CN117278932A

CN117278932A - Positioning method, positioning device, storage medium and chip

Info

Publication number: CN117278932A
Application number: CN202210650136.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 郭英昊
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-06-09
Filing date: 2022-06-09
Publication date: 2023-12-22
Also published as: WO2023236703A1

Abstract

A positioning method, a device, a storage medium and a chip relate to the technical field of communication and are used for positioning terminal equipment in an RRC idle state. The terminal equipment in the RRC idle state sends first information to the core network element, wherein the first information is used for requesting positioning service, the first information comprises first resource indication information, and the first resource indication information is used for determining target reference signal resources. The terminal equipment in the RRC idle state receives the second information from the core network element, obtains a target reference signal resource based on the second information, and sends a reference signal according to the target reference signal resource, wherein the reference signal is used for determining the position of the terminal equipment. The second information is derived based on the first resource indication information. In the process, the terminal equipment does not need to establish connection on an air interface with the access network equipment and the air interface is safe, and can be in an RRC idle state all the time, so that the power consumption of the terminal equipment can be reduced.

Description

Positioning method, positioning device, storage medium and chip

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a positioning method, a positioning device, a storage medium, and a chip.

Background

Location services are one of the important functions in New Radio (NR) systems. Current Uplink (UL) time difference of arrival (time difference of arrival, TDOA) positioning techniques, UL angle of arrival (AOA) positioning techniques, and the like are available. In the uplink positioning technology, the access network device may configure reference signal resource information for the terminal device, and the access network device sends the reference signal resource information to the terminal device. The terminal device may send the reference signal according to the reference signal resource information configured by the access network device for the terminal device. Each access network device measures the reference signal sent by the terminal device, and reports the obtained measurement result to the positioning management function network element, so that the positioning management function network element can determine the position information of the terminal device by combining the information of each measurement result and the like.

When the terminal device is in a connected (connected) state of radio resource control (radio resource control, RRC), the access network device to which the terminal device accesses may configure reference signal resources for the terminal device through an RRC reconfiguration message. How to locate a terminal device in RRC idle state becomes a problem to be solved.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a positioning method, a positioning device, a storage medium and a chip, which are used for positioning terminal equipment in an RRC idle state.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a positioning method, where the method may be performed by a terminal device, or may be performed by a unit, a module, or a chip inside the terminal device, and a method on the terminal device side is described herein by taking the terminal device as an example. The method comprises the following steps:

the terminal equipment in the RRC idle state sends first information to the core network element, wherein the first information is used for requesting positioning service, the first information comprises first resource indication information, and the first resource indication information is used for determining target reference signal resources. The terminal equipment in the RRC idle state receives second information from the core network element, wherein the second information is obtained based on the first resource indication information. And the terminal equipment in the RRC idle state obtains the target reference signal resource based on the second information. And the terminal equipment in the RRC idle state sends a reference signal according to the target reference signal resource, and the reference signal is used for determining the position of the terminal equipment.

The terminal equipment in the RRC idle state can establish the security on the NAS interface with the mobile management network element, but can not establish the connection and the air interface security on the air interface with the access network equipment, so the access network equipment can not know the current position of the terminal equipment and can not know which reference signal resources are suitable for the terminal equipment to use. The terminal equipment can send first information for requesting positioning service to the core network element, the first information comprises first resource indication information, and the terminal equipment can receive second information from the core network element, the second information is obtained based on the first resource indication information, and the terminal equipment can determine target reference signal resources according to the second information, so that the terminal equipment in the RRC idle state can send reference signals according to the target reference signal resources, and positioning of the terminal equipment in the RRC idle state is realized. In the process, the terminal equipment cannot establish connection on an air interface with the access network equipment and the air interface is safe, and can be in an RRC idle state all the time, and does not need to enter an RRC connection state or enter an RRC inactive state, so that the power consumption of the terminal equipment can be reduced, and the time delay for positioning the terminal equipment can be reduced.

In one possible implementation, the second information includes information of a first duration. In this case, the terminal device in the RRC idle state may transmit the reference signal according to the target reference signal resource after the first time period. In this way, the access network device may configure the time for the terminal device to transmit the reference signal, thereby increasing the controllability for the terminal device.

In one possible implementation, the first resource indication information includes at least one of: information of a cell corresponding to a position of the terminal device; the terminal device performs radio resource management (radio resource management, RRM) measurement results on the received signals; the terminal device receives the result of the measurement of the positioning reference signal (positioning reference signal, PRS); position information of the terminal equipment; or, information of the first reference signal resource. The access network device does not know the current location of the terminal device, so that it is not clear which reference signal resources are suitable for the terminal device to use, and by using the embodiment, the access network device can determine the reference signal resources suitable for the terminal device according to at least one of the information of the cell corresponding to the location of the terminal device in the RRC idle state, the RRM measurement result, the PRS measurement result, the location information or the information of the first reference signal resource, and then can allocate the reference signal resources for the terminal device in the RRC idle state from the reference signal resources suitable for the terminal device.

