CN109495942B

CN109495942B - Data transmission method, device and system based on user equipment position

Info

Publication number: CN109495942B
Application number: CN201710818676.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 景昊; 宗在峰
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2017-09-12
Filing date: 2017-09-12
Publication date: 2021-10-26
Anticipated expiration: 2037-09-12
Also published as: CN109495942A; WO2019052434A1; CN114245434A

Abstract

The invention discloses a data method, a device and a system based on the position of a user terminal, wherein the method comprises the following steps: the access network AN receives a location subscription request from AN access and mobility management function entity AMF, and in case the UE moves in or out of a specific area, the AN sends a notification message to the AMF. In case the UE is outside the specific area, the AN discards uplink and downlink data of the UE.

Description

Data transmission method, device and system based on user equipment position

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a data transmission method, apparatus, and system based on a location of a user equipment.

Background

In a fifth generation (5rd generation, 5G) communication system, when a User Equipment (UE) is in a CM-CONNECTED state, AN Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) entity may send a request report to AN Access Network (AN) for requesting a current location of the UE. Wherein, the request report sent by the AMF to the AN includes a cell list, and when the AN determines that the UE moves from one cell in the cell list to another cell, the AN sends a location report to the AMF. When the UE switches to CM-IDLE or the AMF sends a cancel indication to the AN, the AN will not continue to report the location of the UE to the AMF. The procedure can be used for services requiring accurate cell identification (e.g. emergency services, lawful interception, charging). However, for services based on UE location but not requiring accurate cell identification, the large amount of location reporting information generated between the AMF and the AN results in many unnecessary signaling transmissions.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the invention provides a data transmission method, a device and a system based on the position of User Equipment (UE), which aim to solve the problem of excessive signaling transmission when identifying whether the UE moves into or out of a specific area.

In order to achieve the above purpose, the embodiments of the present invention provide the following technical solutions:

in a first aspect, a data transmission based on a location of a user equipment UE is provided, the method comprising: AN Access Network (AN) receives a location subscription request from AN access and mobility management functional entity, wherein the location subscription request is used for indicating the AN to inform the access and mobility management functional entity when the UE moves into or out of a specific area; and the AN sends a subscription response message to AN access and mobility management functional entity, wherein the subscription response message is used for indicating the UE to move into or out of the specific area. That is, when the AN acquires the location of the UE, it is determined whether the UE moves into or out of a specific area. The notification message is transmitted to the access and mobility management function entity only when the UE moves into or out of a specific area. Whether the UE moves into or out of the specific area is determined by the AN, so that not only is frequent signaling transmission between the AN and the access and mobility management functional entity avoided, but also the overload of the core network side equipment can be avoided.

In one possible implementation, before the AN sends a subscription response message to AN access and mobility management function entity, the method further includes: the AN receives downlink data sent to the UE; the AN determines that the UE is in AN RRC-inactive state; initiating paging to the UE by the AN to establish connection with the UE; the AN determines that the UE moves in or out of the specific area. The UE may release the connection with the AMF (e.g., in RRC-inactive state) for reasons such as saving power consumption or releasing limited channel resources. When the location of the UE needs to be acquired, the AN needs to page the UE to establish a connection with the UE.

In a possible implementation manner, the AN further receives data discard indication information from the access and mobility management function entity, where the data discard indication information is used to indicate that the AN discards downlink data sent to the UE and/or uplink data sent by the UE when the UE moves out of the specific area.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a data transmission method based on a location of a user equipment UE, including: AN access and mobility management functional entity sends a location subscription request to AN Access Network (AN), wherein the subscription request is used for indicating that the AN informs the access and mobility management functional entity when the UE moves into or out of a specific area; and the access and mobility management functional entity receives a subscription response message from the base station, wherein the subscription response message is used for indicating the UE to move into or out of the specific area.

In a possible implementation manner, the access and mobility management functional entity sends data discard indication information to the AN; the data discarding indication information is used for indicating that the AN discards the downlink data sent to the UE and/or the uplink data sent by the UE under the condition that the UE moves out of the specific area.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a data transmission method based on a location of a user equipment UE, including: AN access network AN receives data discarding indication information from AN access and mobility management functional entity; the AN determines that the UE moves out of a specific area; and the AN discards the downlink data sent to the UE or the uplink data of the UE according to the data discarding indication information.

In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the AN receives downlink data sent to the UE; the AN determines that the UE is in AN RRC-inactive state; and the AN initiates paging to the UE to establish connection with the UE.

In one possible design, the particular areas to which the above aspects relate include the LADN service area of the UE or areas where the UE is allowed to have a communication connection. The area served by the LADN of the UE or the area where the UE allows a communication connection to occur may specifically be a cell list. When the AN acquires the location of the UE (e.g., access cell), the location of the UE is compared to the cell list to determine whether the UE is currently within or outside the particular area. Optionally, the AN may further obtain, from the context of the UE, a position where the UE was located at a previous time to determine whether the UE was located in the specific area or outside the specific area at the previous time. And then determines whether the UE is moving into or out of the specific area at the current time. The triggering condition of the above judging process has many possibilities, and one possible implementation is to trigger AN judgment when the UE moves across cells; another possible implementation is that the AN decision is triggered when the AN and the UE establish a connection or re-establish a connection (e.g., RRC connection).

