Communication method and communication apparatus

Abstract

Provided in the present application are a communication method and a communication apparatus. The method comprises: a second terminal apparatus receiving a first data packet from a first terminal apparatus by means of a cellular-network air interface link, wherein the first data packet comprises a first process identifier, which indicates data carried by the first data packet; the second terminal apparatus receiving a second data packet from the first terminal apparatus by means of a sidelink, wherein the second data packet comprises a second process identifier, which indicates data carried by the second data packet, and the data carried by the second data packet is the same as the data carried by the first data packet; and then the second terminal apparatus determining first data according to the first data packet and / or the second data packet. By means of the method, a receiving end apparatus (i.e. the second terminal apparatus) and a sending end apparatus (i.e. the first terminal apparatus) can transmit the same data (i.e. the data carried by the first data packet and the second data packet) by means of two links, thereby facilitating the improvement in the reliability of data transmission.

Description

Communication method and communication device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on July 21, 2023, with application number 202310911600.2 and application name “A Communication Method and Communication Device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communications, and in particular to a communication method and a communication device. Background Art

[0003] The vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication system includes vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communication, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication, and vehicle-to-network (V2N) communication. In V2X communication systems, V2V, V2I, and V2P communications typically utilize broadcasting for short-range information exchange, using the PC5 interface. V2N communication typically utilizes a cellular network to exchange information with the connected vehicle cloud service platform, using the Uu interface. Links using the PC5 interface are typically called sidelinks (SLs), while links using the Uu interface are called cellular network air interface links.

[0004] Typically, the Internet of Vehicles (IoV) is based on SL. For example, road side units (RSUs) are deployed in some areas (such as key intersections, demonstration areas, model sites, etc.) to enable IoV data exchange between vehicles through V2I communication and I2V communication. However, in such an IoV network, the coverage depth and breadth of IoV services are limited by the scale of RSU deployment. When the scale of RSU deployment is small, if the SL fails (for example, there is no SL communication coverage or the SL quality is poor), the data transmission reliability of the IoV service cannot be guaranteed.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] The embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and a communication device, which are conducive to improving the data transmission reliability of vehicle-to-vehicle services.

[0007] In the first aspect, the present application provides a communication method. Taking the second terminal device executing the method as an example, the method includes: the second terminal device receives a first data packet from the first terminal device through a cellular network air interface link, and the first data packet includes a first process identifier, and the first process identifier indicates the data carried by the first data packet; and the second terminal device receives a second data packet from the first terminal device through a side link, and the second data packet includes a second process identifier, and the second process identifier indicates the data carried by the second data packet, and the data carried by the second data packet is the same as the data carried by the first data packet; further, the second terminal device determines the first data based on the first data packet and / or the second data packet.

[0008] In the method described in the first aspect, the receiving end device (i.e., the second terminal device mentioned in this application) and the sending end device (i.e., the first terminal device mentioned in this application) can transmit the same data (i.e., the first data) through the cellular network air interface link and the side link. Through this method, when the receiving end device fails to receive the data through a certain link (e.g., the side link), it can also receive the data through another link (e.g., the cellular network air interface link), which is conducive to improving the reliability of data transmission. It can be seen that when this method is applied to the data transmission of the Internet of Vehicles service (i.e., the data is the data of the Internet of Vehicles service), it is also conducive to improving the data transmission reliability of the Internet of Vehicles service.

[0009] In a possible implementation, the first process identifier is further used to determine that the first data packet is carried on the cellular network air interface link; and the second process identifier is further used to determine that the second data packet is carried on the sidelink.

[0010] In one possible implementation, the first process identifier includes a first bit sequence and a second bit sequence, the first bit sequence is used to indicate that the first data packet is carried on the cellular network air interface link, and the second bit sequence is used to indicate the data carried by the first data packet; the second process identifier includes a third bit sequence and a fourth bit sequence, the third bit sequence is used to indicate that the second data packet is carried on the side link, and the fourth bit sequence is used to indicate the data carried by the second data packet.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the first data packet is received within a first time period, and / or the second data packet is received within a second time period.

[0012] In a possible implementation, the first data is data carried by the earliest received data packet between the first data packet and the second data packet.

[0013] In a possible implementation, the first data is data carried by the latest received data packet between the first data packet and the second data packet.

[0014] In a possible implementation, the first data is data obtained by jointly decoding the first data packet and the second data packet.

[0015] In a possible implementation manner, when decoding of the first data fails, data retransmission indication information is sent to the first terminal device via the cellular network air interface link and / or via the sidelink.

[0016] In one possible implementation, the first data packet carries a first identifier and a fourth identifier, or the first data packet carries a second identifier and a third identifier; wherein the first identifier is an identifier of the second terminal device in sidelink communication, the second identifier is an identifier of the second terminal device in cellular network communication, the third identifier is an identifier of the first terminal device in sidelink communication, and the fourth identifier is an identifier of the first terminal device in cellular network communication.

[0017] In a possible implementation manner, the second terminal device sends a first identifier to the network equipment device, where the first identifier is an identifier of the second terminal device in sidelink communication.

[0018] In a possible implementation manner, the second terminal device sends a second identifier to the first terminal device, where the second identifier is an identifier of the second terminal device in cellular network communication.

[0019] In the second aspect, the present application provides a communication method. Taking the first terminal device executing the method as an example, the method includes: the first terminal device sends a first data packet to the second terminal device through a cellular network air interface link, and the first data packet includes a first process identifier, and the first process identifier indicates the data carried by the first data packet; and the first terminal device sends a second data packet to the second terminal device through a side link, and the second data packet includes a second process identifier, and the second process identifier indicates the data carried by the second data packet, and the data carried by the second data packet is the same as the data carried by the first data packet.

[0020] In the method described in the second aspect, the same data (i.e., the first data) can be transmitted between the transmitting device (i.e., the first terminal device mentioned in the present application) and the receiving device (i.e., the second terminal device mentioned in the present application) through the cellular network air interface link and the side link. Through this method, when the transmitting device fails to send the data through a certain link (such as the side link), the data can also be sent through another link (such as the cellular network air interface link), which is conducive to improving the reliability of data transmission.

[0021] In a possible implementation, the first process identifier is further used to determine that the first data packet is carried on the cellular network air interface link; and the second process identifier is further used to determine that the second data packet is carried on the sidelink.

[0022] In one possible implementation, the first process identifier includes a first bit sequence and a second bit sequence, the first bit sequence is used to indicate that the first data packet is carried on the cellular network air interface link, and the second bit sequence is used to indicate the data carried by the first data packet; the second process identifier includes a third bit sequence and a fourth bit sequence, the third bit sequence is used to indicate that the second data packet is carried on the side link, and the fourth bit sequence is used to indicate the data carried by the second data packet.

[0023] In one possible implementation, the first data packet carries a first identifier and a fourth identifier; or, the first data packet carries a second identifier and a third identifier; wherein the first identifier is an identifier of the second terminal device in sidelink communication, the second identifier is an identifier of the second terminal device in cellular network communication, the third identifier is an identifier of the first terminal device in sidelink communication, and the fourth identifier is an identifier of the first terminal device in cellular network communication.

[0024] In one possible implementation, a first terminal device receives a second identifier from a second terminal device, where the second identifier is the identifier of the second terminal device in cellular network communication; the first terminal device sends a first identifier, a second identifier, and a third identifier to a network device, where the first identifier is the identifier of the second terminal device in sidelink communication, and the third identifier is the identifier of the first terminal device in the sidelink.

[0025] In the third aspect, the present application provides a communication method. Taking a network device executing the method as an example, the method includes: the network device receives a first data packet from a first terminal device, the first data packet includes a first process identifier, and the first process identifier indicates the data carried by the first data packet and the first data packet carried on the cellular network air interface link; the network device sends the first data packet to the second terminal device.

[0026] In the method described in the third aspect, the network device device can forward the data received from the sending end device (i.e., the first terminal device mentioned in this application) to the receiving end device (i.e., the second terminal device mentioned in this application). Through this method, data can be sent between the sending end device and the receiving end device through the cellular network air interface link, which is conducive to improving the reliability of data transmission.

