Communication method and communication device

Abstract

Provided are a communication method and a communication device. The method comprises: when a plurality of user equipments (UEs) on a first relay link request the establishment of a radio resource control (RRC) connection in parallel, a first relay UE sending path information to a network device, wherein the first relay link comprises a plurality of relay UEs, and the path information is used to indicate a connection relationship between at least some UEs on the first relay link, or the path information is used to indicate the positions or hop counts of the at least some UEs on the first relay link.

Description

Communication methods and communication equipment Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and more specifically, to a communication method and a communication device. Background Technology

[0002] In related technologies, user equipment (UE) can connect to network devices via trunk links. When multiple trunk UEs exist on a trunk link, the RRC connection establishment latency of UEs on the trunk link can be reduced through a parallel radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment mechanism. How the network device determines the connection relationships of UEs on the trunk link within this parallel RRC connection establishment mechanism is a problem that needs to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This application provides a communication method and a communication device. The various aspects covered by this application are described below.

[0004] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, comprising: when multiple UEs on a first relay link concurrently request to establish a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection, a first relay UE sends path information to a network device; wherein the first relay link includes multiple relay UEs, and the path information is used to indicate the connection relationship between at least some of the UEs on the first relay link, or the path information is used to indicate the position or hop count of the at least some UEs on the first relay link.

[0005] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, comprising: when multiple UEs on a first trunk link concurrently request to establish an RRC connection, a first UE sends a fifth message on the first trunk link, the fifth message being used to request the establishment of an RRC connection; wherein the first trunk link includes multiple trunk UEs, and the first UE is a UE on the first trunk link that is not directly connected to a network device.

[0006] Thirdly, a communication method is provided, comprising: when multiple UEs on a first relay link concurrently request to establish an RRC connection, a network device performs one of the following operations: receiving path information sent by a first relay UE, the path information indicating a connection relationship between at least some UEs on the first relay link, or the path information indicating the position or hop count of the at least some UEs on the first relay link; receiving a seventh message sent by a first UE, the seventh message including an identifier of the first UE and an identifier of a second UE; wherein the first relay link includes multiple relay UEs, the first relay UE being a relay UE directly connected to the network device on the first relay link, the first UE being a UE not directly connected to the network device on the first relay link, and the second UE being a remote UE on the first relay link or a UE located between the first UE and the remote UE on the first relay link, and the second UE being directly connected to the first UE.

[0007] Fourthly, a communication device is provided, the communication device being a first relay UE, the communication device comprising: a communication unit, configured to send path information to a network device when multiple UEs on a first relay link concurrently request to establish an RRC connection; wherein the first relay link includes multiple relay UEs, the path information is used to indicate the connection relationship between at least some of the UEs on the first relay link, or the path information is used to indicate the position or hop count of the at least some UEs on the first relay link.

[0008] Fifthly, a communication device is provided, characterized in that the communication device is a first UE, the communication device comprising: a communication unit, configured to send a fifth message on the first relay link when multiple UEs on a first relay link request to establish an RRC connection in parallel, the fifth message being used to request the establishment of an RRC connection; wherein the first relay link includes multiple relay UEs, and the first UE is a UE on the first relay link that is not directly connected to a network device.

[0009] A sixth aspect provides a communication device, the communication device being a network device, the network device comprising: a communication unit configured to, when multiple user equipments (UEs) on a first relay link concurrently request to establish a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection, perform one of the following operations: receiving path information sent by a first relay UE, the path information indicating a connection relationship between at least some UEs on the first relay link, or the path information indicating the position or hop count of the at least some UEs on the first relay link; receiving a seventh message sent by the first UE, the seventh message including an identifier of the first UE and an identifier of a second UE; wherein the first relay link includes multiple relay UEs, the first relay UE being a relay UE directly connected to the network device on the first relay link, the first UE being a UE not directly connected to the network device on the first relay link, and the second UE being a remote UE on the first relay link or a UE located between the first UE and the remote UE on the first relay link, and the second UE being directly connected to the first UE.

[0010] A seventh aspect provides a communication device including a transceiver, a memory, and a processor, wherein the memory is used to store a program, the processor is used to invoke the program in the memory, and to control the transceiver to receive or transmit signals so that the communication device performs the method as described in the first, second, or third aspect.

[0011] Eighth aspect, an apparatus is provided, including a processor for calling a program from a memory to cause the apparatus to perform the method as described in the first, second, or third aspect.

[0012] A ninth aspect provides a chip including a processor for calling a program from memory, causing a device having the chip mounted to perform the method as described in the first, second, or third aspect.

[0013] A tenth aspect provides a computer-readable storage medium having a program stored thereon that causes a computer to perform the methods described in the first, second, or third aspects.

[0014] Eleventhly, a computer program product is provided, including a program that causes a computer to perform the methods described in the first, second, or third aspects.

[0015] In a twelfth aspect, a computer program is provided that causes a computer to perform the methods described in the first, second, or third aspects.

[0016] During the parallel RRC connection establishment mechanism, the relay UE directly connected to the network device will send the relay link path information to the network device, so that the network device can know the location, number or connection relationship of the UE on the relay link. Attached Figure Description

[0017] Figure 1 is an example architecture diagram of a wireless communication system to which embodiments of this application can be applied.

[0018] Figure 2 shows the user plane protocol stack of a Layer 2 relay UE.

[0019] Figure 3 shows the control plane protocol stack of a Layer 2 relay UE.

[0020] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the RRC connection establishment process for a remote UE.

[0021] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the RRC connection establishment process provided in the embodiment of this application.

[0022] Figure 6 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in one embodiment of this application.

[0023] Figure 7 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in another embodiment of this application.

[0024] Figure 8 is an example of the format of the sidelink relay adaptation protocol (SRAP) packet header provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0025] Figure 9 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in another embodiment of this application.

[0026] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0027] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in another embodiment of this application.

[0028] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in another embodiment of this application.

[0029] Figure 13 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus applicable to embodiments of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0030] The technical solutions in this application will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0031] Communication system

[0032] The technical solutions of this application embodiment can be applied to various communication systems. For example, the embodiments of this application can be applied to Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced Long Term Evolution (LTE-A), New Radio (NR), evolution systems of NR, Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN), Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), and 5th-generation (5G) systems. The embodiments of this application can also be applied to other communication systems, such as 6th-generation (6G) mobile communication systems, or future communication systems such as satellite communication systems.

[0033] Traditional communication systems support a limited number of connections and are easy to implement. However, with the development of communication technology, communication systems can support not only traditional cellular communication but also one or more other types of communication. For example, a communication system can support one or more of the following communication methods: device-to-device (D2D) communication, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), enhanced machine-type communication (eMTC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication. The embodiments of this application can also be applied to communication systems that support the above-mentioned communication methods.

[0034] The communication system in this application embodiment can be applied to carrier aggregation (CA) scenarios, dual connectivity (DC) scenarios, and standalone (SA) network deployment scenarios.

[0035] The communication system in this application embodiment can be applied to unlicensed spectrum. This unlicensed spectrum can also be considered a shared spectrum. Alternatively, the communication system in this application embodiment can also be applied to licensed spectrum. This licensed spectrum can also be considered a dedicated spectrum.

[0036] The technical solutions of this application embodiment can be applied to various Internet of Things (IoT) communication systems. For example, this technical solution can be applied to narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) communication systems. As another example, this technical solution can be applied to ambient IoT (AIoT) communication systems.

[0037] Figure 1 illustrates an example system architecture of a communication system 100 applicable to embodiments of this application. The communication system 100 may include a network device 110 and a terminal device 120. The network device 110 may be a device that communicates with the terminal device 120. The network device 110 can provide network coverage for a specific geographical area and can communicate with the terminal device 120 located within that coverage area. The terminal device 120 can access a network (such as a wireless network) through the network device 110. Optionally, the wireless communication system 100 may also include other network entities such as a network controller and a mobility management entity; this embodiment of the application does not limit this.

[0038] The terminal device in this application embodiment can also be referred to as user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent, or user device. The terminal device in this application embodiment can be a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to a user, and can be used to connect people, objects, and machines, such as a handheld device with wireless connectivity, vehicle-mounted device, etc. The terminal devices in the embodiments of this application can be mobile phones, tablets, laptops, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, self-driving, remote medical surgery, smart grids, transportation safety, smart cities, and smart homes, etc. Optionally, the terminal device can act as a base station. For example, the terminal device can act as a scheduling entity, providing sidelink signals between terminal devices in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) or device-to-device (D2D) systems. For instance, cellular phones and cars communicate with each other using sidelink signals. Cellular phones and smart home devices communicate without relaying communication signals through base stations.

[0039] In some embodiments, the terminal device may also be a device in AIoT (such as a reader) to meet the needs of certain scenarios.

[0040] The network device in this application embodiment can also be an access network device or a radio access network device, such as a base station. The network device in this application embodiment can refer to a radio access network (RAN) node or device that connects a terminal device to a wireless network. A base station can broadly encompass, or be replaced by, various names including: NodeB, evolved NodeB (eNB), next-generation NodeB (gNB), relay station, transmitting and receiving point (TRP), transmitting point (TP), master station (MeNB), secondary station (SeNB), multi-mode radio (MSR) node, home base station, network controller, access node, wireless node, access point (AP), transmission node, transceiver node, baseband unit (BBU), remote radio unit (RRU), active antenna unit (AAU), remote radio head (RRH), central unit (CU), distributed unit (DU), positioning node, etc. A base station can be a macro base station, micro base station, relay node, donor node, or similar entities, or combinations thereof. A base station can also refer to a communication module, modem, or chip installed within the aforementioned equipment or apparatus. Base stations can also be mobile switching centers, devices that perform base station functions in device-to-device (D2D), V2X, and M2M communications, network-side devices in 6G networks, and devices that perform base station functions in future communication systems. Base stations can support networks with the same or different access technologies. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technologies or device forms used in the network equipment.

[0041] Base stations can be fixed or mobile. For example, a helicopter or drone can be configured to act as a mobile base station, and one or more cells can move depending on the location of the mobile base station. In other examples, a helicopter or drone can be configured as a device to communicate with another base station.

[0042] In some deployments, the network device in this application embodiment may refer to a CU or a DU; or, the network device may include both a CU and a DU. The gNB may also include an AAU.

[0043] Network devices and terminal devices can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on water; and they can also be deployed in the air on airplanes, balloons, and satellites. This application does not limit the scenario in which the network devices and terminal devices are located.

[0044] It should be understood that all or part of the functions of the communication device in this application can also be implemented by software functions running on hardware, or by virtualization functions instantiated on a platform such as a cloud platform.

[0045] Figure 1 illustrates an exemplary network device 110 and two terminal devices 120. Optionally, the communication system 100 may include multiple network devices 110, and the communication system 100 may also include other numbers of terminal devices 120.

[0046] It should be understood that devices with communication functions in the network / system of this application embodiment can be referred to as communication devices. Taking the communication system 100 shown in FIG1 as an example, the communication device may include a network device 110 and a terminal device 120 with communication functions. The network device 110 and the terminal device 120 can be the specific devices described above, which will not be repeated here. The communication device may also include other devices in the communication system 100, such as network controllers, mobility management entities, and other network entities. This application embodiment does not limit this.

[0047] UE to network (U2N)

[0048] The protocol stacks for the user plane and control plane of the Layer 2 (L2) U2N relay architecture are shown in Figures 2 and 3. For L2 U2N relay, the SRAP sublayer sits above the radio link control (RLC) sublayers of the control plane and user plane at the PC5 interface and Uu interface. The Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), and RRC sublayers of the Uu interface terminate between the remote UE and gNB of the U2N relay, while the SRAP, RLC, Media Access Control (MAC), and Physical (PHY) sublayers terminate on each link (i.e., the link between the remote UE and the U2N relay UE, and the link between the U2N relay UE and the gNB).

[0049] For L2 U2N trunks, the SRAP sublayer on the PC5 interface is only used for bearer mapping. The SRAP sublayer does not exist on the PC5 interface for broadcast control channel (BCCH) and paging control channel (PCCH) messages for remote UEs. Similarly, the SRAP sublayer does not exist on the PC5 interface for SRB0 messages for remote UEs, but it does exist on the uplink and downlink of the Uu interface.