In a possible implementation, the location subscription request related to the above aspect includes information indicating the specific area. The information indicating the specific area may specifically be a cell list corresponding to the specific area, or may be indication information of a cell list corresponding to the specific area. The difference between the two is whether the cell list corresponding to the specific area is delivered to the AN along with the location subscription request. In a possible implementation, when the UE registers to the network through the AN, the cell list corresponding to the specific area is already delivered to the AN, and the AN stores the correspondence between the cell list corresponding to the specific area and the identifier of the UE. At this time, the indication information of the cell list corresponding to the specific area may be AN identifier of the UE, and the AN may determine the specific area corresponding to the UE according to the identifier of the UE and the corresponding relationship.

The data discard indication information related to the above aspect includes a PDU session identifier. Optionally, the data discard indication information may be sent to the UE separately as an independent signaling, or may be a part of the location definition request. Specifically, when the AN receives data (downlink data sent to the UE by the core network side or uplink data sent by the UE), it is determined whether the data is related to the PDU session identifier in the data discard indication information. If the current UE is in the specific area, the data is forwarded; otherwise, the data is discarded. By the method, the data transmission control based on the UE position can be realized.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus for data transmission based on a location of a user equipment UE, where the apparatus has a function of implementing an access network behavior in the foregoing method embodiment. The function can be realized by hardware, and can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an access network apparatus, including: a processor, a memory, a bus, and a communication interface; the memory is configured to store computer executable instructions, the processor is connected to the memory through the bus, and when the apparatus is running, the processor executes the computer executable instructions stored in the memory, so as to enable the access network apparatus to perform the method for implementing data transmission based on the location of the user equipment UE as described in any one of the above first aspects.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus for data transmission based on a location of a user equipment UE, where the apparatus has a function of implementing behaviors of access and mobility management functional entities in the foregoing method embodiments. The function can be realized by hardware, and can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an access and mobility management function apparatus, including: a processor, memory, a bus, and a communication interface; the memory is configured to store computer executable instructions, the processor is connected to the memory via the bus, and when the device is operating, the processor executes the computer executable instructions stored in the memory, so that the access and mobility management functions perform a method for implementing data transmission based on a location of a user equipment UE as in any one of the second and third aspects.

In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a system for data transmission based on a location of a user equipment UE, including an access network apparatus and an access and mobility management function apparatus in the foregoing method embodiment or apparatus embodiment.

In a ninth aspect, the present invention further provides a computer program product, which is configured to perform the method performed by the access network AN described in the above aspect when the computer program product is executed.

In a tenth aspect, the present invention further provides a computer program product, which when executed, is configured to perform the method performed by the access and mobility management function entity described above.

In AN eleventh aspect, the embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer-readable storage medium, where instructions are stored in the computer-readable storage medium, and the instructions are configured to execute the method performed by the access network AN described above.

In a twelfth aspect, the embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer-readable storage medium, where instructions are stored in the computer-readable storage medium, and the instructions are used to execute the method performed by the above-described access and mobility management function entity

In the embodiment of the present invention, the names of the access network and the access and mobility management functional entities do not limit the entities themselves, and in actual implementation, these entities may appear by other names. As long as the functions of the various entities are similar to the present invention; or the entity may have multiple functions, one or more of which may be similar to the present invention and are within the scope of the claims and their equivalents.

These and other aspects of the invention are apparent from and will be elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings needed to be used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious for those skilled in the art that other drawings can be obtained according to the drawings without creative efforts.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a possible system network according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a computer device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a schematic flowchart illustrating a method for processing data based on a location of a ue according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a schematic flow chart of another method for processing data based on the location of a ue according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a schematic flow chart of another method for processing data based on the location of a ue according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of an access network apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a possible structure of an access and mobility management function device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a diagram illustrating a data processing system based on the location of a ue according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

To facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, a brief description of the related art of the present application is first given as follows.

Radio Resource Control (RRC) inactive state, i.e. RRC-inactive state: when the UE is in an RRC inactive state, the RRC connection between the UE and the base station is released, but the signaling connection and the data connection between the base station and the core network are reserved, and the context of the UE is reserved by the base station, so that the UE can quickly restore the connection with the network next time. When the UE is in RRC inactive state, it can achieve low latency control requirement with minimum signaling and approach the power consumption when the UE is in LTE RRC idle state, while the number of UEs that can be served in the access network (e.g. RAN/CN) with the same resource consumption will be maximized.

Local Area Data Network (LADN) service Area: the UE can access the data network through one PDU session within the area. A LADN service Area is typically made up of a series of Tracking areas (Tracking areas), while the TAs are geographical areas made up of a contiguous sheet of cells. Thus. The LADN service area in the embodiment of the present invention may be characterized by a cell list, and the cells in the cell list are geographically connected.

Area allowed to initiate communication connection (allowed area): the UE may initiate communication with the network in accordance with the subscription information in an area under a given Radio Access Technology (RAT) that allows for initiation of a communication connection.

Area where no-allowed area of communication connection is allowed to be initiated: in an area of a given RAT where initiation of a communication connection is not allowed, the UE is not allowed to initiate any communication connection other than a registration request (e.g., a service request, etc.), but the UE needs to respond to a page of the network.

