being used by another UE in the same cell, base station 108 may send an acknowledgment in the RRC reconfiguration message in step 712.

[0067] There may be various reasons why it might be desirable to change the relay UE ID. For example, relay UE 104 may want to periodically change its ID to protect its own privacy. In another example, the network may want to assign a new relay UE ID to relay UE 104 to facilitate management at the cell level. In various embodiments, the relay UE ID may change based on a UE trigger or a base station trigger. The assignment of an updated relay UE ID may be based on a procedure described elsewhere, for example, procedure 600 or 700.

[0068] In some embodiments, the relay UE 104 may receive an RRC release and transition from a connected state to an idle or inactive state. After the relay UE 104 transitions to an idle or inactive state, it may continue to use the previously assigned relay UE ID. This may be true even if the relay UE 104 leaves the current cell and becomes unreachable after transitioning from a connected state.

[0069] In AS layer solutions, it is assumed that the relay UE ID identifies a relay UE in an RRC connected state. However, relay UE 104 may use an identifier (possibly a self-selected ID) in a discovery message before entering a connected state. Therefore, some embodiments may include relay UE 104 providing the base station with a UE selection ID that may have been used during an RRC idle or inactive state. See, for example, messages 604 or 704. Providing the UE selection ID to the network in this way may help the network track the relay UE ID usage history.

[0070] The network can benefit from understanding the change history of relay UE IDs in order to associate measurement reports from remote UEs with various IDs to the appropriate relay UE. For example, in relation to the second aspect of this disclosure, if relay UE 104 does not provide instructions for previous / current UE selection IDs, base station 108 will not be able to link previous measurement reports (from remote UEs) containing those IDs to relay UE 104 after it has newly (re)connected with base station 108. Also, in relation to the third aspect of this disclosure, it may not be sufficient for relay UE to report only its current UE selection ID. For example, base station may not have information about UE selection IDs used by relay UE 104 prior to the current UE selection ID, which may be indicated in measurement reports from remote UEs. In either case, if the network fails to associate the measurement report to relay UE 106 due to an unknown association between relay UE 106 and the UE selection ID, the network may misjudge the feasibility of relay UE 106 acting as a handover candidate.

[0071] In some embodiments, a relay UE may report all UE selection UDs used over a certain time interval before (re)connecting to the network. The time interval defining the length of the ID history may be configured by the network or may be predefined as a fixed value within the TS, such as 10 seconds.

[0072] Figure 8 shows a procedure 800 for configuring and reporting relay UE ID history in some embodiments. In procedure 800, relay UE 104 may report a sequence of previously and currently used relay UE IDs to base station 108 via RRC signaling. This may occur when relay UE 104 transitions from an idle / inactive state to a connected state. Reporting the relay UE ID history may take additional time in some cases.

[0073] In 804, procedure 800 may include sending a configuration message instructing base station 108 that the UE should report the UE selection ID to be used for relay services. In some embodiments, the message may include a relay ID history retention interval (hereinafter, "retention interval") value. The configuration information may be a system information block (SIB) as part of a common U2N relay configuration, or it may be dedicated RRC signaling (e.g., an RRC reconfiguration message). Alternatively, the retention interval value may be defined as a fixed value (e.g., 10 seconds).

[0074] In 808, the relay UE 104 may maintain a list of relay UE IDs used for relay discovery during a time interval defined by the retention interval value. For example, if the retention interval value is N seconds, the relay UE may maintain a list of all relay UE IDs used for relay discovery during the previous N seconds.

[0075] In 812, the relay UE 104 may establish an RRC connection with the base station 108.

[0076] At 816, the relay UE 104 may transmit sidelink UE information NR to the base station 108. The sidelink UE information NR may include the current version of the list of relay UE IDs maintained by the relay UE 104. For example, if t is the time to report the sidelink UE information NR and N is the retention interval value, the relay UE 104 may report a list of all IDs used in the window [tN,t].

[0077] In some embodiments, the reported list of relay UE IDs may always begin with the current relay UE ID. Alternatively, the current relay UE ID may be transmitted in a separate standalone information element. If the report transmitted in 816 includes multiple UE selection IDs, it may also include an indication of the most recently used ID.

[0078] If the retention interval value is not provided in the configuration message or is otherwise undefined, the relay UE104 may only report the most recently used UE selection ID.

