Communication method and related apparatus

Abstract

The present application discloses a communication method and a related apparatus. The communication method comprises: a first network element sending first indication information to a first access network device, the first indication information being used by the first access network device to feed back one or more pieces of first auxiliary information after receiving the first indication information, and the first auxiliary information being used to indicate expected transmission time information of a first quality of service (QoS) flow; the first network element receiving the one or more pieces of first auxiliary information sent by the first access network device, the one or more pieces of first auxiliary information being used to determine a burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and a burst arrival time of a second QoS flow, and the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow being used to transmit the same service. The embodiments of the present application can cooperatively schedule resources for service flows in a UE-UE communication scenario, thereby reducing communication delay.

Description

A communication method and related device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on December 25, 2023, with application number 202311813249.X, and priority to the Chinese patent application entitled “A communication method and related devices”, all contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

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

[0003] In user equipment (UE)-UE communication scenarios, the user plane function (UPF) network element forwards data sent by one UE to another UE instead of sending it directly to the data network (DN). Forwarding UE traffic requires the radio access network (RAN) equipment to allocate scheduling resources to the UEs. When the RAN equipment needs to allocate scheduling resources to multiple UEs simultaneously, there will be problems with coordinating scheduling resources for different UEs. Inappropriate scheduling resources can increase the latency of UE-UE communication. Therefore, how to schedule resources for UEs in this scenario to reduce communication latency is a problem that needs to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and related devices that can coordinate resource scheduling for service flows in UE-UE communication scenarios, thereby reducing communication latency.

[0005] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, applied to a first network element; the method includes:

[0006] Sending first indication information to the first access network device; the first indication information is used for the first access network device to feedback one or more first auxiliary information after receiving the first indication information; the first auxiliary information is used to indicate the expected transmission time information of the first quality of service QoS flow;

[0007] Receive one or more first auxiliary information sent by the first access network device; the one or more first auxiliary information are used to determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow; the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used to transmit the same service.

[0008] It can be seen that in an embodiment of the present application, the first network element may, when determining that the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used for communication between UEs, send a first indication message to the first access network device to instruct the first access network device to feedback one or more first auxiliary information expected about the first QoS flow. In this way, by feeding back one or more auxiliary information expected about the first QoS flow through negotiation, the network side network element (for example, the first network element) can determine the burst arrival time for the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow transmitting the same service based on the one or more first auxiliary information, so that the first access network device can coordinately schedule resources for the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow to ensure that the interval between the arrival time and the transmission opportunity of the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow is small, thereby reducing the UE-UE communication delay.

[0009] In a possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0010] Sending second indication information to the second access network device; the second indication information is used for the second access network device to feedback one or more second auxiliary information after receiving the second indication information; the second auxiliary information is used to indicate the expected transmission time information of the second QoS flow;

[0011] Receive one or more second auxiliary information sent by the second access network device; the one or more second auxiliary information is used to jointly determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow with the one or more first auxiliary information.

[0012] In this implementation, upon determining that the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used for UE-UE communication, the first network element may send first indication information to the first access network device to instruct the first access network device to feedback one or more first auxiliary information expected for the first QoS flow; and send second indication information to the second access network device to instruct the second access network device to feedback one or more second auxiliary information expected for the second QoS flow. In this way, by feeding back the one or more first auxiliary information expected for the first QoS flow and the one or more second auxiliary information expected for the second QoS flow through negotiation, the network-side network element (e.g., the first network element) may determine the burst arrival time for the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow transmitting the same service based on the one or more first auxiliary information and the one or more second auxiliary information, thereby enabling the first access network device to co-schedule resources for the first QoS flow and the second access network device to co-schedule resources for the second QoS flow, ensuring a small interval between the arrival time and transmission opportunity of the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow, thereby reducing UE-UE communication latency.

[0013] In a possible implementation manner, the first access network device and the second access network device are the same access network device or different access network devices.

[0014] In this implementation, the first network element may send indication information based on QoS flow granularity. Upon receiving the indication information, the access network device may feed back one or more auxiliary information based on the QoS flow granularity.

[0015] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information or the second indication information is sent by the first network element when it determines that the service is used for communication between two end devices.

[0016] In this implementation, the first network element can perceive that the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used for communication between UE-UE, thereby sending a first indication message to the first access network device, or sending a second indication message to the second access network device to instruct the access network device to feedback one or more auxiliary information expected about the QoS flow.

[0017] In a possible implementation, before sending the first indication information to the first access network device, the method further includes:

[0018] receiving first indication information from a second network element;

[0019] Before sending the second indication information to the second access network device, the method further includes:

[0020] Receive second indication information from the second network element.

[0021] In this implementation, the first indication information and the second indication information sent by the first network element may come from the second network element respectively.

[0022] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information or the second indication information is sent by the second network element to the first network element when the second network element determines that the service is used for communication between two end devices.

[0023] In this implementation, the second network element can determine that the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used for communication between UE-UE through the relevant information of the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow, thereby sending the first indication information to the first access network device through the first network element, and sending the second indication information to the second access network device through the first network element to instruct the access network device to feedback the expected one or more auxiliary information of the corresponding QoS flow.

[0024] In a possible implementation, the first auxiliary information includes one or more of a burst arrival time expected by the first QoS flow, a burst arrival time offset expected by the first QoS flow, a range to which the burst arrival time expected by the first QoS flow belongs, and a range to which the burst arrival time offset expected by the first QoS flow belongs;

[0025] The second auxiliary information includes one or more of the burst arrival time expected by the second QoS flow, the burst arrival time offset expected by the second QoS flow, the range to which the burst arrival time expected by the second QoS flow belongs, and the range to which the burst arrival time offset expected by the second QoS flow belongs.

[0026] In this implementation, the first network element may receive one or more of the following: multiple expected burst arrival times, multiple burst arrival time offsets, ranges to which one or more burst arrival times belong, and ranges to which one or more burst arrival time offsets belong, regarding the first QoS flow, fed back by the first access network device. The first network element may receive one or more of the following: multiple expected burst arrival times, multiple burst arrival time offsets, ranges to which one or more burst arrival times belong, and ranges to which one or more burst arrival time offsets belong, regarding the second QoS flow, fed back by the second access network device.

[0027] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, applied to a first access network device; the method includes:

[0028] receiving first indication information sent by the first network element; the first indication information is used for the first access network device to feedback one or more first auxiliary information after receiving the first indication information; the first auxiliary information is used to indicate the expected transmission time information of the first QoS flow;

[0029] One or more first auxiliary information are sent to the first network element; the one or more first auxiliary information are used to determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow; the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used to transmit the same service.

[0030] It can be seen that in the embodiment of the present application, when the first network element determines that the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used for communication between UEs, the first access network device can receive the first indication information sent by the first network element, and the first access network device can feedback one or more first auxiliary information expected about the first QoS flow. In this way, by feeding back one or more auxiliary information expected about the first QoS flow through negotiation, the network side network element (for example, the first network element) can determine the burst arrival time for the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow transmitting the same service based on the one or more first auxiliary information, so that the first access network device can coordinately schedule resources for the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow to ensure that the interval between the arrival time and the transmission opportunity of the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow is small, thereby reducing the UE-UE communication delay.

[0031] In a possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0032] receiving second indication information sent by the first network element; the second indication information is used for the first access network device to feedback one or more second auxiliary information after receiving the second indication information; the second auxiliary information is used to indicate the expected transmission time information of the second QoS flow;

[0033] One or more second auxiliary information are sent to the first network element; the one or more second auxiliary information are used to jointly determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow with the one or more first auxiliary information.

[0034] In this implementation, when the first network element determines that the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used for communication between UEs, the first access network device may also receive the second indication information sent by the first network element, and the second access network device may feedback one or more second auxiliary information expected for the second QoS flow. In this way, by feeding back one or more second auxiliary information expected for the second QoS flow through negotiation, the network side network element (for example, the first network element) may determine the burst arrival time for the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow transmitting the same service based on the one or more first auxiliary information and the one or more second auxiliary information, so that the first access network device coordinates the scheduling of resources for the first QoS flow and the second access network device coordinates the scheduling of resources for the second QoS flow, so as to ensure that the interval between the arrival time and the transmission opportunity of the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow is small, thereby reducing the communication delay between UEs.

[0035] In a possible implementation, after receiving the first indication information and the second indication information sent by the first network element, the method further includes:

[0036] Sending the first indication information to the first terminal device, and sending the second indication information to the second terminal device; the first QoS flow is used to transmit the service flow of the first terminal device; the second QoS flow is used to transmit the service flow of the second terminal device;

[0037] Receive one or more first auxiliary information sent by the first terminal device, and receive one or more second auxiliary information sent by the second terminal device.

[0038] In this implementation, a first indication message may be sent to a first terminal device via a first access network device to instruct the first terminal device to feed back one or more first auxiliary information expected for a first QoS flow. A second indication message may also be sent to a second terminal device via a second access network device to instruct the second terminal device to feed back one or more second auxiliary information expected for a second QoS flow. Based on the one or more first auxiliary information and the one or more second auxiliary information, the network side may determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow.

[0039] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information or the second indication information is sent by the first network element when it determines that the service is used for communication between two end devices.

[0040] In this implementation, the first access network device may receive the first indication information or the second indication information when the first network element perceives that the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used for communication between UEs.

[0041] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information or the second indication information is sent by the second network element to the first network element.

[0042] In this implementation, the first indication information and the second indication information sent by the first network element may come from the second network element respectively.

[0043] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information or the second indication information is sent by the second network element to the first network element when the second network element determines that the service is used for communication between two end devices.

[0044] In a possible implementation, the first auxiliary information includes one or more of a burst arrival time expected by the first QoS flow, a burst arrival time offset expected by the first QoS flow, a range to which the burst arrival time expected by the first QoS flow belongs, and a range to which the burst arrival time offset expected by the first QoS flow belongs;

[0045] The second auxiliary information includes one or more of the burst arrival time expected by the second QoS flow, the burst arrival time offset expected by the second QoS flow, the range to which the burst arrival time expected by the second QoS flow belongs, and the range to which the burst arrival time offset expected by the second QoS flow belongs.

[0046] In this implementation, the first access network device may feed back one or more of the following: multiple burst arrival times expected for the first QoS flow, multiple burst arrival time offsets, a range to which one or more burst arrival times belong, and a range to which one or more burst arrival time offsets belong, to the first network element for selection by the network side. The second access network device may feed back one or more of the following: multiple burst arrival times expected for the second QoS flow, multiple burst arrival time offsets, a range to which one or more burst arrival times belong, and a range to which one or more burst arrival time offsets belong, to the first network element for selection by the network side.

[0047] In one possible implementation, one or more first auxiliary information are used together with one or more second auxiliary information to determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow; one or more second auxiliary information are sent by the second access network device when it receives the second indication information from the first network element; the second auxiliary information is used to indicate the expected transmission time information of the second QoS flow.

[0048] In this implementation, when the first access network device is only connected to the first terminal device, the first network element can also receive one or more second auxiliary information fed back by the second access network device. The network side jointly determines the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow based on the one or more first auxiliary information and the one or more second auxiliary information.

[0049] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, applied to a second network element; the method includes:

[0050] Sending first indication information to the first terminal device; the first indication information is used for the first terminal device to send one or more first auxiliary information after receiving the first indication information; the first auxiliary information is used to indicate the expected transmission time information of the first QoS flow; the first QoS flow is used to transmit the service flow of the first terminal device;

[0051] Receive one or more first auxiliary information sent by the first terminal device; the one or more first auxiliary information are used to determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow; the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used to transmit the same service.

[0052] It can be seen that in an embodiment of the present application, the second network element may, when determining that the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used for communication between UE-UE, send a first indication message to the first terminal device to instruct the first terminal device to feedback one or more first auxiliary information expected about the first QoS flow. In this way, by feeding back one or more auxiliary information expected about the first QoS flow through negotiation, the network side network element (for example, the first network element) can determine the burst arrival time for the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow transmitting the same service based on the one or more first auxiliary information, so that the first access network device can coordinately schedule resources for the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow to ensure that the interval between the arrival time and the transmission opportunity of the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow is small, thereby reducing the UE-UE communication delay.

[0053] In a possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0054] Sending second indication information to the second terminal device; the second indication information is used for the second terminal device to send one or more second auxiliary information after receiving the second indication information; the second auxiliary information is used to indicate the expected transmission time information of the second QoS flow; the second QoS flow is used to transmit the service flow of the second terminal device;

[0055] Receive one or more second auxiliary information sent by the second terminal device; the one or more second auxiliary information are used to jointly determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow with the one or more first auxiliary information.

