Information transmission method, communication device, and storage medium

Abstract

The present application relates to the field of communications, and provides an information transmission method, a communication device, and a storage medium, for use in satisfying the service requirements between terminals as much as possible. The method comprises: determining a first hop count, and sending a first discovery message, wherein the first hop count is the maximum hop count for transmitting discovery information, the discovery information is used for a source terminal to discover a target terminal, the first discovery message comprises the first hop count and the discovery information, the first hop count is related to information of a first service of the source terminal, and the information of the first service includes at least one of the following: a quality of service parameter corresponding to the first service, a relay service type corresponding to the first service, a type of the first service, or a hop count requirement of the first service.

Description

Information transmission method, communication device and storage medium

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office on February 8, 2024, with application number 202410178207.1 and application name “Information Transmission Method, Communication Device and Storage Medium”, and the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office on August 5, 2024, with application number 202411075503.5 and application name “Information Transmission Method, Communication Device and Storage Medium”, all contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

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

[0003] In a communication system supporting Proximity Service (ProSe), a terminal can determine multiple relay terminals through a discovery process and establish connections with other terminals through multiple relay terminals. However, during the discovery process, it is necessary to limit the number of hops used to transmit discovery information to prevent the discovery information from being transmitted endlessly. However, currently, the value used to limit the number of hops used to transmit discovery information is preconfigured, which may result in the value used to limit the number of hops used to transmit discovery information being inappropriate in actual situations, which in turn may result in service needs between terminals not being met.

[0004] Summary of the Invention

[0005] In order to solve the above technical problems, the embodiments of the present application provide an information transmission method, a communication device and a storage medium, which can ensure that the business needs between terminals are met as much as possible.

[0006] In a first aspect, a method for information transmission is provided. The method can be executed by a source terminal, or by a component of the source terminal, such as a processor, chip, or chip system of the source terminal, or by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the source terminal. The following description takes the method executed by the source terminal as an example. The information transmission method includes: determining a first hop number based on information of a first service, and sending a first discovery message, wherein the first hop number is the maximum hop number for transmitting discovery information, the discovery information is used by the source terminal to discover the target terminal, and the first discovery message includes the first hop number and the discovery information; wherein the information of the first service includes at least one of the following: a quality of service parameter corresponding to the first service, a relay service type corresponding to the first service, the type of the first service, or a hop requirement of the first service.

[0007] In an embodiment of the present application, the source terminal can determine the maximum number of hops for transmitting discovery information (i.e., the first hop number) and send a first discovery message including the first hop number and the discovery information, so that other terminals can learn the first hop number while receiving the discovery information, so that the source terminal can limit the number of hops for transmitting discovery information based on the first hop number during the discovery process. Since the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service, the relay service type corresponding to the first service, the type of the first service, and the hop number requirements of the first service included in the information of the first service are all parameters related to service requirements, and the first hop number is related to at least one of the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service, the relay service type corresponding to the first service, the type of the first service, or the hop number requirements of the first service, the first hop number can be more in line with the actual needs of the service, and thus can ensure that the service needs between terminals are met as much as possible.

[0008] In conjunction with the first aspect above, in one possible implementation, determining the first hop count based on information about the first service includes determining the first hop count based on a quality of service parameter corresponding to the first service. Because the quality of service parameter corresponding to the first service can more accurately reflect parameters related to service requirements, the first hop count determined based on the quality of service parameter corresponding to the first service can best align with actual service requirements, thereby ensuring that service requirements between terminals are met to the greatest extent possible.

[0009] In combination with the first aspect above, in a possible implementation, sending the first discovery message includes: generating and sending the first discovery message when the first hop number is different from a maximum hop number determined based on a relay service type corresponding to the first service.

[0010] Combined with the above description of the "first hop count", it can be seen that the first hop count determined based on the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service can be as close to the actual needs of the service as possible, thereby ensuring that the service needs between terminals are met as much as possible. In view of this, when the first hop count determined based on the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service is different from the maximum hop count determined based on the relay service type corresponding to the first service, a first discovery message is generated and sent, that is, the first hop count is sent at the same time as the discovery information is sent, so that the terminal receiving the first discovery message can obtain a first hop count that is more in line with the actual needs of the service, further ensuring that the service needs between terminals are met.

[0011] In combination with the above-mentioned first aspect, in a possible implementation method, the method provided in an embodiment of the present application also includes: when the first hop number is the same as the maximum hop number determined based on the relay service type corresponding to the first service, generating and sending an eleventh discovery message, the eleventh discovery message includes discovery information, and the eleventh discovery message does not include the first hop number.

[0012] That is to say, since the maximum number of hops determined based on the relay service type corresponding to the first service is well known to all terminals related to the first service, when the first hop number is the same as the maximum number of hops determined based on the relay service type corresponding to the first service, each terminal related to the first service does not need to obtain the first hop number through the first hop number sent by the source terminal. In this way, the source terminal does not need to send the first hop number at the same time as sending the discovery information, that is, the source terminal can send the eleventh discovery message, the eleventh discovery message includes the discovery information, and the eleventh discovery message does not include the first hop number. In this way, signaling overhead can be saved on the basis of ensuring that the service needs between the terminals are met.

[0013] In combination with the above-mentioned first aspect, in a possible implementation method, the method provided by the embodiment of the present application also includes: receiving first indication information from a policy control function network element, the first indication information is used to indicate the correspondence between at least one maximum number of hops and at least one service quality parameter, at least one relay service type, at least one service type, or at least one hop number requirement of at least one service; wherein, at least one service quality parameter includes a service quality parameter corresponding to the first service, at least one relay service type includes a relay service type corresponding to the first service, at least one service type includes a type of the first service, and the hop number requirement of at least one service includes a hop number requirement of the first service; based on the information of the first service, determining the first hop number, including: according to the first indication information, determining the maximum number of hops corresponding to the information of the first service as the first hop number.

[0014] That is to say, the source terminal can simply determine the first hop number directly through the correspondence between at least one information related to the service requirements (for example, service quality parameters and / or relay service type and / or service type and / or service hop requirement) and the maximum hop number, thereby reducing the complexity of the source terminal in determining the first hop number and thereby improving the efficiency of the source terminal in determining the first hop number.

[0015] In combination with the above-mentioned first aspect, in a possible implementation method, determining the first hop count based on information of the first business includes: determining the first hop count according to the service quality parameter corresponding to the first business and the first service quality parameter, wherein the first service quality parameter is the service quality parameter corresponding to the near-field communication PC5 connection.

[0016] That is to say, in this implementation method, the source terminal can determine the first hop number by itself based on the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service and the first service quality parameters. In this way, the first hop number determined based on the actual service quality parameters is more accurate, and can subsequently better ensure that the service needs between the terminals are met.

[0017] In combination with the above-mentioned first aspect, in a possible implementation method, the target terminal is a relay terminal connected to the network, and the first hop count is determined based on the information of the first service, including: determining the first hop count according to the service quality parameter corresponding to the first service and the first information, wherein the first information includes the first service quality parameter and / or the second service quality parameter, the first service quality parameter is the service quality parameter corresponding to the near-field communication PC5 connection, and the second service quality parameter is the service quality parameter corresponding to the connection between the target terminal and the network device.

[0018] However, in the case where the target terminal is a relay terminal connected to the network, there is not only a connection between the terminals, but also a connection between the terminal and the network. In view of this, in this scenario, in addition to being able to improve the accuracy of the first hop number based on the actual service quality parameters, the source terminal can also adaptively determine the first service quality parameters and / or the second service quality parameters as the service quality parameters required for the first hop number based on the current scenario, so that the first hop number determined based on the service quality parameters can be more in line with the actual situation of the current scenario, thereby further improving the accuracy of the first hop number.

[0019] In combination with the above-mentioned first aspect, in a possible implementation method, the information of the first service includes the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service and / or the hop count requirement of the first service, and the first hop count is determined based on the information of the first service, including: the adjacent service layer ProSe layer of the source terminal receives the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service and / or the hop count requirement of the first service from the application layer of the source terminal, and determines the first hop count based on the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service and / or the hop count requirement of the first service.

[0020] That is to say, when the information of the first service includes the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service and / or the hop count requirement of the first service, the ProSe layer of the source terminal can obtain the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service and / or the hop count requirement of the first service from the application layer of the source terminal, and determine the first hop count based on the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service and / or the hop count requirement of the first service. This provides a specific implementation method for determining the first hop count within the source terminal, which can effectively support the implementation of the corresponding upper-level step.

[0021] In combination with the above-mentioned first aspect, in a possible implementation method, the method provided in an embodiment of the present application also includes: the ProSe layer of the source terminal obtains the service quality requirements corresponding to the first service from the application layer of the source terminal, and determines the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service based on the service quality requirements corresponding to the first service, so as to provide a data basis for the subsequent determination of the first hop count.

[0022] In combination with the above-mentioned first aspect, in a possible implementation method, the method provided in an embodiment of the present application also includes: the ProSe layer of the source terminal obtains the type of the first service from the application layer of the source terminal, and determines the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service based on the type of the first service, thereby providing a data basis for the subsequent determination of the first hop number.

[0023] In combination with the above-mentioned first aspect, in a possible implementation method, the method provided in an embodiment of the present application also includes: the ProSe layer of the source terminal determines the relay service type corresponding to the first service based on the type of the first service and the policy information configured on the source terminal, so as to provide a data basis for the subsequent determination of the first hop number.

[0024] In combination with the above-mentioned first aspect, in a possible implementation method, the method provided in an embodiment of the present application also includes: when the source terminal determines that the existing PC5 service quality flow can match the data packet or request of the first service from the application layer of the source terminal, the source terminal determines the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service based on the service quality parameters corresponding to the existing PC5 service quality flow, which can provide a data basis for the subsequent determination of the first hop number.

[0025] In combination with the above-mentioned first aspect, in a possible implementation method, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application also includes: when the source terminal determines that there is no PC5 service quality flow that can match the data packet or request of the first service from the application layer of the source terminal, the source terminal determines the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service based on the service quality requirements corresponding to the first service; or, the source terminal determines the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service based on the type of the first service, which can provide a data basis for the subsequent determination of the first hop count.

[0026] In combination with the above-mentioned first aspect, in a possible implementation method, before sending the first discovery message, the method provided in an embodiment of the present application also includes: determining the need to send the first discovery message based on whether there is a connection between the source terminal and the target terminal, and / or second information, wherein the second information includes the number of hops of the connection between the source terminal and the target terminal, and the first hop number. In this way, whether the first discovery message needs to be sent can be determined in advance, so that the source terminal can send the first discovery message when appropriate to avoid redundant signaling overhead.

[0027] In combination with the above-mentioned first aspect, in a possible implementation method, based on whether there is a connection between the source terminal and the target terminal, and / or the second information, it is determined that a first discovery message needs to be sent, including: when there is no connection between the source terminal and the target terminal, it is determined that a first discovery message needs to be sent, that is, when communication between the current source terminal and the target terminal cannot be established, the source terminal needs to send the first discovery message to discover the target terminal, so that when communication can be established between the source terminal and the target terminal, the first discovery message is repeatedly sent, thereby avoiding redundant signaling overhead.

[0028] Alternatively, when there is a connection between the source terminal and the target terminal, and the number of hops of the connection between the source terminal and the target terminal is greater than the first hop number, it is determined that the first discovery message needs to be sent. That is, although there is a connection between the current source terminal and the target terminal, the connection cannot meet the business needs, which means that the current source terminal and the target terminal cannot communicate. In this case, the source terminal also needs to send the first discovery message to discover the target terminal, so that when communication can be carried out between the source terminal and the target terminal, the first discovery message is repeatedly sent, thereby avoiding redundant signaling overhead.

[0029] In a second aspect, a method for information transmission is provided. The method can be executed by a second relay terminal, or by a component of the second relay terminal, such as a processor, chip, or chip system of the second relay terminal, or by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the second relay terminal, wherein the second relay terminal is a relay terminal that is not directly connected to the network. The following description takes the method executed by the second relay terminal as an example. The information transmission method includes: obtaining a second hop number and sending a second discovery message, where the second hop number is the maximum hop number for transmitting the discovery information after the second relay terminal receives the discovery information, and the discovery information is used by the source terminal to discover the target terminal, and the second discovery message includes the second hop number and the discovery information, wherein the second hop number is related to the relay service type corresponding to the first service of the source terminal.

[0030] In an embodiment of the present application, the second relay terminal can determine the maximum number of hops (i.e., the second hop number) for transmitting the discovery information after the second relay terminal receives the discovery information, and send a second discovery message including the second hop number and the discovery information, so that other terminals can know the second hop number at the same time as receiving the discovery information, so that the second relay terminal can limit the number of hops for transmitting the discovery information after the second relay terminal receives the discovery information during the discovery process based on the second hop number. Since the relay service type corresponding to the first service included in the information of the first service is a parameter related to the service demand, and the second hop number is related to the relay service type corresponding to the first service, the second hop number can be more in line with the actual needs of the service, thereby ensuring that the service needs between terminals are met as much as possible.

[0031] In combination with the above-mentioned second aspect, in a possible implementation method, obtaining the second hop number includes: receiving fourth indication information, where the fourth indication information is used to indicate the second hop number, so that the second relay terminal can directly obtain the second hop number through the fourth indication information, thereby saving the computational burden of the second relay terminal in determining the second hop number.

[0032] In combination with the above-mentioned second aspect, in a possible implementation method, obtaining the second hop number includes: obtaining the first hop number and the third hop number, and determining the second hop number based on the first hop number and the third hop number; wherein the first hop number is the maximum hop number for transmitting discovery information, the first hop number is related to the relay service type corresponding to the first service, and the third hop number is the hop number of the connection between the second relay terminal and the target terminal.

[0033] That is to say, in addition to directly obtaining the second hop number, the second relay terminal can also determine the second hop number based on the entire end-to-end maximum hop number from the source terminal to the target terminal (i.e., the first hop number) and the hop number of the connection between the second relay terminal and the target terminal (i.e., the third hop number). In this way, when other terminals cannot provide the second hop number for the second relay terminal, the second relay terminal can also determine the second hop number based on the first hop number and the third hop number. In other words, another implementation method for determining the second hop number is provided, thereby improving the reliability of the second relay terminal in determining the second hop number.

[0034] In combination with the above-mentioned second aspect, in a possible implementation method, obtaining the first hop number includes: receiving second indication information, the second indication information indicates the first hop number, so that the second relay terminal can directly know the first hop number through the second indication information, thereby saving the computational burden of the second relay terminal in determining the first hop number.

[0035] In combination with the above-mentioned second aspect, in a possible implementation method, the method provided in an embodiment of the present application also includes: receiving third indication information from a policy control function network element, the third indication information being used to indicate the correspondence between at least one maximum number of hops and at least one relay service type; at least one relay service type includes a relay service type corresponding to the first service; obtaining the first number of hops, including: determining the maximum number of hops corresponding to the relay service type of the first service as the first number of hops according to the third indication information.

[0036] That is to say, the second relay terminal can simply determine the first number of hops by directly corresponding to information related to business requirements (for example, relay service type) and the maximum number of hops. This reduces the complexity of the second relay terminal in determining the first number of hops, thereby improving the efficiency of the second relay terminal in determining the first number of hops.

[0037] In a third aspect, an information transmission method is provided. The method can be executed by a first relay terminal, or by a component of the first relay terminal, such as a processor, chip, or chip system of the first relay terminal, or by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the first relay terminal, wherein the first relay terminal is a relay terminal connected to the network. The following description takes the method executed by the first relay terminal as an example. The information transmission method includes: obtaining a first hop count and sending a third discovery message, wherein the first hop count is the maximum hop count for transmitting discovery information, and the discovery information is used by the source terminal to discover the first relay terminal, and the third discovery message includes the first hop count and the discovery information, wherein the first hop count is related to the relay service type corresponding to the first service of the source terminal.

[0038] In an embodiment of the present application, the first relay terminal can determine the maximum number of hops for transmitting discovery information (i.e., the first hop number) and send a third discovery message including the first hop number and the discovery information, so that other terminals can learn the first hop number while receiving the discovery information, so that the first relay terminal can limit the number of hops for transmitting discovery information based on the first hop number during the discovery process. Since the relay service type corresponding to the first service included in the information of the first service is a parameter related to the service demand, and the second hop number is related to the relay service type corresponding to the first service, the first hop number can be more in line with the actual needs of the service, thereby ensuring that the service needs between terminals are met as much as possible.

[0039] In combination with the above-mentioned second aspect, in a possible implementation method, the method provided in an embodiment of the present application also includes: receiving third indication information from a policy control function network element, the third indication information being used to indicate the correspondence between at least one maximum number of hops and at least one relay service type; at least one relay service type includes a relay service type corresponding to the first service; obtaining the first number of hops, including: determining the maximum number of hops corresponding to the relay service type corresponding to the first service as the first number of hops according to the third indication information.