[0050] For L2 U2N trunks, specifically for the uplink:

[0051] The Uu interface SRAP sublayer supports bearer mapping between RLC channels on the PC5 interface and RLC channels on the Uu interface for relay UEs. For uplink relay services, different end-to-end bearers (signalalling radio bearer (SRB) or data radio bearer (DRB)) of the same remote UE and / or different remote UEs can be multiplexed on the same RLC channel of the Uu interface.

[0052] The Uu interface SRAP sublayer supports gNB in ​​identifying the remote UE from uplink data. The remote UE's bearer information and UE identity information are included in the SRAP header of the Uu interface, so that the gNB can associate the received data packet with the correct remote UE's specific PDCP entity.

[0053] • The PC5 interface SRAP sublayer of the remote UE supports mapping between the radio bearer of the remote UE and the PC5 interface RLC channel.

[0054] For L2 U2N relays, specifically for the downlink:

[0055] The Uu interface SRAP sublayer supports downlink bearer mapping of the gNB to map the radio bearers (SRBs and DRBs) of the remote UE to the RLC channel of the Uu interface through the Uu interface of the relay UE. The Uu interface SRAP sublayer can be used to map and multiplex multiple radio bearers (SRBs and DRBs) of the remote UE and / or different remote UEs to a single RLC channel on the Uu interface of the relay UE.

[0056] The Uu interface SRAP sublayer supports remote UE identification for downlink data. By placing the index information of the remote UE's radio bearer and the remote UE's identity information into the SRAP header of the Uu interface, the gNB allows the relay UE to map received data packets of radio bearers targeting a specific remote UE to the RLC channel of its associated PC5 interface.

[0057] • The PC5 interface SRAP sublayer of the relay UE supports mapping from the radio bearer of the remote UE to the RLC channel of the PC5 interface.

[0058] The relay UE uses the gNB to configure the remote UE identity information to populate the SRAP header. Furthermore, the gNB avoids conflicts when allocating remote UE identity information; for example, the gNB can send updated remote UE identity information to the relay UE via an RRC reconfiguration message. Moreover, the gNB can perform remote UE identity information updates independently of the Layer 2 identity information update process on the PC5 unicast link.

[0059] Before user plane data transmission, the remote UE needs to establish its own PDU session and radio bearer with the network.

[0060] L2 U2N Relay RRC Connection Establishment Process

[0061] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the RRC connection establishment process in the L2 U2N Relay scenario.

[0062] Step 1: The L2 U2N remote UE and the L2 U2N relay UE perform the discovery procedure and establish a PC5-RRC connection using the NR sidechain PC5 unicast link establishment procedure.

[0063] Step 2: The L2 U2N remote UE, through the L2 U2N relay UE, uses the designated PC5 relay RLC channel configuration and sends its first RRC message (RRCSetupRequest) to the gNB to establish its connection. The L2 U2N relay UE sends a SidelinkUEInformationNR message, requesting the dedicated configuration required for relay operation to support the L2 U2N remote UE. If the L2 U2N relay UE is not in the RRC_CONNECTED state, it needs to establish a Uu RRC connection itself after receiving the message on the designated PC5 relay RLC channel. After the L2 U2N relay UE completes the RRC connection establishment procedure and sends the SidelinkUEInformationNR message, the gNB configures the SRB0 relay Uu relay RLC channel for the U2N relay UE. The gNB sends an RRCSetup message to the L2 U2N remote UE in response. The RRCSetup message is sent to the L2 U2N remote UE via the SRB0 relay Uu relay RLC channel on Uu and the designated PC5 relay RLC channel on PC5.

[0064] Step 3: The gNB and L2 U2N relay UE execute the relay channel establishment procedure on Uu. According to the gNB configuration, the L2 U2N relay / remote UE establishes a PC5 relay RLC channel for relaying SRB1 to the L2 U2N remote / remote UE via PC5.

[0065] Step 4: The L2 U2N remote UE sends the RRCSetupComplete message to the gNB via the SRB1 relay channel on PC5 and the SRB1 relay channel configured for the L2 U2N relay UE on Uu, and then through the L2 U2N relay UE. Subsequently, the L2 U2N remote UE and gNB are in the RRC_CONNECTED state.

[0066] Step 5: The L2 U2N remote UE and gNB establish security according to the Uu security mode procedure, and the security message is forwarded through the L2 U2N relay UE.

[0067] Step 6: The gNB sends an RRCReconfiguration message to the L2 U2N remote UE via the L2 U2N relay UE to establish end-to-end SRB2 / DRBs for the L2 U2N remote UE. The L2 U2N remote UE responds by sending an RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the gNB via the L2 U2N relay UE. Additionally, the gNB can configure an additional Uu relay RLC channel between the gNB and the L2 U2N relay UE, and a PC5 relay RLC channel between the L2 U2N relay UE and the L2 U2N remote UE, for relay traffic.

[0068] As described above, in related technologies, RRC connections are established sequentially on trunk links. That is, on a trunk link, a UE's RRC connection establishment request can only be transmitted to the network device after all other UEs between a UE and the network device have established RRC connections. However, as the number of hops on the trunk link increases (i.e., the number of relay UEs on the trunk link increases), using the proposed scheme in related technologies leads to a significant delay in RRC connection establishment.

[0069] To reduce RRC connection establishment latency, one possible implementation is to allow multiple UEs on a trunk link to establish RRC connections in parallel. That is, if a UE receives an RRC connection establishment request from another UE on the trunk link, it can forward the other UE's RRC connection establishment request to the network device along the trunk link, even if the UE has not yet completed its RRC connection establishment. Since there is no need to wait for other UEs to complete their RRC connection establishment, this parallel RRC establishment scheme can effectively reduce RRC connection establishment latency.

[0070] The solutions provided by related technologies (i.e., the sequential RRC connection establishment scheme) allow network devices to determine the connection relationships of UEs on the trunk link based on the order of RRC connection establishment, thereby enabling targeted configuration of the UEs on the trunk link. If the aforementioned parallel RRC connection establishment scheme is introduced, how the network device should determine the connection relationships of UEs on the trunk link becomes a problem that needs to be solved.

[0071] To address the aforementioned issues, detailed examples of embodiments of this application will be provided below.

[0072] This application embodiment applies to a first trunk link. The first trunk link may include a remote UE and multiple trunk UEs connected between the remote UE and the network device. That is, the first trunk link mentioned in this application embodiment has multiple hop nodes between the remote UE and the network device (each node corresponds to one trunk UE).

[0073] This application embodiment applies to a scenario where multiple UEs on a first trunk link request the establishment of RRC connections in parallel. The parallel RRC connection establishment scenario is described below using Figure 5 as an example. Referring to Figure 5, the first trunk link includes a remote UE, trunk UE1, trunk UE2, trunk UE3, and network devices. On this first trunk link, if trunk UE1 has not established an RRC connection, the RRC connection establishment request sent by the remote UE (message 1 associated with SRB0 / SRB1 in Figure 5) can be transmitted to trunk UE2. Similarly, if trunk UE2 has not established an RRC connection, the RRC connection establishment request sent by trunk UE1 (message 2 associated with SRB0 in Figure 5) can be transmitted to trunk UE3. Furthermore, trunk UE2 can also transmit its own RRC connection establishment request (message 3 associated with SRB0 in Figure 5) to trunk UE3. Relay UE3 is a relay UE directly connected to the network device. Relay UE3 can first transmit its own RRC connection establishment request (i.e., message 4 associated with SRB0 in Figure 5) to the network device, thereby establishing an RRC connection with the network device. Then, relay UE3 requests resources and configurations for the remote UE, relay UE1, and relay UE2 by exchanging messages with the network device, and forwards the associated SRB0 messages of the remote UE, relay UE1, and relay UE2 to the network device (see steps 6 to 8 in Figure 5). In the example of Figure 5, the remote UE, relay UE1, and relay UE2 on the first relay link do not establish RRC connections sequentially, but in parallel. This embodiment of the application can be applied to such a scenario.

[0074] Figure 6 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in one embodiment of this application. The method shown in Figure 6 is described from the perspective of the interaction between the first relay UE and the network device. The first relay UE mentioned here is a UE directly connected to the network device on the first relay link (relay UE3 in Figure 5). The term "directly connected to the network device by the first relay UE" means that there are no other relay UEs between the first relay UE and the network device on the first relay link, and the first relay UE can directly interact with the network device through the air interface for data and / or signaling.

[0075] Referring to Figure 6, in step S610, when multiple UEs on the first trunk link request to establish an RRC connection in parallel, the first trunk UE sends path information to the network device.

[0076] Before executing step S610, in some embodiments, the first relay UE may first receive messages associated with SRB0 sent by multiple UEs on the first link. These messages associated with SRB0 may be, for example, RRC setup request, RRC reestablish request, or RRC resume request. It should be noted that the remote UE may send messages associated with SRB0 or ​​SRB1, such as a cell handover completion message. Furthermore, after receiving the above information, if the first relay UE has not established an RRC connection with the network device, it may establish an RRC connection first, and then transmit path information.

[0077] The path information is used to indicate the connection relationship between at least some UEs on the first trunk link, or it is used to indicate the position or hop count of the at least some UEs on the first trunk link. This path information enables the network device to know the connection method between UEs on the first trunk link. The at least some UEs mentioned here may include all UEs on the first trunk link. Alternatively, it may include other UEs on the first trunk link besides the first and second trunk UEs (the second trunk UE is located between the first trunk UE and a remote UE on the first trunk link, and the second trunk UE is directly connected to the first trunk UE; in various embodiments of this application, the meaning of the second trunk UE is the same and will not be repeated below). In this case, the positions of the first and second trunk UEs on the first trunk link and their connection relationships with other UEs can be obtained through methods provided by related technologies (for example, in related technologies, the first trunk UE reports its own ID and the IDs of UEs directly connected to it to the network device; this application embodiment can continue to use this reporting mechanism, enabling the network device to know the IDs of the first and second trunk UEs).

[0078] As mentioned earlier, in parallel RRC connection establishment scenarios, network devices cannot determine the location, hop count, or connection order of UEs on the first trunk link based on the RRC connection establishment order of UEs on the first trunk link. To address this issue, this application embodiment involves the first trunk UE sending path information to the network device, indicating at least one of the location, hop count, and connection order of some or all UEs on the first trunk link. This allows the network device to understand the connection status of UEs on the first trunk link and thus provide targeted configuration information for UEs on the first trunk link.

[0079] The path information can be carried in a first report sent by the first relay UE to the network device (taking relay UE3 in Figure 5 as an example, the transmission process of the first report is shown in step 6 of Figure 5). This path information or the first report can be sent through sidelink UE information. In addition to providing path information, the first report can request the network device the configuration (such as SRAP configuration) and / or resources of at least some of the UEs on the first link.

[0080] This application does not specifically limit the content of the path information, as long as it can indicate the connection relationship between at least some UEs on the first relay link. For example, the path information can indicate the connection relationship between at least some UEs based on the identifiers and / or indices of at least some UEs on the first relay link (the indices of at least some UEs can correspond one-to-one with the identifiers of at least some UEs) according to certain rules. Several possible implementations of the path information are given below.

[0081] Implementation Method 1

[0082] In the first implementation, the path information includes the identifiers of at least some UEs on the first trunk link, and the sorting of the identifiers of the at least some UEs is used to indicate at least one of the location, hop count and connection order of the at least some UEs on the first trunk link.

[0083] In one implementation, the path information can be a list of identifiers for all UEs on the first trunk link. The identifier of the first UE in this list is the identifier of the remote UE, the identifier of the second UE is the identifier of the trunk UE directly connected to the remote UE, and so on. The identifier of the second-to-last UE in the list is the identifier of the trunk UE directly connected to the aforementioned first trunk UE, and the identifier of the last UE is the identifier of the first trunk UE. Alternatively, the identifier of the first UE in the list is the identifier of the first trunk UE, the identifier of the second UE is the identifier of the trunk UE directly connected to the first trunk UE, and so on. The identifier of the second-to-last UE in the list is the identifier of the trunk UE directly connected to the remote UE, and the identifier of the last UE is the identifier of the remote UE. Based on the order of the UE identifiers in the list, the connection relationships between the UEs on the first trunk link can be determined.

[0084] The aforementioned path information can be sent to the network device along with the resource and / or configuration request information of the UE on the first trunk link through the first report, so that the network device can provide targeted resources and / or configuration (such as SRAP configuration) to the UE on the first trunk link after learning about the UE connection status of the first trunk link.