[0056] In this implementation, the second network element may, upon determining that the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used for UE-UE communication, send first indication information to the first terminal device to instruct the first terminal device to feedback one or more first auxiliary information expected about the first QoS flow; and send second indication information to the second terminal device to instruct the second terminal device to feedback one or more second auxiliary information expected about the second QoS flow. In this way, by feeding back the one or more first auxiliary information expected about the first QoS flow and the one or more second auxiliary information expected about the second QoS flow through negotiation, the network-side network element (e.g., the second network element) may determine the burst arrival time for the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow transmitting the same service based on the one or more first auxiliary information and the one or more second auxiliary information, thereby enabling the first access network device to co-schedule resources for the first QoS flow and the second access network device to co-schedule resources for the second QoS flow, ensuring that the interval between the arrival time and the transmission opportunity of the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow is small, thereby reducing UE-UE communication latency.

[0057] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information or the second indication information is sent by the second network element when it is determined that the service is used for communication between two end devices.

[0058] In this implementation, the second network element can determine that the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used for communication between UEs through the relevant information of the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow, thereby sending a first indication information to the first terminal device and sending a second indication information to the second terminal device to instruct the terminal device to feedback one or more auxiliary information expected for the corresponding QoS flow.

[0059] In a possible implementation, the first auxiliary information includes one or more of a burst arrival time expected by the first QoS flow, a burst arrival time offset expected by the first QoS flow, a range to which the burst arrival time expected by the first QoS flow belongs, and a range to which the burst arrival time offset expected by the first QoS flow belongs;

[0060] The second auxiliary information includes one or more of the burst arrival time expected by the second QoS flow, the burst arrival time offset expected by the second QoS flow, the range to which the burst arrival time expected by the second QoS flow belongs, and the range to which the burst arrival time offset expected by the second QoS flow belongs.

[0061] In this implementation, the first terminal device may feed back one or more of the expected multiple burst arrival times, multiple burst arrival time offsets, the range to which one or more burst arrival times belong, and the range to which one or more burst arrival time offsets belong regarding the first QoS flow to the second network element for selection by the network side. The second terminal device may feed back one or more of the expected multiple burst arrival times, multiple burst arrival time offsets, the range to which one or more burst arrival times belong, and the range to which one or more burst arrival time offsets belong regarding the second QoS flow to the second network element for selection by the network side.

[0062] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, applied to a first terminal device; the method includes:

[0063] Receiving first indication information sent by a first access network device or a second network element; the first indication information is used for the first terminal device to send one or more first auxiliary information after receiving the first indication information; the first auxiliary information is used to indicate expected transmission time information of the first QoS flow; the first QoS flow is used to transmit the service flow of the first terminal device;

[0064] One or more first auxiliary information are sent to the first access network device or the second network element; the one or more first auxiliary information are used to determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow; the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used to transmit the same service.

[0065] It can be seen that in the embodiment of the present application, when the second network element determines that the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used for communication between UEs, the first terminal device can receive the first indication information sent by the second network element, thereby feeding back one or more first auxiliary information expected about the first QoS flow. In this way, by feeding back one or more auxiliary information expected about the first QoS flow through negotiation, the network side network element (for example, the second network element) can determine the burst arrival time for the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow transmitting the same service based on the one or more first auxiliary information, so that the access network device accessed by the first terminal device can coordinately schedule resources for the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow to ensure that the interval between the arrival time and the transmission opportunity of the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow is small, thereby reducing the communication delay between UEs.

[0066] In one possible implementation, one or more first auxiliary information are used together with one or more second auxiliary information to determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow; the one or more second auxiliary information are sent by the second terminal device; the second auxiliary information is used to indicate the expected transmission time information of the second QoS flow; the second QoS flow is used to transmit the service flow of the second terminal device.

[0067] In this implementation, the second network element can also receive one or more second auxiliary information fed back by the second terminal device, and the network side jointly determines the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow based on one or more first auxiliary information and one or more second auxiliary information.

[0068] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information is sent by the second network element when it is determined that the service is used for communication between two end devices.

[0069] In this implementation, the second network element can determine that the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used for communication between UE-UE through the relevant information of the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow, and thereby send a first indication information to the first terminal device to instruct the first terminal device to feedback one or more expected first auxiliary information about the first QoS flow.

[0070] In a possible implementation, the first auxiliary information includes one or more of a burst arrival time expected by the first QoS flow, a burst arrival time offset expected by the first QoS flow, a range to which the burst arrival time expected by the first QoS flow belongs, and a range to which the burst arrival time offset expected by the first QoS flow belongs;

[0071] The second auxiliary information includes one or more of the burst arrival time expected by the second QoS flow, the burst arrival time offset expected by the second QoS flow, the range to which the burst arrival time expected by the second QoS flow belongs, and the range to which the burst arrival time offset expected by the second QoS flow belongs.

[0072] In this implementation, the first terminal device may feed back one or more of the expected multiple burst arrival times, multiple burst arrival time offsets, the range to which one or more burst arrival times belong, and the range to which one or more burst arrival time offsets belong regarding the first QoS flow to the second network element for selection by the network side. The second terminal device may feed back one or more of the expected multiple burst arrival times, multiple burst arrival time offsets, the range to which one or more burst arrival times belong, and the range to which one or more burst arrival time offsets belong regarding the second QoS flow to the second network element for selection by the network side.

[0073] In the fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which is applied to a first network element; the device includes a first transceiver unit; the first transceiver unit is used to send a first indication message to a first access network device; the first indication message is used for the first access network device to feedback one or more first auxiliary information after receiving the first indication message; the first auxiliary information is used to indicate the expected transmission time information of the first quality of service QoS flow; receive one or more first auxiliary information sent by the first access network device; one or more first auxiliary information are used to determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow; the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used to transmit the same service.

[0074] In one possible implementation, the first transceiver unit is also used to: send a second indication message to the second access network device; the second indication message is used for the second access network device to feedback one or more second auxiliary information after receiving the second indication message; the second auxiliary information is used to indicate the expected transmission time information of the second QoS flow; receive one or more second auxiliary information sent by the second access network device; the one or more second auxiliary information are used to jointly determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow together with one or more first auxiliary information.

[0075] In a possible implementation manner, the first access network device and the second access network device are the same access network device or different access network devices.

[0076] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information or the second indication information is sent by the first network element when it determines that the service is used for communication between two end devices.

[0077] In a possible implementation manner, the first transceiver unit is further configured to: receive first indication information from the second network element; and receive second indication information from the second network element.

[0078] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information or the second indication information is sent by the second network element to the first network element when the second network element determines that the service is used for communication between two end devices.

[0079] In a possible implementation, the first auxiliary information includes one or more of a burst arrival time expected by the first QoS flow, a burst arrival time offset expected by the first QoS flow, a range to which the burst arrival time expected by the first QoS flow belongs, and a range to which the burst arrival time offset expected by the first QoS flow belongs;

[0080] The second auxiliary information includes one or more of the burst arrival time expected by the second QoS flow, the burst arrival time offset expected by the second QoS flow, the range to which the burst arrival time expected by the second QoS flow belongs, and the range to which the burst arrival time offset expected by the second QoS flow belongs.

[0081] It should be understood that since the method embodiment and the device embodiment are different presentation forms of the same technical concept, the content of the first aspect of the embodiment of the present application should be simultaneously adapted to the fifth aspect of the embodiment of the present application, and can achieve the same or similar beneficial effects, and will not be repeated here.

[0082] In the sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which is applied to a first access network device; the device includes a second transceiver unit; the second transceiver unit is used to receive a first indication information sent by a first network element; the first indication information is used for the first access network device to feedback one or more first auxiliary information after receiving the first indication information; the first auxiliary information is used to indicate the expected transmission time information of the first QoS flow; one or more first auxiliary information is sent to the first network element; one or more first auxiliary information is used to determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow; the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used to transmit the same service.

[0083] In one possible implementation, the second transceiver unit is also used to: receive second indication information sent by the first network element; the second indication information is used for the first access network device to feedback one or more second auxiliary information after receiving the second indication information; the second auxiliary information is used to indicate the expected transmission time information of the second QoS flow; send one or more second auxiliary information to the first network element; the one or more second auxiliary information are used to jointly determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow together with one or more first auxiliary information.

[0084] In one possible implementation, the second transceiver unit is also used to: send the first indication information to the first terminal device, and send the second indication information to the second terminal device; the first QoS flow is used to transmit the service flow of the first terminal device; the second QoS flow is used to transmit the service flow of the second terminal device; receive one or more first auxiliary information sent by the first terminal device, and receive one or more second auxiliary information sent by the second terminal device.

[0085] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information or the second indication information is sent by the first network element when it determines that the service is used for communication between two end devices.

[0086] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information or the second indication information is sent by the second network element to the first network element.

[0087] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information or the second indication information is sent by the second network element to the first network element when the second network element determines that the service is used for communication between two end devices.

[0088] In a possible implementation, the first auxiliary information includes one or more of a burst arrival time expected by the first QoS flow, a burst arrival time offset expected by the first QoS flow, a range to which the burst arrival time expected by the first QoS flow belongs, and a range to which the burst arrival time offset expected by the first QoS flow belongs;

[0089] The second auxiliary information includes one or more of the burst arrival time expected by the second QoS flow, the burst arrival time offset expected by the second QoS flow, the range to which the burst arrival time expected by the second QoS flow belongs, and the range to which the burst arrival time offset expected by the second QoS flow belongs.

[0090] In one possible implementation, one or more first auxiliary information are used together with one or more second auxiliary information to determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow; one or more second auxiliary information are sent by the second access network device when it receives the second indication information from the first network element; the second auxiliary information is used to indicate the expected transmission time information of the second QoS flow.

[0091] It should be understood that since the method embodiment and the device embodiment are different presentation forms of the same technical concept, the content of the second aspect of the embodiment of the present application should be synchronously adapted to the sixth aspect of the embodiment of the present application, and can achieve the same or similar beneficial effects, and will not be repeated here.

[0092] In the seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which is applied to a second network element; the device includes a third transceiver unit; the third transceiver unit is used to send a first indication message to a first terminal device; the first indication message is used for the first terminal device to send one or more first auxiliary information after receiving the first indication message; the first auxiliary information is used to indicate the expected transmission time information of the first QoS flow; the first QoS flow is used to transmit the service flow of the first terminal device; receive one or more first auxiliary information sent by the first terminal device; one or more first auxiliary information are used to determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow; the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used to transmit the same service.

[0093] In one possible implementation, the third transceiver unit is also used to: send a second indication message to the second terminal device; the second indication message is used for the second terminal device to send one or more second auxiliary messages after receiving the second indication message; the second auxiliary message is used to indicate the expected transmission time information of the second QoS flow; the second QoS flow is used to transmit the service flow of the second terminal device; receive one or more second auxiliary messages sent by the second terminal device; the one or more second auxiliary messages are used to jointly determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow together with one or more first auxiliary messages.

[0094] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information or the second indication information is sent by the second network element when it is determined that the service is used for communication between two end devices.

[0095] In a possible implementation, the first auxiliary information includes one or more of a burst arrival time expected by the first QoS flow, a burst arrival time offset expected by the first QoS flow, a range to which the burst arrival time expected by the first QoS flow belongs, and a range to which the burst arrival time offset expected by the first QoS flow belongs;

[0096] The second auxiliary information includes one or more of the burst arrival time expected by the second QoS flow, the burst arrival time offset expected by the second QoS flow, the range to which the burst arrival time expected by the second QoS flow belongs, and the range to which the burst arrival time offset expected by the second QoS flow belongs.

[0097] It should be understood that since the method embodiment and the device embodiment are different presentation forms of the same technical concept, the content of the third aspect of the embodiment of the present application should be synchronously adapted to the seventh aspect of the embodiment of the present application, and can achieve the same or similar beneficial effects, and will not be repeated here.

[0098] In the eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which is applied to a first terminal device; the device includes a fourth transceiver unit; the fourth transceiver unit is used to receive a first indication information sent by a first access network device or a second network element; the first indication information is used for the first terminal device to send one or more first auxiliary information after receiving the first indication information; the first auxiliary information is used to indicate the expected transmission time information of the first QoS flow; the first QoS flow is used to transmit the service flow of the first terminal device; one or more first auxiliary information is sent to the first access network device or the second network element; one or more first auxiliary information is used to determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow; the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used to transmit the same service.

[0099] In one possible implementation, one or more first auxiliary information are used together with one or more second auxiliary information to determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow; the one or more second auxiliary information are sent by the second terminal device; the second auxiliary information is used to indicate the expected transmission time information of the second QoS flow; the second QoS flow is used to transmit the service flow of the second terminal device.

[0100] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information is sent by the second network element when it is determined that the service is used for communication between two end devices.

[0101] In a possible implementation, the first auxiliary information includes one or more of a burst arrival time expected by the first QoS flow, a burst arrival time offset expected by the first QoS flow, a range to which the burst arrival time expected by the first QoS flow belongs, and a range to which the burst arrival time offset expected by the first QoS flow belongs;

[0102] The second auxiliary information includes one or more of the burst arrival time expected by the second QoS flow, the burst arrival time offset expected by the second QoS flow, the range to which the burst arrival time expected by the second QoS flow belongs, and the range to which the burst arrival time offset expected by the second QoS flow belongs.

