Communication method, capability indication method and apparatus

Abstract

The present application relates to a communication method, a capability indication method and an apparatus. The communication method comprises: when a discovery request message is received, if it is determined that the current hop count of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum hop count, discarding the discovery request message (S202), wherein the maximum hop count is used for representing a hop count limit of the discovery request message propagating in a multi-hop network.

Description

Communication method, capability indication method and device

[0001] Related applications

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese patent application number 2024101811375, filed on February 18, 2024, entitled “Communication Method, Capability Indication Method and Device,” the entire text of which is hereby incorporated by reference. Technical Field

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

[0004] In multi-hop communication scenarios for Proximity-based Services (ProSe), remote UEs (User Equipment) communicate with the help of relay devices. These relay devices may include U2N Relays (UE to Network Relays) that connect UEs to the cellular network and U2U Relays (UE to UE Relays) that connect UEs to each other. However, current multi-hop networks suffer from poor stability.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, a capability indication method, and an apparatus.

[0007] In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, applied to a relay device in a multi-hop network, the method comprising:

[0008] When a discovery request message is received, if it is determined that the current hop count of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum hop count, the discovery request message is discarded; wherein the maximum hop count is used to indicate the hop count limit for the discovery request message to propagate in a multi-hop network.

[0009] In one embodiment, the maximum hop count is used to indicate a hop count limit of available relays for the discovery request message; and determining that the current hop count of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum hop count includes:

[0010] Obtain the number of relay device identifiers in the candidate relay list of the discovery request message;

[0011] If the number of identifiers is greater than or equal to the maximum hop number, it is determined that the current hop number of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum hop number.

[0012] In one embodiment, the discovery request message comprises a broadcast message.

[0013] In one embodiment, the relay device is a user equipment to user equipment U2U relay device or a user equipment to network U2N relay device; the discovery request message is a user equipment to user equipment U2U relay discovery request message or a user equipment to network U2N relay discovery request message.

[0014] In one embodiment, the method further comprises:

[0015] Obtain a maximum number of hops; wherein the maximum number of hops is sent by the first core network device, or the maximum number of hops is pre-set in the relay device.

[0016] In one embodiment, obtaining the maximum hop count includes:

[0017] The maximum number of hops is obtained from the universal integrated circuit card UICC or the mobile equipment ME.

[0018] In one embodiment, the first core network device is an access control and mobility management function (AMF) entity; the maximum number of hops is included in a UE policy container sent by the second core network device to the AMF entity;

[0019] Get the maximum hop count, including:

[0020] Receive the UE policy container sent by the AMF entity through the non-access layer NAS message, perform configuration updates, and generate a configuration update completion message for sending to the AMF entity.

[0021] In one of the embodiments, the second core network device is a policy control function PCF entity; the UE policy container is the subscription information including the maximum number of hops obtained by the PCF entity from the unified data repository function UDR, and is encapsulated by the PCF entity.

[0022] In a second aspect, the present application provides a capability indication method, applied to a first core network device, the method comprising:

[0023] Receiving first information from a second core network device; the first information indicates a maximum number of hops for a discovery request message to propagate in a multi-hop network;

[0024] According to the first information, the maximum hop number is sent to the relay device in the multi-hop network; the maximum hop number is used to instruct the relay device to discard the discovery request message when receiving the discovery request message if it determines that the current hop number of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum hop number.

[0025] In one embodiment, the first core network device is an access control and mobility management function AMF entity; the first information includes an N1N2 message; the maximum number of hops is included in a UE policy container;

[0026] Sending the maximum number of hops to a relay device in the multi-hop network according to the first information includes:

[0027] In response to receiving the UE policy container sent by the second core network device through the N1N2 message, initiating a network triggered service request;

[0028] The UE policy container is sent to the relay device via a non-access layer NAS message; the UE policy container is used to instruct the relay device to perform a configuration update and to feed back a configuration update completion message.

[0029] In one embodiment, the method further comprises:

[0030] The configuration update completion message is sent to the second core network device through the N1 message.

[0031] In one of the embodiments, the second core network device is a policy control function PCF entity; the UE policy container is the subscription information including the maximum number of hops obtained by the PCF entity from the unified data repository function UDR, and is encapsulated by the PCF entity.

[0032] In one embodiment, the method further comprises:

[0033] Second information is sent to the PCF entity, where the second information is used to instruct the PCF entity to obtain the UE policy container after executing the user equipment UE policy association establishment process and feeding back response information.

[0034] In one embodiment, the PCF entity is a home policy control function H-PCF entity; the second information includes a policy control request message; and the response information includes a policy control response message;

[0035] Sending second information to the PCF entity includes:

[0036] Send a policy control request message to the H-PCF entity; the policy control request message is used to instruct the H-PCF entity to feedback a policy control response message and obtain the UE policy container.

[0037] In one embodiment, the PCF entity is a roaming policy control function V-PCF entity; the second information includes a policy control request message; and the response information includes a policy control response message;

[0038] Sending second information to the PCF entity includes:

[0039] The policy control request message is sent to the home policy control function H-PCF entity through the V-PCF entity; the policy control request message is used to instruct the H-PCF entity to feed back the policy control response message to the AMF entity through the V-PCF entity, and send the UE policy container to the V-PCF entity through the policy control update request message; the policy control update request message is used to instruct the V-PCF entity to feed back the policy control update response message to the H-PCF entity.

[0040] In a third aspect, the present application provides a capability indication method, applied to a second core network device, the method comprising:

[0041] Sending first information to the first core network device; the first information indicates a maximum number of hops limited for propagation of a discovery request message in a multi-hop network;

[0042] Among them, the first information is used to instruct the first core network device to send the maximum number of hops to the relay device in the multi-hop network; the maximum number of hops is used to instruct the relay device to discard the discovery request message when it receives the discovery request message, if it is determined that the current number of hops of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum number of hops.

[0043] In one embodiment, the first core network device is an access control and mobility management function AMF entity; the first information includes an N1N2 message; the maximum number of hops is included in a UE policy container;

[0044] Sending first information to the first core network device includes:

[0045] The UE policy container is sent to the AMF entity through the N1N2 message; the N1N2 message is used to instruct the AMF entity to initiate a network-triggered service request and send the UE policy container to the relay device through the non-access layer NAS message; the UE policy container is used to instruct the relay device to update the configuration and feedback the configuration update completion message.

[0046] In one embodiment, the method further comprises:

[0047] Receive the configuration update complete message sent by the AMF entity through the N1 message.

[0048] In one embodiment, the second core network device is a policy control function PCF entity; the method for obtaining the UE policy container includes:

[0049] Obtain contract information including the maximum number of hops from the unified data warehouse function UDR;

[0050] Encapsulate the subscription information in the UE policy container.

[0051] In one embodiment, the method further comprises:

[0052] receiving a second message sent by the AMF entity;

[0053] According to the second information, after executing the user equipment UE policy association establishment process and feeding back response information, the UE policy container is obtained.

[0054] In one embodiment, the PCF entity is a home policy control function H-PCF entity; the second information includes a policy control request message; the response message includes a policy control response message;

[0055] According to the second information, after executing the user equipment UE policy association establishment process and feeding back the response message and then feeding back the response information, obtaining the UE policy container includes:

[0056] Receive the policy control request message sent by the AMF entity;

[0057] Send a policy control response message to the AMF entity and obtain the UE policy container.

[0058] In one embodiment, the PCF entity is a roaming policy control function V-PCF entity; the second information includes a policy control request message; and the response information includes a policy control response message;

[0059] According to the second information, after executing the user equipment UE policy association establishment process and feeding back the response information, obtaining the UE policy container includes:

[0060] Receive the policy control request message sent by the AMF entity and send the policy control request message to the home policy control function H-PCF entity; the policy control request message is used to instruct the H-PCF entity to feedback the policy control response message and obtain the UE policy container;

[0061] Receive the policy control response message sent by the H-PCF entity and send the policy control response message to the AMF entity;

[0062] Receive a policy control update request message sent by the H-PCF entity, and send a policy control update response message to the H-PCF entity; the policy control update request message carries a UE policy container.

[0063] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which is applied to a relay device in a multi-hop network, and the device includes:

[0064] The message discarding module is used to discard the discovery request message when receiving the discovery request message if it is determined that the current hop count of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum hop count; wherein the maximum hop count is used to indicate the hop count limit of the discovery request message propagating in the multi-hop network.

[0065] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a capability indication device, applied to a first core network device, the device comprising:

[0066] An information receiving module, configured to receive first information from a second core network device; the first information indicates a maximum number of hops for a discovery request message to propagate in a multi-hop network;

[0067] The hop count sending module is used to send the maximum hop count to the relay device in the multi-hop network according to the first information; the maximum hop count is used to instruct the relay device to discard the discovery request message when it receives the discovery request message and determines that the current hop count of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum hop count.

[0068] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a capability indication device, applied to a second core network device, the device comprising:

[0069] An information sending module, configured to send first information to a first core network device; the first information indicates a maximum number of hops for a discovery request message to propagate in a multi-hop network;

[0070] Among them, the first information is used to instruct the first core network device to send the maximum number of hops to the relay device in the multi-hop network; the maximum number of hops is used to instruct the relay device to discard the discovery request message when it receives the discovery request message, if it is determined that the current number of hops of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum number of hops.

[0071] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a relay device, including a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program, and when the processor executes the computer program, the following steps are implemented:

[0072] When a discovery request message is received, if it is determined that the current hop count of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum hop count, the discovery request message is discarded; wherein the maximum hop count is used to indicate the hop count limit for the discovery request message to propagate in a multi-hop network.

[0073] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a core network device, comprising a receiver, a transmitter, a memory, and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program;

[0074] The receiver is configured to receive first information from a second core network device; the first information indicates a maximum number of hops for a discovery request message to propagate in a multi-hop network;

[0075] When a processor executes a computer program, it implements

[0076] According to the first information, the control transmitter sends the maximum hop number to the relay device in the multi-hop network; the maximum hop number is used to instruct the relay device to discard the discovery request message when it receives the discovery request message and determines that the current hop number of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum hop number.

[0077] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a core network device, comprising a transmitter, configured to send first information to a first core network device; the first information indicates a maximum number of hops limited for propagation of a discovery request message in a multi-hop network;

[0078] Among them, the first information is used to instruct the first core network device to send the maximum number of hops to the relay device in the multi-hop network; the maximum number of hops is used to instruct the relay device to discard the discovery request message when it receives the discovery request message, if it is determined that the current number of hops of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum number of hops.

