Data transmission method and apparatus, terminal and network-side equipment

Abstract

The present application discloses a data transmission method and apparatus, a terminal and a network side device, and belongs to the field of communications technology. A data transmission method of an embodiment of the present application includes a first terminal transmitting user plane data and / or control plane data to a network side device via a plurality of routes, where the plurality of routes include at least a first route and a second route, the first route being a direct route through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network side device, and the second route being an indirect route through which the first terminal communicates with the network side device via a second terminal, or the first route being an indirect route through which the first terminal communicates with the network side device via the second terminal, and the second route being a direct route through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network side device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] (Cross - reference to related applications) This application claims the priority of Chinese Patent Application No. 202210303689.X, filed in China on March 24, 2022, and all of the content of the said application is incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] This application belongs to the field of communication technology, and specifically relates to a data transmission method and apparatus, a terminal, and a network - side device.

Background Art

[0003] In the related art, only a single - path connection can be established between a terminal and a network - side device. For example, a direct path can be established between the terminal and the network - side device, or an indirect path can be established between the terminal and the network - side device. The throughput of the single - path connection is limited, and an improvement in reliability is desired.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Embodiments of this application provide a data transmission method and apparatus, a terminal, and a network - side device, which can improve the throughput and reliability of communication transmission.[[ID=The 29]]

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] According to a first aspect, a data transmission method is provided, and this method includes a first terminal transmitting user - plane data and / or control - plane data to a network - side device via a plurality of paths, where the plurality of paths includes at least a first path and a second path, the first path is a direct path for the first terminal to communicate directly with the network - side device, the second path is an indirect path for the first terminal to communicate with the network - side device via a second terminal, or The first route is an indirect route through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side equipment via the second terminal, and the second route is a direct route through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side equipment.

[0006] A second aspect provides a data transmission device, which is a data transmission device. It includes a first transmission module for transmitting user plane data and / or control plane data to network-side equipment via multiple paths, Here, the plurality of paths include at least a first path and a second path, the first path being a direct path through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side equipment, and the second path being an indirect path through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side equipment via the second terminal, or The first route is an indirect route through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side equipment via the second terminal, and the second route is a direct route through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side equipment.

[0007] According to a third aspect, a data transmission method is provided, and this method is The network-side equipment transmits user plane data and / or control plane data to the first terminal via multiple paths, Here, the plurality of paths include at least a first path and a second path, the first path being a direct path through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side equipment, and the second path being an indirect path through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side equipment via the second terminal, or The first route is an indirect route through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side equipment via the second terminal, and the second route is a direct route through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side equipment.

[0008] According to the fourth aspect, a data transmission device is provided, and this data transmission device is It includes a second transmission module for transmitting user plane data and / or control plane data to a first terminal via multiple paths, Here, the plurality of paths include at least a first path and a second path, the first path being a direct path through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side equipment, and the second path being an indirect path through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side equipment via the second terminal, or The first route is an indirect route through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side equipment via the second terminal, and the second route is a direct route through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side equipment.

[0009] According to the fifth aspect, a terminal is provided which includes a processor and memory, the memory storing a program or instruction that can be executed on the processor, and when the program or instruction is executed by the processor, the steps of the method of the first aspect are realized.

[0010] According to the sixth aspect, a terminal is provided including a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is used to transmit user plane data and / or control plane data to network-side equipment via multiple paths. Here, the plurality of paths include at least a first path and a second path, the first path being a direct path through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side equipment, and the second path being an indirect path through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side equipment via the second terminal, or The first route is an indirect route through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side equipment via the second terminal, and the second route is a direct route through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side equipment.

[0011] According to the seventh aspect, a network-side device is provided, which includes a processor and memory, the memory storing a program or instruction that can be run on the processor, and when the program or instruction is executed by the processor, the steps of the method according to the third aspect are realized.

[0012] According to the eighth aspect, a network-side device is provided, including a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is used to transmit user plane data and / or control plane data to a first terminal via multiple paths. Here, the plurality of paths include at least a first path and a second path, the first path being a direct path through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side equipment, and the second path being an indirect path through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side equipment via the second terminal, or The first route is an indirect route through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side equipment via the second terminal, and the second route is a direct route through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side equipment.

[0013] According to the ninth aspect, a data transmission system including network-side equipment and terminals is provided, wherein the network-side equipment may be used to perform the steps of the data transmission method described in the third aspect, and the terminals may be used to perform the steps of the data transmission method described in the first aspect.

[0014] According to the tenth aspect, a readable storage medium is provided, the readable storage medium storing a program or instruction, and when the program or instruction is executed by a processor, a step of the method according to the first aspect is realized, or a step of the method according to the third aspect is realized.

[0015] According to a tenth aspect, a chip including a processor and a communication interface is provided, the communication interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is used to run a program or instructions to implement the method described in the first aspect or the method described in the third aspect.

[0016] According to a twelfth aspect, a computer program / program product is provided, the computer program / program product is stored in a storage medium, and the computer program / program product is executed by at least one processor to implement the data transmission method described in the first aspect or to implement the steps of the data transmission method described in the third aspect.

Advantages of the Invention

[0017] In the embodiments of the present application, a multi - path connection can be established between the first terminal and the network - side device. The first terminal and the network - side device may transmit the same or different signaling and service data via a plurality of paths. The throughput of communication transmission can be improved by adding transmission paths. Moreover, when the link quality of one of the paths is relatively poor, the reliability of transmission can be guaranteed by using other paths with good link quality.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0018] [Figure 1] It is a block diagram of a wireless communication system to which the embodiments of the present application are applicable. [Figure 2] It is a schematic diagram of a relay scenario. [Figure 3] It is a schematic diagram of a Sidelink Relay (SL relay) architecture. [Figure 4] It is a schematic diagram of a non - SL relay architecture. [Figure 5] It is a flowchart of the first terminal - side data transmission method of the embodiments of the present application. [Figure 6]It is a flowchart of the network-side device-side data transmission method according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 7] It is a schematic structural diagram of the first terminal-side data transmission device according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 8] It is a schematic structural diagram of the network-side device-side data transmission device according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 9] It is a schematic structural diagram of the communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 10] It is a schematic structural diagram of the terminal according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 11] It is a schematic structural diagram of the network-side device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0019] The following clearly and completely describes the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are some of the embodiments of the present application, not all of them. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art shall fall within the protection scope of the present application. .

[0020] Terms such as "first" and "second" in the specification and claims of the present application are used to distinguish similar objects and are not for describing a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such terms can be interchangeable when appropriate, so that the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in an order other than that illustrated or described herein, and the objects distinguished by "first" and "second" generally belong to the same category, without limiting the number of objects. For example, the first object may be one or more. In addition, "and / or" in the specification and claims represents at least one of the connected objects, and the character " / " generally represents that the related objects before and after are in an "or" relationship.

[0021] It should be noted that the technologies described in the embodiments of this application are not limited to Long Term Evolution (LTE) / LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) systems, but are also applicable to other wireless communication systems, such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Single-carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA), and other systems. The terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of this application are always used interchangeably, and the technologies described may be applied to the systems and radio technologies mentioned above, or to other systems and radio technologies. The following description illustrates a New Radio (NR) system and uses NR terminology in most of the following descriptions; however, these technologies may also be applied to applications other than NR systems, such as 6th Generation (6G) communication systems.

[0022] Figure 1 shows a block diagram of a wireless communication system to which an embodiment of this application can be applied. The wireless communication system includes a terminal 11 and a network-side device 12. Here, the terminal 11 is a mobile phone, tablet personal computer, laptop computer (or notebook computer), personal digital assistant (PDA), palmtop computer, netbook, ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), mobile internet device (MID), augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) device, robot, wearable device, vehicle user equipment (VUE), pedestrian user equipment (PUE), smart home (home appliances with wireless communication capabilities, such as refrigerators, televisions, washing machines or furniture), game console, personal computer (personal The terminal-side equipment may be a computer (PC), a deposit machine or self-service machine, and the wearable device includes smartwatches, smart bands, smart earphones, smart glasses, smart accessories (smart bracelets, smart rings, smart necklaces, smart anklets, etc.), smart wristbands, smart clothing, etc. It should be noted that the embodiments of this application do not limit the specific type of terminal 11. The network-side equipment 12 may include access network equipment or core network equipment, where access network equipment may be called radio access network equipment, radio access network (RAN), radio access network function or radio access network unit.Access network equipment may include base stations, wireless local area network (WLAN) access points, or WiFi nodes, and base stations may also be called node B, evolutionary node B (eNB), access point, base transceiver station (BTS), radio base station, radio transceiver, basic service set (BSS), extended service set (ESS), home B node, home evolutionary B node, transmission receiving point (TRP), or any other appropriate term in the art, and the base station is not limited to any particular technical term as long as the same technical effect is achieved. For the purposes of this explanation, only base stations in NR systems are given as examples in the embodiments of this application, but this does not limit the specific types of base stations.

[0023] Relay technology in wireless communication systems adds one or more relay nodes between the base station and the terminal, which are responsible for one or more transfers of the radio signal, meaning the radio signal can reach the terminal via multiple hops.

[0024] Wireless relay technology can be used not only to extend cell coverage and fill in cell coverage blind spots, but also to increase cell capacity through spatial resource multiplexing. For indoor coverage, relay technology can also play a role in overcoming penetration losses and improving the quality of indoor coverage.

[0025] Taking a relatively simple two-hop relay as an example, wireless relaying has the opportunity to obtain higher link capacity and better coverage by dividing a single base station-terminal link into two links: base station-relay station and relay station-terminal. This allows one link with relatively poor quality to be replaced by two links with relatively good quality.

[0026] The currently supported Relay is a UE-to-Network relay, meaning one end of the Relay is connected to the UE and the other end is connected to the network. The UE connected to the Relay is called a Remote UE.

[0027] One typical relay scenario is shown in Figure 2, which is a typical UE-to-Network scenario where a Remote UE needs to transmit data to the network side but has poor coverage and therefore finds a Relay UE to forward it to. Here, the interface between the Relay UE and the base station is a Uu interface, and the interface between the Relay UE and the Remote UE is a sidelink (PC5) interface. Generally, a Relay UE is open and can provide service to any Remote UE.

[0028] In related technologies, the Remote UE Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection establishment flow includes the following steps:

[0029] Step 1. The Remote UE and Relay UE perform the discovery process, followed by establishing a PC5 RRC connection.

[0030] Step 2. The Remote UE sends an RRC Setup Request message to the base station, and the base station replies to the Remote UE with an RRC Setup message. Specifically, these two messages are forwarded to the base station or Remote UE by the Relay UE.