In one possible implementation manner, before the terminal device in the RRC idle state sends the first information, the terminal device in the RRC idle state receives a system message from the access network device, where a preset event triggering the terminal device to request the positioning service is met, where the system message includes reference signal configuration information, and the target reference signal resource is a resource in the reference signal configuration information. Under the condition that the preset event triggering the terminal equipment to request the positioning service is not satisfied, the terminal equipment in the RRC idle state can not receive the system message, so that the power consumption of the terminal equipment can be reduced.

In one possible implementation manner, after the terminal device in the RRC idle state receives the system message from the access network device, before the terminal device in the RRC idle state sends the first information, the terminal device determines, according to a measurement result of the received signal, information of a first reference signal resource in the first resource indication information from reference signal configuration information included in the system message. The association relation between the measurement result of the signal and the reference signal resource can be preconfigured in the reference signal configuration information, the terminal equipment can find the reference signal resource corresponding to the measurement result of the signal from the association relation, and then determine the first reference signal resource from the corresponding reference signal resource, so that the terminal equipment can find the first reference signal resource which is needed by the terminal equipment from the available reference signal resources, and then send the first reference signal resource to the core network equipment, so that the core network equipment sends the first reference signal resource to the access network equipment, and the access network equipment considers whether the first reference signal resource is allocated to the terminal equipment or not.

In one possible embodiment, the second information includes second resource indication information, the second resource indication information being determined according to the first resource indication information. And the terminal equipment in the RRC idle state determines the target reference signal resource according to the second resource indication information. Because the second information includes second resource indication information, that is, the access network device determines the second resource indication information based on the first resource indication information, the terminal device may determine, according to the second resource indication information, a target reference signal resource allocated by the access network device to the terminal device.

The second resource indication information includes a target reference signal resource or one or more cell information. When the second resource indication information includes one or more cell information, the terminal device in the RRC idle state may find a reference signal resource associated with the cell information included in the first resource indication information from the reference signal configuration information, and determine the reference signal resource as a target reference signal resource.

In a possible implementation manner, the access network device allows obtaining the target reference signal resource based on the first resource indication information, in this case, when the terminal device in the RRC idle state determines, based on the second information, that the access network device allows obtaining the target reference signal resource based on the first resource indication information, the terminal device determines the target reference signal resource according to the first resource indication information. For example, in case the first resource indication information comprises information of the first reference signal resource, the terminal device determines the first reference signal resource as the target reference signal resource.

When the access network device allows the target reference signal resource to be obtained based on the first resource indication information, the second information may or may not include the first resource indication information. For example, the terminal device in the RRC idle state determines that the access network device allows to obtain the reference signal resource based on the first resource indication information, if it is determined that the second information does not include information for indicating the reference signal resource. It can be seen that, when the access network device allows the target reference signal resource to be obtained based on the first resource indication information, the second information sent by the access network device may not include the information for indicating the reference signal resource, so that the data amount carried by the second information may be reduced, the resource may be saved, and the data transmission speed may be increased.

In one possible implementation, the first information includes information for requesting a location service. In this way, the core network device can determine that the terminal device needs to request the location service according to the information for requesting the location service.

In one possible implementation, the first information is carried in a control plane service request message in a NAS message, and the information for requesting the location service includes: the control plane service request message is used for indicating that the control plane service type is information of a positioning service type. In this way, it is better compatible with the prior art.

The first information may also be carried in an LCS message in a NAS message in the NAS message container, where the LCS message may include, for example, an event report message, and the event report message may include information that triggers an event that the terminal device requests the location service. The information of the event triggering the terminal device to request the location service may be regarded as information for requesting the location service in the first information.

In a possible implementation manner, in the case that the core network element is a mobility management network element, before the terminal device in the RRC idle state receives the second information from the core network element, the terminal device in the RRC idle state sends, to the core network element, an identifier of a location management function network element for providing a location service for the terminal device. Therefore, the core network equipment can determine the position management function network element according to the identification of the position management function network element, so that the time spent for searching the position management function network element can be saved, and the time delay of positioning the terminal equipment can be reduced.

In one possible implementation, the core network element is a mobility management network element. The first information and the second information satisfy one of: the first information is loaded in a non-access stratum (NAS) message container in a message III in a four-step random access process, and the second information is loaded in a NAS message container in a message IV in the four-step random access process; the first information is loaded in a NAS message container in a message A in a two-step random access process, and the second information is loaded in a NAS message container in a message B in the two-step random access process; the first information is carried in a NAS message container in a response message granting small configuration data transfer (configured grant small data transmission, CG-SDT), and the second information is carried in a NAS message container in a response message of CG-SDT; the first information is carried in a NAS message container in a pre-configured uplink resource (pre-configured uplink resource, PUR) and the second information is carried in a NAS message container in a response message of the PUR; or, the first information is carried in a NAS message container in an early data transfer (early data transmission, EDT) and the second information is carried in a NAS message container in a response message of the EDT. Thus being compatible with the prior art.