[0079] In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, which implements the methods described in the above aspects when the computer program is executed by a processor.

[0080] In an eleventh aspect, the present application provides a computer program product, comprising a computer program, which implements the methods described in the above aspects when executed by a processor.

[0081] The details of one or more embodiments of the present application are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages of the present application will become apparent from the description, drawings, and claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0082] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the conventional technology, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the conventional technology descriptions. Obviously, the drawings described below are merely embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on the disclosed drawings without any creative work.

[0083] FIG1 is a diagram illustrating an application environment of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0084] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a U2U relay discovery method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0085] FIG3 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0086] FIG4 is a flowchart illustrating a step of determining whether the current hop count is equal to or exceeds the maximum hop count in one embodiment of the present application;

[0087] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a process of discarding a discovery request message in one embodiment of the present application;

[0088] FIG6 is a flow chart of a communication method in another embodiment of the present application;

[0089] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of a configuration update process in one embodiment of the present application;

[0090] FIG8 is a flow chart of signaling interaction for obtaining the maximum number of hops in one embodiment of the present application;

[0091] FIG9 is a flow chart of a capability indication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0092] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of a process of transmitting a UE policy container by an AMF entity in one embodiment of the present application;

[0093] FIG11 is a flow chart of a capability indication method according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0094] FIG12 is a flow chart of signaling interaction between an AMF entity and a PCF entity in one embodiment of the present application;

[0095] FIG13 is a structural block diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0096] FIG14 is a structural block diagram of a capability indication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0097] FIG15 is a structural block diagram of a capability indication device in another embodiment of the present application;

[0098] FIG16 is a diagram showing the internal structure of a relay device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0099] Figure 17 is an internal structure diagram of the core network device in one embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0100] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of this application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application. Obviously, the embodiments described are only part of the embodiments of this application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0101] The terms "first", "second", etc. in the embodiments of the present application are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that the terms used in this way can be interchangeable under appropriate circumstances, so that the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in an order other than those illustrated or described here, and the objects distinguished by "first" and "second" are generally of the same type, and the number of objects is not limited. For example, the first object can be one or more. In addition, the term "and / or" is merely a description of the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / " generally indicates that the objects associated before and after are in an "or" relationship.

[0102] In the embodiments of this application, words such as "exemplarily" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or explanations. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplarily" or "for example" in the embodiments of this application should not be interpreted as being preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplarily" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete manner.

[0103] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified, "multiple" means two or more than two. For example, multiple core network devices refer to two or more core network devices, etc.

[0104] The terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of the present application are often used interchangeably, and the described technologies can be used for the systems mentioned above as well as for other systems. The following description describes a New Radio (NR) system for illustrative purposes, and NR terminology is used in most of the following descriptions, but these technologies can also be applied to applications other than NR system applications, such as 6th Generation (6G) communication systems, or can be applied to next-generation mobile communication systems or other similar communication systems, without limitation. For example, the embodiments of the present application can be applied to a proximity radio access network (P-RAN) in a 6G application scenario.

[0105] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 1, in this scenario, the terminal 102 can communicate with the network via the access network device 104; wherein, the terminal 102 can be a wireless terminal, and the wireless terminal can be a device that provides voice and / or other business data connectivity to the user, or a handheld device with a wireless connection function, or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem. The wireless terminal can communicate with one or more core networks (CN) via a radio access network (RAN). For example, the access network device is connected to the core network, and the core network can include one or more core network devices.

[0106] Illustratively, a wireless terminal may be a mobile terminal, such as a mobile phone (or "cellular" phone) and a computer with a mobile terminal, for example, a portable, pocket-sized, handheld, computer-built-in, or vehicle-mounted mobile device, which exchanges voice and / or data with a wireless access network. A wireless terminal may also be referred to as a system, subscriber unit, subscriber station, mobile station, mobile, remote station, remote terminal, access terminal, user terminal, user agent, user device, or user equipment, without limitation herein.

[0107] For ease of description, a terminal in this application may be referred to as a user device or terminal device. A user device in this application may be a relay device, or a user device that implements a relay function. It should be noted that a device with wireless communication capabilities that implements data transmission between other user devices via a relay device, and a device with wireless communication capabilities that implements data transmission between a communication network via a relay device, may both be referred to as a remote device.

[0108] Access network (AN) device 104, the access network device may also be referred to as a radio access network ((Radio) Access Network, (R)AN) entity, hereinafter collectively referred to as the access network device or (R)AN entity; illustratively, the access network device may be a base station (Base Transceiver Station, BTS) in Global System of Mobile communication (GSM) or Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), or a base station (NodeB, NB) in Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), or an evolved base station (eNB or eNodeB) in LTE, or a relay station or access point, or a base station in a 5G network, etc., and is not limited here.

[0109] The core network device may be a core network element located on the network side, such as an AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function) entity, a Policy Control Function (PCF) entity, etc.

[0110] Furthermore, using U2U Relay as an example, the ProSe near-area communication (also known as proximity services) U2U Relay solution refers to remote UEs communicating via U2U Relay. Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of U2U relay discovery in Model B. Taking U2U relays as U2U Relay-1, U2U Relay-2, and U2U Relay-3 as an example, the U2U relay discovery process may include:

[0111] The U2U relay receives a request message sent by UE-1 (discoverer), for example, a U2U relay discovery request message (UE-to-UE Relay Discovery Solicitation message);

[0112] After receiving the request message, the U2U relay sends a U2U relay discovery request message (UE-to-UE Relay Discovery Solicitation message) to UE-2 (the discovered party);

[0113] After receiving the request message, UE-2 sends a U2U relay discovery response message (UE-to-UE Relay Discovery Response message) to the U2U relay;

[0114] The U2U relay returns a U2U relay discovery response message (UE-to-UE Relay Discovery Response message) to UE-1.

[0115] Currently, single-hop U2U scenarios (i.e., only one hop and one U2U relay) need to be expanded to multi-hop scenarios. However, multi-hop networks in traditional technologies suffer from poor stability and maintenance issues, which can easily lead to routing failure and network inoperability.

[0116] Based on the above-mentioned conventional technologies, embodiments of the present application provide a method for configuring a maximum hop limit in multi-hop scenarios for UE-to-UE (U2U) and UE-to-Network (U2N) in a ProSe system. When performing multi-hop services, a relay device establishes routes based on the maximum hop limit, thereby controlling the number of hops in the multi-hop network, thereby ensuring routing convergence and multi-hop path stability. For example, the ProSe system may employ a 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) ProSe system.

[0117] It should be noted that the beneficial effects or technical problems solved by the embodiments of the present application are not limited to this one, but may also include other implicit or related problems. For details, please refer to the description of the following embodiments.

[0118] The following specific embodiments describe in detail the technical solution of the present application and how the technical solution of the present application solves the above-mentioned technical problems. The following specific embodiments can be combined with each other, and the same or similar concepts or processes may not be repeated in some embodiments. The embodiments of the present application will be described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0119] In one embodiment, as shown in FIG3 , a communication method is provided, which is described by taking the method applied to the terminal in FIG1 as an example, and includes the following steps:

[0120] Step 202: When a discovery request message is received, if it is determined that the current hop count of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum hop count, the discovery request message is discarded; wherein the maximum hop count is used to indicate the hop count limit for propagating the discovery request message in a multi-hop network.

[0121] Specifically, in a multi-hop network, a discovery request message received by a relay device can come from a remote device, for example, a discovery request message sent by a remote device, or a discovery request message broadcast by a remote device that the relay device monitors. A remote device may send multiple discovery request messages, each of which may carry a relay mode identifier, indicating the relay mode required by the remote device. For example, the relay mode identifier may include a relay service code (RSC).

[0122] Optionally, the discovery request message also carries a candidate relay list; wherein the candidate relay list is used to add the identifier of the relay device. Exemplarily, the identifier of the relay device may refer to a user information (User Info) ID (Identity), and the candidate relay list may refer to a user information ID list. Exemplarily, a relay device supporting ProSe supports Mode B discovery.

[0123] In an embodiment of the present application, upon receiving a discovery request message, a relay device may determine the current hop count of the discovery request message and, if the current hop count equals or exceeds the maximum hop count corresponding to the relay device, discard the discovery request message. The maximum hop count may be used to indicate a hop limit for propagating a discovery request message in a multi-hop network. The maximum hop count may be understood as a parameter set for a relay device to limit the propagation of a discovery request message in a multi-hop network.

[0124] Exemplarily, the current hop count of the discovery request message may refer to the number of relay devices corresponding to the discovery request message when the relay device receives the discovery request message; that is, for each relay device, it is necessary to check whether the currently received discovery request message has reached the maximum hop count, and if so, it must be discarded.

[0125] Optionally, the maximum number of hops can be set in the relay device, corresponding to the relay device, that is, the maximum number of hops is flexibly configurable; by setting the maximum number of hops, the relay device can check whether the current number of hops exceeds the maximum number of hops, and then the relay device can establish a route according to the maximum number of hops limit when performing multi-hop services to ensure that the multi-hop routing protocol can converge.

[0126] Exemplarily, if the relay device determines that the current number of hops does not exceed the maximum number of hops, it can add the identifier of the device to the discovery request message, for example, add the user information ID of the relay device to the candidate relay list of the discovery request message, and then broadcast the discovery request message.

[0127] In the above communication method, the maximum number of hops corresponding to the relay device is flexibly configurable. By configuring a maximum hop limit, multi-hop routes exceeding the maximum hop number are not allowed to be established, making the maximum hop number in the multi-hop network flexibly controllable, and then establishing routes based on the maximum hop limit, which can improve the stability of the multi-hop network and facilitate maintenance.

[0128] In one embodiment, the discovery request message comprises a broadcast message.

[0129] Specifically, the discovery request message includes a broadcast message, which may refer to sending a discovery request message via broadcast. Broadcast domains can be divided based on the effective signal range of relay devices. Broadcast domains with the same or similar broadcast domains can be grouped into the same broadcast domain. For relay devices in the same broadcast domain, the broadcast request of the relay device can be received by relay devices in the next broadcast domain as well as relay devices in the same broadcast domain.