The Area where the communication connection is allowed to be initiated and the Area where the communication connection is not allowed to be initiated may both be formed by a series of Tracking areas (Tracking areas), and the TA may be formed by at least one cell, so that the Area where the communication connection is allowed to be initiated and the Area where the communication connection is not allowed to be initiated may also be characterized by a list of cells.

The area restriction list (area restriction list) is used to characterize the range of the service area restriction, and can be represented by an allowed area and a non-allowed area.

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention clearer, the present invention will be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, and it is apparent that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. The particular methods of operation in the method embodiments may also be applied to apparatus embodiments or system embodiments.

The network architecture and the service scenario described in the embodiment of the present invention are for more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, and do not constitute a limitation to the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present invention, and it can be known by those skilled in the art that the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present invention are also applicable to similar technical problems along with the evolution of the network architecture and the appearance of new service scenarios.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a data transmission method based on the location of a UE, which can be applied to a system 100 shown in fig. 1, where in the system 100, the UE can communicate with a communication network. The User Equipment UE referred to in the present application may include various handheld devices, vehicle-mounted devices, wearable devices, computing devices or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem with wireless communication functions, as well as various forms of User Equipment (UE), Terminal (Terminal), Terminal Equipment (Terminal Equipment), soft Terminal, and so on. For convenience of description, the above-mentioned devices are collectively referred to as user equipment or UE in this application. The access network AN comprises at least one base station, the coverage area of which comprises at least one cell.

AN access network AN receives a location subscription request sent by AN access and mobility management function entity AMF, wherein the location subscription request is used for indicating the access network to send a notification message to the access and mobility management function entity when the UE moves into or out of a specific area. Specifically, the subscription request may include information indicating the specific Area, such as a cell list included in a Local Area Data Network (LADN) service Area of the UE or a cell list included in an Area (allowed Area) where the UE allows initiating a communication connection. The LADN service area refers to an area where the UE can access the data network only at a specific location. The core network may determine the LADN service area of a UE based on operator policy and user subscription information.

Subsequently, when the AN determines that the UE moves into or out of the specific area according to the position of the UE, the AN sends a subscription response message to the AMF, and the subscription response message is used for informing the AMF that the UE moves into or out of the specific area.

In particular, the AN may initiate paging to establish a connection with the UE when the UE is in RRC-inactive state.

In addition, the AN also receives data discarding indication information from the AMF, and discards the downlink data sent to the UE and/or the uplink data sent by the UE under the condition that the AN determines that the UE moves out of the specific area. It should be noted that the data discard indication information may be carried in the location subscription request, or may be delivered to the AN as independent information.

Compared with the prior art, the AN can report the position of the UE when the UE moves into or out of a specific area, and the position does not need to be reported when the UE moves among different cells in the specific area, so that the quantity of position information reported by the AN is reduced. The specific area may be defined according to the service requirements of the AMF. In AN application scenario, when a cell range covered by AN currently accessed by a UE and a cell range included by a LADN serving area of the UE in a current registration area intersect (where "intersect" refers to that the cell range covered by the AN and the cell range included by the LADN serving area of the UE in the current registration area overlap, that is, there is at least one cell simultaneously in the range covered by the AN and the cell range included by the LADN serving area of the UE in the current registration area, and there is at least one cell only in the range covered by the AN), the AN needs to send a subscription response message to the AMF if the UE moves into or out of the cell range included by the LADN serving area due to location movement. In another scenario, when the UE establishes a PDU session, and under the situation of mobility restriction, when a cell covered by the AN is a cross allowed area and a non-allowed area, the AMF sends a location subscription request to the RAN. The AMF sends AN area restriction list (area restriction list) to the RAN, and when the UE moves in and out between AN allowed area and a non-allowed area, the AN sends a notification message to the AMF.

As is known, a communication network has many functional network elements, various information can be flexibly stored in different network elements, and various functions can be flexibly implemented through interaction between different network elements. For example, the AN and the AMF in the present invention may be implemented in the same network element, or may be implemented by different network elements. When the AN and the AMF can be implemented in the same network element, the direct signaling interaction (such as a location subscription request) between the AN and the AMF may be AN inter-network element message interaction. Those skilled in the art can design flexible and various communication network implementation schemes according to the content of the embodiments of the present invention, and the following only a few exemplary schemes illustrate some possible implementations of the embodiments of the present invention in a communication network, and it is within the scope of the present invention as long as the functions of the functional entities in the embodiments of the present invention are provided, no matter how the names, positions, and interaction relationships of these network elements change in the future.

As shown in fig. 2, the control plane functional entity 11 and the policy functional entity 13 in fig. 1 may be implemented in the form of a computer device (or system) in fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a computer device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The computer device 200 includes at least one processor 21, a communication bus 22, a memory 23, and at least one communication interface 24.

The processor 21 may be a general purpose Central Processing Unit (CPU), microprocessor, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more ics for controlling the execution of programs in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.

Communication bus 22 may include a path that transfers information between the aforementioned components. The communication interface 24 is used for communication with other devices or communication Networks, such as ethernet, Radio Access Network (RAN), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), etc., using any transceiver or the like.

The Memory 23 may be a Read-Only Memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, a Random Access Memory (RAM) or other types of dynamic storage devices that can store information and instructions, an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), a Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM) or other optical Disc storage, optical Disc storage (including Compact Disc, laser Disc, optical Disc, digital versatile Disc, blu-ray Disc, etc.), magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited to such. The memory may be self-contained and coupled to the processor via a bus. The memory may also be integral to the processor.