[0079] Figure 9 shows a procedure 900 of a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, in which a lower-layer technique is used to create and assign relay UE IDs, according to several embodiments. In the fourth aspect of the present disclosure, relay UE IDs may be assigned by the NG-RAN for a group of cells. Relay UE IDs may be unique among a large area containing two or more cells. In some embodiments, relay UE IDs may be assigned / managed by a centralized unit within the NG-RAN, for example, a gNB centralized unit (CU).

[0080] Procedure 900 may include, in 904, the base station 108 sending an RRC release to the relay UE 104. The RRC release may include a suspendConfig which includes an inactive RNTI (I-RNTI) which can be used to identify the suspended UE context of the relay UE 104 while it is in an inactive state. The RRC release may further include a relay ID (IDx) assigned to the relay UE 104 which is used while the relay UE 104 is in an inactive state. In this way, when the relay UE 104 enters RRC_INACTIVE, the relay UE ID is associated with the I-RNTI.

[0081] The relay UE 104 may use the assigned relay UE IE (IDx) in the PC5 relay notification 908 transmitted while it is within the RAN-based notification area (RNA) of base station 108. Any base station in the RNA that receives a measurement report with IDx may be able to determine, based on RAN paging, that IDx is associated with relay UE 104. For example, a base station that receives a measurement report with IDx may use the I-RNTI associated with IDx to retrieve the interrupted UE context of relay UE 104. It may then use the interrupted UE context to page relay UE 104 into a connected state so that it can perform handover preparation.

[0082] When base station 108 receives a measurement report containing a relay UE ID and a serving cell instruction provided by base station 108, base station 108 may have a locally stored interrupted UE context. Therefore, it may page relay UE 104 based on I-RNTI. However, in some cases, base station 108 may receive a measurement report containing a relay UE ID and a serving cell instruction provided by another base station within the same RNA. In this case, base station 108 may send a request to the other base station for the interrupted UE context associated with the relay UE ID. Upon receiving the interrupted UE context, base station 108 may proceed to page relay UE ID and prepare for handover.

[0083] At 912, the relay UE 104 may move outside of the RNA and may need to change its relay UE ID to ensure RAN paging reachability. To do this, at 916, the relay UE 104 may send an RRC restart request to the base station 908 of the new RNA. The RRC restart request may include an RNA update element and a relay ID update request.

[0084] In 920, base station 908 may send an RRC release message having the interruption configuration and an updated relay UE ID (relayID(y)) to be used while relay UE 104 is in an inactive state. Relay UE 104 may use the newly assigned relay UE IE(IDy) in the PC5 relay announcement 924 sent while in base station 908's RNA.

[0085] Figure 10 shows a signaling flow 1000 in a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, in which a higher-layer technique is used to create and assign relay UE IDs, according to several embodiments. In the fifth aspect of the present disclosure, relay UE IDs may be managed / assigned by the AMF 116 based, for example, on a 5G S-Temporary Mobile Subcriber Identity (TMSI).

[0086] The signaling flow 1000 may include the AMF 116 assigning a relay UE ID to the relay UE 104. In some embodiments, the AMF 116 may provide the relay UE 104 with a 48-bit 5G S-TMSI for use in deriving the relay UE ID. The S-TMSI is a shortened version of the 5G global unique temporary identifier (GUTI) designed to facilitate efficient radio signaling procedures during paging and service requests. The S-TMSI may be constructed from a Mobility Management Entity Code (MMEC) and a Mobile TMSI (M-TMSI). To derive the relay UE ID based on the S-TMSI, the relay UE 104 may determine the hash output of the S-TMSI and its serving cell ID (NR cell identifier (NCI)). For example, the relay UE 104 may determine the relay UE ID based on the following expression:

number

[0087] Providing the relay UE ID as the hash output of the S-TMSI and serving cell ID may mitigate any privacy concerns, given that the 48-bit S-TMSI can withstand brute-force attacks. Furthermore, the relay UE ID may change automatically when the relay UE 104 moves from one serving cell to another. Notifying the network of this change in the relay UE ID may not be necessary.

[0088] The signaling flow 1000 may further include the relay UE 104 broadcasting the relay UE ID (and NCI shown in Figure 4) in a relay discovery message sent according to the Model A or B discovery procedure.

[0089] The remote UE 106 may transmit a measurement report containing the relay UE ID to the base station 108.

[0090] Upon receiving a measurement report from the remote UE 106, base station 108 may send a query to AMF 116 containing the relay UE ID. AMF 116 can decompose the relay UE ID into 5G-S-TMSI values ​​and use these values ​​to identify the UE context and state of relay UE 104. AMF 116 can then send the UE context / state to base station 108. If the context is stored in base station 108, base station 108 can update the context with a new identifier to maintain future associations.