[0103] It should be understood that since the method embodiment and the device embodiment are different presentation forms of the same technical concept, the content of the fourth aspect of the embodiment of the present application should be simultaneously adapted to the eighth aspect of the embodiment of the present application, and can achieve the same or similar beneficial effects, and will not be repeated here.

[0104] In the ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an electronic device comprising a processor, a memory, a communication interface, and one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to, when executed by the processor, cooperate with the communication interface to implement the method in any one of the embodiments of the first aspect above.

[0105] In the tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip, comprising: a processor for calling and running a computer program from a memory, so that a device equipped with the chip executes a method as in any one of the embodiments of the first aspect above.

[0106] In the eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program for execution by a device, and when the computer program is executed, it implements the method in any one of the embodiments of the first aspect above.

[0107] In the twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product. When the computer program product is run by a device, the device executes the method in any one of the embodiments of the first aspect above. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0108] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or the background technology, the drawings required for use in the embodiments of the present application or the background technology will be described below.

[0109] Figure 1 is a system architecture diagram of the intercommunication between 5G network and TSN network;

[0110] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the downlink message processing process in the intercommunication scenario between the 5G network and the TSN network;

[0111] FIG3A is a schematic diagram of the downlink burst arrival time in a 5G network and TSN network intercommunication scenario;

[0112] FIG3B is a schematic diagram of uplink burst arrival time in a 5G network and TSN network intercommunication scenario;

[0113] Figure 4 is another system architecture diagram for intercommunication between a 5G network and an external delay-sensitive network;

[0114] FIG5A is a schematic diagram of UE-UE communication via a single base station;

[0115] FIG5B is a schematic diagram of UE-UE communication via dual base stations;

[0116] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of the functions of the TSNAF network element in a UE-UE communication scenario;

[0117] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of scheduling resources for uplink and downlink traffic flows in a UE-UE communication scenario;

[0118] FIG8A is a schematic diagram of a service-based 5G system architecture;

[0119] FIG8B is a schematic diagram of a reference point-based 5G non-roaming architecture;

[0120] FIG9 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0121] FIG10 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0122] FIG11 is a schematic diagram of the overall flow of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0123] FIG12 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0124] FIG13 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0125] FIG14 is a schematic diagram of the overall flow of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0126] FIG15 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0127] FIG16 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0128] FIG17 is a schematic diagram of the overall flow of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0129] FIG18 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0130] FIG19 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0131] FIG20 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0132] FIG21 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0133] FIG22 is a schematic structural diagram of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0134] The terms "first," "second," "third," and "fourth," etc., in the specification and claims of this application and the accompanying drawings are used to distinguish different objects, not to describe a specific order. In addition, the terms "including" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus comprising a series of steps or elements is not limited to the listed steps or elements, but may optionally include steps or elements not listed, or may optionally include other steps or elements inherent to the process, method, product, or apparatus.

[0135] References to "embodiments" herein mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments may be included in at least one embodiment of the present application. The appearance of the phrase in various places in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor does it constitute an independent or alternative embodiment that is mutually exclusive of other embodiments. It is understood, both explicitly and implicitly, by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein may be combined with other embodiments.

[0136] As used in this specification, the terms "component", "module", "system", etc. are used to represent computer-related entities, hardware, firmware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. For example, a component can be, but is not limited to, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable file, an execution thread, a program and / or a computer. By way of illustration, both an application running on a terminal device and a terminal device can be a component. One or more components can reside in a process and / or an execution thread, and a component can be located on a computer and / or distributed between two or more computers. In addition, these components can be executed from various computer-readable media having various data structures stored thereon. Components can communicate, for example, through local and / or remote processes based on signals having one or more data packets (e.g., data from two components interacting with another component between a local system, a distributed system and / or a network, such as the Internet interacting with other systems via signals).

[0137] First, a brief introduction to the relevant terms and technologies in this application is given to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

[0138] Radio Access Network: RAN;

[0139] Next Generation Radio Access Network / 5G Radio Access Network: Next Generation Radio Access Network, NG-RAN;

[0140] Session management network element: Session Management Function, SMF;

[0141] User plane network element: User Plane Function, UPF;

[0142] Policy Control Function (PCF)

[0143] Policy and Charging Control (PCC);

[0144] Unified Data Management (UDM)

[0145] Unified database: Unified Data Repository, UDR;

[0146] Application Function NE: Application Function, AF;

[0147] Data Network: Data Network, DN;

[0148] User Equipment: User Equipment, UE;

[0149] Quality of Service: Quality of Service, QoS;

[0150] Centralized network configuration: centralized network configuration, CNC;

[0151] Centralized user configuration: centralized user configuration, CUC;

[0152] Time Sensitive Communication (TSC)

[0153] Time Sensitive Networking (TSN)

[0154] Network Exposure Function (NEF)

[0155] Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF)

[0156] TSN converter: TSN / TSC Translator, TT;

[0157] Device Side TT: Device Side TT;

[0158] Network Side TT: Network Side TT;

[0159] Time Sensitive Communication and Time Synchronization function (TSCTSF)

[0160] Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF)

[0161] Authentication Service Function Network Element: Authentication Server Function, AUSF;

[0162] Port Management Information Container: Port Management Information Container, PMIC;

[0163] Bridge Management Information Container (BMIC)

[0164] Packet Delay Budget: Packet Delay Budget (PDB); defines the upper limit of the time that a data packet may be delayed between the N6 endpoint at the UE and the UPF;

[0165] Access Network: Access Network, AN;

[0166] Core Network: Core Network, CN;

[0167] Core Network Packet Delay Budget (CN PDB) represents the delay between the anchor UPF and the 5G-AN (given a PDB). A dynamic CN PDB can be configured in the network in two ways:

[0168] -Configured in each NG-RAN node based on various inputs such as different internet protocol (IP) address(es) or TEID ranges of the UPF terminating the N3 tunnel and based on different combinations of anchor UPFs to the NG-RAN;

[0169] -Configuration in SMF, based on different combinations of anchor UPF to NG-RAN;

[0170] 5G system: 5G System, 5GS;

[0171] QoS Flow Identifier: QoS Flow Identifier, QFI;

[0172] Service data flow: Service data flow, SDF;

[0173] General Packet Radio System: general packet radio system, GPRS;

[0174] GPRS Tunnelling Protocol for the user plane, GTP-U;

[0175] Tunnel endpoint identifier: tunnel endpoint identifier, TEID;

[0176] Packet Data Unit: Packet Data Unit, PDU;

[0177] PDU session: provides end-to-end user plane connection between UE and DN through UPF;

[0178] Processing time / residence time: Residence time refers to the time it takes for the device to process the service;

[0179] Maximum burst size of service flow data: TSC Burst Size; service flows can be TSN / TSC flows or aggregated TSN / TSC flows.

[0180] Please refer to Figure 1, which shows a system architecture diagram for interoperability between 5G and TSN networks. In this architecture, the 5GS and TSN translator function as a logical TSN bridge. The 5GS exchanges information with nodes in the TSN network through the control plane TSN translator (i.e., the AF network element). This information includes 5GS Bridge capabilities, TSN configuration, time scheduling information for TSN input and output ports, and time synchronization information. The UE-side TSN translator (device-side TSC translator, DS-TT) may be located within or outside the UE; the UPF-side TSN translator (network-side TSC translator, NW-TT) is located within the UPF. The CNC configures the transmission time window and flow period for each TSN Bridge based on information reported by the 5GS Bridge and other bridges to ensure deterministic end-to-end latency (from TSN sender (talker) to TSN receiver (listener)).

[0181] For example, see Figure 2. During user-plane message processing, after the message is transmitted from the TSN system to the NW-TT, the NW-TT sends the message to the DS-TT via the gNB. The DS-TT then sends the message within the preconfigured time according to the CNC-configured send time window (i.e., the gated scheduling parameters). To ensure timely delivery of the message, the message must arrive at the DS-TT before the preset send time and be buffered at the DS-TT until the send time window is reached. As shown in Figure 2, for specific messages with deterministic latency requirements, the 5GS needs to determine the corresponding PDB based on the message requirements and ensure that the message transmission time between the UE and the UPF is no longer than the PDB. This means that the message will arrive at the DS-TT in advance to meet the CNC-configured send time window.

[0182] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and TSN are connected using a black box model. The CNC configures the arrival time and departure time of the 5GC according to the flow granularity. The uncertainty between the UE and the UPF caused by air interface transmission and wired transmission is eliminated by caching the endpoint TSC converter.

[0183] Based on the scheduling information of the TSN flow obtained from the CNC, the TSN AF determines the time when the TSN flow arrives at the 5GS entrance, that is, the time when the TSN flow arrives at the NW-TT entrance in the downlink direction, such as the downlink burst arrival time (DL Burst Arrival Time) in Figure 3A; and the time when the TSN flow arrives at the DS-TT entrance in the uplink direction, such as the uplink burst arrival time (UL Burst Arrival Time) in Figure 3B. The TSN AF provides the TSC assistance container (TSCAC) to the SMF network element through the PCF network element. Based on this information, the SMF network element further calculates the time when it arrives at the NG-RAN in the downlink direction (such as the DL TSCAI Burst Arrival Time in Figure 3A) and the time when it is sent from the UE in the uplink direction (such as the UL TSCAI Burst Arrival Time in Figure 3B). It provides this information as TSC assistance information (TSCAI) to the RAN for reference, so that the RAN equipment can reserve resources in advance.

[0184] The TSCAI includes the following information:

[0185] - Flow direction: indicates whether the TSC flow is in the uplink or downlink direction;

[0186] - Period: refers to the interval between the start times of two bursts;

[0187] - Burst Arrival Time (BAT): In the downlink direction, the BAT refers to the time when the burst arrives at the ingress of the RAN node; in the uplink direction, the BAT refers to the time when the burst arrives at the egress of the UE.

[0188] Optionally, TSCAI may also include other information, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0189] The TSCAC includes the following information:

[0190] - Flow direction: indicates whether the TSC flow is in the uplink or downlink direction;

[0191] - Period: refers to the interval between the start times of two bursts;

[0192] -Burst arrival time (BAT): The time it takes for the first packet of a data burst to arrive at the ingress port of the 5GS under a given flow (DS-TT for upstream and NW-TT for downstream).

[0193] Optionally, the TSCAC may also contain other information.

[0194] The SMF determines the TSCAI Burst Arrival Time in the downlink direction as follows:

[0195] TSCAI Burst Arrival Time=TSCACDL Burst Arrival Time+DL CN PDB.

[0196] The SMF determines the TSCAI Burst Arrival Time in the uplink direction as follows:

[0197] TSCAI Burst Arrival Time=TSCACUL Burst Arrival Time+UE-DS-TT Residence Time.

[0198] The SMF network element binds services (data flows) to a QoS flow, that is, there is a correspondence between the QoS flow and the service flow. For delay-sensitive services, it is generally assumed that there is a one-to-one correspondence between the QoS flow and the service flow. When interoperating with an external delay-sensitive network, the external delay-sensitive network is not restricted to a TSN network. It can be a non-TSN TSC service, such as the service in the architecture shown in Figure 4 below. However, the SMF network element's processing of TSCAC is the same as above. TSCAC can be sent to the SMF network element by the AF network element or the TSC TSF network element (possibly via the PCF network element).

[0199] In UE-UE (also known as UE2UE) communication scenarios, UE1 and UE2 communicate through the access network and core network. This may involve two service flows: a service flow from UE1 to UE2, and a service flow from UE2 to UE1. The time at which these two service flows arrive at the RAN ingress or the UE egress is correlated. Accordingly, the time at which the two QoS flows used to transmit these two service flows arrive at the RAN ingress or the UE egress is also correlated. For example, this correlation can be described as follows: after the QoS flow from UE1 to UE2 arrives at UE1's egress, the QoS flow from UE2 to UE1 may arrive at the RAN ingress some time later. As shown in Figures 5A and 5B, UE-UE communication can be divided into single-gNB and dual-gNB scenarios. The input / output (I / O) is the load of UE1, and the programmable logic controller (PLC) is the load of UE2. In the UE-UE communication scenario, as shown in Figure 6, the functions of the TSNAF network element (which can be the TSCTSF network element in other scenarios) can be as follows:

[0200] (1) Calculate the 5GS Bridge delay and report it to the CNC:

[0201] -Determine the delay between any two DS-TT ports of the same 5GS Bridge: 5GS Bridge Delay = UE1-DS-TT residence time + PDB1 + UE2-DS-TT residence time + PDB2;

[0202] (2) Decompose the QoS requirements of the TSN flow into upstream and downstream QoS requirements, and associate them with the PDU sessions corresponding to the two DS-TTs respectively;

[0203] (3) Calculate the burst arrival time BAT in the TSCAI of each QoS flow respectively.

