Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

A communication method and an apparatus, for use in releasing configuration information at a relay terminal device side in a timely manner, which is conducive to improving the communication performance in a relay scenario. The method comprises: a first terminal device receiving first information from a second terminal device, wherein the first information is used for indicating that a first connection has been released, the first connection is a connection between the second terminal device and a third terminal device, and the second terminal device communicates with the third terminal device by means of the first terminal device; and releasing first configuration information on the basis of the first information, wherein the first configuration information comprises a local identifier of the second terminal device, a local identifier of the third terminal device, and first mapping relationships, and the first mapping relationships include a mapping relationship between a first radio bearer and M radio link control channels, and a mapping relationship between the first radio bearer and N radio link control channels.

Description

Communication method and device

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China on February 7, 2024, with application number 202410176132.3 and application name "A Communication Method and Device", the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0003] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and device. Background Art

[0004] In wireless communication systems, devices can communicate with each other directly, either over a network or without the aid of network equipment. When devices communicate directly, the link between them is called a sidelink (SL). This direct data transmission between devices, without going through the network, effectively reduces communication latency.

[0005] In some scenarios, terminal devices can communicate with each other through one or more relay terminal devices to improve sidelink coverage and capacity. In this scenario, sidelinks are used for communication between the source terminal device and the relay terminal device, between the relay terminal device and the target terminal device, and between relay terminal devices themselves.

[0006] During the process of establishing an end-to-end (E2E) connection between a source terminal device and a target terminal device, the source terminal device and the target terminal device need to establish connections with the relay terminal device respectively. When the E2E connection between the source terminal device and the target terminal device is released, the connection between the source terminal device and the relay terminal device, as well as the connection between the target terminal device and the relay terminal device, may not be released. This means that the relay terminal device still maintains the configuration information related to the E2E connection. This configuration information becomes useless when the E2E connection is released, resulting in a waste of storage resources of the relay terminal device, which is not conducive to improving the communication performance of the relay scenario. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus that can timely release configuration information on the relay terminal device side, which is conducive to improving the communication performance of the relay scenario.

[0008] In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a first terminal device, or by other devices including the functions of the first terminal device, or by a chip system (or, chip) or other functional module, which can realize the functions of the first terminal device, and the chip system or functional module is, for example, set in the first terminal device.

[0009] Taking the first terminal device as the execution subject as an example, the method may include the following contents: the first terminal device receives first information from the second terminal device, the first information is used to indicate that the first connection has been released, the first connection is a connection between the second terminal device and the third terminal device, and the second terminal device communicates with the third terminal device through the first terminal device; and, according to the first information, releases first configuration information, the first configuration information includes the local identifier of the second terminal device, the local identifier of the third terminal device, and a first mapping relationship, wherein the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the first wireless bearer and M wireless link control channels, and a mapping relationship between the first wireless bearer and N wireless link control channels, the first wireless bearer is a wireless bearer between the second terminal device and the third terminal device, the M wireless link control channels are wireless link control channels between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, and the N wireless link control channels are wireless link control channels between the first terminal device and the third terminal device, and M and N are both positive integers.

[0010] In the above embodiment, the first terminal device determines that the first connection has been released through the first information from the second terminal device, and releases the first configuration information in a timely manner, so that the storage space occupied by the first configuration information can be released in a timely manner. In this way, the first terminal device can provide relay services for more terminal devices, which is conducive to improving the communication performance of the relay scenario.

[0011] In one possible implementation, the first information may include identification information of the third terminal device, wherein the identification information of the third terminal device may include one or more of the following: a layer 2 identification of the third terminal device, a local identification of the third terminal device, or a user information identification of the third terminal device, so that the first terminal device can determine that the first connection has been released.

[0012] In a possible implementation, the first terminal device may further send second information to the network device, where the second information is used to indicate that the first connection has been released.

[0013] In one possible implementation, the first terminal device may release the first configuration information by: receiving third information from the network device, the third information indicating the release of the first mapping relationship; and releasing the first configuration information based on the third information. For example, the first terminal device may release the first mapping relationship in response to the third information, and simultaneously release the local identifier of the second terminal device and the local identifier of the third terminal device, thereby releasing the first configuration information.

[0014] Through the above implementation, the release of the first mapping relationship can be determined by the first terminal device itself, or can also be determined by the network device, and the implementation is flexible.

[0015] In one possible implementation, the second information may include the layer 2 identifier of the second terminal device, or the layer 2 identifier of the third terminal device, or the layer 2 identifier of the second terminal device and the layer 2 identifier of the third terminal device, so that the network device can determine that the first connection has been released.

[0016] In one possible implementation, the M radio link control channels may include a first radio link control channel, and the first terminal device may also receive fourth information from the second terminal device, where the fourth information is used to indicate a mapping relationship between the second radio bearer and the first radio link control channel, and the second radio bearer belongs to a radio bearer between the second terminal device and P terminal devices, and any terminal device among the P terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, where P is a positive integer; and when a first condition is met, the first radio link control channel is released, and the first condition is that the first terminal device has no third radio bearer mapped to the first radio link control channel for transmission, and the second terminal device has no second radio bearer mapped to the first radio link control channel for transmission; wherein the third radio bearer belongs to a radio bearer between the second terminal device and Q terminal devices, and any terminal device among the Q terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, and the Q terminal devices include the third terminal device, and Q is a positive integer.

[0017] Through the above implementation method, the first terminal device can obtain the mapping relationship between the wireless bearer on the second terminal device side and the first wireless link control channel, and consider the mapping relationship between the wireless bearer on the second terminal device side and the first wireless link control channel when deciding to release the first wireless link control channel, thereby avoiding the impact of the first terminal device releasing the first wireless link control channel on the data transmission of the second terminal device, which is conducive to improving the communication performance of the relay scenario.

[0018] In one possible implementation, the M radio link control channels may include a first radio link control channel, and the first terminal device may also send fifth information to the second terminal device, where the fifth information is used to indicate a mapping relationship between a third radio bearer and the first radio link control channel, wherein the third radio bearer belongs to a radio bearer between the second terminal device and Q terminal devices, any terminal device among the Q terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, the Q terminal devices include the third terminal device, and Q is a positive integer.

[0019] Through the above implementation method, the first terminal device can send the fifth information to the second terminal device, so that the second terminal device can obtain the mapping relationship between the wireless bearer on the first terminal device side and the first wireless link control channel, and consider the mapping relationship between the wireless bearer on the first terminal device side and the first wireless link control channel when deciding to release the first wireless link control channel, thereby avoiding the impact of the second terminal device releasing the first wireless link control channel on the data transmission of the first terminal device, which is conducive to improving the communication performance of the relay scenario.

[0020] In a possible implementation, the M radio link control channels may include a first radio link control channel, and the first terminal device may also receive sixth information from the second terminal device, the sixth information being used to indicate the release of the first radio link control channel; when the first terminal device has a third radio bearer mapped to the first radio link control channel for transmission, the first terminal device sends seventh information to the second terminal device, the seventh information being used to indicate the refusal to release the first radio link control channel; wherein the third radio bearer belongs to a radio bearer between the second terminal device and Q terminal devices, any terminal device among the Q terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, the Q terminal devices include the third terminal device, and Q is a positive integer. Optionally, the seventh information may include a first parameter, and the first parameter is used to indicate the reason for refusing to release the first radio link control channel. Optionally, the seventh information may include an identifier of the first radio link control channel.

[0021] Through the above implementation method, the first terminal device can determine whether to release the first wireless link control channel in response to the sixth information based on the mapping relationship between its own wireless bearer and the first wireless link control channel, thereby avoiding the impact of the second terminal device releasing the first wireless link control channel on its own data transmission, which is conducive to improving the communication performance of the relay scenario.

[0022] In one possible implementation, the M radio link control channels may include a first radio link control channel. The first terminal device may further send eighth information to the second terminal device, the eighth information being used to instruct the release of the first radio link control channel; receive ninth information from the second terminal device, the ninth information being used to instruct the refusal to release the first radio link control channel; and retain the first radio link control channel based on the ninth information. Optionally, the ninth information may include a second parameter, the second parameter being used to indicate a reason for the refusal to release the second radio link control channel. Optionally, the ninth information may include an identifier of the second radio link control channel.

[0023] Through the above-mentioned implementation method, the first terminal device can send the eighth information to the second terminal device, so that the second terminal device can determine whether to release the first radio link control channel in response to the eighth information based on the mapping relationship between its own wireless bearer and the first radio link control channel, thereby avoiding the impact of the first terminal device releasing the first radio link control channel on its own data transmission, which is conducive to improving the communication performance of the relay scenario.

[0024] On the second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a first terminal device, or by other devices including the functions of the first terminal device, or by a chip system (or, chip) or other functional module, which can realize the functions of the first terminal device, and the chip system or functional module is, for example, set in the first terminal device.

[0025] Taking the first terminal device as the execution subject as an example, the method may include the following contents: the first terminal device determines to release the second connection, where the second connection is the connection between the first terminal device and the second terminal device; and releases the second configuration information. Alternatively, the first terminal device releases the second configuration information. The second configuration information includes the local identifier of the second terminal device, the local identifiers of K terminal devices, and a second mapping relationship, wherein the second mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the fourth radio bearer and M radio link control channels, and a mapping relationship between the fourth radio bearer and H radio link control channels; wherein any terminal device among the K terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, the fourth radio bearer is a radio bearer between the second terminal device and the K terminal devices, the M radio link control channels are radio link control channels between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, and the H radio link control channels are radio link control channels between the first terminal device and the K terminal devices, and K, M and H are all positive integers.

[0026] In the above embodiment, the first terminal device determines to release the second connection and promptly releases the second configuration information related to the second connection, so that the storage space occupied by the second configuration information can be released in a timely manner. In this way, the first terminal device can provide relay services for more terminal devices, which is conducive to improving the communication performance of the relay scenario.

[0027] In one possible implementation, the second configuration information may also include a wireless link control entity, or a logical channel, or a wireless link control entity and a logical channel, wherein the wireless link control entity is used for communication between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, and the logical channel is used for communication between the first terminal device and the second terminal device.

[0028] In a possible implementation, the first terminal device determines to release the second connection by: the first terminal device receives tenth information from the second terminal device, where the tenth information is used to instruct to release the second connection; and determines to release the second connection according to the tenth information.

[0029] Through the above implementation, the release of the second connection can be determined by the first terminal device itself (for example, detecting that a wireless link failure occurs in the second connection, etc.), or it can be determined by the second terminal device, and the implementation is flexible.

[0030] In one possible implementation, the M radio link control channels may include a first radio link control channel, and the first terminal device may also receive fourth information from the second terminal device, where the fourth information is used to indicate a mapping relationship between the second radio bearer and the first radio link control channel, and the second radio bearer belongs to a radio bearer between the second terminal device and P terminal devices, and the P terminal devices belong to H terminal devices, where P is a positive integer; when the first condition is met, the first radio link control channel is released, and the first condition is that the first terminal device has no third radio bearer mapped to the first radio link control channel for transmission, and the second terminal device has no second radio bearer mapped to the first radio link control channel for transmission; wherein the third radio bearer belongs to a radio bearer between the second terminal device and Q terminal devices, and the Q terminal devices belong to H terminal devices, and Q is a positive integer.

[0031] In one possible implementation, the M radio link control channels may include a first radio link control channel, and the first terminal device may also send fifth information to the second terminal device, where the fifth information is used to indicate a mapping relationship between a third radio bearer and the first radio link control channel, wherein the third radio bearer belongs to a radio bearer between the second terminal device and Q terminal devices, the Q terminal devices belong to H terminal devices, and Q is a positive integer.

[0032] In one possible implementation, the M radio link control channels may include a first radio link control channel, and the first terminal device may also receive sixth information from the second terminal device, where the sixth information is used to indicate the release of the first radio link control channel; when there is a third radio bearer mapped to the first radio link control channel for transmission on the first terminal device, seventh information is sent to the second terminal device, where the seventh information is used to indicate a refusal to release the first radio link control channel, wherein the third radio bearer belongs to a radio bearer between the second terminal device and Q terminal devices, the Q terminal devices belong to H terminal devices, and Q is a positive integer.

[0033] In one possible implementation, the M radio link control channels may include a first radio link control channel, and the first terminal device may also send eighth information to the second terminal device, where the eighth information is used to indicate the release of the first radio link control channel; receive ninth information from the second terminal device, where the ninth information is used to indicate a refusal to release the first radio link control channel; and retain the first radio link control channel based on the ninth information.

[0034] The technical effects that can be achieved by the possible implementation methods in the above-mentioned second aspect can be referred to the technical effects that can be achieved by the possible implementation methods in the above-mentioned first aspect, and no further details will be given.

[0035] On the third aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a first terminal device, or by other devices including the functions of the first terminal device, or by a chip system (or, chip) or other functional module, which can realize the functions of the first terminal device, and the chip system or functional module is, for example, set in the first terminal device.

[0036] Taking the first terminal device as the execution subject as an example, the method may include the following contents: the first terminal device receives fourth information from the second terminal device, the fourth information is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the second wireless bearer and the first wireless link control channel, the first wireless link control channel belongs to the wireless link control channel between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, the second wireless bearer belongs to the wireless bearer between the second terminal device and P terminal devices, any terminal device among the P terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, and P is a positive integer; when the first condition is met, the first wireless link control channel is released, and the first condition is: the first terminal device has no third wireless bearer mapped to the first wireless link control channel for transmission, and the second terminal device has no second wireless bearer mapped to the first wireless link control channel for transmission; wherein, the third wireless bearer belongs to the wireless bearer between the second terminal device and Q terminal devices, any terminal device among the Q terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, and Q is a positive integer.