[0091] Various features of the aspects of this disclosure are described below.

[0092] In the first embodiment, the same network assignment ID may be created / used as a relay UE ID for relay UEs in the RRC idle state, RRC connected state, or RRC inactive / idle state after RRC release. Network reachability of a relay UE (e.g., during handover) may be possible in the idle, inactive, and connected states.

[0093] In the second embodiment, the UE selection ID may be created / used as the relay UE ID for relay UEs in an RRC idle state, and the base station assignment ID may be created / used as the relay UE ID for relay UEs in an RRC connected state, and the relay UE may continue to use its previous ID as the relay UE ID in an inactive / idle state after RRC release. Network reachability of the relay UE (e.g., during handover) may be possible in the connected state.

[0094] In a third embodiment, a UE selection ID may be created / used as the relay UE ID for a relay UE in an RRC idle state, and an ID selected by the UE and confirmed by the base station, or an ID set by the base station after overriding the UE selection ID, may be created / used as the relay UE ID for a relay UE in an RRC connected state, and the relay UE may continue to use its previous ID as the relay UE ID for an inactive / idle state after RRC release. Network reachability of the relay UE (e.g., during handover) may be possible in the connected state.

[0095] In the fourth aspect, the UE selection ID may be created / used as the relay UE ID for relay UEs in the RRC idle state, and the NG-RAN assignment ID may be created / used as the relay UE ID for relay UEs in the RRC connected state, and the relay UE may continue to use the previous ID or use a new network assignment ID as the relay UE ID in the inactive / idle state after RRC release. Network reachability of the relay UE (e.g., during handover) may be possible in the inactive and connected states.

[0096] The second, third, and fourth embodiments describe the use of UE selection IDs in the RRC idle state. This can be avoided by requiring the relay UE to enter a connected state at least once before initiating the relay discovery procedure. In some cases, this may reduce the need to update the network with a history of UE selection IDs to ensure that all entities are properly synchronized.

[0097] In a fifth aspect, the same AMF assignment ID, which may differ per cell when hashed using NCI, may be created / used as a relay UE ID for relay UEs in the RRC idle state, RRC connected state, or RRC inactive / idle state after RRC release. Network reachability of a relay UE (e.g., during handover) may be possible in the idle, inactive, and connected states.

[0098] Figure 11 shows an operation flow / algorithm structure 1100 according to several embodiments. The operation flow / algorithm structure 1100 can be executed / implemented by a UE such as relay UE 104, UE 1400, or by its components, such as processor 1404.

[0099] The operation flow / algorithm structure 1100 may include receiving a message from the network in 1104. The message received from the network may contain information for determining the relay UE ID. In some embodiments, the information may be the relay UE ID itself. In other embodiments, the information may provide a basis for deriving the relay UE ID. For example, the information may be an S-TMSI that the UE can use with the NCI to determine the relay UE ID.

[0100] In some embodiments, the message may be an AS message received from a base station, or a NAS message received from a PCF (via the base station) or an AMF (via the base station).

[0101] In some embodiments, the message may include the relay UE ID in the source layer 2 ID field, or, for example, in a separate relay UE ID field in the ProSe layer.

[0102] The operation flow / algorithm structure 1100 may further include generating a relay discovery notification in 1108 to include the relay UE ID. The relay discovery notification may be part of a Model A or B discovery process.

[0103] The operation flow / algorithm structure 1100 may further include, in 1112, sending a relay discovery notification. The relay discovery notification may be sent while the UE is in an RRC connected state or an RRC inactive state.

[0104] Figure 12 shows an operation flow / algorithm structure 1200 according to several embodiments. The operation flow / algorithm structure 1200 can be executed / implemented by a base station, such as base station 108, device 1500, or by its components, such as processor 1504.

[0105] The operation flow / algorithm structure 1200 may include receiving a message in 1204 to authorize a first UE for ProSe relay. The message may be received from the AMF and may include a relay UE ID for the first UE. In some embodiments, the message may be an NGAP message including a UE context modification request or an initial context setup request.

[0106] The operation flow / algorithm structure 1200 may further include receiving a measurement report from the second UE in 1208. The measurement report may include relay UE ID, NCI, and SD-RSRP information. Based on the measurement report, the base station may identify the first UE as a target relay for the second UE.

[0107] The operation flow / algorithm structure 1200 may further include, in 1212, transmitting configuration information to the first UE in order to configure the first UE as a relay for the second UE.