[0085] For example, the first report can be represented using the following ASN.1 encoded information:

[0086] In the above information, sl-pathInfo-r19 represents path information, and SL-TxResourceReqL2MHU2N-Relay-r19 is used to request resources and / or configurations for each UE associated with the first relay link, excluding the first relay UE.

[0087] Implementation Method Two

[0088] In implementation method two, the path information includes indices of at least a portion of the UEs on the first trunk link, and the values ​​of these indices (e.g., index size) indicate at least one of the following: the position, hop count, and connection order of the at least a portion of the UEs on the first trunk link. For example, a correspondence between indices and UE identifiers can be established in a certain way, such that the identifier of the remote UE corresponds to the smallest index, the identifier of the UE directly connected to the remote UE corresponds to the second smallest index, and so on. Alternatively, a correspondence between indices and UE identifiers can be established, such that the identifier of the remote UE corresponds to the largest index, the identifier of the UE directly connected to the remote UE corresponds to the second largest index, and so on. Then, the network device can determine the connection relationships between UEs on the first trunk link based on the index size relationship.

[0089] The aforementioned path information can be sent to the network device along with the resource and / or configuration request information of the UE on the first trunk link through the first report, so that the network device can provide targeted resources and / or configuration (such as SRAP configuration) to the UE on the first trunk link after learning about the UE connection status of the first trunk link.

[0090] For example, the first report can be represented using the following ASN.1 encoded information:

[0091] In the above information, sl-DestinationIdentityL2MHU2N-r19 represents the UE's identifier, and Index represents the index corresponding to the UE's identifier. Both are contained in SL-TxResourceReqL2MHU2N-Relay-r19 (used to request configuration and / or resources for the UE), so the index and identifier have a one-to-one correspondence.

[0092] Implementation Method 3

[0093] In related technologies, during the process of requesting network equipment to allocate resources and / or configure resources for the second relay UE, the first relay UE reports the identifier of the second relay UE directly connected to it to the network equipment. Implementation Method 3 follows this reporting method, but unlike related technologies, it associates path information with the identifier of the second relay UE. For example, the path information can be stored in an information unit associated with the identifier of the second relay UE, using the identifier of the second relay UE as an index. Alternatively, the identifier of the second relay UE can be used as an entry, and the path information can be reported as the content of the entry. The specific content of this path information can refer to Implementation Method 1 or Implementation Method 2; that is, the UE's identifier can be arranged sequentially to indicate the UE's connection relationship on the first relay link, or the connection relationship of the UE on the first relay link can be indicated according to the index size corresponding to the UE's identifier. Of course, in addition to reporting the identifier of the second relay UE and the path information associated with the second relay UE's identifier, the first relay UE can also report its own identifier to the network equipment.

[0094] The aforementioned path information can be sent to the network device along with the resource and / or configuration request information of the UE on the first trunk link through the first report, so that the network device can provide targeted resources and / or configuration (such as SRAP configuration) to the UE on the first trunk link after learning about the UE connection status of the first trunk link.

[0095] For example, the first report can be represented using the following ASN.1 encoded information:

[0096] In the above information, sl-pathInfo-r19 is path information, which is associated with the UE identifier (the identifier of the second relay UE) indicated by sl-DestinationIdentityL2MHU2N-r19.

[0097] The path information mentioned in the embodiments of this application can be carried in a traditional information unit. Alternatively, in some embodiments, a first information unit for a first type of relay link (a relay link containing multiple relay UEs) can be introduced, and the path information can be carried in the first information unit.

[0098] After obtaining the path information, the network device can determine the connection relationships of the UEs on the first trunk link. Then, the network device can send an SRAP configuration set to the first trunk UE. This SRAP configuration set includes the SRAP configurations corresponding to all UEs on the first trunk link; or, the SRAP configuration set includes one or more of the following: the SRAP configuration corresponding to the remote UE on the first trunk link; the SRAP configuration corresponding to the UE located between the remote UE and the first trunk UE on the first trunk link. Each SRAP configuration in the SRAP configuration set includes one or more of the following: the identifier of the associated UE; the local identifier of the associated UE; the bearer identifier of the associated UE; and the RLC configuration (or RLC channel configuration) corresponding to the bearer of the associated UE.

[0099] For example, a network device can send configuration information to a first relay UE, which uses the identifier or index of each UE on the first relay link as an entry. The content of the entry may include one or more of the following: the UE identifier corresponding to the UE on the first relay link, the local identifier, the bearer identifier, and the RLC configuration corresponding to the bearer.

[0100] For example, the configuration information sent by the network device to the first relay UE may include the following:

[0101] In the above configuration information, SL-SRAP-Config-r19 is the SRAP configuration corresponding to each UE on the first relay link. As can be seen from the above configuration information, the SRAP configuration corresponding to each UE includes RLC configuration information, namely sl-EgressRLC-ChannelUL-r19 and sl-EgressRLC-ChannelDL-r19, which are used for bearer mapping during uplink and downlink transmission, respectively. For the specific meaning of other information, please refer to the relevant technologies.

[0102] Alternatively, in some embodiments, the SRAP configuration set can be associated with the identifier of the second relay UE. For example, the identifier of the second relay UE can be used as an entry in the configuration information sent by the network device. The content of the entry may include: the SRAP configuration corresponding to the remote UE on the first relay link, and the SRAP configuration corresponding to the UE located between the remote UE and the first relay UE on the first relay link. In related technologies, network devices configure SRAP configurations for the first relay UE and its directly connected UEs (the first relay UE may be located on multiple relay links, so it may include multiple directly connected UEs; related technologies use the identifiers of these multiple directly connected UEs as indexes, and each directly connected UE provides a corresponding SRAP configuration). This embodiment can continue to use this configuration method, using the identifier of the second relay UE directly connected to the first relay UE as an index to provide it with SRAP configuration. Unlike related technologies, this SRAP configuration does not only include the SRAP configuration corresponding to the second relay UE, but also includes a set of SRAP configurations. This set of SRAP configurations includes: the SRAP configuration corresponding to the remote UE on the first relay link; and the SRAP configuration corresponding to the UE located between the remote UE and the first relay UE on the first relay link.

[0103] For example, the configuration information sent by the network device to the first relay UE may include the following:

[0104] In the above configuration information, sl-SRAP-ConfigRelayList-r19 is the SRAP configuration set, and SL-SRAP-Config-r19 is the SRAP configuration within the SRAP configuration set. As can be seen from the above configuration information, the SRAP configuration for each UE includes RLC configuration information, namely sl-EgressRLC-ChannelUL-r19 and sl-EgressRLC-ChannelDL-r19, which are used for bearer mapping during uplink and downlink transmissions, respectively. For the specific meaning of other information, please refer to relevant technical documents.

[0105] After receiving the SRAP configuration set, the first trunk UE can forward the associated SRB0 messages sent by other UEs on the first trunk link to the network device according to the SRAP configuration.

[0106] The above description is from the perspective of the first relay UE. The first relay UE is the UE directly connected to the network device on the first relay link. In this embodiment, the UE not directly connected to the network device on the first relay link is referred to as the first UE. This first UE can be a remote UE or any UE located between the first relay UE and the remote UE. Similar to the first relay UE, the first UE can also receive the SRAP configuration set of the network device. The difference is that the SRAP configuration set received by the first relay UE includes the SRAP configuration of the remote UE and the SRAP configuration of the UE between the remote UE and the first relay UE, while the SRAP configuration set received by the first UE includes one or more of the following: the SRAP configuration corresponding to the remote UE on the first relay link; the SRAP configuration of the first UE; and the SRAP configuration corresponding to the UE located between the remote UE and the first UE on the first relay link.

[0107] In the embodiments provided above, the path information is collected by the first relay UE and provided to the network device. Alternatively, in some embodiments, as shown in FIG7, after establishing its own RRC connection, the first UE (a UE not directly connected to the network device) can also send a seventh message to the network device (see step S710 in FIG7). This seventh message may include the identifiers of the first UE and the second UE (the second UE is a remote UE on the first relay link or a UE located between the first UE and the remote UE on the first relay link, and the second UE is directly connected to the first UE). That is, a UE on the first relay link that is not directly connected to the network device can report its own identifier and the identifiers of the UEs directly connected to it to the network device, so that the network device can know the connection relationship between the various UEs on the first relay link (i.e., know the path information of the first relay link) based on the reports of multiple first UEs. The aforementioned seventh message may be, for example, SidelinkUEInformation.

[0108] For example, the seventh message may include the following:

[0109] In the example above, sl-DestinationIdentityL2MHU2N-r19 carries the identifier of the second UE, while sl-SourceID-r19 carries the identifier of the first UE.

[0110] If this reporting method is adopted, the network device can provide the second UE with SRAP configuration based on the seventh message sent by the first UE.

[0111] Taking the first UE as relay UE1 in Figure 5 as an example, the seventh message can correspond to the third report in step 11 of Figure 5, and the SRAP configuration provided by the network device can correspond to the third configuration in step 11 of Figure 5.

[0112] Taking the first UE as relay UE2 in Figure 5 as an example, the seventh message can correspond to the fourth report in step 13 of Figure 5, and the SRAP configuration provided by the network device can correspond to the fourth configuration in step 14 of Figure 5.

[0113] In some embodiments, the identifiers of the first UE and the second UE may also be carried in the SRAP header of the seventh message, as shown in Figure 8.

[0114] As mentioned earlier, the first UE is a UE on the first relay link that is not directly connected to the network device. During the RRC establishment process, the first UE will also send a message associated with SRB0, that is, a request message to the network device to establish an RRC connection. The following provides detailed examples of the possible behaviors of the first UE during the sending of the SRB0 associated message.

[0115] Referring to Figure 9, the first UE sends a fifth message through the first relay link (see step S910). This fifth message can be used to request the establishment of an RRC connection. This fifth message can be, for example, an RRC setup request, an RRC reestablish request, or an RRC resume request.

[0116] In some embodiments, the first UE may send the fifth message on a specified RLC channel or a default RLC channel.

[0117] In some embodiments, the fifth message may not include the SRAP header, i.e., it may be sent in a manner similar to related technologies.

[0118] In some embodiments, the fifth message may include an SRAP header, and the SRAP header includes an identifier of the first UE (which may be a Layer 2 identifier of the first UE or a truncated Layer 2 identifier).

[0119] If the fifth message includes an SRAP header, considering that this implementation differs from related technologies, in some embodiments, the UE receiving the fifth message can be made to identify the fifth message or the SRAP header through a certain indication method (which can be an explicit indication method or an implicit indication method).

[0120] For example, the SRAP header of the fifth message includes second indication information, which is used by the UE receiving the fifth message to identify the fifth message or the SRAP header. Exemplarily, the SRAP header may include 1 bit of indication information (such as using a reserved bit in the SRAP header) to enable the UE receiving the fifth message to identify the fifth message or the SRAP header.

[0121] For example, a new RLC channel can be used to carry the fifth message. This new RLC channel may differ from the SL-RLC0 defined in the relevant protocol. For instance, this new RLC channel is an RLC channel dedicated to transmitting the fifth message (the enhanced associated SRB0 message) proposed in the embodiments of this application.

[0122] As mentioned earlier, the first UE could be a remote UE on the first trunk link, or a UE located between the remote UE and the first trunk link. If the first UE is a UE located between the remote UE and the first trunk link, it will also receive RRC connection establishment requests from other UEs. For example, the first UE might receive a sixth message from a second UE directly connected to it, requesting the establishment of an RRC connection. After receiving the sixth message, the first UE may have several possible processing options.

[0123] In some embodiments, the first UE can forward the fourth message to the next-hop UE on the first relay link. For example, when the first UE is in a non-RRC connected state, it can send the fourth message on a specified RLC channel or on a default RLC channel; when the first UE is in an RRC connected state, it can send the fourth message on an RLC channel configured by the network device through RRC messages.

[0124] In some embodiments, after receiving the sixth message, if the sixth message does not contain an SRAP header, the first UE adds an SRAP header to the sixth message, the SRAP header containing the identifier of the second UE (such as the layer 2 identifier of the second UE, or a truncated layer 2 identifier).

[0125] If the sixth message includes an SRAP header, considering that this implementation differs from related technologies, in some embodiments, the UE receiving the sixth message can be made to identify the sixth message or the SRAP header through a certain indication method (either explicit or implicit).

[0126] For example, the SRAP header of the sixth message includes third indication information, which is used by the UE receiving the sixth message to identify the sixth message or the SRAP header. Exemplarily, the SRAP header may include 1 bit of indication information (such as using a reserved bit in the SRAP header).