[0040] That is to say, the first relay terminal can simply determine the first hop number through the correspondence between information related to business requirements (for example, relay service type) and the maximum hop number, thereby reducing the complexity of the first relay terminal in determining the first hop number and thereby improving the efficiency of the first relay terminal in determining the first hop number.

[0041] In a fourth aspect, an information transmission method is provided. The method can be executed by a second relay terminal, or by a component of the second relay terminal, such as a processor, chip, or chip system of the second relay terminal. It can also be implemented by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the second relay terminal, wherein the second relay terminal is a relay terminal that is not directly connected to the network. The following is an example of the method being executed by the second relay terminal. The information transmission method includes: receiving a twelfth discovery message and determining a first hop count based on a first relay service type, wherein the twelfth discovery message includes discovery information and the first relay service type, and the discovery information is used by the source terminal to discover the target terminal; the first hop count is the maximum hop count for transmitting the discovery information. Based on the first hop count, the discovery information is sent or not.

[0042] In an embodiment of the present application, the second relay terminal can determine the maximum number of hops (i.e., the first hop number) for transmitting the discovery information based on the first relay service type included in the discovery message, and send the discovery information or not send the discovery information based on the first hop number. Since the first hop number is related to the relay service type corresponding to the first service of the source terminal, the first hop number can be more in line with the actual needs of the service, which can ensure the rationality of the hop number of the transmission discovery information as much as possible, that is, to avoid redundant transmission of discovery information or omission of transmission of discovery information as much as possible.

[0043] In combination with the above-mentioned fourth aspect, in a possible implementation method, the method provided in an embodiment of the present application also includes: receiving a correspondence between at least one maximum number of hops and at least one relay service type from a policy control function network element; at least one relay service type includes a first relay service type; and determining a first number of hops based on the first relay service type, including: determining the first number of hops based on the correspondence and the first relay service type.

[0044] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided for implementing the various methods described above. The communication device may be the source terminal described in the first aspect or any implementation of the first aspect, or a device including the source terminal, or a device included in the source terminal, such as a chip; or the communication device may be the second relay terminal described in the second aspect or any implementation of the second aspect, or a device including the second relay terminal, or a device included in the second relay terminal, such as a chip; or the communication device may be the first relay terminal described in the third aspect or any implementation of the third aspect, or a device including the first relay terminal, or a device included in the first relay terminal, such as a chip; or the communication device may be the second relay terminal described in the fourth aspect or any implementation of the fourth aspect, or a device including the second relay terminal, or a device included in the second relay terminal, such as a chip. The communication device includes modules, units, or means corresponding to the implementation of the methods described above. The modules, units, or means may be implemented in hardware, software, or by hardware executing the corresponding software implementation. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the functions described above.

[0045] In some possible designs, the communication device may include a processing module and a transceiver module. The transceiver module, also referred to as a transceiver unit, is configured to implement the transmitting and / or receiving functions described in any of the above aspects and any possible implementations thereof. The transceiver module may be comprised of a transceiver circuit, a transceiver, a transceiver, or a communication interface. The processing module may be configured to implement the processing functions described in any of the above aspects and any possible implementations thereof.

[0046] In some possible designs, the transceiver module includes a sending module and a receiving module, which are respectively used to implement the sending and receiving functions in any of the above aspects and any possible implementation methods.

[0047] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor and a memory; the memory is configured to store computer instructions, and when the processor executes the instructions, the communication device performs the method of any of the above aspects. The communication device may be the source terminal in the first aspect or any implementation of the first aspect, or a device including the source terminal, or a device included in the source terminal, such as a chip; or the communication device may be the second relay terminal in the second aspect or any implementation of the second aspect, or a device including the second relay terminal, or a device included in the second relay terminal, such as a chip; or the communication device may be the first relay terminal in the third aspect or any implementation of the third aspect, or a device including the first relay terminal, or a device included in the first relay terminal, such as a chip; or the communication device may be the second relay terminal in the fourth aspect or any implementation of the fourth aspect, or a device including the second relay terminal, or a device included in the second relay terminal, such as a chip.

[0048] In a seventh aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor and a communication interface; the communication interface is configured to communicate with a module outside the communication device; and the processor is configured to execute a computer program or instruction to cause the communication device to perform the method of any of the above aspects. The communication device may be the source terminal in the first aspect or any implementation of the first aspect, or a device including the source terminal, or a device included in the source terminal, such as a chip; or the communication device may be the second relay terminal in the second aspect or any implementation of the second aspect, or a device including the second relay terminal, or a device included in the second relay terminal, such as a chip; or the communication device may be the first relay terminal in the third aspect or any implementation of the third aspect, or a device including the first relay terminal, or a device included in the first relay terminal, such as a chip; or the communication device may be the second relay terminal in the fourth aspect or any implementation of the fourth aspect, or a device including the second relay terminal, or a device included in the second relay terminal, such as a chip.

[0049] In an eighth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: at least one processor; the processor is configured to execute a computer program or instruction stored in a memory, so that the communication device performs the method of any of the aforementioned aspects. The memory may be coupled to the processor, or may be independent of the processor. The communication device may be the source terminal, or a device including the source terminal, or a device included in the source terminal, such as a chip, in the first aspect or any implementation of the first aspect; or the communication device may be the second relay terminal, or a device including the second relay terminal, or a device included in the second relay terminal, such as a chip, in the second aspect or any implementation of the second aspect; or the communication device may be the first relay terminal, or a device including the first relay terminal, or a device included in the first relay terminal, such as a chip, in the third aspect or any implementation of the third aspect; or the communication device may be the second relay terminal, or a device including the second relay terminal, or a device included in the second relay terminal, such as a chip, in the fourth aspect or any implementation of the fourth aspect.

[0050] In the ninth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is run on a communication device, the communication device can execute any of the above aspects or any of its implementation methods.

[0051] In a tenth aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided, which, when executed on a communication device, enables the communication device to execute the method of any of the above aspects or any of its implementations.

[0052] In the eleventh aspect, a communication device is provided (for example, the communication device may be a chip or a chip system), which includes a processor for implementing the functions involved in any of the above aspects or any of its implementation methods.

[0053] In some possible designs, the communication device includes a memory for storing necessary program instructions and data.

[0054] In some possible designs, when the device is a chip system, it can be composed of a chip or include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0055] It can be understood that when the communication device provided in any of the above aspects is a chip, the above sending action / function can be understood as output, and the above receiving action / function can be understood as input.

[0056] In the twelfth aspect, an information transmission method is provided, which includes the method of the above-mentioned first aspect or any implementation thereof, the method of the above-mentioned second aspect or any implementation thereof, and the method of the above-mentioned third aspect or any implementation thereof.

[0057] In a thirteenth aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes the source terminal of the above aspect, the second relay terminal of the above aspect, and the first relay terminal of the above aspect.

[0058] Among them, the technical effects brought about by any implementation method in the fifth to thirteenth aspects can refer to the technical effects brought about by the corresponding implementation methods in the first to fourth aspects, and will not be repeated here.

[0059] It should be noted that various possible implementations of any of the above aspects can be combined under the premise that there is no contradiction between the solutions. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0060] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a relay-based ProSe communication architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0061] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of another relay-based ProSe communication architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0062] FIG3 is a flow chart of a discovery process provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] FIG4 is a flow chart of another discovery process provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0064] FIG5 is a flow chart of another discovery process provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0065] FIG6 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0066] FIG7 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0067] FIG8 is a flow chart of an information transmission method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0068] FIG9 is a flow chart of another information transmission method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0069] FIG10 is a flow chart of another information transmission method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0070] FIG11 is a flow chart of another information transmission method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0071] FIG12 is a flow chart of another information transmission method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0072] FIG13 is a flow chart of another information transmission method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0073] FIG14 is a flow chart of another information transmission method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0074] FIG15 is a flow chart of another information transmission method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0075] FIG16 is a flow chart of another information transmission method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0076] FIG17 is a flow chart of another information transmission method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0077] FIG18 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0078] 1. ProSe

[0079] ProSe communication refers to indirect communication between two terminals through the relay of at least one relay terminal. Specifically, the terminals can communicate through a near field communication (PFC) 5 interface.

[0080] ProSe communication can be applied in scenarios where two terminals cannot communicate directly, that is, where two terminals cannot directly communicate based on the PC5 interface. In this scenario, a user equipment-to-user equipment (U2U) connection is required. Specifically, the two terminals can communicate through at least one relay terminal.

[0081] For example, as shown in FIG1 , when terminal 1 and terminal 2 cannot communicate directly based on the PC5 interface, terminal 1 can perform multi-hop relay forwarding through relay terminal 1, relay terminal 2, and relay terminal 3 to achieve indirect connection with terminal 2.

[0082] However, ProSe communication can also be applied to scenarios where the terminal cannot directly access the network. In other words, ProSe communication can be applied to scenarios where the terminal cannot directly communicate with the network based on the air interface. In this scenario, it is necessary to implement a user equipment-to-network (U2N) connection. Specifically, the terminal can relay messages through at least one relay terminal to connect to a relay terminal that can access the network, so that the terminal can communicate with the network through the relay terminal that can access the network.

[0083] For example, as shown in Figure 2, when terminal 1 cannot directly access the network, terminal 1 can perform multi-hop relay transfer through relay terminal 4 and relay terminal 5 to achieve connection with the relay terminal (i.e., relay terminal 6) that can access the network, so that terminal 1 can indirectly access the network through relay terminal 6.

[0084] 2. Discovery Process

[0085] The discovery process involves a terminal searching for nearby terminals with which it can directly communicate. After the discovery process, the terminal can establish a unicast connection with the discovered terminal to enable data transmission. The current discovery process includes Model A and Model B, which are described below.

[0086] 2.1. Discovery Process of Pattern A

[0087] As shown in FIG3 , the discovery process of mode A can be specifically implemented through the following S301 and S302 .

[0088] S301: The announcing UE pre-acquires discovery information through other discovery processes.

[0089] Since the discovery process of mode A is initiated by the relay terminal, the above-mentioned announcement terminal is the relay terminal (relay UE).

[0090] In the discovery process of mode A, the discovery information may also be referred to as an announcement message, and may also be carried in the announcement message. Exemplarily, the discovery information in the discovery process of mode A may include at least one of the following: discovery type, user information (user info) of the monitoring terminal, relay service code (RSC) corresponding to the service of the monitoring terminal, or user info ID of the announcement terminal. In this case, the discovery type can be used to indicate that the discovery process is the discovery process of mode A. Of course, the above is only an exemplary description of the discovery information in the discovery process of mode A. The discovery information in the discovery process of mode A may also include other information, and the embodiments of the present application do not impose any restrictions on this. In addition, the discovery information may include a direct discovery set. The direct discovery set may include one or more user information, and the user information may include a user information ID (user information ID, user info ID) and an application layer ID (application layer ID).

[0091] S302: The announcing terminal broadcasts a discovery message 1. Correspondingly, the monitoring terminal (monitoring UE) receives the discovery message 1.

[0092] For example, as shown in FIG3 , the above S302 may be: the announcing terminal broadcasts and sends the discovery message 1 , and correspondingly, the listening terminal 1 and the listening terminal 2 receive the discovery message 1 respectively.

[0093] The listening terminal may also be referred to as the destination terminal (end UE). Discovery Message 1 includes a source Layer 2 (L2) identifier (ID), a destination L2 ID, and discovery information. The source L2 ID is the L2 ID assigned to the announcing terminal. The destination L2 ID is the L2 ID assigned to the broadcast message.

[0094] In addition, the discovery process of Mode A can be further divided into the discovery process of Mode A U2U and the discovery process of Mode A U2N. The discovery process of Mode A U2U and Mode A U2N can be understood with reference to the process shown in Figure 3 above and will not be repeated here. However, the difference between the discovery process of Mode A U2U and Mode A U2N lies in the target terminal. For example, taking a single-hop relay as an example, that is, the above-mentioned listening terminal is the target terminal: in the discovery process of Mode A U2U, the listening terminal may or may not be connected to the network, while in the discovery process of Mode A U2N, the listening terminal needs to be connected to the network.

[0095] 2.2. Discovery Process of Pattern B

[0096] The discovery process of Mode B can be further divided into the discovery process of Mode B U2U and the discovery process of Mode B U2N. As shown in FIG4 , taking the U2U relay discovery of Mode B as a single-hop discovery as an example, the discovery process of Mode B U2U can be specifically implemented through the following steps S401 to S408.

[0097] S401: A discoverer terminal broadcasts a discovery message 2. Correspondingly, relay terminal 1, relay terminal 2, and relay terminal 3 receive the discovery message 2.

[0098] The discovery terminal may also be referred to as the source UE. In Mode B, the discovery message may also be referred to as a solicitation message. Discovery Message 2 may include a source L2 ID, a destination L2 ID, and discovery information. The source L2 ID of Discovery Message 2 is the L2 ID assigned to the discovery terminal, and the destination L2 ID of Discovery Message 2 is the L2 ID assigned for the broadcast message. The discovery information in the Mode B U2U discovery process may include at least one of the following: a discovery type, a user info ID of the discovery terminal, an RSC, or a user info ID of the discovery terminal. In this case, the discovery type may be used to indicate that the discovery process is a Mode B U2U discovery process.

[0099] Specifically, the discovery message 2 may be used to request discovery of a target terminal, for example, a discovery request message. Furthermore, the discovery request message carries the above-mentioned discovery information.

[0100] Of course, the above is only an exemplary description of the discovery information in the discovery process of Mode B U2U. The discovery information in the discovery process of Mode B U2U may also include other information, and the embodiments of the present application do not impose any limitation on this.

[0101] S402 : The relay terminal 1 broadcasts a discovery message 3 , and the discovered terminal receives the discovery message 3 accordingly.

[0102] The discovered terminal may also be referred to as a target UE, and the discovered terminal may also be referred to as an end UE. The above-mentioned discovery message 3 adds the identifier of the relay terminal 1 to the discovery message 2. That is, the discovery message 3 may include the identifier of the relay terminal 1 and the discovery information. In addition, the source L2 ID in the discovery message 3 is the L2 ID assigned to the relay terminal 1, and the destination L2 ID in the discovery message 3 is the L2 ID assigned for the broadcast message.

[0103] S403 : The relay terminal 2 broadcasts a discovery message 4 , and the discovered terminal receives the discovery message 4 accordingly.

[0104] Among them, the above-mentioned discovery message 4 adds the identifier of relay terminal 2 to discovery message 2. In other words, discovery message 4 can include the identifier of relay terminal 2 and discovery information. In addition, the source L2 ID in discovery message 4 is the L2 ID assigned to relay terminal 2, and the destination L2 ID in discovery message 4 is the L2 ID assigned for broadcast messages. For more information about discovery information, please refer to the description of the corresponding location above and will not be repeated here.

[0105] It should be noted that the relay terminal 1 and the relay terminal 2 are both relay terminals that support broadcasting discovery information.

[0106] Optionally, the relay terminal may determine whether to support broadcasting discovery information based on signal quality, or may determine whether to support broadcasting discovery information based on supported service types. Of course, the above is only an exemplary description of how the relay terminal determines whether to support broadcasting discovery information. The relay terminal may also determine whether to support broadcasting discovery information based on other parameters, and the embodiments of the present application do not impose any restrictions on this.

[0107] S404 : The discovered terminal sends a discovery response message 1 to the relay terminal 1 . Correspondingly, the relay terminal 1 receives the discovery response message 1 from the discovered terminal.

[0108] Specifically, the above S404 may be: the discovered terminal sends the discovery response message 1 to the relay terminal 1 in a unicast form, and correspondingly, the relay terminal 1 receives the discovery response message 1 from the discovered terminal.

[0109] The discovery response message 1 may include a source L2 ID, a destination L2 ID, and discovery response information. The source L2 ID of the discovery response message 1 is the L2 ID assigned to the discovered terminal, and the destination L2 ID of the discovery response message 1 is the L2 ID assigned to relay terminal 1. The discovery response information may include at least one of the following: a discovery type, a user info ID of the discovered terminal, an RSC, a user info ID of the discovered terminal, or a user info ID of relay terminal 1. Of course, the above is merely an exemplary description of the discovery response information. The discovery response information may also include other information, and the embodiments of the present application do not impose any limitations on this.

[0110] S405 : The discovered terminal sends a discovery response message 2 to the relay terminal 2 . Correspondingly, the relay terminal 2 receives the discovery response message 2 from the discovered terminal.

[0111] Specifically, the above S405 may be: the discovered terminal sends a discovery response message 2 to the relay terminal 2 , and correspondingly, the relay terminal 2 receives the discovery response message 2 from the discovered terminal.

[0112] Discovery response message 2 may include a source L2 ID, a destination L2 ID, and discovery response information. The source L2 ID of discovery response message 2 is the L2 ID assigned to the discovered terminal, and the destination L2 ID of discovery response message 2 is the L2 ID assigned to relay terminal 2. For details about the discovery response information, refer to the descriptions above and are not repeated here.