[0027] In a possible implementation, the first process identifier includes a first bit sequence and a second bit sequence, the first bit sequence is used to indicate that the first data packet is carried on a cellular network air interface link, and the second bit sequence is used to indicate data carried by the first data packet.

[0028] In one possible implementation, the first data packet carries a first identifier and a fourth identifier; or, the first data packet carries a second identifier and a third identifier; wherein the first identifier is an identifier of the second terminal device in sidelink communication, the second identifier is an identifier of the second terminal device in cellular network communication, the third identifier is an identifier of the first terminal device in sidelink communication, and the fourth identifier is an identifier of the first terminal device in cellular network communication.

[0029] In one possible implementation, the network equipment device receives a first identifier from a second terminal device, where the first identifier is the identifier of the second terminal device in sidelink communication; the network equipment device maintains a correspondence between the first identifier and the second identifier, where the second identifier is the identifier of the second terminal device in cellular network communication.

[0030] In one possible implementation, the network equipment device receives a first identifier, a second identifier, and a third identifier from a first terminal device, where the first identifier is the identifier of the second terminal device in sidelink communication, the second identifier is the identifier of the second terminal device in cellular network communication, and the third identifier is the identifier of the first terminal device in sidelink communication; the network equipment device maintains a correspondence between the first identifier and the second identifier, and a correspondence between the third identifier and a fourth identifier, where the fourth identifier is the identifier of the first terminal device in cellular network communication.

[0031] In a possible implementation, the first data packet carries a first identifier; and the network device sends the first data packet to the second terminal device according to a correspondence between the first identifier and the second identifier.

[0032] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which may be a second terminal device, a device in the second terminal device, or a device that can be used in conjunction with the second terminal device. The communication device may also be a chip system. The communication device may execute the method described in the first aspect. The functions of the communication device may be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the above functions. The units or modules may be software and / or hardware. The operations and beneficial effects performed by the communication device may refer to the method and beneficial effects described in the first aspect above.

[0033] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which may be a first terminal device, a device in the first terminal device, or a device that can be used in conjunction with the first terminal device. The communication device may also be a chip system. The communication device may execute the method described in the second aspect. The functions of the communication device may be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the above functions. The units or modules may be software and / or hardware. The operations and beneficial effects performed by the communication device may refer to the method and beneficial effects described in the second aspect above.

[0034] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which may be a network device, a device in a network device, or a device that can be used in conjunction with a network device. The communication device may also be a chip system. The communication device may execute the method described in the third aspect. The functions of the communication device may be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the above functions. The units or modules may be software and / or hardware. The operations and beneficial effects performed by the communication device may refer to the method and beneficial effects described in the third aspect above.

[0035] In the seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which includes a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor or send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device, and the processor is used to implement the method as described in the first aspect through a logic circuit or executing code instructions, or the processor is used to implement the method as described in the second aspect through a logic circuit or executing code instructions, or the processor is used to implement the method as described in the third aspect through a logic circuit or executing code instructions.

[0036] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed by a communication device, it implements the method described in the first aspect, or the method described in the second aspect, or the method described in the third aspect.

[0037] In the ninth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when a communication device reads and executes the instructions, causes the communication device to execute the method as described in the first aspect, or causes the communication device to execute the method as described in the second aspect, or causes the communication device to execute the method as described in the third aspect.

[0038] In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a communication system comprising a communication device for executing the method described in the first aspect, a communication device for executing the method described in the second aspect, and a communication device for executing the method described in the third aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0039] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0040] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a vehicle networking configuration provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0041] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a user plane protocol stack of a Uu interface provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0042] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a user plane protocol stack of a PC5 interface provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0043] FIG5 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0044] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of a process identifier provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0045] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of an Internet of Vehicles network provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0046] FIG8 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] FIG9 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0048] The terms "first" and "second" and the like in the specification, claims, and drawings of this application are used to distinguish between different objects, not to describe a particular order. Furthermore, the terms "including" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus comprising a series of steps or elements is not limited to the listed steps or elements, but may optionally include steps or elements not listed, or may optionally include other steps or elements inherent to the process, method, product, or apparatus.

[0049] References to "embodiments" herein mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of the present application. The appearance of this phrase in various places in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor does it constitute an independent or alternative embodiment that is mutually exclusive of other embodiments. It should be understood that the embodiments described herein may be combined with other embodiments.

[0050] In order to facilitate a detailed understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the system architecture involved in the embodiments of the present application is first introduced below.

[0051] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system 1000 used in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG1 , the communication system includes a radio access network (RAN) 100 and a core network 200. Optionally, the communication system 1000 may also include the Internet 300. The RAN 100 includes at least one RAN node (e.g., 110a and 110b in FIG1 , collectively referred to as 110), and may also include at least one terminal (e.g., 120a-120j in FIG1 , collectively referred to as 120). The RAN 100 may also include other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices (not shown in FIG1 ). The terminal 120 is wirelessly connected to the RAN node 110, and the RAN node 110 is wirelessly or wiredly connected to the core network 200. The core network devices in the core network 200 and the RAN node 110 in the RAN 100 may be independent and different physical devices, or they may be the same physical device that integrates the logical functions of the core network devices and the logical functions of the RAN nodes. Terminals and RAN nodes may be connected to each other via wired or wireless means. It should be noted that the RAN node 110 may also be referred to as a network device 110 in the following text.

[0052] RAN100 may be an evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) system, a new radio (NR) system, or a future radio access system defined in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). RAN100 may also include two or more of the aforementioned different radio access systems. RAN100 may also be an open RAN (O-RAN).

[0053] A RAN node, also known as a radio access network device, RAN entity, or access node, facilitates wireless access to a communication system by a terminal. In one application scenario, a RAN node can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB) in a fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication system, a next-generation base station in a sixth-generation (6G) mobile communication system, or a base station in a future mobile communication system. A RAN node can be a macro base station (such as 110a in Figure 1), a micro base station, an indoor station (such as 110b in Figure 1), a relay node, or a donor node.

[0054] In another application scenario, multiple RAN nodes can collaborate to help terminals achieve wireless access, with different RAN nodes implementing portions of the base station's functions. For example, a RAN node can be a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), or a radio unit (RU). The CU implements the base station's radio resource control protocol and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) functions, as well as the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) functions. The DU implements the base station's radio link control layer and medium access control (MAC) layer functions, as well as some or all of the physical layer functions. For detailed descriptions of each of the above protocol layers, please refer to the relevant 3GPP technical specifications. The RU can be used to implement the transmission and reception of radio frequency signals. The CU and DU can be two independent RAN nodes, or they can be integrated into the same RAN node, such as in a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in radio frequency equipment, such as a remote radio unit (RRU) or an active antenna unit (AAU). The CU can be further divided into two types of RAN nodes: CU-control plane and CU-user plane.

[0055] In different systems, RAN nodes may have different names. For example, in an O-RAN system, a CU may be called an open CU (O-CU), a DU may be called an open DU (O-DU), and a RU may be called an open RU (O-RU). The RAN node in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module. For example, the RAN node may be a server loaded with the corresponding software module. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the RAN node. For ease of description, the following description takes a base station as an example of a RAN node.

[0056] A terminal is a device with wireless transceiver capabilities that can send signals to a base station or receive signals from a base station. A terminal may also be referred to as a terminal device, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. Terminals can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, smart city, etc. A terminal can be a mobile phone, tablet computer, computer with wireless transceiver capabilities, wearable device, vehicle, airplane, ship, robot, robotic arm, smart home device, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the terminal.

[0057] Base stations and terminals can be fixed or mobile. They can be deployed on land, indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; on water; or on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of base stations and terminals.

[0058] The roles of base stations and terminals can be relative. For example, the helicopter or drone 120i in Figure 1 can be configured as a mobile base station. To terminals 120j accessing the wireless access network 100 via 120i, terminal 120i is a base station. However, to base station 110a, 120i is a terminal, meaning that communication between 110a and 120i occurs via a wireless air interface protocol. Of course, communication between 110a and 120i can also occur via a base station-to-base station interface protocol. In this case, 120i is also a base station relative to 110a. Therefore, base stations and terminals can be collectively referred to as communication devices. 110a and 110b in Figure 1 can be referred to as communication devices with base station functionality, while 120a-120j in Figure 1 can be referred to as communication devices with terminal functionality.

