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ApplePatent applicationNetworks & wirelessInterest 4/10

Apple patents way for phones to talk directly through a middleman

Apple describes a method for two phones to communicate directly with each other using a third phone as a bridge. The system uses specific digital labels to identify this direct connection at the network layer, rather than relying on standard device addresses.

Why it mattersThis could improve how devices share data in areas with weak signal or no cellular coverage by creating a more efficient peer-to-peer network.

In the filing’s own words

Signaling procedures may be established to provide support for direct end-to-end PC5 link establishment in Layer 2 (L2) of a UE-to-UE relay. According to a first option, the direct end-to-end L2 PC5 link between two remote UEs (communicating via a relay UE) in not identified by conventional L2 addresses, and one or more local L2 identifiers specific to the end-to-end L2 PC5 link may be used instead. According to a second option, the L2 IDs identifying the end-to-end L2 PC5 link may be the same L2 ID(s) used by the remote UEs for their respective PC5 links to the relay UE. According to a third option, L2 IDs, different from the respective L2 IDs used by the remote UEs for their respective PC5 links to the relay UE, may be established specifically to identify the end-to-end L2 PC5 link. Solutions addressing each option may include RRC procedures and/or PC5-S procedures for different direct end-to-end L2 PC5 link establishment approaches.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A method for wireless communications, the method comprising: establishing a first direct sidelink communication link between a relay device and a first remote device; establishing a second direct sidelink communication link between the relay device and a second remote device; establishing, via the relay device, a direct end-to-end Layer 2 sidelink communication link between the first remote device and the second remote device; and enabling communications between the first remote device and the second remote device via the first direct sidelink communication link and the second direct sidelink communication link based on the established direct end-to-end Layer 2 sidelink communication link.

Facts

Company
Apple (Apple Inc.)
Official title
Methods and Signaling Procedures for Direct End-to-End PC5 Link Support in Layer 2 of UE-to-UE Relay
Publication number
US20260292905A1
Application number
19472968
Filed
May 9, 2023
Published
Sep 24, 2026
Inventors
9
Claims
21

Classified under

H04W 76/14 Electricity & electronicsH04W 76/11 Electricity & electronicsH04W 88/04 Electricity & electronics
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.