[0113] Optionally, the discovered terminal may send a discovery response message to all relay terminals that broadcast discovery information to the discovered terminal, or may send a discovery response message to some relay terminals that broadcast discovery information to the discovered terminal. This embodiment of the present application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0114] In addition, optionally, the above-mentioned part of the relay terminals can be determined by the discovered relay terminal according to parameters such as signal quality from all relay terminals that broadcast discovery information to the discovered terminal, and the embodiment of the present application does not impose any limitation on this.

[0115] S406 : The relay terminal 1 sends a discovery response message 3 to the discovery terminal. Correspondingly, the discovery terminal receives the discovery response message 3 from the relay terminal 1 .

[0116] Specifically, the above S406 may be: the relay terminal 1 sends the discovery response message 3 to the discovery terminal in a unicast form, and correspondingly, the discovery terminal receives the discovery response message 3 from the relay terminal 1 .

[0117] Discovery response message 3 may include a source L2 ID, a destination L2 ID, and discovery response information. The source L2 ID of discovery response message 3 is the L2 ID assigned to relay terminal 1, and the destination L2 ID of discovery response message 3 is the L2 ID assigned to the discovery terminal. For details about the discovery response information, refer to the descriptions above and are not repeated here.

[0118] S407 : The relay terminal 2 sends a discovery response message 4 to the discovery terminal. Correspondingly, the discovery terminal receives the discovery response message 4 from the relay terminal 2 .

[0119] Specifically, the above S407 may be: the relay terminal 2 sends a discovery response message 4 to the discovery terminal, and correspondingly, the discovery terminal receives the discovery response message 4 from the relay terminal 2 .

[0120] Discovery response message 2 may include a source L2 ID, a destination L2 ID, and discovery response information. The source L2 ID of discovery response message 4 is the L2 ID assigned to relay terminal 2, and the destination L2 ID of discovery response message 4 is the L2 ID assigned to the discovery terminal. For details about the discovery response information, refer to the descriptions above and are not repeated here.

[0121] S408: The discovery terminal selects a relay terminal to establish a connection with PC5 according to the received discovery response message.

[0122] As shown in FIG5 , taking the U2N relay discovery of mode B as a single-hop discovery as an example, the specific process of the U2N relay discovery of mode B may include S501 to S503 .

[0123] S501: A remote terminal (remote UE) broadcasts a discovery message 5. Correspondingly, relay terminal 1, relay terminal 2, and relay terminal 3 receive the discovery message 5.

[0124] Discovery message 5 includes a source L2 ID, a destination L2 ID, and discovery information. The source L2 ID of discovery message 5 is the L2 ID assigned to the remote terminal, and the destination L2 ID of discovery message 5 is the L2 ID assigned for broadcast messages. The discovery information in the Mode B U2N discovery process can include at least one of the following: a discovery type, the remote terminal's user info ID, or an RSC. In this case, the discovery type can be used to indicate that the discovery process is a Mode B U2N discovery process.

[0125] Of course, the above is only an exemplary description of the discovery information in the discovery process of Mode B U2N. The discovery information in the discovery process of Mode B U2N may also include other information, and the embodiments of the present application do not impose any limitation on this.

[0126] S502 : The relay terminal 1 sends a discovery response message 5 to the remote terminal. Correspondingly, the remote terminal receives the discovery response message 5 from the relay terminal 1 .

[0127] Specifically, the above S502 may be: the relay terminal 1 sends the discovery response message 5 to the remote terminal in a unicast form, and correspondingly, the remote terminal receives the discovery response message 5 from the relay terminal 1 .

[0128] The discovery response message 5 may include a source L2 ID, a destination L2 ID, and discovery response information. The source L2 ID of the discovery response message 5 is the L2 ID assigned to the relay terminal 1, and the destination L2 ID of the discovery response message 5 is the L2 ID assigned to the remote terminal. For details about the discovery response information, refer to the description of the corresponding locations above and will not be repeated here.

[0129] S503 : The relay terminal 2 sends a discovery response message 6 to the remote terminal. Correspondingly, the remote terminal receives the discovery response message 6 from the relay terminal 2 .

[0130] It should be noted that the relay terminal 1 and the relay terminal 2 are both relay terminals that can connect to the network (in-coverage relay UE).

[0131] Specifically, the above S503 may be: the relay terminal 2 sends a discovery response message 6 to the remote terminal, and correspondingly, the remote terminal receives the discovery response message 6 from the relay terminal 2 .

[0132] The discovery response message 6 may include a source L2 ID, a destination L2 ID, and discovery response information. The source L2 ID of the discovery response message 6 is the L2 ID assigned to the relay terminal 2, and the destination L2 ID of the discovery response message 6 is the L2 ID assigned to the remote terminal. For details about the discovery response information, refer to the description of the corresponding locations above and will not be repeated here.

[0133] As can be seen from the aforementioned introduction to "ProSe communication", in a communication system that supports ProSe, if one terminal (denoted as terminal 1) cannot communicate directly with another terminal (denoted as terminal 2), terminal 1 can determine multiple relay terminals through a discovery process, and realize communication between terminal 1 and terminal 2 or the network through the above-mentioned multiple relay terminals. If a terminal 1 cannot communicate directly with the network, terminal 1 can determine multiple relay terminals through a discovery process, and connect to a terminal that can connect to the network (denoted as terminal 3) through the above-mentioned multiple relay terminals, so as to realize communication between terminal 1 and the network through terminal 3.

[0134] However, during the discovery process, the number of hops for transmitting the discovery information needs to be limited to avoid the discovery information being transmitted endlessly.

[0135] Optionally, the implementation of limiting the number of hops for transmitting discovery information may include the following three methods:

[0136] Implementation method 1: When the relay terminal receives a discovery message, the relay terminal adds 1 to the hop count indication included in the discovery message to determine the hop count of the transmitted discovery information counted by the relay terminal, and when the hop count of the transmitted discovery information counted by the relay terminal is less than the maximum hop count, the relay terminal broadcasts a discovery message including the discovery information.

[0137] Specifically, taking the discovery process of mode B U2U as an example, implementation method 1 may specifically include the following steps:

[0138] Step 1: The discovery terminal broadcasts a discovery message #1, and correspondingly, the relay terminal receives the discovery message #1.

[0139] In this case, the discovery message #1 not only includes the source L2 ID, destination L2 ID, and discovery information involved above, but also includes the maximum number of hops and a hop count indication, wherein the maximum number of hops is the maximum number of hops for transmitting the discovery information, and the discovery information is used by the discovery terminal to discover the discovered terminal, or the discovery information is used by the remote terminal to discover the relay terminal that can connect to the network, and the hop count indication is used to indicate the number of hops of the transmitted discovery information counted by the discovery terminal. Normally, the hop count indication carried by the discovery message #1 is 0.

[0140] Step 2. Relay terminal 1 adds 1 to the hop count indication included in discovery message #1 to obtain the hop count indication determined by relay terminal 1, and when the hop count indication determined by relay terminal 1 is less than the maximum hop count, broadcasts discovery message #2. Correspondingly, relay terminal 2 receives discovery message #2.

[0141] For understanding of discovery message #2, please refer to discovery message #1, and no further details will be given here.

[0142] Step 3. Relay terminal 2 adds 1 to the hop count indication carried in discovery message #2 to obtain the hop count indication determined by the relay terminal 2, and when the hop count indication determined by the relay terminal 2 is less than the maximum hop count, broadcasts discovery message #3. Correspondingly, the discovered terminal receives discovery message #3.

[0143] For understanding of discovery message #3, please refer to discovery message #1, and no further details will be given here.

[0144] Implementation method 2: When the relay terminal receives a discovery message, the relay terminal subtracts 1 from the hop count indication included in the discovery message to determine the maximum number of hops remaining for transmitting the discovery information, and when the maximum number of hops remaining for transmitting the discovery information determined by the relay terminal is greater than 0, the relay terminal broadcasts a discovery message including the discovery information.

[0145] Specifically, taking the discovery process of mode B U2U as an example, implementation method 2 may specifically include the following steps:

[0146] Step 4: The discovery terminal broadcasts a discovery message #4, and correspondingly, the relay terminal receives the discovery message #4.

[0147] In this case, the discovery message #4 not only includes the source L2 ID, destination L2 ID, and discovery information involved above, but also includes the maximum number of hops and a hop number indication, wherein the maximum number of hops is the maximum number of hops for transmitting the discovery information, and the discovery information is used for the discovery terminal to discover the discovered terminal, or the discovery information is used for the remote terminal to discover the relay terminal that can connect to the network, and the hop number indication is used to indicate the maximum number of hops for the remaining transmission of the discovery information. Normally, the hop number indication carried by the discovery message #4 is the maximum number of hops included in the discovery message #4.

[0148] Step 5. Relay terminal 1 subtracts 1 from the hop count indication included in discovery message #4 to obtain the hop count indication determined by relay terminal 1. When the hop count indication determined by relay terminal 1 is greater than 0, relay terminal 1 broadcasts discovery message #5. Correspondingly, relay terminal 2 receives discovery message #5.

[0149] For understanding of discovery message #5, please refer to discovery message #4, which will not be repeated here.

[0150] Step 6. Relay terminal 2 subtracts 1 from the hop count indication carried in discovery message #5 to obtain the hop count indication determined by the relay terminal 2, and when the hop count indication determined by the relay terminal 2 is greater than 0, broadcasts discovery message #6. Correspondingly, the discovered terminal receives discovery message #6.

[0151] For understanding of discovery message #6, please refer to discovery message #4, which will not be repeated here.

[0152] Implementation method 3: When the relay terminal receives a discovery message, the relay terminal determines the number of hops of the transmitted discovery information based on the number of relay terminal identifiers that perform discovery information processing included in the received discovery message, and when the number of hops of the transmitted discovery information determined by the relay terminal is less than the maximum number of hops, the relay terminal sends a discovery message.

[0153] Specifically, taking the discovery process of mode B U2U as an example, implementation method 3 may specifically include the following steps:

[0154] Step 7: The discovery terminal broadcasts a discovery message #7, and correspondingly, the relay terminal receives the discovery message #7.

[0155] In this case, the discovery message #7 includes not only the source L2 ID, destination L2 ID, and discovery information involved above, but also the maximum number of hops and the identifier of the relay terminal that terminates the discovery information, wherein the maximum number of hops is the maximum number of hops for transmitting the discovery information, and the discovery information is used by the discovery terminal to discover the discovered terminal, or the discovery information is used by the remote terminal to discover the relay terminal that can connect to the network.

[0156] Step 8. Relay terminal 1 determines the number of hops of the transmitted discovery information based on the number of identifications of the relay terminals that terminate the discovery information included in discovery message #7, and when the number of hops of the transmitted discovery information determined by relay terminal 1 is less than the maximum number of hops, it broadcasts discovery message #8. Correspondingly, relay terminal 2 receives discovery message #8.

[0157] For understanding of discovery message #8, please refer to discovery message #7, which will not be repeated here.

[0158] Step 9. The relay terminal 2 determines the number of hops of the transmitted discovery information based on the number of identifications of the relay terminals that terminate the discovery information included in the discovery message #8, and when the number of hops of the transmitted discovery information determined by the relay terminal 2 is less than the maximum number of hops, the discovery message #9 is broadcast and sent. Accordingly, the discovered terminal receives the discovery message #9.

[0159] For understanding of discovery message #9, please refer to discovery message #7, which will not be repeated here.

[0160] However, the values ​​used to limit the number of hops for transmitting discovery messages (i.e., the maximum number of hops) recorded in the above-mentioned implementation methods 1 to 3 are pre-configured, which may result in the values ​​used to limit the number of hops for transmitting discovery information being inappropriate for actual conditions, and may further result in the service needs between terminals not being met.

[0161] Based on this, an embodiment of the present application provides an information transmission method, in which the source terminal can determine the maximum number of hops (i.e., the first hop number) for transmitting discovery information, and send a first discovery message including the first hop number and discovery information, so that other terminals can learn the first hop number while receiving the discovery information, so that the source terminal can limit the number of hops for transmitting discovery information based on the first hop number during the discovery process. Since the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service, the relay service type corresponding to the first service, the type of the first service, and the hop number requirements of the first service included in the information of the first service are all parameters related to service requirements, and the first hop number is related to at least one of the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service, the relay service type corresponding to the first service, the type of the first service, or the hop number requirements of the first service, the first hop number can be more in line with the actual needs of the service, and thus can ensure that the service needs between terminals are met as much as possible.

[0162] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

[0163] In order to facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the following explanations are made before introducing the embodiments of the present application.

[0164] 1. In the embodiments of the present application, for ease of description, when numbering, the numbers may be consecutively numbered starting from 1, consecutively numbered starting from 0, or starting from any parameter. It should be understood that the above are all settings for the convenience of describing the technical solution 2 provided in the embodiments of the present application, and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application.

[0165] 2. In the embodiment of the present application, "indication" may include direct indication and indirect indication, and may also include explicit indication and implicit indication. The information indicated by a certain information (such as the first indication information below) is called information to be indicated. In the specific implementation process, there are many ways to indicate the information to be indicated, such as but not limited to, the information to be indicated can be directly indicated, such as the information to be indicated itself or the index of the information to be indicated. The information to be indicated can also be indirectly indicated by indicating other information, wherein the other information and the information to be indicated have an association relationship. A part of the information to be indicated can also be indicated, while the other parts of the information to be indicated are known or agreed in advance. For example, the indication of specific information can also be achieved by means of the arrangement order of each piece of information agreed in advance (such as specified in the protocol), thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent. At the same time, the common parts of each piece of information can also be identified and indicated uniformly to reduce the indication overhead caused by indicating the same information separately.

[0166] In addition, the specific indication method can also be various existing indication methods, such as but not limited to the above-mentioned indication methods and various combinations thereof. The specific details of the various indication methods can be referred to the prior art and will not be repeated herein. As can be seen from the above, for example, when it is necessary to indicate multiple information of the same type, there may be a situation where the indication methods for different information are different. In the specific implementation process, the required indication method can be selected according to specific needs. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the selected indication method. In this way, the indication method involved in the embodiment of the present application should be understood to cover various methods that can enable the party to be indicated to obtain the information to be indicated.

[0167] It should be understood that the information to be indicated can be sent as a whole or divided into multiple sub-information and sent separately, and the sending period and / or sending time of these sub-information can be the same or different. The specific sending method is not limited in the embodiments of this application. Among them, the sending period and / or sending time of these sub-information can be predefined, for example, predefined according to a protocol, or can be configured by the transmitting device by sending configuration information to the receiving device. Among them, the configuration information can include, for example, but not limited to, radio resource control signaling.

[0168] 3. "Pre-definition" or "pre-configuration" can be achieved by pre-saving corresponding codes, tables or other methods that can be used to indicate relevant information in a device (for example, including a source terminal and / or a first relay terminal and / or a second relay terminal). The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific implementation method. Among them, "saving" can mean saving in one or more memories. One or more memories can be set separately or integrated in an encoder or decoder, a processor, or a communication device. One or more memories can also be partially set separately and partially integrated in a decoder, a processor, or a communication device. The type of memory can be any form of storage medium, which is not limited by the embodiments of the present application.

[0169] 4. The “protocol” involved in the embodiments of the present application may refer to a standard protocol in the field of communications, for example, it may include the long term evolution (LTE) protocol, the NR protocol, and related protocols used in future communication systems. The embodiments of the present application are not limited to this.

[0170] 5. In the embodiments of the present application, descriptions such as "when...", "in the case of...", "if" and "if" all mean that under certain objective circumstances, the device (such as the source terminal and / or the first relay terminal and / or the second relay terminal) will make corresponding processing. It does not limit the time, and does not require the device (such as the source terminal and / or the first relay terminal and / or the second relay terminal) to have a judgment action when implementing it, nor does it mean that there are other limitations.

[0171] 6. In the description of this application, unless otherwise specified, " / " indicates that the objects associated with each other are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B can represent A or B. "And / or" in the embodiments of this application is a kind of association relationship that describes the associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. A and B can be singular or plural. In addition, in the description of the embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified, "multiple" refers to two or more than two. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple. In addition, in order to facilitate the clear description of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, in the embodiments of this application, words such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish between identical or similar items with basically the same functions and effects. Those skilled in the art will understand that words such as "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity and execution order, and words such as "first" and "second" do not necessarily limit differences. At the same time, in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations or explanations. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of the present application should not be interpreted as being more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or design. Specifically, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present related concepts in a concrete way for easy understanding.

[0172] The embodiments of the present application may be applicable to a long term evolution (LTE) system or an NR system (also referred to as a 5G system), a vehicle to everything (V2X) system, a system with a hybrid LTE and NR network, or a device to device (D2D) system, a machine to machine (M2M) communication system, an Internet of Things (IoT) system (such as a narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) system), and other next generation communication systems. Alternatively, the communication system may also be a non-3GPP communication system, without limitation.