[0059] Communication between base stations and terminals, between base stations, and between terminals can be carried out through authorized spectrum, unauthorized spectrum, or both; communication can be carried out through spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz), spectrum above 6 GHz, or spectrum below 6 GHz and spectrum above 6 GHz. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the spectrum resources used for wireless communication.

[0060] In the embodiments of the present application, the functions of the base station may also be performed by a module (such as a chip) in the base station, or by a control subsystem that includes the base station functions. The control subsystem that includes the base station functions here may be a control center in the above-mentioned application scenarios such as smart grid, industrial control, smart transportation, and smart city. The functions of the terminal may also be performed by a module (such as a chip or modem) in the terminal, or by a device that includes the terminal functions.

[0061] In order to facilitate understanding of the relevant contents of the embodiments of the present application, some of the terms involved in the embodiments of the present application are explained below. This part is only for ease of understanding and cannot be regarded as a disclosure or specific limitation of the technical solution of the present application.

[0062] 1. Internet of Vehicles System

[0063] The communication system includes V2V communication, V2P communication, V2I communication and V2N communication. For example, the present application provides a networking diagram of a vehicle network as shown in Figure 2, which includes V2V communication between vehicles and other vehicles, V2I communication between vehicles and RSUs, V2N communication between vehicles and network devices, and infrastructure to network (I2V) communication between RSUs and network devices. Among them, vehicles communicate with each other through SL, vehicles and RSUs communicate with each other through SL, vehicles and network devices communicate with each other through cellular network air interface links, and RSUs and network devices communicate with each other through cellular network air interface links. It should be noted that SL communication is based on the PC5 interface, so in this application, SL can also be called PC5 link; cellular network air interface link communication is based on the Uu interface (i.e., the communication interface between UE and universal terrestrial radio access network (UTRAN)), so in this application, the cellular network air interface link can also be called Uu link. This application does not limit the specific name of the link between the terminal device and the network device.

[0064] In the connected vehicle system, services for vehicle users include connected vehicle services and enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) services. Data associated with connected vehicle services (also referred to as connected vehicle data in this application) includes, but is not limited to, vehicle information (e.g., location, speed, intentions (turning, merging, reversing), etc.), and road information (e.g., road accident information, congestion information, and traffic light information). Data associated with eMBB services includes, but is not limited to, navigation information, in-vehicle entertainment information, and over-the-air (OTA) upgrade information.

[0065] Typically, data for connected vehicle services is carried by the SL, while data for eMBB services is carried by the cellular network air interface link. Alternatively, the SL carries connected vehicle services, while the cellular network air interface link carries eMBB services.

[0066] 2. Uu interface protocol stack (also known as wireless air interface protocol)

[0067] Figure 3 is a structural diagram of a user plane protocol stack of a Uu interface provided in an embodiment of the present application. The user plane protocol stack includes, from top to bottom: a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, a medium access control (MAC) layer, and a physical layer (PHY).

[0068] Among them, the SDAP layer is mainly responsible for mapping the quality of service (QoS) flow to the data radio bearer (DRB); the PDCP layer is mainly responsible for IP header compression, encryption and integrity protection; the RLC layer is mainly responsible for data segmentation and reassembly; the MAC layer is mainly responsible for logical channel multiplexing, hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) retransmission and scheduling-related functions; the PHY layer is mainly responsible for encoding, decoding, modulation, demodulation, multi-antenna mapping and other functions.

[0069] It should be noted that in the Uu link, each communication device is distinguished from the communication device based on the radio network temporary identity (RNTI) for addressing communication. The RNTI mentioned in this application includes but is not limited to one or more of the following types: system information RNTI (SI-RNTI), paging RNTI (P-RNTI), random access RNTI (RA-RNTI), temporary cell RNTI (TC-RNTI), cell RNTI (C-RNTI), and transmit power control RNTI (TPC-RNTI).

[0070] 3. PC5 interface protocol stack

[0071] Figure 4 is a structural diagram of a user plane protocol stack of a PC5 interface provided in an embodiment of the present application. The user plane protocol stack includes, from top to bottom: V2X application (APP) layer, internet protocol (IP) layer, SDAP layer, PDCP layer, RLC layer, MAC layer, and PHY.

[0072] Among them, the V2X APP layer is used to map V2X service data packets into PC5 QOS flows through PC5 QOS rules. The V2X service data packets are divided into IP data and non-Internet Protocol (Non-IP) data. The IP layer is used to relay datagrams across network boundaries. The SDAP layer is used to map PC5 QOS flows to SL DRBs. The PDCP layer is used to operate on resource blocks (RBs), providing authentication, encryption, integrity protection, out-of-order delivery, and header compression. The RLC layer is applicable to three transmission modes: transparent mode (TM), unacknowledged mode (UM), and acknowledged mode (AM), and mainly provides error correction, segmentation, and reassembly. The MAC layer is responsible for multiplexing scheduling HARQ feedback, radio resource selection, packet filtering, sidelink channel state information (CSI) reporting, and uplink and sidelink transmission priority comparison (i.e., the MAC determines the priority of uplink (UL) and SL). The PHY layer is mainly responsible for encoding, decoding, modulation, demodulation, and multi-antenna mapping.

[0073] It should be noted that in the SL (or PC5 link), each communication device is distinguished based on the source identification (SRC ID) and the destination identification (DST ID) to perform addressing communication. The source identification can be the source layer 2 identification (source layer-2ID) of the sending end (i.e., the source terminal device), and the destination identification can be the destination layer 2 identification (destination layer-2ID) of the receiving end (i.e., the destination terminal device), wherein the source layer 2 identification is allocated by the sending end, and the same source layer 2 identification can be allocated for all broadcast, multicast, and unicast services, or different source layer 2 identifications can be allocated, and this application does not limit this. The destination layer 2 identification has different connotations for different propagation types. For example, for broadcast, the destination layer 2 identification corresponds to a service type; for multicast, the destination layer 2 identification corresponds to a group; for unicast, the destination layer 2 identification is the source layer 2 identification allocated to the opposite UE.

[0074] Generally, since the Uu interface protocol stack and the PC5 interface protocol stack are independent of each other, when terminal device A and terminal device B communicate through SL, terminal device A and terminal device B cannot identify the RNTI of the other device; similarly, when terminal device C and terminal device D communicate through the cellular network air interface link, terminal device C and terminal device D cannot identify the SRC ID or DST ID of the other device.

[0075] In order to improve the data transmission reliability of the vehicle-connected business, the present application provides a communication method. The communication method and communication device provided in the embodiment of the present application are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 5 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 5, the communication method includes the following steps S501 to S503. The method execution subject shown in Figure 5 is illustrated by taking the receiving end device (i.e., the second terminal device mentioned in the present application), the sending end device (i.e., the first terminal device mentioned in the present application) and the network device device as an example. It should be noted that the terminal device (including the first terminal device and the second terminal device mentioned in the present application) can be an RSU device or a vehicle device, and the present application does not specifically limit this. When the terminal device is an RSU device, the terminal device can be an RSU or a module (e.g., a chip) in the RSU, and the present application does not specifically limit this; when the terminal device is a vehicle device, the terminal device can be a complete vehicle device, an on-board module, an on-board chip, an on-board unit (OBU) or a telematics box (T-BOX), etc., and the present application does not specifically limit this. The network device apparatus may be a network device or a module in the network device (e.g., a chip, a CU, or a DU), which is not specifically limited in this application.

[0076] S501: A second terminal device receives a first data packet from a first terminal device via a cellular network air interface link.

[0077] Accordingly, the first terminal device sends a first data packet to the second terminal device via the cellular network air interface link, wherein the first data packet carries the identifier of the sending end (ie, the first terminal device) and the identifier of the receiving end (ie, the second terminal device).