[0204] In a UE-UE communication scenario, if the RAN finds that the time information corresponding to a QoS flow conflicts with the time information corresponding to other QoS flows, the RAN needs to coordinate the resources for scheduling these QoS flows. As shown in Figure 7, the scheduling period represents the period during which the RAN performs semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) for the QoS flow, or it can also be other types of scheduling resources. The boxes represent the resources scheduled by the RAN for the QoS flow used to transmit service flows (data packets). For QoS flows used to transmit uplink service flows, before the RAN adjusts the resources, the interval between their arrival time and the RAN scheduling timing is large (big interval). The RAN adjusts the resources scheduled for the QoS flow so that the interval between the arrival time of the QoS flow and the RAN scheduling timing is small (small interval). In other words, when the QoS flow arrives at the RAN ingress, the RAN has (or will have) the resources to schedule the QoS flow. Therefore, the data packets carried by the QoS flow can be transmitted in a timely manner, which helps reduce the transmission delay of the service flow. In Figure 7, the QoS flow used to transmit downlink service flows is associated with the QoS flow used to transmit uplink service flows. However, the RAN may only adjust the resources of the QoS flow used to transmit uplink service flows without adjusting the resources of the QoS flow used to transmit downlink service flows. Alternatively, although the RAN also adjusts the resources of the QoS flow used to transmit downlink service flows, the RAN considers and adjusts them separately. In this case, the adjusted resources of the QoS flow used to transmit downlink service flows may not necessarily adapt to the time when the QoS flow arrives at the RAN entrance. That is, the scheduling resources of the uplink QoS flow and the scheduling resources of the downlink QoS flow are not coordinated, which may still cause a large delay in UE-UE communication.

[0205] To overcome the shortcomings of the prior art, the present application provides a communication method that can be implemented based on the service-based 5G system architecture shown in Figure 8A or the reference point-based 5G non-roaming architecture shown in Figure 8B. The 5GS architecture is divided into two parts: the access network and the core network. The access network is used to implement functions related to wireless access. The core network mainly includes the following key network elements: AMF network element, SMF network element, UPF network element, PCF network element, UDM network element, etc.

[0206] The UE in Figure 8A or 8B includes but is not limited to: user equipment, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal equipment, mobile terminal equipment, user terminal equipment, wireless electronic device, user agent, user device, cellular phone, cordless phone, session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, wireless local loop (WLL) station, personal digital assistant (PDA), handheld device with wireless communication function, computing device, processing device connected to a wireless modem, vehicle-mounted device, wearable device, terminal device in the Internet of Things, home appliances, virtual reality device, terminal device in the future 5G network or terminal device in the future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN), etc.

[0207] RAN equipment is primarily responsible for functions such as radio resource management, QoS management, data compression, and encryption on the air interface side. RAN equipment can include various base stations, such as macro base stations, micro base stations (also known as small cells), relay stations, and access points. In systems using different radio access technologies, the names of devices with base station functions may vary. For example, in 5GS, they are called gNBs; in LTE systems, they are called evolved NodeBs (eNBs or eNodeBs); and in third-generation (3G) systems, they are called NodeBs. Optionally, in some RAN deployments, RAN equipment can be a centralized unit (CU) or a distributed unit (DU). For example, operations or steps at the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, Media Access Control (MAC) layer, and Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer can be performed by the CU, while operations or steps at the Physical (PHY) layer can be performed by the DU. In other deployments of RAN devices, the CU can also be divided into CU-control plane (CP) and CU-user plane (UP), etc. In some other deployments of RAN devices, the RAN device can also be an antenna unit (RU). In some other deployments of RAN devices, the RAN device can also be an open radio access network (ORAN) architecture, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the deployment method of the RAN device. For example, when the RAN device is an ORAN architecture, the RAN device shown in the embodiments of the present application can be an access network device in the ORAN, or a module in the access network device, etc. In the ORAN architecture, CU can also be called open (open, O)-CU, DU can also be called O-DU, CU-CP can also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP can also be called O-CU-UP, and RU can also be called O-RU.

[0208] Access Network (AN) equipment: This network element allows terminal devices to interconnect with the 3GPP core network using non-3GPP technologies, such as Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) networks.

[0209] AMF network element: Mainly responsible for mobility management in mobile networks, such as user location update, user network registration, user switching, etc.

[0210] SMF network element: Mainly responsible for session management in mobile networks, such as session establishment, modification, and release. Specific functions include allocating IP addresses to users and selecting the UPF that provides packet forwarding functions.

[0211] The UPF network element is responsible for forwarding and receiving user data from terminal devices. It receives user data from the data network and transmits it to the terminal device via the access network equipment. The UPF network element also receives user data from the terminal device via the access network equipment and forwards it to the data network. The transmission resources and scheduling functions provided by the UPF network element to the terminal device are managed and controlled by the SMF network element.

[0212] PCF network element: mainly supports providing a unified policy framework to control network behavior, provides policy rules to the control layer network functions, and is responsible for obtaining user subscription information related to policy decisions.

[0213] NEF network element: mainly used to support the opening of capabilities and events.

[0214] AF network element: mainly supports interaction with the 3GPP core network to provide services, such as influencing data routing decisions, policy control functions, or providing some third-party services to the network side.

[0215] UDM network element: used for generating authentication credentials, user identification processing (such as storing and managing user permanent identities), access authorization control and contract data management, etc.

[0216] DN: refers to a service network that provides data transmission services to users, such as IMS (IP Multimedia Service) and the Internet. UE accesses the data network through a PDU session established between the UE and the DN.

[0217] The technical solution provided in this application is introduced in detail below in conjunction with specific implementation methods.

[0218] Please refer to Figure 9, which is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 9, the method includes steps 901-904:

[0219] 901: A first network element sends first indication information to a first access network device.

[0220] The first indication information is used for the first access network device to feedback one or more first auxiliary information after receiving the first indication information; for example, the first indication information may also indicate that the first QoS flow is used for UE-UE communication. The first auxiliary information is used to indicate the expected transmission time information of the first QoS flow, and the transmission time information may be information related to the burst arrival time during the transmission of the first QoS flow. For example, in a UE-UE communication scenario, the first QoS flow is used to transmit the service flow of the first terminal device (e.g., UE1 in FIG5A ).

[0221] Exemplarily, the first auxiliary information includes one or more of the following: the expected burst arrival time of the first QoS flow, the expected burst arrival time offset of the first QoS flow, the range to which the expected burst arrival time of the first QoS flow belongs, and the range to which the expected burst arrival time offset of the first QoS flow belongs. For example, when the first indication information instructs the first access network device to feedback one or more first auxiliary information, the first access network device needs to feedback multiple expected burst arrival times of the first QoS flow to the first network element; and / or the first access network device needs to feedback multiple expected burst arrival time offsets (BAT offsets) of the first QoS flow to the first network element; and / or the first access network device needs to feedback the range to which one (or more) expected burst arrival times of the first QoS flow belongs to the first network element; and / or the first access network device needs to feedback the range to which one (or more) expected burst arrival times of the first QoS flow belongs to the first network element. It should be noted that the burst arrival time offset can be understood as the offset between the expected burst arrival time and the estimated burst arrival time, or a value that can reduce the time between the arrival of a service burst and the next possible air interface transmission (for example, when the PDB of the QoS flow cannot be met).

[0222] In this implementation, the first access network device can feed back one or more of the expected multiple burst arrival times, multiple burst arrival time offsets, ranges to which one or more burst arrival times belong, and ranges to which one or more burst arrival time offsets belong regarding the first QoS flow to the first network element for selection on the network side.

[0223] 902: The first access network device receives first indication information.

[0224] Exemplarily, the first network element may send a TSCAI to the first access network device, where the TSCAI includes the first indication information, and the first access network device may receive the first indication information through the TSCAI sent by the first network element.

[0225] 903: The first access network device sends one or more first auxiliary information to the first network element.

[0226] In an embodiment of the present application, upon receiving the first indication information, the first access network device feeds back one or more of the following: multiple burst arrival times expected by the first QoS flow, multiple burst arrival time offsets, a range to which one or more burst arrival times belong, and a range to which one or more burst arrival time offsets belong, to the first network element. For example, the first access network device may feed back multiple burst arrival time offsets expected by the first QoS flow, a range to which one (or more) burst arrival time offsets expected by the first QoS flow belong, and so on.

[0227] 904: The first network element receives one or more pieces of first auxiliary information sent by the first access network device.

[0228] The one or more first auxiliary information are used to determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow. The first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used to transmit the same service. That is, the second QoS flow is used to transmit the service flow of a second terminal device, which is a terminal device communicating with the first terminal device (e.g., UE2 in Figure 5A).

[0229] When the first network element receives one or more first auxiliary information, it may determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow based on the one or more first auxiliary information; or, it may send the one or more first auxiliary information to other network elements, and the other network elements may determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow based on the one or more first auxiliary information. For example, if the QoS flow for transmitting uplink services in the first QoS flow is associated with the QoS flow for transmitting downlink services in the second QoS flow, then the TSCAI burst arrival time of the QoS flow for transmitting uplink services in the first QoS flow arriving at the DS-TT exit and the TSCAI burst arrival time of the QoS flow for transmitting downlink services in the second QoS flow arriving at the inlet of the first access network device may be determined based on the one or more first auxiliary information. Exemplarily, if the first auxiliary information is the burst arrival time of TSCAI, the first network element may convert the burst arrival time of TSCAI into the burst arrival time of TSCAC, for example: uplink direction TSCACUL Burst Arrival Time = uplink TSCAI Burst Arrival Time-UE-DS-TT Residence Time; downlink direction TSCACDL Burst Arrival Time = downlink TSCAI Burst Arrival Time-DL CN PDB. The first network element (such as the SMF network element) may pass the converted burst arrival time of TSCAC (via PCF) to the second network element (such as TSCTSF), and the second network element may determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow based on the converted burst arrival time of TSCAC.

[0230] Exemplarily, the first network element may be an SMF network element. The first network element may directly or through a UPF network element perceive that the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used to transmit the same service, that is, based on the forwarding relationship between the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow (or the forwarding relationship of the PDU session between the two UEs), the SMF network element may determine that the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used for UE-UE communication, such as when using 5G LAN technology. In this case, the SMF network element may actively send the first indication information to the first access network device.

[0231] In this implementation, the first network element can perceive that the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used for communication between UE-UE, thereby sending a first indication information to the first access network device to instruct the first access network device to feedback one or more expected first auxiliary information about the first QoS flow.

[0232] Exemplarily, the first indication information may be sent from another network element to the first network element. For example, the first network element may receive the first indication information from the second network element and then send the first indication information to the first access network device. In this case, it is the second network element that determines the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow for UE-UE communication. In this case, the SMF network elements corresponding to the two service flows may be different. The first indication information may include description information of the two service flows. For example, the first indication information may explicitly indicate the description information of the two service flows, such as (paired indication, service flow description information 1, service flow description information 2), i.e., there is a single explicit indication indicating the two service flows; the first indication information may also implicitly indicate the description information of the two service flows, such as (service flow description information 1, service flow description information 2), i.e., the two service flow description information themselves, etc.; or the first indication information may also include port information of the egress and ingress ports of the two service flows (e.g., replacing the service flow description information 1 and service flow description information 2 mentioned above with the egress and ingress port information), etc. For example, when the second network element (e.g., TSCTSF) determines that the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used for UE-UE communication, the second network element (e.g., TSCTSF) may send the first indication information to the PCF network element, and the PCF network element may send the first indication information to the first network element. The information sent by the second network element to the PCF network element and the information sent by the PCF network element to the first network element may be encoded differently.

[0233] Exemplarily, the second network element may determine that the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used for communication between UE-UE based on the egress port of the service flow transmitted by the first QoS flow, the ingress port of the service flow transmitted by the first QoS flow, the egress port of the service flow transmitted by the second QoS flow and the ingress port of the service flow transmitted by the second QoS flow, for example: the egress port of the service flow transmitted by the first QoS flow, the ingress port of the service flow transmitted by the first QoS flow, the egress port of the service flow transmitted by the second QoS flow and the ingress port of the service flow transmitted by the second QoS flow are all of the type DS-TT; or, the second network element may determine that the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used for communication between UE-UE based on the IP address of the sender of the service flow transmitted by the first QoS flow, the IP address of the receiver of the service flow transmitted by the first QoS flow, the IP address of the sender of the service flow transmitted by the second QoS flow and the IP address of the receiver of the service flow transmitted by the second QoS flow. Exemplarily, in the communication scenario shown in Figure 1, the second network element can obtain service forwarding information from the CNC. The service forwarding information may include the destination media access control (MAC) address and virtual local area network ID of the TSN stream, or the port number in the port MAP, or the QFI of the first QoS stream and the QFI of the second QoS stream, etc. Based on this information, the second network element can also deduce that the first QoS stream and the second QoS stream are used for communication between UE-UE. Exemplarily, the second network element can be a TSC TSF network element, and the second network element can obtain service forwarding information from the AF network element. Exemplarily, the second network element can be a TSN AF network element, and the second network element can determine that the first QoS stream and the second QoS stream are used for communication between UE-UE based on local configuration information. Exemplarily, the QFI of the QoS stream is generated by the SMF network element. Exemplarily, the second network element may also send the first indication information (or the relationship between the two service flows, or the description information of the two service flows) to the first network element, and the first network element itself determines the correspondence or matching relationship between the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow.