[0031] Step 3. A dedicated Signaling Radio Bearer 1 (SRB1) bearer is established between the base station and the remote UE. This remote UE SRB1 dedicated bearer consists of two segments of Radio Link Control (RLC) channels: PC5 (between the remote UE and the Relay UE) and Uu (between the Relay UE and the base station). Specifically, the two segments of RLC channels are used by the remote UE to send / receive SRB1 type RRC messages to and from the base station.

[0032] Step 4. The Remote UE sends a Radio Resource Control Setup Complete message to the base station. Specifically, this message is forwarded to the base station by the Relay UE.

[0033] Step 5. Activate security between the Remote UE and the base station.

[0034] Step 6. Establish a dedicated SRB2 / Data Radio Bearer (DRB) bearer between the base station and the Remote UE. This Remote UE SRB2 / DRB bearer consists of two RLC channels: PC5 (between the Remote UE and the Relay UE) and Uu (between the Relay UE and the base station). Specifically, these two RLC channels are used by the Remote UE to transmit / receive SRB2-type RRC / NAS messages and uplink / downlink service data to and from the base station.

[0035] In the context of sidelink relay (SL relay architecture), multiple paths refer to the simultaneous establishment of both an indirect path and a direct path by the Remote UE, as shown in Figure 3.

[0036] For non-SL relay architectures, we assume that the connection between the two UEs is not a sidelink (PC5) interface, but rather a wired connection or an ideal inter-UE connection. Here, multiple paths refer to the primary UE simultaneously establishing an indirect path and a direct path, as shown in Figure 4.

[0037] In this embodiment, "indirect path" is translated as "indirect route" and refers to the radio link through which the Remote UE (or Primary UE) establishes an RRC connection with the base station via the Relay UE (or Secondary UE) and the Relay UE's (or Secondary UE's) Uu air interface.

[0038] A direct path, translated as a direct route, refers to a radio link through which a Remote UE (or Primary UE) establishes an RRC connection with a base station via its own Uu air interface.

[0039] In the following sections, the data transmission method according to the embodiments of this application will be described in detail with reference to several embodiments and their application scenarios, accompanied by drawings.

[0040] The embodiments of this application provide a data transmission method, and as shown in Figure 5, this method is Step 101: The first terminal transmits user plane data and / or control plane data to network-side equipment via multiple paths, Here, the plurality of paths include at least a first path and a second path, the first path being a direct path through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side equipment, and the second path being an indirect path through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side equipment via the second terminal, or The first route is an indirect route through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side equipment via the second terminal, and the second route is a direct route through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side equipment.

[0041] In the embodiments of this application, multiple path connections can be established between a first terminal and network-side equipment, different signaling and service data can be transmitted between the first terminal and network-side equipment via multiple paths, communication transmission throughput can be improved, and if the link quality of one of the paths is relatively poor, the reliability of transmission can be ensured by utilizing other paths with good link quality.

[0042] In this embodiment, the first terminal may be a Remote UE or a Primary UE, and the second terminal may be a Relay UE or a Secondary UE.

[0043] In some embodiments, before the first terminal transmits user plane data and / or control plane data to network-side equipment via multiple paths, the method The first terminal communicates with the network-side equipment via the first path, If the route addition conditions are met, the first terminal includes sending a multiple route addition request message to the network-side device via the existing first route, requesting the addition of the second route.

[0044] Here, the route addition conditions may be those agreed upon by the protocol, those configured by the network-side equipment, or those pre-configured by the network-side equipment.

[0045] The route addition process may also be understood as a terminal coordination process, and therefore can be further described equivalently as follows: If the terminal coordination conditions are met, the first terminal sends a terminal coordination request message to the network-side device via the existing first route, requesting coordination with the second terminal.

[0046] Based on the above description, the multiple path addition request message is a path addition request, and the terminal cooperation request message is a UE aggregation request.

[0047] In one specific embodiment, the first terminal has already established an RRC connection and associated User Plane (UP) path with the network-side equipment via a direct path, and the first terminal can then establish an indirect path with the network-side equipment using the existing direct path.

[0048] Specifically, if a remote UE or primary UE is located inside a cell or if link conditions are good, for example, if the Reference Signal Receiving Power (RSRP) from this primary UE to the serving cell is above a certain threshold, and there is a data transmission need at this time, an RRC connection can be directly established with the serving cell, and a DRB path can be established, i.e., a direct CP+UP path can be established, and communication with network-side equipment can be transmitted via the direct path (i.e., the primary path), and control plane data and user plane data can be transmitted.

[0049] The route establishment method in this embodiment includes the following steps.

[0050] In step a1, the first terminal determines whether or not the pre-configured route addition conditions are met, and the route addition conditions are specifically The size of the data buffer (buffer size) of the first terminal is greater than or equal to the first threshold, The service reliability requirement for the first terminal is that it is equal to or greater than the second threshold, The upper layers of the first terminal indicate that the services of the first terminal are transmitted via the second path or via both the first and second paths, where upper layers is a general term for upper layer entities above the RRC layer within the first terminal, and may specifically include the NAS layer (Non-Access Stratum layer), the ProSe layer (Proximity Service layer), and the Application layer. The first paging command from the aforementioned network-side device has been received, The network-side device receives a second instruction, which is used to instruct the network-side device to support the multiplexing function. This includes at least one of the following: the link quality satisfies the pre-defined communication conditions; and there is at least one candidate terminal that meets these conditions.

[0051] Here, the at least one candidate terminal includes the second terminal.

[0052] The link quality of at least one candidate terminal must meet the pre-configured communication conditions. The signal quality between the candidate terminal and the first terminal (PC5 interface) shall satisfy the pre-set communication conditions, The signal quality of the serving cell of the candidate terminal includes at least one of the following: satisfying a pre-set communication condition.

[0053] For scenarios where downlink data is arriving, it may be necessary to potentially enhance the paging message, that is, to send a first paging instruction to the first terminal, thereby instructing the UE's route establishment method in the first paging instruction, and the following information: The first terminal is instructed to establish the first route and / or the second route, that is, the first terminal is instructed to establish a single route or multiple routes, and a single route is either the first route or the second route. When the first terminal instructs to establish a single route, it instructs whether the established route is a direct route or an indirect route, When the first terminal instructs to establish multiple routes, it carries out at least one of the following: triggering an indirect route addition flow using existing direct connection data, or triggering a direct route addition flow using existing indirect connection data, or instructing to establish both direct and indirect routes simultaneously.

[0054] When the first paging instruction is a 1-bit code, it is possible to distinguish between a single path (either direct or indirect path) and multiple paths (both direct and indirect paths). When the first paging instruction is a 2-bit code, it is possible to distinguish between a single path (direct path only), a single path (indirect path only), and multiple paths (both direct and indirect paths).

[0055] Here, the arrival of downlink data may be at a base station paging terminal, a bearer is established between the base station and the terminal by an RRC message, and the data is transmitted on the established bearer.

[0056] In step a2, if the first terminal determines that it satisfies the pre-configured route addition conditions, the first terminal sends an aggregation request message to the network-side device via the existing first route, requesting the addition of the second route. Here, an existing message may be used to carry the multiple route addition request message, or a new multiple route addition request message may be defined. The existing message mentioned above includes at least one of the following: UE Assistance Information (UAI), Sidelink UE Information (SUI), Measurement report, RRC Setup Complete, RRC Resume Complete message, and RRC Resume Complete message.

[0057] Furthermore, the multiple route addition request message may further include the first information, and the first information is The signal quality between the first terminal and the candidate terminal, The identifier information of the candidate terminal, The serving cell identifier information of the candidate terminal, This includes at least one of the following: the signal quality of the serving cell of the candidate terminal.

[0058] By transmitting the first piece of information to the network-side equipment, it is possible to assist the network-side equipment in selecting the second terminal from the candidate terminals, establish a link between the first and second terminals, and ensure that the link has good communication quality.

[0059] In step a3, the first terminal receives an aggregate response message sent from the network-side device. Here, existing messages may be used to carry the multiple route addition configuration message, or a new multiple route addition configuration message may be defined. Existing messages include RRC reconfiguration with sync messages.

[0060] Here, the multiple route addition configuration message is, The identifier information of the second terminal, The serving cell identifier information of the second terminal, A first instruction information used to instruct a route switching operation or a route addition operation, the first instruction information may use 1 bit, or define a new information element and superimpose the first instruction information, and if the first instruction information uses 1 bit, if the first instruction information is 0, it may instruct a route switching operation, and if the first instruction information is 1, it may instruct a route addition, or if the first instruction information is 1, it may instruct a route switching operation, and if the first instruction information is 0, it may instruct a route addition, the first instruction information, Rules for transmitting control plane data via the first path and the second path, The system includes at least one of the first path and a rule for transmitting user plane data via the second path.

[0061] After establishing two paths (an indirect path and a direct path), network-side equipment may configure rules for transmitting user plane data and / or control plane data, or the rules for transmitting user plane data and / or control plane data via the first and second paths may be stipulated by a protocol.

[0062] If rules for transmitting user plane data and / or control plane data via the first and second paths are configured by the network-side equipment, the method is: The first terminal further includes receiving routing information from the network-side device, the routing information including rules for transmitting user plane data and / or control plane data via the first route and the second route. The network-side device may transmit the routing information by RRC message or broadcast message.

[0063] In this embodiment, rules for transmitting user plane data and / or control plane data can instruct which path each message or bearer type should take, thereby completing a single, complete RRC connection establishment, recovery, and / or re-establishment flow.

[0064] In some embodiments, the rule is: A rule for transmitting signaling through the first path and the second path, wherein different signaling may be transmitted through different paths, for example, a rule that either signaling of SRB0 is transmitted through an indirect path, and either signaling of SRB1 or SRB2 is transmitted through a direct path. A rule for transmitting uplink data and / or downlink data via the first and second paths, wherein data in different transmission directions are transmitted via different paths (indirect path or direct path), for example, any signaling in the uplink (UL) direction is transmitted via the indirect path, and any signaling in the downlink (DL) direction is transmitted via the direct path, thereby saving power consumption; The distinguishing feature of the signaling radio bearer SRB1 is that it can transmit simultaneously on the first and second paths, for example, the first part of SRB1 is transmitted on the first path, and the second part of SRB1 is transmitted on the second path. This multiplexed path transmission improves the reliability of data transmission and also improves the data transmission rate and throughput. SRB1 can transmit simultaneously on the first and second paths after copying, thereby improving the reliability of data transmission through multiplexed-path transmission, and also improving the data transmission rate and throughput. The distinguishing feature of the data wireless bearer DRB is that it can transmit simultaneously on the first and second paths; for example, the first part of the DRB is transmitted on the first path, and the second part of the DRB is transmitted on the second path. This multiplexed path transmission improves the reliability of data transmission and also improves the data transmission rate and throughput. The DRB may include the ability to transmit simultaneously on the first and second paths after copying, thereby improving the reliability of data transmission through multiplexed-path transmission, and improving the rate and throughput of data transmission.