[0078] In a possible embodiment, the first data packet carries a first identifier and a fourth identifier, and / or the first data packet carries a second identifier and a third identifier; wherein the first identifier is the identifier of the second terminal device in SL communication, the second identifier is the identifier of the second terminal device in cellular network communication, the third identifier is the identifier of the first terminal device in SL communication, and the fourth identifier is the identifier of the first terminal device in cellular network communication. It should be noted that the identifiers in SL communication mentioned in this application include but are not limited to the aforementioned SRC ID or DST ID, and the identifiers in cellular network communication mentioned in this application include but are not limited to the RNTI of the aforementioned device. By implementing this possible embodiment, the second terminal device can know (or understand to determine) that the service type of the data carried by the first data packet is the same as a certain service type carried by the SL (for example, a vehicle-to-vehicle service type) based on the identifier carried by the first data packet. Furthermore, based on the identifier carried by the first data packet, the second terminal device can also know (or understand as determine) that the data of the first data packet is the backup data of the data carried by a certain data packet (for example, the second data packet) in the SL bearer data packet, or can know (or understand as determine) that the data of a certain data packet (for example, the second data packet) that can be found (or understood as determined) in the SL bearer data packet is the backup data of the data carried by the first data packet.

[0079] It can be understood that the network device maintains the corresponding relationship between the identifiers of each terminal device on the two links. For example, the network device maintains the corresponding relationship between the first identifier and the second identifier, and also maintains the corresponding relationship between the third identifier and the fourth identifier. Furthermore, the network device receives a first data packet from a first terminal device. If the first data packet carries the first identifier, the network device sends the first data packet to the second terminal device indicated by the second identifier based on the corresponding relationship between the first identifier and the second identifier; if the first data packet carries the second identifier, the network device sends the first data packet to the second terminal device indicated by the second identifier.

[0080] It should be understood that, because the identifiers (e.g., the second identifier and the fourth identifier) ​​of the terminal devices (e.g., the first terminal device and the second terminal device) in the cellular network communication are assigned by the network device, it can be understood that the network device knows the identifiers of each terminal device in the cellular network communication. In SL communication, the terminal devices that can communicate with each other also know each other's identifiers in the SL communication. For example, the first terminal device performs SL communication with the second terminal device, and the first terminal device knows the identifier of the second terminal device in the SL communication (e.g., the first identifier mentioned in this application), and the second terminal device also knows the identifier of the first terminal device in the SL communication (e.g., the third identifier mentioned in this application). Based on this, in a possible implementation method 1, the second terminal device sends the first identifier to the network device, and the network device maintains the corresponding relationship between the first identifier and the second identifier based on the second identifier of the second terminal device; and / or, the first terminal device sends the third identifier to the network device, and the network device maintains the corresponding relationship between the third identifier and the fourth identifier based on the fourth identifier of the first terminal device. Alternatively, in another possible implementation 2, the second terminal device sends the second identifier to the first terminal device, and the first terminal device sends the first identifier, the second identifier, and the third identifier to the network device; further, the network device maintains the correspondence between the first identifier and the second identifier, and maintains the correspondence between the third identifier and the fourth identifier. It should be noted that implementation 1 and implementation 2 can be used independently, in combination, or partially in combination, and this application does not specifically limit this.

[0081] S502: The second terminal device receives a second data packet from the first terminal device via the SL, wherein the data carried by the second data packet is the same as the data carried by the first data packet.

[0082] Correspondingly, the first terminal device sends a second data packet to the second terminal device via the SL, wherein the second data packet carries the first identifier of the first terminal device and the third identifier of the second terminal device.

[0083] It should be noted that this application does not specifically limit the execution order of S501 and S502. In other words, S501 can be executed before S502, after S502, or simultaneously with S502. For ease of understanding, the following text uses the example of executing S501 and S502 simultaneously as an example for illustrative explanation, which should not be regarded as a specific limitation of this application.

[0084] In combination with S501 and S502, when the first terminal device has a data transmission requirement (this application takes the first data as an example), the first terminal device encapsulates the first data through the various protocol layer entities of the Uu interface protocol stack to generate a first data packet, and encapsulates the first data through the various protocol layer entities of the PC5 interface protocol stack to generate a second data packet. Furthermore, the first terminal device sends the first data packet to the second terminal device through the cellular network air interface link between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, and sends the second data packet to the second terminal device through the SL between the first terminal device and the second terminal device. It can be understood that the first data packet and the second data packet are data packets generated based on the same data (i.e., the first data packet) and transmitted through different links; the data carried by the first data packet and the second data packet are the same.

[0085] In one possible embodiment, the first data packet includes a first process identifier, which indicates the data carried by the first data packet; the second data packet includes a second process identifier, which indicates the data carried by the second data packet. That is, after the second terminal device receives the first data packet and the second data packet through different links, it can determine whether the data carried (or corresponding to) the first data packet and the second data packet are the same based on the process identifier. For example, the second terminal device receives data packet 1 through the cellular network air interface link and receives data packet 2 through the SL. When the process identifier of data packet 1 and the process identifier of data packet 2 are partially / completely the same, the second terminal device determines that the data carried by data packet 1 and data packet 2 are the same.

[0086] In a possible embodiment, the process identifiers (such as the first process identifier and the second process identifier) ​​mentioned in the present application are used to determine the link that carries the data packet in addition to indicating the data carried by the data packet. That is, the first process identifier included in the first data packet is used to determine that the first data packet is carried on the cellular network air interface link in addition to indicating the data carried by the first data packet; the second process identifier included in the second data packet is used to determine that the second data packet is carried on the SL in addition to indicating the data carried by the second data packet. By implementing this possible embodiment, the second terminal device can record the decoding status of the data packets of each link respectively, and count the data transmission quality of each link (such as the probability of correct decoding of the data packets of each link or the probability of decoding errors); when the probability of correct decoding of the data packets of a certain link is lower than a certain threshold (or the probability of decoding errors is higher than a certain threshold), the second terminal device reduces the priority of decoding the data packets of the link, or understands that the data packets of the link will not be preferentially decoded, so as to save the power consumption of the second terminal device.

[0087] In a specific example, the first process identifier includes two parts (for example, a first bit sequence and a second bit sequence), one of the two parts (for example, the first bit sequence) is used to indicate that the first data packet is carried on the cellular network air interface link, and the other part (for example, the second bit sequence) is used to indicate the data carried by the first data packet; the second process identifier includes two parts (for example, a third bit sequence and a fourth bit sequence), one of the two parts (for example, the third bit sequence) is used to indicate that the second data packet is carried on the SL, and the other part (for example, the fourth bit sequence) is used to indicate the data carried by the second data packet.

[0088] For example, as shown in FIG6 , the first process identifier of data packet 1 is represented by n bits, of which p bits are used to determine that data packet 1 is carried on the cellular network air interface link, and q bits are used to indicate the data carried by data packet 1; the second process identifier of data packet 2 is represented by n bits, of which p bits are used to determine that data packet 2 is carried on the cellular network air interface link, and q bits are used to indicate the data carried by data packet 2; wherein p is an integer greater than or equal to 1, q is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and n is an integer greater than or equal to p and q ( FIG6 only takes n as the sum of p and q as an example). When the value of the bit sequence used to indicate the carried data in the first process identifier (i.e., the last q bits in the first process identifier) ​​is the same as the value of the bit sequence used to indicate the carried data in the second process identifier (i.e., the last q bits in the second process identifier), then the data carried by data packet 1 and data packet 2 are the same.

[0089] It should be noted that, for the first terminal device, the first process identifier in the first data packet is added by the MAC entity of the first terminal device (i.e., the MAC entity in the Uu interface protocol stack), and the second process identifier is added by the MAC entity of the first terminal device (i.e., the MAC entity in the PC5 interface protocol stack). For the second terminal device, the second terminal device also includes a logical entity, which is used to perform one or more of the following: identifying the process identifiers of data packets transmitted through different links, for example, it can identify both the first process identifier of the first data packet transmitted through the cellular network air interface link and the second process identifier of the second data packet transmitted through the SL; comparing the process identifiers of data packets transmitted through different links to determine whether the data carried by the data packets transmitted through the different links is the same, for example, determining whether the portion of the first process identifier indicating the carried data and the portion of the second process identifier indicating the carried data are the same; or, if the data carried by the data packets transmitted through different links is the same, determining to jointly decode the data packets transmitted through the different links, for example, if the data carried by the first data packet and the second data packet is the same, determining that the first data packet and the second data packet can be jointly decoded to obtain data. It should also be noted that the redundant version of the first data packet and the redundant version of the second data packet are different, that is, the redundant versions of the different links are different. For example, the sequence numbers of the redundant versions of data packets in the cellular network air interface link are 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8, respectively, and the sequence numbers of the redundant versions of data packets in the SL are 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9, respectively. Data packet 1 is carried by the cellular network air interface link, and data packet 2 is carried by the SL. In this case, when data packet 1 is first transmitted, its redundant version is 0; when data packet 1 is first retransmitted, its redundant version is 2; and when data packet 1 is second transmitted, its redundant version is 4. Meanwhile, when data packet 2 is first transmitted, its redundant version is 1; when data packet 2 is first retransmitted, its redundant version is 3; and when data packet 2 is second retransmitted, its redundant version is 5.