[0037] And / or, the first terminal device sends fifth information to the second terminal device, and the fifth information is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the third wireless bearer and the first wireless link control channel, wherein the first wireless link control channel belongs to the wireless link control channel between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, the third wireless bearer belongs to the wireless bearer between the second terminal device and Q terminal devices, and any terminal device among the Q terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, and Q is a positive integer.

[0038] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a first terminal device, or by other devices including the functions of the first terminal device, or by a chip system (or, chip) or other functional module, which can realize the functions of the first terminal device, and the chip system or functional module is, for example, set in the first terminal device.

[0039] Taking the first terminal device as the execution subject as an example, the method may include the following contents: the first terminal device receives the sixth information from the second terminal device, the sixth information is used to indicate the release of the first wireless link control channel, and the first wireless link control channel belongs to the wireless link control channel between the first terminal device and the second terminal device; when the first terminal device has a third wireless bearer mapped to the first wireless link control channel for transmission, the seventh information is sent to the second terminal device, and the seventh information is used to indicate the refusal to release the first wireless link control channel; wherein the third wireless bearer belongs to the wireless bearer between the second terminal device and Q terminal devices, and any terminal device among the Q terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, and Q is a positive integer.

[0040] And / or, the first terminal device sends eighth information to the second terminal device, the eighth information is used to indicate the release of the first radio link control channel, the first radio link control channel belongs to the radio link control channel between the first terminal device and the second terminal device; receives ninth information from the second terminal device, the ninth information is used to indicate the refusal to release the first radio link control channel; and retains the first radio link control channel according to the ninth information.

[0041] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a second terminal device, or by other devices including the functions of the second terminal device, or by a chip system (or, chip) or other functional module, which can realize the functions of the second terminal device, and the chip system or functional module is, for example, set in the second terminal device.

[0042] Taking the second terminal device as the execution subject as an example, the method may include the following contents: the second terminal device sends a first message to the first terminal device, or sends a tenth message to the first terminal device; wherein the first message is used to indicate that the first connection has been released, the first connection is the connection between the second terminal device and the third terminal device, and the tenth message is used to indicate that the second connection has been released, the second connection is the connection between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, and the second terminal device communicates with the third terminal device through the first terminal device.

[0043] In one possible implementation, the first information may include identification information of the third terminal device, wherein the identification information of the third terminal device may include one or more of the following: a layer 2 identification of the third terminal device, a local identification of the third terminal device, or a user information identification of the third terminal device.

[0044] In one possible implementation, the second terminal device may also send fourth information to the first terminal device, where the fourth information is used to indicate a mapping relationship between the second radio bearer and the first radio link control channel, wherein the second radio bearer belongs to a radio bearer between the second terminal device and P terminal devices, the first radio link control channel belongs to a radio link control channel between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, any terminal device among the P terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, and P is a positive integer.

[0045] In one possible implementation, the second terminal device may also receive fifth information from the first terminal device, where the fifth information is used to indicate a mapping relationship between the third radio bearer and the first radio link control channel, wherein the first radio link control channel belongs to the radio link control channel between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, the third radio bearer belongs to the radio bearer between the second terminal device and Q terminal devices, any one of the Q terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, the Q terminal devices include the third terminal device, and Q is a positive integer; and when the first condition is met, the first radio link control channel is released, the first condition being: the first terminal device has no third radio bearer mapped to the first radio link control channel for transmission, and the second terminal device has no second radio bearer mapped to the first radio link control channel for transmission; wherein the second radio bearer belongs to the radio bearer between the second terminal device and P terminal devices, any one of the P terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, and P is a positive integer.

[0046] In one possible implementation, the second terminal device may also send sixth information to the first terminal device, where the sixth information is used to indicate the release of the first radio link control channel, where the first radio link control channel belongs to the radio link control channel between the first terminal device and the second terminal device; receive seventh information from the first terminal device, where the seventh information is used to indicate a refusal to release the first radio link control channel; and retain the first radio link control channel based on the seventh information.

[0047] In one possible implementation, the second terminal device may also receive eighth information from the first terminal device, where the eighth information is used to indicate the release of the first radio link control channel, where the first radio link control channel belongs to the radio link control channel between the first terminal device and the second terminal device; and when there is a second radio bearer mapped to the first radio link control channel for transmission on the second terminal device, the second terminal device sends ninth information to the first terminal device, where the ninth information is used to indicate a refusal to release the first radio link control channel, where the second radio bearer belongs to a radio bearer between the second terminal device and P terminal devices, and any of the P terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, where P is a positive integer.

[0048] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a second terminal device, or by other devices including the functions of the second terminal device, or by a chip system (or, chip) or other functional module, which can realize the functions of the second terminal device, and the chip system or functional module is, for example, set in the second terminal device.

[0049] Taking the second terminal device as the execution subject as an example, the method may include the following contents: the second terminal device sends fourth information to the first terminal device, and the fourth information is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the second wireless bearer and the first wireless link control channel, wherein the second wireless bearer belongs to the wireless bearer between the second terminal device and P terminal devices, the first wireless link control channel belongs to the wireless link control channel between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, any terminal device among the P terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, and P is a positive integer.

[0050] And / or, the second terminal device receives fifth information from the first terminal device, and the fifth information is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the third radio bearer and the first radio link control channel, wherein the first radio link control channel belongs to the radio link control channel between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, the third radio bearer belongs to the radio bearer between the second terminal device and Q terminal devices, any terminal device among the Q terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, the Q terminal devices include the third terminal device, and Q is a positive integer; and releases the first radio link control channel when the first condition is met, the first condition being: the first terminal device has no third radio bearer mapped to the first radio link control channel for transmission, and the second terminal device has no second radio bearer mapped to the first radio link control channel for transmission; wherein the second radio bearer belongs to the radio bearer between the second terminal device and P terminal devices, any terminal device among the P terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, and P is a positive integer.

[0051] In the seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a second terminal device, or by other devices including the functions of the second terminal device, or by a chip system (or, chip) or other functional module, which can realize the functions of the second terminal device, and the chip system or functional module is, for example, set in the second terminal device.

[0052] Taking the second terminal device as the execution subject as an example, the method may include the following contents: the second terminal device sends sixth information to the first terminal device, the sixth information is used to indicate the release of the first wireless link control channel, and the first wireless link control channel belongs to the wireless link control channel between the first terminal device and the second terminal device; receives seventh information from the first terminal device, the seventh information is used to indicate the refusal to release the first wireless link control channel; and retains the first wireless link control channel according to the seventh information.

[0053] And / or, the second terminal device receives the eighth information from the first terminal device, the eighth information is used to indicate the release of the first radio link control channel, the first radio link control channel belongs to the radio link control channel between the first terminal device and the second terminal device; and when there is a second radio bearer mapped to the first radio link control channel for transmission on the second terminal device, the ninth information is sent to the first terminal device, the ninth information is used to indicate the refusal to release the first radio link control channel, wherein the second radio bearer belongs to the radio bearer between the second terminal device and P terminal devices, any terminal device among the P terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, and P is a positive integer.

[0054] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a network device, or by other devices including the functions of a network device, or by a chip system (or, chip) or other functional module, which can realize the functions of the network device, and the chip system or functional module is, for example, set in the network device.

[0055] Taking the network device as the execution subject as an example, the method may include the following contents: the network device receives second information from the first terminal device, the second information is used to indicate that the first connection has been released, the first connection is a connection between the second terminal device and the third terminal device, and the second terminal device communicates with the third terminal device through the first terminal device; and, sends third information to the first terminal device, the third information is used to indicate the release of the first mapping relationship; wherein the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the first wireless bearer and M wireless link control channels, and a mapping relationship between the first wireless bearer and N wireless link control channels, the first wireless bearer is a wireless bearer between the second terminal device and the third terminal device, the M wireless link control channels are wireless link control channels between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, and the N wireless link control channels are wireless link control channels between the first terminal device and the third terminal device, and M and N are both positive integers.

[0056] In a ninth aspect, the present application further provides a communication device. The communication device is configured to execute the method of any one of the first to fourth aspects and any possible implementation thereof. The communication device is, for example, a first terminal device, or a functional module in the first terminal device, such as a baseband device or a chip system.

[0057] In a possible implementation, the communication device includes a baseband device and a radio frequency device.

[0058] In another possible implementation, the communication device includes a processing module (sometimes also referred to as a processing unit) and a transceiver module (sometimes also referred to as a transceiver unit). The transceiver module can implement both sending and receiving functions. When the transceiver module implements the sending function, it can be referred to as a sending module (sometimes also referred to as a sending unit); when the transceiver module implements the receiving function, it can be referred to as a receiving module (sometimes also referred to as a receiving unit). The sending module and the receiving module can be the same functional module, referred to as a transceiver module, which can implement both sending and receiving functions; alternatively, the sending module and the receiving module can be different functional modules, with the transceiver module being a general term for these functional modules.

[0059] In a tenth aspect, the present application further provides a communication device. The communication device is configured to perform the method described in any one of aspects 5 to 7 above and any possible implementation thereof. The communication device is, for example, a second terminal device, or a functional module in the second terminal device, such as a baseband device or a chip system.

[0060] In a possible implementation, the communication device includes a baseband device and a radio frequency device.

[0061] In another possible implementation, the communication device includes a processing module (sometimes also referred to as a processing unit) and a transceiver module (sometimes also referred to as a transceiver unit). The transceiver module can implement both sending and receiving functions. When the transceiver module implements the sending function, it can be referred to as a sending module (sometimes also referred to as a sending unit); when the transceiver module implements the receiving function, it can be referred to as a receiving module (sometimes also referred to as a receiving unit). The sending module and the receiving module can be the same functional module, referred to as a transceiver module, which can implement both sending and receiving functions; alternatively, the sending module and the receiving module can be different functional modules, with the transceiver module being a general term for these functional modules.

[0062] In an eleventh aspect, the present application further provides a communication device. The communication device is configured to execute the method described in the eighth aspect and any possible implementation thereof. The communication device is, for example, a network device, or a functional module in a network device, such as a baseband device or a chip system.

[0063] In a possible implementation, the communication device includes a baseband device and a radio frequency device.

[0064] In another possible implementation, the communication device includes a processing module (sometimes also referred to as a processing unit) and a transceiver module (sometimes also referred to as a transceiver unit). The transceiver module can implement both sending and receiving functions. When the transceiver module implements the sending function, it can be referred to as a sending module (sometimes also referred to as a sending unit); when the transceiver module implements the receiving function, it can be referred to as a receiving module (sometimes also referred to as a receiving unit). The sending module and the receiving module can be the same functional module, referred to as a transceiver module, which can implement both sending and receiving functions; alternatively, the sending module and the receiving module can be different functional modules, with the transceiver module being a general term for these functional modules.

[0065] In a twelfth aspect, the present application further provides a communication system, the communication system comprising the communication device described in the ninth aspect and / or the communication device described in the tenth aspect. Optionally, the communication system may further comprise the communication device described in the eleventh aspect.

[0066] In a thirteenth aspect, the present application further provides a communication device. The communication device may include one or more processors. Optionally, the communication device may also include a memory. The memory is configured to store one or more computer programs or instructions. The one or more processors are configured to execute the one or more computer programs or instructions stored in the memory, so that the communication device performs the method described in any one of aspects 1 to 8 above and any possible implementation thereof.

[0067] In the fourteenth aspect, the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which is used to store computer programs or instructions. When the computer-readable storage medium is executed, the method described in any one of the above-mentioned aspects from the first to the eighth aspect and any possible implementation method thereof is implemented.

[0068] In a fifteenth aspect, the present application also provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enables the method described in any one of the above-mentioned first to eighth aspects and any possible implementation thereof to be implemented.

[0069] In a sixteenth aspect, the present application further provides a chip system comprising at least one processor configured to read and execute program instructions stored in a memory, so that the chip system implements the method described in any one of aspects one to eight and any possible implementation thereof. Alternatively, the chip system may consist of a chip alone, or may include a chip and other discrete components, without limitation.

[0070] For the technical effects that can be achieved in the above-mentioned third to sixteenth aspects and any possible implementation methods thereof, please refer to the technical effects that can be achieved in the above-mentioned first or second aspect and any possible implementation methods thereof, and no repetition will be given. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0071] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system;

[0072] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a network device;

[0073] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a protocol stack in a relay scenario;

[0074] FIG4 is a flow chart of a first communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0075] FIG5 is a flow chart of a second communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0076] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of a radio bearer and a radio link control channel provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0077] FIG7 is a flow chart of a third communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0078] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a flow chart of a fourth communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0079] FIG9 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0080] FIG10 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0081] FIG11 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0082] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application. The embodiments of the present application can be applied to user equipment-to-user equipment (U2U) relay communication scenarios. Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of the architecture of a possible communication system applied in the embodiments of the present application. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system 100 may include multiple terminal devices, and Figure 1 takes a source terminal device, a relay terminal device, and a target terminal device as an example. The source terminal device and the target terminal device may also be referred to as remote terminal devices. Multiple terminal devices can communicate with each other through a ProSe Communication 5 (PC5) interface. Optionally, the communication system 100 may also include at least one network device, and Figure 1 takes a network device as an example. The multiple terminal devices may all be located outside the coverage range (out of coverage, OOC) of the network device, or the multiple terminal devices may all be located within the coverage range of the network device, or some of the multiple terminal devices may be located within the coverage range of the network device. Figure 1 takes the example of multiple terminal devices being located within the coverage range of the network device. In the embodiment of the present application, the source terminal device, the relay terminal device, and the target terminal device may be in a radio resource control (RRC) connected state, an RRC idle state, or an RRC inactive state, without limitation.

[0083] A terminal device, also known as user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), or terminal, is a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to users. For example, a terminal device may include a handheld device or vehicle-mounted device with wireless connectivity. Currently, terminal devices may include: mobile phones, tablets, laptops, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, XR devices, MR devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, or wireless terminals in smart homes.