[0065] In some embodiments, the rule is: The first terminal and the second terminal are in the same base station scenario (intra-gNB scenario), and the transmission and separation of SRB3 are not permitted, i.e., from the terminal's perspective, the UE will not receive SRB3 and split SRB3 configured by the base station, and from the network's perspective, the base station will not support the configuration of SRB3 and split SRB3.

[0066] In one specific example, the protocol may stipulate the transmission path for all messages. For instance, RRCSetupRequest and RRCSetupComplete messages (with low transmission power and short paths) may be sent via an indirect path, while RRCSetup messages are received via a direct path.

[0067] In another specific example, the transmission path for all messages may be jointly instructed by network-side devices and protocol agreements. For example, the transmission path for SRB0 may be instructed by protocol, sending an RRCSetupRequest message and receiving an RRCSetup message via the indirect path, and then SRB1 may decide whether to use the direct or indirect path based on the instructions carried in the RRCSetup message. The transmission rules for SRB2 and / or DRB may follow the transmission rules of SRB1 by default, or the transmission rules for SRB2 and / or DRB may be more flexibly instructed by RRC Reconfiguration messages.

[0068] In step a4, the first terminal sends an aggregation complete message to the network-side device.

[0069] Here, existing messages may be used to carry the multiplex routing completion message, or a new multiplex routing completion message may be defined. The existing messages include the RRC reconfiguration complete message.

[0070] In some embodiments, if the establishment of the second route is unsuccessful, the first terminal sends a multiple route addition failure message to the network-side device.

[0071] In another specific embodiment, the first terminal has already established an RRC connection and associated user plane (UP) path with the network-side equipment via an indirect path, and the first terminal can establish a direct path by using the existing indirect path (i.e., the first path) to communicate with the network-side equipment.

[0072] Specifically, if a remote UE or primary UE is at the cell edge or has poor link conditions, for example, if the reference signal received power (RSRP) from this first UE to the serving cell is below a certain threshold, and there is a data transmission need at this time, a suitable relay UE or secondary UE may be found (this second UE has good link quality assurance to the network side, for example, this second UE's RSRP is above a certain threshold, and it may selectively configure a single highest RSRP threshold simultaneously, so that this second UE's RSRP cannot exceed this highest RSRP threshold, thus avoiding excessive interference when the second UE, which is very close to the base station, is performing data transmission), and this relay UE or secondary UE can establish an RRC connection to the serving cell and establish a DRB path, i.e., an indirect CP+UP path, and transmit control plane data and user plane data via the indirect path.

[0073] The route establishment method in this embodiment includes the following steps.

[0074] In step b1, the first terminal determines whether or not the pre-configured route addition conditions are met, and the route addition conditions are specifically The size of the data buffer (buffer size) of the first terminal is greater than or equal to the first threshold, The service reliability requirement for the first terminal is that it is equal to or greater than the second threshold, The upper layers of the first terminal indicate that the services of the first terminal are transmitted via the second path or via both the first and second paths, where upper layers is a general term for upper layer entities above the RRC layer within the first terminal, and may specifically include the NAS layer (Non-Access Stratum layer), the ProSe layer (Proximity Service layer), and the Application layer. The first paging command from the aforementioned network-side device has been received, The network-side device receives a second instruction, which is used to instruct the network-side device to support the multiplexing function. This includes at least one of the following: that there is at least one candidate cell that satisfies the pre-set communication conditions.

[0075] Here, the at least one candidate cell includes a cell in the direct path of the first terminal.

[0076] For scenarios where downlink data is arriving, it may be necessary to potentially enhance the paging message, that is, to send a first paging instruction to the first terminal, thereby instructing the UE's route establishment method in the first paging instruction, and the following information: The first terminal is instructed to establish the first route and / or the second route, that is, the first terminal is instructed to establish a single route or multiple routes, and a single route is either the first route or the second route. When the first terminal instructs to establish a single route, it instructs whether the established route is a direct route or an indirect route, When the first terminal instructs to establish multiple routes, it carries out at least one of the following: triggering an indirect route addition flow using existing direct connection data, or triggering a direct route addition flow using existing indirect connection data, or instructing to establish both direct and indirect routes simultaneously.

[0077] When the first paging instruction is a 1-bit code, it is possible to distinguish between a single path (either direct or indirect path) and multiple paths (both direct and indirect paths). When the first paging instruction is a 2-bit code, it is possible to distinguish between a single path (direct path only), a single path (indirect path only), and multiple paths (both direct and indirect paths).

[0078] Here, the arrival of downlink data may be at a base station paging terminal, a bearer is established between the base station and the terminal by an RRC message, and the data is transmitted on the established bearer.

[0079] In step b2, if the first terminal determines that it satisfies the pre-configured route addition conditions, the first terminal sends an aggregation request message to the network-side device via the existing first route, requesting the addition of the second route. Here, an existing message may be used to carry the multiple route addition request message, or a new multiple route addition request message may be defined. The existing message mentioned above includes at least one of the following: UE Assistance Information (UAI), Sidelink UE Information (SUI), Measurement report, RRC Setup Complete, RRC Resume Complete message, and RRC Resume Complete message.

[0080] Furthermore, the multiple route addition request message may further include the first information, and the first information is The cell identifier information of the candidate cell, This includes at least one of the following: the signal quality of the candidate cell of the first terminal.

[0081] By transmitting the first information to the network-side equipment, it is possible to assist the network-side equipment in selecting a cell from the candidate cells, thereby establishing a direct path between the first terminal and the cell, and ensuring that the direct path has good communication quality.

[0082] In step b3, the first terminal receives an aggregate response message sent from the network-side device. Here, existing messages may be used to carry the multiple route addition configuration message, or a new multiple route addition configuration message may be defined. Existing messages include RRC reconfiguration with sync messages.

[0083] Here, the multiple route addition configuration message is, The cell identifier information of the direct route, A first instruction information used to instruct a route switching operation or a route addition operation, the first instruction information may use 1 bit, or define a new information element and superimpose the first instruction information, and if the first instruction information uses 1 bit, if the first instruction information is 0, it may instruct a route switching operation, and if the first instruction information is 1, it may instruct a route addition, or if the first instruction information is 1, it may instruct a route switching operation, and if the first instruction information is 0, it may instruct a route addition, the first instruction information, Rules for transmitting control plane data via the first path and the second path, The system includes at least one of the first path and a rule for transmitting user plane data via the second path.

[0084] After establishing two paths (an indirect path and a direct path), network-side equipment may configure rules for transmitting user plane data and / or control plane data, or the rules for transmitting user plane data and / or control plane data via the first and second paths may be stipulated by a protocol.

[0085] If rules for transmitting user plane data and / or control plane data via the first and second paths are configured by the network-side equipment, the method is: The first terminal further includes receiving routing information from the network-side device, the routing information including rules for transmitting user plane data and / or control plane data via the first route and the second route. The network-side device may transmit the routing information by RRC message or broadcast message.

[0086] In this embodiment, rules for transmitting user plane data and / or control plane data can instruct which path each message or bearer type should take, thereby completing a single, complete RRC connection establishment, recovery, and / or re-establishment flow.

[0087] In some embodiments, the rule is: A rule for transmitting signaling through the first path and the second path, wherein different signaling may be transmitted through different paths, for example, a rule that either signaling of SRB0 is transmitted through an indirect path, and either signaling of SRB1 or SRB2 is transmitted through a direct path. A rule for transmitting uplink data and / or downlink data via the first and second paths, wherein data in different transmission directions are transmitted via different paths (indirect path or direct path), for example, any signaling in the uplink UL direction is transmitted via the indirect path, and any signaling in the downlink DL direction is transmitted via the direct path, thereby saving power consumption; The distinguishing feature of the signaling radio bearer SRB1 is that it can transmit simultaneously on the first and second paths, for example, the first part of SRB1 is transmitted on the first path, and the second part of SRB1 is transmitted on the second path. This multiplexed path transmission improves the reliability of data transmission and also improves the data transmission rate and throughput. SRB1 can transmit simultaneously on the first and second paths after copying, thereby improving the reliability of data transmission through multiplexed-path transmission, and also improving the data transmission rate and throughput. The distinguishing feature of the data wireless bearer DRB is that it can transmit simultaneously on the first and second paths; for example, the first part of the DRB is transmitted on the first path, and the second part of the DRB is transmitted on the second path. This multiplexed path transmission improves the reliability of data transmission and also improves the data transmission rate and throughput. The DRB may include the ability to transmit simultaneously on the first and second paths after copying, thereby improving the reliability of data transmission through multiplexed-path transmission, and improving the rate and throughput of data transmission.

[0088] In some embodiments, the rule is: The first terminal and the second terminal are in the same base station scenario (intra-gNB scenario) and do not permit the transmission and separation of SRB3, i.e., from the terminal's perspective, the UE will not receive SRB3 and split SRB3 configured by the base station, and from the network's perspective, the base station will not support the configuration of SRB3 and split SRB3.

[0089] In one specific example, the protocol may stipulate the transmission path for all messages. For instance, RRCSetupRequest and RRCSetupComplete messages (with low transmission power and short paths) may be sent via an indirect path, while RRCSetup messages are received via a direct path.

[0090] In another specific example, the transmission path for all messages may be jointly instructed by network-side devices and protocol agreements. For example, the transmission path for SRB0 may be instructed by protocol, sending an RRCSetupRequest message and receiving an RRCSetup message via the indirect path, and then SRB1 may decide whether to use the direct or indirect path based on the instructions carried in the RRCSetup message. The transmission rules for SRB2 and / or DRB may follow the transmission rules of SRB1 by default, or the transmission rules for SRB2 and / or DRB may be more flexibly instructed by RRC Reconfiguration messages.

[0091] In step b4, the first terminal sends an aggregation complete message to the network-side device.

[0092] Here, existing messages may be used to carry the multiplex routing completion message, or a new multiplex routing completion message may be defined. The existing messages include the RRC reconfiguration complete message.

[0093] In some embodiments, if the establishment of the second route is unsuccessful, the first terminal sends a multiple route addition failure message to the network-side device.

[0094] Embodiments of this application further provide a data transmission method, as shown in Figure 6, the method is: Step 201: The network-side equipment transmits user plane data and / or control plane data to the first terminal via multiple paths, Here, the plurality of paths include at least a first path and a second path, the first path being a direct path through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side equipment, and the second path being an indirect path through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side equipment via the second terminal, or The first route is an indirect route through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side equipment via the second terminal, and the second route is a direct route through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side equipment.

