Communication method, terminal, relay, communication system, and storage medium

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication method, a first terminal, a first relay, a second terminal, a communication system, and a storage medium. The method comprises: sending a first message to a first relay, wherein the first relay is used for discovery communication between a first terminal and a second terminal, the first message comprises protected information of the first terminal and / or the second terminal, and the protected information is used for discovery of a relay model A between the terminals. Therefore, a method for acquiring information contained in a direct discovery set is defined.

Description

Communication method, terminal, relay, communication system and storage medium Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of communication technologies, and in particular to a communication method, a first terminal, a first relay, a second terminal, a communication system, and a storage medium. Background Art

[0002] In the field of communications technology, the inter-terminal relay model A discovery scheme has been introduced. If the U2U relay used to perform inter-terminal relay model A discovery cannot collect the protected direct discovery set (that is, the information contained in the direct discovery set), the inter-terminal relay model A process will be unusable for U2U discovery. Therefore, how to collect the information contained in the direct discovery set is an issue that needs to be considered.

[0003] Summary of the Invention

[0004] After the introduction of the inter-terminal relay model A discovery, how to collect the information contained in the direct discovery set is a problem that needs to be considered.

[0005] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication method, a first terminal, a first relay, a second terminal, a communication system, and a storage medium.

[0006] According to a first aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided, where the method is performed by a first terminal and includes:

[0007] Sending a first message to a first relay;

[0008] The first relay is used for discovery communication between the first terminal and the second terminal; the first message includes protected information of the first terminal and / or the second terminal; and the protected information is used for inter-terminal relay model A discovery.

[0009] According to a second aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided, the method being performed by a first relay, the method comprising:

[0010] receiving a first message sent by a first terminal;

[0011] The first relay is used for discovery communication between the first terminal and the second terminal; the first message includes protected information of the first terminal and / or the second terminal; and the protected information is used for inter-terminal relay model A discovery.

[0012] According to a third aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided, where the method is performed by a second terminal, and the method includes:

[0013] receiving a second message sent by the first relay;

[0014] The first relay is used for discovery communication between the first terminal and the second terminal; the second message includes protected information of the first terminal and / or the second terminal; and the protected information is used for inter-terminal relay model A discovery.

[0015] According to a fourth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided, the method comprising:

[0016] The first terminal sends a first message to the first relay;

[0017] The first relay is used for discovery communication between the first terminal and the second terminal; the first message includes protected information of the first terminal and / or the second terminal; and the protected information is used for inter-terminal relay model A discovery.

[0018] According to a fifth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a first terminal is provided, the first terminal including:

[0019] The transceiver module is configured as follows:

[0020] Sending a first message to a first relay;

[0021] The first relay is used for discovery communication between the first terminal and the second terminal; the first message includes protected information of the first terminal and / or the second terminal; and the protected information is used for inter-terminal relay model A discovery.

[0022] According to a sixth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a first relay is provided, the first relay including:

[0023] The transceiver module is configured as follows:

[0024] receiving a first message sent by a first terminal;

[0025] The first relay is used for discovery communication between the first terminal and the second terminal; the first message includes protected information of the first terminal and / or the second terminal; and the protected information is used for inter-terminal relay model A discovery.

[0026] According to a seventh aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a second terminal is provided, the second terminal including:

[0027] The transceiver module is configured as follows:

[0028] receiving a second message sent by the first relay;

[0029] The first relay is used for discovery communication between the first terminal and the second terminal; the second message includes protected information of the first terminal and / or the second terminal; and the protected information is used for inter-terminal relay model A discovery.

[0030] According to the eighth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication system is provided, wherein the communication system includes a first terminal, a first relay, and a second terminal; the first terminal is configured to implement the method described in the first aspect, the first relay is configured to implement the method described in the second aspect, and the second terminal is configured to implement the method described in the third aspect.

[0031] According to a ninth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a first terminal is provided, the first terminal including:

[0032] one or more processors;

[0033] The first terminal is used to execute the method described in the first aspect.

[0034] According to a tenth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a first relay is provided, the first relay including:

[0035] one or more processors;

[0036] The first relay is used to execute the method described in the second aspect.

[0037] According to an eleventh aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a second terminal is provided, the second terminal including:

[0038] one or more processors;

[0039] The second terminal is used to execute the method described in the third aspect.

[0040] According to the twelfth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a storage medium is provided, wherein the storage medium stores instructions, and when the instructions are executed on a communication device, the communication device executes the method provided by the first aspect, the second aspect or the third aspect.

[0041] The technical solution provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure clarifies the method for obtaining the information contained in the direct discovery set.

[0042] It should be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are merely exemplary and explanatory and are not restrictive of the embodiments of the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0043] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the following drawings required for describing the embodiments are introduced. The following drawings are merely some embodiments of the present disclosure and do not impose specific limitations on the protection scope of the present disclosure.

[0044] FIG1a is a schematic diagram showing a communication system architecture according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0045] FIG2a is a schematic flow chart showing a communication method according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0046] FIG2b is a flow chart showing a communication method according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0047] FIG2c is a flow chart showing a communication method according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0048] FIG2 d is a schematic flow chart showing a communication method according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0049] FIG3a is a flow chart showing a communication method according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0050] FIG3 b is a flow chart showing a communication method according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0051] FIG4a is a flow chart showing a communication method according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0052] FIG4b is a flow chart showing a communication method according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0053] FIG5a is a flow chart showing a communication method according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0054] FIG5b is a flow chart showing a communication method according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0055] FIG6a is a flow chart showing a communication method according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0056] FIG7a is a flow chart showing a communication method according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0057] FIG7b is a flow chart showing a communication method according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0058] FIG8a is a schematic structural diagram of a first terminal according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0059] FIG8b is a schematic diagram showing a first relay structure according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0060] FIG8c is a schematic diagram showing the structure of a second terminal according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0061] FIG9a is a schematic structural diagram of a UE according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0062] Fig. 9b is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an exemplary embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0063] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication method, a first terminal, a first relay, a second terminal, a communication system, and a storage medium.

[0064] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method, which is performed by a first terminal and includes:

[0065] Sending a first message to a first relay;

[0066] The first relay is used for discovery communication between the first terminal and the second terminal; the first message includes protected information of the first terminal and / or the second terminal; and the protected information is used for inter-terminal relay model A discovery.

[0067] In the above embodiment, since the first message sent to the first relay contains the protected information of the first terminal and / or the second terminal used for the inter-terminal relay model A discovery, the first relay can perform the inter-terminal relay model A discovery based on the protected information after receiving the protection information.

[0068] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the protected information includes at least one of the following:

[0069] first protected information of the first terminal;

[0070] second protected information of the second terminal;

[0071] Third protected information of the first terminal and the second terminal.

[0072] In the above embodiment, the protected information can be flexibly generated by the first terminal and the second terminal.

[0073] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the protected information is used to be added to a candidate list in an announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

[0074] In the above embodiment, the protected information may be added to the candidate list in the announcement message of the inter-terminal relay model A discovery, thereby enabling the inter-terminal relay model A discovery.

[0075] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first message does not include announcement prohibition indication information, and the first protected information is used to be added to a candidate list in the announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

[0076] In the above embodiment, the first protected information is added to the candidate list in the announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A only when the first message does not include announcement prohibition indication information, thereby ensuring the safe use of the first protected information.

[0077] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the protected information is obtained by protecting information based on discovery security material associated with a Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service.

[0078] In the above embodiment, since the protected information is obtained by protecting the information based on the discovery security material associated with the ProSe direct discovery service, the transmission of the information is more secure.

[0079] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes:

[0080] Protecting the first identifier of the first terminal based on discovery security material associated with a Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service to obtain first protected information;

[0081] Protecting the second identifier of the second terminal based on the discovery security material associated with the Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service to obtain second protected information;

[0082] The first identifier of the first terminal and the second identifier of the second terminal are protected based on the discovery security material associated with the Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service to obtain third protected information.

[0083] In the above embodiment, the first identifier and the second identifier can be protected separately to obtain different protected information, so that the first protected information and the second protected information can be processed separately. In the above embodiment, the first identifier of the first terminal and the second identifier of the second terminal can be protected based on the discovery security material associated with the Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service, providing a more flexible protection method.

[0084] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes:

[0085] The first message is protected based on a discovery security material associated with a relay service code RSC.

[0086] In the above embodiment, the first message may be protected based on the discovery security material associated with the relay service code RSC, which may make the transmission of the first message more reliable.

[0087] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method, which is performed by a first relay and includes:

[0088] receiving a first message sent by a first terminal;

[0089] The first relay is used for discovery communication between the first terminal and the second terminal; the first message includes protected information of the first terminal and / or the second terminal; and the protected information is used for inter-terminal relay model A discovery.

[0090] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first message is protected based on security material associated with the RSC; and the method further includes:

[0091] The first message is authenticated based on the discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0092] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes:

[0093] Determine whether verification of the first message is successful, and generate a second message based on the first message.

[0094] protecting the second message based on security material associated with the RSC;

[0095] Send the second message to the second terminal.

[0096] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes:

[0097] receiving a third message sent by the second terminal;

[0098] The third message indicates the protected information.

[0099] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the protected information includes at least one of the following:

[0100] first protected information of the first terminal;

[0101] second protected information of the second terminal;

[0102] Third protected information of the first terminal and the second terminal.

[0103] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes:

[0104] The protected information is added to the candidate list in the announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

[0105] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, adding the protected information to a candidate list in an announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A includes one of the following:

[0106] Determining that the first message does not include announcement prohibition indication information, and adding the first protected information to a candidate list in the announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A;

[0107] Determining that the third message does not include announcement prohibition indication information, and adding the second protected information to a candidate list in the announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A;

[0108] It is determined that the first message does not include announcement prohibition indication information and the third message does not include announcement prohibition indication information, and the third protected information is added to a candidate list in the announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

[0109] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, adding the protected information to a candidate list in an announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A includes:

[0110] The protected information and the associated RSC are added to the candidate list in the announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

[0111] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method, which is performed by a second terminal and includes:

[0112] receiving a second message sent by the first relay;

[0113] The first relay is used for discovery communication between the first terminal and the second terminal; the second message includes protected information of the first terminal and / or the second terminal; and the protected information is used for inter-terminal relay model A discovery.

[0114] In combination with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, the protected information is used to be added to a candidate list in an announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

[0115] In conjunction with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, the second message is protected based on discovery security material associated with the RSC; and the method further includes:

[0116] The second message is authenticated based on discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0117] In conjunction with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes:

[0118] Determine whether verification of the second message is successful, and generate a third message based on the second message.

[0119] The third message is sent to the first relay, wherein the third message includes the protected information.

[0120] In conjunction with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, the protected information includes at least one of the following:

[0121] first protected information of the first terminal;

[0122] second protected information of the second terminal;

[0123] Third protected information of the first terminal and the second terminal.

[0124] In combination with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, the third message does not include announcement prohibition indication information, and the second protected information is used to be added to the candidate list in the announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

[0125] In conjunction with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes:

[0126] The protected information is obtained by protecting the information based on the discovery security material associated with the ProSe direct discovery service.

[0127] In conjunction with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, protecting information based on discovery security material associated with the ProSe direct discovery service to obtain the protected information includes:

[0128] Protecting the first identifier of the first terminal based on discovery security material associated with a Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service to obtain first protected information;

[0129] The second identifier of the second terminal is protected based on the discovery security material associated with the Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service to obtain second protected information.

[0130] In conjunction with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, protecting information based on discovery security material associated with the ProSe direct discovery service to obtain the protected information includes:

[0131] Based on the discovery security material associated with the Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service, the first identifier of the first terminal and the second identifier of the second terminal are protected simultaneously to obtain third protected information.

[0132] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method, the method comprising:

[0133] The first terminal sends a first message to the first relay;

[0134] The first relay is used for discovery communication between the first terminal and the second terminal; the first message includes protected information of the first terminal and / or the second terminal; and the protected information is used for inter-terminal relay model A discovery.

[0135] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a first terminal, the first terminal including:

[0136] The transceiver module is configured as follows:

[0137] Sending a first message to a first relay;

[0138] The first relay is used for discovery communication between the first terminal and the second terminal; the first message includes protected information of the first terminal and / or the second terminal; and the protected information is used for inter-terminal relay model A discovery.

[0139] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a first relay, the first relay including:

[0140] The transceiver module is configured as follows:

[0141] receiving a first message sent by a first terminal;

[0142] The first relay is used for discovery communication between the first terminal and the second terminal; the first message includes protected information of the first terminal and / or the second terminal; and the protected information is used for inter-terminal relay model A discovery.

[0143] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a second terminal, the second terminal including:

[0144] The transceiver module is configured as follows:

[0145] receiving a second message sent by the first relay;

[0146] The first relay is used for discovery communication between the first terminal and the second terminal; the second message includes protected information of the first terminal and / or the second terminal; and the protected information is used for inter-terminal relay model A discovery.

[0147] In the eighth aspect, the embodiment of the present disclosure provides that the communication system includes a first terminal, a first relay and a second terminal; the terminal is configured to implement the method described in the first aspect, the first relay is configured to implement the method described in the second aspect, and the second terminal is configured to implement the method described in the third aspect.