[0130] For example, an end-to-end connection can be established between multiple broadcast domains by establishing a multi-hop path. In the embodiment of the present application, a maximum hop limit is configured to prevent the establishment of multi-hop routes exceeding the maximum hop limit. The relay device decides whether to discard received discovery request messages based on the maximum hop limit, thereby ensuring that the multi-hop routing protocol can converge and thus ensure the stability of the multi-hop path.

[0131] In one embodiment, the relay device is a user equipment to user equipment U2U relay device or a user equipment to network U2N relay device; the discovery request message is a user equipment to user equipment U2U relay discovery request message or a user equipment to network U2N relay discovery request message.

[0132] Specifically, the relay device in this application may refer to a relay device from user equipment to user equipment U2U, or a relay device from user equipment to network U2N. Optionally, the discovery request message may be a user equipment to user equipment U2U relay discovery request message; the discovery request message may also be a user equipment to network U2N relay discovery request message, for example, the discovery request message is a 5G ProSe UE-to-Network Relay Discovery Solicitation message.

[0133] Exemplarily, the present application is applicable to the process of 5G ProSe UE to UE relay discovery in mode B, and the discovery request message is a 5G ProSe UE-to-UE Relay Discovery Solicitation message. Optionally, the discovering party 5G ProSe End UE (UE-1) sends a 5G ProSe UE-to-UE relay discovery request message, which includes a discovery message type, a user information ID of UE-1, an RSC, and a user information ID of the discovered party 5G ProSe terminal UE (UE-2), and uses the source layer 2 ID and the destination layer 2 ID to send the U2U relay discovery request message.

[0134] Furthermore, the 5G ProSe UE-to-UE relay device matching the RSC sends a 5G ProSe UE-to-UE relay discovery request message. The 5G ProSe UE-to-UE relay discovery request message includes a discovery message type, a user information ID of the discovering 5G ProSe End UE (UE-1), a user information ID of the UE-to-UE relay, the RSC, and an information ID of the discovered 5G ProSe terminal UE (UE-2); wherein the 5G ProSe UE-to-UE relay discovery request message is sent using a source layer 2 ID and a destination layer 2 ID.

[0135] In one embodiment, the maximum hop count is used to indicate the hop count limit of available relays for the discovery request message; as shown in FIG4 , step 202 may include:

[0136] Step 302: Obtain the number of relay device identifiers in the candidate relay list of the discovery request message;

[0137] Specifically, the maximum number of hops (max hop) may be used to indicate a hop limit of available relays for a discovery request message, wherein an available relay may refer to a relay device used to transmit a discovery request message in a multi-hop network.

[0138] Exemplarily, the relay device may determine the current hop count of the discovery request message by acquiring the number of relay device identifiers in a candidate relay list of the discovery request message, wherein the candidate relay list may be a user information ID list.

[0139] Step 304: If the number of identifiers is greater than or equal to the maximum hop number, it is determined that the current hop number of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum hop number.

[0140] Specifically, when the number of relay device identifiers in the candidate relay list is greater than or equal to the maximum hop count, the relay device may determine that the current hop count of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum hop count, and then discard the discovery request message.

[0141] As shown in Figure 5, taking the relay device as a user device to user device U2U relay device, and the discovery request message as a user device to user device U2U relay discovery request message as an example, the U2U relay device checks whether the number of hops is equal to or exceeds the maximum number of hops, for example, checks whether the number of U2U relay ID lists exceeds the maximum number of hops (max hop). If so, the message is discarded.

[0142] In the above communication method, by checking whether the number of relay device identifiers in the candidate relay list is greater than or equal to the maximum number of hops, the relay device can accurately and efficiently confirm whether the current hop number of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum number of hops, so as to determine whether to discard the received discovery request message, so as to ensure that the number of hops in the multi-hop network is controlled, and avoid affecting the stability of the multi-hop network due to the failure of routing convergence and the failure of network operation.

[0143] In one embodiment, as shown in FIG6 , a communication method is provided, which is described by taking the method applied to the terminal in FIG1 as an example, and includes the following steps:

[0144] Step 402: Obtain a maximum number of hops; wherein the maximum number of hops is sent by the first core network device, or the maximum number of hops is pre-set in the relay device.

[0145] Specifically, the relay device may obtain the maximum hop count, for example, by pre-setting it in the relay device, or receive the maximum hop count sent by the first core network device, i.e., configure the maximum hop count to the relay device via the core network device. For example, after obtaining the maximum hop count, the maximum hop count may be pre-configured as a parameter in the relay device.

[0146] Optionally, in the case where the maximum number of hops is pre-set in the relay device, obtaining the maximum number of hops may include: the relay device obtaining the maximum number of hops from a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) or a mobile equipment (ME).

[0147] Specifically, the present application can be implemented by pre-configuring the maximum number of hops on the relay device or card;

[0148] The relay device can obtain the maximum hop count configured in the universal integrated circuit card UICC through the Cu interface. Taking the relay device as a terminal as an example, the Cu interface is the interface between the UICC and the terminal.

[0149] Optionally, the universal integrated circuit card UICC may include a USIM (Universal Subscriber Identity Module). Taking the relay device as a terminal as an example, the terminal may include a mobile equipment ME. The Cu interface is an electrical interface between the USIM card and the ME. The maximum number of hops may be configured in the ME, the USIM, or both the ME and the USIM.

[0150] Exemplarily, the maximum number of hops is directly configured on the ME of the terminal device, and the relay device obtains the maximum number of hops from the mobile device ME; optionally, the ME may include one or more mobile terminals (MTs) and terminal equipment (TEs) components.

[0151] Step 404: When a discovery request message is received, if it is determined that the current hop count of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum hop count, the discovery request message is discarded; wherein the maximum hop count is used to indicate the hop count limit for propagating the discovery request message in a multi-hop network.

[0152] Specifically, when receiving a discovery request message, the relay device determines whether the current hop count of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum hop count, and then chooses whether to discard the discovery request message. The process is the same as the implementation process of step 202, that is, step 402 can refer to step 202. For the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated later.

[0153] In the above communication method, the maximum number of hops can be configured to the relay device through the core network device, or can be directly pre-set as a parameter in the relay device, so that the relay device can establish a route according to the maximum number of hops when performing multi-hop services.

[0154] In one embodiment, the first core network device is an access control and mobility management function (AMF) entity; the maximum number of hops is included in a UE policy container sent by the second core network device to the AMF entity; as shown in FIG7 , step 402 may include:

[0155] Step 502: Receive the UE policy container sent by the AMF entity through the non-access layer NAS message, perform configuration update, and generate a configuration update completion message for sending to the AMF entity.

[0156] Specifically, the maximum number of hops can be configured in the relay device by triggering the user equipment UE configuration update (Update UE Policy) process. The maximum number of hops is contained in the UE policy container (UE policy container) sent by the second core network device to the AMF entity. Specifically, when the UE configuration update is completed, the relay device generates a configuration update completion message. Further, the relay device can send a configuration update completion message to the AMF entity; illustratively, the configuration update completion message can represent the UE policy update result (Result of the delivery of UE policies).

[0157] For example, during the registration process or switching process of the relay device, the AMF entity instructs the second core network device to obtain the maximum number of hops by triggering the terminal policy association establishment request (UE Policy Association establishment) process, and encapsulates the maximum number of hops as a parameter in the UE policy container and sends it to the AMF entity.

[0158] Optionally, during the UE configuration update process, the AMF entity can transmit UE policies (Delivery of UE policies). For example, the AMF entity initiates a network triggered service request (Network Triggered Service Request), and the AMF entity can send the UE policy container to the relay device through the non-access layer NAS (Non-Access-Stratum) message, and then the relay device can update the policy configuration parameters.

[0159] In one embodiment, the second core network device is a policy control function PCF entity; the UE policy container is the subscription information including the maximum number of hops obtained by the PCF entity from the unified data repository function UDR (Unified Data Repository), and is encapsulated by the PCF entity.

[0160] Specifically, the maximum number of hops can be configured to the relay device through the PCF entity; wherein, when the AMF entity triggers the terminal policy association establishment request process, the PCF entity can obtain the policy subscription information from the UDR, which may include a hop limit parameter indicating the maximum number of hops in a multi-hop network, and encapsulate it in the UE policy container.

[0161] In the above communication method, during the registration process or switching process of the relay device, the PCF entity sends the hop limit parameter to the AMF entity, and the AMF entity further sends it to the relay device through the UE configuration update process, or it can be directly configured on the ME or UICC of the relay device. Then, when the relay device performs multi-hop services, it can establish routing according to the maximum hop limit.

[0162] In one embodiment, FIG8 provides a signaling interaction flow chart for a relay device to obtain a maximum hop count. As shown in FIG8 , the relay device may obtain the maximum hop count by the following steps:

[0163] The PCF entity triggers the UE policy update (PCF decides to update UE Policy), the PCF entity sends an N1N2 message (Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer) to the AMF entity, transfers the UE policy container, and then the AMF entity initiates a network triggered service request (Network Triggered Service Request) to transfer the UE policy (Delivery of UE policies), for example, by sending the UE policy container to the relay device (UE) through a non-access stratum NAS message;

[0164] The relay device updates the policy configuration parameters and feeds back the UE policy update result (Result of the delivery of UE policies) to the AMF entity, and then the AMF entity uses N1 messages, such as Namf Communication N1 message notification (Namf_Communication_N1MessageNotify) to forward the response of the relay device to the PCF entity, and the PCF entity receives the response.

[0165] In one embodiment, as shown in FIG9 , a capability indication method is provided. The method is described by taking the application of the method to the core network device in FIG1 as an example, and includes the following steps:

[0166] Step 602: Receive first information from a second core network device; the first information indicates a maximum number of hops for propagating a discovery request message in a multi-hop network;

[0167] Specifically, the first core network device receives first information from the second core network device, where the first information may be used to indicate a maximum number of hops, where the maximum number of hops is used to indicate a hop limit for propagating a discovery request message in a multi-hop network.

[0168] When the second core network device obtains the maximum number of hops, it sends the maximum number of hops to the first core network device through the first information, so that the first core network device can configure the maximum number of hops in the relay device.

[0169] Step 604: send the maximum hop count to the relay device in the multi-hop network according to the first information; the maximum hop count is used to instruct the relay device to discard the discovery request message when receiving the discovery request message and determining that the current hop count of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum hop count.