[0084] The terminal device may also be a device-to-device communication (D2D) terminal device, a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication terminal device, an intelligent vehicle, a vehicle-to-machine system (or a telematics box, TBOX), a machine-to-machine / machine-type communication (M2M / MTC) terminal device, or an Internet of Things (IoT) terminal device. For example, the terminal device may be a vehicle, ship, or aircraft, or a terminal-type roadside unit, or a communication module or chip built into a vehicle or roadside unit. For example, the terminal device may be a vehicle-mounted module. The terminal device may also be a roadside unit (RSU).

[0085] In the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device may also be a functional module, a chip or a chip system. Optionally, the functional module, the chip or the chip system may be provided in the terminal device.

[0086] A network device is a device that provides access to a terminal device. A network device may include a radio access network (RAN) device, such as a base station. A network device may be a base station, an evolved Node B (eNB or e-NodeB) in a long-term evolution (LTE) system or long-term evolution-advanced (LTE-A), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB) in a fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication system, a next-generation base station in a sixth-generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a wireless local area network (WiFi) system. It may also be an access network device in an open access network (ORAN) system.

[0087] Exemplarily, the network device may be a macro base station, a micro base station (also known as a small station) or an indoor station, or a relay node or a donor node, etc. The network device may also be a radio network controller (RNC), a node B (NB), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a home base station (e.g., a home evolved NodeB, or a home Node B, HNB), a base band unit (BBU) or a remote radio unit (RRU), or a wireless fidelity (Wifi) access point (AP), or a baseband pool (BBU pool) and RRU in a cloud radio access network (CRAN), etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the network device.

[0088] In one possible implementation, the network device may include a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), or a CU and a DU. Optionally, the network device may further include a radio unit (RU). The CU and the DU split the protocol layers of the network device, with the functions of some protocol layers being centrally controlled by the CU, and the functions of the remaining part or all of the protocol layers being distributed in the DU, which is centrally controlled by the CU. In one example, the CU is configured to implement the functions of the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer and above protocol layers (such as the radio resource control (RRC) layer and / or the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, etc.); the DU is configured to implement the functions of the protocol layers below the PDCP layer (such as the radio link control (RLC) layer, the medium access control (MAC) layer, and / or the physical (PHY) layer, etc.). For another example, the CU is configured to implement the functions of the protocol layers above the PDCP layer (such as the RRC layer and / or the SDAP layer), and the DU is configured to implement the functions of the PDCP layer and the protocol layers below (such as the RLC layer, the MAC layer, and / or the PHY layer, etc.).

[0089] In another example, the CU or DU is configured to have the functions of more protocol layers, or the CU or DU is configured to have partial processing functions of the protocol layer. For example, some functions of the RLC layer and the functions of the protocol layers above the RLC layer are set in the CU, and the remaining functions of the RLC layer and the functions of the protocol layers below the RLC layer are set in the DU. For another example, the functions of the CU or DU can be divided according to the service type or other system requirements, such as by latency, and the functions whose processing time needs to meet the smaller latency requirement are set in the DU, and the functions that do not need to meet the latency requirement are set in the CU.

[0090] The DU and RU can work together to implement the functions of the PHY layer. A DU can be connected to one or more RUs. The functions of the DU and RU can be configured in various ways according to the design. For example, the DU is configured to implement the baseband function, and the RU is configured to implement the mid-RF function. For another example, the DU is configured to implement the high-layer functions in the PHY layer, and the RU is configured to implement the low-layer functions in the PHY layer or to implement the low-layer functions and the RF functions. The high-layer functions in the physical layer may include a part of the functions of the physical layer, which is closer to the MAC layer, and the low-layer functions in the physical layer may include another part of the functions of the physical layer, which is closer to the mid-RF side.

[0091] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may have different names, but those skilled in the art will understand their meanings. For example, in the ORAN system, CU may also be called open (O)-CU, DU may also be called open (O)-DU, CU-CP may also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP may also be called O-CUP-UP, and RU may also be called O-RU.

[0092] Optionally, the CU can be divided into the CU-control plane (CP) and the CU-user plane (UP). The CU-CP is responsible for control plane functions, primarily including RRC and the control plane counterpart, PDCP-C. PDCP-C is responsible for control plane data encryption, integrity protection, and data transmission. The CU-UP is responsible for user plane functions, primarily including SDAP and the user plane counterpart, PDCP-U. SDAP is responsible for processing core network data and mapping flows to bearers. PDCP-U is responsible for data plane encryption, integrity protection, header compression, sequence number maintenance, and data transmission. The CU-CP and CU-UP are connected via the E1 interface. The CU-CP represents the gNB's connection to the core network via the NG interface. The control plane is connected to the DU via the F1 interface, namely F1-C. The CU-UP is connected to the DU via the F1 interface, namely F1-U. Alternatively, the PDCP-C may also reside in the CU-UP.

[0093] Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of the architecture of network equipment in the ORAN system. As shown in Figure 2, the network equipment may include a RAN intelligent controller (RIC), a CU, and a DU. Among them, the RIC may also be called an open RIC (ORIC), which can be used to collect network information and perform necessary optimization tasks. The RIC can communicate with the CU and DU through the E2 interface. That is, the RIC can directly control the DU. For example, the RIC can control the CU or DU to send information to the terminal device through the E2 interface. The CU may be an ORAN-supporting CU, and the details may refer to the above content. The DU may be an ORAN-supporting DU, and the details may refer to the above content. The CU and the DU communicate through the F1 interface.

[0094] In the embodiment of the present application, the network device may also be a functional module, a chip or a chip system. Optionally, the functional module, the chip or the chip system may be provided in the network device.

[0095] In an embodiment of the present application, a relay terminal device is a terminal device that supports providing a relay service, and a source terminal device and a target terminal device support terminal devices that communicate with each other through the relay service. The relay terminal device can assist the source terminal device and the target terminal device in communicating, thereby achieving the effect of expanding the communication range and forwarding data between the source terminal device and the target terminal device. Sidelink (SL) communication can be performed between the terminal devices. For example, SL unicast communication is performed between the source terminal device and the relay terminal device, and between the relay terminal device and the target terminal device. Among them, both the target terminal device and the source terminal device can be referred to as remote terminal devices.

[0096] It should be understood that the number of devices in the communication system shown in FIG1 is only an example and is not intended to limit the present application. For example, more relay terminal devices may be included.

[0097] The following is an introduction to the technical features involved in the embodiments of this application.

[0098] 1. Layer 2 identifier (L2 ID)

[0099] A unicast communication on the SL corresponds to a pair of source L2 ID and destination L2 ID. The source L2 ID is used to identify the source terminal device during the SL communication process. The destination L2 ID is used to identify the destination terminal device during the SL communication process. The source L2 ID and the destination L2 ID can be indicated by sidelink control information (SCI). Specifically, SCI includes first-stage SCI and second-stage SCI. The first-stage SCI is carried by the physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) and can be used to schedule the physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) and the second-stage SCI carried on the PSSCH, as well as resource scheduling information indicating the PSSCH. The first-stage SCI does not contain information about a specific target user, that is, the first-stage SCI can be broadcast to all users. The second-stage SCI is carried by the PSSCH and can indicate the communication mode (for example, broadcast, multicast, or unicast), as well as the lower 8 bits of the source L2 ID and the lower 16 bits of the destination L2 ID. During SL communication, the subheader of each SL MAC protocol data unit (PDU) contains the upper 16 bits of the source L2 ID and the upper 8 bits of the destination L2 ID, so that data can be transmitted from the sending device to the correct receiving device.

[0100] 2. Local identifier (local ID)

[0101] In the U2U relay scenario, the source terminal device and the target terminal device can transmit data or signaling through one or more relay terminal devices (hereinafter referred to as a relay terminal device as an example), thereby improving SL coverage and capacity. In the L2-based relay mode, the user plane data is relayed and forwarded below the PDCP layer on the relay terminal device side. Compared with the protocol stack architecture in which terminal devices communicate directly with each other through the PC5 interface, the protocol stack architecture in the relay scenario adds an SRAP layer between the RLC layer and the PDCP, as shown in Figure 3. The adaptation layer can be used for multiplexing and demultiplexing of unicast connections, as well as multiplexing and demultiplexing of bearers. That is, the SRAP layer supports data from different target terminal devices to be multiplexed into a unicast connection between the source terminal device and the relay terminal device, or supports splitting data on a unicast connection into different unicast connections. In addition, the SRAP layer also supports data from different radio bearers to be multiplexed into one RLC channel, or supports splitting data carried by one RLC channel into different radio bearers.

[0102] In order to distinguish data belonging to different target terminal devices multiplexed on the same unicast connection, and to distinguish data belonging to different wireless bearers multiplexed on the same RLC channel, the source terminal device can carry its own local ID, the local ID of the target terminal device, and bearer-related information (for example, the bearer identifier (bearer ID)) in the SRAP layer header of the data packet to indicate which target terminal device and which wireless bearer the data belongs to. The bearer-related information is managed by the source terminal device, or the relay terminal device, or the network device (for example, adding, modifying, or releasing, etc.). The local ID of the source terminal device and the local ID of the target terminal device are managed by the relay terminal device (for example, allocating, or releasing, etc.). In other words, the local ID is assigned to the remote terminal device by the relay terminal device to achieve normal communication in the U2U relay scenario. For example, after the relay terminal device establishes a PC5 RRC connection with the source terminal device and the relay terminal device establishes a PC5 RRC connection with the target terminal device, the relay terminal device can assign local IDs to the source terminal device and the target terminal device, send the source terminal device's local ID to the source terminal device, send the target terminal device's local ID to the target terminal device, and maintain a correspondence between the source terminal device's local ID and the target terminal device's local ID. For details about bearer-related information and the specific process for allocating local IDs, please refer to the relevant content in the 3GPP standard protocol and will not be repeated here.

[0103] When the end-to-end (E2E) connection between remote terminal devices is released, the connection between the remote terminal device and the relay terminal device may not be released, which means that the relay terminal device still maintains the configuration information related to the E2E connection. This configuration information becomes useless information with the release of the E2E connection, resulting in a waste of storage resources of the relay terminal device, which is not conducive to improving the communication performance of the relay scenario.

[0104] In view of this, the embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and apparatus that can promptly release configuration information on the relay terminal device side, enabling the relay terminal device to provide relay services to more remote terminal devices, thereby improving communication performance in relay scenarios. The method and apparatus described in this application are based on the same technical concept. Since the method and apparatus solve similar problems, the implementation of the apparatus and method can refer to each other, and the repeated parts will not be repeated.

[0105] It should be noted that the embodiments of the present application are introduced using a relay terminal device as an example. The communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application is also applicable to scenarios of multiple relay terminal devices. The specific implementation process can be compared with the description in the scenario of a relay terminal device. In addition, in the following description of the present application, the operation performed by a certain device can also be performed by a processor of a certain device, or a chip or chip system, or a functional module. The present application is only illustrated by the execution of a certain device, but it is not intended to limit the present application.

[0106] Figure 4 exemplarily shows a flow chart of a first communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The first communication method can be applied to the communication system 100 shown in Figure 1. As shown in Figure 4, the method includes the following contents.

[0107] S401: The second terminal device sends first information to the first terminal device.

[0108] Correspondingly, the first terminal device receives the first information from the second terminal device.

[0109] In this embodiment, the second terminal device communicates with the third terminal device through the first terminal device. That is, the first terminal device provides a relay service for the second and third terminal devices. Therefore, in this embodiment, the first terminal device can be a relay terminal device, and the second and third terminal devices can both be remote terminal devices.

[0110] The first information can be used to indicate that the first connection has been released, and the first connection is a connection between the second terminal device and the third terminal device. That is, the first information is used to indicate that the end-to-end (E2E) connection between the second terminal device and the third terminal device has been released. Among them, the first information used to indicate that the first connection has been released can also be replaced by: the first information is used to indicate that a radio link failure (RLF) has occurred between the second terminal device and the third terminal device. For example, the end-to-end configuration between the second terminal device and the third terminal device times out, and the integrity check of the PDCP layer fails. The second terminal device can send the first information to the first terminal device. For another example, there is no data transmission on the first connection, and the second terminal device can send the first information to the first terminal device. It can be understood that the embodiment of the present application does not limit the reason for the release of the first connection.

[0111] It should be noted that the first information may directly indicate that the first connection has been released, or the first information may implicitly indicate that the first connection has been released. For example, the first information may also be used to indicate the release of the quality of service (QoS) flow corresponding to the third terminal device; accordingly, the first terminal device may determine the release of the QoS flow corresponding to the third terminal device and determine that the first connection has been released based on the first information. That is, the first information implicitly indicates the release of the first connection by indicating the release of the QoS flow of the third terminal device.

[0112] In one possible implementation, the first information may include identification information of the third terminal device, so that the first terminal device can determine that the first connection is a connection between the second terminal device and the third terminal device. It should be understood that the specific implementation method of the first information indicating that the first connection has been released in this embodiment of the present application is not limited to this.

[0113] Exemplarily, the identification information of the third terminal device may include the layer 2 identification (L2 ID) of the third terminal device; or, the identification information of the third terminal device may include the local identification (local ID) of the third terminal device; or, the identification information of the third terminal device may include the user information identification (user info ID) of the third terminal device; or, the identification information of the third terminal device may include the L2 ID of the third terminal device and the local ID of the third terminal device; or, the identification information of the third terminal device may include the L2 ID of the third terminal device and the user information identification of the third terminal device; or, the identification information of the third terminal device may include the local ID of the third terminal device and the user information identification of the third terminal device; or, the identification information of the third terminal device may include the L2 ID of the third terminal device, the local ID of the third terminal device and the user information identification of the third terminal device.