[0234] In this implementation, the second network element can determine that the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used for communication between UE-UE through the relevant information of the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow, and thereby send the first indication information to the first access network device through the first network element to instruct the first access network device to feedback one or more expected first auxiliary information about the first QoS flow.

[0235] It can be seen that in an embodiment of the present application, the first network element may, when determining that the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used for communication between UEs, send a first indication message to the first access network device to instruct the first access network device to feedback one or more first auxiliary information expected about the first QoS flow. In this way, by feeding back one or more first auxiliary information expected about the first QoS flow through negotiation, the network side network element (for example, the first network element) can determine the burst arrival time for the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow transmitting the same service based on the one or more first auxiliary information, so that the first access network device can coordinately schedule resources for the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow to ensure that the interval between the arrival time and the transmission opportunity of the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow is small, thereby reducing the UE-UE communication delay.

[0236] Please refer to Figure 10, which is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 10, the method includes steps 1001-1005:

[0237] 1001: A first network element sends first indication information to a first access network device.

[0238] Accordingly, the first access network device receives the first indication signal. The first indication signal is used by the first access network device to feedback one or more first auxiliary information after receiving the first indication signal. The first auxiliary information is used to indicate the expected transmission time information of the first QoS flow, and the transmission time information may be information related to the burst arrival time during the transmission of the first QoS flow.

[0239] 1002: The first network element sends second indication information to the second access network device.

[0240] Correspondingly, the second access network device receives the second indication signal. The second indication signal is used by the second access network device to feedback one or more second auxiliary information after receiving the second indication signal. The second auxiliary information is used to indicate the expected transmission time information of the second QoS flow, and the transmission time information may be information related to the burst arrival time during the transmission of the second QoS flow. For example, in a UE-UE communication scenario, the second QoS flow is used to transmit the service flow of the second terminal device (e.g., UE2 in FIG5A ).

[0241] Exemplarily, consistent with the first auxiliary information, the second auxiliary information includes one or more of the expected burst arrival time of the second QoS flow, the expected burst arrival time offset of the second QoS flow, the range to which the expected burst arrival time of the second QoS flow belongs, and the range to which the expected burst arrival time offset of the second QoS flow belongs. For example: when the second indication information instructs the second access network device to feedback one or more second auxiliary information, the second access network device needs to feedback to the first network element the expected multiple burst arrival times of the second QoS flow; and / or, the second access network device needs to feedback to the first network element the expected multiple burst arrival time offsets of the second QoS flow; and / or, the second access network device needs to feedback to the first network element the range to which one (or more) burst arrival times of the second QoS flow belongs; and / or, the second access network device needs to feedback to the first network element the range to which one (or more) burst arrival time offsets of the second QoS flow belongs.

[0242] In this implementation, the second access network device can feedback one or more of the expected multiple burst arrival times, multiple burst arrival time offsets, ranges to which one or more burst arrival times belong, and ranges to which one or more burst arrival time offsets belong regarding the second QoS flow to the first network element for selection on the network side.

[0243] Exemplarily, the first network element may be an SMF network element. The first network element may directly or through a UPF network element perceive that the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used to transmit the same service, that is, based on the forwarding relationship between the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow (or the forwarding relationship of the PDU session between the two UEs), the SMF network element may determine that the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used for UE-UE communication, such as when using 5G LAN technology. In this case, the SMF network element may actively send the second indication information to the second access network device.

[0244] In this implementation, the first network element can perceive that the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used for communication between UE-UE, thereby sending a first indication information to the first access network device to instruct the first access network device to feedback one or more expected first auxiliary information about the first QoS flow.

[0245] Exemplarily, the second indication information may be sent from another network element to the first network element. For example, the first network element may receive the second indication information from the second network element and then send the second indication information to the second access network device. In this case, the second network element determines whether the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used for UE-to-UE communication. The specific determination method can be described in the embodiment shown in FIG9 . In this case, the SMF network elements corresponding to the two service flows may be different. The second indication information may include description information of the two service flows. For example, the second indication information may explicitly indicate the description information of the two service flows, such as (paired indication, service flow description information 1, service flow description information 2), i.e., there is a single explicit indication indicating the two service flows; the second indication information may also implicitly indicate the description information of the two service flows, such as (service flow description information 1, service flow description information 2), i.e., the two service flow description information themselves, etc.; or the second indication information may also include port information of the egress and ingress ports of the two service flows (e.g., replacing the service flow description information 1 and service flow description information 2 mentioned above with the egress and ingress port information), etc. Exemplarily, when the second network element (e.g., TSCTSF) determines that the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used for UE-UE communication, the second network element may send the second indication information to the PCF network element, and the PCF network element may send the second indication information to the first network element. The information sent by the second network element to the PCF network element and the information sent by the PCF network element to the first network element may be encoded differently. Exemplarily, the second network element may also send the second indication information (or the relationship between the two service flows, or the description information of the two service flows) to the first network element, and the first network element may determine the corresponding relationship or matching relationship between the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow.

[0246] In this implementation, the second network element can determine that the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used for communication between UE-UE through the relevant information of the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow, and thereby send a second indication information to the second access network device through the first network element to instruct the second access network device to feedback one or more expected second auxiliary information about the second QoS flow.

[0247] 1003: The first access network device sends one or more first auxiliary information to the first network element.

[0248] In an embodiment of the present application, upon receiving the first indication information, the first access network device will feed back one or more of the expected multiple burst arrival times, multiple burst arrival time offsets, the range to which one or more burst arrival times belong, and the range to which one or more burst arrival time offsets belong regarding the first QoS flow to the first network element.

[0249] 1004: The second access network device sends one or more second auxiliary information to the first network element.

[0250] In an embodiment of the present application, upon receiving the second indication information, the second access network device feeds back one or more of the expected multiple burst arrival times, multiple burst arrival time offsets, the range to which one or more burst arrival times belong, and the range to which one or more burst arrival time offsets belong, to the first network element. For example, the second access network device may feed back the expected multiple burst arrival time offsets for the second QoS flow and the range to which one (or more) burst arrival time offsets for the second QoS flow belong, etc.

[0251] 1005: The first network element receives one or more first auxiliary information and one or more second auxiliary information.

[0252] In an embodiment of the present application, one or more second auxiliary information and one or more first auxiliary information are used to determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow. Upon receiving the one or more first auxiliary information and the one or more second auxiliary information, the first network element may determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow based on the one or more first auxiliary information and the one or more second auxiliary information; or send the one or more first auxiliary information and the one or more second auxiliary information to other network elements, which then determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow based on the one or more first auxiliary information and the one or more second auxiliary information.

[0253] For example, if the first auxiliary information and the second auxiliary information are the burst arrival time of TSCAI, the first network element can convert the burst arrival time of TSCAI into the burst arrival time of TSCAC, and pass the converted burst arrival time of TSCAC (via PCF) to the second network element (for example: TSCTSF), and the second network element determines the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow based on the converted burst arrival time of TSCAC.

[0254] For example, if the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow are determined by the SMF network element, the SMF network element may take the intersection of one or more first auxiliary information and one or more second auxiliary information, and determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow based on the result of the intersection. For example: one or more first auxiliary information is multiple burst arrival time offsets, and one or more second auxiliary information is multiple burst arrival time offsets. The SMF network element takes the intersection of the multiple burst arrival time offsets expected by the first QoS flow and the multiple burst arrival time offsets expected by the second QoS flow to obtain a burst arrival time offset value. Based on the burst arrival time offset value, the SMF network element can determine the TSCAI burst arrival time of the QoS flow used to transmit uplink services in the first QoS flow arriving at the DS-TT exit and the TSCAI burst arrival time of the QoS flow used to transmit downlink services in the second QoS flow arriving at the entrance of the first access network device; or it can determine the TSCAI burst arrival time of the QoS flow used to transmit uplink services in the second QoS flow arriving at the DS-TT exit and the TSCAI burst arrival time of the QoS flow used to transmit downlink services in the first QoS flow arriving at the entrance of the second access network device. For another example: one or more first auxiliary information is a range to which a burst arrival time offset belongs, and one or more second auxiliary information is a range to which a burst arrival time offset belongs. The SMF network element takes the intersection of the range to which the burst arrival time offset expected by the first QoS flow belongs and the range to which the burst arrival time offset expected by the second QoS flow belongs, and obtains a burst arrival time offset value. Based on the burst arrival time offset value, the SMF network element can determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow.

[0255] It should be noted that there is no strict time sequence for sending the first indication information and the second indication information, and receiving the corresponding feedback information. The two are only for different QoS flows, that is, whether they are sent successively or simultaneously has no effect.

[0256] In this implementation, upon determining that the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used for UE-UE communication, the first network element may send first indication information to the first access network device to instruct the first access network device to feedback one or more first auxiliary information expected for the first QoS flow; and send second indication information to the second access network device to instruct the second access network device to feedback one or more second auxiliary information expected for the second QoS flow. In this way, by feeding back the one or more first auxiliary information expected for the first QoS flow and the one or more second auxiliary information expected for the second QoS flow through negotiation, the network-side network element (e.g., the first network element) may determine the burst arrival time for the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow transmitting the same service based on the one or more first auxiliary information and the one or more second auxiliary information, thereby enabling the first access network device to co-schedule resources for the first QoS flow and the second access network device to co-schedule resources for the second QoS flow, ensuring a small interval between the arrival time and transmission opportunity of the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow, thereby reducing UE-UE communication latency.

[0257] Exemplarily, the first access network device and the second access network device may be the same access network device or different access network devices. For example, in a single-base station scenario, if both the first terminal device and the second terminal device access gNB1, the first network element sends first indication information and second indication information to gNB1, respectively, so that gNB1 feeds back one or more first auxiliary information and one or more second auxiliary information, respectively. In a dual-base station scenario, if the first terminal device accesses gNB1 and the second terminal device accesses gNB2, the first network element sends first indication information to gNB1, so that gNB1 feeds back one or more first auxiliary information; and the first network element sends second indication information to gNB2, so that gNB2 feeds back one or more second auxiliary information.

[0258] In this implementation, the first network element may send indication information based on QoS flow granularity. Upon receiving the indication information, the access network device may feed back one or more auxiliary information based on the QoS flow granularity.

[0259] To better understand the embodiment shown in FIG10 , a brief description is given below using an example. Referring to FIG11 , the following steps may be included:

[0260] 0: UE1 establishes a PDU session with the network side and modifies the process;

[0261] 1: TSN AF network element or TSCTSF network element sends TSCAC to PCF network element;

[0262] The TSCAC includes first indication information. The TSCAC also includes information about the first QoS flow and information about the second QoS flow. The first indication information is sent when the TSN AF network element or the TSCTSF network element determines that the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used for communication between two terminal devices.

[0263] 2: The PCF network element sends the PCC rules to the SMF network element, which carries the TSCAC;

[0264] 3: The SMF network element maps TSCAC to TSCAI;

[0265] Among them, TSCAI includes first indication information.

[0266] 4: The SMF network element sends TSCAI to the first access network device;

[0267] Among them, the first access network device can obtain the first indication information from TSCAI.

[0268] 5: The first access network device feeds back one or more pieces of first auxiliary information;

[0269] The SMF network element, the TSN AF network element, or the TSCTSF network element may determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow based on one or more first assistance information and one or more second assistance information.

[0270] 6: UE1 continues to establish the PDU session with the network side and modifies the subsequent process.

[0271] It should be noted that the above steps 1-3 are optional. The SMF network element may send TSCAI to the first access network device and carry the first indication information when it perceives that the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used for communication between the two terminal devices. Figure 10 only takes the sending of the first indication information and the feedback of one or more first auxiliary information as an example for explanation. The processing logic on the UE2 side can refer to UE1. If it is a dual-base station scenario, UE2 accesses the second access network device. If it is a single-base station scenario, UE2 still accesses the first access network device.

[0272] Please refer to Figure 12, which is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 12, the method includes steps 1201-1204:

[0273] 1201: The first network element sends first indication information to the first access network device.

[0274] Correspondingly, the first access network device receives the first indication information.

[0275] Exemplarily, the first network element may be an SMF network element. The first network element may directly or through a UPF network element perceive that the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used to transmit the same service, that is, based on the forwarding relationship between the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow (or the forwarding relationship of the PDU session between the two UEs), the SMF network element may determine that the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used for UE-UE communication, such as when using 5G LAN technology. In this case, the SMF network element may actively send the first indication information to the first access network device.