[0148] In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a first terminal, the first terminal including:

[0149] one or more processors;

[0150] The first terminal is used to execute the method provided by the first aspect.

[0151] In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a first relay, the first relay including:

[0152] one or more processors;

[0153] Among them, the first relay is used to execute the method provided by the second aspect.

[0154] In an eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a second terminal, the second terminal including:

[0155] one or more processors;

[0156] Among them, the second terminal is used to execute the method provided by the third aspect.

[0157] In the twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a storage medium, wherein the storage medium stores instructions, which, when the instructions are executed on a communication device, enable the communication device to execute the method described in the optional implementation of the first aspect, the second aspect and the third aspect.

[0158] In a thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a program product. When the program product is executed by a communication device, the communication device executes the method described in the optional implementation of the first, second and third aspects.

[0159] In a fourteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method described in the optional implementation of the first, second and third aspects.

[0160] In a fifteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a chip or a chip system, wherein the chip or chip system includes a processing circuit configured to execute the method described in the optional implementation of the first, second, and third aspects above.

[0161] It is understandable that the first terminal, the first relay, the second terminal, the communication system, the storage medium, the program product, the computer program, the chip, or the chip system described above are all used to perform the method proposed in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Therefore, the beneficial effects that can be achieved can refer to the beneficial effects of the corresponding methods and will not be repeated here.

[0162] The present disclosure provides a communication method, a first terminal, a first relay, a second terminal, a communication system, and a storage medium. In some embodiments, the terms "communication method" and "information indication method," "information processing method," and "information transmission method" are interchangeable, and the terms "communication system" and "information processing system" are interchangeable.

[0163] The embodiments of the present disclosure are not exhaustive and are merely illustrative of some embodiments, and are not intended to be a specific limitation on the scope of protection of the present disclosure. In the absence of contradiction, each step in a certain embodiment can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the steps can be arbitrarily combined. For example, a solution after removing some steps in a certain embodiment can also be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the order of the steps in a certain embodiment can be arbitrarily exchanged. In addition, the optional implementation methods in a certain embodiment can be arbitrarily combined; in addition, the embodiments can be arbitrarily combined. For example, some or all steps of different embodiments can be arbitrarily combined, and a certain embodiment can be arbitrarily combined with the optional implementation methods of other embodiments.

[0164] In each embodiment of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified or provided for by logic, the terms and / or descriptions between the embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form a new embodiment based on their inherent logical relationships.

[0165] The terms used in the embodiments of the present disclosure are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure.

[0166] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified, elements expressed in the singular, such as "a", "an", "the", "above", "said", "the", "the", etc., may mean "one and only one", or "one or more", "at least one", etc. For example, when using articles such as "a", "an", "the" in English in translation, the noun following the article may be understood as a singular expression or a plural expression.

[0167] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, “plurality” refers to two or more.

[0168] In some embodiments, the terms "at least one," "one or more," "a plurality of," "multiple," etc. may be used interchangeably.

[0169] In some embodiments, descriptions such as "at least one of A and B," "A and / or B," "A in one case, B in another case," or "in response to one case A, in response to another case B" may include the following technical solutions depending on the situation: in some embodiments, A (A is executed independently of B); in some embodiments, B (B is executed independently of A); in some embodiments, execution is selected from A and B (A and B are selectively executed); and in some embodiments, A and B (both A and B are executed). The above is also applicable when there are more branches such as A, B, and C.

[0170] In some embodiments, "A or B" and other descriptions may include the following technical solutions depending on the situation: in some embodiments, A (A is executed independently of B); in some embodiments, B (B is executed independently of A); in some embodiments, execution is selected from A and B (A and B are selectively executed). The above is also applicable when there are more branches such as A, B, C, etc.

[0171] The prefixes such as "first" and "second" in the embodiments of the present disclosure are only used to distinguish different description objects and do not constitute any restriction on the position, order, priority, quantity or content of the description objects. For the statement of the description object, please refer to the description in the context of the claims or embodiments, and no unnecessary restriction should be constituted due to the use of prefixes. For example, if the description object is a "field", the ordinal number before the "field" in the "first field" and the "second field" does not limit the position or order between the "fields". "First" and "second" do not limit whether the "fields" they modify are in the same message, nor do they limit the order of the "first field" and the "second field". For another example, if the description object is a "level", the ordinal number before the "level" in the "first level" and the "second level" does not limit the priority between the "levels". For another example, the number of description objects is not limited by the ordinal number and can be one or more. Taking "first device" as an example, the number of "devices" can be one or more. In addition, the objects modified by different prefixes can be the same or different. For example, if the description object is "device", then the "first device" and the "second device" can be the same device or different devices, and their types can be the same or different. For another example, if the description object is "information", then the "first information" and the "second information" can be the same information or different information, and their contents can be the same or different.

[0172] In some embodiments, “including A,” “comprising A,” “used to indicate A,” and “carrying A” can be interpreted as directly carrying A or indirectly indicating A.

[0173] In some embodiments, terms such as "in response to...", "in response to determining...", "in the case of...", "at the time of...", "when...", "if...", "if...", etc. can be used interchangeably.

[0174] In some embodiments, terms such as "greater than", "greater than or equal to", "not less than", "more than", "more than or equal to", "not less than", "higher than", "higher than or equal to", "not less than", and "above" can be replaced with each other, and terms such as "less than", "less than or equal to", "not greater than", "less than", "less than or equal to", "not more than", "lower than", "lower than or equal to", "not higher than", and "below" can be replaced with each other.

[0175] In some embodiments, devices and equipment can be interpreted as physical or virtual, and their names are not limited to the names recorded in the embodiments. In some cases, they can also be understood as "equipment", "device", "circuit", "network element", "node", "function", "unit", "section", "system", "network", "chip", "chip system", "entity", "subject", etc.

[0176] In some embodiments, "network" can be interpreted as devices included in the network, such as access network equipment, core network equipment, etc.

[0177] In some embodiments, "access network device (AN device)" may also be referred to as "radio access network device (RAN device)", "base station (BS)", "radio base station", "fixed station", and in some embodiments may also be understood as "node", "access point", "transmission point (TP)", "reception point (RP)", "transmission and / or reception point (TRP)" "panel", "antenna panel", "antenna array", "cell", "macro cell", "small cell", "femto cell", "pico cell", "sector", "cell group", "serving cell", "carrier", "component carrier", "bandwidth part (BWP)", etc.

[0178] In some embodiments, "terminal" or "terminal device" may be referred to as "user equipment (UE)", "user terminal" "mobile station (MS)", "mobile terminal (MT)", subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, client, etc.

[0179] In some embodiments, obtaining data, information, etc. may comply with the laws and regulations of the country where the data is obtained.

[0180] In some embodiments, data, information, etc. may be obtained with the user's consent.

[0181] In addition, each element, each row, or each column in the table of the embodiment of the present disclosure can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the combination of any elements, any rows, and any columns can also be implemented as an independent embodiment.

[0182] FIG1a is a schematic diagram showing the architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0183] As shown in FIG. 1 a , a communication system 100 includes a first terminal 101 , a second terminal 102 , a first relay 103 , and a network device 104 .

[0184] In some embodiments, the network device 104 may include at least one of an access network device and a core network device.

[0185] In some embodiments, the terminal includes, for example, a mobile phone, a wearable device, an Internet of Things device, a car with communication function, a smart car, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal device in industrial control, a wireless terminal device in self-driving, a wireless terminal device in remote medical surgery, a wireless terminal device in a smart grid, a wireless terminal device in transportation safety, a wireless terminal device in a smart city, and at least one of a wireless terminal device in a smart home, but is not limited thereto.

[0186] In some embodiments, the access network device may be, for example, a node or device that accesses a terminal to a wireless network. The access network device may include an evolved NodeB (eNB), a next generation evolved NodeB (ng-eNB), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a node B (NB), a home node B (HNB), a home evolved nodeB (HeNB), a wireless backhaul device, a radio network controller (RNC), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a base band unit (BBU), a mobile switching center, a base station in a 6G communication system, an open base station (Open RAN), a cloud base station (Cloud RAN), a base station in other communication systems, and at least one of an access node in a Wi-Fi system, but is not limited thereto.

[0187] In some embodiments, the technical solution of the present disclosure can be applied to the Open RAN architecture. In this case, the interfaces between or within the access network devices involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be transformed into internal interfaces of the Open RAN, and the processes and information interactions between these internal interfaces can be implemented through software or programs.

[0188] In some embodiments, the access network device can be composed of a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU), where the CU can also be called a control unit. The CU-DU structure can be used to split the protocol layer of the access network device, with the functions of some protocol layers centrally controlled by the CU, and the functions of the remaining part or all of the protocol layers distributed in the DU, which is centrally controlled by the CU, but is not limited to this.

[0189] In some embodiments, a core network device may be a device including one or more network elements, or may be multiple devices or device groups, each including all or part of the one or more network elements. The network element may be virtual or physical. The core network may include, for example, at least one of an Evolved Packet Core (EPC), a 5G Core Network (5GCN), and a Next Generation Core (NGC).

[0190] It can be understood that the communication system described in the embodiment of the present disclosure is for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solution of the embodiment of the present disclosure, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solution provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure. Ordinary technicians in this field can know that with the evolution of the system architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solution provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure is also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0191] The following embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to the communication system 100 shown in FIG1a, or a portion thereof, but are not limited thereto. The entities shown in FIG1a are illustrative only. The communication system may include all or part of the entities shown in FIG1a, or may include other entities other than those shown in FIG1a. The number and form of the entities may be arbitrary. The connection relationship between the entities is illustrative only. The entities may be connected or disconnected, and the connection may be in any manner, including direct or indirect, wired or wireless.

[0192] The embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), LTE-Beyond (LTE-B), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4th generation mobile communication system (4G), 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), 5G new radio (NR), future radio access (FRA), new radio access technology (RAT), new radio (NR), new radio access (NX), future generation radio access (FX), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM (registered trademark)), CDMA2000, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.20, Ultra-WideBand (UWB), Bluetooth (registered trademark), Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) networks, Device-to-Device (D2D) systems, Machine-to-Machine (M2M) systems, Internet of Things (IoT) systems, Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X), systems utilizing other communication methods, and next-generation systems based on and extending these methods. Furthermore, multiple systems may be combined (for example, a combination of LTE or LTE-A with 5G).

[0193] In some embodiments, UE-to-UE relay discovery message protection uses two sets of discovery security materials, including direct discovery security materials and U2U relay discovery security materials. The direct discovery security materials are used to protect the direct discovery set. The U2U relay discovery security materials are used to protect U2U relay discovery messages.

[0194] In some embodiments, for Relay Model A discovery, the U2U relay collects protected direct discovery sets and includes them in the candidate list of the advertised message. Each protected direct discovery set discovered by Relay Model A includes at least the user information ID of a previously discovered end UE. By broadcasting the advertised message, neighboring end UEs can verify and decrypt the direct discovery set.

[0195] In some embodiments, for relay model B discovery, the protected direct discovery set set in the request message is sent by the discoverer UE and verified by the discoverer UE. The protected direct discovery set for relay model B includes the user information ID of the discoverer UE and the user information ID of the discoverer UE.

[0196] In some embodiments, since the protected direct discovery set is obtained through previous U2U relay discovery, this means that the U2U relay cannot perform relay model A discovery by not announcing anything without previously obtaining any discovery set. This means that the U2U relay can only obtain the initial discovery set by performing the relay model B discovery process. However, in the relay model B discovery, two user information IDs are included in the protected direct discovery set, one is the user information ID of the end UE that has been discovered by the U2U relay, and the other is the user information ID of the end UE to be discovered. Therefore, the U2U relay used to perform relay model A discovery cannot collect the protected direct discovery set in the model B discovery process, which causes the model A process to be unusable for U2U discovery.

[0197] FIG2a is an interactive diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG2a, the present disclosure embodiment relates to a communication method for a communication system 100, the method comprising:

[0198] Step S2101: The first terminal, the second terminal, and the first relay obtain and discover security materials.

[0199] In some embodiments, the first terminal, the second terminal and / or the first relay receives information sent by the network device indicating that the security material has been discovered.

[0200] In some embodiments, the first terminal may also be referred to as a first-end UE, and the second terminal may also be referred to as a second-end UE.

[0201] In some embodiments, the first terminal may be a discoverer proximity service end terminal (Discoverer ProSe End UE), for example, a discoverer fifth generation mobile communication technology (5G, 5th Generation Mobile Communication Technology) ProSe end UE.

[0202] In some embodiments, the second terminal may be a discoveree ProSe End UE, for example, a discoveree 5G ProSe End UE.

[0203] In some embodiments, the first relay may be a ProSe UE-to-UE relay, eg, a 5G ProSe UE-to-UE relay.

[0204] In some embodiments, the first terminal and the second terminal obtain discovery security material associated with the proximity services direct discovery service.

[0205] In some embodiments, the first terminal, the second terminal, and the first relay obtain discovery security material associated with a relay service code (RSC).

[0206] Step S2102: The first terminal sends a first message to the first relay.

[0207] In some embodiments, the first protected information of the first terminal may be protected information obtained based on a first identifier of the first terminal, where the first identifier is used to uniquely identify a terminal.