[0114] The L2 ID and local ID are described in the technical features section and will not be described here. The user information identifier can be understood as the application layer identifier of the terminal device, such as the identifier assigned to the terminal device by the application server.

[0115] In one possible implementation, the first information may be carried by PC5 RRC signaling. In other words, the first information is carried by PC5 RRC signaling. For example, the PC5 RRC signaling may be an RRCReconfigurationSidelink message. Optionally, the first information may include a first indication field and identification information of a third terminal device, wherein the first indication field occupies one or more bits in the PC5 RRC signaling, and the first indication field and identification information of the third terminal device are used to indicate that the first connection has been released. It will be understood that the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific implementation form of the PC5 RRC signaling that carries the first information.

[0116] In another possible implementation, the first information may also be carried by PC5 signaling (PC5-signaling, PC5-S). In other words, the first information is carried by PC5-S. For example, the PC5-S may be a Link Modification Request message. Optionally, the first information may include a first indication field and identification information of a third terminal device, wherein the first indication field occupies one or more bits in the PC5-S message, and the first indication field and identification information of the third terminal device are used to indicate that the first connection has been released. It is understood that the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific implementation form of the PC5-S carrying the first information.

[0117] S402: The first terminal device releases the first configuration information according to the first information.

[0118] After receiving the first information, the first terminal device may release (or delete or discard) the first configuration information. For example, the first terminal device releases the first configuration information maintained by itself. Exemplarily, the first configuration information may be understood as configuration information related to the first connection; or it may be understood as configuration information related to the second terminal device and the third terminal device communicating through the first terminal device; or it may be understood as configuration information related to the first terminal device providing a relay service for the second terminal device and the third terminal device. For example, the first configuration information may be configuration information related to the first connection maintained by the first terminal device.

[0119] The first configuration information may include the local ID of the second terminal device, the local ID of the third terminal device, and a first mapping relationship. The first mapping relationship may also be referred to as a corresponding relationship, a bearer mapping relationship, or a bearer mapping, etc. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific naming of the first mapping relationship. The first mapping relationship can be used by the first terminal device to forward data between the second terminal device and the third terminal device. Among them, the first mapping relationship may include a mapping relationship between the first radio bearer (RB) and M radio link control (RLC) channels, and a mapping relationship between the first radio bearer and N RLC channels. Optionally, the first radio bearer may be a data radio bearer (DRB), which is not limited. The first radio bearer is a radio bearer between the second terminal device and the third terminal device. The M RLC channels are RLC channels between the first terminal device and the second terminal device. The N RLC channels are RLC channels between the first terminal device and the third terminal device. Both M and N are positive integers. The N and M may be equal or unequal.

[0120] It should be noted that the number of radio bearers between E2E devices can be one or more, without limitation. The number of RLC channels between terminal devices can be one or more, without limitation. In addition, one or more radio bearers can be mapped to one RLC channel for transmission. A single radio bearer can also be mapped to one or more RLC channels for transmission.

[0121] For example, a first radio bearer includes DRB 1 and DRB 2, the M RLC channels include RLC channel 1 and RLC channel 2, and the N RLC channels include RLC channel 3. The mapping relationship between the first radio bearer and the M RLC channels may be: DRB 1 is mapped to RLC channel 1, and DRB 2 is mapped to RLC channel 2; the mapping relationship between the first radio bearer and the N RLC channels may be: both DRB 1 and DRB 2 are mapped to RLC channel 3, as shown in Table 1.

[0122] Table 1

[0123] Optionally, if the first information is used to instruct to release the QoS flow corresponding to the third terminal device, then the first terminal device may also release (or discard, or delete) the QoS flow corresponding to the third terminal device according to the first information.

[0124] In the embodiment of the present application, the first terminal device may be in an RRC connected state, or may be in an RRC non-connected state, or may be in an OOC state, without limitation. In one possible implementation, if the first terminal device is in an RRC connected state, the first terminal device may send a second message to the network device, and the second message may be used to indicate that the first connection has been released, which is not shown in Figure 4. Accordingly, the network device may receive the second message from the first terminal device. Optionally, the second message may include the L2 ID of the second terminal device; or the second message may include the L2 ID of the third terminal device; or the second message may include the L2 ID of the second terminal device and the L2 ID of the third terminal device to indicate that the first connection has been released. It should be understood that the embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific implementation form of the second message indicating that the first connection has been released.

[0125] In one example, the first terminal device may send the second information to the network device before S402. That is, the network device determines whether the first terminal device releases the configuration information related to the first connection. For example, the terminal device may send the second information to the network device; after receiving the second information, the network device may send third information to the terminal device, and the third information may be used to instruct the first terminal device to release the first mapping relationship; the first terminal device receives the third information from the network device, and releases the first mapping relationship according to the third information. At the same time, the first terminal device also releases the local ID of the second terminal device and the local ID of the third terminal device. That is, the first terminal device releases the first configuration information according to the third information (or in response to the third information).

[0126] In another example, the first terminal device may also send the second information to the network device after S402. That is, the first terminal device may first release the first configuration information, and then notify the network device that the first connection has been released. For example, the first terminal device releases the first configuration information according to the first information, and sends the second information to the network device. Optionally, the second information may include the L2ID of the second terminal device; or the second information may be the L2 ID of the third terminal device; or the second information may include the L2 ID of the second terminal device and the L2 ID of the third terminal device, to indicate that the first connection has been released. Alternatively, the second information may be a SidelinkUEInformationNR (which may be referred to as SUI for short) message, which does not carry the L2 ID of the second terminal device and / or does not carry the L2ID of the third terminal device, and the SUI message does not carry the quality of service (QoS) information of the first radio bearer, to implicitly indicate that the first connection has been released. Optionally, the second information may also be used to indicate the release of the QoS flow corresponding to the third terminal device, that is, to implicitly indicate that the first connection has been released by indicating the release of the QoS flow of the third terminal device.

[0127] In the first communication method mentioned above, the first terminal device determines that the first connection has been released through the first information from the second terminal device, and releases the first configuration information in a timely manner, so that the storage space occupied by the first configuration information can be released in a timely manner. In this way, the first terminal device can provide relay services for more terminal devices, which is conducive to improving the communication performance of the relay scenario.

[0128] Figure 5 exemplarily shows a flow chart of a second communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The second communication method can be applied to the communication system 100 shown in Figure 1. As shown in Figure 5, the method includes the following contents.

[0129] S501: The first terminal device determines to release the second connection.

[0130] S501 is an optional step, indicated by a dotted line in FIG5 . The second connection is a connection between the first terminal device and the second terminal device. The first terminal device can provide a relay service for the second terminal device. For example, the second terminal device can communicate with at least one terminal device (for example, denoted as K terminal devices, where K is a positive integer) through the first terminal device. In other words, any terminal device among the K terminal devices can communicate with the second terminal device through the first terminal device. Therefore, the first terminal device can be a relay terminal device, and the second terminal device and the K terminal devices can both be remote terminal devices.

[0131] In one possible implementation, the first terminal device detects that the second connection is abnormal. Further, the first terminal device may determine to release (or discard, or delete) the second connection. In this case, the E2E connection of the second terminal device through the first terminal device may not be released, but because the second connection is abnormal, the E2E connection also needs to be released. For example, the E2E connection between the second terminal device and the third terminal device needs to be released, and the third terminal device belongs to K terminal devices, that is, the third terminal device communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device. For example, the first terminal device detects that a radio link failure (RLF) occurs between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, and the first terminal device may determine to release the second connection. Optionally, the first terminal device may also send a notification message to the second terminal device, and the notification message may be used to indicate that an RLF occurs between the first terminal device and the second terminal device; accordingly, the second terminal device receives the notification message from the first terminal device, and releases the third configuration information. For example, the second terminal device releases the third configuration information maintained by itself.

[0132] The third configuration information can be understood as configuration information related to K E2E connections between the second terminal device and K terminal devices; or it can also be understood as configuration information related to communication between the second terminal device and the K terminal devices through the first terminal device. For example, the third configuration information may include the local ID of the second terminal device, the local IDs of the K terminal devices, and a third mapping relationship. The third mapping relationship may also be referred to as a corresponding relationship, a bearer mapping relationship, or a bearer mapping, etc. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific naming of the third mapping relationship. The third mapping relationship can be used for the second terminal device to transmit data with the K terminal devices through the first terminal device. The third mapping relationship may include a mapping relationship between a fourth radio bearer and G RLC channels. Optionally, the fourth radio bearer may be a DRB, without limitation. The fourth radio bearer is a radio bearer between the second terminal device and the K terminal devices. The G RLC channels belong to the RLC channels between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, that is, the fourth radio bearer can be mapped to some or all of the RLC channels between the first terminal device and the second terminal device for transmission. For example, the number of RLC channels between the first terminal device and the second terminal device is recorded as H, and then G is less than or equal to H. G is a positive integer.

[0133] In another possible implementation, the second terminal device may send a tenth message to the first terminal device, and the tenth message may be used to indicate the release of the second connection; accordingly, the first terminal device receives the tenth message from the second terminal device and determines to release the second connection based on the tenth message. Exemplarily, the E2E connection of the second terminal device through the first terminal device has been released, and the second terminal device may send the tenth message to the first terminal device. For example, the E2E connection between the second terminal device and the third terminal device has been released, and the second connection has not been multiplexed by other E2E connections (for example, the E2E connection between the second terminal device and other terminal devices other than the third terminal device), and the second terminal device may send the tenth message to the first terminal device.

[0134] S502: The first terminal device releases the second configuration information.

[0135] In this embodiment, the first terminal device can release (or discard, or delete) the second configuration information. For example, the first terminal device can release the second configuration information maintained by itself. Exemplarily, the second configuration information can be understood as configuration information related to the second connection; or it can also be understood as configuration information related to the second terminal device and K terminal devices communicating through the first terminal device; or it can also be understood as configuration information related to the first terminal device providing relay services for the second terminal device and K terminal devices. For example, the second configuration information can be configuration information related to the second connection maintained by the first terminal device.

[0136] The second configuration information may include the local ID of the second terminal device, the local IDs of the K terminal devices, and a second mapping relationship. The second mapping relationship may also be referred to as a corresponding relationship, a bearer mapping relationship, or a bearer mapping, etc. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific naming of the second mapping relationship. The second mapping relationship can be used by the first terminal device to forward data between the second terminal device and the K terminal devices. Among them, the second mapping relationship may include a mapping relationship between the fourth radio bearer and M RLC channels, and a mapping relationship between the fourth radio bearer and H RLC channels. Optionally, the fourth radio bearer may be a DRB, which is not limited. The fourth radio bearer is a radio bearer between the second terminal device and the K terminal devices. The M RLC channels are RLC channels between the first terminal device and the second terminal device. The H RLC channels are RLC channels between the first terminal device and the K terminal devices. Both M and H are positive integers. The H may be equal to or unequal to the M.

[0137] For example, the first terminal device is recorded as a relay UE, the second terminal device is recorded as UE 2, the K terminal devices include UE 1 and UE 3, the fourth radio bearer includes DRB 1, DRB 2, DRB 3, and DRB 4, the M RLC channels include RLC channel 1 and RLC channel 2, and the H RLC channels include RLC channel 3 and RLC channel 4. Among them, DRB 1 and DRB 2 are DRBs between UE 2 and UE 1, DRB 3 and DRB 4 are DRBs between UE 2 and UE 3, RLC channel 3 is an RLC channel between the relay UE and UE 1, and RLC channel 4 is an RLC channel between the relay UE and UE 3. The mapping relationship between the fourth radio bearer and the M RLC channels may be: DRB 1 is mapped to RLC channel 1, and DRB 2, DRB 3, and DRB 4 are mapped to RLC channel 2; the mapping relationship between the fourth radio bearer and the H RLC channels may be: DRB 1 and DRB 2 are mapped to RLC channel 3, and DRB 3 and DRB 4 are mapped to RLC channel 4, as shown in Table 2.

[0138] Table 2

[0139] Optionally, the second configuration information may further include an RLC entity, or a logical channel, or an RLC entity and a logical channel. The RLC entity may be used for communication between the first terminal device and the second terminal device. The logical channel may be used for communication between the first terminal device and the second terminal device.

[0140] In an embodiment of the present application, the first terminal device may be in an RRC connected state, or may be in an RRC non-connected state, or may be in an OOC state, without limitation. In one possible implementation, if the first terminal device is in an RRC connected state, the first terminal device may also send a SUI message to the network device, the SUI message does not carry the L2 ID of the second terminal device and / or does not carry the L2 IDs of K terminal devices, and the SUI message does not carry the QoS information of the fourth radio bearer.

[0141] In the above-mentioned second communication method, the first terminal device determines to release the second connection and promptly releases the second configuration information related to the second connection, so that the storage space occupied by the second configuration information can be released in a timely manner. In this way, the first terminal device can provide relay services for more terminal devices, which is conducive to improving the communication performance of the relay scenario.

[0142] As mentioned above, one or more radio bearers can be mapped to an RLC channel for transmission. The mapping relationship between radio bearers and RLC channels on the source terminal device side can be determined by the source terminal device itself or by the network device. The mapping relationship between radio bearers and RLC channels on the relay terminal device side can be determined by the relay terminal device or by the network device. This may result in different mapping relationships between radio bearers and RLC channels on the source terminal device side and on the relay terminal device side.