[0095] In the embodiments of this application, multiple path connections can be established between a first terminal and network-side equipment, different signaling and service data can be transmitted between the first terminal and network-side equipment via multiple paths, communication transmission throughput can be improved, and if the link quality of one of the paths is relatively poor, the reliability of transmission can be ensured by utilizing other paths with good link quality.

[0096] In some embodiments, before the network-side equipment transmits user plane data and / or control plane data to the first terminal via multiple paths, the method The network-side device communicates with the first terminal via the first path, The network-side device receives a multiple route addition request message transmitted by the first terminal via an existing first route, requests the addition of the second route, and transmits the multiple route addition request message after determining that the first terminal has met the route addition conditions.

[0097] Here, the route addition conditions may be those agreed upon by the protocol, those configured by the network-side equipment, or those pre-configured by the network-side equipment.

[0098] In some embodiments, before the network-side equipment transmits user plane data and / or control plane data to the first terminal via multiple paths, the method The network-side device further includes transmitting a second instruction by a system broadcast message and / or a radio resource control RRC-specific message, the second instruction being used to instruct the network-side device to support multiplex routing functionality.

[0099] Here, the system broadcast message may be SIB1, SIB12, or a new SIB, and the RRC-dedicated message may be RRC setup, RRC resume, RRC reconfiguration, or a new RRC-dedicated message.

[0100] In one specific embodiment, the first terminal has already established an RRC connection and associated user plane (UP) path with the network-side equipment via a direct path, and the first terminal can then establish an indirect path with the network-side equipment using the existing direct path.

[0101] Specifically, if a remote UE or primary UE is located inside a cell or if link conditions are good, for example, if the reference signal reception power (RSRP) from this primary UE to the serving cell is above a certain threshold, and there is a data transmission need at this time, an RRC connection can be directly established with the serving cell, and a DRB path can be established, i.e., a direct CP+UP path can be established, and communication with network-side equipment can be transmitted via the direct path (i.e., the primary path), and control plane data and user plane data can be transmitted.

[0102] The route establishment method in this embodiment includes the following steps.

[0103] In step a1, the first terminal determines whether or not the pre-configured route addition conditions are met, and the route addition conditions are specifically The size of the data buffer (buffer size) of the first terminal is greater than or equal to the first threshold, The service reliability requirement for the first terminal is that it is equal to or greater than the second threshold, The upper layers of the first terminal indicate that the services of the first terminal are transmitted via the second path or via both the first and second paths, where upper layers is a general term for upper layer entities above the RRC layer within the first terminal, and may specifically include the NAS layer (Non-Access Stratum layer), the ProSe layer (Proximity Service layer), and the Application layer. The first paging command from the aforementioned network-side device has been received, The network-side device receives a second instruction, which is used to instruct the network-side device to support the multiplexing function. This includes at least one of the following: the link quality satisfies the pre-defined communication conditions; and there is at least one candidate terminal that meets these conditions.

[0104] Here, the at least one candidate terminal includes the second terminal.

[0105] The link quality of at least one candidate terminal must meet the pre-configured communication conditions. The signal quality between the candidate terminal and the first terminal (PC5 interface) shall satisfy the pre-set communication conditions, The signal quality of the serving cell of the candidate terminal includes at least one of the following: satisfying a pre-set communication condition.

[0106] For scenarios where downlink data is arriving, it may be necessary to potentially enhance the paging message, that is, to send a first paging instruction to the first terminal, thereby instructing the UE's route establishment method in the first paging instruction, and the following information: The first terminal is instructed to establish the first route and / or the second route, that is, the first terminal is instructed to establish a single route or multiple routes, and a single route is either the first route or the second route. When the first terminal instructs to establish a single route, it instructs whether the established route is a direct route or an indirect route, When the first terminal instructs to establish multiple routes, it carries out at least one of the following: triggering an indirect route addition flow using existing direct connection data, or triggering a direct route addition flow using existing indirect connection data, or instructing to establish both direct and indirect routes simultaneously.

[0107] When the first paging instruction is a 1-bit code, it is possible to distinguish between a single path (either direct or indirect path) and multiple paths (both direct and indirect paths). When the first paging instruction is a 2-bit code, it is possible to distinguish between a single path (direct path only), a single path (indirect path only), and multiple paths (both direct and indirect paths).

[0108] Here, the arrival of downlink data may be at a base station paging terminal, a bearer is established between the base station and the terminal by an RRC message, and the data is transmitted on the established bearer.

[0109] In step a2, if the first terminal determines that it satisfies the pre-configured route addition conditions, the first terminal sends an aggregation request message to the network-side device via the existing first route, requesting the addition of the second route. Here, an existing message may be used to carry the multiple route addition request message, or a new multiple route addition request message may be defined. The existing message mentioned above includes at least one of the following: UE Assistance Information (UAI), Sidelink UE Information (SUI), Measurement report, RRC Setup Complete, RRC Resume Complete message, and RRC Resume Complete message.

[0110] Furthermore, the multiple route addition request message may further include the first information, and the first information is The signal quality between the first terminal and the candidate terminal, The identifier information of the candidate terminal, The serving cell identifier information of the candidate terminal, This includes at least one of the following: the signal quality of the serving cell of the candidate terminal.

[0111] By transmitting the first piece of information to the network-side equipment, it is possible to assist the network-side equipment in selecting the second terminal from the candidate terminals, establish a link between the first and second terminals, and ensure that the link has good communication quality.

[0112] In step a3, the first terminal receives an aggregate response message sent from the network-side device. Here, existing messages may be used to carry the multiple route addition configuration message, or a new multiple route addition configuration message may be defined. Existing messages include RRC reconfiguration with sync messages.

[0113] Here, the multiple route addition configuration message is, The identifier information of the second terminal, The serving cell identifier information of the second terminal, A first instruction information used to instruct a route switching operation or a route addition operation, the first instruction information may use 1 bit, or define a new information element and superimpose the first instruction information, and if the first instruction information uses 1 bit, if the first instruction information is 0, it may instruct a route switching operation, and if the first instruction information is 1, it may instruct a route addition, or if the first instruction information is 1, it may instruct a route switching operation, and if the first instruction information is 0, it may instruct a route addition, the first instruction information, Rules for transmitting control plane data via the first path and the second path, The system includes at least one of the first path and a rule for transmitting user plane data via the second path.

[0114] After establishing two paths (an indirect path and a direct path), network-side equipment may configure rules for transmitting user plane data and / or control plane data, or the rules for transmitting user plane data and / or control plane data via the first and second paths may be stipulated by a protocol.

[0115] If rules for transmitting user plane data and / or control plane data via the first and second paths are configured by the network-side equipment, the method is: The first terminal further includes receiving routing information from the network-side device, the routing information including rules for transmitting user plane data and / or control plane data via the first route and the second route. The network-side device may transmit the routing information by RRC message or broadcast message.

[0116] In this embodiment, rules for transmitting user plane data and / or control plane data can instruct which path each message or bearer type should take, thereby completing a single, complete RRC connection establishment, recovery, and / or re-establishment flow.

[0117] In some embodiments, the rule is: A rule for transmitting signaling through the first path and the second path, wherein different signaling may be transmitted through different paths, for example, a rule that either signaling of SRB0 is transmitted through an indirect path, and either signaling of SRB1 or SRB2 is transmitted through a direct path. A rule for transmitting uplink data and / or downlink data via the first and second paths, wherein data in different transmission directions are transmitted via different paths (indirect path or direct path), for example, any signaling in the uplink UL direction is transmitted via the indirect path, and any signaling in the downlink DL direction is transmitted via the direct path, thereby saving power consumption; The distinguishing feature of the signaling radio bearer SRB1 is that it can transmit simultaneously on the first and second paths, for example, the first part of SRB1 is transmitted on the first path, and the second part of SRB1 is transmitted on the second path. This multiplexed path transmission improves the reliability of data transmission and also improves the data transmission rate and throughput. SRB1 can transmit simultaneously on the first and second paths after copying, thereby improving the reliability of data transmission through multiplexed-path transmission, and also improving the data transmission rate and throughput. The distinguishing feature of the data wireless bearer DRB is that it can transmit simultaneously on the first and second paths; for example, the first part of the DRB is transmitted on the first path, and the second part of the DRB is transmitted on the second path. This multiplexed path transmission improves the reliability of data transmission and also improves the data transmission rate and throughput. The DRB may include the ability to transmit simultaneously on the first and second paths after copying, thereby improving the reliability of data transmission through multiplexed-path transmission, and improving the rate and throughput of data transmission.

[0118] In some embodiments, the rule is: The first terminal and the second terminal are in the same base station scenario (intra-gNB scenario) and do not permit the transmission and separation of SRB3, i.e., from the terminal's perspective, the UE will not receive SRB3 and split SRB3 configured by the base station, and from the network's perspective, the base station will not support the configuration of SRB3 and split SRB3.

[0119] In one specific example, the protocol may stipulate the transmission path for all messages. For instance, RRCSetupRequest and RRCSetupComplete messages (with low transmission power and short paths) may be sent via an indirect path, while RRCSetup messages are received via a direct path.

[0120] In another specific example, the transmission path for all messages may be jointly instructed by network-side devices and protocol agreements. For example, the transmission path for SRB0 may be instructed by protocol, sending an RRCSetupRequest message and receiving an RRCSetup message via the indirect path, and then SRB1 may decide whether to use the direct or indirect path based on the instructions carried in the RRCSetup message. The transmission rules for SRB2 and / or DRB may follow the transmission rules of SRB1 by default, or the transmission rules for SRB2 and / or DRB may be more flexibly instructed by RRC Reconfiguration messages.

[0121] In step a4, the first terminal sends an aggregation complete message to the network-side device.

[0122] Here, existing messages may be used to carry the multiplex routing completion message, or a new multiplex routing completion message may be defined. The existing messages include the RRC reconfiguration complete message.

[0123] In another specific embodiment, the first terminal has already established an RRC connection and associated user plane (UP) path with the network-side equipment via an indirect path, and the first terminal can establish a direct path by using the existing indirect path (i.e., the first path) to communicate with the network-side equipment.

[0124] Specifically, if a remote UE or primary UE is at the cell edge or has poor link conditions, for example, if the reference signal received power (RSRP) from this first UE to the serving cell is below a certain threshold, and there is a data transmission need at this time, a suitable relay UE or secondary UE may be found (this second UE has good link quality assurance to the network side, for example, this second UE's RSRP is above a certain threshold, and it may selectively configure a single highest RSRP threshold simultaneously, so that this second UE's RSRP cannot exceed this highest RSRP threshold, thus avoiding excessive interference when the second UE, which is very close to the base station, is performing data transmission), and this relay UE or secondary UE can establish an RRC connection to the serving cell and establish a DRB path, i.e., an indirect CP+UP path, and transmit control plane data and user plane data via the indirect path.