[0208] In some embodiments, the first protected information of the first terminal may be protected information obtained based on a user information identifier (User Info ID) of the discoverer ProSe terminal.

[0209] In some embodiments, the first terminal protects the first identifier of the first terminal based on the discovery security material associated with the Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service to obtain first protected information.

[0210] It should be noted that the protection of information in the present disclosure may be encryption of information, but is not limited to encryption of information. The protected information in the present disclosure may be information encrypted using a key, which will not be described in detail later.

[0211] In some embodiments, the first terminal protects the user information identifier of the first terminal based on the discovery security material associated with the Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service to obtain first protected information.

[0212] In some embodiments, the second protected information of the second terminal may be protected information obtained based on a second identifier of the second terminal, where the second identifier is used to uniquely identify a terminal.

[0213] In some embodiments, the second protected information of the second terminal may be protected information obtained based on the user information ID of the discoverer ProSe terminal.

[0214] In some embodiments, the first terminal protects the second identifier of the second terminal based on discovery security material associated with the Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service to obtain second protected information.

[0215] In some embodiments, the first terminal protects the user information identifier of the second terminal based on the discovery security material associated with the Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service to obtain second protected information.

[0216] In some embodiments, the first set is a direct discovery set.

[0217] In some embodiments, the first set includes protected information of the first terminal and / or the second terminal.

[0218] In some embodiments, the first terminal obtains the first set based on information about discovery security material protecting the first terminal and / or the second terminal associated with a Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service.

[0219] In some embodiments, the first terminal obtains the protected information of the first terminal and / or the protected information of the second terminal based on discovery security material associated with the Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service, and obtains the first set based on the protected information.

[0220] In some embodiments, the first terminal separately protects information of the first terminal and information of the second terminal, obtains first protected information of the first terminal and second protected information of the second terminal, and obtains the first set based on the first protected information and the second protected information.

[0221] In some embodiments, the first terminal sends a first message to a first relay, where the first message includes protected information of the first terminal and / or the second terminal.

[0222] In some embodiments, protected information is used for inter-terminal relay model A discovery.

[0223] In some embodiments, the protected information is used to be added to a candidate list in an announcement message of inter-terminal relay model A discovery.

[0224] In some embodiments, the first message indicates the first set.

[0225] In some embodiments, an end UE (e.g., a first terminal) may indicate to the U2U relay whether it is capable of announcing the end UE's information (e.g., first protected information) when performing the U2U relay discovery model A process by whether announcement prohibition indication information is carried in a message sent to the UE-to-UE (e.g., a first message). Exemplarily, if the first message carries the announcement prohibition indication information, the first terminal instructs the U2U relay not to announce the end UE's information when performing the U2U relay discovery model A process; if the first message does not carry the announcement prohibition indication information, the first terminal instructs the U2U relay to be capable of announcing the end UE's information when performing the U2U relay discovery model A process.

[0226] In some embodiments, if the first terminal does not allow the first relay to announce the information of the first terminal when performing inter-terminal relay model A discovery, the first message includes (or carries) the Announce prohibited indication information.

[0227] In some embodiments, if the first terminal allows the first relay to announce the information of the first terminal when performing inter-terminal relay model A discovery, the first message does not include (or carry) announcement prohibition indication information.

[0228] Step S2103: The first relay sends a second message to the second terminal.

[0229] In some embodiments, when a first relay receives a first message sent by a first terminal, the first relay can determine from the first message the content corresponding to the first protected information of the first terminal and the content corresponding to the second protected information of the second terminal. That is, the first relay can determine that the first protected information is the protected information of the first terminal and the second protected information is the protected information of the second terminal.

[0230] In some embodiments, when the first relay receives the first message sent by the first terminal, the first relay processes the first message based on the discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0231] In some embodiments, the first relay verifies the first message based on the discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0232] In some embodiments, the first relay adds the first protected information to a candidate list in an announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

[0233] In some embodiments, the first relay determines that the first message does not include announcement prohibition indication information, and adds the first protected information to a candidate list in the announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

[0234] It should be noted that, if the first relay determines that the first message contains announcement prohibition indication information, the first protected information will not be added to the candidate list in the announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

[0235] In some embodiments, the first relay determines that the first message does not include announcement prohibition indication information, and adds the first protected information in the first set to a candidate list in the announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

[0236] In some embodiments, the first relay adds the first protected information to the candidate list in the announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A only when the first message does not include the announcement prohibition indication information provided by the discoverer end UE.

[0237] In some embodiments, the first relay adds the first protected information and / or the associated RSC to a candidate list in an announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

[0238] In some embodiments, the first relay stores the first protected information together with the associated RSC for sending an announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

[0239] In some embodiments, the first relay determines that verification of the first message is successful, and generates a second message based on the first message; the first relay protects the second message based on security materials associated with the RSC; and the first relay sends the second message to the second terminal.

[0240] In some embodiments, the first relay determines that verification of the first message is successful, and the first relay modifies the first message, where the modified first message includes a third identifier of the first relay, where the third identifier is used to uniquely identify a relay.

[0241] In some embodiments, the first relay determines that verification of the first message is successful, adds a third identifier of the first relay to the first message, and obtains a second message.

[0242] In some embodiments, the first relay protects the second message based on security material associated with the RSC; and the first relay sends the second message to the second terminal.

[0243] In some embodiments, the second message is a UE-to-UE Relay Discovery Solicitation message.

[0244] Step S2104: The second terminal sends a third message to the first relay.

[0245] In some embodiments, the second terminal processes the second message based on discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0246] In some embodiments, the second terminal verifies the second message based on discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0247] In some embodiments, the second terminal determines that verification of the second message is successful, and generates a third message based on the second message; the third message includes protected information.

[0248] In some embodiments, after the second terminal successfully verifies the second message, a third message is generated based on the second message.

[0249] In some embodiments, the protected information includes first protected information and second protected information.

[0250] In some embodiments, the third message indicates a first set, the first set comprising protected information.

[0251] In some embodiments, the second terminal protects information based on discovery security material associated with the ProSe direct discovery service to obtain the protected information.

[0252] In some embodiments, the second terminal protects the first identifier of the first terminal based on discovery security material associated with the Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service to obtain first protected information.

[0253] In some embodiments, the second terminal protects the second identifier of the second terminal based on the discovery security material associated with the Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service to obtain second protected information.

[0254] In some embodiments, the second terminal separately protects the information of the first terminal and the information of the second terminal to obtain the first protected information and the second protected information.

[0255] In some embodiments, the second terminal sends a third message to the first relay, where the third message includes the protected information.

[0256] In some embodiments, the second terminal protects the third message based on discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0257] In some embodiments, the third message is a UE-to-UE relay discovery response message.

[0258] Step S2105: The first relay sends a fourth message to the first terminal.

[0259] In some embodiments, when the first relay receives the third message sent by the first terminal, the first relay processes the received third message based on the discovery safety material associated with the RSC.

[0260] In some embodiments, the protected information in the third message includes first protected information and second protected information.

[0261] In some embodiments, the first relay can determine, from the third message, the content corresponding to the first protected information of the first terminal and the content corresponding to the second protected information of the second terminal. That is, the first relay can determine that the first protected information is the protected information of the first terminal and the second protected information is the protected information of the second terminal.

[0262] In some embodiments, the first relay verifies the received third message based on discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0263] In some embodiments, the first relay determines that verification of the third message is successful, and the first relay modifies the third message, where the modified third message includes the third identifier of the first relay.

[0264] In some embodiments, after the first relay successfully verifies the third message, the first relay modifies the third message, and the modified third message includes the third identifier of the first relay.

[0265] In some embodiments, the first relay determines that verification of the third message is successful, adds the third identifier of the first relay to the third message, and obtains a fourth message.

[0266] In some embodiments, after successfully verifying the third message, the first relay adds the third identifier of the first relay to the third message to obtain a fourth message.

[0267] In some embodiments, the fourth message includes the first identifier of the first terminal, the third identifier of the first relay and / or the second identifier of the second terminal.

[0268] In some embodiments, the first relay protects the fourth message based on discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0269] In some embodiments, when the first terminal receives the fourth message sent by the first relay, the first terminal processes the fourth message based on the discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0270] In some embodiments, the first terminal verifies the fourth message based on discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0271] In some embodiments, the first terminal determines that verification of the fourth message is successful, and the first terminal extracts the first set from the fourth message;

[0272] In some embodiments, the first terminal verifies the first set based on discovery security material associated with the ProSe direct discovery service.

[0273] In some embodiments, the term "information" can be interchangeable with terms such as "message", "signal", "signaling", "report", "configuration", "indication", "instruction", "command", "channel", "parameter", "field", and "data".

[0274] In some embodiments, the term "send" can be interchanged with terms such as "transmit", "report", and "transmit".

[0275] The information indication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S2101 to S2105. For example, step S2101 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S2102 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S2103 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S2104 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step S2105 can be implemented as an independent embodiment. For example, step S2101 combined with step S2102 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S2101 combined with steps S2102 and step S2103 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step S2101 combined with steps S2102, step S2103, and step S2104 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0276] FIG2b is an interactive diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG2b, the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method for use in a communication system 100, the method comprising:

[0277] Step S2201: The first terminal, the second terminal, and the first relay obtain and discover security materials.

[0278] In some embodiments, the first terminal, the second terminal and / or the first relay receives information sent by the network device indicating that the security material has been discovered.

[0279] In some embodiments, the first terminal may also be referred to as a first-end UE, and the second terminal may also be referred to as a second-end UE.

[0280] In some embodiments, the first terminal may be a discoverer proximity service end terminal (Discoverer ProSe End UE), for example, a discoverer fifth generation mobile communication technology (5G, 5th Generation Mobile Communication Technology) ProSe end UE.

[0281] In some embodiments, the second terminal may be a discoveree ProSe End UE, for example, a discoveree 5G ProSe End UE.

[0282] In some embodiments, the first relay may be a ProSe UE-to-UE relay, eg, a 5G ProSe UE-to-UE relay.

[0283] In some embodiments, the first terminal and the second terminal obtain discovery security material associated with the proximity services direct discovery service.

[0284] In some embodiments, the first terminal, the second terminal, and the first relay obtain discovery security material associated with a relay service code (RSC).

[0285] Step S2202: The first terminal sends a first message to the first relay.

[0286] In some embodiments, the first protected information of the first terminal may be protected information obtained based on a first identifier of the first terminal, where the first identifier is used to uniquely identify a terminal.

[0287] In some embodiments, the first protected information of the first terminal may be protected information obtained based on a user information identifier (User Info ID) of the discoverer ProSe terminal.

[0288] In some embodiments, the first terminal protects the first identifier of the first terminal based on the discovery security material associated with the Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service to obtain first protected information.

[0289] In some embodiments, the first terminal protects the user information identifier of the first terminal based on the discovery security material associated with the Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service to obtain first protected information.

[0290] In some embodiments, the second protected information of the second terminal may be protected information obtained based on a second identifier of the second terminal, where the second identifier is used to uniquely identify a terminal.

[0291] In some embodiments, the second protected information of the second terminal may be protected information obtained based on the user information ID of the discoverer ProSe terminal.

[0292] In some embodiments, the first terminal protects the second identifier of the second terminal based on discovery security material associated with the Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service to obtain second protected information.

[0293] In some embodiments, the first terminal protects the user information identifier of the second terminal based on the discovery security material associated with the Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service to obtain second protected information.

[0294] In some embodiments, the first set is a direct discovery set.

[0295] In some embodiments, the first set includes protected information of the first terminal and / or the second terminal.

[0296] In some embodiments, the first terminal obtains the first set based on information about discovery security material protecting the first terminal and / or the second terminal associated with a Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service.

[0297] In some embodiments, the first terminal obtains the protected information of the first terminal and / or the protected information of the second terminal based on discovery security material associated with the Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service, and obtains the first set based on the protected information.

[0298] In some embodiments, the first terminal separately protects information of the first terminal and information of the second terminal, obtains first protected information of the first terminal and second protected information of the second terminal, and obtains the first set based on the first protected information and the second protected information.

[0299] In some embodiments, the first terminal sends a first message to a first relay, where the first message includes protected information of the first terminal and / or the second terminal.

[0300] In some embodiments, protected information is used for inter-terminal relay model A discovery.

[0301] In some embodiments, the protected information is used to be added to a candidate list in an announcement message of inter-terminal relay model A discovery.

[0302] In some embodiments, the first message indicates the first set.

[0303] Step S2203: The first relay sends a second message to the second terminal.

[0304] In some embodiments, when a first relay receives a first message sent by a first terminal, the first relay can determine from the first message the content corresponding to the first protected information of the first terminal and the content corresponding to the second protected information of the second terminal. That is, the first relay can determine that the first protected information is the protected information of the first terminal and the second protected information is the protected information of the second terminal.

[0305] In some embodiments, when the first relay receives the first message sent by the first terminal, the first relay processes the first message based on the discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0306] In some embodiments, the first relay verifies the first message based on the discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0307] In some embodiments, determining that verification of the first message is successful, generating a second message based on the first message; protecting the second message based on security material associated with the RSC; and sending the second message to the second terminal.