[0127] For example, a new RLC channel can be used to carry the sixth message. This new RLC channel may differ from the SL-RLC0 defined in the relevant protocol. For instance, this specific RLC channel is an RLC channel dedicated to transmitting the sixth message (the enhanced associated SRB0 message) proposed in the embodiments of this application.

[0128] The preceding text mainly detailed the process of sending the RRC connection establishment request (the process of sending messages associated with SRB0) and the configuration information provided by the network device during the RRC connection establishment process. The following text provides a more detailed example illustrating the transmission process of the RRC connection establishment message (the downlink message associated with SRB0).

[0129] In some embodiments, the transmission of associated SRB0 messages on the first trunk link can be performed using a non-parallel processing method. That is, each trunk UE on the first trunk link first receives / decodes its own associated SRB0 messages (RRC connection establishment information and / or SRAP configuration), and then determines the forwarding method of other UEs' associated SRB0 messages (i.e., to which RLC channel to map or forward the received associated SRB0 messages) according to the SRAP configuration sent by the network device.

[0130] Taking the first UE as an example, the first UE can first receive the eighth message sent by the network device. This eighth message is used to instruct the first UE to establish an RRC connection. After the first UE completes the RRC connection establishment, the first UE receives the ninth message sent by the network device. The ninth message is used to instruct the next UE in the first trunk link to establish an RRC connection. The next UE is either a remote UE on the first trunk link or a UE located between the remote UE on the first trunk link and the first UE. As can be seen from this description, the ninth message is sent only after the first UE completes the RRC connection based on the eighth message. The entire message sending order is controlled by the network device, thus enabling the UEs on the first trunk link to complete the RRC establishment sequentially.

[0131] If the network device does not control the delivery order of messages associated with SRB0, the UE on the first trunk link may receive unrecognized (or unknown) messages associated with SRB0. In related technologies, if the UE on the first trunk link receives such a message, it will choose to discard it. Unlike related technologies, in this embodiment, such messages can be cached first, and then forwarded after obtaining the corresponding SRAP configuration. The following example uses the first UE as an illustration.

[0132] If the first UE does not obtain the SRAP configuration associated with it, and if the first UE receives a tenth message (associated with SRB0) but cannot recognize it, the first UE caches the tenth message. Further, in some embodiments, after the first UE obtains the SRAP configuration corresponding to the UE associated with the tenth message, the first UE can send the tenth message according to the SRAP configuration associated with that UE.

[0133] In some embodiments, after the first relay UE or the first UE performs SRAP configuration, it may receive or process messages associated with SRB0 in one or more of the following ways.

[0134] Taking the first relay UE as an example, after receiving the first message associated with SRB0 sent by the network device, the first relay UE performs one or more of the following operations:

[0135] If the SRAP header of the first message does not contain the UE's identifier, then the first relay UE is determined to be the target UE of the first message (i.e., the first message is considered to be a message sent to the first relay UE itself).

[0136] If the first message does not contain an SRAP header, then the first relay UE is determined to be the target UE of the first message (i.e., the first message is considered to be a message sent to the first relay UE itself).

[0137] If the SRAP header of the first message contains the identifier of the second relay UE, then the second relay UE is determined to be the target UE of the first message (i.e., the first message is considered to be a message sent to the second relay UE itself).

[0138] If the SRAP header of the first message contains the identifier of the second relay UE, then the second message is sent to the second relay UE. The second message includes the same RLC configuration as the first message, but does not contain an SRAP header.

[0139] If the UE identifier in the first message is not the identifier of the first relay UE or the second relay UE, then the second message is sent. The first message and the second message have the same RLC configuration, and the second message can be understood as a forwarded message of the first message.

[0140] Alternatively, in some embodiments, the first relay UE receives a first message sent by the network device. The SRAP header of the first message contains first indication information. This first indication information is used to indicate the location or hop count of the target UE of the first message on the first relay link. For example, the first indication information is a bitmap, the length of which can be equal to the number of UEs on the first relay link. Each bit in the bitmap corresponds to one UE on the first relay link, and bit 1 in the bitmap corresponds to the UE that is the target UE of the first message.

[0141] Alternatively, in some embodiments, if the first relay UE receives a first message sent by the network device via a first RLC channel, the first relay UE determines itself as the target UE of the first message; and / or, if the first relay UE receives a first message sent by the network device via a second RLC channel, the first relay UE sends a second message, the second message having the same RLC configuration as the first message. The upstream node on the first relay link located at the first relay UE can determine whether to send the first message via the first RLC channel or the second RLC channel using the UE ID and / or BEARER ID in the SRAP.

[0142] Taking the first UE as an example, after receiving the tenth message associated with SRB0 sent by the network device, the first UE performs one or more of the following operations (the second UE mentioned below is a remote UE on the first trunk link or a UE located between the first UE and the remote UE on the first trunk link, and the second UE is directly connected to the first UE):

[0143] If the SRAP header of the tenth message does not contain the UE's identifier, then the first UE is determined to be the target UE of the tenth message (i.e., the tenth message is considered to be a message sent to the first UE itself).

[0144] If the tenth message does not contain an SRAP header, then the first UE is determined to be the target UE of the tenth message (i.e., the tenth message is considered to be a message sent to the first UE itself).

[0145] If the SRAP header of the tenth message contains the identifier of the second UE, then the second UE is determined to be the target UE of the tenth message (i.e., the tenth message is considered to be a message sent to the second UE itself).

[0146] If the SRAP header of the tenth message contains the identifier of the second UE, then the eleventh message is sent to the second UE. The eleventh message contains the same RLC configuration as the tenth message, but the eleventh message does not contain an SRAP header.

[0147] If the UE identifier in the tenth message is not the same as the identifier of the first UE or the second UE, then the eleventh message is sent. The eleventh message contains the same RLC configuration as the tenth message (the eleventh message can be understood as a forwarded message of the tenth message).

[0148] Alternatively, in some embodiments, the first UE receives a tenth message sent by the network device, and the SRAP header of the tenth message contains fourth indication information. This fourth indication information is used to indicate the location or hop count of the target UE on the first trunk link. For example, this fourth indication information is a bitmap, the length of which can be equal to the number of UEs on the first trunk link. Each bit in the bitmap corresponds to one UE on the first trunk link, and bit 1 in the bitmap corresponds to the UE that is the target UE of the tenth message.

[0149] Alternatively, in some embodiments, if the first UE receives the tenth message sent by the network device via the first RLC channel, the first relay UE determines that the first UE is the target UE of the tenth message; and / or, if the first UE receives the tenth message sent by the network device via the second RLC channel, the first relay UE sends the eleventh message (the eleventh message and the tenth message include the same RLC configuration). The upstream node on the first relay link located at the first UE can determine whether the eleventh message needs to be sent via the first RLC channel or the second RLC channel by using the UE ID in the SRAP.

[0150] In some embodiments, the transmission of downlink messages associated with SRB0 on ​​the first trunk link can also be performed in parallel. In this case, the UE on the first trunk link may receive the associated SRB0 message that needs to be forwarded before receiving its own associated SRB0 message (RRC connection establishment indication and SRAP configuration). At this time, the UE does not have a dedicated SRAP configuration to determine how to forward the message (i.e., it cannot determine which downlink egress link the message should be forwarded to). Several possible solutions to this problem are given below.

[0151] Taking the first relay UE as an example, the first relay UE receives a third message associated with SRB0 sent by the network device. The SRAP header of this third message includes an outer identifier and an inner identifier. The outer identifier is the identifier of the first relay UE, and the inner identifier includes the identifier of the second relay UE. Further, in some embodiments, the first relay UE sends a fourth message to the second relay UE. The fourth message includes the same RLC configuration as the third message, and the outer identifier of the SRAP header of the fourth message is the identifier of the second relay UE.

[0152] In other words, the SRAP header of the third message can adopt a multi-layered nested SRAP header structure, containing the identifiers of each UE on the first link from the outside in. After receiving the SRAP header containing its own identifier, each UE can delete the outermost identifier of the SRAP header and forward the data packet based on the identifier of the next layer, thereby progressively forwarding the SRAP data packet to the target UE.

[0153] As a more concrete example, suppose the target UE of the third message is UE1, and it needs to pass through UE2 and UE3 in between. Then the SRAP header of this data packet can be (UE3's identifier (UE2's identifier (UE1's identifier))). After each UE decodes its own UE identifier, it can delete its own UE ID and forward it to the next hop UE. Specifically, when UE-3 receives the data packet, it strips off the outer UE identifier to expose the inner UE identifier (i.e., UE2's identifier), and then forwards it to UE2 according to UE2's identifier, and so on, until the data packet is forwarded to UE1.

[0154] Taking the first UE as an example, the first UE receives the tenth message associated with SRB0 sent by the network device. The SRAP header of the tenth message includes an outer identifier and an inner identifier. The outer identifier is the identifier of the first UE, and the inner identifier includes the identifier of the second UE (the second UE is a remote UE on the first trunk link or a UE located between the first UE and the remote UE on the first trunk link, and the second UE is directly connected to the first UE). Further, in some embodiments, the first UE sends an eleventh message to the second UE. The eleventh message contains the same RLC configuration as the tenth message, and the outer identifier of the SRAP header of the eleventh message is the identifier of the second UE. The implementation method of the first UE is similar to that of the first trunk UE, and will not be described in detail here to avoid repetition.

[0155] Alternatively, in some embodiments, the first UE may autonomously maintain first routing information (or a topology mapping table), which indicates the mapping relationship between the UE's identifier and the relay link where the first UE resides. This first routing information may, for example, be established by the first UE recording each relay link and the UE identifier in the data packet when receiving an uplink message associated with SRB0. Accordingly, if the first UE receives the tenth message carried on SRB0 from the network device, and the first UE has not obtained the SRAP configuration corresponding to the first UE, the first UE sends an eleventh message (which contains the same RLC configuration as the tenth message) based on the first routing information and the UE identifier (which may be the identifier of the target UE) in the SRAP header of the tenth message.

[0156] It should be noted that in some embodiments, the UE identifier mentioned in the preceding embodiments can refer to or be replaced by the UE's Layer 2 identifier.

[0157] It should also be noted that the SRAP configuration of the first relay UE can be carried in the RRC Reconfiguration message. For other UEs other than the first relay UE, their corresponding SRAP configuration can be carried in the RRC Establishment message or the RRC Reconfiguration message.

[0158] The SRAP header of the message mentioned in the various embodiments of this application refers to the SRAP header of the data packet carrying the message.

[0159] The first and second messages mentioned above contain the same RLC configuration, which can be understood as, or replaced by, the second message being a forwarded message of the first message. Similarly, the third and fourth messages mentioned above contain the same RLC configuration, which can be understood as, or replaced by, the fourth message being a forwarded message of the third message. Likewise, the tenth and eleventh messages mentioned above contain the same RLC configuration, which can be understood as, or replaced by, the eleventh message being a forwarded message of the tenth message.

[0160] The method embodiments of this application have been described in detail above with reference to Figures 1 to 9. The apparatus embodiments of this application will be described in detail below with reference to Figures 10 to 13. It should be understood that the descriptions of the method embodiments correspond to the descriptions of the apparatus embodiments; therefore, any parts not described in detail can be referred to the preceding method embodiments.

[0161] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in one embodiment of this application. The communication device 1000 shown in Figure 10 can be the first relay UE mentioned above. The communication device 1000 includes a communication unit 1010. The communication unit 1010 is used to send path information to a network device when multiple UEs on the first relay link request to establish a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection in parallel; wherein, the first relay link includes multiple relay UEs, and the path information is used to indicate the connection relationship between at least some of the UEs on the first relay link, or, the path information is used to indicate the position or hop count of the at least some UEs on the first relay link.

[0162] In some embodiments, the path information includes: the identifier of the at least some UEs; and / or, the index of the at least some UEs, wherein the index of the at least some UEs corresponds one-to-one with the identifier of the at least some UEs.

[0163] In some embodiments, the path information includes identifiers of at least some of the UEs, and the sorting of the identifiers of at least some of the UEs is used to indicate at least one of the location, hop count, and connection order of the at least some of the UEs on the first trunk link.

[0164] In some embodiments, the path information includes an index of the at least some UEs, the index value of which indicates at least one of the location, hop count, and connection order of the at least some UEs on the first trunk link.