[0170] Specifically, the first core network device can send the maximum number of hops to the relay device in the multi-hop network based on the first information. When receiving the discovery request message, if the relay device determines that the current hop number of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum hop number, it will discard the discovery request message.

[0171] It can be understood that when the discovery request message is received in step 604, the relay device determines whether the current hop count of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum hop count, and then chooses whether to discard the discovery request message. The process is the same as the implementation process of step 202, that is, the corresponding content in step 604 can be found in step 202. For the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated later.

[0172] In the above-mentioned capability indication method, the second core network device sends the maximum number of hops to the first core network device, and the first core network device sends the maximum number of hops to the relay device. Then, when the relay device performs multi-hop services, it can establish routing according to the maximum number of hops limit. Among them, the maximum number of hops is flexibly configured, and the number of hops can be controlled in the multi-hop network, which can improve the stability of the multi-hop network and facilitate network maintenance.

[0173] In one embodiment, the first core network device is an access control and mobility management function (AMF) entity; the first information includes an N1N2 message; the maximum number of hops is included in a UE policy container; as shown in FIG10 , step 604 includes:

[0174] Step 710: In response to receiving the UE policy container sent by the second core network device through the N1N2 message, initiate a network triggered service request;

[0175] Specifically, the second core network device can send an N1N2 message to the AMF entity to send the UE policy container to the AMF entity, and the maximum number of hops is included in the UE policy container; when receiving the N1N2 message sent by the second core network device, the AMF entity can obtain the maximum number of hops and then initiate a network triggered service request.

[0176] Exemplarily, the N1N2 message may be a Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer message.

[0177] Step 720: Send the UE policy container to the relay device via a non-access stratum (NAS) message. The UE policy container is used to instruct the relay device to perform a configuration update and to feed back a configuration update completion message.

[0178] Specifically, after the AMF entity initiates a network-triggered service request, it can send the UE policy container to the relay device through a non-access layer NAS message to instruct the relay device to update the configuration and feedback a configuration update completion message.

[0179] Among them, when the UE configuration update is completed, the relay device sends a configuration update completion message to the AMF entity; exemplarily, the configuration update completion message may represent the UE policy update result (Result of the delivery of UE policies).

[0180] Optionally, the method may further include:

[0181] The configuration update completion message is sent to the second core network device through the N1 message.

[0182] Specifically, the relay device sends a configuration update completion message to the AMF entity. The configuration update completion message serves as a response from the relay device and is used to feedback the UE policy update result (Result of the delivery of UE policies) to the AMF entity. The AMF entity can then use the N1 message, for example, Namf Communication N1 message notification (Namf_Communication_N1MessageNotify) to forward the response of the relay device to the second core network device, and the second core network device receives the response.

[0183] In one embodiment, the second core network device is a policy control function PCF entity; the UE policy container is the subscription information including the maximum number of hops obtained by the PCF entity from the unified data repository function UDR, and is encapsulated by the PCF entity.

[0184] Specifically, the PCF entity can configure the maximum number of hops to the relay device. When the AMF entity triggers the terminal policy association establishment request process, the PCF entity can obtain the policy subscription information from the unified data repository function UDR. The subscription information may include a hop limit parameter indicating the maximum number of hops in a multi-hop network. The PCF entity can encapsulate the hop limit parameter in the UE policy container.

[0185] In one embodiment, the method may further include:

[0186] The PCF entity sends second information, where the second information is used to instruct the PCF entity to obtain the UE policy container after executing the user equipment UE policy association establishment process and feeding back response information.

[0187] Specifically, during the registration process or the switching process, the AMF entity can trigger the terminal policy association establishment request (UE Policy Association establishment) process to establish a terminal policy association (Decision to establish UE Policy Association).

[0188] Among them, the AMF entity sends the second information to the PCF entity to instruct the PCF entity to obtain the UE policy container after executing the user equipment UE policy association establishment process and feeding back the response information.

[0189] In one embodiment, the PCF entity is a home policy control function H-PCF entity; the second information includes a policy control request message; the response information includes a policy control response message; and sending the second information to the PCF entity includes:

[0190] Send a policy control request message to the H-PCF entity; the policy control request message is used to instruct the H-PCF entity to feedback a policy control response message and obtain the UE policy container.

[0191] Specifically, when the relay device is in the home public land mobile network HPLMN (Home Public Land Mobile Network), the PCF entity is the home policy control function H-PCF (home-PCF) entity, and the AMF entity initiates a UE Policy Control Create request and sends the policy control request message to the H-PCF entity.

[0192] Exemplarily, the policy control request message may be a user policy association establishment request message, such as an Npcf_UEPolicyControl_Create Request message.

[0193] After receiving the policy control request message, the H-PCF entity may feedback a UE Policy Control Create Response to the AMF entity and send the policy control response message to the AMF entity. Optionally, the policy control response message is an Npcf_UEPolicyControl_Create Response message.

[0194] Furthermore, the H-PCF entity can obtain the UE policy container and send the UE policy container to the AMF entity through the N1N2 message (Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer), and then the AMF entity sends the UE policy container to the relay device through the non-access layer NAS message. Among them, the H-PCF entity obtains the policy subscription information from the unified data repository function UDR. The subscription information may include a hop limit parameter indicating the maximum number of hops in a multi-hop network. The H-PCF entity encapsulates the hop limit parameter in the UE policy container.

[0195] In one embodiment, the PCF entity is a roaming policy control function V-PCF entity; the second information includes a policy control request message; and the response information includes a policy control response message;

[0196] The PCF entity sends the second information including:

[0197] The policy control request message is sent to the home policy control function H-PCF entity through the V-PCF entity; the policy control request message is used to instruct the H-PCF entity to feed back the policy control response message to the AMF entity through the V-PCF entity, and send the UE policy container to the V-PCF entity through the policy control update request message; the policy control update request message is used to instruct the V-PCF entity to feed back the policy control update response message to the H-PCF entity.

[0198] Specifically, when the relay device is in a roaming public land mobile network VPLMN (Visited Public Land Mobile Network), the PCF entity is a roaming policy control function V-PCF (Visited-PCF) entity.

[0199] The AMF entity initiates a UE Policy Control Create request and sends the policy control request message to the V-PCF entity. The V-PCF entity initiates a UE Policy Control Create request to the home policy control function H-PCF entity to send the policy control request message to the H-PCF entity. Exemplarily, the policy control request message may be a user policy association establishment request message, such as an Npcf_UEPolicyControl_Create Request message.

[0200] Among them, the policy control request message is used to instruct the H-PCF entity to send a UE policy control create (UE Policy Control Create Response) response to the V-PCF entity, and the V-PCF entity sends the UE policy control create response to the AMF entity. Optionally, the H-PCF entity feeds back the policy control response message to the V-PCF entity, and the V-PCF entity feeds back the policy control response message to the AMF entity. Exemplarily, the policy control response message is the Npcf_UEPolicyControl_Create Response message.

[0201] Furthermore, the policy control request message is used to instruct the H-PCF entity to send the UE policy container to the V-PCF entity through a UE policy control update notification request (UE Policy Control Update Notify Request), and the V-PCF entity can send a UE policy control update notification response (UE Policy Control Update Notify Response) to the H-PCF entity; wherein, after obtaining the UE policy container, the H-PCF entity can send the UE policy container to the V-PCF entity through a policy control update request message; the policy control update request message can be used to instruct the V-PCF entity to feedback a policy control update response message to the H-PCF entity.

[0202] Exemplarily, the policy control update request message is an Npcf_UEPolicyControl_UpdateNotify Request message; and the policy control update response message is an Npcf_UEPolicyControl_UpdateNotify Response message.

[0203] After obtaining the UE policy container, the V-PCF entity can send the UE policy container to the AMF entity through the N1N2 message (Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer), and then the AMF entity can send the UE policy container to the relay device through the non-access layer NAS message.

[0204] In the above-mentioned capability indication method, the PCF entity sends the hop limit parameter to the AMF entity, and the AMF entity further sends the maximum hop number to the relay device through the UE configuration update process. Then, when the relay device performs multi-hop services, it can establish routes according to the maximum hop limit, and does not allow the establishment of multi-hop routes exceeding the maximum hop number. Among them, through the flexible configuration of the maximum hop number, the hop number can be controlled in the multi-hop network, which can improve the stability of the multi-hop network and facilitate network maintenance.

[0205] In one embodiment, as shown in FIG11 , a capability indication method is provided. The method is described by taking the application of the method to the core network device in FIG1 as an example, including the following steps:

[0206] Step 802, sending first information to the first core network device; the first information indicates the maximum number of hops limited for the discovery request message to propagate in the multi-hop network; wherein, the first information is used to instruct the first core network device to send the maximum number of hops to the relay device in the multi-hop network; the maximum number of hops is used to instruct the relay device to discard the discovery request message when it receives the discovery request message, if it is determined that the current number of hops of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum number of hops.

[0207] Specifically, the second core network device sends first information to the first core network device. The first information can be used to indicate a maximum number of hops, where the maximum number of hops is used to indicate a hop limit for propagating a discovery request message in a multi-hop network.

[0208] The second core network device may obtain the maximum hop count and, if the maximum hop count is obtained, send the maximum hop count to the first core network device via the first information, thereby configuring the maximum hop count in the relay device. Upon receiving a discovery request message, if the relay device determines that the current hop count of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum hop count, the relay device discards the discovery request message.

[0209] It can be understood that when the discovery request message is received in step 802, the relay device determines whether the current hop count of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum hop count, and then chooses whether to discard the discovery request message. The process is the same as the implementation process of step 202, that is, the corresponding content in step 802 can be found in step 202. For the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated later.

[0210] In the above-mentioned capability indication method, the second core network device sends the maximum number of hops to the first core network device, and the first core network device sends the maximum number of hops to the relay device. Then, when the relay device performs multi-hop services, it can establish routing according to the maximum number of hops limit. The maximum number of hops can be flexibly configured, and the number of hops can be controlled in the multi-hop network, which can improve the stability of the multi-hop network and facilitate network maintenance.