[0125] In some embodiments, if the establishment of the second route is unsuccessful, the first terminal sends a multiple route addition failure message to the network-side device.

[0126] The route establishment method in this embodiment includes the following steps.

[0127] In step b1, the first terminal determines whether or not the pre-configured route addition conditions are met, and the route addition conditions are specifically The size of the data buffer (buffer size) of the first terminal is greater than or equal to the first threshold, The service reliability requirement for the first terminal is that it is equal to or greater than the second threshold, The upper layers of the first terminal indicate that the services of the first terminal are transmitted via the second path or via both the first and second paths, where upper layers is a general term for upper layer entities above the RRC layer within the first terminal, and may specifically include the NAS layer (Non-Access Stratum layer), the ProSe layer (Proximity Service layer), and the Application layer. The first paging command from the aforementioned network-side device has been received, The network-side device receives a second instruction, which is used to instruct the network-side device to support the multiplexing function. This includes at least one of the following: that there is at least one candidate cell that satisfies the pre-set communication conditions.

[0128] Here, the at least one candidate cell includes a cell in the direct path of the first terminal.

[0129] For scenarios where downlink data is arriving, it may be necessary to potentially enhance the paging message, that is, to send a first paging instruction to the first terminal, thereby instructing the UE's route establishment method in the first paging instruction, and the following information: The first terminal is instructed to establish the first route and / or the second route, that is, the first terminal is instructed to establish a single route or multiple routes, and a single route is either the first route or the second route. When the first terminal instructs to establish a single route, it instructs whether the established route is a direct route or an indirect route, When the first terminal instructs to establish multiple routes, it carries out at least one of the following: triggering an indirect route addition flow using existing direct connection data, or triggering a direct route addition flow using existing indirect connection data, or instructing to establish both direct and indirect routes simultaneously.

[0130] When the first paging instruction is a 1-bit code, it is possible to distinguish between a single path (either direct or indirect path) and multiple paths (both direct and indirect paths). When the first paging instruction is a 2-bit code, it is possible to distinguish between a single path (direct path only), a single path (indirect path only), and multiple paths (both direct and indirect paths).

[0131] Here, the arrival of downlink data may be at a base station paging terminal, a bearer is established between the base station and the terminal by an RRC message, and the data is transmitted on the established bearer.

[0132] In step b2, if the first terminal determines that it satisfies the pre-configured route addition conditions, the first terminal sends an aggregation request message to the network-side device via the existing first route, requesting the addition of the second route. Here, an existing message may be used to carry the multiple route addition request message, or a new multiple route addition request message may be defined. The existing message mentioned above includes at least one of the following: UE Assistance Information (UAI), Sidelink UE Information (SUI), Measurement report, RRC Setup Complete, RRC Resume Complete message, and RRC Resume Complete message.

[0133] Furthermore, the multiple route addition request message may further include the first information, and the first information is The cell identifier information of the candidate cell, This includes at least one of the following: the signal quality of the candidate cell of the first terminal.

[0134] By transmitting the first information to the network-side equipment, it is possible to assist the network-side equipment in selecting a cell from the candidate cells, thereby establishing a direct path between the first terminal and the cell, and ensuring that the direct path has good communication quality.

[0135] In step b3, the first terminal receives an aggregate response message sent from the network-side device. Here, existing messages may be used to carry the multiple route addition configuration message, or a new multiple route addition configuration message may be defined. Existing messages include RRC reconfiguration with sync messages.

[0136] Here, the multiple route addition configuration message is, The cell identifier information of the direct route, A first instruction information used to instruct a route switching operation or a route addition operation, the first instruction information may use 1 bit, or define a new information element and superimpose the first instruction information, and if the first instruction information uses 1 bit, if the first instruction information is 0, it may instruct a route switching operation, and if the first instruction information is 1, it may instruct a route addition, or if the first instruction information is 1, it may instruct a route switching operation, and if the first instruction information is 0, it may instruct a route addition, the first instruction information, Rules for transmitting control plane data via the first path and the second path, The system includes at least one of the first path and a rule for transmitting user plane data via the second path.

[0137] After establishing two paths (an indirect path and a direct path), network-side equipment may configure rules for transmitting user plane data and / or control plane data, or the rules for transmitting user plane data and / or control plane data via the first and second paths may be stipulated by a protocol.

[0138] If rules for transmitting user plane data and / or control plane data via the first and second paths are configured by the network-side equipment, the method is: The first terminal further includes receiving routing information from the network-side device, the routing information including rules for transmitting user plane data and / or control plane data via the first route and the second route. The network-side device may transmit the routing information by RRC message or broadcast message.

[0139] In this embodiment, rules for transmitting user plane data and / or control plane data can instruct which path each message or bearer type should take, thereby completing a single, complete RRC connection establishment, recovery, and / or re-establishment flow.

[0140] In some embodiments, the rule is: A rule for transmitting signaling through the first path and the second path, wherein different signaling may be transmitted through different paths, for example, a rule that either signaling of SRB0 is transmitted through an indirect path, and either signaling of SRB1 or SRB2 is transmitted through a direct path. A rule for transmitting uplink data and / or downlink data via the first and second paths, wherein data in different transmission directions are transmitted via different paths (indirect path or direct path), for example, any signaling in the uplink UL direction is transmitted via the indirect path, and any signaling in the downlink DL direction is transmitted via the direct path, thereby saving power consumption; The distinguishing feature of the signaling radio bearer SRB1 is that it can transmit simultaneously on the first and second paths, for example, the first part of SRB1 is transmitted on the first path, and the second part of SRB1 is transmitted on the second path. This multiplexed path transmission improves the reliability of data transmission and also improves the data transmission rate and throughput. SRB1 can transmit simultaneously on the first and second paths after copying, thereby improving the reliability of data transmission through multiplexed-path transmission, and also improving the data transmission rate and throughput. The distinguishing feature of the data wireless bearer DRB is that it can transmit simultaneously on the first and second paths; for example, the first part of the DRB is transmitted on the first path, and the second part of the DRB is transmitted on the second path. This multiplexed path transmission improves the reliability of data transmission and also improves the data transmission rate and throughput. The DRB may include the ability to transmit simultaneously on the first and second paths after copying, thereby improving the reliability of data transmission through multiplexed-path transmission, and improving the rate and throughput of data transmission.

[0141] In some embodiments, the rule is: The first terminal and the second terminal are in the same base station scenario (intra-gNB scenario) and do not permit the transmission and separation of SRB3, i.e., from the terminal's perspective, the UE will not receive SRB3 and split SRB3 configured by the base station, and from the network's perspective, the base station will not support the configuration of SRB3 and split SRB3.

[0142] In one specific example, the protocol may stipulate the transmission path for all messages. For instance, RRCSetupRequest and RRCSetupComplete messages (with low transmission power and short paths) may be sent via an indirect path, while RRCSetup messages are received via a direct path.

[0143] In another specific example, the transmission path for all messages may be jointly instructed by network-side devices and protocol agreements. For example, the transmission path for SRB0 may be instructed by protocol, sending an RRCSetupRequest message and receiving an RRCSetup message via the indirect path, and then SRB1 may decide whether to use the direct or indirect path based on the instructions carried in the RRCSetup message. The transmission rules for SRB2 and / or DRB may follow the transmission rules of SRB1 by default, or the transmission rules for SRB2 and / or DRB may be more flexibly instructed by RRC Reconfiguration messages.

[0144] In step b4, the first terminal sends an aggregation complete message to the network-side device.

[0145] Here, existing messages may be used to carry the multiplex routing completion message, or a new multiplex routing completion message may be defined. The existing messages include the RRC reconfiguration complete message.

[0146] In some embodiments, if the establishment of the second route is unsuccessful, the first terminal sends a multiple route addition failure message to the network-side device.

[0147] In the data transmission method according to the embodiment of this application, the implementing entity may be a data transmission device. In the embodiment of this application, the data transmission device according to the embodiment of this application will be described as an example in which the data transmission device performs the data transmission method.

[0148] The embodiment of this application provides a data transmission device, which is applied to a first terminal 300 as shown in Figure 7. It includes a first transmission module 310 for transmitting user plane data and / or control plane data to network-side equipment via multiple paths, Here, the plurality of paths include at least a first path and a second path, the first path being a direct path through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side equipment, and the second path being an indirect path through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side equipment via the second terminal, or The first route is an indirect route through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side equipment via the second terminal, and the second route is a direct route through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side equipment.

[0149] In the embodiments of this application, multiple path connections can be established between a first terminal and network-side equipment, different signaling and service data can be transmitted between the first terminal and network-side equipment via multiple paths, communication transmission throughput can be improved, and if the link quality of one of the paths is relatively poor, the reliability of transmission can be ensured by utilizing other paths with good link quality.

[0150] In some embodiments, the first transmission module 310 is used to communicate with the network-side equipment via the first path. If the conditions for adding a route are met, a multiple route addition request message is sent to the network-side device via the existing first route, requesting the addition of the second route.

[0151] In some embodiments, if the first path is a direct path through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side device, and the second path is an indirect path through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side device via the second terminal, then the path addition condition is: The size of the data buffer of the first terminal is greater than or equal to the first threshold, The service reliability requirement for the first terminal is that it is equal to or greater than the second threshold, The upper layer of the first terminal instructs that the service of the first terminal be transmitted via the second path or via both the first and second paths. The first paging command from the aforementioned network-side device has been received, The network-side device receives a second instruction, which is used to instruct the network-side device to support the multiplexing function. This includes at least one of the following: the link quality satisfies the pre-defined communication conditions; and there is at least one candidate terminal that meets these conditions.

[0152] Here, the at least one candidate terminal includes the second terminal.

[0153] In some embodiments, the link quality of at least one candidate terminal satisfies the pre-defined communication conditions. The signal quality between the candidate terminal and the first terminal satisfies the predetermined communication conditions. The signal quality of the serving cell of the candidate terminal includes at least one of the following: satisfying a pre-set communication condition.

[0154] In some embodiments, the multiple route addition request message further includes first information, and the first information is The signal quality between the first terminal and the candidate terminal, The identifier information of the candidate terminal, The serving cell identifier information of the candidate terminal, This includes at least one of the following: the signal quality of the serving cell of the candidate terminal.

[0155] In some embodiments, the first transmission module 310 is used to receive a multiplex route addition configuration message returned from the network-side device and to send a multiplex route addition completion message to the network-side device. Or, The first terminal receives a multiple route addition configuration message returned from the network-side device, The first terminal sends a message to the network-side device indicating that the addition of multiple routes failed.