[0308] In some embodiments, the first relay determines that verification of the first message is successful, and the first relay modifies the first message, where the modified first message includes a third identifier of the first relay, where the third identifier is used to uniquely identify a relay.

[0309] In some embodiments, the first relay determines that verification of the first message is successful, adds a third identifier of the first relay to the first message, and obtains a second message.

[0310] In some embodiments, the first relay protects the second message based on security material associated with the RSC; and the first relay sends the second message to the second terminal.

[0311] In some embodiments, the second message is a UE-to-UE Relay Discovery Solicitation message.

[0312] Step S2204: The second terminal sends a third message to the first relay.

[0313] In some embodiments, the second terminal processes the second message based on discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0314] In some embodiments, the second terminal verifies the second message based on discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0315] In some embodiments, the second terminal determines that verification of the second message is successful, and generates a third message based on the second message; the third message includes protected information.

[0316] In some embodiments, after successfully verifying the second message, the second terminal generates a third message based on the second message; the third message includes protected information.

[0317] In some embodiments, the protected information includes first protected information and second protected information.

[0318] In some embodiments, the third message indicates a first set, the first set comprising protected information.

[0319] In some embodiments, the second terminal protects information based on discovery security material associated with the ProSe direct discovery service to obtain the protected information.

[0320] In some embodiments, the second terminal protects the first identifier of the first terminal based on discovery security material associated with the Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service to obtain first protected information.

[0321] In some embodiments, the second terminal protects the second identifier of the second terminal based on the discovery security material associated with the Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service to obtain second protected information.

[0322] In some embodiments, the second terminal separately protects the information of the first terminal and the information of the second terminal to obtain the first protected information and the second protected information.

[0323] In some embodiments, the end UE (e.g., the second terminal) can indicate to the U2U relay whether it can announce the end UE's information (e.g., the second protected information) when performing the U2U relay discovery model A process by whether to carry announcement prohibition indication information in a message sent to the UE-to-UE (e.g., the third message). Exemplarily, if the third message carries the announcement prohibition indication information, the second terminal instructs the U2U relay not to announce the end UE's information when performing the U2U relay discovery model A process; if the third message does not carry the announcement prohibition indication information, the second terminal instructs the U2U relay to announce the end UE's information when performing the U2U relay discovery model A process.

[0324] In some embodiments, if the second terminal does not allow the first relay to announce the information of the second terminal when performing inter-terminal relay model A discovery, the third message includes (or carries) the Announce prohibited indication.

[0325] In some embodiments, if the second terminal allows the first relay to announce the information of the second terminal when performing inter-terminal relay model A discovery, the third message does not include (or carry) the announcement prohibition indication information.

[0326] In some embodiments, the second terminal sends a third message to the first relay, where the third message includes the protected information.

[0327] In some embodiments, the second terminal protects the third message based on discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0328] In some embodiments, the third message is a UE-to-UE relay discovery response message.

[0329] Step S2205: The first relay sends a fourth message to the first terminal.

[0330] In some embodiments, when the first relay receives the third message sent by the first terminal, the first relay processes the received third message based on the discovery safety material associated with the RSC.

[0331] In some embodiments, the protected information in the third message includes first protected information and second protected information.

[0332] In some embodiments, the first relay can determine, from the third message, the content corresponding to the first protected information of the first terminal and the content corresponding to the second protected information of the second terminal. That is, the first relay can determine that the first protected information is the protected information of the first terminal and the second protected information is the protected information of the second terminal.

[0333] In some embodiments, the first relay adds the second protected information to a candidate list in an announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

[0334] In some embodiments, the first relay determines that the third message does not include announcement prohibition indication information, and adds the second protected information to a candidate list in the announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

[0335] It should be noted that, when the first relay determines that the third message includes announcement prohibition indication information, it will not add the second protected information to the candidate list in the announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

[0336] In some embodiments, the first relay determines that the third message does not include announcement prohibition indication information, and adds the second protected information in the first set to a candidate list in the announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

[0337] In some embodiments, the first relay adds the second protected information to the candidate list in the announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A only when the third message does not include announcement prohibition indication information provided by the discoverer UE.

[0338] In some embodiments, the first relay adds the second protected information and / or the associated RSC to a candidate list in an announcement message of the inter-terminal relay model A discovery.

[0339] In some embodiments, the first relay stores the second protected information together with the associated RSC for sending an announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

[0340] In some embodiments, the first relay verifies the received third message based on discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0341] In some embodiments, the first relay determines that verification of the third message is successful, and the first relay modifies the third message, where the modified third message includes the third identifier of the first relay.

[0342] In some embodiments, after the first relay successfully verifies the third message, the first relay modifies the third message, and the modified third message includes the third identifier of the first relay.

[0343] In some embodiments, the first relay determines that verification of the third message is successful, adds the third identifier of the first relay to the third message, and obtains a fourth message.

[0344] In some embodiments, after successfully verifying the third message, the first relay adds the third identifier of the first relay to the third message to obtain a fourth message.

[0345] In some embodiments, the fourth message includes the first identifier of the first terminal, the third identifier of the first relay and / or the second identifier of the second terminal.

[0346] In some embodiments, the first relay protects the fourth message based on discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0347] In some embodiments, when the first terminal receives the fourth message sent by the first relay, the first terminal processes the fourth message based on the discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0348] In some embodiments, the first terminal verifies the fourth message based on discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0349] In some embodiments, the first terminal determines that verification of the fourth message is successful, and the first terminal extracts the first set from the fourth message;

[0350] In some embodiments, the first terminal verifies the first set based on discovery security material associated with the ProSe direct discovery service.

[0351] In some embodiments, the term "information" can be interchangeable with terms such as "message", "signal", "signaling", "report", "configuration", "indication", "instruction", "command", "channel", "parameter", "field", and "data".

[0352] In some embodiments, the term "send" can be interchanged with terms such as "transmit", "report", and "transmit".

[0353] The information indication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S2201 to S2205. For example, step S2201 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S2202 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S2203 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S2204 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step S2205 can be implemented as an independent embodiment. For example, step S2201 combined with step S2202 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S2201 combined with steps S2202 and step S2203 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step S2201 combined with steps S2202, step S2203, and step S2204 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0354] FIG2c is an interactive diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG2c, the present disclosure embodiment relates to a communication method for use in a communication system 100, the method comprising:

[0355] Step S2301: The first terminal, the second terminal, and the first relay obtain and discover security materials.

[0356] In some embodiments, the first terminal, the second terminal and / or the first relay receives information sent by the network device indicating that the security material has been discovered.

[0357] In some embodiments, the first terminal may also be referred to as a first-end UE, and the second terminal may also be referred to as a second-end UE.

[0358] In some embodiments, the first terminal may be a discoverer proximity service end terminal (Discoverer ProSe End UE), for example, a discoverer fifth generation mobile communication technology (5G, 5th Generation Mobile Communication Technology) ProSe end UE.

[0359] In some embodiments, the second terminal may be a discoveree ProSe End UE, for example, a discoveree 5G ProSe End UE.

[0360] In some embodiments, the first relay may be a ProSe UE-to-UE relay, eg, a 5G ProSe UE-to-UE relay.

[0361] In some embodiments, the first terminal and the second terminal obtain discovery security material associated with the proximity services direct discovery service.

[0362] In some embodiments, the first terminal, the second terminal, and the first relay obtain discovery security material associated with a relay service code (RSC).

[0363] Step S2302: The first terminal sends a first message to the first relay.

[0364] In some embodiments, the first protected information of the first terminal may be protected information obtained based on a first identifier of the first terminal, where the first identifier is used to uniquely identify a terminal.

[0365] In some embodiments, the first protected information of the first terminal may be protected information obtained based on a user information identifier (User Info ID) of the discoverer ProSe terminal.

[0366] In some embodiments, the first terminal protects the first identifier of the first terminal based on the discovery security material associated with the Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service to obtain first protected information.

[0367] In some embodiments, the first terminal protects the user information identifier of the first terminal based on the discovery security material associated with the Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service to obtain first protected information.

[0368] In some embodiments, the second protected information of the second terminal may be protected information obtained based on a second identifier of the second terminal, where the second identifier is used to uniquely identify a terminal.

[0369] In some embodiments, the second protected information of the second terminal may be protected information obtained based on the user information ID of the discoverer ProSe terminal.

[0370] In some embodiments, the first terminal protects the second identifier of the second terminal based on discovery security material associated with the Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service to obtain second protected information.

[0371] In some embodiments, the first terminal protects the user information identifier of the second terminal based on the discovery security material associated with the Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service to obtain second protected information.

[0372] In some embodiments, the first set is a direct discovery set.

[0373] In some embodiments, the first set includes protected information of the first terminal and / or the second terminal.

[0374] In some embodiments, the first terminal obtains the first set based on information about discovery security material protecting the first terminal and / or the second terminal associated with a Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service.

[0375] In some embodiments, the first terminal obtains the protected information of the first terminal and / or the protected information of the second terminal based on discovery security material associated with the Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service, and obtains the first set based on the protected information.

[0376] In some embodiments, the first terminal separately protects information of the first terminal and information of the second terminal, obtains first protected information of the first terminal and second protected information of the second terminal, and obtains the first set based on the first protected information and the second protected information.

[0377] In some embodiments, the first terminal sends a first message to a first relay, where the first message includes protected information of the first terminal and / or the second terminal.

[0378] In some embodiments, protected information is used for inter-terminal relay model A discovery.

[0379] In some embodiments, the protected information is used to be added to a candidate list in an announcement message of inter-terminal relay model A discovery.

[0380] In some embodiments, the first message indicates the first set.

[0381] In some embodiments, an end UE (e.g., a first terminal) may indicate to the U2U relay whether it is capable of announcing the end UE's information (e.g., first protected information) when performing the U2U relay discovery model A process by whether announcement prohibition indication information is carried in a message sent to the UE-to-UE (e.g., a first message). Exemplarily, if the first message carries the announcement prohibition indication information, the first terminal instructs the U2U relay not to announce the end UE's information when performing the U2U relay discovery model A process; if the first message does not carry the announcement prohibition indication information, the first terminal instructs the U2U relay to be capable of announcing the end UE's information when performing the U2U relay discovery model A process.

[0382] In some embodiments, if the first terminal does not allow the first relay to announce the information of the first terminal when performing inter-terminal relay model A discovery, the first message includes (or carries) the Announce prohibited indication information.

[0383] In some embodiments, if the first terminal allows the first relay to announce the information of the first terminal when performing inter-terminal relay model A discovery, the first message does not include (or carry) announcement prohibition indication information.

[0384] Step S2303: The first relay sends a second message to the second terminal.

[0385] In some embodiments, when a first relay receives a first message sent by a first terminal, the first relay can determine from the first message the content corresponding to the first protected information of the first terminal and the content corresponding to the second protected information of the second terminal. That is, the first relay can determine that the first protected information is the protected information of the first terminal and the second protected information is the protected information of the second terminal.

[0386] In some embodiments, when the first relay receives the first message sent by the first terminal, the first relay processes the first message based on the discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0387] In some embodiments, the first relay verifies the first message based on the discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0388] In some embodiments, the first relay adds the first protected information to a candidate list in an announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A. In some embodiments, the first relay determines that the first message does not include announcement prohibition indication information, and adds the first protected information to a candidate list in an announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

[0389] It should be noted that, when the first relay determines that the first message includes announcement prohibition indication information, the first protected information will not be added to the candidate list in the announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

[0390] In some embodiments, the first relay determines that the first message does not include announcement prohibition indication information, and adds the first protected information in the first set to a candidate list in the announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

[0391] In some embodiments, the first relay adds the first protected information to the candidate list in the announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A only when the first message does not include the announcement prohibition indication information provided by the discoverer end UE.

[0392] In some embodiments, the first relay adds the first protected information and / or the associated RSC to a candidate list in an announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

[0393] In some embodiments, the first relay stores the first protected information together with the associated RSC for sending an announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

[0394] In some embodiments, determining that verification of the first message is successful, generating a second message based on the first message; protecting the second message based on security material associated with the RSC; and sending the second message to the second terminal.

[0395] In some embodiments, the first relay determines that verification of the first message is successful, and the first relay modifies the first message, where the modified first message includes a third identifier of the first relay, where the third identifier is used to uniquely identify a relay.

[0396] In some embodiments, the first relay determines that verification of the first message is successful, adds a third identifier of the first relay to the first message, and obtains a second message.

[0397] In some embodiments, the first relay protects the second message based on security material associated with the RSC; and the first relay sends the second message to the second terminal.

[0398] In some embodiments, the second message is a UE-to-UE Relay Discovery Solicitation message.

[0399] Step S2304: The second terminal sends a third message to the first relay.

[0400] In some embodiments, the second terminal processes the second message based on discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0401] In some embodiments, the second terminal verifies the second message based on discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0402] In some embodiments, the second terminal determines that verification of the second message is successful, and generates a third message based on the second message; the third message includes protected information.

[0403] In some embodiments, after successfully verifying the second message, the second terminal generates a third message based on the second message; the third message includes protected information.

[0404] In some embodiments, the protected information includes first protected information and second protected information.

[0405] In some embodiments, the third message indicates a first set, the first set comprising protected information.