[0108] Figure 13 shows the operation flow / algorithm structure 1300 according to several embodiments. The operation flow / algorithm structure 1300 can be executed / implemented by the functions of the core network, such as AMF 116, PCF 120, or device 1500, or by their components, such as processor 1504.

[0109] The operation flow / algorithm structure 1300 may include, in 1304, assigning a relay UE ID to a relay UE. The CN function can assign a relay UE ID with desired uniqueness. For example, the CN function may determine that no other UEs within a certain granularity, such as cells or RNA, are associated with the relay UE ID. The association between the relay UE ID and the relay may be stored in the memory of the device implementing the CN function.

[0110] The operation flow / algorithm structure 1100 may further include generating a message in 1108 that includes an ID used to determine the relay UE ID. In some embodiments, the message may include the relay UE ID itself or information that the UE can use to derive the relay UE ID (e.g., S-TMSI).

[0111] The operation flow / algorithm structure 1100 may further include sending a message to the relay UE in 1112. The message may include a ProSe policy structure with other ProSe parameters.

[0112] Figure 14 shows UE1400 in several embodiments. UE1400 is similar to the relay UE104 or remote UE106 and may be substantially interchangeable.

[0113] The UE1400 can be any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as a mobile phone, computer, tablet, industrial wireless sensor (e.g., microphone, carbon dioxide sensor, pressure sensor, humidity sensor, thermometer, motion sensor, accelerometer, laser scanner, fluid level sensor, inventory sensor, voltage / current meter, or actuator), video surveillance / monitoring device (e.g., camera or video camera), wearable device (e.g., smartwatch), or Internet of Things device.

[0114] The UE1400 may include a processor 1404, an RF interface circuit 1408, memory / storage 1412, a user interface 1416, a sensor 1420, a driver circuit 1422, a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) 1424, an antenna structure 1426, and a battery 1428. The components of the UE1400 may be implemented as an integrated circuit (IC), a part thereof, individual electronic devices, or other modules, logic, hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof. The block diagram in Figure 14 is intended to show a high-level diagram of some of the components of the UE1400. However, some of the components shown may be omitted, additional components may be present, and different arrangements of the components shown may occur in other embodiments.

[0115] The components of the UE1400 may be coupled with various other components via one or more interconnectors 1432, and one or more interconnectors may represent any kind of interface, input / output section, (local, system, or extension) bus, transmission line, trace, or optical connection section, etc., that enables various circuit components (on common or different chips or chipsets) to interact with each other.

[0116] The processor 1404 may include, for example, a baseband processor circuit configuration (BaseBand, BB) 1404A, a central processing unit circuit configuration (CPU) 1404B, and a graphics processing unit circuit configuration (Graphics Processor Unit, GPU) 1404C. The processor 1404 may include any type of circuit configuration or processor circuit configuration that causes the UE 1400 to perform the operations described herein by executing or otherwise operating computer executable instructions, such as program code, software modules, or functional processes, from the memory / storage 1412.

[0117] In some embodiments, the baseband processor circuit configuration 1404A may access the communication protocol stack 1436 in the memory / storage 1412 to communicate over a 3GPP-compliant network. Generally, the baseband processor circuit 1404A may access the communication protocol stack 1436 to perform user plane functions in the PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, and SDAP layer, and control plane functions in the PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, RRC layer, and NAS layer. In some embodiments, the operation of the PHY layer may be performed by components of the RF interface circuit configuration 1408 in addition to / instead of.

[0118] The baseband processor circuit 1404A can generate or process baseband signals or waveforms that carry information within a 3GPP-compliant network. In some embodiments, waveforms for noise reduction (NR) may be based on cyclic prefix OFDM (CP-OFDM) in the uplink or downlink, and discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM) in the uplink.

[0119] The memory / storage 1412 may include one or more non-temporary computer-readable media (e.g., a communication protocol stack 1436) containing instructions that can be executed by one or more processors 1404 to cause the UE 1400 to perform various operations described herein. The memory / storage 1412 includes any kind of volatile or non-volatile memory that can be distributed throughout the UE 1400. In some embodiments, some of the memory / storage 1412 may be located within the processor 1404 itself (e.g., L1 and L2 caches), while other memory / storage 1412 may be outside the processor 1404 but accessible via a memory interface. Memory / storage 1412 may include, but is not limited to, any suitable volatile or non-volatile memory, such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid-state memory, or any other type of memory device technology.

[0120] The RF interface circuit 1408 may include a transceiver circuit and a radio frequency front module (RFEM) that enable the UE 1400 to communicate with other devices via a wireless access network. The RF interface circuit configuration 1408 may include various elements arranged in the transmit or receive path. These elements may include, for example, switches, mixers, amplifiers, filters, combiner circuits, and control circuits.