[0173] In addition, the communication architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. Ordinary technicians in this field can know that with the evolution of the communication architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0174] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a possible, non-limiting system. As shown in Figure 6, communication system 6000 includes a radio access network (RAN) 600 and a core network (CN) 700. RAN 600 includes at least one RAN node (e.g., 610a and 610b in Figure 6, collectively referred to as 610) and at least one terminal (e.g., 620a-620j in Figure 6, collectively referred to as 620). RAN 600 may also include other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay equipment and / or wireless backhaul equipment (not shown in Figure 6). Terminal 620 is wirelessly connected to RAN node 610. RAN node 610 is wirelessly or wiredly connected to core network 700. The core network equipment in core network 700 and RAN node 610 in RAN 600 may be separate physical devices, or they may be a single physical device that integrates core network logical functions and radio access network logical functions.

[0175] The RAN 600 may be a cellular system related to the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as a fourth generation (4G) or fifth generation (5G) mobile communication system, or a future-oriented evolutionary system (such as a sixth generation (6G) mobile communication system). The RAN 600 may also be an open access network (O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (CRAN), or a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system. The RAN 600 may also be a communication system that integrates two or more of the above systems.

[0176] The RAN node 610, which may also sometimes be referred to as access network equipment, RAN entity or access node, etc., constitutes a part of the communication system to help terminals achieve wireless access. The multiple RAN nodes 610 in the communication system 6000 may be nodes of the same type or different types. In some scenarios, the roles of the RAN node 610 and the terminal 620 are relative. For example, the network element 620i in Figure 6 may be a helicopter or a drone, which may be configured as a mobile base station. For the terminal 620j that accesses the RAN 600 through the network element 620i, the network element 620i is a base station; but for the base station 610a, the network element 620i is a terminal. The RAN node 610 and the terminal 620 are sometimes referred to as communication devices. For example, the network elements 610a and 610b in Figure 6 may be understood as communication devices with base station functions, and the network elements 620a-620j may be understood as communication devices with terminal functions.

[0177] In one possible scenario, a RAN node can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB), a next-generation base station in a 6G mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system. A RAN node can be a macro base station (such as 610a in Figure 6 ), a micro base station or an indoor station (such as 610b in Figure 6 ), a relay node or a donor node, or a wireless controller in a CRAN scenario. Alternatively, a RAN node can be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle, or an onboard device. For example, the access network device in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology can be a roadside unit (RSU).

[0178] In another possible scenario, multiple RAN nodes collaborate to assist the terminal in achieving wireless access, and different RAN nodes respectively implement part of the functions of the base station. For example, the RAN node can be a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU). The CU and DU can be set separately, or they can be included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or radio frequency unit, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0179] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in the ORAN system, CU may also be called O-CU (Open CU), DU may also be called O-DU, CU-CP may also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP may also be called O-CU-UP, and RU may also be called O-RU. For the convenience of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and RU as examples for description. Any unit of CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0180] For a terminal, in one possible scenario, the terminal may be a device for implementing wireless communication functions, such as a terminal or a chip that can be used in a terminal, etc. The terminal may be a user equipment (UE), an access terminal, a terminal unit, a terminal station, a mobile station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a wireless communication device, a terminal agent, or a terminal device, etc. in a 5G network or a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN). The access terminal may be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, an in-vehicle device or a wearable device, a virtual reality (VR) terminal, an augmented reality (AR) terminal, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical care, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, etc. In one possible implementation, the terminal may be mobile or fixed.

[0181] In a possible implementation, the source terminal, the first relay terminal, and the second relay terminal in the embodiment of the present application may also be referred to as a communication device, which may be a general device or a dedicated device, and the embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0182] In one possible implementation, the related functions of the source terminal, the first relay terminal, and the second relay terminal in the embodiment of the present application can be implemented by a single device, or can be implemented by multiple devices together, or can be implemented by one or more functional modules within a single device, and the embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this. It is understood that the above functions can be network elements in hardware devices, software functions running on dedicated hardware, or a combination of hardware and software, or virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform).

[0183] For example, the relevant functions of the source terminal, the first relay terminal, or the second relay terminal in the embodiment of the present application can be implemented by the communication device 700 in Figure 7. Figure 7 shows a schematic structural diagram of the communication device 700 provided in the embodiment of the present application. The communication device 700 includes one or more processors 701, a communication line 702, and at least one communication interface (Figure 7 is illustrative, taking the communication interface 704 and one processor 701 as an example for explanation), and may also include a memory 703.

[0184] The processor 701 can be a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits used to control the execution of the program of the present application.

[0185] The communication line 702 may include a path for connecting different components.

[0186] Communication interface 704 may be a transceiver module for communicating with other devices or communication networks, such as Ethernet, RAN, or wireless local area networks (WLAN). For example, the transceiver module may be a device such as a transceiver or a transceiver. In one possible implementation, communication interface 704 may also be a transceiver circuit located within processor 701, used to implement signal input and output to the processor.

[0187] The memory 703 may be a device having a storage function. For example, it may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM) or other types of dynamic storage devices that can store information and instructions, or an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compact disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc, Blu-ray disc, etc.), a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory may exist independently and be connected to the processor via a communication line 702. The memory may also be integrated with the processor.

[0188] The memory 703 is used to store computer-executable instructions for executing the solution of the present application, and the execution is controlled by the processor 701. The processor 701 is used to execute the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 703, thereby implementing the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application.

[0189] Alternatively, in an embodiment of the present application, the processor 701 may also perform functions related to the processing of the communication method provided in the following embodiments of the present application, and the communication interface 704 is responsible for communicating with other devices or communication networks, which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0190] In a possible implementation, the memory 703 in the embodiment of the present application may also be used to store information or parameters described in the following embodiments, such as first indication information.

[0191] The computer-executable instructions in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as application code, which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0192] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the processor 701 may include one or more CPUs, such as CPU0 and CPU1 in FIG. 7 .

[0193] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the communication device 700 may include multiple processors, such as the processor 701 and the processor 707 in FIG7 . Each of these processors may be a single-core (single-CPU) processor or a multi-core (multi-CPU) processor. The processor herein may refer to one or more devices, circuits, and / or processing cores for processing data (e.g., computer program instructions).

[0194] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the communication apparatus 700 may further include an output device 705 and an input device 706. The output device 705 communicates with the processor 701 and may display information in a variety of ways.

[0195] The communication device 700 can be a general-purpose device or a dedicated device. For example, the communication device 700 can be a desktop computer, a portable computer, a network server, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a wireless terminal, an embedded device, or a device having a similar structure to that shown in FIG7 . The embodiments of the present application do not limit the type of the communication device 700.

[0196] The information transmission method provided in the embodiment of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to FIG. 7 .

[0197] It should be noted that in the following embodiments of the present application, the message names, the names of the parameters, or the names of the information between the various network elements are only examples. In other embodiments, they may also be other names, and the method provided in the embodiments of the present application is not specifically limited to this. It is understandable that in the embodiments of the present application, each network element may perform some or all of the steps in the embodiments of the present application. These steps or operations are examples, and the embodiments of the present application may also perform other operations or variations of various operations. In addition, the various steps may be performed in a different order than those presented in the embodiments of the present application, and it may not be necessary to perform all of the operations in the embodiments of the present application.

[0198] FIG8 is an example of an information transmission method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method is described with the source terminal as the execution subject. Of course, the subject that executes the source terminal action in this method can also be a device / module in the source terminal, such as a chip, processor, processing unit, etc. in the source terminal, and the embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this. For example, as shown in FIG8, the information transmission method includes the following steps:

[0199] S801: A source terminal determines a first hop count based on information about a first service.

[0200] The first hop count is the maximum hop count for transmitting discovery information. The discovery information is used by the source terminal to discover the target terminal. The information about the first service includes at least one of the following: a quality of service parameter corresponding to the first service, a relay service type corresponding to the first service, a type of the first service, or a hop count requirement for the first service.

[0201] Optionally, the above-mentioned quality of service parameters may be quality of service (QoS) parameters. The above-mentioned QoS parameters may be non-quantified QoS parameters, that is, the above-mentioned QoS parameters include specific parameters. For example, the QoS parameters may include: a latency of 20 milliseconds and a packet loss rate of less than or equal to 2%. Of course, the above is only an exemplary description of QoS parameters. The above-mentioned QoS parameters may also include other parameters, and the embodiments of the present application do not impose any restrictions on this.

[0202] However, the above-mentioned QoS parameters can also be quantized QoS parameters, specifically 5G QoS identifier (5G QoS identifier, 5QI) or PC5 5G QoS identifier (PC5 5QI, PQI), and the above-mentioned 5QI or PQI includes quantized values, for example, 1, 2, ..., N, where N is a positive integer greater than 2, and each quantized value corresponds to a specific parameter. Exemplarily, the QoS parameter can be 21, so that the specific parameters corresponding to the QoS parameter are a delay of 20 milliseconds and a packet loss rate less than or equal to 0.01%.

[0203] Exemplarily, the type of the first service may include at least one of the following: a service type, a ProSe ID, or an application ID. Of course, the above is merely an exemplary description of the type of the first service. The type of the first service may also include other information, and this embodiment of the present application does not impose any limitation on this.

[0204] The relay service type may be RSC. Of course, the above is only an exemplary description of the relay service type, and the relay service type may also be other information, and the embodiment of the present application does not impose any limitation on this.

[0205] In some possible implementations, the number of hops involved in this application can be represented by the number of relay terminals or the number of PC5 connections, and this embodiment of the application does not impose any restrictions on this. For example, when there are three relay terminals in the path from the source terminal to the destination terminal, if the number of hops is understood as the number of relay terminals, then the number of hops in the path is 3; if the number of hops is understood as the number of PC5 connections, then the number of hops in the path is 4.

[0206] S802: The source terminal sends a first discovery message, and correspondingly, the relay terminal receives the first discovery message.

[0207] The first discovery message may include the first hop count and discovery information.

[0208] The first discovery message may be used to request the target terminal to send, for example, a discovery request message.

[0209] In an embodiment of the present application, the source terminal can determine the maximum number of hops for transmitting discovery information (i.e., the first hop number) and send a first discovery message including the first hop number and the discovery information, so that other terminals can learn the first hop number while receiving the discovery information, so that the source terminal can limit the number of hops for transmitting discovery information based on the first hop number during the discovery process. Since the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service, the relay service type corresponding to the first service, the type of the first service, and the hop number requirements of the first service included in the information of the first service are all parameters related to service requirements, and the first hop number is related to at least one of the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service, the relay service type corresponding to the first service, the type of the first service, or the hop number requirements of the first service, the first hop number can be more in line with the actual needs of the service, and thus can ensure that the service needs between terminals are met as much as possible.

[0210] Optionally, as described above with respect to S801, the source terminal determines the first hop count based on information about the first service, and the information about the first service may include a quality of service parameter corresponding to the first service. In view of this, the source terminal may determine the first hop count based on the quality of service parameter corresponding to the first service. That is, in this case, the first hop count is determined based on the quality of service parameter corresponding to the first service.

[0211] It can be understood that since the service quality parameters corresponding to the first business can more accurately reflect the parameters related to the business needs, the first hop number determined based on the service quality parameters corresponding to the first business can be as close to the actual needs of the business as possible, and thus can ensure that the business needs between terminals are met as much as possible.

[0212] However, in this case, when the source terminal sends the discovery information, the source terminal may send the first hop number at the same time, or may not send the first hop number at the same time. The following describes in detail the implementation process of the source terminal sending the first hop number at the same time or not sending the first hop number at the same time when the source terminal sends the discovery information.

[0213] In one possible implementation, when the first hop count is different from the maximum hop count determined based on the relay service type corresponding to the first service (for example, the maximum hop count corresponding to the relay service type corresponding to the first service, for details, refer to the relevant description of the first indication information in S901), a first discovery message is generated and sent. That is, when the first hop count is different from the maximum hop count determined based on the relay service type corresponding to the first service, when the source terminal sends the discovery information, the source terminal may simultaneously send the first hop count.

[0214] Combined with the above description of the "first hop count", it can be seen that the first hop count determined based on the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service can be as close to the actual needs of the service as possible, thereby ensuring that the service needs between terminals are met as much as possible. In view of this, when the first hop count determined based on the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service is different from the maximum hop count determined based on the relay service type corresponding to the first service, a first discovery message is generated and sent, that is, the first hop count is sent at the same time as the discovery information is sent, so that the terminal receiving the first discovery message can obtain a first hop count that is more in line with the actual needs of the service, further ensuring that the service needs between terminals are met.

[0215] Further, optionally, in a case where the first discovery message includes a first hop number (eg, a maximum hop number of 1), the relay terminal may use the first hop number in the first discovery message as the maximum hop number for transmitting the discovery information.

[0216] In another possible implementation, when the first hop number is different from the maximum hop number determined based on the relay service type corresponding to the first service (for example, the maximum hop number corresponding to the relay service type corresponding to the first service, for details, refer to the relevant description of the first indication information in S901), an eleventh discovery message is generated and sent, and the eleventh discovery message includes discovery information, but the eleventh discovery message does not include the first hop number. That is, when the first hop number is the same as the maximum hop number determined based on the relay service type corresponding to the first service, when the source terminal sends the discovery information, the source terminal may not send the first hop number at the same time.

[0217] That is to say, since the maximum number of hops determined based on the relay service type corresponding to the first service is well known to all terminals related to the first service, when the first hop number is the same as the maximum number of hops determined based on the relay service type corresponding to the first service, each terminal related to the first service does not need to obtain the first hop number through the first hop number sent by the source terminal. In this way, the source terminal does not need to send the first hop number at the same time as sending the discovery information, that is, the source terminal can send the eleventh discovery message, the eleventh discovery message includes the discovery information, and the eleventh discovery message does not include the first hop number. In this way, signaling overhead can be saved on the basis of ensuring that the service needs between the terminals are met.

[0218] Further, optionally, in the case that the first hop count is not included in the above-mentioned eleventh discovery message, the eleventh discovery message may include the relay service type, so that the relay terminal can determine the first hop count based on the third indication information (for details, please refer to the relevant description in S1302) and the relay service type included in the eleventh discovery message (that is, the relay service type corresponding to the first service).

[0219] Specifically, the relay terminal may determine the first number of hops based on the relay service type included in the eleventh discovery message and the correspondence between the relay service type indicated by the third indication information and the maximum number of hops.

[0220] It should be pointed out that if the relay terminal cannot determine the first number of hops based on the relay service type included in the eleventh discovery message and the correspondence between the relay service type indicated by the third indication information and the maximum number of hops (for example, the third indication information does not include the relay service type included in the eleventh discovery message), the relay terminal determines that the maximum number of hops for transmitting the discovery information is 1 hop.

[0221] The following describes the implementation of the source terminal determining the first hop count recorded in S801.

[0222] Optionally, the above S801 can be replaced by S801A.

[0223] S801A: The source terminal determines a first hop count based on information about the first service.

[0224] It can be understood that since the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service, the relay service type corresponding to the first service, the type of the first service, and the hop count requirements of the first service included in the information of the first service are all parameters related to the service requirements, the first hop count determined based on the information of the first service can be as close to the actual needs of the service as possible, and thus can ensure that the service needs between the terminals are met as much as possible.

[0225] In addition, when the source terminal cannot find an available multi-hop connection that meets the first hop number requirement, the source terminal can also gradually increase the first hop number based on the above-determined first hop number. For example, assuming that the above-determined first hop number is 4 hops, the source terminal can further determine the first hop number to be 5 hops.

[0226] Further, optionally, the source terminal may determine the first hop count based on the information of the first service in the following two ways:

[0227] In the first approach, the source terminal determines the first hop count according to a pre-acquired correspondence relationship related to the maximum hop count and information about the first service.

[0228] The second approach is that the source terminal determines the first hop number on its own based on parameters related to the quality of service parameters.

[0229] Of course, the above is only an exemplary description of a method in which the source terminal determines the first hop number based on the information of the first service. The source terminal may also determine the first hop number in other ways, and the embodiment of the present application does not impose any limitation on this.

[0230] The following is a detailed description of the above methods 1 and 2:

[0231] In the first approach, the source terminal determines the first hop count based on a pre-acquired correspondence relationship related to the maximum hop count and information about the first service. As shown in FIG9 , in the first approach, the source terminal needs to pre-acquire the correspondence relationship related to the maximum hop count. However, the specific process of the source terminal pre-acquiring the correspondence relationship related to the maximum hop count can be implemented as follows in S901.

[0232] S901: A policy control network element sends first indication information to a source terminal. Correspondingly, the source terminal receives the first indication information from the policy control function network element.

[0233] The first indication information is used to indicate a correspondence between at least one maximum hop count and at least one of at least one quality of service parameter, at least one relay service type, at least one service type, or at least one service hop count requirement. The at least one quality of service parameter includes a quality of service parameter corresponding to the first service, the at least one relay service type includes a relay service type corresponding to the first service, the at least one service type includes the type of the first service, and the at least one service hop count requirement includes the hop count requirement of the first service.

[0234] In addition, the at least one maximum hop count may correspond to at least one ProSe ID; and / or the at least one maximum hop count may correspond to at least one App ID. That is, the first indication information is further used to indicate the correspondence between the at least one maximum hop count and the at least one ProSe ID and / or the at least one App ID.