[0090] S503: The second terminal device determines first data according to the first data packet and / or the second data packet.

[0091] That is, after receiving the first data and the second data packet, the second terminal device decodes the first data packet and / or the second data packet to obtain the first data packet. The first data packet may be the data carried by the earliest received data packet of the first data packet and the second data packet, or the first data packet may be the data carried by the latest received data packet of the first data packet and the second data packet, or the first data packet may be the data obtained by jointly decoding the first data packet and the second data packet.

[0092] It should be understood that the second terminal device may support the function of jointly decoding the first data packet and the second data packet, that is, supporting the function of comparing the data obtained by decoding the first data packet with the data obtained by decoding the second data packet, removing redundant data and then merging the data. In this case, the second terminal device supports the PC5 interface protocol stack and the Uu interface protocol stack. Exemplarily, the second terminal device may be a vehicle device. The second terminal device may also not support the function of jointly decoding the first data packet and the second data packet. Exemplarily, the second terminal device may be an RSU device. In other words:

[0093] The second terminal device supports the function of jointly decoding the first data packet and the second data packet. For example, when the second terminal device is a vehicle device, the second terminal device decodes the first data packet and the second data packet according to the order in which they are received, first decoding the earliest received data packet of the first data packet and the second data packet. If the decoding of the earliest received data packet is correct, the first data is obtained. In this case, the first data is the data carried by the earliest received data packet of the first data packet and the second data packet. Further, if the decoding of the earliest received data packet is erroneous, the second terminal device decodes the latest received data packet of the first data packet and the second data packet. If the decoding of the latest received data packet is correct, the first data is obtained. In this case, the first data is the data carried by the latest received data packet of the first data packet and the second data packet. Further, if the decoding of the latest received data packet is erroneous, the second terminal device jointly decodes the first data packet and the second data packet. If the joint decoding of the first data packet and the second data packet is correct, the first data is obtained. In this case, the first data is the data obtained by jointly decoding the first data packet and the second data packet. In the event of a joint decoding error for the first and second data packets, the second terminal device sends data retransmission instruction information to the first terminal device via the SL and / or the cellular network air interface link, and the first terminal device retransmits the first and / or second data packets to the second terminal device based on the data retransmission instruction information. It is understood that when the second terminal device sends the data retransmission instruction information to the first terminal device via the SL, the first terminal device retransmits the second data packet to the second terminal device based on the data retransmission instruction information; and when the second terminal device sends the data retransmission instruction information to the first terminal device via the cellular network air interface link, the first terminal device retransmits the first data packet to the second terminal device based on the data retransmission instruction information; the full text is as follows.

[0094] The second terminal device does not support the function of jointly decoding the first data packet and the second data packet. For example, when the second terminal device is an RSU device, the second terminal device decodes the first data packet and the second data packet according to the order in which they are received. First, the earliest received data packet of the first data packet and the second data packet is decoded. When the decoding of the earliest received data packet is correct, the first data is obtained. At this time, the first data is the data carried by the earliest received data packet of the first data packet and the second data packet. Further, in the case of an error in decoding the earliest received data packet, the second terminal device decodes the latest received data packet of the first data packet and the second data packet. When the decoding of the latest received data packet is correct, the first data is obtained. At this time, the first data is the data carried by the latest received data packet of the first data packet and the second data packet. In the case of an error in decoding the latest received data packet, the second terminal device sends data retransmission indication information to the first terminal device via the SL and / or the cellular network air interface link. The first terminal device retransmits the first data packet and / or the second data packet to the second terminal device according to the data retransmission indication information.

[0095] In one possible implementation, the second terminal device may further maintain a timer for the arrival of data packets on the cellular network air interface link and a timer for the arrival of data packets on the SL link, respectively, where the cellular network air interface link corresponds to a first timer and the SL corresponds to a second timer. The second terminal device receives and decodes data packets transmitted via the cellular network air interface link within the valid duration of the first timer (i.e., the first timer has not timed out, which can also be understood as the operating duration of the first timer being less than the first duration); and receives and decodes data packets transmitted via the SL link within the valid duration of the second timer (i.e., the second timer has not timed out, which can also be understood as the operating duration of the second timer being less than the second duration). When the second terminal device receives the first data packet when the first timer has not timed out (i.e., the first data packet is received within the first time length), and / or the second terminal device receives the second data packet when the second timer has not timed out (i.e., the second data packet is received within the second time length), in this case, if the first data packet is decoded correctly to obtain the first data, or the second data packet is decoded correctly to obtain the first data, or the first data packet and the second data packet are jointly decoded to obtain the first data correctly, then the second terminal device will not trigger the data retransmission indication, or it will be understood that the data retransmission indication information will not be sent to the first terminal device. When the second terminal device does not receive the first data packet when the first timer has not timed out, and the second terminal device does not receive the second data packet when the second timer has not timed out, the second terminal device sends the data retransmission indication information to the first terminal device via the SL and / or the cellular network air interface link, and the first terminal device retransmits the first data packet and / or the second data packet to the second terminal device according to the data retransmission indication information. The specific values ​​of the first time length and the second time length can be adjusted according to the specific application scenario and are not specifically limited here.

[0096] In summary, through the method shown in Figure 5, the cellular network air interface link and SL can carry data of the same service type (such as vehicle-to-vehicle service), thereby realizing dual-link backup of data. That is to say, the second terminal device and the first terminal device can transmit the same data (i.e., the first data) through the cellular network air interface link and the side link. When the second terminal device fails to receive the data through a certain link (such as the side link), it can also receive the data according to another link (such as the cellular network air interface link), which is beneficial to improving the reliability of data transmission. In addition, when the second terminal device fails to decode part of the data received through a certain link (such as the side link), it can also perform joint decoding based on the data received through another link (such as the cellular network air interface link), which is beneficial to improving the reliability of data transmission.

[0097] Please refer to Figure 7, which is a schematic diagram of the architecture of an Internet of Vehicles network provided in combination with the method shown in Figure 5. In Figure 7, the terminal device can communicate with other terminal devices through SL, and can also communicate with other terminal devices through a cellular network air interface link. That is to say, in the architecture shown in Figure 7, taking the transmission of vehicle-connected service data between terminal device 1 and terminal device 2 as an example, there are the following three communication scenarios: Scenario 1, terminal device 1 exchanges vehicle-connected service data with terminal device 2 through SL. Scenario 2, terminal device 1 exchanges vehicle-connected service data with terminal device 2 through a cellular network air interface link. Scenario 3, terminal device 1 exchanges vehicle-connected service data with terminal device 2 through SL and a cellular network air interface link.

[0098] It should be noted that ① the SL between the terminal device 1 and the terminal device 2 in this application includes the direct SL between the terminal device 1 and the terminal device 2 (for example, the SL in FIG. 7 1-2 ), SL between the terminal device 1 and the relay device (for example, SL in FIG. 7 1-RSU ), SL between the terminal device 2 and the relay device (for example, SL in FIG. 7 RSU-2 ). ② The reference signal receiving power (RSRP) of the SL measured by the terminal device 2 mentioned later in this application can be understood as measuring the SL directly connected to the terminal device 2; that is, measuring the SL between the terminal device 1 and the terminal device 2 (for example, the SL in FIG7 1-2 ) of RSRP, and / or, measuring the SL between the terminal device 2 and the relay device (e.g., SL in FIG. 7 RSU-2 ) RSRP. ③ In this application, the cellular network air interface link between the terminal device 1 and the terminal device 2 includes the cellular network air interface link between the terminal device 1 and the network device (for example, Uu in FIG7 1-RAN1 or Uu 1-RAN2 ), and the cellular network air interface link between the terminal device 2 and the network device (e.g., Uu in FIG. 7 RAN1-2 or Uu RAN2-2 ). ④ The terminal device 2 mentioned later in this application measures the RSRP of the cellular network air interface link, which can be understood as measuring the cellular network air interface link between the terminal device 2 and the network device (for example, Uu in FIG7 RAN1-2 and / or Uu RAN2-2 ))'s RSRP.