Wherein, the memory 23 is used for storing application program codes for executing the scheme of the invention and is controlled by the processor 21 to execute. The processor 21 is configured to execute application program code stored in the memory 23.

In particular implementations, processor 21 may include one or more CPUs such as CPU0 and CPU1 in fig. 2, for example, as one embodiment.

In particular implementations, computer device 200 may include multiple processors, such as processor 21 and processor 28 in FIG. 2, as one embodiment. Each of these processors may be a single-core (single-CPU) processor or a multi-core (multi-CPU) processor. A processor herein may refer to one or more devices, circuits, and/or processing cores for processing data (e.g., computer program instructions).

In particular implementations, computer device 200 may also include an output device 25 and an input device 26, as one embodiment. An output device 25 is in communication with the processor 21 and may display information in a variety of ways. For example, the output device 25 may be a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), a Light Emitting Diode (LED) display device, a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) display device, a projector (projector), or the like. The input device 26 is in communication with the processor 21 and can accept user input in a variety of ways. For example, the input device 26 may be a mouse, a keyboard, a touch screen device or a sensing device, and the like.

The computer device 200 described above may be a general purpose computer device or a special purpose computer device. In a specific implementation, the computer device 200 may be a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a web server, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a wireless terminal device, a communication device, an embedded device, or a device with a similar structure as in fig. 2. Embodiments of the present invention are not limited by the type of computer device 200.

Illustratively, the AN in fig. 1 may be the device shown in fig. 2, and one or more software modules are stored in the memory of the AN. The AN may implement software modules by means of a processor and program code in a memory for implementing data processing based on the location of the user terminal.

Alternatively still, the AMF of FIG. 1 may be the device of FIG. 2, with one or more software modules stored in the memory of the AMF. The AMF may implement software modules by means of a processor and program code in a memory for implementing data processing based on the location of the user terminal.

The following describes a method for processing data based on the location of a user terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention with reference to a flowchart.

Fig. 3 provides a flow chart of a method for data processing based on the position of a user terminal.

In step 301, the UE registers to the network and establishes a PDU session.

Wherein the UE is registered in the network via the access network. In this embodiment, it is assumed that a PDU session identifier established between the UE and the network is session a.

The PDU session establishment process may refer to the prior art, and is not described herein again.

Step 303, the AMF sends a location subscription request to the AN, and the AN receives the location subscription request from the AMF. Wherein the location subscription request is to instruct the AN to notify the AMF if the UE moves into or out of a particular area.

Optionally, the specific area includes a LADN service area of the UE or an area where the UE allows initiating a communication connection.

Specifically, the location subscription request may include information indicating the specific area. For example, a possible implementation manner is that a location subscription request carries a cell list included in an LADN serving area of the UE or a cell list included in an area where the UE allows initiating a communication connection; another possible implementation manner is that, before receiving the location subscription request, the AN receives a cell list included in the area served by the LADN of the UE or a cell list included in AN area where the UE allows initiating communication connection, which is sent by the AMF, the AN stores the cell list in association with the identifier of the UE locally, and the location subscription request only carries the identifier of the UE. And when the AN receives the location subscription request message sent by the AMF, acquiring the specific area according to the UE identification in the location subscription request message.

Step 305, the AN sends a subscription response message to the AMF, wherein the subscription response message is used for instructing the UE to move into or out of the specific area.

And under the condition that the UE moves into or out of the specific area, the AN sends a subscription response message to the AMF, wherein the subscription response message is used for indicating the UE to move into or out of the specific area.

Specifically, when the UE is in a connected state (i.e., RRC connection is established between the UE and the AN), the AN may acquire a cell in which the UE is located, and compare the cell with a cell included in the specific area, so as to determine whether the UE is in the specific area or outside the specific area.

The AN may determine that the UE moves into or out of the particular area using:

when the UE switches the cell, the AN judgment logic is triggered, that is: the AN acquires the cell where the UE is located before from the context of the UE, and then compares the current cell and the cell where the UE is located before with the cell list included in the specific area respectively. If the cell where the UE is located is in a specific area list and the cell where the UE is located is not in the specific area list, determining that the UE moves out of the specific area, and sending a subscription response message to the AMF by the AN; if the cell where the UE is located is not in the specific area list and the cell where the UE is located is in the specific area list, determining that the UE moves into the specific area, and sending a subscription response message to the AMF by the AN; if the cell where the UE is located is in the specific area list before and the cell where the UE is located is also in the specific area list currently, determining that the UE moves in the specific area, and the AN does not send a subscription response message to the AMF; if the previously located cell is not in the specific area list and the currently located cell is not in the specific area list, it is determined that the UE moves outside the specific area, and the AN does not send a subscription response message to the AMF.