[0235] Optionally, the first indication information may also carry maximum hop count indication information corresponding to the relay service type. The maximum hop count indication information is used to indicate that the first hop count is the maximum hop count corresponding to the relay service type. In this case, the source terminal may determine the maximum hop count corresponding to the relay service type as the first hop count carried in the first discovery message.

[0236] Exemplarily, the first indication information may be [RSC1, maximum hop number 1, maximum hop number indication information; RSC2, maximum hop number 2; RSC3]. That is, the maximum hop number indication information indicates that the first hop number is the maximum hop number corresponding to RSC1.

[0237] The maximum hop number indication information indicates that the first hop number is the maximum hop number corresponding to RSC1. In view of this, in this implementation, the source terminal may determine the maximum hop number corresponding to RSC1 as the first hop number carried in the first discovery message.

[0238] In addition, since the first indication information does not carry the maximum hop number indication information corresponding to RSC2, when the relay service type corresponding to the first service is RSC2, the first hop number carried in the first discovery message may be the maximum hop number corresponding to RSC2, or it may not be the maximum hop number corresponding to RSC2.

[0239] In one example, if the first indication information is used to indicate the relationship between at least one maximum number of hops and at least one quality of service parameter, the first indication information can be specifically: the maximum number of hops corresponding to quality of service parameter 1 is 3, the maximum number of hops corresponding to quality of service parameter 2 is 4, and the maximum number of hops corresponding to quality of service parameter 3 is 5.

[0240] In another example, if the first indication information is used to indicate the relationship between at least one maximum number of hops and at least one relay service type, the first indication information can be specifically: the maximum number of hops corresponding to relay service type 1 is 3, the maximum number of hops corresponding to relay service type 2 is 4, and the maximum number of hops corresponding to relay service type 3 is 5.

[0241] In another example, if the first indication information is used to indicate the relationship between at least one maximum number of hops and at least one quality of service parameter and at least one relay service type, the first indication information can be specifically: the maximum number of hops corresponding to quality of service parameter 1 and relay service type 1 is 2, the maximum number of hops corresponding to quality of service parameter 1 and relay service type 2 is 3, the maximum number of hops corresponding to quality of service parameter 2 and relay service type 1 is 4, and the maximum number of hops corresponding to quality of service parameter 2 and relay service type 2 is 5.

[0242] Of course, the above is only an exemplary description of some of the corresponding relationships related to the maximum number of hops. For other exemplary descriptions of the corresponding relationships related to the maximum number of hops, please refer to the descriptions of the corresponding positions above and will not be repeated here.

[0243] Optionally, before S901, the policy control function network element determines the corresponding relationship related to the maximum number of hops. However, the policy control function network element can determine the corresponding relationship related to the maximum number of hops through the following three methods: Method 1. The policy control function network element determines the corresponding relationship related to the maximum number of hops based on the policy request information reported by the access and mobility management function network element or the application layer function network element, wherein the policy request information is used to request the ProSe-related policy of the source terminal; Method 2. The policy control function network element determines the corresponding relationship related to the maximum number of hops based on the ProSe-related subscription information of the source terminal reported by the unified data management function network element; Method 3. The policy control function network element determines the corresponding relationship related to the maximum number of hops based on the pre-configuration information related to ProSe.

[0244] In some examples, the above-mentioned policy control function network element may be a policy control function (PCF). Of course, the above is only an exemplary description of the policy control function network element. The above-mentioned policy control function network element may also be other network elements, and the embodiments of the present application do not impose any restrictions on this.

[0245] The above-mentioned unified data management function network element can be a unified data management function (UDM). Of course, the above is only an exemplary description of the unified data management function network element. The above-mentioned unified data management function network element can also be other network elements. The embodiment of this application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0246] The above-mentioned access and mobility management function network element can be an authentication management function (access and mobility management function, AMF). Of course, the above is only an exemplary description of the access and mobility management function network element. The above-mentioned access and mobility management function network element can also be other network elements. The embodiment of the present application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0247] The above-mentioned application layer function network element can be an application layer function (AF). Of course, the above is only an exemplary description of the application layer function network element. The above-mentioned application layer function network element can also be other network elements. The embodiment of the present application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0248] In the first method, the above-mentioned S801A can be replaced by S902.

[0249] S902: The source terminal determines, according to the first indication information, a maximum number of hops corresponding to the information of the first service as a first number of hops.

[0250] For example, assuming that the maximum number of hops corresponding to the service quality parameter 1 indicated in the first indication information is 3, and the information of the first service only includes the service quality parameter corresponding to the first service, and the service quality parameter corresponding to the first service is service quality parameter 1, the source terminal can determine that the first hop number is 3.

[0251] It can be understood that the source terminal can simply determine the first hop number directly through the correspondence between at least one information related to the service requirements (for example, service quality parameters and / or relay service type and / or service type and / or service hop requirement) and the maximum hop number, thereby reducing the complexity of the source terminal in determining the first hop number and thereby improving the efficiency of the source terminal in determining the first hop number.

[0252] It should be noted that the above method 1 is applicable not only to U2U scenarios, but also to U2N scenarios.

[0253] Method 2 is that the source terminal determines the first hop number based on parameters related to the quality of service parameters. However, in different scenarios, the quality of service parameters required for the source terminal to determine the first hop number are different. For example, in a U2U scenario, that is, in a scenario where the target terminal is a discovered terminal rather than a relay terminal capable of connecting to the network, the source terminal can determine the first hop number based on the quality of service parameters corresponding to the first service and the quality of service parameters corresponding to the PC5 connection. For another example, in a U2N scenario, that is, in a scenario where the target terminal is a relay terminal capable of connecting to the network, the source terminal can determine the first hop number based on the quality of service parameters corresponding to the first service, the quality of service parameters corresponding to the PC5 connection, and / or the quality of service parameters corresponding to the connection between the target terminal and the network device.

[0254] In view of this, as shown in FIG9 , in the U2U scenario of the second approach, that is, in the scenario where the target terminal is a discovered terminal rather than a relay terminal capable of connecting to the network, the above S801A can be replaced by S903 .

[0255] S903: The source terminal determines a first hop count according to the quality of service parameter corresponding to the first service and the first quality of service parameter.

[0256] The first quality of service parameter is a quality of service parameter corresponding to the PC5 connection.

[0257] Optionally, the first quality of service parameter may include a quality of service parameter of each hop connection in a multi-hop connection in the PC5 connection.

[0258] As an example, assuming that the service quality parameter is delay, the delay corresponding to the first service is 100 milliseconds, and the delay of each hop connection in the multi-hop connection in the PC5 connection indicated by the first service quality parameter is 30 milliseconds. In this way, the source terminal can round down the ratio of the delay corresponding to the first service to the delay indicated by the first service quality parameter to obtain the first hop number (i.e., 3).

[0259] In another example, assuming that the service quality parameter is delay, the delay corresponding to the first service is 100 milliseconds, and the delay of each hop connection in the multi-hop connection in the PC5 connection indicated by the first service quality parameter is 25 milliseconds, then the source terminal can round down the ratio of the delay corresponding to the first service to the delay indicated by the first service quality parameter to obtain the first hop number (i.e., 4).

[0260] In another example, assume that the QoS parameter is latency, the latency corresponding to the first service is 100 milliseconds, and the multi-hop connections in the PC5 connection indicated by the first QoS parameter are 20 milliseconds and 30 milliseconds. Based on the latency corresponding to the first service and the latency indicated by the first QoS parameter, the source terminal determines M PC5 connections with a latency of 20 milliseconds and L PC5 connections with a latency of 30 milliseconds, where M and L are both positive integers. In this case, the sum of 20M and 30L is less than or equal to 100 milliseconds, and the first hop count is the sum of M and L.

[0261] In another example, assuming that the service quality parameter is a delay of 100 milliseconds, a packet loss rate less than or equal to 2%, and the delay of each hop in the multi-hop connection in the PC5 connection indicated by the first service quality parameter is 30 milliseconds and the packet loss rate is 1%. In this way, the source terminal can downwardly obtain the ratio of the delay corresponding to the first service to the delay indicated by the first service quality parameter to obtain the number of hops corresponding to the delay (i.e., 3), and calculate the multiples of the packet loss rate corresponding to the first service and the packet loss rate indicated by the first service quality parameter and round them down to obtain the number of hops corresponding to the packet loss rate (i.e., 2). The source terminal can determine the smaller value of the number of hops corresponding to the delay and the number of hops corresponding to the packet loss rate as the first hop number (i.e., 2).

[0262] Furthermore, optionally, the number of hops corresponding to the packet loss rate may satisfy the following formula 1:

[0263]

[0264] Wherein, A1 is the number of hops corresponding to the packet loss rate, A2 is the packet loss rate indicated by the first quality of service parameter, and A3 is the packet loss rate corresponding to the first service.

[0265] Still optionally, the first quality of service parameter may also be a quality of service parameter of a single-hop PC5 connection, and the quality of service parameter of the single-hop PC5 connection may be an established single-hop PC5 connection.

[0266] As an example, assuming that the service quality parameter is delay, the delay corresponding to the first service is 100 milliseconds, and the service quality parameter of the single-hop PC5 connection indicated by the first service quality parameter is 20 milliseconds. In this way, the source terminal can round down the ratio of the delay corresponding to the first service to the delay indicated by the first service quality parameter to obtain the first hop number (i.e. 5).

[0267] It can be understood that in the U2U scenario of method 2, the source terminal can determine the first hop number by itself based on the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service and the first service quality parameters. In this way, the first hop number determined based on the actual service quality parameters is more accurate, and can subsequently better ensure that the service needs between the terminals are met.

[0268] As shown in FIG. 9 , in the U2N scenario of the second approach, that is, in the scenario where the target terminal is a relay terminal that can connect to the network, the above S801A can be replaced by S904 .

[0269] S904: The source terminal determines a first hop count according to the quality of service parameter corresponding to the first service and the first information.

[0270] The first information includes a first quality of service parameter and / or a second quality of service parameter, the first quality of service parameter is a quality of service parameter corresponding to the PC5 connection, and the second quality of service parameter is a quality of service parameter corresponding to the connection between the target terminal and the network device.

[0271] In some examples, the network devices may include RAN nodes and / or core network element devices. Of course, the above is only an exemplary description of the network devices involved in this application. The network devices involved in this application may also include other devices, and the embodiments of this application do not impose any restrictions on this.

[0272] Optionally, when the first information includes the first quality of service parameter or the second quality of service parameter, the implementation process of the source terminal determining the first hop count according to the quality of service parameter corresponding to the first service and the first information can be understood by referring to the above description related to S903, which is not repeated here.

[0273] When the first information includes the first quality of service parameter and the second quality of service parameter, the source terminal may process the quality of service parameter corresponding to the first service based on the second quality of service parameter to obtain a third quality of service parameter, and determine the first hop count based on the third quality of service parameter and the first quality of service parameter. The implementation process of the source terminal determining the first hop count based on the third quality of service parameter and the first quality of service parameter can be understood by referring to the implementation process of the source terminal determining the first hop count based on the quality of service parameter corresponding to the first service and the first quality of service parameter, and will not be repeated here.

[0274] Exemplarily, in the case where the first information includes a first quality of service parameter and a second quality of service parameter, taking the quality of service parameter as delay as an example, the source terminal determines the implementation process of the first hop count based on the quality of service parameter corresponding to the first service and the first information as follows: the source terminal can determine the third quality of service parameter by the difference between the quality of service parameter corresponding to the first service and the second quality of service parameter, and round down the ratio of the third quality of service parameter to the first quality of service parameter to obtain the first hop count.

[0275] It should be understood that the first quality of service parameter can be understood by referring to the description of the corresponding position above, and will not be repeated here. As for the second quality of service parameter, the second quality of service parameter can be the quality of service parameter corresponding to the default air interface, and the second quality of service parameter can also be other quality of service parameters. The embodiments of the present application do not impose any restrictions on this.

[0276] It can be understood that in the U2N scenario of method 2, that is, in the scenario where the target terminal is a relay terminal that can connect to the network, there is not only a connection between the terminals, but also a connection between the terminal and the network. In view of this, in this scenario, in addition to being able to improve the accuracy of the first hop number based on the actual service quality parameters, the source terminal can also adaptively determine the first service quality parameter and / or the second service quality parameter as the service quality parameter required for the first hop number based on the current scenario, so that the first hop number determined based on the service quality parameters can be more in line with the actual situation of the current scenario, thereby further improving the accuracy of the first hop number.

[0277] In addition, in a case where the information of the first service includes the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service and / or the hop count requirement of the first service, the implementation process of determining the first hop count based on the information of the first service within the source terminal may be: the application layer of the source terminal sends the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service and / or the hop count requirement of the first service to the ProSe layer of the source terminal, and accordingly, the adjacent service layer ProSe layer of the source terminal receives the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service and / or the hop count requirement of the first service from the application layer of the source terminal, and determines the first hop count based on the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service and / or the hop count requirement of the first service.

[0278] That is to say, when the information of the first service includes the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service and / or the hop count requirement of the first service, the ProSe layer of the source terminal can obtain the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service and / or the hop count requirement of the first service from the application layer of the source terminal, and determine the first hop count based on the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service and / or the hop count requirement of the first service. This provides a specific implementation method for determining the first hop count within the source terminal, which can effectively support the implementation of the corresponding upper-level step.

[0279] It can be understood that the implementation process of the ProSe layer of the source terminal determining the first hop count based on the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service and / or the hop count requirement of the first service can be understood by referring to the relevant descriptions of the above-mentioned method one and method two, and will not be repeated here.

[0280] The above record is an implementation process of determining the first number of hops within the source terminal based on the information of the first service. However, further, optionally, taking the information of the first service as the service quality parameter corresponding to the first service as an example, the implementation process of determining the information of the first service within the source terminal can be: the ProSe layer of the source terminal obtains the service quality requirement corresponding to the first service from the application layer of the source terminal, and determines the service quality parameter corresponding to the first service based on the service quality requirement corresponding to the first service, which can provide a data basis for the subsequent determination of the first number of hops.

[0281] Optionally, taking the information of the first service as the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service as an example, the implementation process of determining the information of the first service within the source terminal may be: the ProSe layer of the source terminal obtains the type of the first service from the application layer of the source terminal, and determines the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service based on the type of the first service, which can provide a data basis for the subsequent determination of the first hop number.

[0282] Optionally, taking the information of the first service as the relay service type corresponding to the first service as an example, the implementation process of determining the information of the first service within the source terminal can be: the ProSe layer of the source terminal determines the relay service type corresponding to the first service based on the type of the first service and the policy information configured on the source terminal, which can provide a data basis for the subsequent determination of the first hop number.

[0283] Optionally, taking the information of the first service as the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service as an example, the implementation process of determining the information of the first service within the source terminal can be: when the source terminal determines that the existing PC5 service quality flow can match the data packet or request of the first service from the application layer of the source terminal, the source terminal determines the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service based on the service quality parameters corresponding to the existing PC5 service quality flow, which can provide a data basis for the subsequent determination of the first hop number.

[0284] Further, specifically, the source terminal determines the QoS parameters corresponding to the first service according to the QoS parameters corresponding to the existing PC5 QoS flow as follows: the source terminal determines the QoS parameters corresponding to the existing PC5 QoS flow as the QoS parameters corresponding to the first service.

[0285] In this implementation, optionally, the source terminal may be specifically a ProSe layer of the source terminal, and this embodiment of the present application does not impose any limitation on this.

[0286] Optionally, taking the information of the first service as the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service as an example, the implementation process of determining the information of the first service within the source terminal can be: when the source terminal determines that there is no PC5 service quality flow that can match the data packet or request of the first service from the application layer of the source terminal, the source terminal determines the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service based on the service quality requirements corresponding to the first service; or, the source terminal determines the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service based on the type of the first service, which can provide a data basis for the subsequent determination of the first hop number.

[0287] In this implementation, optionally, the source terminal may also be specifically a ProSe layer of the source terminal, and this embodiment of the present application does not impose any limitation on this.

[0288] In addition, optionally, the above-mentioned method 1 and method 2 can be combined, and the embodiments of the present application do not impose any restrictions on this. In the process of the source terminal determining the first hop number based on the above-mentioned method 1 and / or the above-mentioned method 2, multiple first hop numbers may be determined, wherein the above-mentioned multiple first hop numbers include a first hop number determined based on the relay service type and a first hop number determined based on the service quality parameter.

[0289] In a possible implementation, in the above situation, the source terminal may determine the minimum value among the above multiple first hop counts as the first hop count carried in the first discovery message.

[0290] It is understood that the above implementation is applicable to scenarios where the overhead of the discovery process is reduced. For example, if the first hop number determined based on the quality of service parameter (e.g., 3 hops) is smaller than the first hop number determined based on the relay service type (e.g., 5 hops), then a path greater than 3 hops cannot meet the QoS requirements. In other words, the overhead of the discovery process is currently reduced. Therefore, the source terminal can determine the first hop number determined based on the quality of service parameter as the first hop number carried in the first discovery message.