[0143] For example, a source terminal device communicates with target terminal device 1 and target terminal device 2 through a relay terminal device. The radio bearers between the source terminal device and target terminal device 1 are denoted as DRB 1 and DRB 2, the radio bearers between the source terminal device and target terminal device 2 are denoted as DRB 3 and DRB 4, and the RLC channels between the source terminal device and the relay terminal device are denoted as RLC channel 1 and RLC channel 2. The mapping relationship between the radio bearers and RLC channels on the source terminal device side can be configured as follows: DRB 1 and DRB 3 are mapped to RLC channel 1, and DRB 2 and DRB 4 are mapped to RLC channel 2; the mapping relationship between the radio bearers and RLC channels on the relay terminal device side can be configured as follows: DRB 1 is mapped to RLC channel 1, and DRB 2, DRB 3, and DRB 4 are mapped to RLC channel 2, as shown in Figure 6. An RLC channel is a bidirectional bearer (i.e., used for data transmission in both directions). If the relay terminal device decides to release RLC channel 1 based on the mapping relationship on its own side, but the source terminal device may have DRB 3 transmitted on this RLC channel 1, this will cause the data of DRB 3 to be unable to be transmitted normally, which is not conducive to improving the communication performance in the relay scenario.

[0144] In view of this, the embodiments of the present application provide a third communication method and a fourth communication method to avoid the impact of releasing the RLC channel on data transmission, which is conducive to improving communication performance in relay scenarios. The third communication method and the fourth communication method are respectively introduced below.

[0145] Figure 7 exemplarily shows a flow chart of a third communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The third communication method can be applied to the communication system 100 shown in Figure 1. As shown in Figure 7, the method includes the following contents.

[0146] S701: The second terminal device sends fourth information to the first terminal device. Correspondingly, the first terminal device receives the fourth information from the second terminal device.

[0147] In this embodiment, the first terminal device may be a relay terminal device, and the second terminal device may be a remote terminal device, i.e., the first terminal device provides a relay service for the second terminal device. Alternatively, the first terminal device may be a remote terminal device, and the second terminal device may be a relay terminal device, i.e., the second terminal device provides a relay service for the first terminal device. For ease of understanding, this embodiment is described using the example of the first terminal device being a relay terminal device and the second terminal device being a remote terminal device.

[0148] The fourth information can be used to indicate the mapping relationship between the second radio bearer and the first RLC channel. The first RLC channel belongs to the RLC channel between the first terminal device and the second terminal device. For example, the number of RLC channels between the first terminal device and the second terminal device is recorded as M, then the first RLC channel belongs to the M RLC channels, that is, the M RLC channels include the first RLC channel. The M is a positive integer. The second radio bearer belongs to the radio bearer between the second terminal device and at least one terminal device (for example, recorded as P terminal devices), or the second radio bearer is part or all of the radio bearers between the second terminal device and the P terminal devices. For example, the second radio bearer can be a DRB, without limitation. Any terminal device among the P terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device. The P terminal devices can be understood as terminal devices related to the first RLC channel. For example, the number of terminal devices with which the second terminal device establishes an E2E connection through the first terminal device is recorded as K, then the P terminal devices can be understood as the terminal devices among the K terminal devices maintained by the second terminal device, and the second terminal device transmits its corresponding DRB through the first RLC channel. That is, on the second terminal device side, all of the K terminal devices can transmit their corresponding DRBs through the first RLC channel, or only some of the K terminal devices can transmit their corresponding DRBs through the first RLC channel. That is, P is less than or equal to K. Wherein, M, P, and K are all positive integers.

[0149] Exemplarily, the fourth information may be carried in an RRCReconfigurationSidelink message, but is not limited thereto. For example, the second terminal device may send an RRCReconfigurationSidelink message to the first terminal device, where the RRCReconfigurationSidelink message includes the fourth information; accordingly, the first terminal device receives the RRCReconfigurationSidelink message from the second terminal device. It should be understood that the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific implementation process of the second terminal device sending the fourth information to the first terminal device.

[0150] S702: When the first condition is met, the first terminal device releases the first RLC channel.

[0151] If the first condition is met, the first terminal device can release (or discard, or delete) the first RLC channel. Releasing the first RLC channel can be understood as releasing information (or configuration information) related to the first RLC channel. The first condition can be: the first terminal device does not have a third radio bearer mapped to the first RLC channel for transmission, and the second terminal device does not have a second radio bearer mapped to the first RLC channel for transmission. The third radio bearer belongs to a radio bearer between the second terminal device and at least one terminal device (for example, denoted as Q terminal devices, Q is a positive integer). For example, the third radio bearer can be a DRB, which is not limited. Any terminal device among the Q terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device. The Q terminal devices can be understood as terminal devices related to the first RLC channel. For example, the number of terminal devices with which the second terminal device establishes an E2E connection through the first terminal device is denoted as K, then the Q terminal devices are the terminal devices among the K terminal devices maintained by the first terminal device, and the second terminal device transmits its corresponding DRB through the first RLC channel. That is, on the first terminal device side, the K terminal devices can all transmit their corresponding DRBs through the first RLC channel, or only some of the K terminal devices can transmit their corresponding DRBs through the first RLC channel. That is, Q is less than or equal to K. Wherein, Q and K are both positive integers.

[0152] Optionally, the Q terminal devices and the P terminal devices may be the same, or may be partially different, or may be completely different. For example, assuming that UE 2 communicates with UE 1, UE 3, and UE 4 through a relay UE, the first RLC channel is RLC channel 1 between UE 2 and the relay UE, the DRB between UE 2 and UE 1 includes DRB 1 and DRB 2, the DRB between UE 2 and UE 3 includes DRB 3 and DRB 4, and the DRB between UE 2 and UE 4 includes DRB 5. That is, the fourth radio bearer (please refer to the description in the embodiment described in Figure 6) includes DRB 1, DRB 2, DRB 3, DRB 4, and DRB 5. For the UE 2 side: DBR 1 and DBR 3 can be mapped to RLC channel 1, that is, the P terminal devices include UE 1 and UE3. In one example, on the relay UE side, DBR 1 and DBR 4 can be mapped to RLC channel 1. This means that the Q terminal devices include UE 1 and UE 3, and the Q terminal devices are the same as the P terminal devices. In another example, on the relay UE side, DBR 1 and DBR 5 can be mapped to RLC channel 1. This means that the Q terminal devices include UE 1 and UE 4, and the Q terminal devices are partially the same as the P terminal devices. In another example, on the relay UE side, DBR 5 can be mapped to RLC channel 1. This means that the Q terminal devices include UE 4, and the Q terminal devices are different from the P terminal devices.

[0153] Optionally, the third radio bearer may be the same as the second radio bearer, or may be partially different, or may be completely different. For example, assuming that UE 2 communicates with UE 1, UE 3, and UE 4 through a relay UE, the first RLC channel is RLC channel 1 between UE 2 and the relay UE, the DRBs between UE 2 and UE 1 include DRB 1 and DRB 2, the DRBs between UE 2 and UE 3 include DRB 3 and DRB 4, and the DRBs between UE 2 and UE 4 include DRB 5. That is, the fourth radio bearer (please refer to the description in the embodiment shown in FIG6 ) includes DRB 1, DRB 2, DRB 3, DRB 4, and DRB 5. For the UE 2 side: DBR 1 and DBR 3 can be mapped to RLC channel 1, that is, the second radio bearer includes DBR 1 and DBR 3. In one example, on the relay UE side, DBR 1 and DBR 3 can be mapped to RLC channel 1. This means that the third radio bearer includes DBR 1 and DBR 3, and this third radio bearer is identical to the second radio bearer. In another example, on the relay UE side, DBR 1 can be mapped to RLC channel 1. This means that the third radio bearer includes DBR 1, and this third radio bearer is partially identical to the second radio bearer. In another example, on the relay UE side, DBR 5 can be mapped to RLC channel 1. This means that the third radio bearer includes DBR 5, and this third radio bearer is different from the second radio bearer.

[0154] Among them, the fact that the first terminal device does not have a third radio bearer mapped to the first RLC channel for transmission can be understood as: the first terminal device does not have a need to map the third radio bearer to the first RLC channel for transmission; or it can also be understood as the first terminal device does not have a need to send data based on the third radio bearer and the first RLC channel; or it can also be understood as: no data needs to be mapped to the first RLC channel for transmission via the third radio bearer. Correspondingly, the fact that the second terminal device does not have a second radio bearer mapped to the first RLC channel for transmission can be understood as: the second terminal device does not have a need to map the second radio bearer to the first RLC channel for transmission; or it can also be understood as the second terminal device does not have a need to send data based on the second radio bearer and the first RLC channel; or it can also be understood as: no data needs to be mapped to the first RLC channel for transmission via the second radio bearer.

[0155] Exemplarily, the first terminal device may determine whether to release the first RLC channel based on the mapping relationship between the third radio bearer and the first RLC channel and the fourth information (i.e., the mapping relationship between the second radio bearer and the first RLC channel). For example, the first terminal device may determine whether the first condition is met based on the mapping relationship between the third radio bearer and the first RLC channel and the fourth information; release the first RLC channel if it is determined that the first condition is met; or retain the first RLC channel if it is determined that the first condition is not met, which is not shown in FIG7 . FIG7 illustrates the example of meeting the first condition. For another example, the first terminal device may first determine that it does not have a third radio bearer mapped to the first RLC channel for transmission; and then determine whether the second terminal device needs to transmit through the first RLC channel based on the fourth information. For example, if the first terminal device determines based on the fourth information that the second terminal device has (or has) a second radio bearer mapped to the first RLC channel for transmission, the first terminal device does not release the first RLC channel, that is, retains the first RLC channel to avoid affecting the transmission of the second terminal device; or, if the first terminal device determines based on the fourth information that the second terminal device does not have a second radio bearer mapped to the first RLC channel for transmission, the first terminal device releases the first RLC channel, which can release the storage resources occupied by the first RLC channel, and can provide relay services for more terminal devices, which is conducive to improving the communication performance in the relay scenario.

[0156] Among them, the second terminal device has a second radio bearer mapped to the first RLC channel for transmission, which can be understood as: the second terminal device has a need to map the second radio bearer to the first RLC channel for transmission; or it can also be understood as the second terminal device has a need to send data based on the second radio bearer and the first RLC channel; or it can also be understood as: there is data that needs to be mapped to the first RLC channel for transmission through the second radio bearer.

[0157] Taking the embodiment shown in FIG6 as an example, the source terminal device may send fourth information to the relay terminal device, and the fourth information may be used to indicate that DRB1 and DRB3 are mapped to RLC channel 1. The relay terminal device does not have DRB 1 mapped to RLC channel 1 for transmission, but the source terminal device has DRB 3 mapped to RLC channel 1 for transmission, so the relay terminal device retains RLC channel 1. Based on another example of FIG6, the source terminal device may send fourth information to the relay terminal device, and the fourth information may be used to indicate that DRB 1 is mapped to RLC channel 1 (that is, the mapping relationship between the radio bearer and the RLC channel on the source terminal device side may be configured as: DRB 1 is mapped to RLC channel 1, and DRB 2, DRB 3 and DRB 4 are mapped to RLC channel 2), then the relay terminal device releases channel 1.

[0158] Optionally, the third communication method mentioned above may further include: the first terminal device may further send information for indicating the release of the first RLC channel to the second terminal device; accordingly, the second terminal device receives the information.

[0159] In the above-mentioned third communication method, the first terminal device can obtain the mapping relationship between the wireless bearer and the RLC channel on the second terminal device side, and consider the mapping relationship between the wireless bearer and the RLC channel on the second terminal device side when deciding to release the RLC channel, thereby avoiding the impact of the first terminal device releasing the RLC channel on the data transmission of the second terminal device, which is conducive to improving the communication performance of the relay scenario.

[0160] In the above-mentioned third communication method, the second terminal device sends the fourth information to the first terminal device. In another possible implementation, the first terminal device may send the fifth information to the second terminal device; accordingly, the second terminal device receives the fifth information from the first terminal device. The fifth information can be used to indicate the mapping relationship between the third radio bearer and the first RLC channel. Please refer to the above-mentioned content for the third radio bearer and the first RLC channel, which will not be repeated here. In addition, the specific implementation method of the fifth information can refer to the specific implementation method of the above-mentioned fourth information, which will not be repeated. It should be pointed out that this implementation method and the above-mentioned third communication method can be used independently or in combination without limitation.

[0161] Furthermore, if the first condition is met, the second terminal device may release the first RLC channel. For the first condition, please refer to the aforementioned content and will not be repeated here. Exemplarily, the second terminal device may determine whether to release the first RLC channel based on the mapping relationship between the second radio bearer and the first RLC channel and the fifth information (i.e., the mapping relationship between the third radio bearer and the first RLC channel). For example, the second terminal device may determine whether the first condition is met based on the mapping relationship between the second radio bearer and the first RLC channel and the fifth information; release the first RLC channel if it is determined that the first condition is met; or retain the first RLC channel if it is determined that the first condition is not met. For another example, the second terminal device may first determine that it does not have a second radio bearer mapped to the first RLC channel for transmission; and then determine whether the first terminal device needs to transmit through the first RLC channel based on the fifth information. For example, if the second terminal device determines based on the fifth information that the first terminal device has (or has) a third wireless bearer mapped to the first RLC channel for transmission, the second terminal device does not release the first RLC channel, that is, retains the first RLC channel to avoid affecting the transmission of the first terminal device; or, if the second terminal device determines based on the fifth information that the first terminal device does not have a third wireless bearer mapped to the first RLC channel for transmission, the second terminal device releases the first RLC channel, which can release the storage resources occupied by the first RLC channel, which is beneficial to improving the communication performance in the relay scenario.

[0162] Among them, the fact that the first terminal device has a third radio bearer mapped to the first RLC channel for transmission can be understood as: the first terminal device has a need to map the third radio bearer to the first RLC channel for transmission; or it can also be understood as the first terminal device has a need to send data based on the third radio bearer and the first RLC channel; or it can also be understood as: there is data that needs to be mapped to the first RLC channel for transmission through the third radio bearer.