One possible scenario is that the connection between the AN and the UE is in RRC-inactive state, where the RRC connection between the AN and the UE is broken, but the connection between the AN and the core network (e.g. AMF) is still maintained, and the AN maintains the context of the UE. At this time, the core network side is not aware of the RRC connection disconnection between the AN and the UE. Therefore, two problems arise: 1. the AN cannot know the location (cell) of the UE in real time; 2. the core network side still sends downlink data to the UE. In this case, before step 305, the method further comprises:

the AN receives downlink data sent to the UE; the AN determines that the UE is in AN RRC-inactive state; initiating paging to the UE by the AN to establish connection with the UE; and the AN acquires the cell information of the UE and determines that the UE moves into or out of the specific area. The specific method how the AN determines that the UE is in the RRC-inactive state and how the AN initiates paging to the UE to establish connection with the UE may be implemented with reference to the prior art, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present invention.

When the UE moves out of the LADN service area or out of AN area where initiation of a communication connection is allowed, no data may be transferred between the AN and the UE. However, when the UE is in the RRC-inactive state, the AN cannot sense the location of the UE in real time, so that the AN cannot sense whether the UE moves out of the LADN service area or moves out of the area where the initiation of the communication connection is allowed in real time, and the core network side cannot sense whether the UE moves out of the LADN service area or moves out of the area where the initiation of the communication connection is allowed. Therefore, the AN still receives the downlink data sent to the UE. If the UE has moved out of the area served by the LADN or out of the area where the initiation of the communication connection is allowed, the AN needs to discard the downlink data sent to the UE. On the other hand, outside the LADN service area or in areas where initiation of a communication connection is not allowed, the UE is prohibited from communicating uplink data over the connection with the AN. However, sometimes the UE will not follow this rule, and the AN needs to discard the uplink data sent by the UE.

One possible implementation is that the AN receives data discard indication information from AN access and mobility management function entity; the data discarding indication information is used for indicating that the AN discards the downlink data sent to the UE and/or the uplink data sent by the UE under the condition that the UE moves out of the specific area. In order to save signaling overhead, another possible implementation manner is that in step 301, the location subscription request sent by the AMF to the AN further includes: and the data discarding indication information is used for indicating that the AN discards the downlink data sent to the UE and/or the uplink data sent by the UE under the condition that the UE moves out of the specific area.

In a specific implementation, the data discard indication information may include a PDU session identifier, such as session identifier a. And under the condition that the UE moves out of the specific area, when the AN determines that the downlink data sent to the UE and/or the uplink data sent by the UE are related to the session corresponding to the PDU session identifier, discarding the downlink data sent to the UE and/or the uplink data sent by the UE.

Here, "and/or" means that, when the UE moves out of the specific area, if the AN receives downlink data sent to the UE and uplink data sent by the UE, the AN discards the downlink data sent to the UE and the uplink data sent by the UE; if the AN only receives the downlink data sent to the UE, the AN discards the downlink data sent to the UE; and if the AN only receives the uplink data sent by the UE, the AN discards the uplink data sent by the UE.

In the data processing method based on the location of the UE according to this embodiment, the AN sends the notification message to the AMF only when the UE moves into or out of a specific area. For example, the core network sends a Service area or Service area restrictions (Service area restrictions) of the current UE in the registration area to the RAN, and the RAN sends a notification message to the core network when the UE moves into or out of the Service area or an area where a communication connection is allowed to be initiated. Therefore, whether the service area of the LADN is certain to cross the base station or whether the service range of the base station is to cross the allowed area or the non-allowed area, the AMF can accurately know that the UE moves out of the service area, moves into the service area of the LADN or allows to initiate the area of communication connection, solves the problem that the granularity of the LADN area is possibly not matched with the granularity of the base station or the service range of the base station is to cross the allowed area and the non-allowed area, avoids frequent signaling update between the UE and the base station and reduces the information quantity of the reported position of the base station.

Fig. 4 provides a flow chart of a data processing method based on the position of a user terminal. After receiving the data discarding indication information sent by the core network, the AN subsequently judges whether the UE is currently in a specific area or not when the AN receives uplink data sent by the UE or downlink data sent to the UE, and discards relevant data if the UE is not in the specific area.

Step 401, the AN receives data discard indication information from the AMF.

The data discard indication information may be included in the location subscription request in step 303, or may be a separate signaling. The PDU session identifier may be included in the data discard indication information.

Step 403, the AN receives downlink data sent to the UE or uplink data sent by the UE from the core network side.

When the AN receives the data, the data is determined to be downlink data sent to the UE or uplink data sent by the UE according to the PDU session identifier, and the AN triggers a judgment logic to determine whether the UE moves out of a specific area.

Optionally, before step 401, the method further includes the AN obtaining the specific area information from the core network side (e.g., AMF). The specific area is defined with reference to the embodiment shown in fig. 3, and details are not repeated here.

Step 405, the AN determines that the UE moves out of the specific area.

The method for determining that the UE moves out of the specific area by the AN is the same as the embodiment described in fig. 3, and is not described herein again.

Step 407, the AN discards the relevant data.

In the data processing method based on the UE location provided in this embodiment, when the AN receives data, it is determined whether the data is related to a PDU session identifier in the data discard indication information, and if the determination result is related, a determination logic of the AN is triggered to determine whether the current location of the UE moves out of a specific area. If the particular region is moved out, the data is discarded. By adopting the method of the embodiment of the invention, when the UE moves out of the specific area, the AN discards the uplink data or the downlink data related to the UE, thereby accurately controlling the data transmission of the UE in the specific area.