[0165] In some embodiments, the at least some UEs include all UEs on the first trunk link; or, the at least some UEs include other UEs on the first trunk link besides the first trunk UE and the second trunk UE, wherein the second trunk UE is located on the first trunk link between the first trunk UE and the remote UE, and the second trunk UE is directly connected to the first trunk UE.

[0166] In some embodiments, the path information is associated with the identifier of a second relay UE, which is located between the first relay UE and a remote UE on the first relay link, and the second relay UE is directly connected to the first relay UE.

[0167] In some embodiments, the path information is carried in a first information unit, which is an information unit for a first type of relay link, and the first type of relay link includes multiple relay UEs.

[0168] In some embodiments, the communication unit 1010 is further configured to: receive a Sidelink Relay Adaptation Protocol (SRAP) configuration set sent by the network device, the SRAP configuration set including SRAP configurations corresponding to all UEs on the first relay link; or, the SRAP configuration set including one or more of the following: SRAP configurations corresponding to remote UEs on the first relay link; SRAP configurations corresponding to UEs located between the remote UE and the first relay UE on the first relay link.

[0169] In some embodiments, the SRAP configuration set is associated with the identifier of a second relay UE, which is located between the first relay UE and a remote UE on the first relay link, and the second relay UE is directly connected to the first relay UE.

[0170] In some embodiments, each SRAP configuration in the SRAP configuration set includes one or more of the following: the identifier of the associated UE; the local identifier of the associated UE; the bearer identifier of the associated UE; and the Radio Link Control (RLC) configuration corresponding to the bearer of the associated UE.

[0171] In some embodiments, the communication device 1010 further includes: an execution unit, configured to, upon receiving a first message of the associated signaling radio bearer SRB0 sent by the network device, perform one or more of the following operations: if the SRAP header of the first message does not contain an identifier of a UE, then determine that the first relay UE is the target UE of the first message; if the first message does not contain an SRAP header, then determine that the first relay UE is the target UE of the first message; if the SRAP header of the first message contains an identifier of a second relay UE, then determine that the second relay UE is the target UE of the first message; if the SRAP header of the first message contains an identifier of the second relay UE, then send a second message to the second relay UE, wherein the first message and the second message contain the same RLC configuration, and the second message does not contain the SRAP header; if the UE identifier in the first message is not the identifier of the first relay UE or the second relay UE, then send a second message, wherein the first message and the second message contain the same RLC configuration; wherein the second relay UE is located between the first relay UE and the remote UE on the first relay link, and the second relay UE is directly connected to the first relay UE.

[0172] In some embodiments, the communication unit 1010 is further configured to: receive a first message sent by the network device, the first message being associated with an SRB0, and the SRAP header of the first message containing first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate the location or hop count of the target UE of the first message on the first relay link.

[0173] In some embodiments, the communication device 1000 further includes: a processing unit, configured to determine that the first relay UE is the target UE of the first message if the first relay UE receives the first message sent by the network device through a first RLC channel; and / or, if the first relay UE receives the first message sent by the network device through a second RLC channel, send a second message, wherein the first message and the second message contain the same RLC configuration; wherein the first message is associated with SRB0.

[0174] In some embodiments, the communication unit 1010 is further configured to: receive a third message associated with SRB0 sent by the network device, wherein the SRAP header of the third message includes an outer identifier and an inner identifier, the outer identifier being the identifier of the first relay UE, and the inner identifier including the identifier of the second relay UE, the second relay UE being located between the first relay UE and a remote UE on the first relay link, and the second relay UE being directly connected to the first relay UE.

[0175] In some embodiments, the communication unit 1010 is further configured to: send a fifth message to the second relay UE, the fifth message and the sixth message containing the same RLC configuration, and the outer identifier of the SRAP header of the sixth message being the identifier of the second relay UE.

[0176] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in another embodiment of this application. The communication device 1100 shown in Figure 11 can be the first UE mentioned above. The communication device 1100 includes a communication unit 1110. The communication unit 1110 is used to send a fifth message on the first relay link when multiple UEs on the first relay link request to establish an RRC connection in parallel. The fifth message is used to request the establishment of a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection; wherein, the first relay link includes multiple relay UEs, and the first UE is a UE on the first relay link that is not directly connected to the network device.

[0177] In some embodiments, the fifth message includes an SRAP header, and the SRAP header includes an identifier of the first UE.

[0178] In some embodiments, the SRAP header includes second indication information, which is used by the UE receiving the fifth message to identify the fifth message or the SRAP header.

[0179] In some embodiments, the Radio Link Control (RLC) channel used to carry the fifth message is not SL-RLC0.

[0180] In some embodiments, the communication unit 1110 is further configured to: receive a sixth message sent by a second UE on the first relay link, the sixth message being used to request the establishment of an RRC connection; the communication device further includes a processing unit configured to: add an SRAP header to the sixth message if the sixth message does not contain an SRAP header, the SRAP header containing the identifier of the second UE.

[0181] In some embodiments, the SRAP header includes third indication information, which is used by the UE receiving the sixth message to identify the sixth message or the SRAP header.

[0182] In some embodiments, the RLC channel used to carry the sixth message is not SL-RLC0.

[0183] In some embodiments, the communication unit 1110 is further configured to: receive an SRAP configuration set sent by the network device, the SRAP configuration set including SRAP configurations corresponding to all UEs on the first trunk link; or, the SRAP configuration set including one or more of the following: SRAP configurations corresponding to remote UEs on the first trunk link; SRAP configurations of the first UE; SRAP configurations corresponding to UEs located between the remote UE and the first UE on the first trunk link.

[0184] In some embodiments, each SRAP configuration in the SRAP configuration set includes one or more of the following: the identifier of the associated UE; the local identifier of the associated UE; the bearer identifier of the associated UE; and the RLC configuration corresponding to the bearer of the associated UE.

[0185] In some embodiments, the communication unit 1110 is further configured to: send a seventh message to the network device via a first relay link, the seventh message containing the identifiers of the first UE and the second UE, the second UE being a remote UE on the first relay link or a UE located between the first UE and the remote UE on the first relay link, and the second UE being directly connected to the first UE.

[0186] In some embodiments, the communication unit 1110 is further configured to: receive an eighth message sent by the network device, the eighth message being used to instruct the first UE to establish an RRC connection; after the first UE completes the RRC connection establishment, receive a ninth message sent by the network device, the ninth message being used to instruct the next UE of the first UE in the first trunk link to establish an RRC connection, the next UE being a remote UE on the first trunk link or a UE located between the remote UE on the first trunk link and the first UE.

[0187] In some embodiments, the communication device further includes a caching unit, configured to: cache the tenth message if the first UE receives a tenth message when the first UE has not obtained the SRAP configuration associated with the first UE; wherein the tenth message is associated with SRB0 and the first UE cannot recognize the tenth message.

[0188] In some embodiments, the communication unit 1110 is further configured to: after the first UE obtains the SRAP configuration corresponding to the UE associated with the tenth message, send an eleventh message according to the SRAP configuration corresponding to the UE associated with the tenth message, wherein the eleventh message and the tenth message contain the same RLC configuration.

[0189] In some embodiments, the communication device 1100 further includes an execution unit configured to, upon receiving a tenth message associated with SRB0 sent by the network device, perform one or more of the following operations: if the SRAP header of the tenth message does not contain an identifier of a UE, then determine that the first UE is the target UE of the tenth message; if the tenth message does not contain an SRAP header, then determine that the first UE is the target UE of the tenth message; if the SRAP header of the tenth message contains an identifier of a second UE, then determine that the second UE is the target UE of the tenth message; if the SRAP header of the tenth message contains an identifier of a second UE, then send an eleventh message to the second UE, wherein the tenth message and the eleventh message contain the same RLC configuration, and the eleventh message does not contain the SRAP header; if the UE identifier in the tenth message is not the identifier of the first UE or the second UE, then send an eleventh message, wherein the eleventh message and the tenth message contain the same RLC configuration; wherein the second UE is a remote UE on the first trunk link or a UE located between the first UE and the remote UE on the first trunk link, and the second UE is directly connected to the first UE.

[0190] In some embodiments, the communication unit 1110 is further configured to: receive a tenth message sent by the network device, the tenth message being associated with SRB0, and the SRAP header of the tenth message containing fourth indication information, the fourth indication information being used to indicate the location or hop count of the target UE of the tenth message on the first relay link.

[0191] In some embodiments, the communication device further includes a processing unit configured to: determine that the first UE is the target UE of the tenth message if the first UE receives the tenth message sent by the network device through a first RLC channel; and / or, if the first UE receives the tenth message sent by the network device through a second RLC channel, directly send an eleventh message, wherein the eleventh message and the tenth message contain the same RLC configuration; wherein the tenth message is associated with SRB0.

[0192] In some embodiments, the communication unit 1110 is further configured to: receive a tenth message carried on SRB0 sent by the network device; and, if the first UE has not obtained the SRAP configuration corresponding to the first UE, send an eleventh message based on the first routing information and the UE identifier in the SRAP header of the tenth message, wherein the eleventh message and the tenth message contain the same RLC configuration; wherein the first routing information is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the UE identifier and the relay link where the first UE is located.

[0193] In some embodiments, the communication unit 1110 is further configured to: receive a tenth message associated with SRB0 sent by the network device, wherein the SRAP header of the tenth message includes an outer identifier and an inner identifier, the outer identifier being the identifier of the first UE, the inner identifier including the identifier of the second UE, the second UE being a remote UE on the first trunk link or a UE located between the first UE and the remote UE on the first trunk link, and the second UE being directly connected to the first UE.

[0194] In some embodiments, the communication unit 1110 is further configured to: send an eleventh message to the second UE, the eleventh message and the tenth message containing the same RLC configuration, and the outer identifier of the SRAP header of the eleventh message being the identifier of the second UE.

[0195] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in another embodiment of this application. The communication device 1200 shown in Figure 12 can be the network device mentioned above. The communication device 1200 includes a communication unit 1210. The communication unit 1210 is used to perform one of the following operations when multiple user equipment (UEs) on a first trunk link request to establish an RRC connection in parallel: receiving path information sent by a first trunk UE, the path information being used to indicate the connection relationship between at least some UEs on the first trunk link, or the path information being used to indicate the position or hop count of the at least some UEs on the first trunk link; receiving a seventh message sent by a first UE, the seventh message including the identifier of the first UE and the identifier of a second UE; wherein, the first trunk link includes multiple trunk UEs, the first trunk UE is a trunk UE on the first trunk link directly connected to the network device, the first UE is a UE on the first trunk link not directly connected to the network device, the second UE is a remote UE on the first trunk link or a UE located between the first UE and the remote UE on the first trunk link, and the second UE is directly connected to the first UE.

[0196] In some embodiments, the path information includes: the identifier of the at least some UEs; and / or, the index of the at least some UEs, wherein the index of the at least some UEs corresponds one-to-one with the identifier of the at least some UEs.

[0197] In some embodiments, the path information includes identifiers of at least some of the UEs, and the sorting of the identifiers of at least some of the UEs is used to indicate at least one of the location, hop count, and connection order of the at least some of the UEs on the first trunk link.

[0198] In some embodiments, the path information includes an index of the at least some UEs, the index value of which indicates at least one of the location, hop count, and connection order of the at least some UEs on the first trunk link.

[0199] In some embodiments, the at least some UEs include all UEs on the first trunk link; or, the at least some UEs include other UEs on the first trunk link besides the first trunk UE and the second trunk UE, wherein the second trunk UE is located on the first trunk link between the first trunk UE and the remote UE, and the second trunk UE is directly connected to the first trunk UE.

[0200] In some embodiments, the path information is associated with the identifier of a second relay UE, which is located between the first relay UE and a remote UE on the first relay link, and the second relay UE is directly connected to the first relay UE.

[0201] In some embodiments, the path information is carried in a first information unit, which is an information unit for a first type of relay link, and the first type of relay link includes multiple relay UEs.

[0202] In some embodiments, the communication unit 1210 is further configured to: send a Sidelink Relay Adaptation Protocol (SRAP) configuration set to the first relay UE, the SRAP configuration set including SRAP configurations corresponding to all UEs on the first relay link; or, the SRAP configuration set including one or more of the following: SRAP configurations corresponding to remote UEs on the first relay link; SRAP configurations corresponding to UEs located between the remote UE and the first relay UE on the first relay link.