[0163] Figure 8 exemplarily shows a flow chart of a fourth communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The fourth communication method can be applied to the communication system 100 shown in Figure 1. As shown in Figure 8, the method includes the following contents.

[0164] S801: The second terminal device sends sixth information to the first terminal device. Correspondingly, the first terminal device receives the sixth information from the second terminal device.

[0165] In this embodiment, the first terminal device may be a relay terminal device, and the second terminal device may be a remote terminal device, i.e., the first terminal device provides a relay service for the second terminal device. Alternatively, the first terminal device may be a remote terminal device, and the second terminal device may be a relay terminal device, i.e., the second terminal device provides a relay service for the first terminal device. For ease of understanding, this embodiment is described using the example of the first terminal device being a relay terminal device and the second terminal device being a remote terminal device.

[0166] The sixth information may be used to indicate the release of the first RLC channel. Optionally, the sixth information may include an identifier of the first RLC channel. For example, the sixth information may be the sl-RLC-ChannelToReleaseListPC5 parameter. This embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific implementation of the sixth information.

[0167] Exemplarily, the second terminal device detects that no second radio bearer is mapped to the first RLC channel, and can determine to release the first RLC channel and send sixth information to the first terminal device. For details about the second radio bearer and the first RLC channel, please refer to the description in the embodiment shown in FIG. 7 , and no further details will be given.

[0168] S802: When a third radio bearer is mapped to the first RLC channel for transmission on the first terminal device, the first terminal device sends seventh information to the second terminal device. Correspondingly, the second terminal device receives the seventh information from the first terminal device.

[0169] The seventh information may be used to indicate a refusal to release the first RLC channel. Optionally, the seventh information may include an identifier of the first RLC channel. Optionally, the seventh information may include a first parameter, and the first parameter is used to indicate the reason why the first terminal device refuses to release the first RLC channel. For example, the reason why the first terminal device refuses to release the first RLC channel may be that the first terminal device has a third radio bearer mapped to the first RLC channel for transmission. Among them, for the third radio bearer and the first terminal device having a third radio bearer mapped to the first RLC channel for transmission, please refer to the description in the embodiment shown in Figure 7 and will not be repeated here.

[0170] Exemplarily, in response to the sixth information, the first terminal device may determine whether to release the first RLC channel based on the mapping relationship between its own radio bearer and the RLC channel. For example, if the first terminal device does not have a third radio bearer mapped to the first RLC channel for transmission, then the first terminal device may release the first RLC channel to release the storage resources occupied by the first RLC channel, which is beneficial to improving the communication performance in the relay scenario, which is not shown in Figure 8; or, if the first terminal device has a third radio bearer mapped to the first RLC channel for transmission, then the first terminal device determines not to release the first RLC channel, and sends the seventh information to the second terminal device to avoid the impact of the second terminal device releasing the first RLC channel on its own data transmission. Figure 8 takes the example of the first terminal device sending the seventh information to the second terminal device. Among them, if the first terminal device does not have a third radio bearer mapped to the first RLC channel for transmission, please refer to the description in the embodiment shown in Figure 7, and no further details will be given.

[0171] Optionally, if the first terminal device releases the first RLC channel, the first terminal device may further send information indicating the determination to release the first RLC channel to the second terminal device. Further, the second terminal device may receive the information and release the first RLC channel.

[0172] S803: The second terminal device reserves the first RLC channel according to the seventh information.

[0173] In response to the seventh information, the second terminal device determines not to release the first RLC channel, that is, to retain the first RLC channel.

[0174] In the fourth communication method described above, the second terminal device can send the sixth information to the first terminal device, so that the first terminal device can determine whether to release the RLC channel based on the mapping relationship between its own radio bearer and the RLC channel. This can avoid the impact of the second terminal device releasing the RLC channel on the data transmission of the first terminal device, which is beneficial to improving the communication performance of the relay scenario. Furthermore, compared with the third communication method, the fourth communication method does not require maintaining the mapping relationship between the other party's radio bearer and the RLC channel, which can improve the utilization of storage resources.

[0175] In the above-mentioned fourth communication method, the second terminal device sends the sixth information to the first terminal device. In another possible implementation, the first terminal device may send the eighth information to the second terminal device; accordingly, the second terminal device receives the eighth information from the first terminal device. The eighth information may be used to indicate the release of the first RLC channel. For example, the first terminal device does not have a third radio bearer mapped to the first RLC channel for transmission. The first terminal device may determine to release the first RLC channel and send the eighth information to the second terminal device. Please refer to the above-mentioned content for the third radio bearer and the first RLC channel, which will not be repeated here. In addition, the specific implementation method of the eighth information can refer to the specific implementation method of the sixth information, which will not be repeated here. It should be pointed out that this implementation method and the above-mentioned fourth communication method can be used independently or in combination without limitation.

[0176] Furthermore, in the case where the second terminal device has a second radio bearer mapped to the first RLC channel for transmission, the second terminal device may send ninth information to the first terminal device, where the ninth information is used to indicate a refusal to release the first RLC channel; the first terminal device receives the ninth information from the second terminal device and determines not to release the first RLC channel based on the ninth information, i.e., to retain the first RLC channel. Exemplarily, in response to the eighth information, the second terminal device may determine whether to release the first RLC channel based on the mapping relationship between its own radio bearer and the RLC channel. For example, if the second terminal device does not have a second radio bearer mapped to the first RLC channel for transmission, the second terminal device may release the first RLC channel to release the storage resources occupied by the first RLC channel, which is beneficial to improving communication performance in the relay scenario; or, if the second terminal device has a second radio bearer mapped to the first RLC channel for transmission, the second terminal device determines not to release the first RLC channel and sends the eighth information to the first terminal device to avoid the impact of the first terminal device releasing the first RLC channel on its own transmission. Please refer to the above content for the second radio bearer, the second terminal device not having the second radio bearer mapped to the first RLC channel for transmission, and the second terminal device not having the second radio bearer mapped to the first RLC channel for transmission. No further details will be given here.

[0177] Optionally, the ninth information may include an identifier of the first RLC channel. Optionally, the ninth information may include a second parameter, the second parameter being used to indicate a reason why the second terminal device refuses to release the first RLC channel. For example, the reason why the second terminal device refuses to release the first RLC channel may be that the second terminal device has a second radio bearer mapped to the first RLC channel for transmission.

[0178] It should be noted that the four communication methods provided in the embodiments of the present application (i.e., the first communication method, the second communication method, the third communication method, and the fourth communication method) can be used independently or in combination without limitation. For example, the first communication method and the third communication method can be used in combination. For another example, the first communication method and the fourth communication method can be used in combination. For another example, the second communication method and the third communication method can be used in combination. For another example, the second communication method and the fourth communication method can be used in combination.

[0179] In the embodiments provided in the present application, the method provided in the embodiments of the present application is introduced from the perspective of the first terminal device, and from the perspective of the interaction between the first terminal device and the second terminal device. Among them, the steps performed by the communication device (for example, the first terminal device, the second terminal device, or the network device) can be implemented by the different functional entities that constitute the terminal device. The communication device (for example, the first terminal device, the second terminal device, or the network device) may include a hardware structure and / or a software module to implement the above-mentioned functions in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module. Whether a function of the above-mentioned functions is performed in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0180] The following describes the communication device used to implement the above method in the embodiment of the present application with reference to the accompanying drawings. Therefore, the above contents can be used in subsequent embodiments, and repeated contents will not be repeated.

[0181] Fig. 9 exemplarily shows a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 900. The communication device 900 can implement the functions or steps implemented by the first terminal device, the second terminal device, or the network device in the above-mentioned various method embodiments.

[0182] Exemplarily, the communication apparatus 900 may be a network device or a component in a network device (such as one or more of DU, RU, CU or RIC, etc.), or a terminal device or a component in a terminal device.

[0183] In one embodiment, the communication device 900 may include a processing module 901 and a transceiver module 902. The processing module 901 may be used to perform data processing, such as executing the various method embodiments described above. The processing module 901 may also be referred to as a processing unit. The processing module 901 may be implemented by at least one processor or processor-related circuitry. The transceiver module 902 may be used to implement corresponding communication functions, such as receiving or sending relevant data, information, or messages. The transceiver module 902 may also be referred to as a communication interface, a communication module, or a transceiver unit. The transceiver module 902 may be implemented by a transceiver or transceiver-related circuitry.

[0184] It should be noted that the communication device 900 may include the processing module 901 but not the transceiver module 902. Alternatively, the communication device 900 may include the transceiver module 902 but not the processing module 901. The specific implementation depends on whether the above solution executed by the communication device 900 includes both processing and transceiver actions.

[0185] Optionally, the transceiver module 902 may include a sending module and a receiving module. The sending module is used to perform the sending operation in the above method embodiment. The receiving module is used to perform the receiving operation in the above method embodiment.

[0186] It should be noted that the communication device 900 may include a sending module but not a receiving module. Alternatively, the communication device 900 may include a receiving module but not a sending module. The specific implementation depends on whether the above solution executed by the communication device 900 includes a sending action and a receiving action.

[0187] Optionally, the communication device 900 may further include a storage module, not shown in FIG9 . The storage module may be implemented by at least one memory. The storage module may be used to store instructions and / or data, and the processing module 901 may read the instructions and / or data in the storage module to enable the communication device 900 to implement the aforementioned method embodiment.

[0188] Optionally, the communication device 900 may be a chip system. The chip system may be composed of a chip, or may include a chip and other discrete components, without limitation. The transceiver module 902 may be an input and output interface of a chip (e.g., a baseband chip). The processing module 901 may be a processor of the chip system.

[0189] In a first implementation manner, the communication device 900 can implement the functions of the first terminal device, and specifically can execute the following contents: a transceiver module 902 is used to receive first information from the second terminal device, the first information is used to indicate that the first connection has been released, the first connection is a connection between the second terminal device and the third terminal device, and the second terminal device communicates with the third terminal device through the first terminal device; a processing module 901 is used to release first configuration information according to the first information, the first configuration information includes the local identifier of the second terminal device, the local identifier of the third terminal device, and a first mapping relationship, wherein the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the first wireless bearer and M wireless link control channels, and a mapping relationship between the first wireless bearer and N wireless link control channels, the first wireless bearer is a wireless bearer between the second terminal device and the third terminal device, the M wireless link control channels are wireless link control channels between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, and the N wireless link control channels are wireless link control channels between the first terminal device and the third terminal device, and M and N are both positive integers.

[0190] In a possible implementation, the transceiver module 902 is further configured to send second information to the network device, where the second information is used to indicate that the first connection has been released.

[0191] In a possible implementation, the transceiver module 902 is further configured to receive third information from the network device, where the third information is used to instruct to release the first mapping relationship; and the processing module 901 is configured to release the first configuration information according to the third information.

[0192] In a second implementation, the communication device 900 can implement the functions of the first terminal device, and specifically can execute the following contents: a processing module 901 is used to determine to release the second connection, where the second connection is a connection between the first terminal device and the second terminal device; and release the second configuration information. Alternatively, the processing module 901 is used to release the second configuration information. The second configuration information includes the local identifier of the second terminal device, the local identifiers of the K terminal devices, and a second mapping relationship, wherein the second mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the fourth radio bearer and M radio link control channels, and a mapping relationship between the fourth radio bearer and H radio link control channels; wherein any terminal device among the K terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, the fourth radio bearer is a radio bearer between the second terminal device and the K terminal devices, the M radio link control channels are radio link control channels between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, and the H radio link control channels are radio link control channels between the first terminal device and the K terminal devices, and K, M and H are all positive integers.

[0193] In a possible implementation, the transceiver module 902 is configured to receive tenth information from the second terminal device, where the tenth information is used to instruct to release the second connection; and the processing module 901 is configured to determine to release the second connection according to the tenth information.

[0194] In a third implementation, the communication device 900 can implement the functions of the first terminal device, and specifically can execute the following contents: a transceiver module 902 is used to receive fourth information from the second terminal device, the fourth information is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the second wireless bearer and the first wireless link control channel, the first wireless link control channel belongs to the wireless link control channel between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, the second wireless bearer belongs to the wireless bearer between the second terminal device and P terminal devices, any terminal device among the P terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, and P is a positive integer; a processing module 901 is used to release the first wireless link control channel when a first condition is met, and the first condition is: the first terminal device has no third wireless bearer mapped to the first wireless link control channel for transmission, and the second terminal device has no second wireless bearer mapped to the first wireless link control channel for transmission; wherein, the third wireless bearer belongs to the wireless bearer between the second terminal device and Q terminal devices, any terminal device among the Q terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, and Q is a positive integer.

[0195] In the fourth implementation method, the communication device 900 can realize the function of the first terminal device, and specifically can execute the following contents: the transceiver module 902 is used to send the fifth information to the second terminal device, and the fifth information is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the third wireless bearer and the first wireless link control channel, wherein the first wireless link control channel belongs to the wireless link control channel between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, the third wireless bearer belongs to the wireless bearer between the second terminal device and Q terminal devices, and any terminal device among the Q terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, and Q is a positive integer.

[0196] In the fifth implementation method, the communication device 900 can realize the function of the first terminal device, and specifically can execute the following contents: the transceiver module 902 is used to receive the sixth information from the second terminal device, the sixth information is used to indicate the release of the first wireless link control channel, and the first wireless link control channel belongs to the wireless link control channel between the first terminal device and the second terminal device; and, when there is a third wireless bearer mapped to the first wireless link control channel for transmission on the first terminal device, the seventh information is sent to the second terminal device, and the seventh information is used to indicate the refusal to release the first wireless link control channel; wherein the third wireless bearer belongs to the wireless bearer between the second terminal device and Q terminal devices, and any terminal device among the Q terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, and Q is a positive integer.