[0099] The following takes the terminal device 1 as the transmitting device (i.e., the first terminal device in the aforementioned FIG5 ) and the terminal device 2 as the receiving device (i.e., the second terminal device in the aforementioned FIG5 ) as an example to explain the switching between the three communication scenarios in the Internet of Vehicles networking architecture shown in FIG7 . It should be noted that the terminal device 1 can be an RSU device or a vehicle device, and the terminal device 2 can also be an RSU device or a vehicle device; the terminal device 1 can move on the road or be stationary on the roadside; the terminal device 2 can move on the road or be stationary on the roadside. For the sake of ease of description, in the following text, this application is explained by taking the terminal device 1 as a vehicle device stationary on the roadside and the terminal device 2 moving between positions 1 to 3 as an example, which should not be regarded as a specific limitation of the present application.

[0100] When the terminal device 2 is at position 1, the distance between the terminal device 2 and the terminal device 1 is small, and the signal quality of the SL between the terminal device 2 and the terminal device 1 is good. For example, the terminal device 2 detects that the first RSRP of the SL is greater than or equal to the first threshold, or detects that the first RSRP is greater than or equal to the second RSRP (i.e., the RSRP of the terminal device 2 and the cellular network air interface link). In this case, the terminal device 2 can only pass through the SL (for example, the SL in FIG. 7 1-2 ) receives data from terminal device 1, that is, terminal device 1 and terminal device 2 are in the communication scenario described in scenario 1.

[0101] In the process of terminal device 2 moving from position 1 to position 2, the distance between terminal device 2 and terminal device 1 gradually increases, and the signal quality of SL between terminal device 1 and terminal device 2 gradually deteriorates. When terminal device 2 moves to position 2, terminal device 2 detects that the first RSRP of SL is less than the first threshold, or terminal device 2 detects that the first RSRP is less than the second RSRP (i.e., the RSRP of the air interface link between terminal device 2 and the cellular network). In this case, terminal device 2 can only use the air interface link of the cellular network between terminal device 1 and terminal device 2 (such as Uu in Figure 7). 1-RAN1 and Uu RAN1-2 ) receives data from terminal device 1, that is, terminal device 1 and terminal device 2 are in the communication scenario described in scenario 2; or, terminal device 2 can only receive data through the SL between terminal device 1 and terminal device 2 (such as the SL in FIG. 7 ). 1-RSU and SL RSU-2 ) receives data from terminal device 1, that is, terminal device 1 and terminal device 2 are in the communication scenario described in scenario 1; or, terminal device 2 can receive data from terminal device 1 through the cellular network air interface link between terminal device 1 and terminal device 2 (for example, Uu in FIG. 7 ). 1-RAN1 and Uu RAN1-2 ) receives data from the terminal device 1 and also passes through the SL (e.g., the SL in FIG. 7 1-RSU and SLRSU-2 ) receives data from terminal device 1, that is, terminal device 1 and terminal device 2 are in the communication scenario described in scenario 3.

[0102] In one possible implementation, when the terminal device 2 detects that the first RSRP is less than the first threshold or the first RSRP is less than the second RSRP, the terminal device 2 actively sends a request message to the network device, where the request message is used to request that the vehicle-to-vehicle service be carried through the cellular network air interface link; the terminal device 2 receives indication information from the network device, where the indication information is used to indicate that the vehicle-to-vehicle service be carried through the cellular network air interface link. Alternatively, the terminal device 2 measures the first RSRP and the second RSRP and sends the first RSRP and the second RSRP to the network device; when the network device determines that the first RSRP is less than the first threshold or the first RSRP is less than the second RSRP, the terminal device 2 receives indication information from the network device, where the indication information is used to indicate that the vehicle-to-vehicle service be carried through the cellular network air interface link.

[0103] In the process of terminal device 2 moving from position 2 to position 3, the distance between terminal device 2 and terminal device 1 gradually increases, and the signal quality of SL between terminal device 2 and terminal device 1 gradually fails. When terminal device 2 moves to position 3, SL fails, or it can be understood that terminal device 2 detects that the first RSRP is less than the second threshold (the second threshold is less than the first threshold). In this case, terminal device 2 can only use the cellular network air interface link between terminal device 1 and terminal device 2 (for example, Uu in Figure 7). 1-RAN2 and Uu RAN2-2 ) receives data from terminal device 1, that is, terminal device 1 and terminal device 2 are in the communication scenario described in scenario 2.

[0104] Similarly, in the process of terminal device 2 moving from position 3 to position 1, the distance between terminal device 2 and terminal device 1 gradually decreases, the SL between terminal device 2 and terminal device 1 gradually recovers, and the signal quality gradually increases. When terminal device 2 detects that the first RSRP is greater than or equal to the second threshold (for example, when terminal device 2 is at position 2), terminal device 2 can receive data from terminal device 1 through SL. That is to say, in this case, terminal device 2 can only receive data through the cellular network air interface link between terminal device 1 and terminal device 2 (for example, Uu in Figure 7 1-RAN1 and Uu RAN1-2 ) receives data from terminal device 1, that is, terminal device 1 and terminal device 2 are in the communication scenario described in scenario 2; or, terminal device 2 can only receive data through the SL between terminal device 1 and terminal device 2 (such as the SL in FIG. 7 ). 1-RSU and SL RSU-2) receives data from terminal device 1, that is, terminal device 1 and terminal device 2 are in the communication scenario described in scenario 1; or, terminal device 2 can receive data from terminal device 1 through the cellular network air interface link between terminal device 1 and terminal device 2 (for example, Uu in FIG. 7 ). 1-RAN1 and Uu RAN1-2 ) receives data from the terminal device 1 and also passes through the SL (e.g., the SL in FIG. 7 1-RSU and SL RSU-2 ) receives data from terminal device 1, that is, terminal device 1 and terminal device 2 are in the communication scenario described in scenario 3. When terminal device 2 detects that the first RSRP is greater than or equal to the first threshold (for example, when terminal device 2 is in position 1), terminal device 2 can only use SL (for example, SL in FIG. 7 ). 1-2 ) receives data from terminal device 1, that is, terminal device 1 and terminal device 2 are in the communication scenario described in scenario 1.

[0105] It is understandable that in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the terminal device includes hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. It should be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that, in combination with the units and method steps of the various examples described in the embodiments disclosed in this application, this application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in hardware or by computer software transceiver components driving hardware depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0106] Figures 8 and 9 are schematic diagrams of the structures of possible communication devices provided in embodiments of the present application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the second terminal device in the above method embodiments or the functions of the first terminal device in the above method embodiments, thereby also achieving the beneficial effects of the above method embodiments. In the embodiments of the present application, the communication device can be the terminal 120 shown in Figure 1, or a module (such as a chip) applied to the terminal 120.

[0107] As shown in Figure 8, the communication device 800 includes a processing unit 810 and a transceiver unit 820. The communication device 800 is used to implement the function of the second terminal device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 5 above. Wherein: the transceiver unit 820 is used to receive a first data packet from the first terminal device through the cellular network air interface link, the first data packet includes a first process identifier, and the first process identifier indicates the data carried by the first data packet; the transceiver unit 820 is also used to receive a second data packet from the first terminal device through the side link, the second data packet includes a second process identifier, and the second process identifier indicates the data carried by the second data packet; the data carried by the second data packet is the same as the data carried by the first data packet; the processing unit 810 is used to determine the first data based on the first data packet and / or the second data packet.

[0108] In a possible implementation, the first process identifier is further used to determine whether the first data packet is carried on the cellular network air interface link; and the second process identifier is further used to determine whether the second data packet is carried on the sidelink.