[0406] In some embodiments, the second terminal protects information based on discovery security material associated with the ProSe direct discovery service to obtain the protected information.

[0407] In some embodiments, the second terminal protects the first identifier of the first terminal based on discovery security material associated with the Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service to obtain first protected information.

[0408] In some embodiments, the second terminal protects the second identifier of the second terminal based on the discovery security material associated with the Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service to obtain second protected information.

[0409] In some embodiments, the second terminal separately protects the information of the first terminal and the information of the second terminal to obtain the first protected information and the second protected information.

[0410] In some embodiments, the end UE (e.g., the second terminal) can indicate to the U2U relay whether it can announce the end UE's information (e.g., the second protected information) when performing the U2U relay discovery model A process by whether to carry announcement prohibition indication information in a message sent to the UE-to-UE (e.g., the third message). Exemplarily, if the third message carries the announcement prohibition indication information, the second terminal instructs the U2U relay not to announce the end UE's information when performing the U2U relay discovery model A process; if the third message does not carry the announcement prohibition indication information, the second terminal instructs the U2U relay to announce the end UE's information when performing the U2U relay discovery model A process.

[0411] In some embodiments, if the second terminal does not allow the first relay to announce the information of the second terminal when performing inter-terminal relay model A discovery, the third message includes (or carries) the Announce prohibited indication.

[0412] In some embodiments, if the second terminal allows the first relay to announce the information of the second terminal when performing inter-terminal relay model A discovery, the third message does not include (or carry) the announcement prohibition indication information.

[0413] In some embodiments, the second terminal sends a third message to the first relay, where the third message includes the protected information.

[0414] In some embodiments, the second terminal protects the third message based on discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0415] In some embodiments, the third message is a UE-to-UE relay discovery response message.

[0416] Step S2305: The first relay sends a fourth message to the first terminal.

[0417] In some embodiments, when the first relay receives the third message sent by the first terminal, the first relay processes the received third message based on the discovery safety material associated with the RSC.

[0418] In some embodiments, the protected information in the third message includes first protected information and second protected information.

[0419] In some embodiments, the first relay can determine, from the third message, the content corresponding to the first protected information of the first terminal and the content corresponding to the second protected information of the second terminal. That is, the first relay can determine that the first protected information is the protected information of the first terminal and the second protected information is the protected information of the second terminal.

[0420] In some embodiments, the first relay adds the second protected information to a candidate list in an announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

[0421] In some embodiments, the first relay determines that the third message does not include announcement prohibition indication information, and adds the second protected information to a candidate list in the announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

[0422] It should be noted that, when the first relay determines that the third message includes announcement prohibition indication information, it will not add the second protected information to the candidate list in the announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

[0423] In some embodiments, the first relay determines that the third message does not include announcement prohibition indication information, and adds the second protected information in the first set to a candidate list in the announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

[0424] In some embodiments, the first relay adds the second protected information to the candidate list in the announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A only when the third message does not include announcement prohibition indication information provided by the discoverer UE.

[0425] In some embodiments, the first relay adds the second protected information and / or the associated RSC to a candidate list in an announcement message of the inter-terminal relay model A discovery.

[0426] In some embodiments, the first relay stores the second protected information together with the associated RSC for sending an announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

[0427] In some embodiments, the first relay verifies the received third message based on discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0428] In some embodiments, the first relay determines that verification of the third message is successful, and the first relay modifies the third message, where the modified third message includes the third identifier of the first relay.

[0429] In some embodiments, after the first relay successfully verifies the third message, the first relay modifies the third message, and the modified third message includes the third identifier of the first relay. In some embodiments, the first relay determines that the verification of the third message is successful, adds the third identifier of the first relay to the third message, and obtains a fourth message.

[0430] In some embodiments, after successfully verifying the third message, the first relay adds the third identifier of the first relay to the third message to obtain a fourth message.

[0431] In some embodiments, the fourth message includes the first identifier of the first terminal, the third identifier of the first relay and / or the second identifier of the second terminal.

[0432] In some embodiments, the first relay protects the fourth message based on discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0433] In some embodiments, when the first terminal receives the fourth message sent by the first relay, the first terminal processes the fourth message based on the discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0434] In some embodiments, the first terminal verifies the fourth message based on discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0435] In some embodiments, the first terminal determines that verification of the fourth message is successful, and the first terminal extracts the first set from the fourth message;

[0436] In some embodiments, the first terminal verifies the first set based on discovery security material associated with the ProSe direct discovery service.

[0437] In some embodiments, the term "information" can be interchangeable with terms such as "message", "signal", "signaling", "report", "configuration", "indication", "instruction", "command", "channel", "parameter", "field", and "data".

[0438] In some embodiments, the term "send" can be interchanged with terms such as "transmit", "report", and "transmit".

[0439] The information indication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S2301 to S2305. For example, step S2301 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S2302 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S2303 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S2304 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step S2305 can be implemented as an independent embodiment. For example, step S2301 combined with step S2302 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S2301 combined with steps S2302 and step S2303 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step S2301 combined with steps S2302, step S2303, and step S2304 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0440] FIG2d is an interactive diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG2d, the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method for use in a communication system 100, the method comprising:

[0441] Step S2401: The first terminal, the second terminal, and the first relay obtain and discover security material.

[0442] In some embodiments, the first terminal, the second terminal and / or the first relay receives information sent by the network device indicating that the security material has been discovered.

[0443] In some embodiments, the first terminal may also be referred to as a first-end UE, and the second terminal may also be referred to as a second-end UE.

[0444] In some embodiments, the first terminal may be a discoverer proximity service end terminal (Discoverer ProSe End UE), for example, a discoverer fifth generation mobile communication technology (5G, 5th Generation Mobile Communication Technology) ProSe end UE.

[0445] In some embodiments, the second terminal may be a discoveree ProSe End UE, for example, a discoveree 5G ProSe End UE.

[0446] In some embodiments, the first relay may be a ProSe UE-to-UE relay, eg, a 5G ProSe UE-to-UE relay.

[0447] In some embodiments, the first terminal and the second terminal obtain discovery security material associated with the proximity services direct discovery service.

[0448] In some embodiments, the first terminal, the second terminal, and the first relay obtain discovery security material associated with a relay service code (RSC).

[0449] Step S2402: The first terminal sends a first message to the first relay.

[0450] In some embodiments, the third protected information of the first terminal and the second terminal may be protected information obtained based on a first identifier of the first terminal and a second identifier of the second terminal, where both the first identifier and the second identifier are used to uniquely identify a terminal.

[0451] In some embodiments, the third protected information of the first terminal and the second terminal may be protected information obtained based on the user information ID of the discoverer ProSe terminal and the user information ID of the discoverer ProSe terminal.

[0452] In some embodiments, the first terminal protects the first identifier of the first terminal and the second identifier of the second terminal based on discovery security material associated with the Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service to obtain third protected information.

[0453] In some embodiments, the first terminal protects the user information identifier of the first terminal and the user information identifier of the second terminal based on the discovery security material associated with the Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service to obtain third protected information.

[0454] In some embodiments, the first set is a direct discovery set.

[0455] In some embodiments, the first set includes protected information of the first terminal and / or the second terminal.

[0456] In some embodiments, the first terminal obtains the first set based on information about discovery security material protecting the first terminal and / or the second terminal associated with a Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service.

[0457] In some embodiments, the first terminal obtains the protected information of the first terminal and / or the protected information of the second terminal based on discovery security material associated with the Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service, and obtains the first set based on the protected information.

[0458] In some embodiments, the first terminal simultaneously protects the information of the first terminal and the information of the second terminal to obtain third protected information, and obtains the first set based on the third protected information.

[0459] In some embodiments, the first terminal sends a first message to a first relay, where the first message includes protected information of the first terminal and / or the second terminal.

[0460] In some embodiments, protected information is used for inter-terminal relay model A discovery.

[0461] In some embodiments, the protected information is used to be added to a candidate list in an announcement message of inter-terminal relay model A discovery.

[0462] In some embodiments, the first message indicates the first set.

[0463] In some embodiments, an end UE (e.g., a first terminal) may indicate to the U2U relay whether it is able to announce the end UE's information (e.g., the first terminal's information in the third protected information) when performing the U2U relay discovery model A process by whether or not the message sent to the UE-to-UE (e.g., the first message) carries announcement prohibition indication information. Exemplarily, if the first message carries announcement prohibition indication information, the first terminal instructs the U2U relay not to announce the end UE's information when performing the U2U relay discovery model A process; if the first message does not carry announcement prohibition indication information, the first terminal instructs the U2U relay to be able to announce the end UE's information when performing the U2U relay discovery model A process.

[0464] In some embodiments, if the first terminal does not allow the first relay to announce the information of the first terminal when performing inter-terminal relay model A discovery, the first message includes (or carries) the Announce prohibited indication information.

[0465] In some embodiments, if the first terminal allows the first relay to announce the information of the first terminal when performing inter-terminal relay model A discovery, the first message does not include (or carry) announcement prohibition indication information.

[0466] Step S2403: The first relay sends a second message to the second terminal.

[0467] In some embodiments, when a first relay receives a first message sent by a first terminal, the first relay can determine from the first message the content corresponding to the first protected information of the first terminal and the content corresponding to the second protected information of the second terminal. That is, the first relay can determine that the first protected information is the protected information of the first terminal and the second protected information is the protected information of the second terminal.

[0468] In some embodiments, when the first relay receives the first message sent by the first terminal, the first relay processes the first message based on the discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0469] In some embodiments, the first relay verifies the first message based on the discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0470] In some embodiments, determining that verification of the first message is successful, generating a second message based on the first message; protecting the second message based on security material associated with the RSC; and sending the second message to the second terminal.

[0471] In some embodiments, the first relay determines that verification of the first message is successful, and the first relay modifies the first message, where the modified first message includes a third identifier of the first relay, where the third identifier is used to uniquely identify a relay.

[0472] In some embodiments, the first relay determines that verification of the first message is successful, adds a third identifier of the first relay to the first message, and obtains a second message.

[0473] In some embodiments, the first relay protects the second message based on security material associated with the RSC; and the first relay sends the second message to the second terminal.

[0474] In some embodiments, the second message is a UE-to-UE Relay Discovery Solicitation message.

[0475] Step S2404: The second terminal sends a third message to the first relay.

[0476] In some embodiments, the second terminal processes the second message based on discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0477] In some embodiments, the second terminal verifies the second message based on discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0478] In some embodiments, the second terminal determines that verification of the second message is successful, and generates a third message based on the second message; the third message includes protected information.

[0479] In some embodiments, after successfully verifying the second message, the second terminal generates a third message based on the second message; the third message includes protected information.

[0480] In some embodiments, the protected information includes third protected information.

[0481] In some embodiments, the third message indicates a first set, the first set comprising protected information.

[0482] In some embodiments, the second terminal protects information based on discovery security material associated with the ProSe direct discovery service to obtain the protected information.

[0483] In some embodiments, the second terminal protects the first identifier of the first terminal and the second identifier of the second terminal based on the discovery security material associated with the Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service to obtain third protected information.

[0484] In some embodiments, the second terminal protects the information of the first terminal and the information of the second terminal simultaneously to obtain the first protected information and the third protected information.

[0485] In some embodiments, the end UE (e.g., the second terminal) can indicate to the U2U relay whether it can announce the information of the end UE (e.g., the information of the second terminal in the third protected information) when performing the U2U relay discovery model A process by whether the announcement prohibition indication information is carried in the message sent to the UE-to-UE (e.g., the third message). Exemplarily, if the third message carries the announcement prohibition indication information, the second terminal instructs the U2U relay not to announce the information of the end UE when performing the U2U relay discovery model A process; if the third message does not carry the announcement prohibition indication information, the second terminal instructs the U2U relay to be able to announce the information of the end UE when performing the U2U relay discovery model A process.

[0486] In some embodiments, if the second terminal does not allow the first relay to announce the information of the second terminal when performing inter-terminal relay model A discovery, the third message includes (or carries) the Announce prohibited indication.

[0487] In some embodiments, if the second terminal allows the first relay to announce the information of the second terminal when performing inter-terminal relay model A discovery, the third message does not include (or carry) the announcement prohibition indication information.

[0488] In some embodiments, the second terminal sends a third message to the first relay, where the third message includes the protected information.

[0489] In some embodiments, the second terminal protects the third message based on discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0490] In some embodiments, the third message is a UE-to-UE relay discovery response message.

[0491] Step S2405: The first relay sends a fourth message to the first terminal.

[0492] In some embodiments, when the first relay receives the third message sent by the first terminal, the first relay processes the received third message based on the discovery safety material associated with the RSC.

[0493] In some embodiments, the protected information in the third message includes first protected information and second protected information.

[0494] In some embodiments, the first relay can determine, from the third message, the content corresponding to the first protected information of the first terminal and the content corresponding to the second protected information of the second terminal. That is, the first relay can determine that the first protected information is the protected information of the first terminal and the second protected information is the protected information of the second terminal.

[0495] In some embodiments, the third protected information includes protected information of the first terminal and the second terminal.