[0197] In the sixth implementation method, the communication device 900 can realize the functions of the first terminal device, and specifically can execute the following contents: the transceiver module 902 is used to send the eighth information to the second terminal device, and the eighth information is used to indicate the release of the first wireless link control channel, and the first wireless link control channel belongs to the wireless link control channel between the first terminal device and the second terminal device; receive the ninth information from the second terminal device, and the ninth information is used to indicate the refusal to release the first wireless link control channel; and the processing module 901 is used to retain the first wireless link control channel according to the ninth information.

[0198] In the seventh implementation method, the communication device 900 can realize the function of the second terminal device, and specifically can execute the following contents: the transceiver module 902 is used to send the first information to the first terminal device, or to send the tenth information to the first terminal device; wherein the first information is used to indicate that the first connection has been released, the first connection is the connection between the second terminal device and the third terminal device, and the tenth information is used to indicate that the second connection has been released, the second connection is the connection between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, and the second terminal device communicates with the third terminal device through the first terminal device.

[0199] In the eighth implementation method, the communication device 900 can realize the function of the second terminal device, and specifically can execute the following contents: the transceiver module 902 is used to send fourth information to the first terminal device, and the fourth information is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the second wireless bearer and the first wireless link control channel, wherein the second wireless bearer belongs to the wireless bearer between the second terminal device and P terminal devices, the first wireless link control channel belongs to the wireless link control channel between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, any terminal device among the P terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, and P is a positive integer.

[0200] In the ninth implementation method, the communication device 900 can realize the function of the second terminal device, and specifically can execute the following contents: a transceiver module 902 is used to receive the fifth information from the first terminal device, and the fifth information is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the third wireless bearer and the first wireless link control channel, wherein the first wireless link control channel belongs to the wireless link control channel between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, the third wireless bearer belongs to the wireless bearer between the second terminal device and Q terminal devices, any terminal device among the Q terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, the Q terminal devices include the third terminal device, and Q is a positive integer; a processing module 901 is used to release the first wireless link control channel when the first condition is met, and the first condition is: the first terminal device has no third wireless bearer mapped to the first wireless link control channel for transmission, and the second terminal device has no second wireless bearer mapped to the first wireless link control channel for transmission; wherein the second wireless bearer belongs to the wireless bearer between the second terminal device and P terminal devices, any terminal device among the P terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, and P is a positive integer.

[0201] In the tenth implementation method, the communication device 900 can realize the function of the second terminal device, and specifically can execute the following contents: the transceiver module 902 is used to send the sixth information to the first terminal device, the sixth information is used to indicate the release of the first wireless link control channel, and the first wireless link control channel belongs to the wireless link control channel between the first terminal device and the second terminal device; receive the seventh information from the first terminal device, the seventh information is used to indicate the refusal to release the first wireless link control channel; and the processing module 901 is used to retain the first wireless link control channel according to the seventh information.

[0202] In the eleventh implementation method, the communication device 900 can realize the function of the second terminal device, and specifically can execute the following contents: the transceiver module 902 is used to receive the eighth information from the first terminal device, and the eighth information is used to indicate the release of the first wireless link control channel, and the first wireless link control channel belongs to the wireless link control channel between the first terminal device and the second terminal device; and when there is a second wireless bearer mapped to the first wireless link control channel for transmission on the second terminal device, the ninth information is sent to the first terminal device, and the ninth information is used to indicate the refusal to release the first wireless link control channel, wherein the second wireless bearer belongs to the wireless bearer between the second terminal device and P terminal devices, and any terminal device among the P terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, and P is a positive integer.

[0203] In the twelfth implementation, the communication device 900 can implement the functions of the network device part, and specifically can execute the following contents: the transceiver module 902 is used to receive second information from the first terminal device, and the second information is used to indicate that the first connection has been released. The first connection is a connection between the second terminal device and the third terminal device, and the second terminal device communicates with the third terminal device through the first terminal device; and, send third information to the first terminal device, and the third information is used to indicate the release of the first mapping relationship; wherein the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the first wireless bearer and M wireless link control channels, and a mapping relationship between the first wireless bearer and N wireless link control channels. The first wireless bearer is a wireless bearer between the second terminal device and the third terminal device, the M wireless link control channels are wireless link control channels between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, and the N wireless link control channels are wireless link control channels between the first terminal device and the third terminal device, and M and N are both positive integers.

[0204] It should be understood that a more detailed description of how each module executes the corresponding process can be directly obtained by referring to the relevant descriptions in the aforementioned method embodiments. For the sake of brevity, it is not repeated here.

[0205] As shown in Figure 10, an embodiment of the present application provides a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 1000. The communication device 1000 may include a processor 1020 for implementing or supporting the communication device 1000 in implementing the functions of the first terminal device, the second terminal device, or the network device in any method embodiment of the present application. For details, please refer to the detailed description of the aforementioned method embodiment, which is not repeated here. For example, the processor 1020 is used to read and execute program instructions through a communication interface so that the communication device 1000 implements the corresponding method. The processor 1020 may include one or more processors, without limitation.

[0206] It should be noted that the functional modules mentioned above can be implemented by hardware or by a combination of hardware and software, without limitation. Also, when the communication device 1000 includes only the processor 1020, the communication device 1000 can be a chip or a chip system.

[0207] For example, the communication device 1000 may be a chip system, wherein the chip system may be composed of a chip, or may include a chip and other discrete devices, without limitation.

[0208] Optionally, the communication device 1000 may further include a memory 1030 for storing program instructions and / or data. The memory 1030 is coupled to the processor 1020. Coupling can be understood as an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units, or modules, which can be electrical, mechanical, or other forms, for information exchange between the devices, units, or modules. The processor 1020 may operate in conjunction with the memory 1030. The processor 1020 and the memory 1030 may be integrated or separately configured.

[0209] Furthermore, the processor 1020 is configured to execute program instructions stored in the memory 1030 so that the communication device 1000 implements a corresponding method.

[0210] One or more memories in the memory 1030 may be included in the processor, or the memory 1030 may exist independently, such as an off-chip memory, and be connected to the processor 1020 via a communication bus (represented by a thick line 1040 in FIG. 10 ). The memory 1030 and the processor 1020 may also be integrated together.

[0211] Optionally, the communication device 1000 further includes a communication interface 1010 (indicated by a dotted line in FIG. 10 ) for communicating with other devices via a transmission medium, thereby enabling the device in the communication device 1000 to communicate with the other device. For example, when the communication device is a first terminal device, the other device may be a second terminal device, a network device, or the like. The processor 1020 may utilize the communication interface 1010 to send and receive data. For example, the processor 1020 may be configured to control the communication interface 1010 to receive and / or send signals.

[0212] The communication interface 1010 may be a transceiver. In terms of hardware implementation, the transceiver may be used to implement the functions of the transceiver module 802 . The transceiver is integrated into the communication device 1000 to form the communication interface 1010 .

[0213] It should be pointed out that the communication interface 1010 can have a sending function and a receiving function, and can realize the reception and sending of signals; or it can have a sending function but not a receiving function, and is used to realize the sending of signals; or it can have a receiving function but not a sending function, and is used to realize the reception of signals.

[0214] It should be noted that the specific connection medium between the communication interface 1010, processor 1020, and memory 1030 is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. In FIG10 , the memory 1030, processor 1020, and communication interface 1010 are connected via a communication bus 1040. The connection methods between other components are merely schematic and not limiting. The communication bus 1040 can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, FIG10 shows only one thick line, but this does not mean that there is only one communication bus or only one type of communication bus.

[0215] In the embodiments of the present application, the processor 1020 may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field-programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The methods disclosed in conjunction with the embodiments of the present application may be executed by hardware in the processor, or by a combination of hardware and software in the processor.

[0216] In the embodiment of the present application, the memory 1030 may be a non-volatile memory, such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD), or a volatile memory, such as a random-access memory (RAM). The memory may also be any other medium for carrying or storing program code in the form of instructions or data structures and accessible by a computer; or a circuit or any other device capable of performing a storage function, for storing program instructions and / or data.

[0217] In one example, the communication device 1000 can perform the following: receive first information from the second terminal device, the first information is used to indicate that the first connection has been released, the first connection is a connection between the second terminal device and the third terminal device, and the second terminal device communicates with the third terminal device through the first terminal device; release first configuration information according to the first information, the first configuration information includes the local identifier of the second terminal device, the local identifier of the third terminal device, and a first mapping relationship, wherein the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the first wireless bearer and M wireless link control channels, and a mapping relationship between the first wireless bearer and N wireless link control channels, the first wireless bearer is a wireless bearer between the second terminal device and the third terminal device, the M wireless link control channels are wireless link control channels between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, and the N wireless link control channels are wireless link control channels between the first terminal device and the third terminal device, and M and N are both positive integers.

[0218] In another example, the communication device 1000 may perform the following: determine to release the second connection, where the second connection is a connection between the first terminal device and the second terminal device; and release the second configuration information. Alternatively, release the second configuration information. The second configuration information includes a local identifier of the second terminal device, local identifiers of K terminal devices, and a second mapping relationship, wherein the second mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between a fourth radio bearer and M radio link control channels, and a mapping relationship between a fourth radio bearer and H radio link control channels; wherein any terminal device among the K terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, the fourth radio bearer is a radio bearer between the second terminal device and the K terminal devices, the M radio link control channels are radio link control channels between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, and the H radio link control channels are radio link control channels between the first terminal device and the K terminal devices, and K, M, and H are all positive integers.

[0219] In another example, the communication device 1000 can perform the following: receive fourth information from the second terminal device, the fourth information is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the second radio bearer and the first radio link control channel, the first radio link control channel belongs to the radio link control channel between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, the second radio bearer belongs to the radio bearer between the second terminal device and P terminal devices, any terminal device among the P terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, and P is a positive integer; if the first condition is met, release the first radio link control channel, the first condition is: the first terminal device has no third radio bearer mapped to the first radio link control channel for transmission, and the second terminal device has no second radio bearer mapped to the first radio link control channel for transmission; wherein, the third radio bearer belongs to the radio bearer between the second terminal device and Q terminal devices, any terminal device among the Q terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, and Q is a positive integer.

[0220] As another example, the communication device 1000 can perform the following: sending fifth information to the second terminal device, the fifth information is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the third wireless bearer and the first wireless link control channel, wherein the first wireless link control channel belongs to the wireless link control channel between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, the third wireless bearer belongs to the wireless bearer between the second terminal device and Q terminal devices, any terminal device among the Q terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, and Q is a positive integer.

[0221] In another example, the communication device 1000 can perform the following: receiving sixth information from the second terminal device, the sixth information is used to indicate the release of the first radio link control channel, and the first radio link control channel belongs to the radio link control channel between the first terminal device and the second terminal device; and, when there is a third radio bearer mapped to the first radio link control channel for transmission on the first terminal device, sending seventh information to the second terminal device, the seventh information is used to indicate the refusal to release the first radio link control channel; wherein the third radio bearer belongs to the radio bearer between the second terminal device and Q terminal devices, and any terminal device among the Q terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, and Q is a positive integer.

[0222] In another example, the communication device 1000 can perform the following: sending eighth information to the second terminal device, the eighth information is used to indicate the release of the first radio link control channel, the first radio link control channel belongs to the radio link control channel between the first terminal device and the second terminal device; receiving ninth information from the second terminal device, the ninth information is used to indicate the refusal to release the first radio link control channel; and, retaining the first radio link control channel according to the ninth information.

[0223] As another example, the communication device 1000 can execute the following: sending a first message to the first terminal device, or sending a tenth message to the first terminal device; wherein the first information is used to indicate that the first connection has been released, the first connection is a connection between the second terminal device and the third terminal device, and the tenth information is used to indicate that the second connection has been released, the second connection is a connection between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, and the second terminal device communicates with the third terminal device through the first terminal device.

[0224] As another example, the communication apparatus 1000 may perform the following: sending fourth information to the first terminal device, where the fourth information is used to indicate a mapping relationship between the second radio bearer and the first radio link control channel, wherein the second radio bearer belongs to a radio bearer between the second terminal device and P terminal devices, the first radio link control channel belongs to a radio link control channel between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, any terminal device among the P terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, and P is a positive integer.

[0225] In another example, the communication device 1000 can perform the following: receive fifth information from the first terminal device, the fifth information is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the third radio bearer and the first radio link control channel, wherein the first radio link control channel belongs to the radio link control channel between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, the third radio bearer belongs to the radio bearer between the second terminal device and Q terminal devices, any terminal device among the Q terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, the Q terminal devices include the third terminal device, and Q is a positive integer; if the first condition is met, release the first radio link control channel, the first condition is: the first terminal device does not have the third radio bearer mapped to the first radio link control channel for transmission, and the second terminal device does not have the second radio bearer mapped to the first radio link control channel for transmission; wherein the second radio bearer belongs to the radio bearer between the second terminal device and P terminal devices, any terminal device among the P terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, and P is a positive integer.

[0226] In another example, the communication device 1000 can perform the following: sending sixth information to the first terminal device, the sixth information is used to indicate the release of the first radio link control channel, the first radio link control channel belongs to the radio link control channel between the first terminal device and the second terminal device; receiving seventh information from the first terminal device, the seventh information is used to indicate the refusal to release the first radio link control channel; and, retaining the first radio link control channel according to the seventh information.

[0227] In another example, the communication device 1000 can perform the following: receive eighth information from the first terminal device, the eighth information is used to indicate the release of the first radio link control channel, and the first radio link control channel belongs to the radio link control channel between the first terminal device and the second terminal device; and when there is a second radio bearer mapped to the first radio link control channel for transmission on the second terminal device, send ninth information to the first terminal device, the ninth information is used to indicate the refusal to release the first radio link control channel, wherein the second radio bearer belongs to the radio bearer between the second terminal device and P terminal devices, and any terminal device among the P terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, and P is a positive integer.