Fig. 5 provides a flow chart of a data processing method based on the position of a user terminal. Without loss of generality, assume that the UE establishes a connection with the Source base station (Source gNB) at the previous time, and the UE is within the service range of the Target base station (Target gNB) again after moving (current time).

Step 501, the UE registers to the network and establishes a PDU session.

Specifically, the UE registers and attaches to the network through the source base station.

Step 503, the AMF sends a location subscription request to the source base station, and the AN receives the location subscription request from the AMF.

Steps 501 and 503 are similar to steps 301 and 303 in the embodiment of fig. 3, please refer to the related description, and it is not further described.

And step 505, the source base station determines that the UE enters an RRC-inactive state.

When the UE is in the CM-CONNECTED state, the AN may obtain RRC-Inactive assistance information (RRC Inactive assistance information) from the core network side (e.g., the AMF), and then the AN determines whether the UE enters the RRC-Inactive state according to the RRC-Inactive assistance information. The RRC-inactive assistance information may include: registration Area (Registration Area) of the UE, Periodic Registration Update timer (Periodic Registration Update timer), and UE-specific Discontinuous Reception (DRX) value, etc. The embodiment does not limit how the AN determines that the UE enters the RRC-inactive state.

In step 507, the source base station receives downlink data sent to the UE from a core network side (e.g., a User Plane Function (UPF) entity).

Step 509, the AN pages the UE.

Specifically, a source base station in the AN may send a Paging request to all base stations (e.g., a destination base station in fig. 5) in AN Paging area (Paging area) where the UE is registered, and then each base station pages the UE in its coverage area. The embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the specific calling scheme.

Step 511, the UE sends an RRC connection recovery request message to the destination base station, where the RRC connection recovery request message carries a recovery identifier (Resume ID) allocated to the UE by the source base station;

the Resume ID contains the identity of the source base station.

Step 513, after receiving the RRC connection recovery request message sent by the UE, the target base station acquires the identifier of the source base station included in the Resume ID, and further acquires the context data of the UE from the source base station.

The context data of the UE includes the content of the location subscription request in step 503 and the cell identity where the UE was located at the previous time.

Step 515, the destination base station completes the recovery of the RRC connection.

Step 517, optionally, in order to prevent the loss of the downlink data buffered in the source base station, the destination base station provides the forwarding address to the source base station to obtain the downlink data sent to the UE.

Step 519, the destination base station determines whether downlink data needs to be discarded.

Specifically, the destination base station may determine whether the UE is currently located in the specific area according to a cell in which the UE is currently located. When the UE is not in the specific area and the method performs step 517, the destination base station discards the downlink data; otherwise, the target base station sends the downlink data to the UE. When the UE is not in the specific area and the method does not execute step 517, the destination base station sends a discard instruction to the source base station, and the source base station discards the downlink data; otherwise, the target base station acquires the downlink data from the source base station and sends the downlink data to the UE.

Step 521, the destination base station returns a location subscription response message to the AMF.

Specifically, the destination base station may determine whether the UE currently moves into or out of the specific area according to the context of the UE obtained in step 513 and the cell where the UE is currently located. And when the UE is determined to move into or out of the specific area, sending a location subscription response message to the AMF.

In the embodiments shown in fig. 3-5, the actions of the AMF may be performed by the access and mobility management functional entities according to the above mentioned software modules in memory. The actions of the AN may be performed by the AN according to the above-mentioned software modules in the memory. The embodiments of the present invention do not limit this.

The above-mentioned scheme provided by the embodiment of the present invention is introduced mainly from the perspective of interaction between network elements. It is to be understood that the above-mentioned device for implementing an access network or an access and mobility management functional entity includes a hardware structure and/or a software module for performing the above-mentioned functions. Those of skill in the art will readily appreciate that the present invention can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software, with the exemplary elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein. Whether a function is performed as hardware or computer software drives hardware depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present invention.

According to the method example, the embodiment of the present invention may perform functional module division on the access network or the access and mobility management functional entity, for example, each functional module may be divided corresponding to each function, or two or more functions may be integrated into one processing module. The integrated module can be realized in a hardware mode, and can also be realized in a software functional module mode. It should be noted that, the division of the modules in the embodiment of the present invention is schematic, and is only a logic function division, and there may be another division manner in actual implementation. For example, in a case that each functional module is divided by corresponding functions, fig. 6 shows a possible structural diagram of an access network device involved in the foregoing embodiments, where the apparatus 600 includes: a receiving unit 601 and a transmitting unit 603.

The receiving unit 601 is configured to receive a location subscription request from AN access and mobility management function entity, where the location subscription request is used to instruct the AN to notify the access and mobility management function entity to access and mobility management function entity when the UE moves into or out of a specific area.

The sending unit 603 is configured to send a subscription response message to the access and mobility management functional entity, where the subscription response message is used to instruct the UE to move into or out of the specific area.

In one possible implementation, the specific area includes a LADN service area of the UE or an area where the UE allows a communication connection to occur. The location subscription request includes information indicating the specific area.

Optionally, the access network arrangement further comprises processing units 605,. The receiving unit 601 is further configured to receive downlink data sent to the UE; the processing unit 605 is configured to determine that the UE is in an RRC-inactive state; the sending unit 603, in case that the processing unit 605 determines that the UE is in an RRC-inactive state, initiates paging to the UE to establish a connection with the UE; further, the processing unit 605 is further configured to obtain information of a cell where the UE is located, and determine that the UE moves into or out of the specific area.