[0496] In some embodiments, the first relay adds the third protected information to a candidate list in an announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

[0497] In some embodiments, the first relay determines that the first message does not include announcement prohibition indication information and the third message does not include announcement prohibition indication information, and adds the third protected information to a candidate list in the announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

[0498] It should be noted that when the first relay determines that the first message contains announcement prohibition indication information, or determines that the third message contains announcement prohibition indication information, the third protected information will not be added to the candidate list in the announcement message discovered only by the terminal relay model A.

[0499] In some embodiments, the first relay determines that the first message does not include announcement prohibition indication information and the third message does not include announcement prohibition indication information, and adds the third protected information in the first set to the candidate list in the announcement message discovered by the terminal relay model A.

[0500] In some embodiments, the first relay adds the third protected information to the candidate list in the announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A only when the first message does not include the announcement prohibition indication information provided by the discoverer-side UE and the third message does not include the announcement prohibition indication information provided by the discoverer-side UE.

[0501] In some embodiments, the protected information includes at least one of the following:

[0502] first protected information of the first terminal;

[0503] second protected information of the second terminal;

[0504] Third protected information of the first terminal and the second terminal.

[0505] In some embodiments, the first terminal determines that the first message does not include announcement prohibition indication information and the third message does not include announcement prohibition indication information, and the first relay adds the protected information and / or associated RSC to the candidate list in the announcement message discovered by the terminal-to-terminal relay model A.

[0506] In some embodiments, the first terminal determines that the first message does not include announcement prohibition indication information and the third message does not include announcement prohibition indication information, and the first relay stores the protected information together with the associated RSC for sending the announcement message discovered by the terminal-to-terminal relay model A.

[0507] In some embodiments, the first relay verifies the received third message based on discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0508] In some embodiments, the first relay determines that verification of the third message is successful, and the first relay modifies the third message, where the modified third message includes the third identifier of the first relay.

[0509] In some embodiments, after the first relay successfully verifies the third message, the first relay modifies the third message, and the modified third message includes the third identifier of the first relay.

[0510] In some embodiments, the first relay determines that verification of the third message is successful, adds the third identifier of the first relay to the third message, and obtains a fourth message.

[0511] In some embodiments, after successfully verifying the third message, the first relay adds the third identifier of the first relay to the third message to obtain a fourth message.

[0512] In some embodiments, the fourth message includes the first identifier of the first terminal, the third identifier of the first relay and / or the second identifier of the second terminal.

[0513] In some embodiments, the first relay protects the fourth message based on discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0514] In some embodiments, when the first terminal receives the fourth message sent by the first relay, the first terminal processes the fourth message based on the discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0515] In some embodiments, the first terminal verifies the fourth message based on discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0516] In some embodiments, the first terminal determines that verification of the fourth message is successful, and the first terminal extracts the first set from the fourth message;

[0517] In some embodiments, the first terminal verifies the first set based on discovery security material associated with the ProSe direct discovery service.

[0518] In some embodiments, the term "information" can be interchangeable with terms such as "message", "signal", "signaling", "report", "configuration", "indication", "instruction", "command", "channel", "parameter", "field", and "data".

[0519] In some embodiments, the term "send" can be interchanged with terms such as "transmit", "report", and "transmit".

[0520] The information indication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S2401 to S2405. For example, step S2401 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S2402 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S2403 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S2404 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step S2405 can be implemented as an independent embodiment. For example, step S2401 combined with step S2402 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S2401 combined with steps S2402 and step S2403 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step S2401 combined with steps S2402, step S2403, and step S2404 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0521] Figure 3a is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 3a, the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method, which is executed by a first terminal, and the method includes:

[0522] Step S3101: Obtain and discover security materials.

[0523] In some embodiments, discovery security material is received from a network device.

[0524] In some embodiments, the discovery security material sent by the network device is received, but the invention is not limited thereto and the discovery security material sent by other entities may also be received.

[0525] In some embodiments, discovery security material specified by a protocol is obtained.

[0526] In some embodiments, discovery security material is obtained from upper layer(s).

[0527] In some embodiments, processing is performed to obtain discovery-safe material.

[0528] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S3101 can refer to step S2101 in Figure 2a, step S2201 in Figure 2b, step S2301 in Figure 2c, and the optional implementation of step S2401 in Figure 2d, as well as other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d, which will not be repeated here.

[0529] Step S3102: Send a first message to the first relay.

[0530] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S3102 can refer to step S2102 in Figure 2a, step S2202 in Figure 2b, step S2302 in Figure 2c, and the optional implementation of step S2402 in Figure 2d, as well as other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d, which will not be repeated here.

[0531] Step S3103: Receive the fourth message sent by the first relay.

[0532] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S3103 can refer to step S2105 of Figure 2a, step S2205 of Figure 2b, step S2305 of Figure 2c, and the optional implementation of step S2405 of Figure 2d, as well as other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d, which will not be repeated here.

[0533] The information indication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S3101 to S3103. For example, step S3101 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S3102 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step S3103 may be implemented as an independent embodiment. For example, step S3102 combined with step S3103 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0534] Figure 3b is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 3b, the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method, which is executed by a first terminal, and the method includes:

[0535] Step S3201: Send a first message to the first relay.

[0536] In some embodiments, the first relay is used for discovery communication between the first terminal and the second terminal; the first message includes protected information of the first terminal and / or the second terminal; and the protected information is used for inter-terminal relay model A discovery.

[0537] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S3201 can refer to step S2102 of Figure 2a, step S2202 of Figure 2b, step S2302 of Figure 2c, and the optional implementation of step S2402 of Figure 2d, as well as other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d, which will not be repeated here.

[0538] In some embodiments, the protected information includes at least one of the following:

[0539] first protected information of the first terminal;

[0540] second protected information of the second terminal;

[0541] Third protected information of the first terminal and the second terminal.

[0542] In some embodiments, the protected information is used to be added to a candidate list in an announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

[0543] In some embodiments, the first message does not include announcement prohibition indication information, and the first protected information is used to be added to a candidate list in an announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

[0544] In some embodiments, the protected information is obtained by protecting the information based on discovery security material associated with a Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service. In some embodiments, the method further includes:

[0545] Protecting the first identifier of the first terminal based on discovery security material associated with a Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service to obtain first protected information;

[0546] Protecting the second identifier of the second terminal based on the discovery security material associated with the Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service to obtain second protected information;

[0547] The first identifier of the first terminal and the second identifier of the second terminal are protected based on the discovery security material associated with the Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service to obtain third protected information.

[0548] In some embodiments, the method further comprises:

[0549] The first message is protected based on a discovery security material associated with a relay service code RSC.

[0550] Figure 4a is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 4a, the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method, which is executed by a first relay, and the method includes:

[0551] Step S4101: Get the first message.

[0552] In some embodiments, a first message sent by a first terminal is received.

[0553] In some embodiments, a first message sent by a first terminal is received, but this is not limited thereto, and a first message sent by other entities may also be received.

[0554] In some embodiments, a first message specified by a protocol is obtained.

[0555] In some embodiments, the first message is obtained from upper layer(s).

[0556] In some embodiments, processing is performed to obtain a first message.

[0557] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S4101 can refer to step S2102 of Figure 2a, step S2202 of Figure 2b, step S2302 of Figure 2c, and the optional implementation of step S2402 of Figure 2d, as well as other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d, which will not be repeated here.

[0558] Step S4102: Send a second message to the second terminal.

[0559] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S4102 can refer to step S2103 of Figure 2a, step S2203 of Figure 2b, step S2303 of Figure 2c, and the optional implementation of step S2403 of Figure 2d, as well as other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d, which will not be repeated here.

[0560] Step S4103: Receive a third message sent by the second terminal.

[0561] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S4103 can refer to step S2104 of Figure 2a, step S2204 of Figure 2b, step S2304 of Figure 2c, and the optional implementation of step S2404 of Figure 2d, as well as other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d, which will not be repeated here.

[0562] Step S4104: Send a fourth message to the first terminal.

[0563] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S4104 can refer to step S2105 of Figure 2a, step S2205 of Figure 2b, step S2305 of Figure 2c, and the optional implementation of step S2405 of Figure 2d, as well as other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d, which will not be repeated here.

[0564] The information indication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S4101 to S4104. For example, step S4101 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S4102 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S4103 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step S4104 can be implemented as an independent embodiment. For example, step S4101 combined with step S4102 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S4102 combined with steps S4102 and step S4103 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step S4102 combined with steps S4102, step S4103, and step S4104 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0565] Figure 4b is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 4b, the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method, which is executed by a first relay, and the method includes:

[0566] Step S4201: Receive a first message sent by a first terminal.

[0567] In some embodiments, the first relay is used for discovery communication between the first terminal and the second terminal; the first message includes protected information of the first terminal and / or the second terminal; and the protected information is used for inter-terminal relay model A discovery.

[0568] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S4201 can refer to step S2102 of Figure 2a, step S2202 of Figure 2b, step S2302 of Figure 2c, and the optional implementation of step S2402 of Figure 2d, as well as other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d, which will not be repeated here.

[0569] In some embodiments, the first message is protected based on security material associated with the RSC; and the method further comprises:

[0570] The first message is authenticated based on the discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0571] In some embodiments, the method further comprises:

[0572] Determining that verification of the first message is successful, and generating a second message based on the first message;

[0573] protecting the second message based on security material associated with the RSC;

[0574] Send the second message to the second terminal.

[0575] In some embodiments, the method further comprises:

[0576] receiving a third message sent by the second terminal;

[0577] The third message indicates the protected information.

[0578] In some embodiments, the protected information includes at least one of the following:

[0579] first protected information of the first terminal;

[0580] second protected information of the second terminal;

[0581] Third protected information of the first terminal and the second terminal.

[0582] In some embodiments, the method further comprises:

[0583] The protected information is added to the candidate list in the announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

[0584] In some embodiments, the adding the protected information to a candidate list in an announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A comprises one of the following:

[0585] Determining that the first message does not include announcement prohibition indication information, and adding the first protected information to a candidate list in the announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A;

[0586] Determining that the third message does not include announcement prohibition indication information, and adding the second protected information to a candidate list in the announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A;

[0587] It is determined that the first message does not include announcement prohibition indication information and the third message does not include announcement prohibition indication information, and the third protected information is added to a candidate list in the announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

[0588] In some embodiments, the adding the protected information to a candidate list in an announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A includes:

[0589] The protected information and the associated RSC are added to the candidate list in the announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

[0590] Figure 5a is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 5a, the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method, which is executed by a second terminal, and the method includes:

[0591] Step S5101: Get the second message.

[0592] In some embodiments, a second message sent by the first relay is received.

[0593] In some embodiments, the second message sent by the first relay is received, but not limited thereto, and the second message sent by other entities may also be received.

[0594] In some embodiments, a second message specified by the protocol is obtained.

[0595] In some embodiments, the second message is obtained from upper layer(s).

[0596] In some embodiments, processing is performed to obtain a second message.

[0597] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S4101 can refer to step S2103 of Figure 2a, step S2203 of Figure 2b, step S2303 of Figure 2c, and the optional implementation of step S2403 of Figure 2d, as well as other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d, which will not be repeated here.

[0598] Step S5102: Send a third message to the first relay.

[0599] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S4102 can refer to step S2104 of Figure 2a, step S2204 of Figure 2b, step S2304 of Figure 2c, and the optional implementation of step S2404 of Figure 2d, as well as other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d, which will not be repeated here.

[0600] The information indication method involved in the embodiment of the present disclosure may include at least one of step S4101 to step S4102. For example, step S4101 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step S4102 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, but is not limited thereto.

[0601] Figure 5b is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 5b, the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method, which is executed by the second terminal, and the method includes:

[0602] Step S5201: Receive the second message sent by the first relay.

[0603] In some embodiments, the first relay is used for discovery communication between the first terminal and the second terminal; the second message includes protected information of the first terminal and / or the second terminal; and the protected information is used for inter-terminal relay model A discovery.

[0604] In some embodiments, the optional implementation of step S5201 can refer to step S2103 of Figure 2a, step S2203 of Figure 2b, step S2303 of Figure 2c, and the optional implementation of step S2403 of Figure 2d, as well as other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d, which will not be repeated here.

[0605] In some embodiments, the protected information is used to be added to a candidate list in an announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

[0606] In some embodiments, the second message is protected based on discovery security material associated with the RSC; the method further comprising:

[0607] The second message is authenticated based on discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0608] In some embodiments, the method further comprises:

[0609] Determining that verification of the second message is successful, and generating a third message based on the second message;

[0610] The third message is sent to the first relay, wherein the third message includes the protected information.

[0611] In some embodiments, the protected information includes at least one of the following:

[0612] first protected information of the first terminal;

[0613] second protected information of the second terminal;

[0614] Third protected information of the first terminal and the second terminal.

[0615] In some embodiments, the third message does not include announcement prohibition indication information, and the second protected information is used to be added to a candidate list in an announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

[0616] In some embodiments, the method further comprises:

[0617] The protected information is obtained by protecting the information based on the discovery security material associated with the ProSe direct discovery service.

[0618] In some embodiments, protecting information based on discovery security material associated with the ProSe direct discovery service to obtain the protected information includes:

[0619] Protecting the first identifier of the first terminal based on discovery security material associated with a Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service to obtain first protected information;

[0620] The second identifier of the second terminal is protected based on the discovery security material associated with the Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service to obtain second protected information.