[0211] In one embodiment, the first core network device is an access control and mobility management function (AMF) entity; the first information includes an N1N2 message; the maximum number of hops is included in a UE policy container; and step 802 includes:

[0212] The UE policy container is sent to the AMF entity through the N1N2 message; the N1N2 message is used to instruct the AMF entity to initiate a network-triggered service request and send the UE policy container to the relay device through the non-access layer NAS message; the UE policy container is used to instruct the relay device to update the configuration and feedback the configuration update completion message.

[0213] Specifically, the second core network device can send an N1N2 message to the AMF entity to send the UE policy container to the AMF entity, and the maximum number of hops is included in the UE policy container; when the AMF entity obtains the maximum number of hops through the received N1N2 message, it initiates a network triggered service request. Exemplarily, the N1N2 message can be a Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer message.

[0214] Furthermore, after the AMF entity initiates a network-triggered service request, it can send the UE policy container to the relay device through a non-access layer NAS message to instruct the relay device to perform a configuration update and feedback a configuration update completion message. When the UE configuration update is completed, the relay device sends a configuration update completion message to the AMF entity; illustratively, the configuration update completion message may indicate the UE policy update result (Result of the delivery of UE policies).

[0215] In one embodiment, the method may further include:

[0216] Receive the configuration update complete message sent by the AMF entity through the N1 message.

[0217] Specifically, the relay device sends a configuration update completion message to the AMF entity. The configuration update completion message, as the response of the relay device, can be used to feedback the UE policy update result (Result of the delivery of UE policies) to the AMF entity, and then the AMF entity can use the N1 message, for example, Namf communication N1 message notification (Namf_Communication_N1MessageNotify) to forward the response of the relay device to the second core network device, so that the second core network device can receive the response.

[0218] In one embodiment, the second core network device is a policy control function PCF entity; the method for obtaining the UE policy container includes:

[0219] Obtain contract information including the maximum number of hops from the unified data warehouse function UDR;

[0220] Encapsulate the subscription information in the UE policy container.

[0221] Specifically, the PCF entity can configure the maximum number of hops to the relay device. When the AMF entity triggers the terminal policy association establishment request process, the PCF entity can obtain the policy subscription information from the unified data repository function UDR. The subscription information may include a hop limit parameter indicating the maximum number of hops in a multi-hop network. The PCF entity can encapsulate the hop limit parameter in the UE policy container.

[0222] Among them, when the relay device is in the home public land mobile network HPLMN, the PCF entity is the home policy control function H-PCF entity, and the UE policy container is obtained by the H-PCF entity; when the relay device is in the roaming public land mobile network VPLMN, the PCF entity is the roaming policy control function V-PCF entity, and the UE policy container can be obtained through the H-PCF entity, and then the H-PCF entity transmits the obtained UE policy container to the V-PCF entity.

[0223] In one embodiment, the method may further include:

[0224] receiving a second message sent by the AMF entity;

[0225] According to the second information, after executing the user equipment UE policy association establishment process and feeding back response information, the UE policy container is obtained.

[0226] Specifically, during the registration process or the switching process, the AMF entity can trigger the terminal policy association establishment request (UE Policy Association establishment) process to establish a terminal policy association (Decision to establish UE Policy Association).

[0227] Among them, the PCF entity receives the second information sent by the AMF entity, and then the PCF entity can complete the user equipment UE policy association establishment process and feedback response information, and then obtain the UE policy container.

[0228] In one embodiment, the PCF entity is a Home Policy Control Function H-PCF entity; the second information includes a policy control request message; the response message includes a policy control response message;

[0229] According to the second information, after executing the user equipment UE policy association establishment process and feeding back the response message and then feeding back the response information, obtaining the UE policy container includes:

[0230] Receive the policy control request message sent by the AMF entity;

[0231] Send a policy control response message to the AMF entity and obtain the UE policy container.

[0232] Specifically, when the relay device is in the home public land mobile network HPLMN, the PCF entity is the home policy control function H-PCF entity, the AMF entity initiates a UE policy control create (UE Policy Control Create) request, and the H-PCF entity receives the policy control request message sent by the AMF entity.

[0233] Exemplarily, the policy control request message may be a user policy association establishment request message, such as an Npcf_UEPolicyControl_Create Request message.

[0234] After receiving the policy control request message, the H-PCF entity feeds back a UE Policy Control Create Response to the AMF entity and sends the policy control response message to the AMF entity. Optionally, the policy control response message is an Npcf_UEPolicyControl_Create Response message.

[0235] In one embodiment, the PCF entity is a roaming policy control function V-PCF entity; the second information includes a policy control request message; and the response information includes a policy control response message;

[0236] According to the second information, after executing the user equipment UE policy association establishment process and feeding back the response information, obtaining the UE policy container includes:

[0237] Receive the policy control request message sent by the AMF entity and send the policy control request message to the home policy control function H-PCF entity; the policy control request message is used to instruct the H-PCF entity to feedback the policy control response message and obtain the UE policy container;

[0238] Receive the policy control response message sent by the H-PCF entity and send the policy control response message to the AMF entity;

[0239] Receive a policy control update request message sent by the H-PCF entity, and send a policy control update response message to the H-PCF entity; the policy control update request message carries a UE policy container.

[0240] Specifically, when the relay device is in a roaming public land mobile network VPLMN, the PCF entity is a roaming policy control function V-PCF entity.

[0241] Among them, the AMF entity initiates a UE policy control create (UE Policy Control Create) request, the V-PCF entity receives the policy control request message sent by the AMF entity, and then the V-PCF entity can initiate a UE policy control create (UE Policy Control Create) request to the home policy control function H-PCF entity and send the policy control request message to the H-PCF entity; exemplarily, the policy control request message can be a user policy association establishment request message, such as the Npcf_UEPolicyControl_Create Request message.

[0242] Furthermore, the V-PCF entity receives the UE Policy Control Create Response (UE Policy Control Create Response) response sent by the H-PCF entity, and the V-PCF entity sends the UE Policy Control Create Response to the AMF entity, wherein the H-PCF entity feeds back the policy control response message to the V-PCF entity, and the V-PCF entity feeds back the policy control response message to the AMF entity. Exemplarily, the policy control response message is the Npcf_UEPolicyControl_Create Response message.

[0243] Based on the policy control request message, the H-PCF entity sends the UE policy container to the V-PCF entity through the UE Policy Control Update Notify Request, and the V-PCF entity sends the UE Policy Control Update Notify Response to the H-PCF entity; after obtaining the UE policy container, the H-PCF entity can send the UE policy container to the V-PCF entity through the Policy Control Update Request message; based on the Policy Control Update Request message, the V-PCF entity feeds back a Policy Control Update Response message to the H-PCF entity.

[0244] Exemplarily, the policy control update request message is an Npcf_UEPolicyControl_UpdateNotify Request message; and the policy control update response message is an Npcf_UEPolicyControl_UpdateNotify Response message.

[0245] After obtaining the UE policy container, the V-PCF entity can send the UE policy container to the AMF entity through the N1N2 message (Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer), and then the AMF entity can send the UE policy container to the relay device through the non-access layer NAS message.

[0246] In the above-mentioned capability indication method, the PCF entity sends the hop limit parameter to the AMF entity, and the AMF entity sends the maximum hop number to the relay device through the UE configuration update process; when the relay device performs multi-hop services, it can establish routes according to the maximum hop limit, and does not allow the establishment of multi-hop routes exceeding the maximum hop number; wherein, through the flexible configuration of the maximum hop number, the hop number can be controlled in the multi-hop network, which can improve the stability of the multi-hop network and facilitate network maintenance.

[0247] In one embodiment, FIG12 provides a flow chart of signaling interaction between an AMF entity and a PCF entity. As shown in FIG12 , the following steps may be included:

[0248] ① During the registration process or handover process, the AMF entity triggers the terminal policy association establishment request (UE Policy Association establishment) process and establishes the terminal policy association (Decision to establish UE Policy Association).

[0249] ② If it is roaming, the AMF entity initiates a UE Policy Control Create request to the V-PCF and sends the policy control request message (Npcf_UEPolicyControl_Create Request) to the V-PCF entity. If it is not roaming, the AMF entity directly sends the policy control request message (Npcf_UEPolicyControl_Create Request) to the H-PCF entity.

[0250] ③ If it is roaming, the V-PCF entity initiates a UE Policy Control Create request to the H-PCF entity, and the V-PCF entity sends a policy control request message (Npcf_UEPolicyControl_Create Request) to the H-PCF entity.

[0251] ④ The H-PCF entity feeds back a UE policy control create (UE Policy Control Create Response) response to the V-PCF entity, and sends a policy control response message (Npcf_UEPolicyControl_Create Response) to the V-PCF entity.

[0252] ⑤The V-PCF entity feeds back the UE Policy Control Create Response response to the AMF entity and sends the policy control response message (Npcf_UEPolicyControl_Create Response) to the AMF entity.

[0253] ⑥ The H-PCF entity obtains policy subscription information from the unified data repository (UDR), including the hop limit parameter indicating the maximum number of hops in a multi-hop network, and encapsulates it in a UE policy container. It then sends it to the V-PCF entity via a UE Policy Control Update Notify Request. The H-PCF entity sends the UE policy container to the V-PCF entity via a policy control update request message (Npcf_UEPolicyControl_UpdateNotify Request).

[0254] ⑦ The V-PCF entity sends a UE policy control update notification response (UE Policy Control Update Notify Response) to the H-PCF entity; wherein, the V-PCF entity feeds back a policy control update response message (Npcf_UEPolicyControl_UpdateNotify Response) to the H-PCF entity.

[0255] ⑧AMF entity triggers the UE configuration update procedure (UE Configration Update procedure); during the UE configuration update process, the PCF entity (V-PCF entity or H-PCF entity) sends an N1N2 message (Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer) to the AMF entity to transmit the UE policy container; AMF sends the UE policy container to the relay device (UE) through a NAS message, including the hop limit parameter, and the relay device updates the policy configuration parameters to obtain the maximum hop count.

[0256] ⑨ The relay device feeds back the UE policy update result to the AMF entity, and the AMF entity forwards the response of the relay device to the PCF entity through the Namf communication N1 message notification (Namf_Communication_N1MessageNotify); among them, the V-PCF entity can send a policy control update request (Npcf_UEPolicyControl_Update Request) to the H-PCF entity after obtaining the response of the relay device.

[0257] ⑩The H-PCF entity sends a policy control update response (Npcf_UEPolicyControl_Update Response) to the V-PCF entity.