[0156] In some embodiments, if the first path is a direct path through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side device, and the second path is an indirect path through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side device via the second terminal, the multiple path addition configuration message is: The identifier information of the second terminal, The serving cell identifier information of the second terminal, First instruction information for instructing a route switching operation or a route addition operation, Rules for transmitting control plane data via the first path and the second path, The system includes at least one of the first path and a rule for transmitting user plane data via the second path.

[0157] In some embodiments, if the first path is an indirect path through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side device via the second terminal, and the second path is a direct path through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side device, then the path addition condition is: The size of the data buffer of the first terminal is greater than or equal to the first threshold, The service reliability requirement for the first terminal is that it is equal to or greater than the second threshold, The upper layer of the first terminal instructs that the service of the first terminal be transmitted via the second path or via both the first and second paths. The first paging command from the aforementioned network-side device has been received, The network-side device receives a second instruction, which is used to instruct the network-side device to support the multiplexing function. This includes at least one of the following: that there is at least one candidate cell that satisfies the pre-set communication conditions.

[0158] Here, the at least one candidate cell includes a cell in the direct path of the first terminal.

[0159] In some embodiments, the multiple route addition request message further includes first information, and the first information is The cell identifier information of the candidate cell, This includes at least one of the following: the signal quality of the candidate cell of the first terminal.

[0160] In some embodiments, if the first path is an indirect path through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side device via the second terminal, and the second path is a direct path through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side device, then the multiple path addition configuration message is: The cell identifier information of the direct route, First instruction information for instructing a route switching operation or a route addition operation, Rules for transmitting control plane data via the first path and the second path, The system includes at least one of the first path and a rule for transmitting user plane data via the second path.

[0161] In some embodiments, the rules for transmitting user plane data and / or control plane data via the first and second paths are stipulated by a protocol.

[0162] In some embodiments, the first transmission module 310 is used to receive routing information from the network-side equipment, the routing information includes rules for transmitting user plane data and / or control plane data via the first route and the second route.

[0163] In some embodiments, the rule is: Rules for transmitting signaling through the first path and the second path, Rules for transmitting uplink data and / or downlink data via the first and second paths, The distinguishing feature of the signaling radio bearer SRB1 is that it can transmit simultaneously on the first path and the second path, SRB1 can be transmitted simultaneously via the first and second paths after copying, The difference between the data wireless bearer DRB is that it can transmit simultaneously on the first path and the second path, The DRB includes at least one of the following: that it can be transmitted simultaneously on the first and second paths after copying.

[0164] In some embodiments, the rule is: The first terminal and the second terminal are in the same base station scenario (intra-gNB scenario) and do not permit the transmission and splitting of SRB3, i.e., from the terminal's perspective, the UE will not receive SRB3 and split SRB3 configured by the base station, and from the network's perspective, the base station does not support the configuration of SRB3 and split SRB3.

[0165] In some embodiments, the first transmission module 310 is used to receive a first paging instruction from the network-side device, the first paging instruction is used to specify the data transmission method of the first terminal, and the first paging instruction is used to specify the data transmission method of the first terminal. The instruction to establish a single or multiple paths between the first terminal and the network-side equipment, When the first terminal instructs to establish a single route, it instructs whether the established route is a direct route or an indirect route, When the first terminal instructs the establishment of multiple routes, this includes at least one of the following: triggering an indirect route addition flow using existing direct connection data, or triggering a direct route addition flow using existing indirect connection data, or instructing the establishment of both direct and indirect routes simultaneously.

[0166] The data transmission device in the embodiments of this application may be an electronic device, such as an electronic device having an operating system, or a component of an electronic device, such as an integrated circuit or a chip. This electronic device may be a terminal or other device. Exemplarily, a terminal may include, but is not limited to, the types of terminals 11 listed above, and other devices may be servers, network-attached storage (NAS), etc., and the embodiments of this application are not specifically limited.

[0167] The data transmission device according to the embodiment of this application can implement each process realized by the embodiment of the method shown in Figure 5 and achieve the same technical effects, and to avoid repetition of the explanation, it will not be explained further here.

[0168] The embodiment of this application provides a data transmission device, which is applied to network-side equipment 400 as shown in Figure 8. It includes a second transmission module 410 for transmitting user plane data and / or control plane data to a first terminal via multiple paths, Here, the plurality of paths include at least a first path and a second path, the first path being a direct path through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side equipment, and the second path being an indirect path through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side equipment via the second terminal, or The first route is an indirect route through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side equipment via the second terminal, and the second route is a direct route through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side equipment.

[0169] In the embodiments of this application, multiple path connections can be established between a first terminal and network-side equipment, different signaling and service data can be transmitted between the first terminal and network-side equipment via multiple paths, communication transmission throughput can be improved, and if the link quality of one of the paths is relatively poor, the reliability of transmission can be ensured by utilizing other paths with good link quality.

[0170] In some embodiments, a second transmission module 410 is used to communicate with the first terminal via the first path, receives a multiple route addition request message transmitted by the first terminal via the existing first path, requests the addition of the second path, and the multiple route addition request message is transmitted after the first terminal determines that the path addition conditions are met.

[0171] In some embodiments, if the first route is a direct route through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side device, and the second route is an indirect route through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side device via the second terminal, the multiple route addition request message further includes first information, the first information is: The signal quality between the first terminal and the candidate terminal, The identifier information of the candidate terminal, The serving cell identifier information of the candidate terminal, This includes at least one of the following: the signal quality of the serving cell of the candidate terminal, Here, the candidate terminal includes the second terminal.

[0172] In some embodiments, the second transmission module 410 is used to send a multiple route addition configuration message to the first terminal, to receive a multiple route addition completion message sent from the first terminal, or to receive a multiple route addition failure message sent from the first terminal.

[0173] In some embodiments, if the first path is a direct path through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side device, and the second path is an indirect path through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side device via the second terminal, the multiple path addition configuration message is: The identifier information of the second terminal, The serving cell identifier information of the second terminal, First instruction information for instructing a route switching operation or a route addition operation, Rules for transmitting control plane data via the first path and the second path, The system includes at least one of the first path and a rule for transmitting user plane data via the second path.

[0174] In some embodiments, if the first route is an indirect route through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side device via the second terminal, and the second route is a direct route through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side device, the multiple route addition request message further includes first information, the first information is: The cell identifier information of the candidate cell, This includes at least one of the following: the signal quality of the candidate cell of the first terminal, Here, the candidate cells include cells in the direct path of the first terminal.

[0175] In some embodiments, if the first path is an indirect path through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side device via the second terminal, and the second path is a direct path through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side device, then the multiple path addition configuration message is: The cell identifier information of the direct route, First instruction information for instructing a route switching operation or a route addition operation, Rules for transmitting control plane data via the first path and the second path, The system includes at least one of the first path and a rule for transmitting user plane data via the second path.

[0176] In some embodiments, the rules for transmitting user plane data and / or control plane data via the first and second paths are stipulated by a protocol.

[0177] In some embodiments, a second transmission module 410 is used to transmit routing information to the first terminal, the routing information including rules for transmitting user plane data and / or control plane data via the first and second routes.

[0178] In some embodiments, the rule is: Rules for transmitting signaling through the first path and the second path, Rules for transmitting uplink data and / or downlink data via the first and second paths, The distinguishing feature of the signaling radio bearer SRB1 is that it can transmit simultaneously on the first path and the second path, SRB1 can be transmitted simultaneously via the first and second paths after copying, The difference between the data wireless bearer DRB is that it can transmit simultaneously on the first path and the second path, The DRB includes at least one of the following: that it can be transmitted simultaneously on the first and second paths after copying.

[0179] In some embodiments, the rule is: The first terminal and the second terminal are in the same base station scenario (intra-gNB scenario) and do not permit the transmission and separation of SRB3, i.e., from the terminal's perspective, the UE will not receive SRB3 and split SRB3 configured by the base station, and from the network's perspective, the base station will not support the configuration of SRB3 and split SRB3.

[0180] In some embodiments, a second transmission module 410 is used to transmit a first paging instruction to the first terminal, the first paging instruction is used to specify the data transmission method of the first terminal, and the first paging instruction is The instruction to establish a single or multiple paths between the first terminal and the network-side equipment, When the first terminal instructs to establish a single route, it instructs whether the established route is a direct route or an indirect route, When the first terminal instructs the establishment of multiple routes, this includes at least one of the following: triggering an indirect route addition flow using existing direct connection data, or triggering a direct route addition flow using existing indirect connection data, or instructing the establishment of both direct and indirect routes simultaneously.

[0181] The data transmission device according to the embodiment of this application can implement each process realized by the embodiment of the method shown in Figure 6 and achieve the same technical effects, and to avoid repetition of the explanation, it will not be explained further here.

[0182] Selectively, as shown in Figure 9, embodiments of this application further provide a communication device 600 including a processor 601 and a memory 602, wherein the memory 602 stores a program or instruction that can be executed on the processor 601. For example, if this communication device 600 is a network-side device, when this program or instruction is executed by the processor 601, each step of the embodiment of the data transmission method described above can be realized and the same technical effect can be achieved. If this communication device 600 is a terminal, when this program or instruction is executed by the processor 601, each step of the embodiment of the data transmission method described above can be realized and the same technical effect can be achieved. To avoid repetition, no further explanation is provided here.

[0183] Embodiments of this application further provide network-side equipment comprising a processor and memory, wherein the memory stores a program or instruction that can be executed on the processor, and when the program or instruction is executed by the processor, the steps of the data transmission method described above are realized.

[0184] Embodiments of this application further provide network-side equipment including a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is used to transmit user plane data and / or control plane data to a first terminal via multiple paths. Here, the plurality of paths include at least a first path and a second path, the first path being a direct path through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side equipment, and the second path being an indirect path through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side equipment via the second terminal, or The first route is an indirect route through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side equipment via the second terminal, and the second route is a direct route through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side equipment.

[0185] Embodiments of this application further provide a terminal comprising a processor and memory, wherein the memory stores a program or instruction that can be executed on the processor, and when the program or instruction is executed by the processor, the steps of the data transmission method described above are realized.

[0186] Embodiments of this application further provide a terminal including a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is used to transmit user plane data and / or control plane data to network-side equipment via multiple paths. Here, the plurality of paths include at least a first path and a second path, the first path being a direct path through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side equipment, and the second path being an indirect path through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side equipment via the second terminal, or The first route is an indirect route through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side equipment via the second terminal, and the second route is a direct route through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side equipment.

[0187] The embodiment of this application further provides a terminal including a processor and a communication interface, and this terminal embodiment corresponds to the above-described terminal-side method embodiment. Each implementation process and implementation method of the above-described method embodiment may be applied to this terminal embodiment and achieve the same technical effects. Specifically, Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure realizing the terminal of the embodiment of this application.