[0621] In some embodiments, protecting information based on discovery security material associated with the ProSe direct discovery service to obtain the protected information includes:

[0622] Based on the discovery security material associated with the Proximity Service (ProSe) direct discovery service, the first identifier of the first terminal and the second identifier of the second terminal are protected simultaneously to obtain third protected information.

[0623] Figure 6a is an interactive diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 6a, the present disclosure embodiment relates to a communication method, which is used in a communication system 100. The method includes one of the following steps:

[0624] Step S6001: The first terminal sends a first message to the first relay.

[0625] In some embodiments, the first relay is used for discovery communication between the first terminal and the second terminal; the first message includes protected information of the first terminal and / or the second terminal; and the protected information is used for inter-terminal relay model A discovery.

[0626] The optional implementation methods of step S6001 can be referred to the optional implementation methods of steps S2201 to S2105, S2201 to S2205, S2301 to S2305 and S2401 to S2405 in Figures 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d respectively, and other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d, which will not be repeated here.

[0627] In some embodiments, the above method may include the methods of the above-mentioned communication system side, first terminal side, first relay side, second terminal side, etc., which will not be repeated here.

[0628] In order to better understand the embodiments of the present disclosure, some exemplary embodiments are further described below:

[0629] Example 1:

[0630] A communication system is provided. As shown in FIG7a , an embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method, the method comprising:

[0631] Step S7100: Obtain discovery security material.

[0632] In some embodiments, the discoverer 5G ProSe-side UE (corresponding to the first terminal) and the discoverer 5G ProSe-side UE (corresponding to the second terminal) are provided with discovery security materials associated with the 5G ProSe direct discovery service.

[0633] In some embodiments, based on the process defined for UE-to-Network relay, discovery security materials associated with the relay service code (RSC) are provided to the discoverer 5G ProSe end UE, the discoverer 5G ProSe end UE and the 5G ProSe UE-to-UE relay (corresponding to the first relay).

[0634] Step S7101: Send a request message.

[0635] In some embodiments, the discoverer 5G ProSe UE should use the discovery security material associated with the 5G ProSe direct discovery service to protect the information of the discoverer 5G ProSe UE and the information of the discoverer 5G ProSe UE to obtain a direct discovery set (corresponding to the first set).

[0636] In some embodiments, the direct discovery set should include the protected information of the discoverer UE (e.g., the user information ID of the discoverer 5G ProSe UE) and the protected information of the discoverer UE (e.g., the user information ID of the discoverer 5G ProSe UE).

[0637] In some embodiments, the discoverer 5G ProSe UE includes a protected direct discovery set in a request message (corresponding to the first message) and uses the discovery security material associated with the RSC to protect the request message. The request message is sent to the 5G ProSe UE-to-UE relay.

[0638] Step S7102: Send a request message.

[0639] In some embodiments, upon receiving a request message from the discoverer 5G ProSe end UE, the 5G ProSe UE-to-UE relay will process the received UE-to-UE relay discovery request message using the discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0640] In some embodiments, if the verification request message is successful, the 5G ProSe UE-to-UE relay will modify the request message to include the user information ID of the 5G ProSe UE-to-UE relay.

[0641] In some embodiments, if the announcement prohibition indication information is not included in the U2U relay discovery request message, the U2U relay will associate and store the RSC and the protected information of the discoverer UE, which can be part of the candidate list included in the announcement message for U2U relay model A discovery.

[0642] In some embodiments, the modified request message (corresponding to the second message) is protected using security material associated with the RSC.

[0643] In some embodiments, the 5G ProSe UE-to-UE relay sends the modified request message to the discovered 5G ProSe end UE.

[0644] Step S7103: Send a response message.

[0645] In some embodiments, the discoverer 5G ProSe end UE will use the discovery security material associated with the RSC to process the received request message.

[0646] In some embodiments, if the verification request message is successful, the discoverer 5G ProSe end UE will extract the protected direct discovery set from the request message and process the direct discovery set using the discovery security material associated with the 5G ProSe direct discovery service.

[0647] In some embodiments, the discoverer 5G ProSe end UE should use the discovery security material associated with the 5G ProSe direct discovery service to protect the direct discovery set.

[0648] In some embodiments, the protected direct discovery set should include the protected information of the discoverer UE (e.g., the user information ID of the discoverer 5G ProSe UE) and the protected information of the discoverer UE (e.g., the user information ID of the discoverer 5G ProSe UE).

[0649] In some embodiments, the discoverer 5G ProSe end UE will include a protected direct discovery set in the UE-to-UE relay discovery response message and use the discovery security material associated with the RSC to protect the UE-to-UE relay discovery response message.

[0650] In some embodiments, the discovered 5G ProSe UE replies to the 5G ProSe UE-to-UE relay with a UE-to-UE relay discovery response message.

[0651] Step S7104: Send a response message.

[0652] In some embodiments, upon receiving a UE-to-UE relay discovery response message (corresponding to the third message) from the discoverer 5G ProSe end UE, the 5G ProSe UE-to-UE relay will process the received UE-to-UE relay discovery response message using the discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0653] In some embodiments, if the verification of the UE-to-UE relay discovery response message is successful, the 5G ProSe UE-to-UE relay will modify the UE-to-UE relay discovery response message to include the user information ID of the 5G ProSe UE-to-UE relay.

[0654] In some embodiments, if the announcement prohibition indication information is not included in the U2U relay discovery response message, the U2U relay will associate and store the RSC and the protected information of the discoverer UE, which can be part of the candidate list included in the announcement message for U2U relay model A discovery.

[0655] In some embodiments, the UE-to-UE Relay Discovery Response message is protected using security material associated with the RSC.

[0656] In some embodiments, the 5G ProSe UE-to-UE relay sends a UE-to-UE relay discovery response message to the discoverer 5G ProSe end UE.

[0657] In some embodiments, upon receiving the UE-to-UE relay discovery response message, the discoverer 5G ProSe end UE will process the UE-to-UE relay discovery response message using the discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0658] In some embodiments, if the verification of the UE-to-UE relay discovery response message is successful, the discoverer 5G ProSe end UE will extract the protected direct discovery set from the UE-to-UE relay discovery response message and process the direct discovery set using the discovery security material associated with the 5G ProSe direct discovery service.

[0659] Example 2:

[0660] A communication system is provided. As shown in FIG7b , an embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method, the method comprising:

[0661] Step S7201: Send a request message.

[0662] In some embodiments, the discoverer 5G ProSe UE should use the discovery security material associated with the 5G ProSe direct discovery service to protect the information of the discoverer 5G ProSe UE and the information of the discoverer 5G ProSe UE to obtain a direct discovery set (corresponding to the first set).

[0663] In some embodiments, the direct discovery set should include the protected information of the discoverer UE (e.g., the user information ID of the discoverer 5G ProSe UE) and the protected information of the discoverer UE (e.g., the user information ID of the discoverer 5G ProSe UE).

[0664] In some embodiments, the discoverer 5G ProSe UE includes a protected direct discovery set in a request message (corresponding to the first message) and uses the discovery security material associated with the RSC to protect the request message. The request message is sent to the 5G ProSe UE-to-UE relay.

[0665] Step S7202: Send a request message.

[0666] In some embodiments, upon receiving a request message from the discoverer 5G ProSe end UE, the 5G ProSe UE-to-UE relay will process the received UE-to-UE relay discovery request message using the discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0667] In some embodiments, if the verification request message is successful, the 5G ProSe UE-to-UE relay will modify the request message to include the user information ID of the 5G ProSe UE-to-UE relay.

[0668] In some embodiments, the modified request message (corresponding to the second message) is protected using security material associated with the RSC.

[0669] In some embodiments, the 5G ProSe UE-to-UE relay sends the modified request message to the discovered 5G ProSe end UE.

[0670] Step S7203: Send a response message.

[0671] In some embodiments, the discoverer 5G ProSe end UE will use the discovery security material associated with the RSC to process the received request message.

[0672] In some embodiments, if the verification request message is successful, the discoverer 5G ProSe end UE will extract the protected direct discovery set from the request message and process the direct discovery set using the discovery security material associated with the 5G ProSe direct discovery service.

[0673] In some embodiments, the discoverer 5G ProSe end UE should use the discovery security material associated with the 5G ProSe direct discovery service to protect the direct discovery set.

[0674] In some embodiments, the protected direct discovery set should include the protected information of the discoverer UE (eg, the user information ID of the discoverer 5G ProSe UE) and the protected information of the discoverer UE (eg, the user information ID of the discoverer 5G ProSe UE).

[0675] In some embodiments, the discoverer 5G ProSe end UE will include a protected direct discovery set in the UE-to-UE relay discovery response message and use the discovery security material associated with the RSC to protect the UE-to-UE relay discovery response message.

[0676] In some embodiments, the discovered 5G ProSe UE replies to the 5G ProSe UE-to-UE relay with a UE-to-UE relay discovery response message.

[0677] Step S7204: Send a response message.

[0678] In some embodiments, upon receiving a UE-to-UE relay discovery response message (corresponding to the third message) from the discoverer 5G ProSe end UE, the 5G ProSe UE-to-UE relay will process the received UE-to-UE relay discovery response message using the discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0679] In some embodiments, if the verification of the UE-to-UE relay discovery response message is successful, the 5G ProSe UE-to-UE relay will modify the UE-to-UE relay discovery response message to include the user information ID of the 5G ProSe UE-to-UE relay.

[0680] In some embodiments, if the verification is successful, the U2U relay will store the protected direct discovery set (including information of the discoverer UE and the discovered UE) and the associated RSC, which can be part of the candidate list included in the announcement message of the U2U relay model A discovery.

[0681] In some embodiments, the U2U relay stores the direct discovery set in the candidate list only when the UE-to-UE relay discovery response message does not include the announcement prohibition indication information provided by the discoverer-side UE, and the UE-to-UE relay discovery request message does not include the announcement prohibition indication information provided by the discoverer-side UE.

[0682] In some embodiments, the prohibition announcement indication information provided by the terminal UE is used to indicate that the U2U relay cannot announce the information of the terminal UE when performing the U2U relay discovery model A process.

[0683] In some embodiments, the UE-to-UE Relay Discovery Response message is protected using security material associated with the RSC.

[0684] In some embodiments, the 5G ProSe UE-to-UE relay sends a UE-to-UE relay discovery response message to the discoverer 5G ProSe end UE.

[0685] In some embodiments, upon receiving the UE-to-UE relay discovery response message, the discoverer 5G ProSe end UE will process the UE-to-UE relay discovery response message using the discovery security material associated with the RSC.

[0686] In some embodiments, if the verification of the UE-to-UE relay discovery response message is successful, the discoverer 5G ProSe end UE will extract the protected direct discovery set from the UE-to-UE relay discovery response message and process the direct discovery set using the discovery security material associated with the 5G ProSe direct discovery service.

[0687] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, some or all of the steps and their optional implementations may be arbitrarily combined with some or all of the steps in other embodiments, or may be arbitrarily combined with the optional implementations of other embodiments.

[0688] The embodiments of the present disclosure further provide an apparatus for implementing any of the above methods. For example, an apparatus is provided, comprising units or modules for implementing each step performed by a terminal in any of the above methods. For another example, another apparatus is provided, comprising units or modules for implementing each step performed by a network device (e.g., an access network device, a core network function node, a core network device, etc.) in any of the above methods.

[0689] It should be understood that the division of the various units or modules in the above device is merely a division of logical functions. In actual implementation, they may be fully or partially integrated into a physical entity, or they may be physically separated. In addition, the units or modules in the device may be implemented in the form of a processor calling software: for example, the device includes a processor, the processor is connected to a memory, and the memory stores instructions. The processor calls the instructions stored in the memory to implement any of the above methods or implement the functions of the various units or modules of the above device, wherein the processor is, for example, a general-purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU) or a microprocessor, and the memory is a memory within the device or a memory outside the device. Alternatively, the units or modules in the device can be implemented in the form of hardware circuits, and the functions of some or all of the units or modules can be realized by designing the hardware circuits. The above-mentioned hardware circuits can be understood as one or more processors; for example, in one implementation, the above-mentioned hardware circuit is an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), which realizes the functions of some or all of the above units or modules by designing the logical relationship of the components in the circuit; for example, in another implementation, the above-mentioned hardware circuit can be realized by a programmable logic device (PLD). Taking a field programmable gate array (FPGA) as an example, it can include a large number of logic gate circuits, and the connection relationship between the logic gate circuits is configured by configuring the configuration file, thereby realizing the functions of some or all of the above units or modules. All units or modules of the above devices can be realized in the form of software called by the processor, or in the form of hardware circuits, or in part by the form of software called by the processor, and the rest by hardware circuits.

[0690] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the processor is a circuit with signal processing capabilities. In one implementation, the processor can be a circuit with instruction reading and execution capabilities, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a graphics processing unit (GPU) (which can be understood as a microprocessor), or a digital signal processor (DSP). In another implementation, the processor can implement certain functions through the logical relationship of a hardware circuit. The logical relationship of the above-mentioned hardware circuit is fixed or reconfigurable. For example, the processor is a hardware circuit implemented by an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a programmable logic device (PLD), such as an FPGA. In a reconfigurable hardware circuit, the process of the processor loading a configuration document to implement the hardware circuit configuration can be understood as the process of the processor loading instructions to implement the functions of some or all of the above units or modules. In addition, it can also be a hardware circuit designed for artificial intelligence, which can be understood as ASIC, such as a neural network processing unit (NPU), a tensor processing unit (TPU), a deep learning processing unit (DPU), etc.