[0276] Exemplarily, the first indication information may be sent from another network element to the first network element. For example, the first network element may receive the first indication information from the second network element and then send the first indication information to the first access network device. In this case, the second network element determines whether the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used for UE-to-UE communication. The specific determination method can be described in the embodiment shown in FIG9 . In this case, the SMF network elements corresponding to the two service flows may be different. The first indication information may include description information of the two service flows. For example, the first indication information may explicitly indicate the description information of the two service flows, such as (paired indication, service flow description information 1, service flow description information 2), i.e., there is a single explicit indication indicating the two service flows. The first indication information may also implicitly indicate the description information of the two service flows, such as (service flow description information 1, service flow description information 2), i.e., the two service flow description information themselves, etc. Alternatively, the first indication information may include port information of the egress and ingress ports of the two service flows (e.g., replacing the service flow description information 1 and service flow description information 2 mentioned above with the egress and ingress port information), etc. Exemplarily, when the second network element (e.g., TSCTSF) determines that the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used for UE-UE communication, the second network element may send the first indication information to the PCF network element, and the PCF network element may send the first indication information to the first network element. The information sent by the second network element to the PCF network element and the information sent by the PCF network element to the first network element may be encoded differently. Exemplarily, the second network element may also send the second indication information (or the relationship between the two service flows, or the description information of the two service flows) to the first network element, and the first network element may determine the corresponding relationship or matching relationship between the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow.

[0277] 1202: The first access network device sends the first indication information to the first terminal device.

[0278] Correspondingly, the first terminal device receives the first indication information. Here, the first indication information is used for the first terminal device to feed back one or more first auxiliary information after receiving the first indication information.

[0279] 1203: The first terminal device sends one or more first auxiliary information to the first access network device.

[0280] Accordingly, the first access network device receives one or more first auxiliary information, including one or more of the following: a burst arrival time expected by the first QoS flow, a burst arrival time offset expected by the first QoS flow, a range to which the burst arrival time expected by the first QoS flow belongs, and a range to which the burst arrival time offset expected by the first QoS flow belongs.

[0281] 1204: The first access network device sends one or more first auxiliary information to the first network element.

[0282] The network side network element (for example, the first network element) can determine the burst arrival time for the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow transmitting the same service based on one or more first auxiliary information, so that the first access network device can coordinately schedule resources for the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow.

[0283] In this implementation, the first indication information may be sent to the first terminal device via the first access network device to instruct the first terminal device to feed back one or more expected first auxiliary information about the first QoS flow for selection by the network side.

[0284] Please refer to Figure 13, which is a flow chart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 13, the method includes steps 1301-1308:

[0285] 1301: A first network element sends first indication information to a first access network device.

[0286] Correspondingly, the first access network device receives the first indication information.

[0287] Exemplarily, the first network element may be an SMF network element. The first network element may directly or through a UPF network element perceive that the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used to transmit the same service, that is, based on the forwarding relationship between the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow (or the forwarding relationship of the PDU session between the two UEs), the SMF network element may determine that the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used for UE-UE communication, such as when using 5G LAN technology. In this case, the SMF network element may actively send the first indication information to the first access network device.

[0288] Exemplarily, the first indication information may be sent from another network element to the first network element. For example, the first network element may receive the first indication information from the second network element and then send the first indication information to the first access network device. In this case, it is the second network element that determines whether the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used for UE-UE communication. For a specific determination method, refer to the relevant description in the embodiment shown in FIG9 .

[0289] 1302: The first network element sends second indication information to the second access network device.

[0290] Correspondingly, the second access network device receives the second indication information.

[0291] Exemplarily, the first network element may be an SMF network element. The first network element may directly or through a UPF network element perceive that the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used to transmit the same service, that is, based on the forwarding relationship between the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow (or the forwarding relationship of the PDU session between the two UEs), the SMF network element may determine that the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used for UE-UE communication, such as when using 5G LAN technology. In this case, the SMF network element may actively send the second indication information to the second access network device.

[0292] Exemplarily, the second indication information may be sent from another network element to the first network element. For example, the first network element may receive the second indication information from the second network element and then send the second indication information to the second access network device. In this case, it is the second network element that determines whether the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used for UE-UE communication. In this case, the SMF network elements corresponding to the two service flows may be different.

[0293] 1303: The first access network device sends the first indication information to the first terminal device.

[0294] Correspondingly, the first terminal device receives the first indication information. Here, the first indication information is used for the first terminal device to feed back one or more first auxiliary information after receiving the first indication information.

[0295] 1304: The second access network device sends the second indication information to the second terminal device.

[0296] Correspondingly, the second terminal device receives the second indication information. Here, the second indication information is used for the second terminal device to feed back one or more second auxiliary information after receiving the second indication information.

[0297] 1305: The first terminal device sends one or more first auxiliary information to the first access network device.

[0298] Accordingly, the first access network device receives one or more first auxiliary information, including one or more of the following: a burst arrival time expected by the first QoS flow, a burst arrival time offset expected by the first QoS flow, a range to which the burst arrival time expected by the first QoS flow belongs, and a range to which the burst arrival time offset expected by the first QoS flow belongs.

[0299] 1306: The second terminal device sends one or more second auxiliary information to the second access network device.

[0300] Accordingly, the second access network device receives one or more pieces of second auxiliary information, including one or more of the following: a burst arrival time expected by the second QoS flow, a burst arrival time offset expected by the second QoS flow, a range to which the burst arrival time expected by the second QoS flow belongs, and a range to which the burst arrival time offset expected by the second QoS flow belongs.

[0301] 1307: The first access network device sends one or more first auxiliary information to the first network element.

[0302] 1308: The second access network device sends one or more second auxiliary information to the first network element.

[0303] The network side network element (for example, the first network element) can determine the burst arrival time for the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow transmitting the same service based on one or more first auxiliary information and one or more second auxiliary information, so that the first access network device can coordinately schedule resources for the first QoS flow and the second access network device can coordinately schedule resources for the second QoS flow.

[0304] It should be noted that the first access network device and the second access network device can be the same access network device or different access network devices. For example, in a single-base station scenario, the first and second terminal devices access the same gNB. In a dual-base station scenario, the first access network device can be the gNB accessed by the first terminal device, and the second access network device can be the gNB accessed by the second terminal device.

[0305] In this implementation, not only can the first indication information be sent to the first terminal device through the first access network device to instruct the first terminal device to feedback one or more expected first auxiliary information about the first QoS flow, but the second indication information can also be sent to the second terminal device through the second access network device to instruct the second terminal device to feedback one or more expected second auxiliary information about the second QoS flow. Based on the one or more first auxiliary information and the one or more second auxiliary information, the network side can determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow.

[0306] To better understand the embodiment shown in FIG12 or FIG13, the following is a brief description using an example. Referring to FIG14, the following steps may be included:

[0307] 0: UE1 establishes a PDU session with the network side and modifies the process;

[0308] 1: TSN AF network element or TSCTSF network element sends TSCAC to PCF network element;

[0309] The TSCAC includes first indication information. The TSCAC also includes information about the first QoS flow and information about the second QoS flow. The first indication information is sent when the TSN AF network element or the TSCTSF network element determines that the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used for communication between two terminal devices.

[0310] 2: The PCF network element sends the PCC rules to the SMF network element, which carries the TSCAC;

[0311] 3: The SMF network element maps TSCAC to TSCAI;

[0312] Among them, TSCAI includes first indication information.

[0313] 4: The SMF network element sends TSCAI to the first access network device;

[0314] Among them, the first access network device can obtain the first indication information from TSCAI.

[0315] 5: The first access network device sends first indication information to UE1;

[0316] 6: UE1 sends one or more first auxiliary information to the first access network device;

[0317] 7: The first access network device feeds back one or more pieces of first auxiliary information;

[0318] The SMF network element, the TSN AF network element, or the TSCTSF network element may determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow based on one or more first assistance information and one or more second assistance information.

[0319] 8: UE1 continues to establish the PDU session with the network side and modifies the subsequent process.

[0320] The SMF network element, the TSN AF network element, or the TSCTSF network element may determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow based on one or more first assistance information and one or more second assistance information.

[0321] It should be noted that the above steps 1-3 are optional. The SMF network element may send TSCAI to the first access network device and carry the first indication information when it perceives that the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used for communication between the two terminal devices. Figure 14 only takes the sending of the first indication information and the feedback of one or more first auxiliary information as an example for explanation. The processing logic on the UE2 side can refer to UE1. If it is a dual-base station scenario, UE2 accesses the second access network device. If it is a single-base station scenario, UE2 still accesses the first access network device.

[0322] Please refer to Figure 15, which is a flow chart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 15, the method includes steps 1501-1504:

[0323] 1501: The second network element sends first indication information to the first terminal device.

[0324] The first indication information is used by the first terminal device to send one or more first auxiliary information after receiving the first indication information; the first auxiliary information is used to indicate the expected transmission time information of the first QoS flow; and the first QoS flow is used to transmit the service flow of the first terminal device. Exemplarily, the second network element may be a TSN AF network element or a TSCTSF network element.

[0325] Exemplarily, the second network element may send a PMIC to the first terminal device, where the PMIC includes the first indication information, and the first terminal device may receive the first indication information through the PMIC sent by the second network element.

[0326] 1502: The first terminal device receives the first indication information sent by the second network element.

[0327] 1503: The first terminal device sends one or more first auxiliary information to the second network element.

[0328] In an embodiment of the present application, upon receiving the first indication information, the first terminal device feeds back one or more of the following: multiple burst arrival times expected by the first QoS flow, multiple burst arrival time offsets, a range to which one or more burst arrival times belong, and a range to which one or more burst arrival time offsets belong, to the second network element. For example, the first terminal device may feed back multiple burst arrival time offsets expected by the first QoS flow, a range to which one (or more) burst arrival time offsets expected by the first QoS flow belong, and so on.

[0329] 1504: The second network element receives one or more first auxiliary information sent by the first terminal device.

[0330] Exemplarily, the first auxiliary information includes one or more of the expected burst arrival time of the first QoS flow, the expected burst arrival time offset of the first QoS flow, the range to which the expected burst arrival time of the first QoS flow belongs, and the range to which the expected burst arrival time offset of the first QoS flow belongs.

[0331] The one or more first auxiliary information are used to determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow. The first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used to transmit the same service. That is, the second QoS flow is used to transmit the service flow of a second terminal device, which is a terminal device communicating with the first terminal device.

[0332] When the second network element receives one or more first auxiliary information, it can determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow based on the one or more first auxiliary information; or, send the one or more first auxiliary information to other network elements, and the other network elements determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow based on the one or more first auxiliary information.

[0333] Exemplarily, the first indication information is sent by the second network element when it determines that the service is for communication between two end devices. For a specific determination method, refer to the relevant description in the embodiment shown in FIG9 .

[0334] In this implementation, the second network element can determine that the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used for communication between UEs through related information of the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow, thereby sending first indication information to the first terminal device.

[0335] It can be seen that in an embodiment of the present application, the second network element may, when determining that the service flow transmitted by the first QoS flow and the service flow transmitted by the second QoS flow are used for communication between UE-UE, send a first indication message to the first terminal device to instruct the first terminal device to feedback one or more first auxiliary information expected by the first QoS flow. In this way, by feeding back one or more auxiliary information expected by the first QoS flow through negotiation, the network side network element (for example, the second network element) can determine the burst arrival time for the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow transmitting the same service based on the one or more first auxiliary information, so that the first access network device can coordinately schedule resources for the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow to ensure that the interval between the arrival time and the transmission opportunity of the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow is small, thereby reducing the communication delay between UE-UE.

[0336] Please refer to Figure 16, which is a flow chart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 16, the method includes steps 1601-1605:

[0337] 1601: The second network element sends first indication information to the first terminal device.

[0338] Correspondingly, the first terminal device receives the first indication information.

[0339] The first indication information is used by the first terminal device to send one or more first auxiliary information after receiving the first indication information; the first auxiliary information is used to indicate the expected transmission time information of the first QoS flow; and the first QoS flow is used to transmit the service flow of the first terminal device. Exemplarily, the second network element may be a TSN AF network element or a TSCTSF network element.

[0340] 1602: The second network element sends second indication information to the second terminal device.

[0341] Correspondingly, the second terminal device receives the second indication information.

[0342] Among them, the second indication information is used for the second terminal device to send one or more second auxiliary information after receiving the second indication information; the second auxiliary information is used to indicate the expected transmission time information of the second QoS flow; the second QoS flow is used to transmit the service flow of the second terminal device.

[0343] Exemplarily, the second network element may send a PMIC to the second terminal device, where the PMIC includes the second indication information, and the second terminal device may receive the second indication information through the PMIC sent by the second network element.

[0344] Exemplarily, the first indication information or the second indication information is sent by the second network element when it determines that the service is for communication between two end devices. For a specific determination method, refer to the relevant description in the embodiment shown in FIG9 .

[0345] 1603: The first terminal device sends one or more first auxiliary information to the second network element.

[0346] In an embodiment of the present application, upon receiving the first indication information, the first terminal device feeds back to the second network element one or more of the multiple burst arrival times expected for the first QoS flow, multiple burst arrival time offsets, the ranges to which one or more burst arrival times belong, and the ranges to which one or more burst arrival time offsets belong.

[0347] 1604: The second terminal device sends one or more second auxiliary information to the second network element.

[0348] In an embodiment of the present application, upon receiving the second indication information, the second terminal device feeds back one or more of the multiple burst arrival times expected for the second QoS flow, multiple burst arrival time offsets, the ranges to which one or more burst arrival times belong, and the ranges to which one or more burst arrival time offsets belong to the second network element.