In a possible implementation manner, the location subscription request received by the receiving unit 601 further includes data discarding indication information, where the data discarding indication information is used to indicate that the AN discards downlink data sent to the UE and/or uplink data sent by the UE when the UE moves out of the specific area. Optionally, the data discard indication information includes a PDU session identifier.

In a possible implementation manner, the receiving unit 601 is further configured to receive data discard indication information from an access and mobility management function entity; the processing unit 605 is configured to determine that the UE moves out of the specific area, and discard the downlink data sent to the UE or the uplink data sent by the UE according to the data discard indication information received by the receiving unit 601. The specific area comprises a LADN service area of the UE or an area allowing communication connection of the UE, and the data discard indication information comprises a PDU session identification. The processing unit 605 is specifically configured to determine that downlink data sent to the UE or uplink data sent by the UE is related to the PDU session, and discard the downlink data sent to the UE or the uplink data sent by the UE.

Fig. 7 shows a possible structure diagram of an access and mobility management function device involved in the above embodiment, where the device 700 includes: a transmitting unit 701 and a receiving unit 703.

The sending unit 701 is configured to send a location subscription request to AN access network AN, where the subscription request is used to instruct the AN to notify the access and mobility management functional entity when the UE moves into or out of a specific area.

The receiving unit 703 is configured to receive a subscription response message from the base station, where the subscription response message is used to instruct the UE to move into or out of the specific area.

Wherein the specific area includes a LADN service area of the UE or an area where the UE allows a communication connection to occur. Optionally, the location subscription request includes information indicating the specific area.

In a possible implementation manner, the location subscription request further includes: and discarding the downlink data sent to the UE and/or the uplink data sent by the UE by the AN under the condition that the UE moves out of the specific area. Wherein, the data discard indication information further includes a PDU session identifier. Optionally, the data discard indication information may also be sent to the AN by the sending unit 701 as a message independent from the location subscription request.

The access network device and the access and mobility management function device may be implemented on an Integrated Circuit (IC), a Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC), a Printed Circuit Board (PCB), or the like. The device may be a self-standing device or may be part of a larger device. All relevant contents of each step related to the above method embodiment may be referred to the functional description of the corresponding functional module, and are not described herein again.

In the present embodiment, the apparatus for implementing data processing based on the position of the user terminal is presented in the form of dividing each functional module corresponding to each function, or the apparatus for implementing data processing based on the position of the user terminal is presented in the form of dividing each functional module in an integrated manner. A "module" as used herein may refer to an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor and memory that execute one or more software or firmware programs, an integrated logic circuit, and/or other devices that provide the described functionality. In a simple embodiment, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the access network apparatus 600 and the access and mobility management function apparatus 700 may be implemented in the form shown in fig. 2.

Fig. 8 shows a data processing system based on the location of a user terminal as referred to in the above embodiments. The system comprises: access network means 801 and access and mobility management function means 803.

Wherein the access network apparatus 801 functions as described in the embodiment of fig. 6, and the access and mobility management function apparatus 803 functions as described in the embodiment of fig. 7. All relevant contents of the steps related to the above method embodiments may be referred to each entity in the system, and are not described herein again.

Embodiments of the present invention further provide a computer storage medium for storing computer software instructions for implementing the apparatus shown in fig. 6 or fig. 7, which includes a program designed to execute the method embodiments. By executing the stored procedures, the AN can report the location of the UE when the UE moves into or out of a specific area, and does not need to report the location when moving between different cells in the specific area, thereby reducing the amount of location information reported by the AN. In addition, the transmission and reception of uplink and downlink data with respect to the UE may also be controlled through the monitoring of the location of the UE.

While the invention has been described in connection with various embodiments, other variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed invention, from a review of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the word "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. A single processor or other unit may fulfill the functions of several items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, embodiments of the present invention may be provided as a method, apparatus (device), or computer program product. Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, and the like) having computer-usable program code embodied therein. A computer program stored/distributed on a suitable medium supplied together with or as part of other hardware, may also take other distributed forms, such as via the Internet or other wired or wireless telecommunication systems.

The present invention is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (devices) and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each flow and/or block of the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and/or blocks in the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

While the invention has been described in conjunction with specific features and embodiments thereof, it will be evident that various modifications and combinations can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the specification and figures are merely exemplary of the invention as defined in the appended claims and are intended to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations, or equivalents within the scope of the invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the present invention fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention and their equivalents, the present invention is intended to include such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A data transmission method based on the position of User Equipment (UE), comprising:

AN Access Network (AN) receives a location subscription request from AN access and mobility management function entity, wherein the location subscription request is used for indicating that the AN informs the access and mobility management function entity when the UE moves into or out of a specific area;

the AN sends a subscription response message to AN access and mobility management function entity, wherein the subscription response message is used for indicating the UE to move into or out of the specific area; the specific area comprises a LADN service area of the UE or an area where the UE is allowed to have communication connection, wherein the area allowed to initiate communication connection indicates that the UE is allowed to initiate communication connection in the area which is allowed to initiate communication connection under a given Radio Access Technology (RAT), the area non-allowed area which is not allowed to initiate communication connection indicates that the UE is not allowed to initiate communication connection under a given RAT, and the UE is not allowed to initiate any communication connection except for a registration request but needs to respond to paging of the network.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the location subscription request includes information indicating the particular area.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein prior to the AN sending a subscription response message to AN access and mobility management function entity, the method further comprises:

the AN receives downlink data sent to the UE;

the AN determines that the UE is in AN RRC-inactive state;

the AN initiates paging to the UE to establish connection with the UE;

the AN determines that the UE moves into or out of the specific area.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein prior to the AN sending a subscription response message to AN access and mobility management function entity, the method further comprises:

the AN receives downlink data sent to the UE;

the AN determines that the UE is in AN RRC-inactive state;

the AN initiates paging to the UE to establish connection with the UE;

the AN determines that the UE moves into or out of the specific area.