[0203] In some embodiments, the SRAP configuration set is associated with the identifier of a second relay UE, which is located between the first relay UE and a remote UE on the first relay link, and the second relay UE is directly connected to the first relay UE.

[0204] In some embodiments, each SRAP configuration in the SRAP configuration set includes one or more of the following: the identifier of the associated UE; the local identifier of the associated UE; the bearer identifier of the associated UE; and the Radio Link Control (RLC) configuration corresponding to the bearer of the associated UE.

[0205] In some embodiments, the communication unit 1210 is further configured to: send an eighth message to the first UE, the eighth message being used to instruct the first UE to establish an RRC connection; and after the first UE has completed the RRC connection establishment, send a ninth message to the first UE, the ninth message being used to instruct the second UE to establish an RRC connection.

[0206] In some embodiments, the communication unit 1210 is further configured to: send a tenth message to the first UE, the tenth message being associated with SRB0, and the SRAP header of the tenth message containing fourth indication information, the fourth indication information being used to indicate the location or hop count of the target UE of the tenth message on the first relay link.

[0207] In some embodiments, the communication unit 1210 is further configured to: if the network device determines that the first UE is the target UE of the tenth message, then send the tenth message to the first UE via a first RLC channel; and / or, if the network device determines that the first UE is not the target UE of the tenth message, then send the tenth message to the first UE via a second RLC channel; wherein the tenth message is associated with SRB0.

[0208] In some embodiments, the communication unit 1210 is further configured to: send a tenth message associated with SRB0 to the first UE, wherein the SRAP header of the tenth message includes an outer identifier and an inner identifier, the outer identifier being the identifier of the first UE, the inner identifier including the identifier of a second UE, the second UE being a remote UE on the first trunk link or a UE located between the first UE and the remote UE on the first trunk link, and the second UE being directly connected to the first UE.

[0209] In some embodiments, the identifiers of the first UE and the second UE are carried in the RRC message or SRAP header.

[0210] Figure 13 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of this application. The dashed lines in Figure 13 indicate that the unit or module is optional. This device 1300 can be used to implement the methods described in the above method embodiments. Device 1300 can be a chip, a terminal device, or a network device.

[0211] Apparatus 1300 may include one or more processors 1310. The processor 1310 may support apparatus 1300 in implementing the methods described in the preceding method embodiments. The processor 1310 may be a general-purpose processor or a special-purpose processor. For example, the processor may be a central processing unit (CPU). Alternatively, the processor may be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0212] The apparatus 1300 may further include one or more memories 1320. The memories 1320 store a program that can be executed by the processor 1310, causing the processor 1310 to perform the methods described in the preceding method embodiments. The memories 1320 may be independent of the processor 1310 or integrated within the processor 1310.

[0213] The device 1300 may also include a transceiver 1330. The processor 1310 can communicate with other devices or chips via the transceiver 1330. For example, the processor 1310 can send and receive data with other devices or chips via the transceiver 1330.

[0214] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing a program. This computer-readable storage medium can be applied to the communication device provided in this application, and the program causes a computer to execute the methods performed by the communication device in various embodiments of this application.

[0215] This application also provides a computer program product. The computer program product includes a program. The computer program product can be applied to the communication device provided in this application embodiment, and the program causes a computer to execute the methods performed by the communication device in various embodiments of this application.

[0216] This application also provides a computer program. This computer program can be applied to the communication device provided in this application, and causes the computer to execute the methods performed by the communication device in various embodiments of this application.

[0217] It should be understood that the terminology used in this application is only for explaining specific embodiments of this application and is not intended to limit this application. The terms "first," "second," etc., in the specification, claims, and accompanying drawings of this application are used to distinguish different objects, not to describe a specific order. Furthermore, the terms "comprising" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion.

[0218] In the embodiments of this application, the term "instruction" can be a direct instruction, an indirect instruction, or an indication of a relationship. For example, A instructing B can mean that A directly instructs B, such as B being able to obtain information through A; it can also mean that A indirectly instructs B, such as A instructing C, so B can obtain information through C; or it can mean that there is a relationship between A and B.

[0219] In the embodiments of this application, "B corresponding to A" means that B is associated with A, and B can be determined based on A. However, it should also be understood that determining B based on A does not mean that B is determined solely based on A; B can also be determined based on A and / or other information.

[0220] In the embodiments of this application, the term "correspondence" can indicate a direct or indirect correspondence between two things, or an association between two things, or a relationship such as instruction and being instructed, configuration and being configured.

[0221] In this application embodiment, "predefined" or "preconfigured" can be implemented by pre-storing corresponding codes, tables, or other means that can be used to indicate relevant information in the device (e.g., including terminal devices and network devices). This application does not limit the specific implementation method. For example, predefined can refer to what is defined in the protocol.

[0222] In this application embodiment, the "protocol" may refer to a standard protocol in the field of communication, such as the LTE protocol, the NR protocol, and related protocols applied to future communication systems. This application does not limit this.

[0223] In the embodiments of this application, the term "and / or" is merely a description of the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A existing alone, A and B existing simultaneously, or B existing alone. Additionally, the character " / " in this document generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects have an "or" relationship.

[0224] In the various embodiments of this application, the order of the above-mentioned processes does not imply the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of this application.

[0225] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces; the indirect coupling or communication connection between apparatuses or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0226] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0227] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0228] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved entirely or partially through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented entirely or partially in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can read or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available media may be magnetic media (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes), optical media (e.g., digital video discs, DVDs) or semiconductor media (e.g., solid-state disks, SSDs), etc.

[0229] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, include: When multiple user equipment (UEs) on the first relay link request to establish a radio resource control (RRC) connection in parallel, the first relay UE sends path information to the network device. The first relay link includes multiple relay UEs, and the path information is used to indicate the connection relationship between at least some of the UEs on the first relay link, or the path information is used to indicate the position or hop count of the at least some UEs on the first relay link.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The path information includes: The identifier of at least a portion of the UE; and / or, The index of at least some UEs, wherein the index of at least some UEs corresponds one-to-one with the identifier of at least some UEs.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The path information includes the identifiers of at least some of the UEs, and the sorting of the identifiers of at least some of the UEs is used to indicate at least one of the location, hop count and connection order of the at least some of the UEs on the first relay link.

4. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The path information includes an index of at least some of the UEs, and the index value of the at least some of the UEs is used to indicate at least one of the location, hop count and connection order of the at least some of the UEs on the first trunk link.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The at least some UEs include all UEs on the first trunk link; or... The at least some UEs include other UEs on the first trunk link besides the first trunk UE and the second trunk UE, the second trunk UE being located between the first trunk UE and the remote UE on the first trunk link, and the second trunk UE being directly connected to the first trunk UE.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The path information is associated with the identifier of the second relay UE, which is located between the first relay UE and the remote UE on the first relay link, and the second relay UE is directly connected to the first relay UE.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The path information is carried in a first information unit, which is an information unit for a first type of relay link, and the first type of relay link includes multiple relay UEs.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, The method further includes: The first relay UE receives a sidelink relay adaptation protocol SRAP configuration set sent by the network device, the SRAP configuration set including the SRAP configurations corresponding to all UEs on the first relay link; Alternatively, the SRAP configuration set may include one or more of the following: the SRAP configuration corresponding to the remote UE on the first trunk link; the SRAP configuration corresponding to the UE located between the remote UE and the first trunk UE on the first trunk link.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The SRAP configuration set is associated with the identifier of the second relay UE, which is located between the first relay UE and the remote UE on the first relay link, and the second relay UE is directly connected to the first relay UE.

10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that, Each SRAP configuration in the SRAP configuration set includes one or more of the following: The identifier of the associated UE; The local identifier of the associated UE; The bearer identifier of the associated UE; The Radio Link Control (RLC) configuration corresponding to the bearer of the associated UE.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that, The method further includes: Upon receiving the first message of the associated signaling radio bearer SRB0 sent by the network device, the first relay UE performs one or more of the following operations: If the SRAP header of the first message does not contain the UE's identifier, then the first relay UE is determined to be the target UE of the first message; If the first message does not contain an SRAP header, then the first relay UE is determined to be the target UE of the first message; If the SRAP header of the first message contains the identifier of the second relay UE, then the second relay UE is determined to be the target UE of the first message; If the SRAP header of the first message contains the identifier of the second relay UE, then a second message is sent to the second relay UE. The second message contains the same RLC configuration as the first message, but does not contain an SRAP header. If the UE identifier in the SRAP header of the first message is not the identifier of the first relay UE or the second relay UE, then a second message is sent, which contains the same RLC configuration as the first message. The second relay UE is located between the first relay UE and the remote UE on the first relay link, and the second relay UE is directly connected to the first relay UE.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that, The method further includes: The first relay UE receives a first message sent by the network device. The first message is associated with SRB0, and the SRAP header of the first message contains first indication information, which is used to indicate the location or hop count of the target UE of the first message on the first relay link.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that, The method further includes: If the first relay UE receives the first message sent by the network device through the first RLC channel, then the first relay UE determines that it is the target UE of the first message; and / or, If the first relay UE receives the first message sent by the network device through the second RLC channel, the first relay UE sends a second message, the second message containing the same RLC configuration as the first message; The first message is associated with SRB0.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that, The method further includes: The first relay UE receives a third message associated with SRB0 sent by the network device. The SRAP header of the third message includes an outer identifier and an inner identifier. The outer identifier is the identifier of the first relay UE, and the inner identifier includes the identifier of the second relay UE. The second relay UE is located between the first relay UE and the remote UE on the first relay link, and the second relay UE is directly connected to the first relay UE.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that, The method further includes: In response to the third message, the first relay UE sends the fourth message to the second relay UE. The third message and the fourth message contain the same RLC configuration, and the outer identifier of the SRAP header of the fourth message is the identifier of the second relay UE.

16. A communication method, characterized in that, include: In the case where multiple user equipment (UEs) on the first relay link request to establish a radio resource control (RRC) connection in parallel, the first user equipment (UE) sends a fifth message on the first relay link, the fifth message being used to request the establishment of an RRC connection; The first trunk link includes multiple trunk UEs, and the first UE is a UE on the first trunk link that is not directly connected to the network device.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that, The fifth message includes a Sidelink Relay Adaptation Protocol (SRAP) header, and the SRAP header contains the identifier of the first UE.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that, The SRAP header contains second indication information, which is used by the UE receiving the fifth message to identify the fifth message or the SRAP header.

19. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that, The Radio Link Control (RLC) channel used to carry the fifth message does not include Side Link Control (SL-RLC0).

20. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 19, characterized in that, The method further includes: The first UE receives a sixth message sent by the second UE on the first relay link, the sixth message being used to request the establishment of an RRC connection; If the sixth message does not contain an SRAP header, the first UE adds an SRAP header to the sixth message, and the SRAP header contains the identifier of the second UE.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that, The SRAP header contains third indication information, which is used by the UE receiving the sixth message to identify the sixth message or the SRAP header.

22. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that, The RLC channel used to carry the sixth message is not SL-RLC0.

23. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 22, characterized in that, The method further includes: The first UE receives an SRAP configuration set sent by the network device, the SRAP configuration set including the SRAP configurations corresponding to all UEs on the first relay link; Alternatively, the SRAP configuration set may include one or more of the following: The SRAP configuration corresponding to the remote UE on the first relay link; SRAP configuration of the first UE; The SRAP configuration of the UE located between the remote UE and the first UE on the first trunk link.

24. The method according to claim 23, characterized in that, Each SRAP configuration in the SRAP configuration set includes one or more of the following: The identifier of the associated UE; The local identifier of the associated UE; The bearer identifier of the associated UE; The RLC configuration corresponding to the bearer of the associated UE.

25. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 24, characterized in that, The method further includes: The first UE sends a seventh message to the network device through the first relay link. The seventh message contains the identifiers of the first UE and the second UE. The second UE is a remote UE on the first relay link or a UE located between the first UE and the remote UE on the first relay link, and the second UE is directly connected to the first UE.

26. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 24, characterized in that, The method further includes: The first UE receives an eighth message sent by the network device, the eighth message being used to instruct the first UE to establish an RRC connection; After the first UE completes the RRC connection establishment, the first UE receives a ninth message sent by the network device. The ninth message is used to instruct the next UE in the first trunk link to establish an RRC connection. The next UE is a remote UE on the first trunk link or a UE located between the remote UE on the first trunk link and the first UE.

27. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 24, characterized in that, The method further includes: If the first UE does not obtain the SRAP configuration associated with the first UE, and the first UE receives the tenth message, then the first UE caches the tenth message. The tenth message is associated with SRB0, and the first UE cannot recognize the tenth message.

28. The method according to claim 27, characterized in that, The method further includes: After the first UE obtains the SRAP configuration corresponding to the UE associated with the tenth message, the first UE sends an eleventh message according to the SRAP configuration corresponding to the UE associated with the tenth message. The eleventh message contains the same RLC configuration as the tenth message.

29. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 24, characterized in that, The method further includes: After receiving the tenth message associated with SRB0 sent by the network device, the first UE performs one or more of the following operations: If the SRAP header of the tenth message does not contain the UE's identifier, then the first UE is determined to be the target UE of the tenth message; If the tenth message does not contain an SRAP header, then the first UE is determined to be the target UE of the tenth message; If the SRAP header of the tenth message contains the identifier of the second UE, then the second UE is determined to be the target UE of the tenth message; If the SRAP header of the tenth message contains the identifier of the second UE, then an eleventh message is sent to the second UE. The eleventh message contains the same RLC configuration as the tenth message, but does not contain an SRAP header. If the UE identifier in the SRAP header of the tenth message is not the identifier of the first UE or the second UE, then the eleventh message is sent, and the eleventh message contains the same RLC configuration as the tenth message; The second UE is either a remote UE on the first trunk link or a UE located between the first UE and the remote UE on the first trunk link, and the second UE is directly connected to the first UE.

30. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 24, characterized in that, The method further includes: The first UE receives a tenth message sent by the network device. The tenth message is associated with SRB0, and the SRAP header of the tenth message contains fourth indication information, which is used to indicate the location or hop count of the target UE of the tenth message on the first relay link.

31. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 24, characterized in that, The method further includes: If the first UE receives the tenth message sent by the network device through the first RLC channel, then the first relay UE determines that the first UE is the target UE of the tenth message; and / or, If the first UE receives the tenth message sent by the network device through the second RLC channel, the first relay UE sends an eleventh message, which contains the same RLC configuration as the tenth message; The tenth message is associated with SRB0.

32. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 24, characterized in that, The method further includes: The first UE receives the tenth message carried on SRB0 sent by the network device; If the first UE does not obtain the SRAP configuration corresponding to the first UE, the first UE sends an eleventh message based on the first routing information and the UE identifier in the SRAP header of the tenth message. The eleventh message contains the same RLC configuration as the tenth message. The first routing information is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the UE's identifier and the relay link where the first UE is located.

33. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 24, characterized in that, The method further includes: The first UE receives the tenth message associated with SRB0 sent by the network device. The SRAP header of the tenth message includes an outer identifier and an inner identifier. The outer identifier is the identifier of the first UE, and the inner identifier includes the identifier of the second UE. The second UE is a remote UE on the first trunk link or a UE located between the first UE and the remote UE on the first trunk link, and the second UE is directly connected to the first UE.

34. The method according to claim 33, characterized in that, The method further includes: In response to the tenth message, the first UE sends an eleventh message to the second UE. The tenth message and the eleventh message have the same RLC configuration, and the outer identifier of the SRAP header of the eleventh message is the identifier of the second UE.

35. A communication method, characterized in that, include: When multiple User Equipments (UEs) on the first trunk link concurrently request to establish Radio Resource Control (RRC) connections, the network device performs one of the following operations: The system receives path information sent by a first relay UE, the path information being used to indicate the connection relationship between at least some UEs on the first relay link, or the path information being used to indicate the position or hop count of the at least some UEs on the first relay link; Receive a seventh message sent by the first UE, the seventh message including the identifier of the first UE and the identifier of the second UE; The first relay link includes multiple relay UEs. The first relay UE is a relay UE on the first relay link that is directly connected to the network device. The second UE is a UE on the first relay link that is not directly connected to the network device. The second UE is a remote UE on the first relay link or a UE located between the first UE and the remote UE on the first relay link, and the second UE is directly connected to the first UE.

36. The method according to claim 35, characterized in that, The path information includes: The identifier of at least a portion of the UE; and / or, The index of at least some UEs, and the index of at least some UEs corresponds one-to-one with the identifier of at least some UEs.

37. The method according to claim 36, characterized in that, The path information includes the identifiers of at least some of the UEs, and the sorting of the identifiers of at least some of the UEs is used to indicate at least one of the location, hop count and connection order of the at least some of the UEs on the first relay link.

38. The method according to claim 36, characterized in that, The path information includes an index of at least some of the UEs, and the index value of the at least some of the UEs is used to indicate at least one of the location, hop count and connection order of the at least some of the UEs on the first trunk link.

39. The method according to any one of claims 35 to 38, characterized in that: The at least some UEs include all UEs on the first trunk link; or... The at least some UEs include other UEs on the first trunk link besides the first trunk UE and the second trunk UE, the second trunk UE being located between the first trunk UE and the remote UE on the first trunk link, and the second trunk UE being directly connected to the first trunk UE.

40. The method according to any one of claims 35 to 39, characterized in that, The path information is associated with the identifier of the second relay UE, which is located between the first relay UE and the remote UE on the first relay link, and the second relay UE is directly connected to the first relay UE.

41. The method according to any one of claims 35 to 40, characterized in that, The path information is carried in a first information unit, which is an information unit for a first type of relay link, and the first type of relay link includes multiple relay UEs.

42. The method according to any one of claims 35 to 41, characterized in that, The method further includes: The network device sends a Sidelink Relay Adaptation Protocol (SRAP) configuration set to the first relay UE, the SRAP configuration set including the SRAP configurations corresponding to all UEs on the first relay link; Alternatively, the SRAP configuration set may include one or more of the following: The SRAP configuration corresponding to the remote UE on the first relay link; The SRAP configuration of the UE located between the remote UE and the first relay UE on the first relay link.

43. The method according to claim 42, characterized in that, The SRAP configuration set is associated with the identifier of the second relay UE, which is located between the first relay UE and the remote UE on the first relay link, and the second relay UE is directly connected to the first relay UE.

44. The method according to claim 42 or 43, characterized in that, Each SRAP configuration in the SRAP configuration set includes one or more of the following: The identifier of the associated UE; The local identifier of the associated UE; The bearer identifier of the associated UE; The Radio Link Control (RLC) configuration corresponding to the bearer of the associated UE.

45. The method according to any one of claims 35 to 44, characterized in that, The method further includes: The network device sends an eighth message to the first UE, the eighth message being used to instruct the first UE to establish an RRC connection; After the first UE completes the RRC connection establishment, the network device sends a ninth message to the first UE, which instructs the second UE to establish an RRC connection.

46. ​​The method according to any one of claims 35 to 44, characterized in that, The method further includes: The network device sends a tenth message to the first UE. The tenth message is associated with SRB0, and the SRAP header of the tenth message contains fourth indication information, which is used to indicate the location or hop count of the target UE of the tenth message on the first relay link.

47. The method according to any one of claims 35 to 44, characterized in that, The method further includes: If the network device determines that the first UE is the target UE of the tenth message, then the network device sends the tenth message to the first UE through the first RLC channel; and / or, If the network device determines that the first UE is not the target UE of the tenth message, then the network device sends the tenth message to the first UE through the second RLC channel; The tenth message is associated with SRB0.

48. The method according to any one of claims 35 to 44, characterized in that, The method further includes: The network device sends a tenth message associated with SRB0 to the first UE. The SRAP header of the tenth message includes an outer identifier and an inner identifier. The outer identifier is the identifier of the first UE, and the inner identifier includes the identifier of the second UE. The second UE is a remote UE on the first trunk link or a UE located between the first UE and the remote UE on the first trunk link, and the second UE is directly connected to the first UE.

49. The method according to any one of claims 35 to 48, characterized in that, The identifiers of the first UE and the second UE are carried in the RRC message or SRAP header.

50. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device is a first relay user equipment (UE), and the communication device includes: The communication unit is used to send path information to the network device when multiple UEs on the first relay link request to establish a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection in parallel. The first relay link includes multiple relay UEs, and the path information is used to indicate the connection relationship between at least some of the UEs on the first relay link, or the path information is used to indicate the position or hop count of the at least some UEs on the first relay link.

51. The communication device according to claim 50, characterized in that, The path information includes: The identifier of at least a portion of the UE; and / or, The index of at least some UEs, wherein the index of at least some UEs corresponds one-to-one with the identifier of at least some UEs.

52. The communication device according to claim 51, characterized in that, The path information includes the identifiers of at least some of the UEs, and the sorting of the identifiers of at least some of the UEs is used to indicate at least one of the location, hop count and connection order of the at least some of the UEs on the first relay link.

53. The communication device according to claim 51, characterized in that, The path information includes an index of at least some of the UEs, and the index value of the at least some of the UEs is used to indicate at least one of the location, hop count and connection order of the at least some of the UEs on the first trunk link.

54. The communication device according to any one of claims 50 to 53, characterized in that: The at least some UEs include all UEs on the first trunk link; or... The at least some UEs include other UEs on the first trunk link besides the first trunk UE and the second trunk UE, the second trunk UE being located between the first trunk UE and the remote UE on the first trunk link, and the second trunk UE being directly connected to the first trunk UE.

55. The communication device according to any one of claims 50 to 54, characterized in that, The path information is associated with the identifier of the second relay UE, which is located between the first relay UE and the remote UE on the first relay link, and the second relay UE is directly connected to the first relay UE.

56. The communication device according to any one of claims 50 to 55, characterized in that, The path information is carried in a first information unit, which is an information unit for a first type of relay link, and the first type of relay link includes multiple relay UEs.

57. The communication device according to any one of claims 50 to 56, characterized in that, The communication unit is also used for: The network device receives a Sidelink Relay Adaptation Protocol (SRAP) configuration set, which includes the SRAP configurations for all UEs on the first relay link. Alternatively, the SRAP configuration set may include one or more of the following: The SRAP configuration corresponding to the remote UE on the first relay link; The SRAP configuration of the UE located between the remote UE and the first relay UE on the first relay link.

58. The communication device according to claim 57, characterized in that, The SRAP configuration set is associated with the identifier of the second relay UE, which is located between the first relay UE and the remote UE on the first relay link, and the second relay UE is directly connected to the first relay UE.

59. The communication device according to claim 57 or 58, characterized in that, Each SRAP configuration in the SRAP configuration set includes one or more of the following: The identifier of the associated UE; The local identifier of the associated UE; The bearer identifier of the associated UE; The Radio Link Control (RLC) configuration corresponding to the bearer of the associated UE.

60. The communication device according to any one of claims 50 to 59, characterized in that, The communication device further includes: an execution unit, configured to perform one or more of the following operations after receiving a first message from the associated signaling radio bearer SRB0 sent by the network device: If the SRAP header of the first message does not contain the UE's identifier, then the first relay UE is determined to be the target UE of the first message; If the first message does not contain an SRAP header, then the first relay UE is determined to be the target UE of the first message; If the SRAP header of the first message contains the identifier of the second relay UE, then the second relay UE is determined to be the target UE of the first message; If the SRAP header of the first message contains the identifier of the second relay UE, then the second message is sent to the second relay UE. The second message includes the same RLC configuration as the first message, and the second message does not contain the SRAP header. If the UE identifier in the SRAP header of the first message is not the identifier of the first relay UE or the second relay UE, then a second message is sent, which includes the same RLC configuration as the first message. The second relay UE is located between the first relay UE and the remote UE on the first relay link, and the second relay UE is directly connected to the first relay UE.

61. The communication device according to any one of claims 50 to 59, characterized in that, The communication unit is also used for: The network device receives a first message, which is associated with an SRB0 and has an SRAP header containing first indication information. The first indication information is used to indicate the location or hop count of the target UE of the first message on the first relay link.

62. The communication device according to any one of claims 50 to 59, characterized in that, The communication device further includes: a processing unit, configured to: If the first relay UE receives the first message sent by the network device through the first RLC channel, then the first relay UE is determined to be the target UE of the first message; and / or, If the first relay UE receives the first message sent by the network device through the second RLC channel, it sends a second message, the second message including the same RLC configuration as the first message; The first message is associated with SRB0.