[0349] 1605: The second network element receives one or more first auxiliary information and one or more second auxiliary information.

[0350] When the second network element receives one or more first auxiliary information and one or more second auxiliary information, it can determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow based on the one or more first auxiliary information and the one or more second auxiliary information; or, send the one or more first auxiliary information and the one or more second auxiliary information to other network elements, and the other network elements determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow based on the one or more first auxiliary information and the one or more second auxiliary information.

[0351] In this implementation, the second network element can, upon determining that the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used for UE-UE communication, send first indication information to the first terminal device to instruct the first terminal device to feedback one or more first auxiliary information expected for the first QoS flow; and send second indication information to the second terminal device to instruct the second terminal device to feedback one or more second auxiliary information expected for the second QoS flow. In this way, the one or more first auxiliary information expected for the first QoS flow and the one or more second auxiliary information expected for the second QoS flow are fed back through negotiation. The network-side network element (e.g., the second network element) can determine the burst arrival time for the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow transmitting the same service based on the one or more first auxiliary information and the one or more second auxiliary information, thereby enabling the first access network device to coordinately schedule resources for the first QoS flow and the second access network device to coordinately schedule resources for the second QoS flow, to ensure that the interval between the arrival time and the transmission opportunity of the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow is small, thereby reducing the UE-UE communication delay.

[0352] It should be noted that there is no strict time sequence for sending the first indication information and the second indication information, and receiving the corresponding feedback information. The two are only for different QoS flows, that is, whether they are sent successively or simultaneously has no effect.

[0353] To better understand the embodiment shown in FIG15 or FIG16, the following is a brief description using an example. Referring to FIG17, the following steps may be included:

[0354] 0: UE1 establishes a PDU session with the network side and modifies the process;

[0355] 1: TSN AF network element or TSCTSF network element sends PMIC to UE1;

[0356] The PMIC includes first indication information.

[0357] 2: UE1 feeds back one or more pieces of first auxiliary information;

[0358] The TSN AF network element or the TSC TSF network element may determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow based on the one or more first assistance information and the one or more second assistance information.

[0359] 3: UE1 continues to establish the PDU session with the network side and modifies the subsequent process.

[0360] It should be noted that the TSN AF network element or the TSCTSF network element may send a PMIC to UE1, carrying the first indication information, when determining that the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used for communication between the two terminal devices. Figure 17 only uses the sending of the first indication information and the feedback of one or more first auxiliary information as an example for explanation. The processing logic on the UE2 side can refer to that of UE1.

[0361] The method of the embodiment of the present application is described above, and the device of the embodiment of the present application is provided below.

[0362] Please refer to Figure 18, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The device can be applied to a first network element. As shown in Figure 18, the device may include a first transceiver unit 1801 and a first processing unit 1802; wherein:

[0363] The first transceiver unit 1801 is used to send a first indication message to a first access network device; the first indication message is used for the first access network device to feed back one or more first auxiliary information after receiving the first indication message; the first auxiliary information is used to indicate the expected transmission time information of the first quality of service QoS flow; receive one or more first auxiliary information sent by the first access network device; the one or more first auxiliary information are used to determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow; the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used to transmit the same service.

[0364] The first transceiver unit 1801 may cooperate with the first processing unit 1802 to implement the above functions.

[0365] In one possible implementation, the first transceiver unit 1801 is also used to: send a second indication message to the second access network device; the second indication message is used for the second access network device to feedback one or more second auxiliary information after receiving the second indication message; the second auxiliary information is used to indicate the expected transmission time information of the second QoS flow; receive one or more second auxiliary information sent by the second access network device; the one or more second auxiliary information are used to jointly determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow together with one or more first auxiliary information.

[0366] In a possible implementation manner, the first access network device and the second access network device are the same access network device or different access network devices.

[0367] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information or the second indication information is sent by the first network element when it determines that the service is used for communication between two end devices.

[0368] In a possible implementation, the first transceiver unit 1801 is further configured to: receive first indication information from the second network element; and receive second indication information from the second network element.

[0369] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information or the second indication information is sent by the second network element to the first network element when the second network element determines that the service is used for communication between two end devices.

[0370] In a possible implementation, the first auxiliary information includes one or more of a burst arrival time expected by the first QoS flow, a burst arrival time offset expected by the first QoS flow, a range to which the burst arrival time expected by the first QoS flow belongs, and a range to which the burst arrival time offset expected by the first QoS flow belongs;

[0371] The second auxiliary information includes one or more of the burst arrival time expected by the second QoS flow, the burst arrival time offset expected by the second QoS flow, the range to which the burst arrival time expected by the second QoS flow belongs, and the range to which the burst arrival time offset expected by the second QoS flow belongs.

[0372] It should be noted that the implementation of each unit described in FIG18 can also correspond to the corresponding description of the embodiments shown in FIG9 to FIG14. In addition, the beneficial effects brought about by the communication device described in FIG18 can be referred to the corresponding description of the embodiments shown in FIG9 to FIG14, and will not be repeated here.

[0373] Please refer to Figure 19, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The device can be applied to a first access network device. As shown in Figure 19, the device may include a second transceiver unit 1901 and a second processing unit 1902; wherein:

[0374] The second transceiver unit 1901 is used to receive the first indication information sent by the first network element; the first indication information is used for the first access network device to feedback one or more first auxiliary information after receiving the first indication information; the first auxiliary information is used to indicate the expected transmission time information of the first QoS flow; one or more first auxiliary information are sent to the first network element; the one or more first auxiliary information are used to determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow; the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used to transmit the same service.

[0375] The second transceiver unit 1901 can cooperate with the second processing unit 1902 to implement the above functions.

[0376] In one possible implementation, the second transceiver unit 1901 is also used to: receive second indication information sent by the first network element; the second indication information is used for the first access network device to feedback one or more second auxiliary information after receiving the second indication information; the second auxiliary information is used to indicate the expected transmission time information of the second QoS flow; send one or more second auxiliary information to the first network element; the one or more second auxiliary information are used to jointly determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow together with one or more first auxiliary information.

[0377] In one possible implementation, the second transceiver unit 1901 is also used to: send the first indication information to the first terminal device, and send the second indication information to the second terminal device; the first QoS flow is used to transmit the service flow of the first terminal device; the second QoS flow is used to transmit the service flow of the second terminal device; receive one or more first auxiliary information sent by the first terminal device, and receive one or more second auxiliary information sent by the second terminal device.

[0378] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information or the second indication information is sent by the first network element when it determines that the service is used for communication between two end devices.

[0379] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information or the second indication information is sent by the second network element to the first network element.

[0380] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information or the second indication information is sent by the second network element to the first network element when the second network element determines that the service is used for communication between two end devices.

[0381] In a possible implementation, the first auxiliary information includes one or more of a burst arrival time expected by the first QoS flow, a burst arrival time offset expected by the first QoS flow, a range to which the burst arrival time expected by the first QoS flow belongs, and a range to which the burst arrival time offset expected by the first QoS flow belongs;

[0382] The second auxiliary information includes one or more of the burst arrival time expected by the second QoS flow, the burst arrival time offset expected by the second QoS flow, the range to which the burst arrival time expected by the second QoS flow belongs, and the range to which the burst arrival time offset expected by the second QoS flow belongs.

[0383] In one possible implementation, one or more first auxiliary information are used together with one or more second auxiliary information to determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow; one or more second auxiliary information are sent by the second access network device when it receives the second indication information from the first network element; the second auxiliary information is used to indicate the expected transmission time information of the second QoS flow.

[0384] It should be noted that the implementation of each unit described in FIG19 can also correspond to the corresponding description of the embodiments shown in FIG9 to FIG14. In addition, the beneficial effects brought about by the communication device described in FIG19 can be referred to the corresponding description of the embodiments shown in FIG9 to FIG14, and will not be repeated here.

[0385] Please refer to Figure 20, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The device can be applied to a second network element. As shown in Figure 20, the device may include a third transceiver unit 2001 and a third processing unit 2002; wherein:

[0386] The third transceiver unit 2001 is used to send a first indication message to the first terminal device; the first indication message is used for the first terminal device to send one or more first auxiliary messages after receiving the first indication message; the first auxiliary message is used to indicate the expected transmission time information of the first QoS flow; the first QoS flow is used to transmit the service flow of the first terminal device; receive one or more first auxiliary messages sent by the first terminal device; the one or more first auxiliary messages are used to determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow; the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used to transmit the same service.

[0387] The third transceiver unit 2001 can cooperate with the third processing unit 2002 to implement the above functions.

[0388] In one possible implementation, the third transceiver unit 2001 is also used to: send a second indication message to the second terminal device; the second indication message is used for the second terminal device to send one or more second auxiliary messages after receiving the second indication message; the second auxiliary message is used to indicate the expected transmission time information of the second QoS flow; the second QoS flow is used to transmit the service flow of the second terminal device; receive one or more second auxiliary messages sent by the second terminal device; the one or more second auxiliary messages are used to jointly determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow together with one or more first auxiliary messages.

[0389] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information or the second indication information is sent by the second network element when it is determined that the service is used for communication between two end devices.

[0390] In a possible implementation, the first auxiliary information includes one or more of a burst arrival time expected by the first QoS flow, a burst arrival time offset expected by the first QoS flow, a range to which the burst arrival time expected by the first QoS flow belongs, and a range to which the burst arrival time offset expected by the first QoS flow belongs;

[0391] The second auxiliary information includes one or more of the burst arrival time expected by the second QoS flow, the burst arrival time offset expected by the second QoS flow, the range to which the burst arrival time expected by the second QoS flow belongs, and the range to which the burst arrival time offset expected by the second QoS flow belongs.

[0392] It should be noted that the implementation of each unit described in FIG20 can also correspond to the corresponding description of the embodiments shown in FIG15 to FIG17. In addition, the beneficial effects brought about by the communication device described in FIG20 can be referred to the corresponding description of the embodiments shown in FIG15 to FIG17, and will not be repeated here.

[0393] Please refer to Figure 21, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The device can be applied to a first terminal device. As shown in Figure 21, the device may include a fourth transceiver unit 2101 and a fourth processing unit 2102; wherein:

[0394] The fourth transceiver unit 2101 is used to receive the first indication information sent by the first access network device or the second network element; the first indication information is used for the first terminal device to send one or more first auxiliary information after receiving the first indication information; the first auxiliary information is used to indicate the expected transmission time information of the first QoS flow; the first QoS flow is used to transmit the service flow of the first terminal device; one or more first auxiliary information is sent to the first access network device or the second network element; the one or more first auxiliary information is used to determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow; the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used to transmit the same service.

[0395] The fourth transceiver unit 2101 may cooperate with the fourth processing unit 2102 to implement the above functions.

[0396] In one possible implementation, one or more first auxiliary information are used together with one or more second auxiliary information to determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow; the one or more second auxiliary information are sent by the second terminal device; the second auxiliary information is used to indicate the expected transmission time information of the second QoS flow; the second QoS flow is used to transmit the service flow of the second terminal device.

[0397] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information is sent by the second network element when it is determined that the service is used for communication between two end devices.

[0398] In a possible implementation, the first auxiliary information includes one or more of a burst arrival time expected by the first QoS flow, a burst arrival time offset expected by the first QoS flow, a range to which the burst arrival time expected by the first QoS flow belongs, and a range to which the burst arrival time offset expected by the first QoS flow belongs;

[0399] The second auxiliary information includes one or more of the burst arrival time expected by the second QoS flow, the burst arrival time offset expected by the second QoS flow, the range to which the burst arrival time expected by the second QoS flow belongs, and the range to which the burst arrival time offset expected by the second QoS flow belongs.

[0400] It should be noted that the implementation of each unit described in FIG21 can also correspond to the corresponding description of the embodiments shown in FIG15 to FIG17. In addition, the beneficial effects brought about by the communication device described in FIG21 can be referred to the corresponding description of the embodiments shown in FIG15 to FIG17, and will not be repeated here.

[0401] Based on the description of the above method embodiment and device embodiment, an embodiment of the present application further provides an electronic device. Please refer to Figure 22, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The electronic device includes at least a processor 2201, a memory 2202, and a communication interface 2203. The processor 2201, the memory 2202, and the communication interface 2203 are interconnected via a bus 2204. The electronic device can be used to execute the relevant steps of the communication method. The processor 2201 in the electronic device is used to read the computer program code stored in the above-mentioned memory 2202 and execute the method of any one of the embodiments shown in Figures 9 to 17.

[0402] The memory 2202 includes, but is not limited to, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), or compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), and is used to store relevant computer programs and data.

[0403] The processor 2201 may be one or more central processing units (CPUs). When the processor 2201 is a CPU, the CPU may be a single-core CPU or a multi-core CPU.