[0291] Furthermore, in another possible implementation, in the above situation, the source terminal may determine the maximum value of the multiple first hop counts as the first hop count carried in the first discovery message.

[0292] It is understandable that the above implementation is applicable to scenarios using a wider maximum hop count. For example, if the target terminal is not found in the previous discovery process, the source terminal determines the maximum value of the multiple first hop counts as the first hop count carried in the first discovery message.

[0293] Optionally, before the source terminal sends the first discovery message, the source terminal may predetermine whether it needs to send the first discovery message, so that the source terminal can send the first discovery message when appropriate to avoid redundant signaling overhead. In order to achieve the above technical effects, an embodiment of the present application provides another information transmission method, as shown in Figure 10, which includes the following steps:

[0294] S1001. The source terminal determines that a first discovery message needs to be sent based on whether a connection exists between the source terminal and the target terminal and / or second information.

[0295] The second information includes the number of hops of the connection between the source terminal and the target terminal, and the first hop number.

[0296] It should be noted that if the source terminal and the target terminal have not yet established a connection and have only completed the discovery process, the number of hops for the connection between the source terminal and the target terminal can be replaced by the number of hops for the communication between the source terminal and the target terminal.

[0297] It should be understood that the first hop count can be understood by referring to the description of the corresponding position above, and will not be repeated here.

[0298] Further, optionally, the above S1001 can be replaced by step A or step B.

[0299] Step A: When there is no connection between the source terminal and the target terminal, the source terminal determines that a first discovery message needs to be sent.

[0300] It is understandable that the source terminal only needs to send the first discovery message to discover the target terminal when communication between the current source terminal and the target terminal is impossible, so that the first discovery message can be repeatedly sent when communication between the source terminal and the target terminal is possible, thereby avoiding redundant signaling overhead.

[0301] Step B: The source terminal determines that a first discovery message needs to be sent when a connection exists between the source terminal and the target terminal and the number of hops of the connection between the source terminal and the target terminal is greater than the first number of hops.

[0302] It is understandable that although there is a connection between the current source terminal and the target terminal, the connection cannot meet the business needs, which means that the current source terminal and the target terminal cannot communicate. In this case, the source terminal also needs to send a first discovery message to discover the target terminal, so that when communication can be carried out between the source terminal and the target terminal, the first discovery message is repeatedly sent, thereby avoiding redundant signaling overhead.

[0303] In addition, when there is a connection between the source terminal and the target terminal, and the number of hops of the connection between the source terminal and the target terminal is less than or equal to the first number of hops, the source terminal may not send the first discovery message, but trigger the connection modification process so that the source terminal and the target terminal can communicate based on the existing connection, thereby avoiding redundant signaling overhead.

[0304] It should be noted that the methods shown in Figures 8 to 10 above are applied to the Mode B discovery process. However, as noted above regarding the Mode B discovery process, the Mode B discovery process can also include the Mode B U2U discovery process and the Mode B U2N discovery process. The following describes the information transmission methods applied to the Mode B U2U discovery process and the Mode B U2N discovery process, respectively.

[0305] In the case of a discovery process applied to Mode B U2U, as shown in FIG11 , the information transmission method includes the following steps:

[0306] S1101. A policy control function network element determines a correspondence between at least one maximum hop count and at least one of at least one quality of service parameter, at least one relay service type, at least one service type, or at least one hop count requirement of at least one service.

[0307] Optionally, before S1101, the information transmission method further includes S1100a or S1100b or S1100c.

[0308] S1100a: The access and mobility management function network element sends policy request information to the policy control function network element. Correspondingly, the policy control function network element receives the policy request information from the access and mobility management function network element.

[0309] S1100b: The application layer function network element sends policy request information to the policy control function network element. Correspondingly, the policy control function network element receives the policy request information from the application layer function network element.

[0310] S1100c: The unified data management function network element sends ProSe-related subscription information to the policy control function network element. Correspondingly, the policy control function network element receives ProSe-related subscription information from the source terminal of the unified data management function network element.

[0311] S1102: The source terminal obtains a correspondence between at least one maximum hop count and at least one quality of service parameter, at least one relay service type, at least one service type, or at least one hop count requirement of at least one service.

[0312] In one possible implementation, the policy control function network element sends first indication information to the source terminal through the access and mobility management function network element. Accordingly, the source terminal receives the first indication information from the policy control function network element through the access and mobility management function network element, so that the source terminal obtains the correspondence between at least one maximum number of hops and at least one quality of service parameter, at least one relay service type, at least one service type, or at least one hop requirement of at least one service.

[0313] In another possible implementation, the source terminal independently determines and obtains a correspondence between at least one maximum hop count and at least one quality of service parameter, at least one relay service type, at least one service type, or at least one service hop count requirement.

[0314] S1103. The source terminal determines the first hop number based on the obtained correspondence between at least one maximum hop number and at least one quality of service parameter, at least one relay service type, at least one service type, or at least one hop number requirement of at least one service, and the information of the first service, or determines the first hop number based on the information of the first service.

[0315] S1104: The source terminal sends a first discovery message, and correspondingly, the second relay terminal receives the first discovery message.

[0316] Optionally, the source terminal may send to the second relay terminal a correspondence between at least one maximum number of hops and at least one quality of service parameter, at least one relay service type, at least one type of service, or at least one hop requirement of at least one service, so that the second relay terminal stores the correspondence between at least one maximum number of hops and at least one quality of service parameter, at least one relay service type, at least one type of service, or at least one hop requirement of at least one service.

[0317] S1105: The second relay terminal broadcasts and sends a fourth discovery message. Correspondingly, other relay terminals receive the fourth discovery message.

[0318] The fourth discovery message includes the first hop number and discovery information.

[0319] S1106. Other relay terminals broadcast and send a fifth discovery message. Correspondingly, the target terminal receives the fifth discovery message.

[0320] The fifth discovery message includes the first hop number and discovery information.

[0321] However, the process of the target terminal feeding back the discovery response message to the source terminal through the relay terminal can be understood by referring to the description of the corresponding position above, and will not be repeated here.

[0322] In the case of a discovery process applied to Mode B U2N, as shown in FIG12 , the information transmission method includes the following steps:

[0323] S1201. A policy control function network element determines a correspondence between at least one maximum hop count and at least one of at least one quality of service parameter, at least one relay service type, at least one service type, or at least one hop count requirement of at least one service.

[0324] Optionally, before S1201, the information transmission method further includes S1200a or S1200b or S1200c.

[0325] S1200a: The access and mobility management function network element sends policy request information to the policy control function network element. Correspondingly, the policy control function network element receives the policy request information from the access and mobility management function network element.

[0326] S1200b: The application layer functional network element sends policy request information to the policy control functional network element. Correspondingly, the policy control functional network element receives the policy request information from the application layer functional network element.

[0327] S1200c: The unified data management function network element sends ProSe-related subscription information to the policy control function network element. Correspondingly, the policy control function network element receives ProSe-related subscription information from the source terminal of the unified data management function network element.

[0328] S1202: The source terminal obtains a correspondence between at least one maximum hop count and at least one quality of service parameter, at least one relay service type, at least one service type, or at least one hop count requirement of at least one service.

[0329] The source terminal may also be referred to as a remote terminal.

[0330] In one possible implementation, the policy control function network element sends first indication information to the source terminal through the access and mobility management function network element. Accordingly, the source terminal receives the first indication information from the policy control function network element through the access and mobility management function network element, so that the source terminal obtains the correspondence between at least one maximum number of hops and at least one quality of service parameter, at least one relay service type, at least one service type, or at least one hop requirement of at least one service.

[0331] In another possible implementation, the source terminal independently determines and obtains a correspondence between at least one maximum hop count and at least one quality of service parameter, at least one relay service type, at least one service type, or at least one service hop count requirement.

[0332] S1203. The source terminal determines the first hop number based on the obtained correspondence between at least one maximum hop number and at least one quality of service parameter, at least one relay service type, at least one service type, or at least one hop number requirement of at least one service, and the information of the first service, or determines the first hop number based on the information of the first service.

[0333] S1204: The source terminal sends a first discovery message, and correspondingly, the second relay terminal receives the first discovery message.

[0334] Optionally, the source terminal may send to the second relay terminal a correspondence between at least one maximum number of hops and at least one quality of service parameter, at least one relay service type, at least one type of service, or at least one hop requirement of at least one service, so that the second relay terminal stores the correspondence between at least one maximum number of hops and at least one quality of service parameter, at least one relay service type, at least one type of service, or at least one hop requirement of at least one service.

[0335] S1205: The second relay terminal broadcasts and sends a sixth discovery message. Correspondingly, other relay terminals that are not connected to the network receive the sixth discovery message.

[0336] The sixth discovery message includes the first hop number and discovery information.

[0337] S1206: Other relay terminals not connected to the network broadcast and send a seventh discovery message. Correspondingly, the first relay terminal receives the seventh discovery message.

[0338] The seventh discovery message includes the first hop number and discovery information.

[0339] S1207: The first relay terminal communicates with the network device.

[0340] However, the process of the first relay terminal feeding back a discovery response message to the source terminal via the relay terminal can be understood by referring to the description of the corresponding position above, and will not be repeated here.

[0341] It should be pointed out that the methods shown in Figures 8 to 12 above are applied to the discovery process of mode B. However, as can be seen from the above introduction to "relay discovery", the discovery process can also include the discovery process of mode A. In view of this, in the discovery process of mode A, Figure 13 is another example of the information transmission method provided by the embodiment of the present application. The method is described with the second relay terminal as the execution subject, wherein the second relay terminal is a relay terminal that is not connected to the network. Of course, the subject that executes the action of the second relay terminal in this method can also be a device / module in the second relay terminal, such as a chip, processor, processing unit, etc. in the second relay terminal, and the embodiment of the present application does not make specific limitations on this. Exemplarily, as shown in Figure 13, the information transmission method includes the following steps:

[0342] S1301. The second relay terminal obtains a second hop count.

[0343] The second hop count is the maximum number of hops for transmitting the discovery information after the second relay terminal receives the discovery information. The discovery information is used by the source terminal to discover the target terminal. The second hop count is related to the relay service type corresponding to the first service of the source terminal.

[0344] Optionally, the second hop number can also be understood as the maximum number of remaining hops for transmitting discovery information. For example, assuming that the second relay terminal is the relay terminal of the second hop, two-hop discovery information will be transmitted between the target terminal and the second relay terminal. If the maximum number of hops for transmitting discovery information is 5, the second hop number is 3. In this way, after the second relay terminal receives the discovery information, the discovery information is transmitted by other relay terminals for a maximum of 3 hops. That is to say, between the second relay terminal and the target terminal, there can be at most two relay terminals to relay the discovery information.

[0345] S1302: The second relay terminal sends a second discovery message, and correspondingly, other relay terminals or the source terminal receives the second discovery message.

[0346] The second discovery message includes the second hop count and discovery information.

[0347] Optionally, the second relay terminal may send multiple second discovery messages, and one second discovery message may include a discovery information and a second hop number. In this case, multiple second discovery messages may be independently carried. For example, the second discovery message 1 is [RSC, second hop number = 4, user info ID of {end UE1}], and the second discovery message 2 is [RSC, second hop number = 4, user info ID of {end UE2}], that is, the second discovery message 1 and the second discovery message 2 are independently carried.

[0348] However, the second discovery message including the same second hop number and RSC can also be carried in combination, for example, [RSC1, second hop number = 4, user info ID of {end UE1, end UE2, end UE3}], that is, since the second hop number and RSC included in the second discovery messages corresponding to end UE1, end UE2, and end UE3 are the same, the second discovery messages corresponding to end UE1, end UE2, and end UE3 can be carried in combination.

[0349] However, the second discovery message including the same second hop number can also be combined with the bearer, for example, [maximum hop number = 4, [RSC = {1, 2}, user info ID of {end UE1, end UE2, end UE3}]], that is, since the second hop number included in the second discovery messages corresponding to end UE1, end UE2, and end UE3 is the same, the second discovery messages corresponding to end UE1, end UE2, and end UE3 can be combined with the bearer.

[0350] However, the second discovery message including the same RSC can also be combined with the bearer, for example, [RSC1, {maximum number of hops = 4, user info ID of end UE1}, {maximum number of hops = 3, user info ID of end UE4}, {maximum number of hops = 2, user info ID of end UE5}], that is, since the RSC included in the second discovery messages corresponding to end UE1, end UE4, and end UE5 are the same, the second discovery messages corresponding to end UE1, end UE4, and end UE5 can be combined with the bearer.

[0351] In an embodiment of the present application, the second relay terminal can determine the maximum number of hops (i.e., the second hop number) for transmitting the discovery information after the second relay terminal receives the discovery information, and send a second discovery message including the second hop number and the discovery information, so that other terminals can know the second hop number at the same time as receiving the discovery information, so that the second relay terminal can limit the number of hops for transmitting the discovery information after the second relay terminal receives the discovery information during the discovery process based on the second hop number. Since the relay service type corresponding to the first service included in the information of the first service is a parameter related to the service demand, and the second hop number is related to the relay service type corresponding to the first service, the second hop number can be more in line with the actual needs of the service, thereby ensuring that the service needs between terminals are met as much as possible.

[0352] Optionally, the second relay terminal may obtain the second hop count in the following two ways:

[0353] Method three is that the second relay terminal directly obtains the second hop count from other terminals.

[0354] Mode 4 is that the second relay terminal determines the second hop count. Of course, the above is only an exemplary description of the implementation method of the second relay terminal obtaining the second hop count. The second relay terminal can also obtain the second hop count in other ways, and the embodiment of the present application does not impose any limitation on this.

[0355] The following is a detailed description of the above-mentioned method 3 and method 4:

[0356] In mode three, the second relay terminal directly obtains the second hop count from other terminals. In mode three, the other terminals send fourth indication information to the second relay terminal via broadcast or unicast. In response, the second relay terminal receives the fourth indication information, which indicates the second hop count. This allows the second relay terminal to directly obtain the second hop count from the second indication information, reducing the computational burden of determining the second hop count on the second relay terminal.

[0357] It should be noted that, in the third approach, the second hop count in the fourth indication information may be represented by the hop count indication described in the second implementation approach.

[0358] Method 4 determines the second hop count for the second relay terminal. In method 4, the second relay terminal can obtain the first hop count and the third hop count, and determine the second hop count based on the first hop count and the third hop count. The first hop count is the maximum hop count for transmitting discovery information, which is related to the relay service type corresponding to the first service, and the third hop count is the hop count of the connection between the second relay terminal and the target terminal.

[0359] In one possible implementation, the second relay terminal may obtain multiple third hops. In this case, the second relay terminal can determine the minimum value of the multiple third hops as the third hop number required to calculate the second hop number. For example, the second relay terminal obtains a third hop number of 3 from relay terminal a and a third hop number of 4 from relay terminal b. In this way, the second relay terminal can determine the third hop number required to calculate the second hop number as 3.

[0360] In another possible implementation, the second relay terminal may obtain multiple third hops. In this case, the second relay terminal can determine the maximum value of the multiple third hops as the third hop required to calculate the second hop. For example, the second relay terminal obtains a third hop of 5 from relay terminal a and a third hop of 4 from relay terminal b. In this way, the second relay terminal can determine the third hop required to calculate the second hop as 5.

[0361] Optionally, the second terminal device may determine the difference between the first hop number and the third hop number as the second hop number. For example, if the first hop number is 5 and the third hop number is 3, the second hop number is 2. Of course, the above is only an exemplary description of the second relay terminal determining the second hop number. The second relay terminal may also determine the second hop number in other ways, and the embodiments of the present application do not impose any restrictions on this.

[0362] It can be understood that in addition to directly obtaining the second hop number, the second relay terminal can also determine the second hop number based on the entire end-to-end maximum hop number from the source terminal to the target terminal (i.e., the first hop number) and the hop number of the connection between the second relay terminal and the target terminal (i.e., the third hop number). In this way, when other terminals cannot provide the second hop number for the second relay terminal, the second relay terminal can also determine the second hop number based on the first hop number and the third hop number. In other words, another implementation method for determining the second hop number is provided, thereby improving the reliability of the second relay terminal in determining the second hop number.

[0363] It should be noted that, in this fourth manner, the second hop count in the fourth indication information may be represented by the hop count indication recorded in the above implementation manner 1 or the number of relay terminal identifiers recorded in the above implementation manner 3.

[0364] Further, optionally, the second relay terminal may obtain the first hop count in the following two ways:

[0365] Method five is that the second relay terminal directly obtains the first hop count from other terminals.

[0366] Mode 6: The second relay terminal determines the first hop count. Of course, the above is only an exemplary description of the implementation method of the second relay terminal obtaining the first hop count. The second relay terminal can also obtain the first hop count in other ways, and the embodiment of the present application does not impose any limitation on this.