5. The method of any one of claims 1-4, wherein the location subscription request further comprises: and discarding the downlink data sent to the UE and/or the uplink data sent by the UE by the AN under the condition that the UE moves out of the specific area.

6. The method of any of claims 1-4, wherein the method further comprises the AN receiving data drop indication information from AN access and mobility management function entity; the data discarding indication information is used for indicating that the AN discards the downlink data sent to the UE and/or the uplink data sent by the UE under the condition that the UE moves out of the specific area.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the data discard indication information further includes a PDU session identification.

8. A data transmission method based on the position of User Equipment (UE), comprising: AN access and mobility management functional entity sends a location subscription request to AN Access Network (AN), wherein the subscription request is used for indicating that the AN informs the access and mobility management functional entity when the UE moves into or out of a specific area;

the access and mobility management function entity receives a subscription response message from the AN, wherein the subscription response message is used for indicating the UE to move into or out of the specific area; wherein the specific area includes a LADN service area of the UE or an area where the UE is allowed to have a communication connection,

the area allowed area for allowing the initiation of the communication connection indicates that the UE is allowed to initiate communication with the network according to the subscription information in the area for allowing the initiation of the communication connection in a given radio access technology RAT, the area non-allowed area for not allowing the initiation of the communication connection indicates that the UE is not allowed to initiate any communication connection except for the registration request in the area for not allowing the initiation of the communication connection in a given RAT, but the UE needs to respond to the paging of the network.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the location subscription request includes information indicating the particular area.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the location subscription request further comprises: and discarding the downlink data sent to the UE and/or the uplink data sent by the UE by the AN under the condition that the UE moves out of the specific area.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the location subscription request further comprises: and discarding the downlink data sent to the UE and/or the uplink data sent by the UE by the AN under the condition that the UE moves out of the specific area.

12. The method of any of claims 8-11, wherein the method further comprises the access and mobility management function entity sending data drop indication information to the AN; the data discarding indication information is used for indicating that the AN discards the downlink data sent to the UE and/or the uplink data sent by the UE under the condition that the UE moves out of the specific area.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the data discard indication information further includes a PDU session identification.

14. An access network apparatus, comprising:

a receiving unit, configured to receive a location subscription request from AN access and mobility management functional entity, where the location subscription request is used to instruct AN to notify the access and mobility management functional entity when a UE moves into or out of a specific area;

a sending unit, configured to send a subscription response message, where the subscription response message is used to instruct the UE to move into or out of the specific area; wherein the specific area comprises a LADN service area of the UE or an area where the UE allows communication connection to occur;

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the location subscription request includes information indicating the particular area.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the apparatus further comprises a processing unit that, prior to the sending unit sending a subscription response message to an access and mobility management function entity,

the receiving unit is further configured to receive downlink data sent to the UE;

the processing unit is configured to determine that the UE is in an RRC-inactive state;

the sending unit is further configured to initiate paging to the UE to establish a connection with the UE;

the processing unit is further configured to determine that the UE moves into or out of the specific area.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the apparatus further comprises a processing unit that, prior to the sending unit sending a subscription response message to an access and mobility management function entity,

18. The apparatus according to any of claims 14-17, wherein the receiving unit is further configured to receive data discard indication information from an access and mobility management function entity; the data discarding indication information is used for indicating that the AN discards the downlink data sent to the UE and/or the uplink data sent by the UE under the condition that the UE moves out of the specific area.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the data discard indication information further includes a PDU session identification.

20. An access and mobility control apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

a sending unit, configured to send a location subscription request to AN access network AN, where the subscription request is used to instruct the AN to notify the access and mobility management functional entity when a UE moves into or out of a specific area;

a receiving unit, configured to receive a subscription response message from the AN, where the subscription response message is used to instruct the UE to move into or out of the specific area; wherein the specific area comprises a LADN service area of the UE or an area where the UE allows communication connection to occur;

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the location subscription request further comprises: and discarding the downlink data sent to the UE and/or the uplink data sent by the UE by the AN under the condition that the UE moves out of the specific area.

22. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the sending unit is further configured to send data discard indication information to the AN; the data discarding indication information is used for indicating that the AN discards the downlink data sent to the UE and/or the uplink data sent by the UE under the condition that the UE moves out of the specific area.

23. The apparatus according to claim 21 or 22, wherein the data discard indication information further includes a PDU session identification.

24. A data processing system based on the location of a user terminal, characterized in that it comprises an access network apparatus according to any of claims 14-19 and an access and mobility control apparatus according to any of claims 20-23.