63. The communication device according to any one of claims 50 to 59, characterized in that, The communication unit is also used for: The network device receives a third message associated with SRB0. The SRAP header of the third message includes an outer identifier and an inner identifier. The outer identifier is the identifier of the first relay UE, and the inner identifier includes the identifier of the second relay UE. The second relay UE is located between the first relay UE and the remote UE on the first relay link, and the second relay UE is directly connected to the first relay UE.

64. The communication device according to claim 63, characterized in that, The communication unit is also used for: In response to the third message, a fourth message is sent to the second relay UE. The fourth message contains the same RLC configuration as the third message, and the outer identifier of the SRAP header of the fourth message is the identifier of the second relay UE.

65. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device is a first user equipment (UE), and the communication device includes: A communication unit is configured to send a fifth message on the first relay link when multiple user equipment (UE) requests to establish a radio resource control (RRC) connection in parallel on the first relay link. The fifth message is used to request the establishment of an RRC connection. The first trunk link includes multiple trunk UEs, and the first UE is a UE on the first trunk link that is not directly connected to the network device.

66. The communication device according to claim 65, characterized in that, The fifth message includes a Sidelink Relay Adaptation Protocol (SRAP) header, and the SRAP header contains the identifier of the first UE.

67. The communication device according to claim 66, characterized in that, The SRAP header contains second indication information, which is used by the UE receiving the fifth message to identify the fifth message or the SRAP header.

68. The communication device according to claim 66, characterized in that, The Radio Link Control (RLC) channel used to carry the fifth message is not a Side-Link Control (SL-RLC0).

69. The communication device according to any one of claims 65 to 68, characterized in that, The communication unit is also used for: Receive a sixth message sent by the second UE on the first relay link, the sixth message being used to request the establishment of an RRC connection; The communication device further includes a processing unit for: If the sixth message does not contain an SRAP header, then an SRAP header is added to the sixth message, the SRAP header containing the identifier of the second UE.

70. The communication device according to claim 69, characterized in that, The SRAP header contains third indication information, which is used by the UE receiving the sixth message to identify the sixth message or the SRAP header.

71. The communication device according to claim 69, characterized in that, The RLC channel used to carry the sixth message is not SL-RLC0.

72. The communication device according to any one of claims 65 to 71, characterized in that, The communication unit is also used for: Receive the SRAP configuration set sent by the network device, the SRAP configuration set including the SRAP configurations corresponding to all UEs on the first relay link; Alternatively, the SRAP configuration set may include one or more of the following: The SRAP configuration corresponding to the remote UE on the first relay link; SRAP configuration of the first UE; The SRAP configuration of the UE located between the remote UE and the first UE on the first trunk link.

73. The communication device according to claim 72, characterized in that, Each SRAP configuration in the SRAP configuration set includes one or more of the following: The identifier of the associated UE; The local identifier of the associated UE; The bearer identifier of the associated UE; The RLC configuration corresponding to the bearer of the associated UE.

74. The communication device according to any one of claims 65 to 73, characterized in that, The communication unit is also used for: A seventh message is sent to the network device via the first relay link. The seventh message contains the identifiers of the first UE and the second UE. The second UE is a remote UE on the first relay link or a UE located between the first UE and the remote UE on the first relay link, and the second UE is directly connected to the first UE.

75. The communication device according to any one of claims 65 to 74, characterized in that, The communication unit is also used for: The network device receives an eighth message, which instructs the first UE to establish an RRC connection. After the RRC connection of the first UE is established, a ninth message is received from the network device. The ninth message is used to instruct the next UE of the first UE in the first trunk link to establish an RRC connection. The next UE is a remote UE on the first trunk link or a UE located between the remote UE on the first trunk link and the first UE.

76. The communication device according to any one of claims 65 to 73, characterized in that, The communication device further includes a buffer unit for: If the first UE does not obtain the SRAP configuration associated with the first UE, and the first UE receives the tenth message, then the tenth message is cached. The tenth message is associated with SRB0, and the first UE cannot recognize the tenth message.

77. The communication device according to claim 76, characterized in that, The communication unit is also used for: After the first UE obtains the SRAP configuration corresponding to the UE associated with the tenth message, it sends an eleventh message according to the SRAP configuration corresponding to the UE associated with the tenth message. The eleventh message and the tenth message include the same RLC configuration.

78. The communication device according to any one of claims 65 to 73, characterized in that, The communication device further includes an execution unit, configured to perform one or more of the following operations after receiving the tenth message associated with SRB0 sent by the network device: If the SRAP header of the tenth message does not contain the UE's identifier, then the first UE is determined to be the target UE of the tenth message; If the tenth message does not contain an SRAP header, then the first UE is determined to be the target UE of the tenth message; If the SRAP header of the tenth message contains the identifier of the second UE, then the second UE is determined to be the target UE of the tenth message; If the SRAP header of the tenth message contains the identifier of the second UE, then the eleventh message is sent to the second UE. The tenth message and the eleventh message include the same RLC configuration, and the eleventh message does not contain the SRAP header. If the UE identifier in the SRAP header of the eighth message is not the identifier of the first UE or the second UE, then an eleventh message is sent, which includes the same RLC configuration as the tenth message. The second UE is either a remote UE on the first trunk link or a UE located between the first UE and the remote UE on the first trunk link, and the second UE is directly connected to the first UE.

79. The communication device according to any one of claims 65 to 73, characterized in that, The communication unit is also used for: The network device receives a tenth message, which is associated with SRB0 and whose SRAP header contains fourth indication information, which is used to indicate the location or hop count of the target UE on the first relay link.

80. The communication device according to any one of claims 65 to 73, characterized in that, The communication device further includes a processing unit configured to: determine that the first UE is the target UE of the tenth message if the first UE receives the tenth message sent by the network device through a first RLC channel; and / or, send an eleventh message if the first UE receives the tenth message sent by the network device through a second RLC channel, wherein the tenth message and the eleventh message include the same RLC configuration; wherein the tenth message is associated with SRB0.

81. The communication device according to any one of claims 65 to 73, characterized in that, The communication unit is also used for: Receive the tenth message carried on SRB0 sent by the network device; If the first UE does not obtain the SRAP configuration corresponding to the first UE, an eleventh message is sent based on the first routing information and the UE identifier in the SRAP header of the tenth message. The eleventh message contains the same RLC configuration as the tenth message. The first routing information is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the UE's identifier and the relay link where the first UE is located.

82. The communication device according to any one of claims 65 to 73, characterized in that, The communication unit is also used for: The network device receives a tenth message associated with SRB0. The SRAP header of the tenth message includes an outer identifier and an inner identifier. The outer identifier is the identifier of the first UE, and the inner identifier includes the identifier of the second UE. The second UE is a remote UE on the first trunk link or a UE located between the first UE and the remote UE on the first trunk link, and the second UE is directly connected to the first UE.

83. The communication device according to claim 82, characterized in that, The communication unit is also used for: In response to the tenth message, an eleventh message is sent to the second UE. The tenth message and the eleventh message include the same RLC configuration, and the outer identifier of the SRAP header of the eleventh message is the identifier of the second UE.

84. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device is a network device, and the network device includes: The communication unit is configured to perform one of the following operations when multiple user equipment (UEs) on the first relay link concurrently request the establishment of a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection: The system receives path information sent by a first relay UE, the path information being used to indicate the connection relationship between at least some UEs on the first relay link, or the path information being used to indicate the position or hop count of the at least some UEs on the first relay link; Receive a seventh message sent by the first UE, the seventh message including the identifier of the first UE and the identifier of the second UE; The first relay link includes multiple relay UEs. The first relay UE is a relay UE on the first relay link that is directly connected to the network device. The second UE is a UE on the first relay link that is not directly connected to the network device. The second UE is a remote UE on the first relay link or a UE located between the first UE and the remote UE on the first relay link, and the second UE is directly connected to the first UE.

85. The communication device according to claim 84, characterized in that, The path information includes: The identifier of at least a portion of the UE; and / or, The index of at least some UEs, and the index of at least some UEs corresponds one-to-one with the identifier of at least some UEs.

86. The communication device according to claim 85, characterized in that, The path information includes the identifiers of at least some of the UEs, and the sorting of the identifiers of at least some of the UEs is used to indicate at least one of the location, hop count and connection order of the at least some of the UEs on the first relay link.

87. The communication device according to claim 85, characterized in that, The path information includes an index of at least some of the UEs, and the index value of the at least some of the UEs is used to indicate at least one of the location, hop count and connection order of the at least some of the UEs on the first trunk link.

88. The communication device according to any one of claims 84 to 87, characterized in that: The at least some UEs include all UEs on the first trunk link; or... The at least some UEs include other UEs on the first trunk link besides the first trunk UE and the second trunk UE, the second trunk UE being located between the first trunk UE and the remote UE on the first trunk link, and the second trunk UE being directly connected to the first trunk UE.

89. The communication device according to any one of claims 84 to 88, characterized in that, The path information is associated with the identifier of the second relay UE, which is located between the first relay UE and the remote UE on the first relay link, and the second relay UE is directly connected to the first relay UE.

90. The communication device according to any one of claims 84 to 89, characterized in that, The path information is carried in a first information unit, which is an information unit for a first type of relay link, and the first type of relay link includes multiple relay UEs.

91. The communication device according to any one of claims 84 to 90, characterized in that, The communication unit is also used for: Send a Sidelink Relay Adaptation Protocol (SRAP) configuration set to the first relay UE, wherein the SRAP configuration set includes the SRAP configurations corresponding to all UEs on the first relay link; Alternatively, the SRAP configuration set may include one or more of the following: The SRAP configuration corresponding to the remote UE on the first relay link; The SRAP configuration of the UE located between the remote UE and the first relay UE on the first relay link.

92. The communication device according to claim 91, characterized in that, The SRAP configuration set is associated with the identifier of the second relay UE, which is located between the first relay UE and the remote UE on the first relay link, and the second relay UE is directly connected to the first relay UE.

93. The communication device according to claim 91 or 92, characterized in that, Each SRAP configuration in the SRAP configuration set includes one or more of the following: The identifier of the associated UE; The local identifier of the associated UE; The bearer identifier of the associated UE; The Radio Link Control (RLC) configuration corresponding to the bearer of the associated UE.

94. The communication device according to any one of claims 84 to 93, characterized in that, The communication unit is also used for: Send an eighth message to the first UE, the eighth message being used to instruct the first UE to establish an RRC connection; After the RRC connection of the first UE is established, a ninth message is sent to the first UE, which is used to instruct the second UE to establish an RRC connection.

95. The communication device according to any one of claims 84 to 93, characterized in that, The communication unit is also used for: A tenth message is sent to the first UE. The tenth message is associated with SRB0, and the SRAP header of the tenth message contains fourth indication information, which is used to indicate the location or hop count of the target UE of the tenth message on the first relay link.

96. The communication device according to any one of claims 84 to 93, characterized in that, The communication unit is also used for: If the network device determines that the first UE is the target UE of the tenth message, it sends the tenth message to the first UE through the first RLC channel; And / or, If the network device determines that the first UE is not the target UE of the tenth message, then the tenth message is sent to the first UE through the second RLC channel; The tenth message is associated with SRB0.

97. The communication device according to any one of claims 84 to 93, characterized in that, The communication unit is also used for: Send a tenth message associated with SRB0 to the first UE. The SRAP header of the tenth message includes an outer identifier and an inner identifier. The outer identifier is the identifier of the first UE, and the inner identifier includes the identifier of the second UE. The second UE is a remote UE on the first trunk link or a UE located between the first UE and the remote UE on the first trunk link, and the second UE is directly connected to the first UE.

98. The communication device according to any one of claims 84 to 97, characterized in that, The identifiers of the first UE and the second UE are carried in the RRC message or SRAP header.

99. A communication device, characterized in that, The device includes a transceiver, a memory, and a processor. The memory stores a program, and the processor invokes the program in the memory and controls the transceiver to receive or transmit signals so that the communication device performs the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 15, 16 to 34, or 35 to 49.

100. An apparatus, characterized in that, Includes a processor for calling a program from memory to cause the apparatus to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 15, 16 to 34, or 35 to 49.

101. A chip, characterized in that, Includes a processor for calling a program from memory, causing a device on which the chip is mounted to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 15, 16 to 34, or 35 to 49.

102. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, It contains a program that causes a computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 15, 16 to 34, or 35 to 49.

103. A computer program product, characterized in that, Includes a program that causes a computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 15, 16 to 34, or 35 to 49.

104. A computer program, characterized in that, The computer program causes the computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 15, 16 to 34, or 35 to 49.

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