[0258] It should be understood that, although the various steps in the flowcharts of Figures 1-12 are shown in sequence as indicated by the arrows, these steps are not necessarily performed in sequence in the order indicated by the arrows. Unless otherwise specified herein, there is no strict order restriction on the execution of these steps, and these steps can be performed in other orders. Moreover, although at least a portion of the steps in Figures 1-12 may include multiple steps or multiple stages, these steps or stages are not necessarily performed at the same time, but can be performed at different times, and the execution order of these steps or stages is not necessarily to be performed in sequence, but can be performed in turn or alternately with other steps or at least a portion of steps or stages in other steps.

[0259] In one embodiment, as shown in FIG13 , a communication device is provided, which is applied to a relay device in a multi-hop network. The device includes:

[0260] The message discarding module 901 is used to discard the discovery request message when receiving the discovery request message if it is determined that the current hop count of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum hop count; wherein the maximum hop count is used to indicate the hop count limit for the discovery request message to propagate in a multi-hop network.

[0261] In one embodiment, the maximum hop count is used to indicate the hop count limit of available relays for the discovery request message; the message discarding module 901 includes:

[0262] An identification number acquisition module, used to obtain the number of identifications of relay devices in the candidate relay list of the discovery request message;

[0263] The determination module is configured to determine whether the current hop count of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum hop count if the number of identifiers is greater than or equal to the maximum hop count.

[0264] In one embodiment, the discovery request message comprises a broadcast message.

[0265] In one embodiment, the relay device is a UE to UE U2U relay device or a UE to network U2N relay device; the discovery request message is a UE to UE U2U relay discovery request message or a UE to network U2N relay discovery request message.

[0266] In one embodiment, the apparatus further comprises:

[0267] The hop count acquisition module is used to obtain the maximum hop count; wherein the maximum hop count is sent by the first core network device, or the maximum hop count is pre-set in the relay device.

[0268] In one embodiment, the hop count acquisition module is configured to obtain the maximum hop count from a universal integrated circuit card UICC or a mobile equipment ME.

[0269] In one embodiment, the first core network device is an access control and mobility management function (AMF) entity; the maximum number of hops is included in a UE policy container sent by the second core network device to the AMF entity;

[0270] The hop count acquisition module includes:

[0271] The configuration update module is used to receive the UE policy container sent by the AMF entity through the non-access layer NAS message, perform configuration update, and generate a configuration update completion message for sending to the AMF entity.

[0272] In one of the embodiments, the second core network device is a policy control function PCF entity; the UE policy container is the subscription information including the maximum number of hops obtained by the PCF entity from the unified data repository function UDR, and is encapsulated by the PCF entity.

[0273] For the specific definition of the communication device, please refer to the definition of the communication method above and will not be repeated here. Each module in the above-mentioned communication device can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, or a combination thereof. Each of the above-mentioned modules can be embedded in or independent of the processor in the computer device in hardware form, or can be stored in the memory of the computer device in software form, so that the processor can call and execute the corresponding operations of each of the above modules.

[0274] In one embodiment, as shown in FIG14 , a capability indication device is provided, which is applied to a first core network device and includes:

[0275] The information receiving module 1001 is configured to receive first information from a second core network device; the first information indicates a maximum number of hops for propagating a discovery request message in a multi-hop network;

[0276] The hop count sending module 1002 is used to send the maximum hop count to the relay device in the multi-hop network according to the first information; the maximum hop count is used to instruct the relay device to discard the discovery request message when it receives the discovery request message and determines that the current hop count of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum hop count.

[0277] In one embodiment, the first core network device is an access control and mobility management function AMF entity; the first information includes an N1N2 message; the maximum number of hops is included in a UE policy container;

[0278] The hop count sending module 1002 includes:

[0279] A service triggering module, configured to initiate a network triggered service request in response to receiving a UE policy container sent by the second core network device through an N1N2 message;

[0280] The policy sending module is used to send the UE policy container to the relay device through the non-access layer NAS message; the UE policy container is used to instruct the relay device to update the configuration and feedback the configuration update completion message.

[0281] In one embodiment, the apparatus further comprises:

[0282] The update message sending module is used to send the configuration update completion message to the second core network device through the N1 message.

[0283] In one of the embodiments, the second core network device is a policy control function PCF entity; the UE policy container is the subscription information including the maximum number of hops obtained by the PCF entity from the unified data repository function UDR, and is encapsulated by the PCF entity.

[0284] In one embodiment, the apparatus further comprises:

[0285] The policy acquisition module is used to send second information to the PCF entity, where the second information is used to instruct the PCF entity to obtain the UE policy container after executing the user equipment UE policy association establishment process and feeding back response information.

[0286] In one embodiment, the PCF entity is a home policy control function H-PCF entity; the second information includes a policy control request message; and the response information includes a policy control response message;

[0287] The policy acquisition module is used to send a policy control request message to the H-PCF entity; the policy control request message is used to instruct the H-PCF entity to feed back a policy control response message and obtain the UE policy container.

[0288] In one embodiment, the PCF entity is a roaming policy control function V-PCF entity; the second information includes a policy control request message; and the response information includes a policy control response message;

[0289] The policy module is used to send a policy control request message to the home policy control function H-PCF entity through the V-PCF entity; the policy control request message is used to instruct the H-PCF entity to feed back the policy control response message to the AMF entity through the V-PCF entity, and send the UE policy container to the V-PCF entity through the policy control update request message; the policy control update request message is used to instruct the V-PCF entity to feed back the policy control update response message to the H-PCF entity.

[0290] For the specific definition of the capability indication device, please refer to the definition of the capability indication method above and will not be repeated here. The various modules in the above-mentioned capability indication device can be implemented in whole or in part through software, hardware, or a combination thereof. The above-mentioned modules can be embedded in or independent of the processor in the computer device in hardware form, or can be stored in the memory of the computer device in software form, so that the processor can call and execute the corresponding operations of the above-mentioned modules.

[0291] In one embodiment, as shown in FIG15 , a capability indication device is provided, which is applied to a second core network device. The device includes:

[0292] The information sending module 1101 is configured to send first information to the first core network device; the first information indicates a maximum number of hops for propagating a discovery request message in a multi-hop network;

[0293] Among them, the first information is used to instruct the first core network device to send the maximum number of hops to the relay device in the multi-hop network; the maximum number of hops is used to instruct the relay device to discard the discovery request message when it receives the discovery request message, if it is determined that the current number of hops of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum number of hops.

[0294] In one embodiment, the first core network device is an access control and mobility management function AMF entity; the first information includes an N1N2 message; the maximum number of hops is included in a UE policy container;

[0295] The information sending module 1101 includes:

[0296] The policy transmission module is used to send the UE policy container to the AMF entity through the N1N2 message; the N1N2 message is used to instruct the AMF entity to initiate a network triggered service request and send the UE policy container to the relay device through the non-access layer NAS message; the UE policy container is used to instruct the relay device to update the configuration and feedback the configuration update completion message.

[0297] In one embodiment, the apparatus further comprises:

[0298] The update completion receiving module is used to receive the configuration update completion message sent by the AMF entity through the N1 message.

[0299] In one embodiment, the second core network device is a policy control function PCF entity; the apparatus further includes:

[0300] The contract information acquisition module is used to obtain the contract information including the maximum number of hops from the unified data storage function UDR;

[0301] The encapsulation module is used to encapsulate the subscription information in the UE policy container.

[0302] In one embodiment, the apparatus further comprises:

[0303] An information acquisition module, configured to receive second information sent by the AMF entity;

[0304] The policy container acquisition module is configured to acquire the UE policy container according to the second information after executing the UE policy association establishment process and feeding back response information.

[0305] In one embodiment, the PCF entity is a home policy control function H-PCF entity; the second information includes a policy control request message; the response message includes a policy control response message;

[0306] The policy container acquisition module is used to receive the policy control request message sent by the AMF entity; and send a policy control response message to the AMF entity and obtain the UE policy container.

[0307] In one embodiment, the PCF entity is a roaming policy control function V-PCF entity; the second information includes a policy control request message; and the response information includes a policy control response message;

[0308] The policy container acquisition module is used to receive the policy control request message sent by the AMF entity and send the policy control request message to the home policy control function H-PCF entity; the policy control request message is used to instruct the H-PCF entity to feedback the policy control response message and obtain the UE policy container; receive the policy control response message sent by the H-PCF entity, and the V-PCF entity sends the policy control response message to the AMF entity; and receive the policy control update request message sent by the H-PCF entity and send the policy control update response message to the H-PCF entity; the policy control update request message carries the UE policy container.

[0309] For the specific definition of the capability indication device, please refer to the definition of the capability indication method above and will not be repeated here. The various modules in the above-mentioned capability indication device can be implemented in whole or in part through software, hardware, or a combination thereof. The above-mentioned modules can be embedded in or independent of the processor in the computer device in hardware form, or can be stored in the memory of the computer device in software form, so that the processor can call and execute the corresponding operations of the above-mentioned modules.

[0310] In one embodiment, a relay device is provided, which may be a terminal device, see FIG16 . FIG16 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal device provided in an embodiment of the present invention. The terminal device 700 shown in FIG16 includes: at least one processor 701, a memory 702, at least one network interface 704, and a user interface 703. The various components in the terminal device 700 are coupled together via a bus system 705. It can be understood that the bus system 705 is used to achieve connection and communication between these components. In addition to the data bus, the bus system 705 also includes a power bus, a control bus, and a status signal bus. However, for the sake of clarity, various buses are labeled as bus systems 705 in FIG16 . In addition, in an embodiment of the present invention, a transceiver 706 is also included. The transceiver may be a plurality of components, namely, a transmitter and a receiver, providing a unit for communicating with various other devices on a transmission medium.

[0311] The user interface 703 may include a display, a keyboard, or a pointing device (eg, a mouse, a trackball, a touchpad, or a touch screen).

[0312] It is understood that the memory 702 in the embodiment of the present invention can be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or can include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory can be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory can be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDRSDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct RAM bus random access memory (DRRAM). The memory 702 of the systems and methods described in the embodiments of the present invention is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0313] In some embodiments, the memory 702 stores the following elements, executable modules or data structures, or a subset thereof, or an extended set thereof: an operating system 7021 and application programs 7022 .