[0404] Exemplarily, the electronic device may be the first network element in the above-mentioned communication method, and the processor 2201 in the electronic device may be configured to read one or more programs stored in the above-mentioned memory 2202 and perform the following operations:

[0405] Sending first indication information to the first access network device; the first indication information is used for the first access network device to feedback one or more first auxiliary information after receiving the first indication information; the first auxiliary information is used to indicate the expected transmission time information of the first quality of service QoS flow;

[0406] Receive one or more first auxiliary information sent by the first access network device; the one or more first auxiliary information are used to determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow; the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used to transmit the same service.

[0407] Exemplarily, the electronic device may be the first access network device in the above-mentioned communication method, and the processor 2201 in the electronic device may be configured to read one or more programs stored in the above-mentioned memory 2202 and perform the following operations:

[0408] receiving first indication information sent by the first network element; the first indication information is used for the first access network device to feedback one or more first auxiliary information after receiving the first indication information; the first auxiliary information is used to indicate the expected transmission time information of the first QoS flow;

[0409] One or more first auxiliary information are sent to the first network element; the one or more first auxiliary information are used to determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow; the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used to transmit the same service.

[0410] Exemplarily, the electronic device may be the second network element in the above-mentioned communication method, and the processor 2201 in the electronic device may be configured to read one or more programs stored in the above-mentioned memory 2202 and perform the following operations:

[0411] Sending first indication information to the first terminal device; the first indication information is used for the first terminal device to send one or more first auxiliary information after receiving the first indication information; the first auxiliary information is used to indicate the expected transmission time information of the first QoS flow; the first QoS flow is used to transmit the service flow of the first terminal device;

[0412] Receive one or more first auxiliary information sent by the first terminal device; the one or more first auxiliary information are used to determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow; the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used to transmit the same service.

[0413] Exemplarily, the electronic device may be the first terminal device in the above-mentioned communication method, and the processor 2201 in the electronic device may be configured to read one or more programs stored in the above-mentioned memory 2202 and perform the following operations:

[0414] Receiving first indication information sent by a first access network device or a second network element; the first indication information is used for the first terminal device to send one or more first auxiliary information after receiving the first indication information; the first auxiliary information is used to indicate expected transmission time information of the first QoS flow; the first QoS flow is used to transmit the service flow of the first terminal device;

[0415] One or more first auxiliary information are sent to the first access network device or the second network element; the one or more first auxiliary information are used to determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow; the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used to transmit the same service.

[0416] It should be noted that the implementation of each operation may also correspond to the corresponding description of the method of any one of the embodiments shown in Figures 9 to 17.

[0417] It should be noted that although the electronic device shown in Figure 22 only shows the processor 2201, memory 2202, communication interface 2203, and bus 2204, during the specific implementation process, those skilled in the art will understand that the electronic device also includes other components necessary for normal operation. At the same time, according to specific needs, those skilled in the art will understand that the electronic device may also include hardware components that implement other additional functions. In addition, those skilled in the art will understand that the electronic device may also include only the components necessary to implement the embodiments of the present application, and does not necessarily include all the components shown in Figure 22.

[0418] The present application also provides a chip, including a processor configured to call and execute a computer program from a memory, so that a device equipped with the chip executes the method described in any one of the embodiments shown in Figures 9 to 17. The chip may be a chip in an electronic device.

[0419] The embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium (Memory), which stores a computer program. When the computer program is run, the method described in any one of the embodiments in Figures 9 to 17 above is implemented. It can be understood that the computer-readable storage medium here can include both the built-in storage medium in the device and, of course, the extended storage medium supported by the device. The computer-readable storage medium provides a storage space that stores the operating system of the device. In addition, one or more computer programs suitable for being loaded and executed by the processor of the device are also stored in the storage space. It should be noted that the computer-readable storage medium here can be a high-speed RAM or a non-volatile memory, such as at least one disk storage; optionally, it can also be at least one computer-readable storage medium located away from the aforementioned processor.

[0420] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, which includes: computer program code. When the computer program code is executed by an electronic device, the method flow described in any one of the embodiments in Figures 9 to 17 is implemented.

[0421] In the above embodiments, the description of each embodiment has its own focus. For parts that are not described in detail in a certain embodiment, reference can be made to the relevant descriptions of other embodiments.

[0422] It should be understood that the processor mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be a CPU, or may be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc.

[0423] It should also be understood that the memory mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or can include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory can be a ROM, a programmable read-only memory (Programmable ROM, PROM), an EPROM, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (Electrically EPROM, EEPROM) or a flash memory. The volatile memory can be a RAM, which is used as an external cache. By way of example but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM) and direct RAM bus random access memory (DR RAM).

[0424] It should be noted that when the processor is a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware component, the memory (storage module) is integrated into the processor.

[0425] It should be noted that the memory described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0426] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, the size of the serial numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0427] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely exemplary. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0428] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0429] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into a single processing unit, each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into a single unit. If the aforementioned integrated units are implemented as software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium.

[0430] In this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more than one" means two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between associated objects, indicating that three possible relationships exist. For example, "A and / or B" can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In the text description of this application, the character " / " generally indicates that the associated objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0431] The steps in the method of the embodiment of the present application can be adjusted in order, combined and deleted according to actual needs.

[0432] The modules in the device of the embodiment of the present application can be merged, divided and deleted according to actual needs.

[0433] As described above, the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, rather than to limit them. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the above embodiments, or make equivalent replacements for some of the technical features therein. However, these modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to the first network element; the method includes: Sending first indication information to a first access network device; the first indication information is used for the first access network device to feedback one or more first auxiliary information after receiving the first indication information; the first auxiliary information is used to indicate the transmission time information expected by a first Quality of Service (QoS) flow. Receiving one or more first auxiliary information sent by the first access network device; the one or more first auxiliary information are used to determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of a second QoS flow; the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used to transmit the same service.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The method further includes: Sending second indication information to a second access network device; the second indication information is used for the second access network device to feedback one or more second auxiliary information after receiving the second indication information; the second auxiliary information is used to indicate the transmission time information expected by the second QoS flow. Receiving one or more second auxiliary information sent by the second access network device; the one or more second auxiliary information are used to jointly determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow with the one or more first auxiliary information.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein The first access network device and the second access network device are the same access network device or different access network devices.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that The first indication information or the second indication information is sent by the first network element when it is determined that the service is for communication between two end devices.

5. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that, Before sending the first indication information to the first access network device, the method further includes: Receiving the first indication information from a second network element. Before sending the second indication information to the second access network device, the method further includes: Receiving the second indication information from the second network element.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The first indication information or the second indication information is sent by the second network element to the first network element when it is determined that the service is for communication between two end devices.

7. The method according to any one of claims 2-6, characterized in that The first auxiliary information includes one or more of the burst arrival time expected by the first QoS flow, the burst arrival time offset expected by the first QoS flow, the range to which the burst arrival time expected by the first QoS flow belongs, and the range to which the burst arrival time offset expected by the first QoS flow belongs. The second auxiliary information includes one or more of the burst arrival time expected by the second QoS flow, the burst arrival time offset expected by the second QoS flow, the range to which the burst arrival time expected by the second QoS flow belongs, and the range to which the burst arrival time offset expected by the second QoS flow belongs.

8. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to the first access network device; the method includes: Receiving first indication information sent by the first network element; the first indication information is used for the first access network device to feedback one or more first auxiliary information after receiving the first indication information; the first auxiliary information is used to indicate the transmission time information expected by a first QoS flow. Send one or more first auxiliary information to the first network element; the one or more first auxiliary information are used to determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow; the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used to transmit the same service.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive second indication information sent by the first network element; the second indication information is used for the first access network device to feedback one or more second auxiliary information after receiving the second indication information; the second auxiliary information is used to indicate the expected transmission time information of the second QoS flow; Send one or more second auxiliary information to the first network element; the one or more second auxiliary information are used to jointly determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow with the one or more first auxiliary information.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein After receiving the first indication information and the second indication information sent by the first network element, the method further includes: Send the first indication information to the first terminal device, and send the second indication information to the second terminal device; the first QoS flow is used to transmit the traffic flow of the first terminal device; the second QoS flow is used to transmit the traffic flow of the second terminal device; Receive one or more first auxiliary information sent by the first terminal device, and receive one or more second auxiliary information sent by the second terminal device.

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that, The first indication information or the second indication information is sent by the first network element when it is determined that the service is for communication between two end devices.

12. The method according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that, The first indication information or the second indication information is sent by the second network element to the first network element.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein The first indication information or the second indication information is sent by the second network element to the first network element when it is determined that the service is for communication between two end devices.

14. The method according to any one of claims 9-13, characterized in that, The first auxiliary information includes one or more of the expected burst arrival time of the first QoS flow, the expected burst arrival time offset of the first QoS flow, the range to which the expected burst arrival time of the first QoS flow belongs, and the range to which the expected burst arrival time offset of the first QoS flow belongs; The second auxiliary information includes one or more of the expected burst arrival time of the second QoS flow, the expected burst arrival time offset of the second QoS flow, the range to which the expected burst arrival time of the second QoS flow belongs, and the range to which the expected burst arrival time offset of the second QoS flow belongs.

15. The method according to claim 8, wherein The one or more first auxiliary information are used to jointly determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow with one or more second auxiliary information; the one or more second auxiliary information are sent by the second access network device when receiving the second indication information from the first network element; the second auxiliary information is used to indicate the expected transmission time information of the second QoS flow.

16. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to the second network element; the method includes: Send first indication information to a first terminal device; the first indication information is used for the first terminal device to send one or more first auxiliary information after receiving the first indication information; the first auxiliary information is used to indicate transmission time information expected by a first QoS flow; the first QoS flow is used to transmit traffic of the first terminal device; Receive one or more first auxiliary information sent by the first terminal device; the one or more first auxiliary information are used to determine a burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and a burst arrival time of a second QoS flow; the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used to transmit the same traffic.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein The method further includes: Send second indication information to a second terminal device; the second indication information is used for the second terminal device to send one or more second auxiliary information after receiving the second indication information; the second auxiliary information is used to indicate transmission time information expected by the second QoS flow; the second QoS flow is used to transmit traffic of the second terminal device; Receive one or more second auxiliary information sent by the second terminal device; the one or more second auxiliary information are used to jointly determine, with the one or more first auxiliary information, the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein The first indication information or the second indication information is sent by the second network element when determining that the traffic is for communication between two terminal devices.

19. The method according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that The first auxiliary information includes one or more of a burst arrival time expected by the first QoS flow, a burst arrival time offset expected by the first QoS flow, a range to which the burst arrival time expected by the first QoS flow belongs, and a range to which the burst arrival time offset expected by the first QoS flow belongs; The second auxiliary information includes one or more of a burst arrival time expected by the second QoS flow, a burst arrival time offset expected by the second QoS flow, a range to which the burst arrival time expected by the second QoS flow belongs, and a range to which the burst arrival time offset expected by the second QoS flow belongs.

20. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a first terminal device; the method includes: Receive first indication information sent by a first access network device or a second network element; the first indication information is used for the first terminal device to send one or more first auxiliary information after receiving the first indication information; the first auxiliary information is used to indicate transmission time information expected by a first QoS flow; the first QoS flow is used to transmit traffic of the first terminal device; Send one or more first auxiliary information to the first access network device or the second network element; the one or more first auxiliary information are used to determine a burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and a burst arrival time of a second QoS flow; the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are used to transmit the same traffic.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that, The one or more first auxiliary information is used to jointly determine the burst arrival time of the first QoS flow and the burst arrival time of the second QoS flow with the one or more second auxiliary information; the one or more second auxiliary information is sent by a second terminal device; the second auxiliary information is used to indicate the transmission time information expected by the second QoS flow; the second QoS flow is used to transmit the traffic flow of the second terminal device.

22. The method according to claim 20 or 21, characterized in that, The first indication information is sent by the second network element when determining that the service is for communication between two terminal devices.

23. The method according to claim 21 or 22, characterized in that, The first auxiliary information includes one or more of the burst arrival time expected by the first QoS flow, the burst arrival time offset expected by the first QoS flow, the range to which the burst arrival time expected by the first QoS flow belongs, and the range to which the burst arrival time offset expected by the first QoS flow belongs; The second auxiliary information includes one or more of the burst arrival time expected by the second QoS flow, the burst arrival time offset expected by the second QoS flow, the range to which the burst arrival time expected by the second QoS flow belongs, and the range to which the burst arrival time offset expected by the second QoS flow belongs.

24. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 1-7, or includes a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 8-15, or includes a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 16-19, or includes a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 20-23.

25. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes a processor, a memory, a communication interface, and one or more programs. The one or more programs are stored in the memory and are configured to cooperate with the communication interface to implement the method according to any one of claims 1-7 or claims 8-15 or claims 16-19 or claims 20-23 when executed by the processor.

26. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program for device execution. When the computer program is executed, it implements the method according to any one of claims 1-7 or claims 8-15 or claims 16-19 or claims 20-23.

27. A computer program product, characterized in that, When the computer program product is run on a device, the device executes the method according to any one of claims 1-7 or claims 8-15 or claims 16-19 or claims 20-23.

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