[0188] The terminal 700 includes, but is not limited to, some of the following components: a radio frequency unit 701, a network module 702, an audio output unit 703, an input unit 704, a sensor 705, a display unit 706, a user input unit 707, an interface unit 708, a memory 709, and a processor 710.

[0189] As those skilled in the art will understand, the terminal 700 may further include a power supply (e.g., a battery) to power each component, and the power supply may be logically connected to the processor 710 by a power management system, thereby enabling functions such as charge / discharge management and power consumption management by the power management system. The terminal structure shown in Figure 10 does not constitute a limitation on terminals, and a terminal may include more or fewer components than those shown, or combinations of some components, or different arrangements of components, which will not be described further here.

[0190] It should be understood that, in the embodiments of this application, the input unit 704 may include a graphics processing unit (GPU) 7041 and a microphone 7042, the graphics processor 7041 processing still images or video image data obtained by an image capture device (e.g., a camera) in video capture mode or image capture mode. The display unit 706 may include a display panel 7061, which may be configured in the form of a liquid crystal display, organic light-emitting diodes, etc. The user input unit 707 includes at least one of a touch panel 7071 and other input devices 7072. The touch panel 7071 is also called a touchscreen. The touch panel 7071 may include two parts: a touch detection device and a touch controller. Other input devices 7072 may include, but are not limited to, a physical keyboard, function keys (e.g., volume control buttons, switch buttons, etc.), a trackball, a mouse, or an operating lever, and will not be described further here.

[0191] In the embodiments of this application, the radio frequency unit 701 can receive downlink data from network-side equipment and transmit it to the processor 710 for processing, and the radio frequency unit 701 can also transmit uplink data to network-side equipment. Generally, the radio frequency unit 701 includes, but is not limited to, an antenna, an amplifier, a transceiver, a coupler, a low-noise amplifier, a duplexer, and the like.

[0192] Memory 709 may be used to store software programs or instructions and various types of data. Memory 709 may include a first storage area mainly for storing programs or instructions and a second storage area for storing data, wherein the first storage area can store an operating system, an application program or instructions necessary for at least one function (e.g., audio playback function, image playback function, etc.), etc. Memory 709 may also include volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or memory 709 may include both volatile and non-volatile memory. Here, non-volatile memory may be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (Erasable PROM, EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (Electrically EPROM, EEPROM), or flash memory. The volatile memory may be Random Access Memory (RAM), Static Random Access Memory (Static RAM, SRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (Synchronous DRAM, SDRAM), Double Data Rate Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (Double Data Rate SDRAM, DDRSDRAM), Enhanced Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (Enhanced SDRAM, ESDRAM), Synch-link Dynamic Random Access Memory (Synch-link DRAM, SLDRAM), and Direct Rambus Random Access Memory (DRRAM). The memory 709 in the embodiments of this application includes, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0193] The processor 710 may include one or more processing units, and optionally, the processor 710 integrates an application processor and a modem processor, where the application processor mainly handles operations related to the operating system, user interface and application programs, and the modem processor mainly handles wireless communication signals, such as a baseband processor. To be clear, the above modem processor does not have to be integrated into the processor 710.

[0194] In some embodiments, the processor 710 is used to transmit user plane data and / or control plane data to network-side equipment via multiple paths. Here, the plurality of paths include at least a first path and a second path, the first path being a direct path through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side equipment, and the second path being an indirect path through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side equipment via the second terminal, or The first route is an indirect route through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side equipment via the second terminal, and the second route is a direct route through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side equipment.

[0195] In some embodiments, the processor 710 is used to communicate with the network-side equipment via the first path. If the conditions for adding a route are met, a multiple route addition request message is sent to the network-side device via the existing first route, requesting the addition of the second route.

[0196] In some embodiments, if the first path is a direct path through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side device, and the second path is an indirect path through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side device via the second terminal, then the path addition condition is: The size of the data buffer of the first terminal is greater than or equal to the first threshold, The service reliability requirement for the first terminal is that it is equal to or greater than the second threshold, The upper layer of the first terminal instructs that the service of the first terminal be transmitted via the second path or via both the first and second paths. The first paging command from the aforementioned network-side device has been received, The network-side device receives a second instruction, which is used to instruct the network-side device to support the multiplexing function. This includes at least one of the following: the link quality satisfies the pre-defined communication conditions; and there is at least one candidate terminal that meets these conditions.

[0197] Here, the at least one candidate terminal includes the second terminal.

[0198] In some embodiments, the link quality of at least one candidate terminal satisfies the pre-defined communication conditions. The signal quality between the candidate terminal and the first terminal satisfies the predetermined communication conditions. The signal quality of the serving cell of the candidate terminal includes at least one of the following: satisfying a pre-set communication condition.

[0199] In some embodiments, the multiple route addition request message further includes first information, and the first information is The signal quality between the first terminal and the candidate terminal, The identifier information of the candidate terminal, The serving cell identifier information of the candidate terminal, This includes at least one of the following: the signal quality of the serving cell of the candidate terminal.

[0200] In some embodiments, the processor 710 is used to receive a multiple route addition configuration message returned from the network-side device, and sends a multiple route addition completion message to the network-side device, or sends a multiple route addition failure message to the network-side device.

[0201] In some embodiments, if the first path is a direct path through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side device, and the second path is an indirect path through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side device via the second terminal, the multiple path addition configuration message is: The identifier information of the second terminal, The serving cell identifier information of the second terminal, First instruction information for instructing a route switching operation or a route addition operation, Rules for transmitting control plane data via the first path and the second path, The system includes at least one of the first path and a rule for transmitting user plane data via the second path.

[0202] In some embodiments, if the first path is an indirect path through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side device via the second terminal, and the second path is a direct path through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side device, then the path addition condition is: The size of the data buffer of the first terminal is greater than or equal to the first threshold, The service reliability requirement for the first terminal is that it is equal to or greater than the second threshold, The upper layer of the first terminal instructs that the service of the first terminal be transmitted via the second path or via both the first and second paths. The first paging command from the aforementioned network-side device has been received, Receive a second instruction from the network-side device, where the second instruction is used to instruct that the network-side device supports a multi-path function, and include at least one of the existence of at least one candidate cell that satisfies a preset communication condition.

[0203] Here, the at least one candidate cell includes the cell in the direct path of the first terminal.

[0204] In some embodiments, the multi-path addition request message further includes first information, and the first information is the cell identifier information of the candidate cell and include at least one of the signal quality of the candidate cell of the first terminal.

[0205] In some embodiments, when the first path is an indirect path through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side device via the second terminal, and the second path is a direct path through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side device, the multi-path addition configuration message is the cell identifier information of the direct path and first instruction information for instructing to perform a path switching operation or a path addition operation, and rules for performing control plane data transmission via the first path and the second path, and include at least one of rules for performing user plane data transmission via the first path and the second path.

[0206] In some embodiments, the rules for performing user plane data and / or control plane data transmission via the first path and the second path are agreed upon by a protocol.

[0207] In some embodiments, the processor 710 is used to receive routing information of the network-side equipment, the routing information includes rules for transmitting user plane data and / or control plane data via the first route and the second route.

[0208] In some embodiments, the rule is: Rules for transmitting signaling through the first path and the second path, Rules for transmitting uplink data and / or downlink data via the first and second paths, The distinguishing feature of the signaling radio bearer SRB1 is that it can transmit simultaneously on the first path and the second path, SRB1 can be transmitted simultaneously via the first and second paths after copying, The difference between the data wireless bearer DRB is that it can transmit simultaneously on the first path and the second path, The DRB includes at least one of the following: that it can be transmitted simultaneously on the first and second paths after copying.

[0209] In some embodiments, the rule is: The first terminal and the second terminal are in the same base station scenario (intra-gNB scenario) and do not permit the transmission and separation of SRB3, i.e., from the terminal's perspective, the UE will not receive SRB3 and split SRB3 configured by the base station, and from the network's perspective, the base station will not support the configuration of SRB3 and split SRB3.

[0210] In some embodiments, the processor 710 is used to receive a first paging instruction from the network-side device, the first paging instruction is used to specify the data transmission method of the first terminal, and the first paging instruction is used to specify the data transmission method of the first terminal. The instruction to establish a single or multiple paths between the first terminal and the network-side equipment, When the first terminal instructs to establish a single route, it instructs whether the established route is a direct route or an indirect route, When the first terminal instructs the establishment of multiple routes, this includes at least one of the following: triggering an indirect route addition flow using existing direct connection data, or triggering a direct route addition flow using existing indirect connection data, or instructing the establishment of both direct and indirect routes simultaneously.

[0211] Embodiments of this application further provide network-side equipment, including a processor and a communication interface. Embodiments of this network-side equipment correspond to embodiments of the network-side equipment method described above, and each implementation process and method of the embodiment of the method described above can be applied to embodiments of this network-side equipment and achieve the same technical effects.

[0212] Specifically, embodiments of this application further provide network-side equipment. As shown in Figure 11, this network-side equipment 800 includes an antenna 81, a radio frequency device 82, a baseband device 83, a processor 84, and a memory 85. The antenna 81 and the radio frequency device 82 are connected. In the uplink direction, the radio frequency device 82 receives information via the antenna 81 and transmits the received information to the baseband device 83 for processing. In the downlink direction, the baseband device 83 processes information to be transmitted and transmits it to the radio frequency device 82, which processes the received information and then transmits it via the antenna 81.

[0213] The method performed by the network-side equipment in the above embodiment may also be implemented in the baseband device 83, which includes a baseband processor.

[0214] The baseband device 83 may include, for example, at least one baseband board on which multiple chips are installed, and as shown in Figure 11, one of the chips is, for example, a baseband processor, which is connected to memory 85 via a bus interface, calls a program in memory 85, and performs the network equipment operations shown in the embodiment of the above method.

[0215] This network-side device may further include a network interface 86, which is, for example, a common public radio interface (CPRI).

[0216] Specifically, the network-side device 800 of the embodiment of the present invention further includes instructions or programs stored in memory 85 and operable on processor 84, the processor 84 can call instructions or programs in memory 85 to execute the data transmission method described above and achieve the same technical effect, and to avoid repetition of the explanation, it will not be explained further here.

[0217] Embodiments of this application further provide a readable storage medium in which a program or instruction is stored, and when this program or instruction is executed by a processor, each process of the embodiment of the data transmission method described above can be realized and the same technical effects can be achieved. To avoid repetition, no further explanation is provided here.

[0218] Here, the processor is the processor in the terminal described in the above embodiment. The readable storage medium includes a computer-readable storage medium, such as a computer read-only memory ROM, random access memory RAM, magnetic disk, or optical disk.