[0314] The operating system 7021 includes various system programs, such as a framework layer, a core library layer, and a driver layer, for implementing various basic services and handling hardware-based tasks. Application programs 7022 include various application programs, such as a media player and a browser, for implementing various application services. Programs implementing the methods of the embodiments of the present invention may be included in application programs 7022.

[0315] In an embodiment of the present invention, by calling the program or instructions stored in the memory 702, specifically, the program or instructions stored in the application 7022, the processor is used to discard the discovery request message when receiving the discovery request message, if it is determined that the current hop number of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum hop number; wherein the maximum hop number is used to indicate the hop limit for the discovery request message to propagate in a multi-hop network.

[0316] In one embodiment, the processor 701 is used to discard the discovery request message when receiving a discovery request message through a receiver if it is determined that the current hop number of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum hop number; wherein the maximum hop number is used to indicate the hop limit for the discovery request message to propagate in a multi-hop network.

[0317] In one embodiment, the maximum number of hops is used to indicate the hop limit of available relays for the discovery request message; the processor 701 is also used to obtain the number of identifiers of relay devices in the candidate relay list of the discovery request message; if the number of identifiers is greater than or equal to the maximum number of hops, it is determined that the current number of hops of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum number of hops.

[0318] In one embodiment, the discovery request message comprises a broadcast message.

[0319] In one embodiment, the relay device is a user equipment to user equipment U2U relay device or a user equipment to network U2N relay device; the discovery request message is a user equipment to user equipment U2U relay discovery request message or a user equipment to network U2N relay discovery request message.

[0320] In one embodiment, the processor 701 is further configured to obtain a maximum number of hops; wherein the maximum number of hops is sent by the first core network device, or the maximum number of hops is pre-set in the relay device.

[0321] In one embodiment, the processor 701 is further configured to obtain a maximum number of hops from a universal integrated circuit card UICC or a mobile equipment ME.

[0322] In one embodiment, the first core network device is an access control and mobility management function AMF entity; the maximum number of hops is included in a UE policy container sent by the second core network device to the AMF entity; the processor 701 is also used to receive the UE policy container sent by the AMF entity through a non-access layer NAS message, perform a configuration update, and generate a configuration update completion message for sending to the AMF entity.

[0323] In one embodiment, the second core network device is a policy control function PCF entity; the UE policy container is the subscription information including the maximum number of hops obtained by the PCF entity from the unified data repository function UDR, and is encapsulated by the PCF entity.

[0324] Some or all of the methods disclosed in the above embodiments of the present invention may also be applied to the processor 701, or implemented by the processor 701, or implemented by the processor 701 in conjunction with other components (e.g., a transceiver). The processor 701 may be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. During implementation, each step of the above method may be performed by hardware integrated logic circuits in the processor 701 or by software instructions. The processor 701 may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, or discrete hardware component. The methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present invention may be implemented or executed. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the methods disclosed in conjunction with the embodiments of the present invention may be directly implemented and executed by a hardware decoding processor, or by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module can be located in a storage medium well-known in the art, such as random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, etc. The storage medium is located in memory 702, and processor 701 reads the information in memory 702 and performs the steps of the above method in conjunction with its hardware.

[0325] It is understood that the embodiments described in the embodiments of the present invention can be implemented using hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode, or a combination thereof. For hardware implementation, the processing unit can be implemented in one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), general-purpose processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, other electronic units for performing the functions described in this application, or a combination thereof.

[0326] For software implementation, the techniques described in the embodiments of the present invention can be implemented through modules (e.g., procedures, functions, etc.) that perform the functions described in the embodiments of the present invention. The software code can be stored in a memory and executed by the processor 701. The memory can be implemented in the processor 701 or external to the processor 701.

[0327] In one embodiment, the maximum number of hops is used to indicate the hop limit of available relays for a discovery request message; a processor is used to obtain the number of identifiers of relay devices in a candidate relay list for the discovery request message; if the number of identifiers is greater than or equal to the maximum number of hops, it is determined that the current number of hops of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum number of hops.

[0328] In one embodiment, the discovery request message comprises a broadcast message.

[0329] In one embodiment, the relay device is a user equipment to user equipment U2U relay device or a user equipment to network U2N relay device; the discovery request message is a user equipment to user equipment U2U relay discovery request message or a user equipment to network U2N relay discovery request message.

[0330] In one embodiment, the processor is further configured to obtain a maximum number of hops; wherein the maximum number of hops is sent by the first core network device, or the maximum number of hops is pre-set in the relay device.

[0331] In one embodiment, the processor is configured to obtain a maximum number of hops from a universal integrated circuit card UICC or a mobile equipment ME.

[0332] In one embodiment, the first core network device is an access control and mobility management function AMF entity; the maximum number of hops is included in a UE policy container sent by the second core network device to the AMF entity; a receiver is used to receive the UE policy container sent by the AMF entity through a non-access layer NAS message; a processor is used to perform a configuration update; and a transmitter is used to send a configuration update completion message to the AMF entity.

[0333] In one embodiment, the second core network device is a policy control function PCF entity; the UE policy container is the subscription information including the maximum number of hops obtained by the PCF entity from the unified data repository function UDR, and is encapsulated by the PCF entity.

[0334] In one embodiment, a core network device is provided. FIG17 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the core network device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The core network device may include a receiver 31, a memory 32, a processor 33, at least one communication bus 34, and a transmitter 35. The communication bus 34 is used to implement communication connections between components. The memory 32 may include high-speed RAM memory or non-volatile storage NVM, such as at least one disk storage. The memory 32 may store various programs for performing various processing functions and implementing the method steps of this embodiment. In this embodiment, the transmitter 35 may be a radio frequency processing module or a baseband processing module in the core network device, and the receiver 31 may also be a radio frequency processing module or a baseband processing module in the core network device. The transmitter 35 and receiver 31 may be integrated together to form a transceiver. Both the transmitter 35 and receiver 31 may be coupled to the processor 33 and may perform receiving or transmitting operations under the instruction or control of the processor 33.

[0335] Taking the application to the first core network device as an example, in this embodiment, the receiver 31 is used to receive first information from the second core network device; the first information indicates the maximum number of hops limited for the propagation of the discovery request message in the multi-hop network;

[0336] The processor 33 is used to control the transmitter 35 to send the maximum number of hops to the relay device in the multi-hop network based on the first information; the maximum number of hops is used to instruct the relay device to discard the discovery request message when it receives the discovery request message, if it is determined that the current number of hops of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum number of hops.

[0337] In one embodiment, the first core network device is an access control and mobility management function (AMF) entity; the first information includes an N1N2 message; the maximum number of hops is included in a UE policy container;

[0338] The processor 33 is configured to initiate a network triggered service request in response to receiving a UE policy container sent by the second core network device through an N1N2 message;

[0339] The transmitter 35 is configured to send the UE policy container to the relay device via a non-access stratum NAS message; the UE policy container is used to instruct the relay device to perform a configuration update and to feed back a configuration update completion message.

[0340] In one embodiment, the transmitter 35 is further configured to send a configuration update completion message to the second core network device via an N1 message.

[0341] In one embodiment, the second core network device is a policy control function PCF entity; the UE policy container is the subscription information including the maximum number of hops obtained by the PCF entity from the unified data repository function UDR, and is encapsulated by the PCF entity.

[0342] In one embodiment, the transmitter 35 is further configured to send second information to the PCF entity, where the second information is used to instruct the PCF entity to obtain the UE policy container after executing the UE policy association establishment process and feeding back response information.

[0343] In one embodiment, the PCF entity is a home policy control function H-PCF entity; the second information includes a policy control request message; and the response information includes a policy control response message;

[0344] The transmitter 35 is configured to send a policy control request message to the H-PCF entity; the policy control request message is used to instruct the H-PCF entity to feed back a policy control response message and obtain a UE policy container.

[0345] In one embodiment, the PCF entity is a roaming policy control function V-PCF entity; the second information includes a policy control request message; and the response information includes a policy control response message;

[0346] Transmitter 35 is used to send a policy control request message to the home policy control function H-PCF entity through the V-PCF entity; the policy control request message is used to instruct the H-PCF entity to feed back the policy control response message to the AMF entity through the V-PCF entity, and send the UE policy container to the V-PCF entity through the policy control update request message; the policy control update request message is used to instruct the V-PCF entity to feed back the policy control update response message to the H-PCF entity.

[0347] Taking the application to the second core network device as an example, in this embodiment, the transmitter 35 is used to send the first information to the first core network device; the first information represents the maximum number of hops limited for the discovery request message to propagate in the multi-hop network; wherein, the first information is used to instruct the first core network device to send the maximum number of hops to the relay device in the multi-hop network; the maximum number of hops is used to instruct the relay device that when receiving the discovery request message, if it is determined that the current number of hops of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum number of hops, the discovery request message is discarded.

[0348] In one embodiment, the first core network device is an access control and mobility management function (AMF) entity; the first information includes an N1N2 message; the maximum number of hops is included in a UE policy container;

[0349] Transmitter 35 is used to send the UE policy container to the AMF entity through the N1N2 message; the N1N2 message is used to instruct the AMF entity to initiate a network triggered service request and send the UE policy container to the relay device through the non-access layer NAS message; the UE policy container is used to instruct the relay device to update the configuration and feedback the configuration update completion message.

[0350] In one embodiment, the receiver 31 is configured to receive a configuration update completion message sent by the AMF entity through an N1 message.

[0351] In one embodiment, the second core network device is a policy control function PCF entity; the processor 33 is configured to obtain subscription information including a maximum number of hops from a unified data repository function UDR; and encapsulate the subscription information in a UE policy container.

[0352] In one embodiment, the receiver 31 is further configured to receive second information sent by the AMF entity;

[0353] The processor 33 is further configured to obtain a UE policy container according to the second information after executing the UE policy association establishment process and feeding back response information.

[0354] In one embodiment, the PCF entity is a home policy control function H-PCF entity; the second information includes a policy control request message; the response message includes a policy control response message;

[0355] Receiver 31, used to receive the policy control request message sent by the AMF entity;

[0356] A transmitter 35 is configured to send a policy control response message to the AMF entity;

[0357] The processor 33 is configured to obtain a UE policy container.