[0109] In one possible implementation, the first process identifier includes a first bit sequence and a second bit sequence, the first bit sequence is used to indicate that the first data packet is carried on the cellular network air interface link, and the second bit sequence is used to indicate the data carried by the first data packet; the second process identifier includes a third bit sequence and a fourth bit sequence, the third bit sequence is used to indicate that the second data packet is carried on the side link, and the fourth bit sequence is used to indicate the data carried by the second data packet.

[0110] In a possible implementation, the first data packet is received within a first time period, and / or the second data packet is received within a second time period.

[0111] In a possible implementation, the first data is data carried by the earliest received data packet between the first data packet and the second data packet.

[0112] In a possible implementation, the first data is data carried by the latest received data packet between the first data packet and the second data packet.

[0113] In a possible implementation, the first data is data obtained by jointly decoding the first data packet and the second data packet.

[0114] In a possible implementation, when decoding of the first data fails, the transceiver unit 820 is further configured to send data retransmission indication information to the first terminal device via the cellular network air interface link and / or via the sidelink.

[0115] In one possible implementation, the first data packet carries a first identifier and a fourth identifier, or the first data packet carries a second identifier and a third identifier; wherein the first identifier is an identifier of the second terminal device in sidelink communication, the second identifier is an identifier of the second terminal device in cellular network communication, the third identifier is an identifier of the first terminal device in sidelink communication, and the fourth identifier is an identifier of the first terminal device in cellular network communication.

[0116] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit 820 is further configured to send a first identifier to the network device, where the first identifier is an identifier of the second terminal device in the sidelink communication.

[0117] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit 820 is further configured to send a second identifier to the first terminal device, where the second identifier is an identifier of the second terminal device in cellular network communication.

[0118] For a more detailed description of the transceiver unit 820 and the processing unit 810 , reference may be made to the relevant description of the second terminal device in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 5 .

[0119] As shown in FIG8 , a communication device 800 includes a processing unit 810 and a transceiver unit 820. The communication device 800 is used to implement the functions of the first terminal device in the method embodiment shown in FIG5 . The transceiver unit 820 is used to send a first data packet to a second terminal device via a cellular network air interface link, where the first data packet includes a first process identifier, where the first process identifier indicates the data carried by the first data packet; and the transceiver unit 820 is also used to send a second data packet to the second terminal device via a sidelink, where the second data packet includes a second process identifier, where the second process identifier indicates the data carried by the second data packet, where the data carried by the second data packet is the same as the data carried by the first data packet.

[0120] In a possible implementation, the first process identifier is further used to determine whether the first data packet is carried on the cellular network air interface link; and the second process identifier is further used to determine whether the second data packet is carried on the sidelink.

[0121] In one possible implementation, the first process identifier includes a first bit sequence and a second bit sequence, the first bit sequence is used to indicate that the first data packet is carried on the cellular network air interface link, and the second bit sequence is used to indicate the data carried by the first data packet; the second process identifier includes a third bit sequence and a fourth bit sequence, the third bit sequence is used to indicate that the second data packet is carried on the side link, and the fourth bit sequence is used to indicate the data carried by the second data packet.

[0122] In one possible implementation, the first data packet carries a first identifier and a fourth identifier; or, the first data packet carries a second identifier and a third identifier; wherein the first identifier is an identifier of the second terminal device in sidelink communication, the second identifier is an identifier of the second terminal device in cellular network communication, the third identifier is an identifier of the first terminal device in sidelink communication, and the fourth identifier is an identifier of the first terminal device in cellular network communication.

[0123] In one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 820 is also used to receive a second identifier from a second terminal device, where the second identifier is the identifier of the second terminal device in cellular network communication; the transceiver unit 820 is also used to send a first identifier, a second identifier, and a third identifier to the network device, where the first identifier is the identifier of the second terminal device in sidelink communication, and the third identifier is the identifier of the first terminal device in the sidelink.

[0124] For a more detailed description of the transceiver unit 820 and the processing unit 810 , reference may be made to the relevant description of the first terminal device in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 5 .

[0125] As shown in Figure 9, communication device 900 includes a processor 910 and an interface circuit 920. Processor 910 and interface circuit 920 are coupled to each other. It is understood that interface circuit 920 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, communication device 900 may also include a memory 930 for storing instructions executed by processor 910, input data required by processor 910 to execute instructions, or data generated after processor 910 executes instructions.

[0126] When the communication device 900 is used to implement the method shown in FIG. 5 , the processor 910 is used to implement the functions of the processing unit 810 , and the interface circuit 920 is used to implement the functions of the transceiver unit 820 .

[0127] When the communication device is a chip implemented in a first terminal device, the chip implements the functions of the first terminal device in the above-described method embodiment. When the chip receives information from the base station, it can be understood that the information is first received by other modules in the terminal (such as a radio frequency module or antenna) and then sent to the terminal chip by these modules. When the terminal chip sends information to the base station, it can be understood that the information is first sent to other modules in the terminal (such as a radio frequency module or antenna) and then sent to the base station by these modules.

[0128] When the communication device is a chip used in a second terminal device, the chip implements the functions of the second terminal device in the above method embodiment. When the chip receives information from the base station, it can be understood that the information is first received by other modules in the terminal (such as a radio frequency module or antenna) and then sent to the terminal chip by these modules. When the terminal chip sends information to the base station, it can be understood that the information is first sent to other modules in the terminal (such as a radio frequency module or antenna) and then sent to the base station by these modules.

[0129] When the communication device is a chip used in a network device, the network device chip implements the network device functions of the above method embodiments. When the network device chip receives information from a terminal, it can be understood that the information is first received by other modules in the network device (such as a radio frequency module or antenna) and then sent to the network device chip by these modules. When the network device chip sends information to a terminal, it can be understood that the information is sent to other modules in the network device (such as a radio frequency module or antenna) and then sent to the terminal by these modules.

[0130] In this application, when entity A sends information to entity B, it can be done directly from A to B or indirectly through another entity. Similarly, when entity B receives information from entity A, it can be done directly from entity B or indirectly through another entity. Entities A and B herein can be RAN nodes or terminals, or modules within a RAN node or terminal. The sending and receiving of information can be information exchange between a RAN node and a terminal, for example, between a base station and a terminal; the sending and receiving of information can also be information exchange between two RAN nodes, for example, between a CU and a DU; the sending and receiving of information can also be information exchange between different modules within a device, for example, between a terminal chip and other modules in the terminal, or between a base station chip and other modules within the base station.

[0131] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or may be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0132] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in hardware or in software instructions that can be executed by a processor. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, and the software modules can be stored in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, registers, hard disk, mobile hard disk, CD-ROM or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. The storage medium can also be an integral part of the processor. The processor and storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in a base station or a terminal. The processor and storage medium can also exist in a base station or a terminal as discrete components.

[0133] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are performed in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user device, or other programmable device. The computer program or instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer program or instructions may be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, hard disk, or magnetic tape; an optical medium, such as a digital video disk; or a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive. The computer-readable storage medium may be a volatile or nonvolatile storage medium, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile types of storage media.

[0134] In the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

[0135] In this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In the text description of this application, the character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship; in the formula of this application, the character " / " indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in a "division" relationship. "Including at least one of A, B and C" can mean: including A; including B; including C; including A and B; including A and C; including B and C; including A, B and C.

[0136] It is understood that the various numbers used in the embodiments of this application are merely for ease of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. The order of the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not necessarily imply a specific order of execution; the order of execution of the processes should be determined by their functions and inherent logic.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: receiving a first data packet from a first terminal device through a cellular network air interface link, wherein the first data packet includes a first process identifier, and the first process identifier indicates data carried by the first data packet; receiving a second data packet from the first terminal device via a side link, the second data packet including a second process identifier, the second process identifier indicating data carried by the second data packet; the data carried by the second data packet is the same as the data carried by the first data packet; First data is determined according to the first data packet and / or the second data packet.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first process identifier is also used to determine that the first data packet is carried on the cellular network air interface link; The second process identifier is also used to determine that the second data packet is carried on the side link.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The first process identifier includes a first bit sequence and a second bit sequence, the first bit sequence is used to indicate that the first data packet is carried on the cellular network air interface link, and the second bit sequence is used to indicate data carried by the first data packet; The second process identifier includes a third bit sequence and a fourth bit sequence, the third bit sequence is used to indicate that the second data packet is carried on the side link, and the fourth bit sequence is used to indicate data carried by the second data packet.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The first data packet is received within a first time period, and / or the second data packet is received within a second time period.