[0367] The following is a detailed description of the above methods 5 and 6:

[0368] In mode 5, the second relay terminal directly obtains the first hop count from another terminal. In mode 5, the other terminal sends second indication information to the second relay terminal via broadcast or unicast. In response, the second relay terminal receives the second indication information, which indicates the first hop count. This allows the second relay terminal to directly obtain the first hop count from the second indication information, saving the second relay terminal the computational burden of determining the first hop count.

[0369] Optionally, the second relay terminal can obtain the first hop number through the discovery process of mode B that has been carried out, and can also obtain the first hop number through the discovery process of mode A that has been carried out, and can also obtain the first hop number (for example, other indication information including the first hop number) through other messages in other processes (for example, integrated communication and discovery processes). The embodiment of the present application does not impose any restrictions on this. Of course, in addition to the second relay terminal obtaining the first hop number, the above-mentioned method can also be applied to other relay terminals (for example, the first relay terminal) to obtain other messages (for example, the third hop number, RSC, etc.), and the embodiment of the present application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0370] In addition, optionally, the second relay terminal may also obtain the first hop count through any message transmitted to the second relay terminal.

[0371] Further, optionally, any message transmitted to the second relay terminal may include information of the source terminal or the target terminal, path information from the second relay terminal to the source terminal or the target terminal, or the first hop count.

[0372] Exemplarily, any of the messages transmitted to the second relay terminal may be [RSC1, {maximum number of hops = 4, user info ID of end UE1, path = RelayA, RelayB}, {maximum number of hops = 3, user info ID of end UE4, path information = RelayC}, {maximum number of hops = 2, user info ID of end UE5, path information = RelayA}].

[0373] Of course, in addition to the second relay terminal obtaining the first hop number, the above-mentioned method can also be applied to other relay terminals (for example, the first relay terminal) to obtain other messages (for example, the third hop number, RSC, etc.), and the embodiments of the present application do not impose any restrictions on this.

[0374] Method 6 determines the first hop count for the second relay terminal. In Method 6, the second relay terminal may receive third indication information from the policy control function network element and, based on the third indication information, determine the maximum hop count corresponding to the relay service type of the first service as the first hop count, wherein the third indication information is used to indicate a correspondence between at least one maximum hop count and at least one relay service type; the at least one relay service type includes the relay service type corresponding to the first service. The description of Method 6 can be understood by referring to the description of Method 1 above and will not be repeated here.

[0375] It can be understood that the second relay terminal can simply determine the first number of hops directly through the correspondence between at least one information related to the business requirements (for example, the relay service type) and the maximum number of hops, thereby reducing the complexity of the second relay terminal in determining the first number of hops, and thereby improving the efficiency of the second relay terminal in determining the first number of hops.

[0376] It should be noted that the method shown in FIG13 is applied to the discovery process of Mode A. However, as described above regarding the "discovery process of Mode A," the discovery process of Mode A can also include the discovery process of Mode A U2U and the discovery process of Mode A U2N. The following describes the information transmission methods applied to the discovery process of Mode A U2U and Mode A U2N, respectively.

[0377] In the case of a discovery process applied to mode A U2U, taking the second relay terminal as relay terminal 1 as an example, as shown in FIG14 , the information transmission method includes the following steps:

[0378] S1401: Relay terminal 1 determines a second hop count.

[0379] Specifically, the relay terminal 1 may determine the second hop number according to the first hop number and the third hop number.

[0380] Optionally, before S1401, the information transmission method further includes S1400a or S1400b.

[0381] S1400a, the source terminal or the first relay terminal sends the first hop number to relay terminal 1, and accordingly, relay terminal 1 receives the first hop number from the source terminal or the first relay terminal. That is, relay terminal 1 can obtain the first hop number through the discovery process of mode B that has been carried out.

[0382] S1400b. Relay terminal 0 sends the first hop number to relay terminal 1. Correspondingly, relay terminal 1 receives the first hop number from other relay terminals. That is, relay terminal 1 can obtain the first hop number through the discovery process of mode A that has been performed.

[0383] S1402: Relay terminal 1 sends a second discovery message, and accordingly, relay terminal 3 receives the second discovery message.

[0384] S1403 : Relay terminal 2 sends an eighth discovery message, and correspondingly, relay terminal 3 receives the eighth discovery message.

[0385] The eighth discovery message includes the second hop number and discovery information.

[0386] S1404 : The relay terminal 3 re-determines the second hop count according to the first discovery message and the eighth discovery message.

[0387] S1405 : Relay terminal 3 sends a ninth discovery message, and correspondingly, other relay terminals receive the ninth discovery message.

[0388] The ninth discovery message includes the re-determined second hop number and discovery information.

[0389] In the case of a discovery process applied to mode B U2N, taking the second relay terminal as relay terminal 3 as an example, as shown in FIG15 , the information transmission method includes the following steps:

[0390] S1501. Relay terminal 3 obtains a first hop count and a third hop count.

[0391] Optionally, the above S1501 may be: the relay terminal 2 sends the tenth discovery message, and correspondingly, the relay terminal 3 receives the tenth discovery message.

[0392] The tenth discovery message includes the first hop number and discovery information.

[0393] S1502: Relay terminal 3 determines a second hop number according to the first hop number and the third hop number.

[0394] S1503: Relay terminal 3 sends a second discovery message, and correspondingly, other relay terminals receive the second discovery message.

[0395] It should be pointed out that although the method shown in Figures 13 to 15 above is applied to the discovery process of mode A, it is only applicable when the execution subject is a relay terminal that is not connected to the network. In view of this, in the discovery process of mode A, Figure 16 is another example of the information transmission method provided by the embodiment of the present application. This method is described with the first relay terminal as the execution subject, wherein the first relay terminal is a relay terminal connected to the network. Of course, the subject that executes the action of the first relay terminal in this method can also be a device / module in the first relay terminal, such as a chip, processor, processing unit, etc. in the first relay terminal, and the embodiment of the present application does not make specific limitations on this. For example, as shown in Figure 16, the information transmission method includes the following steps:

[0396] S1601: A first relay terminal obtains a first hop count.

[0397] The first hop number is the maximum hop number for transmitting discovery information, the discovery information is used by the source terminal to discover the first relay terminal, and the first hop number is related to the relay service type corresponding to the first service of the source terminal.

[0398] S1602: The first relay terminal sends a third discovery message, and correspondingly, other relay terminals or the source terminal.

[0399] The third discovery message includes the first hop number and discovery information.

[0400] In an embodiment of the present application, the first relay terminal can determine the maximum number of hops for transmitting discovery information (i.e., the first hop number) and send a third discovery message including the first hop number and the discovery information, so that other terminals can learn the first hop number while receiving the discovery information, so that the first relay terminal can limit the number of hops for transmitting discovery information based on the first hop number during the discovery process. Since the second hop number is related to the relay service type corresponding to the first service, the first hop number can be more in line with the actual needs of the service, thereby ensuring that the service needs between terminals are met as much as possible.

[0401] It can be understood that the relevant descriptions of the above S1601 to S1602 can also be understood by referring to the relevant descriptions of the above S801 to S802, which will not be repeated here.

[0402] Optionally, the first relay terminal may also obtain the first hop count in the following manner: the first relay terminal independently determines the first hop count based on parameters related to the quality of service parameter. Specifically, the implementation process of this manner may be: the first relay terminal receives third indication information from the policy control function network element, and based on the third indication information, determines the maximum hop count corresponding to the relay service type corresponding to the first service as the first hop count. The third indication information is used to indicate a correspondence between at least one maximum hop count and at least one relay service type; the at least one relay service type includes the relay service type corresponding to the first service.

[0403] It is understandable that the implementation process of the first relay terminal obtaining the first hop count can also be understood by referring to the description of the corresponding position above, which will not be repeated here.

[0404] It can be understood that the first relay terminal can simply determine the first hop number directly through the correspondence between at least one information related to the business requirements (for example, the relay service type) and the maximum hop number, thereby reducing the complexity of the first relay terminal in determining the first hop number and thereby improving the efficiency of the first relay terminal in determining the first hop number.

[0405] In addition, it should be pointed out that the above is only an exemplary description of the implementation method of the first relay terminal obtaining the first hop count. The first terminal can also obtain the first hop count in other ways. For details, please refer to the description of the corresponding position above, which will not be repeated here.

[0406] It should be noted that the method shown in FIG16 is applied to the discovery process of Mode A U2N. The following describes the information transmission methods applied to the discovery process of Mode A U2N respectively.

[0407] In the case of a discovery process applied to mode A U2N, taking the first relay terminal as relay terminal 1 in FIG15 as an example, as shown in FIG15 , the information transmission method includes the following steps:

[0408] S1504: Relay terminal 1 obtains a correspondence between at least one maximum hop count and at least one relay service type.

[0409] Optionally, the implementation process of S1504 may be: the relay terminal 1 may obtain a correspondence between at least one maximum hop count and at least one relay service type from at least one policy control function network element.

[0410] S1505: Relay terminal 1 determines a first hop number according to a correspondence between at least one maximum hop number and at least one relay service type and information about the first service, or determines the first hop number according to information about the first service.

[0411] S1506. Relay terminal 1 sends a third discovery message, and correspondingly, relay terminal 2 receives the third discovery message.

[0412] Figure 17 is another example of the information transmission method provided in an embodiment of the present application. This method is described with the second relay terminal as the execution subject. Of course, the subject that executes the source terminal action in this method can also be a device / module in the second relay terminal, such as a chip, processor, processing unit, etc. in the second relay terminal, and this embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this. For example, as shown in Figure 17, the information transmission method includes the following steps:

[0413] S1701. The second relay terminal receives a twelfth discovery message.

[0414] The twelfth discovery message includes discovery information and the first relay service type, and the discovery information is used by the source terminal to discover the target terminal.

[0415] Optionally, the twelfth discovery message may be sent by the source terminal, or may be sent by any relay terminal other than the second relay terminal, and this embodiment of the present application does not impose any limitation on this.

[0416] Exemplarily, the first relay service type may be the relay service type corresponding to the first service. Of course, the above is only an exemplary description of the first relay service type, and the first relay service type may also be other relay service types, and the embodiment of the present application does not impose any limitation on this.

[0417] It is understandable that the above discovery information and relay service types can be understood by referring to the relevant descriptions of the above corresponding positions, and will not be repeated here.

[0418] S1702: The second relay terminal determines a first hop count according to the first relay service type.

[0419] The first hop count is the maximum hop count for transmitting discovery information.

[0420] It is understandable that the above S1702 can be understood by referring to the relevant description of the above method six, and will not be repeated here.

[0421] S1703: The second relay terminal sends discovery information or does not send discovery information according to the first hop number.

[0422] Optionally, the implementation process of S1703 may be: if the number of hops for currently transmitting the discovery information reaches the first number of hops, the second relay terminal may not send the discovery information. If the number of hops for currently transmitting the discovery information does not reach the first number of hops, the second relay terminal may send the discovery information.

[0423] In an embodiment of the present application, the second relay terminal can determine the maximum number of hops (i.e., the first hop number) for transmitting the discovery information based on the first relay service type included in the discovery message, and send the discovery information or not send the discovery information based on the first hop number. Since the first hop number is related to the relay service type corresponding to the first service of the source terminal, the first hop number can be more in line with the actual needs of the service, which can ensure the rationality of the hop number of the transmission discovery information as much as possible, that is, to avoid redundant transmission of discovery information or omission of transmission of discovery information as much as possible.

[0424] Furthermore, optionally, when the second relay terminal determines to send discovery information, the second relay terminal may also send a first hop count. The first hop count and the discovery information may be carried in the same message (e.g., a fifth discovery message, which includes the first hop count and the discovery information). The first hop count and the discovery information may also be carried in different messages, and this embodiment of the present application does not impose any limitation on this.

[0425] The implementation process of S1702 is described in detail below.

[0426] Optionally, the policy control function network element sends a correspondence between at least one maximum number of hops and at least one relay service type to the second relay terminal. Accordingly, the second relay terminal can receive a correspondence between at least one maximum number of hops and at least one relay service type from the policy control function network element, wherein the at least one relay service type includes the first relay service type.

[0427] In this case, the implementation process of S1702 may be: the second relay terminal may determine the first hop count according to the above correspondence and the first relay service type. The description of S1702 may be understood by referring to the description of the above method 6, which will not be repeated here.

[0428] It is understandable that the method shown in Figure 17 can be applied to the case where the second relay terminal cannot obtain the first hop count from other discovery messages. In other words, if the discovery message sent by the source terminal or other relay terminals does not include the first hop count, the second relay terminal can determine the first hop count using the above method.

[0429] The above primarily describes the solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application from the perspective of interaction between various network elements. Accordingly, the embodiments of the present application also provide a communication device for implementing the various methods described above. The communication device may be the source terminal in the method embodiments described above, or a device including the source terminal, or a component usable for the source terminal; or the communication device may be the first relay terminal in the method embodiments described above, or a device including the first relay terminal, or a component usable for the first relay terminal; or the communication device may be the second relay terminal in the method embodiments described above, or a device including the second relay terminal, or a component usable for the second relay terminal. It will be understood that, to implement the aforementioned functions, the communication device includes hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the respective functions. Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that, in conjunction with the various exemplary units and algorithm steps described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the present application can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is implemented in hardware or by computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional technicians can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

[0430] In the embodiment of the present application, the communication device can be divided into functional modules according to the above method embodiment. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The above integrated modules can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules. It should be understood that the division of modules in the embodiment of the present application is schematic and is a logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods.

[0431] For example, taking the communication device as a terminal in the above method embodiment, FIG18 shows a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 180. The communication device 180 includes a processing module 1801 and a transceiver module 1802. The transceiver module 1802, also known as a transceiver unit, is used to implement transceiver functions and can be, for example, a transceiver circuit, a transceiver, a transceiver, or a communication interface.

[0432] When the communication device 180 shown in FIG18 is the source terminal in the above embodiment:

[0433] In one possible implementation: processing module 1801 is used to determine a first hop count based on information of the first service, where the first hop count is the maximum hop count for transmitting discovery information, and the discovery information is used by the source terminal to discover the target terminal; wherein the information of the first service includes at least one of the following: a service quality parameter corresponding to the first service, a relay service type corresponding to the first service, a type of the first service, or a hop count requirement of the first service; transceiver module 1802 is used to send a first discovery message, where the first discovery message includes the first hop count and discovery information.

[0434] In some embodiments, the processing module 1801 is further configured to determine a first hop count based on a quality of service parameter corresponding to the first service.

[0435] In some embodiments, the processing module 1801 is further used to generate a first discovery message when the first hop number is different from the maximum hop number determined based on the relay service type corresponding to the first service, and the transceiver module 1802 is further used to send the first discovery message.

[0436] In some embodiments, the processing module 1801 is also used to generate an eleventh discovery message when the first hop number is the same as the maximum hop number determined based on the relay service type corresponding to the first business, and the transceiver module 1802 is also used to send the eleventh discovery message, the eleventh discovery message includes discovery information, and the eleventh discovery message does not include the first hop number.

[0437] In some embodiments, the processing module 1801 is further configured to determine a first hop count based on information about the first service.

[0438] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 1802 is further used to receive first indication information from a policy control function network element, where the first indication information is used to indicate a correspondence between at least one maximum number of hops and at least one quality of service parameter, at least one relay service type, at least one type of service, or at least one hop requirement of at least one service; wherein, the at least one quality of service parameter includes a quality of service parameter corresponding to the first service, the at least one relay service type includes a relay service type corresponding to the first service, the at least one type of service includes a type of the first service, and the hop requirement of at least one service includes a hop requirement of the first service; the processing module 1801 is further used to determine, based on the first indication information, the maximum number of hops corresponding to the information of the first service as the first hop number.

[0439] In some embodiments, the processing module 1801 is further configured to determine the first hop count based on the quality of service parameter corresponding to the first service and the first quality of service parameter, wherein the first quality of service parameter is the quality of service parameter corresponding to the near field communication PC5 connection.

[0440] In some embodiments, the target terminal is a relay terminal connected to the network, and the processing module 1801 is also used to determine the first hop count based on the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service and the first information, wherein the first information includes the first service quality parameter and / or the second service quality parameter, the first service quality parameter is the service quality parameter corresponding to the near-field communication PC5 connection, and the second service quality parameter is the service quality parameter corresponding to the connection between the target terminal and the network device.

[0441] In some embodiments, the information of the first service includes the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service and / or the hop requirement of the first service. The transceiver module 1802 is also used to receive the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service and / or the hop requirement of the first service from the application layer of the source terminal; the processing module 1801 is also used to determine the first hop count based on the service quality parameters corresponding to the first service and / or the hop requirement of the first service.

[0442] In some embodiments, the processing module 1801 is also used to determine whether a first discovery message needs to be sent based on whether there is a connection between the source terminal and the target terminal, and / or second information, wherein the second information includes the number of hops of the connection between the source terminal and the target terminal, and the first number of hops.

[0443] In some embodiments, when there is no connection between the source terminal and the target terminal, the processing module 1801 is also used to determine that a first discovery message needs to be sent; or, when there is a connection between the source terminal and the target terminal, and the number of hops of the connection between the source terminal and the target terminal is greater than the first hop number, the processing module 1801 is also used to determine that a first discovery message needs to be sent.