[0691] Figure 8a is a schematic diagram of the structure of the first terminal proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 8a, the first terminal 8100 may include: at least one of a transceiver module 8101, a processing module 8102, etc. In some embodiments, the transceiver module is used to send and receive information. Optionally, the transceiver module is used to perform at least one of the communication steps such as sending and / or receiving performed by the first terminal in any of the above methods, which will not be repeated here. Optionally, the processing module is used to perform at least one of the other steps performed by the first terminal in any of the above methods, which will not be repeated here.

[0692] Figure 8b is a schematic diagram of the structure of the first relay proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 8b, the first relay 8200 may include: at least one of a transceiver module 8201, a processing module 8202, etc. In some embodiments, the transceiver module is used to send and receive information. Optionally, the transceiver module is used to perform at least one of the communication steps such as sending and / or receiving performed by the first relay in any of the above methods, which will not be repeated here. Optionally, the processing module is used to perform at least one of the other steps performed by the first relay in any of the above methods, which will not be repeated here.

[0693] Figure 8c is a schematic diagram of the structure of the second terminal proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 8c, the second terminal 8300 may include: at least one of a transceiver module 8301, a processing module 8302, etc. In some embodiments, the above-mentioned transceiver module is used to send and receive information. Optionally, the above-mentioned transceiver module is used to perform at least one of the communication steps such as sending and / or receiving performed by the second terminal in any of the above methods, which will not be repeated here. In some embodiments, the transceiver module may include a sending module and / or a receiving module, and the sending module and the receiving module may be separate or integrated together. Optionally, the transceiver module can be interchangeable with the transceiver.

[0694] In some embodiments, the processing module can be a single module or include multiple submodules. Optionally, the multiple submodules each execute all or part of the steps required to be executed by the processing module. Optionally, the processing module and the processor can be interchangeable.

[0695] Figure 9a is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 9100 proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. Communication device 9100 can be a network device (e.g., an access network device, a core network device, etc.), a terminal (e.g., a user equipment, etc.), a chip, a chip system, or a processor that supports a network device to implement any of the above methods, or a chip, a chip system, or a processor that supports a terminal to implement any of the above methods. Communication device 9100 can be used to implement the methods described in the above method embodiments. For details, please refer to the description of the above method embodiments.

[0696] As shown in Figure 9a, the communication device 9100 includes one or more processors 9101. The processor 9101 can be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor, for example, a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor can be used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processing unit can be used to control the communication device (such as a base station, baseband chip, terminal device, terminal device chip, DU or CU, etc.), execute programs, and process program data. The communication device 9100 is used to perform any of the above methods.

[0697] In some embodiments, the communication device 9100 further includes one or more memories 9102 for storing instructions. Optionally, all or part of the memories 9102 may be located outside the communication device 9100.

[0698] In some embodiments, the communication device 9100 further includes one or more transceivers 9103. When the communication device 9100 includes one or more transceivers 9103, the transceiver 9103 performs at least one of the communication steps such as sending and / or receiving in the above method (for example, step S2101 and step S3101, but not limited thereto), and the processor 9101 performs at least one of the other steps (for example, step S2102 and step S3102, but not limited thereto).

[0699] In some embodiments, a transceiver may include a receiver and / or a transmitter. The receiver and transmitter may be separate or integrated. Optionally, the terms transceiver, transceiver unit, transceiver, and transceiver circuit may be used interchangeably; the terms transmitter, transmitting unit, transmitter, and transmitting circuit may be used interchangeably; and the terms receiver, receiving unit, receiver, and receiving circuit may be used interchangeably.

[0700] In some embodiments, the communication device 9100 may include one or more interface circuits 9104. Optionally, the interface circuit 9104 is connected to the memory 9102. The interface circuit 9104 may be configured to receive signals from the memory 9102 or other devices, and may be configured to send signals to the memory 9102 or other devices. For example, the interface circuit 9104 may read instructions stored in the memory 9102 and send the instructions to the processor 9101.

[0701] The communication device 9100 described in the above embodiment may be a network device or a terminal, but the scope of the communication device 9100 described in the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the structure of the communication device 9100 may not be limited by FIG. 9a. The communication device may be an independent device or may be part of a larger device. For example, the communication device may be: 1) an independent integrated circuit IC, or a chip, or a chip system or subsystem; (2) a collection of one or more ICs, optionally, the above IC collection may also include a storage component for storing data or programs; (3) an ASIC, such as a modem; (4) a module that can be embedded in other devices; (5) a receiver, a terminal device, an intelligent terminal device, a cellular phone, a wireless device, a handheld device, a mobile unit, an in-vehicle device, a network device, a cloud device, an artificial intelligence device, etc.; (6) others, etc.

[0702] FIG9 b is a schematic diagram of the structure of a chip 9200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. If the communication device 8100 can be a chip or a chip system, reference can be made to the schematic diagram of the structure of the chip 9200 shown in FIG9 b , but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0703] The chip 9200 includes one or more processors 9201 , and the chip 9200 is configured to execute any of the above methods.

[0704] In some embodiments, the chip 9200 further includes one or more interface circuits 9202. Optionally, the interface circuit 9202 is connected to the memory 9203. The interface circuit 9202 can be used to receive signals from the memory 9203 or other devices, and can be used to send signals to the memory 9203 or other devices. For example, the interface circuit 9202 can read instructions stored in the memory 9203 and send the instructions to the processor 9201.

[0705] In some embodiments, the interface circuit 9202 performs at least one of the communication steps such as sending and / or receiving in the above method (for example, step S2101, step S3101, but not limited to this), and the processor 9201 performs at least one of the other steps (for example, step S2102, step S3102, but not limited to this).

[0706] In some embodiments, terms such as interface circuit, interface, transceiver pin, and transceiver may be used interchangeably.

[0707] In some embodiments, the chip 9200 further includes one or more memories 9203 for storing instructions. Alternatively, all or part of the memories 9203 may be located outside the chip 9200.

[0708] The present disclosure also proposes a storage medium having instructions stored thereon, which, when executed on the communication device 9100, causes the communication device 9100 to execute any of the above methods. Optionally, the storage medium is an electronic storage medium. Optionally, the storage medium is a computer-readable storage medium, but is not limited thereto and may also be a storage medium readable by other devices. Optionally, the storage medium may be a non-transitory storage medium, but is not limited thereto and may also be a temporary storage medium.

[0709] The present disclosure also provides a program product, which, when executed by the communication device 9100, enables the communication device 9100 to perform any of the above methods. Optionally, the program product is a computer program product.

[0710] The present disclosure also proposes a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform any one of the above methods.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method is performed by a first terminal, and includes: Sending a first message to a first relay; Among them, the first relay is used for discovery communication between the first terminal and the second terminal; the first message contains protected information of the first terminal and / or the second terminal; and the protected information is used for inter-terminal relay model A discovery.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The protected information includes at least one of the following: first protected information of the first terminal; second protected information of the second terminal; The third protected information of the first terminal and the second terminal.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The protected information is used to be added to a candidate list in an announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The first message does not include announcement prohibition indication information, and the first protected information is used to be added to a candidate list in an announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The protected information is obtained by protecting the information based on discovery security material associated with the ProSe direct discovery service.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The method further comprises: Protecting the first identifier of the first terminal based on the discovery security material associated with the ProSe direct discovery service to obtain first protected information; Protecting the second identifier of the second terminal based on the discovery security material associated with the ProSe direct discovery service to obtain second protected information; The first identifier of the first terminal and the second identifier of the second terminal are protected based on the discovery security material associated with the proximity service ProSe direct discovery service to obtain third protected information.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first message is protected based on discovery security material associated with a relay service code RSC.

8. A communication method, characterized in that: The method is performed by a first relay, and the method includes: receiving a first message sent by a first terminal; Among them, the first relay is used for discovery communication between the first terminal and the second terminal; the first message contains protected information of the first terminal and / or the second terminal; and the protected information is used for inter-terminal relay model A discovery.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The first message is protected based on security material associated with the RSC; the method further comprising: The first message is authenticated based on the discovered security material associated with the RSC.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The method further comprises: Determine that verification of the first message is successful, and generate a second message based on the first message; protecting the second message based on security material associated with the RSC; Sending the second message to the second terminal.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving a third message sent by the second terminal; The third message indicates the protected information.

12. The method according to claim 8 or 11, characterized in that: The protected information includes at least one of the following: first protected information of the first terminal; second protected information of the second terminal; The third protected information of the first terminal and the second terminal.

13. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 12, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The protected information is added to a candidate list in an announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that The step of adding the protected information to a candidate list in an announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A comprises one of the following: Determining that the first message does not include announcement prohibition indication information, and adding the first protected information to a candidate list in the announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A; Determining that the third message does not include announcement prohibition indication information, and adding the second protected information to a candidate list in the announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A; Determine that the first message does not include announcement prohibition indication information and the third message does not include announcement prohibition indication information, The third protected information is added to the candidate list in the announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that The step of adding the protected information to a candidate list in an announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A comprises: The protected information and the associated RSC are added to the candidate list in the announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

16. A communication method, characterized in that: The method is performed by a second terminal, and the method includes: receiving a second message sent by the first relay; Among them, the first relay is used for discovery communication between the first terminal and the second terminal; the second message contains protected information of the first terminal and / or the second terminal; and the protected information is used for inter-terminal relay model A discovery.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The protected information is used to be added to a candidate list in an announcement message discovered by the inter-terminal relay model A.

18. The method according to claim 16 or 17, characterized in that: The second message is protected based on the discovery security material associated with the RSC; the method further comprising: The second message is authenticated based on discovery security material associated with the RSC.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that The method further comprises: Determining that verification of the second message is successful, and generating a third message based on the second message; The third message is sent to the first relay, wherein the third message includes the protected information.

20. The method according to claim 16 or 19, characterized in that The protected information includes at least one of the following: first protected information of the first terminal; second protected information of the second terminal; The third protected information of the first terminal and the second terminal.

21. The method according to claim 19 or 20, wherein: The third message does not include announcement prohibition indication information, and the second protected information is used to be added to the candidate list in the announcement message discovered by the terminal-to-terminal relay model A.

22. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 21, characterized in that The method further comprises: The protected information is obtained by protecting the information based on the discovery security material associated with the ProSe direct discovery service.

23. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that The protecting information based on the discovery security material associated with the ProSe direct discovery service to obtain the protected information includes: Protecting the first identifier of the first terminal based on the discovery security material associated with the ProSe direct discovery service to obtain first protected information; The second identifier of the second terminal is protected based on the discovery security material associated with the proximity service ProSe direct discovery service to obtain second protected information.

24. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that The protecting information based on the discovery security material associated with the ProSe direct discovery service to obtain the protected information includes: Based on the discovery security material associated with the ProSe direct discovery service, the first identifier of the first terminal and the second identifier of the second terminal are protected at the same time to obtain third protected information.

25. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: The first terminal sends a first message to the first relay; Among them, the first relay is used for discovery communication between the first terminal and the second terminal; the first message contains protected information of the first terminal and / or the second terminal; and the protected information is used for inter-terminal relay model A discovery.

26. A first terminal, characterized in that: The first terminal includes: The transceiver module is configured as follows: Sending a first message to a first relay; Among them, the first relay is used for discovery communication between the first terminal and the second terminal; the first message contains protected information of the first terminal and / or the second terminal; and the protected information is used for inter-terminal relay model A discovery.

27. A first relay, characterized in that: The first relay comprises: The transceiver module is configured as follows: receiving a first message sent by a first terminal; Among them, the first relay is used for discovery communication between the first terminal and the second terminal; the first message contains protected information of the first terminal and / or the second terminal; and the protected information is used for inter-terminal relay model A discovery.

28. A second terminal, characterized in that: The second terminal includes: The transceiver module is configured as follows: receiving a second message sent by the first relay; Among them, the first relay is used for discovery communication between the first terminal and the second terminal; the second message contains protected information of the first terminal and / or the second terminal; and the protected information is used for inter-terminal relay model A discovery.

29. A communication system, characterized in that: The communication system includes a first terminal, a first relay, and a second terminal; the first terminal is configured to implement the method described in any one of claims 1 to 7, and the first relay is configured to implement the method described in any one of claims 8 to 15; the second terminal is configured to implement the method described in any one of claims 16 to 24.

30. A first terminal, characterized in that: The first terminal includes: one or more processors; The first terminal is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

31. A first relay, characterized in that: The first relay comprises: one or more processors; The first relay is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 8 to 15.

32. A second terminal, characterized in that: The second terminal includes: one or more processors; The second terminal is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 16 to 24.

33. A storage medium, characterized in that: The storage medium stores instructions, and when the instructions are executed on a communication device, the communication device executes the method of any one of claims 1 to 7, claims 8 to 15, or claims 16 to 24.

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