[0219] Embodiments of this application further provide a chip comprising a processor and a communication interface, the communication interface being coupled with the processor, the processor running programs or instructions and used to implement each process of the embodiment of the data transmission method described above, and achieving the same technical effects. To avoid repetition, no further explanation is provided here.

[0220] It should be understood that the chips referred to in the embodiments of this application may also be called system-level chips, system chips, chip systems, or system-on-a-chip, etc.

[0221] Embodiments of this application further provide a computer program / program product in which the computer program / program product is stored on a storage medium and executed by at least one processor to realize each process of the embodiment of the data transmission method described above and to achieve the same technical effects. To avoid repetition, no further explanation is provided here.

[0222] Embodiments of this application further provide a data transmission system including network-side equipment and terminals, wherein the network-side equipment may be used to perform the steps of the data transmission method described above, and the terminals may be used to perform the steps of the data transmission method described above.

[0223] A person skilled in the art will recognize that each illustrative unit and algorithmic step described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented by electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. A decision will be made to implement these functions in hardware or software, depending on the specific application and design constraints of the technical proposal. A person skilled in the art may implement the described functions using different methods for each specific application, but such implementations should not be considered beyond the scope of this disclosure.

[0224] For those skilled in the art, for the sake of ease and brevity of description, the specific operation processes of the systems, devices, and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the embodiments of the foregoing methods, and it can be clearly understood that no further description will be given here.

[0225] In the embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the embodiments of the devices described above are merely exemplary. For example, the division of the above-mentioned units is merely a logical function division. When actually implemented, for example, a plurality of units or groups may be combined or integrated with other systems, or some features may be ignored or not executed, and there may be other division methods. On the other hand, the couplings or direct couplings or communication connections shown or discussed with each other may be indirect couplings or communication connections through some interfaces, devices or units, and may be electrical, mechanical or other methods.

[0226] The units described as the separated components may or may not be physically separated. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place, or distributed in a plurality of network units. The purpose of this embodiment can be realized by selecting some or all of the units according to actual needs.

[0227] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present disclosure may be integrated into one processing unit, each unit may exist physically alone, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0228] The aforementioned functions are implemented in the form of software function units and, when sold or used as independent products, can be stored on computer-readable storage media. Based on this understanding, the proposed techniques of the present disclosure, in essence, or in part, contribute to the prior art, or parts thereof, can be embodied in the form of a computer software product, which is stored on a single storage medium and includes several instructions from a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) for performing all or part of the steps of the aforementioned methods of various embodiments of the present disclosure. The aforementioned storage media include various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash disks, portable hard disks, ROMs, RAMs, magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0229] As those skilled in the art will understand, the implementation of all or part of the flow in the above embodiments can be completed by controlling the relevant hardware with a computer program, which may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium and, when executed, may include the flow of each embodiment of the above-described method. Here, the storage medium may be a magnetic disk, an optical disk, read-only memory (ROM), or random access memory (RAM), etc.

[0230] It should be noted that in this specification, the terms “including,” “contains,” or any other variation thereof are intended to cover the non-exclusive “including,” thereby including not only those elements but also other elements not explicitly listed, or elements specific to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Unless otherwise specified, an element limited by the phrase “including one of…” is not excluded from the existence of other identical elements in a process, method, article, or apparatus containing that element. It should also be noted that the scope of methods and apparatus in embodiments of this application is not limited to performing functions in the order illustrated or discussed, but may include performing functions in a manner that is essentially simultaneous or in reverse order based on the functions involved, and methods described in a different procedure than those described may be performed, and various steps may be added, omitted, or combined. Furthermore, features described by reference to some examples may be combined with other examples.

[0231] As will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the above description of the embodiments, the methods of the above embodiments can be implemented in the form of software and a necessary general-purpose hardware platform. Of course, they may also be implemented in hardware, but in many cases the former is a more preferred embodiment. With this understanding in mind, the technical proposal of this application may be embodied in the form of a computer software product, either substantially or in part with respect to the prior art. This computer software product is stored on a storage medium (e.g., ROM / RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk) and contains some instructions for causing a terminal (which may be a mobile phone, computer, server, air conditioner, or network device, etc.) to perform the methods of each embodiment of this application.

[0232] The above describes embodiments of this application, accompanied by drawings; however, this application is not limited to the specific embodiments described above. The specific embodiments described above are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Those skilled in the art can, by the suggestion of this application, make many forms, as long as they do not deviate from the spirit of this application and the scope protected by the claims, and all of these fall within the scope of protection of this application.

Claims

1. A data transmission method, The first terminal transmits user plane data and / or control plane data to network-side equipment via multiple paths, Here, the plurality of paths include at least a first path and a second path, the first path being a direct path through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side equipment, and the second path being an indirect path through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side equipment via the second terminal, or The first path is an indirect path through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side device via the second terminal, and the second path is a direct path through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side device. Before the first terminal transmits user plane data and / or control plane data to network-side equipment via multiple paths, the method The first terminal communicates with the network-side equipment via the first path, If the route addition conditions are met, the first terminal sends a multiple route addition request message to the network-side device via the existing first route, requesting the addition of the second route. If the first route is a direct route through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side device, and the second route is an indirect route through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side device via the second terminal, then the multiple route addition request message further includes the first information, and the route addition condition is The network-side device receives a second instruction, which is used to instruct the network-side device to support the multiplexing function. The link quality includes at least one of the following: A data transmission method wherein the at least one candidate terminal includes the second terminal, and the first information includes the serving cell identifier information of the candidate terminal.

2. The link quality of at least one candidate terminal must meet the pre-configured communication conditions. The signal quality between the candidate terminal and the first terminal satisfies the predetermined communication conditions. The data transmission method according to claim 1, wherein the signal quality of the serving cell of the candidate terminal satisfies at least one of the following:

3. The first information is The signal quality between the first terminal and the candidate terminal, The data transmission method according to claim 1, further comprising at least one of the identifier information of the candidate terminal.

4. Before the first terminal transmits user plane data and / or control plane data to network-side equipment via multiple paths, the method The first terminal receives a multiple route addition configuration message returned from the network-side device, The data transmission method according to claim 1, further comprising the first terminal sending a multiple route addition completion message to the network-side device.

5. If the first route is a direct route through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side device, and the second route is an indirect route through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side device via the second terminal, then the multiple route addition configuration message is: The identifier information of the second terminal, The serving cell identifier information of the second terminal, First instruction information for instructing a route switching operation or a route addition operation, Rules for transmitting control plane data via the first path and the second path, The data transmission method according to claim 4, comprising at least one of the first path and a rule for transmitting user plane data via the second path.

6. If the first route is an indirect route through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side device via the second terminal, and the second route is a direct route through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side device, then the route addition condition is: The upper layer of the first terminal instructs that the service of the first terminal be transmitted via the second path or via both the first and second paths. The network-side device receives a second instruction, which is used to instruct the network-side device to support the multiplexing function. This includes at least one of the following: that there is at least one candidate cell that satisfies the pre-set communication conditions, The data transmission method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one candidate cell includes a cell in the direct path of the first terminal.

7. The aforementioned multiple route addition request message further includes first information, and the first information is The cell identifier information of the candidate cell, The data transmission method according to claim 6, comprising at least one of the following: the signal quality of the candidate cell of the first terminal.

8. If the first route is an indirect route through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side device via the second terminal, and the second route is a direct route through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side device, then the multiple route addition configuration message is: The cell identifier information of the direct route, First instruction information for instructing a route switching operation or a route addition operation, Rules for transmitting control plane data via the first path and the second path, The data transmission method according to claim 4, comprising at least one of the first path and a rule for transmitting user plane data via the second path.

9. The rules for transmitting user plane data and / or control plane data via the first and second paths are stipulated by the protocol. Or, The aforementioned method, The first terminal further includes receiving routing configuration information of the network-side equipment, the routing configuration information includes rules for transmitting user plane data and / or control plane data via the first route and the second route. Or, The aforementioned rule is, Rules for transmitting signaling through the first path and the second path, Rules for transmitting uplink data and / or downlink data via the first route and the second route, The difference of the signaling wireless bearer SRB1 is that it can transmit simultaneously on the first path and the second path, SRB1 can be transmitted simultaneously via the first and second paths after copying, The difference between the data wireless bearer DRBs is that they can transmit simultaneously on the first and second paths, The DRB includes at least one of the following: that it can be transmitted simultaneously on the first path and the second path after copying. The aforementioned rule is, The data transmission method according to claim 5, further comprising the scenario that the first terminal and the second terminal are in the same base station and that transmission and isolation of SRB3 are not permitted.

10. Before the first terminal transmits user plane data and / or control plane data to network-side equipment via multiple paths, the method The first terminal further includes receiving a first paging instruction from the network-side device, the first paging instruction indicating the data transmission method of the first terminal. The first paging instruction mentioned above is, The instruction to establish a single or multiple paths between the first terminal and the network-side equipment, When the first terminal instructs to establish a single route, it instructs whether the established route is a direct route or an indirect route, The data transmission method according to claim 1, wherein when the first terminal instructs to establish multiple paths, the first terminal instructs to trigger an indirect path addition flow using existing direct connection data, or to trigger a direct path addition flow using existing indirect connection data, or to establish both direct and indirect paths simultaneously.

11. A data transmission method, The network-side equipment transmits user plane data and / or control plane data to the first terminal via multiple paths, Here, the plurality of paths include at least a first path and a second path, the first path being a direct path through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side equipment, and the second path being an indirect path through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side equipment via the second terminal, or The first path is an indirect path through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side device via the second terminal, and the second path is a direct path through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side device. Before the network-side equipment transmits user plane data and / or control plane data to the first terminal via multiple paths, the method The network-side device communicates with the first terminal via the first path, The network-side device receives a multiple route addition request message transmitted by the first terminal via an existing first route, requests the addition of the second route, and transmits the multiple route addition request message after determining that the first terminal has met the route addition conditions. If the first route is a direct route through which the first terminal communicates directly with the network-side device, and the second route is an indirect route through which the first terminal communicates with the network-side device via the second terminal, then the multiple route addition request message further includes the first information, and the route addition condition is The first terminal receives a second instruction from the network-side device, and the second instruction is used to instruct the network-side device to support the multiplexing function. The link quality includes at least one of the following: A data transmission method wherein the at least one candidate terminal includes the second terminal, and the first information includes the serving cell identifier information of the candidate terminal.

12. A terminal comprising a processor and memory, wherein the memory stores a program or instruction that can be run on the processor, and when the program or instruction is executed by the processor, a step of the data transmission method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 is realized.

13. A network-side device comprising a processor and memory, wherein the memory stores a program or instruction that can be executed on the processor, and when the program or instruction is executed by the processor, it realizes the steps of the data transmission method described in claim 11.

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