[0121] In the receiving path, the RFEM receives the radiated signal from the air interface via the antenna structure 1426 and can filter and amplify the signal (using a low-noise amplifier). The signal can be supplied to the receiver of the transceiver, which downconverts the RF signal into a baseband signal provided to the baseband processor of processor 1404.

[0122] In the transmission path, the transmitter of the transceiver upconverts the baseband signal received from the baseband processor and provides the RF signal to the RFEM. The RFEM may amplify the RF signal using a power amplifier before the signal is radiated across the air interface via antenna 1426.

[0123] In various embodiments, the RF interface circuit configuration 1408 may be configured to transmit and receive signals in accordance with NR and sidelink access technologies.

[0124] Antenna 1426 may include antenna elements that convert electrical signals into radio waves so that they can travel through the air, and that convert received radio waves into electrical signals. The antenna elements may be arranged on one or more antenna panels. Antenna 1426 may have antenna panels that are omnidirectional, directional, or a combination thereof, enabling beamforming and multi-input multi-output communication. Antenna 1426 may include microstrip antennas, printed antennas assembled on the surface of one or more printed circuit boards, patch antennas, or phased array antennas. Antenna 1426 may have one or more panels designed for a specific frequency band, including a band within FR1 or FR2.

[0125] The user interface circuit 1416 includes various input / output (I / O) devices designed to enable user interaction with the UE1400. The user interface 1416 includes input device circuits and output device circuits. The input device circuit configuration includes, among other things, any physical or virtual means for receiving input, including one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), a physical keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a touchpad, a touchscreen, a microphone, a scanner, a headset, etc. The output device circuit configuration includes any physical or virtual means for displaying or otherwise transmitting information, such as sensor readings, actuator positions (one or more), or other similar information. The output device circuit may include any number or combination of audio or visual displays, including, in particular, one or more simple visual outputs / indicators (e.g., binary state indicators such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and multi-character visual outputs), or more complex outputs such as display devices or touchscreens (e.g., liquid crystal displays (LCDs), LED displays, quantum dot displays, or projectors), and outputs such as characters, graphics, and multimedia objects are generated or created from the operation of the UE1400.

[0126] Sensor 1420 may include devices, modules, or subsystems whose purpose is to detect events or changes within its environment and to transmit information about the detected events (sensor data) to several other devices, modules, or subsystems. Examples of such sensors include inertial measuring units with accelerometers, gyroscopes, or magnetometers; micro-electromechanical systems or nano-electromechanical systems with 3-axis accelerometers, 3-axis gyroscopes, or magnetometers; level sensors; flow sensors; temperature sensors (e.g., thermistors); pressure sensors; barometric pressure sensors; gravimeters; altimeters; image capture devices (e.g., cameras or apertures without lenses); light detection and distance sensors, proximity sensors (e.g., infrared detectors, etc.), depth sensors, ambient light sensors, ultrasonic transceivers; microphones or other similar audio capture devices.

[0127] The driver circuit configuration 1422 may include software and hardware elements that operate to control specific devices that are built into, attached to, or otherwise communicatively coupled to the UE1400. The driver circuit 1422 may include individual drivers that enable other components to interact with or control various input / output (I / O) devices that may be present in or connected to the UE1400. For example, the driver circuit 1422 may include a display driver for controlling and allowing access to a display device, a touchscreen driver for controlling and allowing access to a touchscreen interface, a sensor driver for acquiring sensor readings from the sensor circuit 1420 and controlling and allowing access to the sensor circuit 1420, a driver for acquiring the actuator position of an electromechanical component or for controlling and allowing access to an electromechanical component, a camera driver for controlling and allowing access to an embedded image capture device, and an audio driver for controlling and allowing access to one or more audio devices.

[0128] The PMIC1424 can manage the power supplied to various components of the UE1400. In particular, with respect to the processor 1404, the PMIC1424 can control power selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion.

[0129] Battery 1428 may supply power to UE1400, but in some examples, UE1400 may be deployed and mounted in a fixed location and may have a power source coupled to a power grid. Battery 1428 may be a lithium-ion battery, a zinc-air battery, an aluminum-air battery, a lithium-air battery, or the like. In some implementations, such as vehicle-based applications, battery 1428 may be a typical automotive lead-acid battery.