[0444] Among them, all relevant contents of each step involved in the above method embodiment can be referred to the functional description of the corresponding functional module and will not be repeated here.

[0445] In the embodiments of the present application, the source terminal is presented in the form of various functional modules divided in an integrated manner. The "module" here can refer to a specific ASIC, circuit, processor and memory that executes one or more software or firmware programs, integrated logic circuit, and / or other devices that can provide the above functions. In a simple embodiment, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the source terminal can take the form of the communication device 700 shown in Figure 7.

[0446] For example, the processor 701 in the communication device 700 shown in FIG7 may call the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 703 to enable the communication device 700 to execute the communication method in the above method embodiment.

[0447] Specifically, the functions / implementation processes of the transceiver module 1802 and the processing module 1801 in FIG18 can be implemented by the processor 701 in the communication device 700 shown in FIG7 calling computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 703. Alternatively, the functions / implementation processes of the processing module 1801 in FIG18 can be implemented by the processor 701 in the communication device 700 shown in FIG7 calling computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 703, and the functions / implementation processes of the transceiver module 1802 in FIG18 can be implemented by the communication interface 704 in the communication device 700 shown in FIG7.

[0448] Since the source terminal 180 provided in the embodiment of the present application can execute the above-mentioned information transmission method, the technical effects that can be obtained can be referred to the above-mentioned method embodiment and will not be repeated here.

[0449] When the communication device 180 shown in FIG18 is the second relay terminal in the above embodiment:

[0450] In one possible implementation: processing module 1801 is used to instruct the transceiver module 1802 to obtain a second hop number, where the second hop number is the maximum hop number for transmitting the discovery information after the second relay terminal receives the discovery information. The discovery information is used by the source terminal to discover the target terminal, and the second hop number is related to the relay service type corresponding to the first service of the source terminal; processing module 1801 is also used to instruct the transceiver module 1802 to send a second discovery message, where the second discovery message includes the second hop number and the discovery information.

[0451] In some embodiments, the processing module 1801 is also used to instruct the transceiver module 1802 to obtain a first hop number and a third hop number; wherein the first hop number is the maximum hop number for transmitting discovery information, the first hop number is related to the relay service type corresponding to the first service, and the third hop number is the hop number of the connection between the second relay terminal and the target terminal; the processing module 1801 is also used to determine the second hop number based on the first hop number and the third hop number.

[0452] In some embodiments, the processing module 1801 is further configured to instruct the transceiver module 1802 to receive second indication information, where the second indication information indicates the first hop count.

[0453] In some embodiments, the processing module 1801 is also used to instruct the transceiver module 1802 to receive a third indication information from the policy control function network element, where the third indication information is used to indicate the correspondence between at least one maximum number of hops and at least one relay service type; the at least one relay service type includes a relay service type corresponding to the first service; the processing module 1801 is also used to instruct that, based on the third indication information, the maximum number of hops corresponding to the relay service type of the first service be determined as the first number of hops.

[0454] Among them, all relevant contents of each step involved in the above method embodiment can be referred to the functional description of the corresponding functional module and will not be repeated here.

[0455] In an embodiment of the present application, the second relay terminal is presented in the form of various functional modules divided in an integrated manner. The "module" here can refer to a specific ASIC, circuit, processor and memory that executes one or more software or firmware programs, integrated logic circuit, and / or other devices that can provide the above functions. In a simple embodiment, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the second relay terminal can take the form of the communication device 700 shown in Figure 7.

[0456] For example, the processor 701 in the communication device 700 shown in FIG7 may call the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 703 to enable the communication device 700 to execute the communication method in the above method embodiment.

[0457] Specifically, the functions / implementation processes of the transceiver module 1802 and the processing module 1801 in FIG18 can be implemented by the processor 701 in the communication device 700 shown in FIG7 calling computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 703. Alternatively, the functions / implementation processes of the processing module 1801 in FIG18 can be implemented by the processor 701 in the communication device 700 shown in FIG7 calling computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 703, and the functions / implementation processes of the transceiver module 1802 in FIG18 can be implemented by the communication interface 704 in the communication device 700 shown in FIG7.

[0458] Since the second relay terminal 180 provided in the embodiment of the present application can execute the above-mentioned information transmission method, the technical effects that can be obtained can refer to the above-mentioned method embodiment and will not be repeated here.

[0459] When the communication device 180 shown in FIG18 is the first relay terminal in the above embodiment:

[0460] In one possible implementation: processing module 1801 is used to instruct the transceiver module 1802 to obtain a first hop number, where the first hop number is the maximum hop number for transmitting discovery information. The discovery information is used by the source terminal to discover the first relay terminal, and the first hop number is related to the relay service type corresponding to the first service of the source terminal; processing module 1801 is also used to instruct the transceiver module 1802 to send a third discovery message, where the third discovery message includes the first hop number and discovery information.

[0461] In some embodiments, the processing module 1801 is also used to instruct the transceiver module 1802 to receive a third indication information from the policy control function network element, where the third indication information is used to indicate the correspondence between at least one maximum number of hops and at least one relay service type; the at least one relay service type includes the relay service type corresponding to the first service; the processing module 1801 is also used to determine the maximum number of hops corresponding to the relay service type corresponding to the first service as the first hop number based on the third indication information.

[0462] Among them, all relevant contents of each step involved in the above method embodiment can be referred to the functional description of the corresponding functional module and will not be repeated here.

[0463] In the embodiment of the present application, the first relay terminal is presented in the form of various functional modules divided in an integrated manner. The "module" here can refer to a specific ASIC, circuit, processor and memory that executes one or more software or firmware programs, integrated logic circuit, and / or other devices that can provide the above functions. In a simple embodiment, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the first relay terminal can take the form of the communication device 700 shown in Figure 7.

[0464] For example, the processor 701 in the communication device 700 shown in FIG7 may call the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 703 to enable the communication device 700 to execute the communication method in the above method embodiment.

[0465] Specifically, the functions / implementation processes of the transceiver module 1802 and the processing module 1801 in FIG18 can be implemented by the processor 701 in the communication device 700 shown in FIG7 calling computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 703. Alternatively, the functions / implementation processes of the processing module 1801 in FIG18 can be implemented by the processor 701 in the communication device 700 shown in FIG7 calling computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 703, and the functions / implementation processes of the transceiver module 1802 in FIG18 can be implemented by the communication interface 704 in the communication device 700 shown in FIG7.

[0466] Since the first relay terminal 180 provided in the embodiment of the present application can execute the above-mentioned information transmission method, the technical effects that can be obtained can refer to the above-mentioned method embodiment and will not be repeated here.

[0467] When the communication device 180 shown in FIG18 is the second relay terminal in the above embodiment:

[0468] In one possible implementation: the transceiver module 1802 is used to receive the twelfth discovery message, the twelfth discovery message includes discovery information and a first relay service type, and the discovery information is used by the source terminal to discover the target terminal; the processing module 1801 is used to determine the first hop number according to the first relay service type, and the first hop number is the maximum hop number for transmitting the discovery information; the processing module 1801 is also used to send the discovery information or not send the discovery information according to the first hop number.

[0469] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 1802 is also used to receive a correspondence between at least one maximum number of hops and at least one relay service type from a policy control function network element; the at least one relay service type includes a first relay service type; the processing module 1801 is also used to determine the first number of hops based on the correspondence and the first relay service type.

[0470] It should be understood that one or more of the above modules or units can be implemented by software, hardware, or a combination of the two. When any of the above modules or units is implemented in software, the software exists in the form of computer program instructions and is stored in a memory, and a processor can be used to execute the program instructions and implement the above method flow. The processor can be built into an SoC (system on chip) or an ASIC, or it can be an independent semiconductor chip. In addition to the core used to execute software instructions to perform calculations or processing within the processor, it can further include necessary hardware accelerators, such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), PLDs (programmable logic devices), or logic circuits that implement dedicated logic operations.

[0471] When the above modules or units are implemented in hardware, the hardware can be any one or any combination of a CPU, a microprocessor, a digital signal processing (DSP) chip, a microcontroller unit (MCU), an artificial intelligence processor, an ASIC, a SoC, an FPGA, a PLD, a dedicated digital circuit, a hardware accelerator or a non-integrated discrete device, which can run the necessary software or not rely on the software to execute the above method flow.

[0472] In one possible implementation, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device (for example, the communication device may be a chip or a chip system), which includes a processor for implementing the method in any of the above method embodiments. In one possible design, the communication device also includes a memory. The memory is used to store necessary program instructions and data, and the processor can call the program code stored in the memory to instruct the communication device to execute the method in any of the above method embodiments. Of course, the memory may not be in the communication device. When the communication device is a chip system, it may be composed of a chip, or it may include a chip and other discrete devices, which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0473] In one possible implementation, an embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is run on a communication device, the communication device can execute any of the above-mentioned method embodiments or any of its implementation methods.

[0474] In a possible implementation, an embodiment of the present application further provides an information transmission method, which includes any of the above method embodiments or any of its implementations.

[0475] In a possible implementation, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system, which includes the source terminal of the above method embodiment, the first relay terminal of the above method embodiment, and the second relay terminal of the above method embodiment.

[0476] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using a software program, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions according to the embodiments of the present application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more media integrated therein. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0477] Although the present application is described herein in conjunction with various embodiments, in the process of implementing the claimed application, those skilled in the art may understand and implement other variations of the disclosed embodiments by reviewing the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other components or steps, and "a" or "an" does not exclude multiple situations. A single processor or other unit may implement several functions listed in the claims. Certain measures are recorded in different dependent claims, but this does not mean that these measures cannot be combined to produce good results.

[0478] Although the present application has been described with reference to specific features and embodiments thereof, it will be apparent that various modifications and combinations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Accordingly, this specification and the drawings are illustrative of the present application as defined by the appended claims and are deemed to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations or equivalents within the scope of the present application. Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various modifications and variations to the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Thus, the present application is intended to encompass such modifications and variations as would fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents.

Claims

1. An information transmission method, characterized in that: Applied to a source terminal, the method includes: Determining a first hop count based on information about a first service, where the first hop count is a maximum hop count for transmitting discovery information, where the discovery information is used by the source terminal to discover a target terminal; wherein the information about the first service includes at least one of the following: a quality of service parameter corresponding to the first service, a relay service type corresponding to the first service, a type of the first service, or a hop count requirement of the first service; A first discovery message is sent, where the first discovery message includes the first hop count and the discovery information.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The determining the first hop count based on the information of the first service includes: The first number of hops is determined based on a quality of service parameter corresponding to the first service.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The sending of the first discovery message includes: In a case where the first hop number is different from a maximum hop number determined based on a relay service type corresponding to the first service, the first discovery message is generated and sent.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The method further comprises: When the first hop number is the same as a maximum hop number determined based on a relay service type corresponding to the first service, an eleventh discovery message is generated and sent, where the eleventh discovery message includes the discovery information but does not include the first hop number.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving first indication information from a policy control function network element, the first indication information being used to indicate a correspondence between at least one maximum hop count and at least one of at least one quality of service parameter, at least one relay service type, at least one service type, or at least one service hop count requirement; wherein the at least one quality of service parameter includes a quality of service parameter corresponding to the first service, the at least one relay service type includes a relay service type corresponding to the first service, the at least one service type includes the type of the first service, and the at least one service hop count requirement includes the hop count requirement of the first service; The determining the first hop count based on the information of the first service includes: According to the first indication information, a maximum number of hops corresponding to the information of the first service is determined as the first number of hops.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The determining the first hop count based on the information of the first service includes: The first hop count is determined according to the quality of service parameter corresponding to the first service and a first quality of service parameter, wherein the first quality of service parameter is a quality of service parameter corresponding to the near field communication PC5 connection.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The target terminal is a relay terminal connected to a network, and determining the first hop count based on the information of the first service includes: The first hop count is determined based on the quality of service parameter corresponding to the first service and the first information, wherein the first information includes the first quality of service parameter and / or the second quality of service parameter, the first quality of service parameter is the quality of service parameter corresponding to the near-field communication PC5 connection, and the second quality of service parameter is the quality of service parameter corresponding to the connection between the target terminal and the network device.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The information of the first service includes a quality of service parameter corresponding to the first service and / or a hop count requirement of the first service. The determining the first hop count based on the information of the first service includes: The ProSe layer of the source terminal receives the quality of service parameter corresponding to the first service and / or the hop count requirement of the first service from the application layer of the source terminal; The ProSe layer of the source terminal determines the first hop count according to a quality of service parameter corresponding to the first service and / or a hop count requirement of the first service.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that Before sending the first discovery message, the method further includes: It is determined that the first discovery message needs to be sent based on whether there is a connection between the source terminal and the target terminal, and / or second information, wherein the second information includes the number of hops of the connection between the source terminal and the target terminal, and the first number of hops.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The determining, based on whether a connection exists between the source terminal and the target terminal and / or the second information, that the first discovery message needs to be sent includes: In a case where no connection exists between the source terminal and the target terminal, determining that the first discovery message needs to be sent; Alternatively, when a connection exists between the source terminal and the target terminal, and the number of hops of the connection between the source terminal and the target terminal is greater than the first number of hops, it is determined that the first discovery message needs to be sent.

11. An information transmission method, characterized in that: Applied to a second relay terminal, where the second relay terminal is a relay terminal not connected to a network, the method includes: Obtaining a second hop count, where the second hop count is a maximum hop count for transmitting the discovery information after the second relay terminal receives the discovery information, the discovery information being used by the source terminal to discover the target terminal, and the second hop count being related to a relay service type corresponding to the first service of the source terminal; A second discovery message is sent, where the second discovery message includes the second hop count and the discovery information.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The obtaining of the second hop count includes: Obtain a first hop number and a third hop number; wherein the first hop number is a maximum hop number for transmitting the discovery information, the first hop number is related to the relay service type corresponding to the first service, and the third hop number is a hop number for the connection between the second relay terminal and the target terminal; The second hop number is determined according to the first hop number and the third hop number.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The obtaining of the first hop count includes: Second indication information is received, where the second indication information indicates the first hop count.

14. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving third indication information from a policy control function network element, wherein the third indication information is used to indicate a correspondence between at least one maximum number of hops and at least one relay service type; the at least one relay service type includes a relay service type corresponding to the first service; The obtaining of the first hop count includes: According to the third indication information, a maximum number of hops corresponding to the relay service type of the first service is determined as the first number of hops.

15. An information transmission method, characterized in that: Applied to a first relay terminal, where the first relay terminal is a relay terminal connected to a network, the method includes: Obtaining a first hop count, where the first hop count is a maximum hop count for transmitting discovery information, where the discovery information is used by the source terminal to discover the first relay terminal, and the first hop count is related to a relay service type corresponding to a first service of the source terminal; A third discovery message is sent, where the third discovery message includes the first hop number and the discovery information.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving third indication information from a policy control function network element, wherein the third indication information is used to indicate a correspondence between at least one maximum number of hops and at least one relay service type; the at least one relay service type includes a relay service type corresponding to the first service; The obtaining of the first hop count includes: According to the third indication information, a maximum number of hops corresponding to the relay service type corresponding to the first service is determined as the first number of hops.

17. An information transmission method, characterized in that: Applied to a second relay terminal, where the second relay terminal is a relay terminal not connected to a network, the method includes: receiving a twelfth discovery message, where the twelfth discovery message includes discovery information and a first relay service type, where the discovery information is used by the source terminal to discover the target terminal; Determining a first hop number according to the first relay service type, where the first hop number is a maximum hop number for transmitting the discovery information; The discovery information is sent or not sent according to the first hop number.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving a correspondence between at least one maximum number of hops and at least one relay service type from a policy control function network element; the at least one relay service type includes the first relay service type; The determining a first number of hops according to the first relay service type includes: The first number of hops is determined according to the corresponding relationship and the first relay service type.

19. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A functional unit for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, or a functional unit for executing the method according to any one of claims 11 to 14, or a functional unit for executing the method according to any one of claims 15 to 16, or a functional unit for executing the method according to any one of claims 17 to 18; wherein the actions performed by the functional unit are implemented by hardware or by executing corresponding software implementations through hardware.

20. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device includes a processor; the processor is used to run a computer program or instruction, or to use a logic circuit to cause the communication device to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, or to cause the communication device to perform the method according to any one of claims 11 to 14, or to cause the communication device to perform the method according to any one of claims 15 to 16, or to perform a functional unit according to any one of claims 17 to 18.

21. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions or programs, which, when executed on a computer, cause the communication device to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, or cause the communication device to execute the method according to any one of claims 11 to 14, or cause the communication device to execute the method according to any one of claims 15 to 16, or a functional unit for executing the method according to any one of claims 17 to 18.

22. A communication system, characterized in that: include: A communication device for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, a communication device for executing the method according to any one of claims 11 to 14, a communication device for executing the method according to any one of claims 15 to 16, and a communication device for executing the method according to any one of claims 17 to 18.

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