5. The method according to any one of claims 4, characterized in that: The first data is data carried by the earliest received data packet between the first data packet and the second data packet.

6. The method according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that: The first data is data carried by the latest received data packet between the first data packet and the second data packet.

7. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that: The first data is data obtained by jointly decoding the first data packet and the second data packet.

8. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 7, characterized in that: The method further comprises: In the case where the first data decoding fails, data retransmission indication information is sent to the first terminal device via the cellular network air interface link and / or via the sidelink.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The first data packet carries a first identifier and a fourth identifier, or the first data packet carries a second identifier and a third identifier; Among them, the first identifier is the identifier of the second terminal device in the sidelink communication, the second identifier is the identifier of the second terminal device in the cellular network communication, the third identifier is the identifier of the first terminal device in the sidelink communication, and the fourth identifier is the identifier of the first terminal device in the cellular network communication.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: The method further comprises: A first identifier is sent to the network device, where the first identifier is an identifier of the second terminal device in the sidelink communication.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: The method further comprises: A second identifier is sent to the first terminal device, where the second identifier is an identifier of the second terminal device in cellular network communication.

12. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: A first data packet is sent to a second terminal device via a cellular network air interface link, wherein the first data packet includes a first process identifier. The process identifier indicates data carried by the first data packet; A second data packet is sent to the second terminal device via a side link, the second data packet includes a second process identifier, the second process identifier indicates data carried by the second data packet, and the data carried by the second data packet is the same as the data carried by the first data packet.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that: The first process identifier is also used to determine that the first data packet is carried on the cellular network air interface link; The second process identifier is also used to determine that the second data packet is carried on the side link.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that: The first process identifier includes a first bit sequence and a second bit sequence, the first bit sequence is used to indicate that the first data packet is carried on the cellular network air interface link, and the second bit sequence is used to indicate data carried by the first data packet; The second process identifier includes a third bit sequence and a fourth bit sequence, the third bit sequence is used to indicate that the second data packet is carried on the side link, and the fourth bit sequence is used to indicate data carried by the second data packet.

15. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, characterized in that: The first data packet carries a first identifier and a fourth identifier; or, the first data packet carries a second identifier and a third identifier; Among them, the first identifier is the identifier of the second terminal device in the sidelink communication, the second identifier is the identifier of the second terminal device in the cellular network communication, the third identifier is the identifier of the first terminal device in the sidelink communication, and the fourth identifier is the identifier of the first terminal device in the cellular network communication.

16. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 15, characterized in that: The method further comprises: receiving a second identifier from the second terminal device, where the second identifier is an identifier of the second terminal device in cellular network communication; The first identifier, the second identifier and the third identifier are sent to the network device, wherein the first identifier is the identifier of the second terminal device in the sidelink communication, and the third identifier is the identifier of the first terminal device in the sidelink.

17. A communication device, characterized in that: The device comprises: A transceiver unit, configured to receive a first data packet from a first terminal device through a cellular network air interface link, wherein the first data packet includes a first process identifier, and the first process identifier indicates data carried by the first data packet; The transceiver unit is further configured to receive a second data packet from the first terminal device through a side link, wherein the second data packet includes a second process identifier, and the second process identifier indicates data carried by the second data packet; and the data carried by the second data packet is the same as the data carried by the first data packet; A processing unit is used to determine first data according to the first data packet and / or the second data packet.

18. The device according to claim 17, characterized in that: The first process identifier is also used to determine that the first data packet is carried on the cellular network air interface link; The second process identifier is also used to determine that the second data packet is carried on the side link.

19. The device according to claim 18, characterized in that The first process identifier includes a first bit sequence and a second bit sequence, the first bit sequence is used to indicate that the first data packet is carried on the cellular network air interface link, and the second bit sequence is used to indicate data carried by the first data packet; The second process identifier includes a third bit sequence and a fourth bit sequence, the third bit sequence is used to indicate that the second data packet is carried on the side link, and the fourth bit sequence is used to indicate data carried by the second data packet.

20. The device according to any one of claims 17 to 19, characterized in that: The first data packet is received within a first time period, and / or the second data packet is received within a second time period.

21. The device according to any one of claims 20, characterized in that The first data is data carried by the earliest received data packet between the first data packet and the second data packet.

22. The device according to claim 20 or 21, characterized in that The first data is data carried by the latest received data packet between the first data packet and the second data packet.

23. The device according to any one of claims 20 to 22, characterized in that: The first data is data obtained by jointly decoding the first data packet and the second data packet.

24. The device according to any one of claims 21 to 23, characterized in that The transceiver unit is further configured to send data retransmission indication information to the first terminal device via the cellular network air interface link and / or via the sidelink when the first data decoding fails.

25. The device according to any one of claims 17 to 24, characterized in that The first data packet carries a first identifier and a fourth identifier, or the first data packet carries a second identifier and a third identifier; Among them, the first identifier is the identifier of the second terminal device in the sidelink communication, the second identifier is the identifier of the second terminal device in the cellular network communication, the third identifier is the identifier of the first terminal device in the sidelink communication, and the fourth identifier is the identifier of the first terminal device in the cellular network communication.

26. The device according to any one of claims 17 to 25, characterized in that The transceiver unit is further used to send a first identifier to the network device, where the first identifier is an identifier of the second terminal device in the sidelink communication.

27. The device according to any one of claims 17 to 25, characterized in that The transceiver unit is further configured to send a second identifier to the first terminal device, where the second identifier is an identifier of the second terminal device in cellular network communication.

28. A communication device, characterized in that: The device comprises: A transceiver unit, configured to send a first data packet to a second terminal device through a cellular network air interface link, wherein the first data packet includes a first process identifier, and the first process identifier indicates data carried by the first data packet; The transceiver unit is further used to send a second data packet to the second terminal device via a side link, where the second data packet includes a second process identifier, where the second process identifier indicates data carried by the second data packet, and the data carried by the second data packet is the same as the data carried by the first data packet.

29. The device according to claim 28, characterized in that The first process identifier is also used to determine that the first data packet is carried on the cellular network air interface link; The second process identifier is also used to determine that the second data packet is carried on the side link.

30. The device according to claim 29, characterized in that The first process identifier includes a first bit sequence and a second bit sequence, the first bit sequence is used to indicate that the first data packet is carried on the cellular network air interface link, and the second bit sequence is used to indicate data carried by the first data packet; The second process identifier includes a third bit sequence and a fourth bit sequence, the third bit sequence is used to indicate that the second data packet is carried on the side link, and the fourth bit sequence is used to indicate data carried by the second data packet.

31. The device according to any one of claims 28 to 30, characterized in that The first data packet carries a first identifier and a fourth identifier; or, the first data packet carries a second identifier and a third identifier; Among them, the first identifier is the identifier of the second terminal device in the sidelink communication, the second identifier is the identifier of the second terminal device in the cellular network communication, the third identifier is the identifier of the first terminal device in the sidelink communication, and the fourth identifier is the identifier of the first terminal device in the cellular network communication.

32. The device according to any one of claims 28 to 31, characterized in that The transceiver unit is further configured to receive a second identifier from the second terminal device, wherein the second identifier is a Identification in cellular network communications; The transceiver unit is also used to send the first identifier, the second identifier and the third identifier to the network device, the first identifier is the identifier of the second terminal device in the side link communication, and the third identifier is the identifier of the first terminal device in the side link.

33. A communication device, characterized in that: It includes a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor or send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device, and the processor is used to implement the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 11 through a logic circuit or by executing code instructions, or the processor is used to implement the method as described in any one of claims 12 to 16 through a logic circuit or by executing code instructions.

34. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The storage medium stores a computer program or an instruction. When the computer program or the instruction is executed by the communication device, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11 is implemented, or the method according to any one of claims 12 to 16 is implemented.

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