[0130] Figure 15 shows network devices 1500 according to several embodiments. Network devices 1500 are similar to base stations 108, AMF116, or PCF120 in Figure 1 and may be substantially interchangeable.

[0131] The network device 1500 may include a processor 1504, an RF interface circuit 1508 (if implemented as a base station), a core network (CN) interface circuit 1512, a memory / storage circuit 1516, and an antenna structure 1526 (if implemented as a base station).

[0132] The components of the network device 1500 can be coupled with various other components via one or more interconnections 1528.

[0133] The processor 1504, RF interface circuit 1508, memory / storage circuit 1516 (including the communication protocol stack 1510), antenna structure 1526, and interconnection section 1528 may be similar to the elements of similar names shown and described with respect to Figure 15. If device 1500 is implemented as a base station, the communication protocol stack 1510 may include an access layer. If network device 1500 is implemented as an AMF 116 or PCF 120, the communication protocol stack 1510 may include a NAS layer.

[0134] The CN interface circuit 1512 may provide connectivity to a core network, such as a fifth-generation core network (5GC), using a 5GC-compliant network interface protocol, such as the Carrier Ethernet protocol or some other suitable protocol. Network connectivity may be provided to / from the network device 1500 via optical fiber or wireless backhaul. The CN interface circuit configuration 1512 may include one or more dedicated processors or FPGAs for communication using one or more of the protocols described above. In some implementations, the CN interface circuit configuration 1512 may include multiple controllers for providing connectivity to other networks using the same or different protocols.

[0135] It should be fully understood that the use of personally identifiable information should adhere to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. In particular, personally identifiable information data should be managed and handled in a manner that minimizes the risk of unintended or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly indicated to the user.

[0136] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components described in one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, or methods as described in the following exemplary sections. For example, the baseband circuit described above in relation to one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples described below. In another example, a circuit associated with a UE, base station, or network element as described above in relation to one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples described below in the Examples section. Examples

[0137] Further exemplary embodiments are provided in the following sections.

[0138] Example 1 includes a method for operating a user device (UE), the method comprising: receiving a message from a network, the message including a relay UE identifier (ID); generating a relay discovery notification including the relay UE ID; and transmitting the relay discovery notification.

[0139] Example 2 comprises the method of Example 1 or some other examples herein, and further comprises receiving a message from a policy control function (PCF).

[0140] Example 3 comprises the method of Example 2 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the message further includes a relay service code for identifying a relay service provided by the UE.

[0141] Example 4 comprises the method described in Example 2 or some other examples herein, wherein the message is a proximity service policy message.

[0142] Example 5 comprises a method described in Example 1 or several other examples herein, wherein the relay discovery notification includes a source layer 2 ID field having a value based on the relay UE ID, or a relay UE ID field having the relay UE ID.

[0143] Example 6 includes a method by Example 1 or several other examples herein, wherein the message includes a plurality of relay UE IDs for the UE and a plurality of relay service codes corresponding to each of the plurality of relay UE IDs.

[0144] Example 7 comprises the method described in Example 1 or some other examples herein, wherein the message is an access layer message.

[0145] Example 8 comprises the method of Example 1 or some other example of this specification, wherein the message is a radio resource control (RRC) release message.

[0146] Example 9 comprises the method of Example 8 or some other examples of this specification, further comprising transitioning to an RRC inactive state based on an RRC release message and sending an RRC restart request with a relay ID update request based on the determination that the UE has moved outside the Radio Access Network Notification Area (RNA).

[0147] Example 10 comprises the method of Example 8 or some other examples of this specification, and further comprises transmitting a relay discovery notification in an RRC inactive state.

[0148] Example 11 includes a method for operating a relay user device (UE), the method comprising: receiving a message from a base station having instructions for reporting UE selection identifiers (IDs) to be used for the relay service; identifying one or more UE selection IDs to be used for the relay service; and transmitting the report to the base station along with instructions for one or more UE selection IDs.

[0149] Example 12 includes the method of Example 11 or several other examples herein, wherein the message includes a retention interval value, and one or more UE selection IDs are identified as being within the period based on the retention interval value.

[0150] Example 13 includes Example 11 or several other examples herein, and further includes determining whether a retention interval value is provided as 0, not provided, or undefined, and, based on the determination, identifying the most recently used UE selection ID as one or more UE selection IDs.

[0151] Example 14 comprises a method of Example 11 or several other examples herein, wherein one or more UE selection IDs comprise multiple UE selection IDs, and the method further comprises generating a report that includes an indication of the most recently used UE selection ID among the multiple UE selection IDs.