[0228] In another example, the communication device 1000 can perform the following: receiving second information from the first terminal device, the second information is used to indicate that the first connection has been released, the first connection is a connection between the second terminal device and the third terminal device, and the second terminal device communicates with the third terminal device through the first terminal device; and sending third information to the first terminal device, the third information is used to indicate the release of the first mapping relationship; wherein the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the first wireless bearer and M wireless link control channels, and a mapping relationship between the first wireless bearer and N wireless link control channels, the first wireless bearer is a wireless bearer between the second terminal device and the third terminal device, the M wireless link control channels are wireless link control channels between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, and the N wireless link control channels are wireless link control channels between the first terminal device and the third terminal device, and M and N are both positive integers.

[0229] For the specific implementation process, please refer to the aforementioned method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0230] Based on the same concept, please refer to Figure 11, an embodiment of the present application also provides another communication device 1100, including: an input and output interface 1110 and a logic circuit 1120; the input and output interface 1110 is used to receive code instructions and transmit them to the logic circuit 1120; the logic circuit 1120 is used to run code instructions to execute the method executed by the first terminal device, the second terminal device, or the network device in any of the above embodiments.

[0231] Exemplarily, the communication device 1100 may be a network device or a component in a network device (such as one or more of a CU, DU, RU, or RIC), or a terminal device or a component in a terminal device. For example, the communication device 1100 may implement the functions of the first terminal device, the second terminal device, or the network device in the aforementioned embodiments.

[0232] Since the communication device 1100 provided in this embodiment can realize the functions of the first terminal device, the second terminal device, or the network device in the aforementioned embodiments, the technical effects that can be obtained can be referred to the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be described in detail here.

[0233] The present application also provides a communication system, which may include one or more of the following: a first terminal device or a second terminal device. Optionally, the communication system may also include a network device. The first terminal device, the second terminal device, or the network device can be found in the descriptions of the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be further described.

[0234] A computer-readable storage medium is also provided in an embodiment of the present application, including program instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the methods or steps of the first terminal device, the second terminal device, or the network device in each of the above embodiments.

[0235] A computer program product is also provided in an embodiment of the present application, including program instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enable the computer to execute the methods or steps of the first terminal device, the second terminal device, or the network device in each of the above embodiments.

[0236] An embodiment of the present application provides a chip system, which includes a processor for implementing the first terminal device, the second terminal device, or the network device in the aforementioned method (for example, executing the corresponding method or step). The chip system can be composed of a chip or can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0237] Optionally, the chip system further includes a memory for storing program instructions so that the above-mentioned processor reads and executes them to implement the corresponding method.

[0238] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, the size of the serial numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0239] In the embodiments of the present application, "multiple" may refer to two or more. In view of this, in the embodiments of the present application, "multiple" may also be understood as "at least two". "At least one" may be understood as one or more, for example, one, two or more. For example, "including at least one" means including one, two or more. For example, including at least one of A, B and C, then included may be A, B, C, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A, B and C. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects. Specifically, there may be three relationships. For example, A and / or B may represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / ", unless otherwise specified, generally indicates that the previous and subsequent associated objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0240] In addition, the terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of the present application may be used interchangeably, and "according to" and "based on" may be used interchangeably.

[0241] In the embodiments of this application, ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" are generally used to distinguish different objects and are not used to define the order, timing, priority, or importance of multiple objects. For example, in the embodiments of this application, the first terminal device, the second terminal device, and the third terminal device are used to distinguish three terminal devices and do not define the priority or importance of these three terminal devices.

[0242] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0243] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0244] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0245] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0246] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0247] If the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the part that essentially contributes to the technical solution of the present application or the part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes a number of instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

[0248] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the embodiments of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the embodiments of the present application, and such changes or substitutions should be included in the scope of protection of the embodiments of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the embodiments of the present application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, applied to a first terminal device or a chip in the first terminal device, characterized in that: include: receiving first information from a second terminal device, where the first information is used to indicate that a first connection has been released, where the first connection is a connection between the second terminal device and a third terminal device, and the second terminal device communicates with the third terminal device through the first terminal device; The first configuration information is released according to the first information, wherein the first configuration information includes the local identifier of the second terminal device, the local identifier of the third terminal device, and a first mapping relationship, wherein the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the first wireless bearer and M wireless link control channels, and a mapping relationship between the first wireless bearer and N wireless link control channels, the first wireless bearer is a wireless bearer between the second terminal device and the third terminal device, the M wireless link control channels are wireless link control channels between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, and the N wireless link control channels are wireless link control channels between the first terminal device and the third terminal device, and both M and N are positive integers.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first information includes identification information of the third terminal device, wherein the identification information of the third terminal device includes one or more of the following: a layer 2 identification of the third terminal device, a local identification of the third terminal device, or a user information identification of the third terminal device.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The method further comprises: Second information is sent to the network device, where the second information is used to indicate that the first connection has been released.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The releasing the first configuration information includes: receiving third information from the network device, where the third information is used to instruct to release the first mapping relationship; The first configuration information is released according to the third information.

5. The method according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that The second information includes a layer 2 identifier of the second terminal device and / or a layer 2 identifier of the third terminal device.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The M radio link control channels include a first radio link control channel, and the method further includes: receiving fourth information from the second terminal device, where the fourth information is used to indicate a mapping relationship between a second radio bearer and the first radio link control channel, where the second radio bearer is a radio bearer between the second terminal device and P terminal devices, and any terminal device of the P terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, where P is a positive integer; If the first condition is met, the first radio link control channel is released, and the first condition is: the first terminal device does not have a third radio bearer mapped to the first radio link control channel for transmission, and the second terminal device does not have the second radio bearer mapped to the first radio link control channel for transmission; wherein the third radio bearer belongs to the radio bearer between the second terminal device and Q terminal devices, any terminal device among the Q terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, the Q terminal devices include the third terminal device, and Q is a positive integer.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The M radio link control channels include a first radio link control channel, and the method further includes: Send fifth information to the second terminal device, where the fifth information is used to indicate a mapping relationship between a third wireless bearer and the first wireless link control channel, wherein the third wireless bearer belongs to a wireless bearer between the second terminal device and Q terminal devices, any one of the Q terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, the Q terminal devices include the third terminal device, and Q is a positive integer.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The M radio link control channels include a first radio link control channel, and the method further includes: receiving sixth information from the second terminal device, where the sixth information is used to instruct to release the first radio link control channel; In a case where the first terminal device has a third radio bearer mapped to the first radio link control channel for transmission, seventh information is sent to the second terminal device, where the seventh information is used to indicate a refusal to release the first radio link control channel; wherein the third radio bearer belongs to a radio bearer between the second terminal device and Q terminal devices, any terminal device among the Q terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, the Q terminal devices include the third terminal device, and Q is a positive integer.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 and 8, characterized in that The M radio link control channels include a first radio link control channel, and the method further includes: Sending eighth information to the second terminal device, where the eighth information is used to instruct to release the first radio link control channel; receiving ninth information from the second terminal device, where the ninth information is used to indicate a refusal to release the first radio link control channel; The first radio link control channel is reserved according to the ninth information.

10. A communication method, applied to a first terminal device or a chip in the first terminal device, characterized in that: include: Determine to release a second connection, where the second connection is a connection between the first terminal device and the second terminal device; Release the second configuration information, wherein the second configuration information includes the local identifier of the second terminal device, the local identifiers of K terminal devices, and a second mapping relationship, wherein the second mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the fourth wireless bearer and M wireless link control channels, and a mapping relationship between the fourth wireless bearer and H wireless link control channels; wherein any terminal device among the K terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, the fourth wireless bearer is a wireless bearer between the second terminal device and the K terminal devices, the M wireless link control channels are wireless link control channels between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, and the H wireless link control channels are wireless link control channels between the first terminal device and the K terminal devices, and the K, the M and the H are all positive integers.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The second configuration information also includes a radio link control entity and / or a logical channel, the radio link control entity is used for communication between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, and the logical channel is used for communication between the first terminal device and the second terminal device.

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that The determining to release the second connection includes: receiving tenth information from the second terminal device, where the tenth information is used to instruct to release the second connection; Determine, according to the tenth information, to release the second connection.

13. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that The M radio link control channels include a first radio link control channel, and the method further includes: receiving fourth information from the second terminal device, the fourth information being used to indicate a mapping relationship between a second radio bearer and the first radio link control channel, where the second radio bearer is a radio bearer between the second terminal device and P terminal devices, the P terminal devices belong to the H terminal devices, and P is a positive integer; When the first condition is met, the first radio link control channel is released, and the first condition is: the first terminal device does not have a third radio bearer mapped to the first radio link control channel for transmission, and the second terminal device does not have the second radio bearer mapped to the first radio link control channel for transmission; wherein the third radio bearer belongs to the radio bearer between the second terminal device and Q terminal devices, the Q terminal devices belong to the H terminal devices, and Q is a positive integer.

14. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 13, characterized in that The M radio link control channels include a first radio link control channel, and the method further includes: Send fifth information to the second terminal device, where the fifth information is used to indicate a mapping relationship between a third wireless bearer and the first wireless link control channel, wherein the third wireless bearer belongs to a wireless bearer between the second terminal device and Q terminal devices, the Q terminal devices belong to the H terminal devices, and Q is a positive integer.

15. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that The M radio link control channels include a first radio link control channel, and the method further includes: receiving sixth information from the second terminal device, where the sixth information is used to instruct to release the first radio link control channel; In a case where the first terminal device has a third wireless bearer mapped to the first wireless link control channel for transmission, seventh information is sent to the second terminal device, where the seventh information is used to indicate a refusal to release the first wireless link control channel, wherein the third wireless bearer belongs to a wireless bearer between the second terminal device and Q terminal devices, the Q terminal devices belong to the H terminal devices, and Q is a positive integer.

16. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12 and 15, characterized in that The M radio link control channels include a first radio link control channel, and the method further includes: Sending eighth information to the second terminal device, where the eighth information is used to instruct to release the first radio link control channel; receiving ninth information from the second terminal device, where the ninth information is used to indicate a refusal to release the first radio link control channel; The first radio link control channel is reserved according to the ninth information.

17. A communication method, applied to a second terminal device or a chip in the second terminal device, characterized in that: include: Sending a first message to a first terminal device, or sending a tenth message to the first terminal device; wherein the first message is used to indicate that a first connection has been released, the first connection is a connection between the second terminal device and a third terminal device, and the tenth message is used to indicate that a second connection has been released, the second connection is a connection between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, and the second terminal device communicates with the third terminal device through the first terminal device.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that The first information includes identification information of the third terminal device, wherein the identification information of the third terminal device includes one or more of the following: a layer 2 identification of the third terminal device, a local identification of the third terminal device, or a user information identification of the third terminal device.

19. The method according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that The method further comprises: Send fourth information to the first terminal device, where the fourth information is used to indicate a mapping relationship between a second wireless bearer and a first wireless link control channel, wherein the second wireless bearer belongs to a wireless bearer between the second terminal device and P terminal devices, the first wireless link control channel belongs to a wireless link control channel between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, any terminal device among the P terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, and P is a positive integer.

20. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 19, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receive fifth information from the first terminal device, where the fifth information is used to indicate a mapping relationship between a third radio bearer and a first radio link control channel, where the first radio link control channel belongs to a radio link control channel between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, the third radio bearer belongs to a radio bearer between the second terminal device and Q terminal devices, any terminal device of the Q terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, the Q terminal devices include the third terminal device, and Q is a positive integer; If the first condition is met, the first radio link control channel is released, and the first condition is: the first terminal device does not have the third radio bearer mapped to the first radio link control channel for transmission, and the second terminal device does not have the second radio bearer mapped to the first radio link control channel for transmission; wherein, the second radio bearer belongs to the radio bearer between the second terminal device and P terminal devices, any terminal device among the P terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, and P is a positive integer.

21. The method according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending sixth information to the first terminal device, where the sixth information is used to instruct to release a first radio link control channel, where the first radio link control channel belongs to a radio link control channel between the first terminal device and the second terminal device; receiving seventh information from the first terminal device, where the seventh information is used to indicate a refusal to release the first radio link control channel; The first radio link control channel is reserved according to the seventh information.

22. The method according to any one of claims 17, 18, or 21, wherein: The method further comprises: receiving eighth information from the first terminal device, where the eighth information is used to instruct to release a first radio link control channel, where the first radio link control channel belongs to a radio link control channel between the first terminal device and the second terminal device; In a case where a second wireless bearer exists on the second terminal device and is mapped to the first wireless link control channel for transmission, ninth information is sent to the first terminal device, where the ninth information is used to indicate a refusal to release the first wireless link control channel, wherein the second wireless bearer belongs to a wireless bearer between the second terminal device and P terminal devices, and any one of the P terminal devices communicates with the second terminal device through the first terminal device, and P is a positive integer.

23. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a module or unit for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, or comprises a module or unit for executing the method according to any one of claims 17 to 22.

24. A communication device, characterized in that: comprising a processor, wherein: The processor is coupled to the memory, and is configured to call computer instructions in the memory to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, or to execute the method according to any one of claims 17 to 22.

25. A communication system, characterized in that: It includes a first terminal device and / or a second terminal device, wherein the first terminal device is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, and the second terminal device is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 17 to 22.

26. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The computer-readable storage medium stores computer-executable instructions, and when the computer-executable instructions are called by the computer, the computer-executable instructions are used to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, or to execute the method according to any one of claims 17 to 22.

27. A computer program product, characterized in that The method comprises instructions which, when executed on a computer, cause the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16 or the method according to any one of claims 17 to 22 to be performed.

28. A chip, characterized in that: The chip is coupled to the memory and is configured to read and execute program instructions stored in the memory to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, or to implement the method according to any one of claims 17 to 22.

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