[0358] In one embodiment, the PCF entity is a roaming policy control function V-PCF entity; the second information includes a policy control request message; and the response information includes a policy control response message;

[0359] Receiver 31, used to receive the policy control request message sent by the AMF entity;

[0360] The transmitter 35 is configured to send a policy control request message to a home policy control function H-PCF entity; the policy control request message is used to instruct the H-PCF entity to feed back a policy control response message and obtain a UE policy container;

[0361] The receiver 31 is further configured to receive a policy control response message sent by the H-PCF entity;

[0362] The transmitter 35 is further configured to send the policy control response message to the AMF entity;

[0363] The receiver 31 is further configured to receive a policy control update request message sent by the H-PCF entity; the policy control update request message carries a UE policy container;

[0364] The transmitter 35 is further configured to send a policy control update response message to the H-PCF entity.

[0365] In one embodiment, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the methods described in the above aspects are implemented.

[0366] The embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the methods described in the above aspects.

[0367] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that all or part of the processes in the above-mentioned embodiment methods can be implemented by instructing the relevant hardware through a computer program, and the computer program can be stored in a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium. When the computer program is executed, it can include the processes of the embodiments of the above-mentioned methods. Among them, any reference to memory, storage, database or other media used in the embodiments provided in this application may include at least one of non-volatile and volatile memory. Non-volatile memory may include read-only memory (ROM), magnetic tape, floppy disk, flash memory or optical memory, etc. Volatile memory may include random access memory (RAM) or external cache memory. As an illustration and not limitation, RAM can be in various forms, such as static random access memory (SRAM) or dynamic random access memory (DRAM).

[0368] The technical features of the above embodiments can be combined arbitrarily. To make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0369] The above-described embodiments merely represent several implementation methods of the present application. While the descriptions are relatively specific and detailed, they should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention. It should be noted that a person skilled in the art could make various modifications and improvements without departing from the spirit of the present application, all of which fall within the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present patent application shall be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, applied to a relay device in a multi-hop network, comprising: When a discovery request message is received, if it is determined that the current hop count of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum hop count, the discovery request message is discarded; wherein the maximum hop count is used to indicate the hop count limit for the discovery request message to propagate in the multi-hop network.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The maximum hop number is used to indicate a hop limit of available relays for the discovery request message; and determining whether the current hop number of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum hop number includes: Obtain the number of identifiers of the relay devices in the candidate relay list of the discovery request message; If the number of the identifiers is greater than or equal to the maximum number of hops, it is determined that the current number of hops of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum number of hops.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein The discovery request message includes a broadcast message.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The relay device is a user equipment to user equipment U2U relay device or a user equipment to network U2N relay device; the discovery request message is a user equipment to user equipment U2U relay discovery request message or a user equipment to network U2N relay discovery request message.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein The method further comprises: Obtain the maximum number of hops; wherein, the maximum number of hops is sent by the first core network device, or the maximum number of hops is pre-set in the relay device.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein: The obtaining of the maximum number of hops includes: The maximum number of hops is obtained from a universal integrated circuit card UICC or a mobile equipment ME.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein: The first core network device is an access control and mobility management function AMF entity; the maximum number of hops is included in a UE policy container sent by the second core network device to the AMF entity; The obtaining of the maximum number of hops includes: Receive the UE policy container sent by the AMF entity through a non-access layer NAS message, perform configuration updates, and generate a configuration update completion message for sending to the AMF entity.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein: The second core network device is a policy control function PCF entity; the UE policy container is the subscription information including the maximum number of hops obtained by the PCF entity from the unified data repository function UDR, and is encapsulated by the PCF entity.

9. A capability indication method, applied to a first core network device, the method comprising: receiving first information from a second core network device; The first information indicates a maximum number of hops limited for propagation of a discovery request message in a multi-hop network; sending the maximum number of hops to a relay device in the multi-hop network according to the first information; The maximum hop number is used to instruct the relay device to discard the discovery request message when receiving the discovery request message and determining that the current hop number of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum hop number.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein: The first core network device is an access control and mobility management function AMF entity; the first information includes an N1N2 message; the maximum number of hops is included in a UE policy container; The step of sending the maximum number of hops to a relay device in the multi-hop network according to the first information includes: In response to receiving the UE policy container sent by the second core network device through the N1N2 message, initiating a network triggered service request; The UE policy container is sent to the relay device via a non-access layer NAS message; the UE policy container is used to instruct the relay device to perform a configuration update and feed back a configuration update completion message.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein: The method further comprises: The configuration update completion message is sent to the second core network device via an N1 message.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein: The second core network device is a policy control function PCF entity; the UE policy container is the subscription information including the maximum number of hops obtained by the PCF entity from the unified data repository function UDR, and is encapsulated by the PCF entity.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein: The method further comprises: Second information is sent to the PCF entity, where the second information is used to instruct the PCF entity to obtain the UE policy container after executing the user equipment UE policy association establishment process and feeding back response information.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein The PCF entity is a home policy control function H-PCF entity; the second information includes a policy control request message; The response information includes a policy control response message; The sending the second information to the PCF entity includes: Sending the policy control request message to the H-PCF entity; The policy control request message is used to instruct the H-PCF entity to feed back the policy control response message and obtain the UE policy container.

15. The method according to claim 13, wherein The PCF entity is a roaming policy control function V-PCF entity; the second information includes a policy control request message; The response information includes a policy control response message; The sending the second information to the PCF entity includes: Sending the policy control request message to the home policy control function H-PCF entity through the V-PCF entity; The policy control request message is used to instruct the H-PCF entity to feed back the policy control response message to the AMF entity through the V-PCF entity, and send the UE policy container to the V-PCF entity through a policy control update request message; the policy control update request message is used to instruct the V-PCF entity to feed back a policy control update response message to the H-PCF entity.

16. A capability indication method, applied to a second core network device, the method comprising: Sending first information to the first core network device; The first information indicates a maximum number of hops limited for propagation of a discovery request message in a multi-hop network; Among them, the first information is used to instruct the first core network device to send the maximum number of hops to the relay device in the multi-hop network; the maximum number of hops is used to instruct the relay device to discard the discovery request message when it receives the discovery request message, if it is determined that the current number of hops of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum number of hops.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein The first core network device is an access control and mobility management function AMF entity; the first information includes an N1N2 message; the maximum number of hops is included in a UE policy container; The sending the first information to the first core network device includes: The UE policy container is sent to the AMF entity through the N1N2 message; the N1N2 message is used to instruct the AMF entity to initiate a network triggered service request and send the UE policy container to the relay device through a non-access layer NAS message; the UE policy container is used to instruct the relay device to perform a configuration update and feedback a configuration update completion message.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein The method further comprises: Receive the configuration update completion message sent by the AMF entity through the N1 message.

19. The method according to claim 17, wherein The second core network device is a policy control function PCF entity; the method for obtaining the UE policy container includes: Obtaining contract information including the maximum number of hops from a unified data repository function UDR; The subscription information is encapsulated in the UE policy container.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein The method further comprises: receiving second information sent by the AMF entity; According to the second information, after executing the user equipment UE policy association establishment process and feeding back response information, the UE policy container is obtained.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein The PCF entity is a home policy control function H-PCF entity; the second information includes a policy control request message; and the response information includes a policy control response message; The acquiring the UE policy container after executing the user equipment UE policy association establishment process and feeding back response information according to the second information includes: Receiving the policy control request message sent by the AMF entity; Send the policy control response message to the AMF entity and obtain the UE policy container.

22. The method according to claim 20, wherein The PCF entity is a roaming policy control function V-PCF entity; the second information includes a policy control request message; and the response information includes a policy control response message; The acquiring the UE policy container after executing the user equipment UE policy association establishment process and feeding back response information according to the second information includes: Receive the policy control request message sent by the AMF entity, and send the policy control request message to the home policy control function H-PCF entity; the policy control request message is used to instruct the H-PCF entity to feedback the policy control response message and obtain the UE policy container; Receive the policy control response message sent by the H-PCF entity, and send the policy control response message to the AMF entity; Receive a policy control update request message sent by the H-PCF entity, and send a policy control update response message to the H-PCF entity; the policy control update request message carries the UE policy container.

23. A communication device, wherein: A relay device applied to a multi-hop network, the device comprising: A message discarding module is used to discard the discovery request message when receiving a discovery request message if it is determined that the current hop number of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum hop number; wherein the maximum hop number is used to indicate the hop limit for the discovery request message to propagate in the multi-hop network.

24. A capability indication device, applied to a first core network device, comprising: An information receiving module, configured to receive first information from a second core network device; The first information indicates a maximum number of hops limited for propagation of a discovery request message in a multi-hop network; a hop number sending module, configured to send the maximum hop number to a relay device in the multi-hop network according to the first information; The maximum hop number is used to instruct the relay device to discard the discovery request message when receiving the discovery request message and determining that the current hop number of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum hop number.

25. A capability indication device, applied to a second core network device, comprising: An information sending module, configured to send first information to a first core network device; The first information indicates a maximum number of hops limited for propagation of a discovery request message in a multi-hop network; Among them, the first information is used to instruct the first core network device to send the maximum number of hops to the relay device in the multi-hop network; the maximum number of hops is used to instruct the relay device to discard the discovery request message when it receives the discovery request message, if it is determined that the current number of hops of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum number of hops.

26. A relay device comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program, and the processor implements the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8 when executing the computer program.

27. A core network device comprising a receiver, a transmitter, a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program; The receiver is configured to receive first information from a second core network device; the first information indicating a maximum number of hops for a discovery request message to be propagated in a multi-hop network; When the processor executes the computer program, it controls the transmitter to send the maximum number of hops to the relay device in the multi-hop network based on the first information; the maximum number of hops is used to indicate that when the relay device receives the discovery request message, if it is determined that the current number of hops of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum number of hops, then the discovery request message is discarded.

28. A core network device, comprising a transmitter, configured to send first information to a first core network device; the first information indicating a maximum number of hops limited for propagating a discovery request message in a multi-hop network; in, The first information is used to instruct the first core network device to send the maximum number of hops to the relay device in the multi-hop network; the maximum number of hops is used to instruct the relay device to discard the discovery request message when it receives the discovery request message, if it is determined that the current number of hops of the discovery request message is equal to or exceeds the maximum number of hops.

29. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, wherein when the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 22 are implemented.

30. A computer program product comprising a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 22.

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