[0152] Embodiment 15 includes a method for operating a base station, the method comprising: receiving a message from an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) for a message to authorize a first user equipment (UE) to provide proximity services, wherein the NGAP message includes a relay UE identifier (ID) for the first UE; receiving a measurement report from a second UE, wherein the measurement report includes a relay UE ID; and transmitting configuration information to the first UE to configure the first UE as a relay for the second UE based on the measurement report.

[0153] Example 16 includes a method from Example 15 or several other examples herein, wherein the message is a Next Generation Application Protocol (NGAP) message containing a UE context correction request or an initial context setup request.

[0154] Example 17 includes a method for operating the functions of a core network, the method including assigning a relay user equipment (UE) identifier (ID) to a UE, generating a message containing an identifier (ID) used to determine the relay UE ID, and sending the message to the UE.

[0155] Example 18 comprises the method of Example 17 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the function is a policy control function (PCF), the message comprises a proximity service policy structure, and the ID is a relay UE ID.

[0156] Example 19 comprises the method of Example 17 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the function is an access and mobility management function (AMF) and the ID is S-temporary mobile subscriber identity (S-TMSI).

[0157] Example 20 comprises the method of Example 19 or some other embodiment of this specification, and further comprises receiving an inquiry from a base station having a relay UE ID and providing the base station with a response having instructions from the relay UE.

[0158] Example 21 includes a method for operating a base station, the method including associating a relay user equipment (UE) identifier (ID) with a UE for the provision of relay services, and transmitting an association instruction to the UE.

[0159] Example 22 includes the method of Example 21, further comprising: receiving an ID request from a UE; identifying one or more IDs provided by a base station that are not associated with another UE in the cell; and determining a relay UE ID associated with the UE by selecting an ID from the one or more IDs.

[0160] Example 23 comprises the method of Example 22 or some other embodiment herein, and further comprises receiving an ID request in a sidelink UE information message and transmitting instructions in a radio resource configuration (RRC) message.

[0161] Example 24 comprises the method of Example 21 or some other examples herein, wherein the relay UE ID is based on a Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI).

[0162] Example 25 includes a method from Example 21 or some other embodiment of this specification, further comprising disassociating the relay UE ID with the UE based on the determination that the UE is in idle mode.

[0163] Example 26 comprises a method of Example 21 or some other embodiment of this specification, further comprising receiving an instruction from a UE that the UE has selected a desired relay UE ID, and determining whether the desired relay UE ID is associated with another UE in a cell provided by a base station, wherein if the desired UE ID is not associated with another UE in a cell, the relay UE ID is the desired relay UE ID, and if the desired UE ID is associated with another UE in a cell, the relay UE ID is not the desired relay UE ID.

[0164] Example 27 includes a method from Example 21 or some other examples herein, and further includes initiating a change in the relay UE ID or changing the relay UE ID based on a request from the UE.

[0165] Example 28 comprises a method from Example 21 or several other examples herein, further comprising ensuring that the relay UE ID is uniquely associated with the UE in multiple cells.

[0166] Example 29 includes a method of Example 21 or some other embodiment of this specification, further comprising sending instructions to the UE in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) release message and associating the relay UE ID with the UE's inactive context.

[0167] Example 30 includes the method of Example 21 or some other examples of this specification, wherein the relay UE ID is based on the base station ID and the UE ID.

[0168] Example 31 comprises the method of Example 21 or some other examples of this specification, and further comprises associating a relay UE ID with an inactive radio network temporary identity (I-RNTI), receiving a measurement report including the relay UE ID, and paging UEs using the I-RNTI.

[0169] Example 32 includes a method for operating a relay user device (UE), the method comprising receiving an S-temporary mobile subscriber identity (S-TMSI) from an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), generating a relay UE identifier (ID) based on the S-TMSI and cell identity, and transmitting a relay discovery notification along with the relay UE ID.

[0170] Example 33 includes a method from Example 32 or some other examples herein, which involves generating a relay UE ID, and includes generating the relay UE ID as a hash value of the S-TMSI and cell identity.

[0171] Example 34 may include an apparatus that includes means for performing one or more elements of any of the methods described in or related to Examples 1 to 33, or any other methods or processes described herein.

[0172] Example 35 may include one or more non-temporary computer-readable media containing instructions, wherein, when the instructions are executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, the electronic device causes the electronic device to execute one or more elements of the methods described in any of Examples 1 to 33 or related methods, or any other methods or processes described herein.

[0173] Example 36 may include an apparatus comprising logic, modules, or circuits for performing one or more elements of the methods described in any of Examples 1 to 33 or related methods, or any other methods or processes described herein.

[0174] Example 37 may include a method, technique, or process described in or related to any of Examples 1 to 33, or a part or portion thereof.

[0175] Example 38 may include an apparatus comprising one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media containing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause one or more processors to execute a method, technique or process, or part thereof, described in any of Examples 1 to 33 or related thereto.

[0176] Example 39 may include signals described in any of Examples 1 to 33, or signals related thereto, or parts thereof.

[0177] Example 40 may include datagrams, information elements, packets, frames, segments, PDUs, or messages described in or related to any of Examples 1 to 33, or that are part or part thereof, or that are described in this disclosure.

[0178] Example 41 may include a signal encoded by data described in or related to any of Examples 1 to 33, or a part or part thereof, or data described in this disclosure.

[0179] Example 42 may include signals encoded by datagrams, IEs, packets, frames, segments, PDUs, or messages that are described in or related to any of Examples 1 to 33, or that are described in this disclosure.

[0180] Example 43 may include an electromagnetic signal that carries a computer-readable instruction, the execution of the computer-readable instruction by one or more processors causing one or more processors to perform a method, technique, or process described in or related to any of Examples 1 to 33, or a part thereof.

[0181] Example 44 may include a computer program that includes instructions, wherein the execution of the program by a processing element causes the processing element to perform a method, technique, or process described in any of Examples 1 to 33, or related thereto, or a part thereof.

[0182] Example 45 may include signals in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0183] Example 46 may include a communication method in a wireless network as described herein.

[0184] Example 47 may include a system for providing the wireless communication described herein.

[0185] Example 48 may include a device for providing the wireless communication described herein.

[0186] Any of the above examples may be combined with any other embodiment (or combination of embodiments) unless otherwise specified. The above descriptions of one or more implementations are illustrative and illustrative, but are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of embodiments to the exact forms disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible based on the above teachings or can be learned from the practice of various embodiments.

[0187] Although the embodiments described above are described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art if the above disclosure is fully understood. The following claims are intended to be construed as encompassing all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. One or more computer-readable media having instructions, wherein when an instruction is executed, a processing circuit is configured to: The message received from the base station is identified along with instructions for reporting the retention interval value and at least one user equipment (UE) selection identifier (ID) used for relay services, wherein the at least one UE selection ID is identified as being within the time period based on the retention interval value. To identify the at least one UE selection ID used for relay services, One or more computer-readable media that cause a report for transmission to the base station to be generated, along with instructions for at least one UE selection ID.

2. When the aforementioned instruction is executed, the processing circuit further: The holding interval value is either provided as 0, not provided, or determined to be undefined. One or more computer-readable media according to claim 1, which, based on the aforementioned determination, allows the most recently used UE selection ID to be identified as the at least one UE selection ID.

3. The at least one UE selection ID includes a plurality of UE selection IDs, and when the instruction is executed, the processing circuit further... One or more computer-readable media according to claim 1 or 2, which cause the report to be generated to include an instruction for the most recently used UE selection ID among the plurality of UE selection IDs.

4. A method that is performed by a network, Identifying a System Information Block (SIB) received from a base station, and indicating that the SIB reports the identifier (ID) of the user equipment (UE), Setting the aforementioned ID to be included in the relay discovery message, To send, generate a message indicating the ID of the UE, Methods that include...

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the ID includes a source layer 2 (L2) ID.

6. The method according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the UE functions as a Layer 2 (L2) UE-Network (U2N) relay UE.

7. The method according to claim 4, wherein the UE acts as a relay UE by supporting relay services for one or more other UEs.

8. The method according to claim 4, wherein the UE is a first UE, and the method further includes identifying a transmission received from a base station based on a measurement report generated by a second UE, wherein the measurement report is used to identify the first UE as a target relay for the second UE.

9. A baseband processor, For transmission to a user device (UE), when the UE is acting as a relay UE, a system information block (SIB) is generated to retrieve the identifier (ID) of the UE for the relay service. Identify the message received from the aforementioned UE, which indicates the ID of the aforementioned UE used for relay services. A baseband processor that stores the ID for the aforementioned UE.

10. The baseband processor according to claim 9, wherein the ID includes a source layer 2 (L2) ID.

11. The UE is a first UE, and the baseband processor further, Identify the measurement report received from the second UE, The baseband processor according to claim 9, wherein the first UE is determined to be a target relay for the second UE, and the transmission is transmitted to the first UE based on the determination that the first UE is the target relay for the second UE.

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