In one possible implementation, the core network element is a location management function network element. The first information and the second information satisfy one of: the first information is carried in a location service (LCS) message in a NAS message container in a message three in a four-step random access procedure, and the second information is carried in a LCS message in a NAS message container in a message four in a four-step random access procedure; the first information is carried in LCS information in a NAS information container in a message A in a two-step random access process, and the second information is carried in LCS information in a NAS information container in a message B in the two-step random access process; the first information is carried in LCS message in NAS message container in CG-SDT, the second information is carried in LCS message in NAS message container in response message of CG-SDT; the first information is carried in the LCS message in the NAS message container in the PUR, and the second information is carried in the LCS message in the NAS message container in the response message of the PUR; or, the first information is carried in the LCS message in the NAS message container in the EDT, and the second information is carried in the LCS message in the NAS message container in the response message of the EDT. Thus being compatible with the prior art.

In one possible embodiment, the second information includes information of a second duration. After receiving the second information from the core network element, the terminal device in the RRC idle state sends information for requesting the positioning service to the core network element after a second duration. In this way, the access network device can control the time of the terminal device to restart the positioning service next time, so that more control items for the terminal device in the RRC idle state can be provided for the access network device.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a positioning method, where the method may be performed by a location management function network element, or may be performed by a unit, a module, or a chip inside the location management function network element, and in this application, a method on a side of the location management function network element is described by taking the location management function network element as an example. The method comprises the following steps: the method comprises the steps that a position management function network element receives first information from terminal equipment, wherein the first information is used for requesting positioning service, and the first information comprises first resource indication information; the first resource indication information is used to determine a target reference signal resource. The location management function network element sends a message to the access network device requesting to configure reference signal resources for the terminal device, the message for requesting to configure reference signal resources for the terminal device including first resource indication information. The location management function network element receives second information from the access network device, the second information is obtained based on the first resource indication information, the second information is used for determining target reference signal resources, the target reference signal resources are used for sending reference signals by the terminal device, and the reference signals are used for determining the location of the terminal device. The location management function network element sends second information to the terminal device.

The terminal equipment in the RRC idle state can establish the security on the NAS interface with the mobile management network element, but can not establish the connection and the air interface security on the air interface with the access network equipment, so the access network equipment can not know the current position of the terminal equipment and can not know which reference signal resources are suitable for the terminal equipment to use. And the first information sent by the terminal device to the location management function network element (e.g. may be sent by the mobility management network element) may comprise first resource indication information, which is used to determine the target reference signal resource. In this way, the location management function network element may forward the first resource indication information to the access network device, so that the access network device determines a target reference signal resource for the terminal device in the RRC idle state, so that the terminal device sends a reference signal according to the target reference signal resource, so as to implement positioning of the terminal device in the RRC idle state. In the process, the terminal equipment cannot establish connection on an air interface with the access network equipment and the air interface is safe, the terminal equipment can be in an RRC idle state all the time, the terminal equipment does not need to enter an RRC connection state or enter an RRC inactive state, and therefore the power consumption of the terminal equipment can be reduced, the time delay for positioning the terminal equipment can be reduced, and the cost of the terminal equipment is reduced.

In one possible implementation, the first resource indication information includes at least one of: information of a cell corresponding to a position of the terminal device; the terminal equipment carries out a result of Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurement on the received signals; the terminal equipment receives a result of PRS measurement; position information of the terminal equipment; or, information of the first reference signal resource.

The relevant descriptions and advantages may be referred to the foregoing first aspect and relevant descriptions in possible implementation manners of the first aspect, and are not repeated herein.

In one possible implementation manner, after the location management function network element receives the second information from the access network device, the location management function network element obtains the target reference signal resource based on the second information; the location management function network element sends the target reference signal resource to the access network device in the access network device and the adjacent access network device of the access network device.

The position management function network element can acquire target reference signal resources allocated by the access network device for the terminal device in the RRC idle state, so that the position management function network element can target reference signal resources of the access network device in the adjacent access network devices of the access network device and the access network device, so that the access network devices can measure the reference signals from the terminal device, and the terminal device in the RRC idle state is positioned.

In one possible embodiment, the second information includes second resource indication information, the second resource indication information being determined according to the first resource indication information. The location management function network element obtains a target reference signal resource based on the second information, including: and the position management function network element determines the target reference signal resource according to the second resource indication information.

Because the second information includes second resource indication information, that is, the access network device determines the second resource indication information based on the first resource indication information, the terminal device may determine, according to the second resource indication information, a target reference signal resource allocated by the access network device to the terminal device.

In one possible implementation, the second resource indication information includes: target reference signal resources, or information of cells. When the second resource indication information includes one or more cell information, the location management function network element may find a reference signal resource associated with the cell information included in the first resource indication information from the reference signal configuration information, and determine the reference signal resource as a target reference signal resource.

In one possible implementation manner, the location management function network element obtains the target reference signal resource based on the second information, including: the location management function network element determines, based on the second information, that the access network device allows the target reference signal resource to be obtained based on the first resource indication information. The location management function network element determines a target reference signal resource according to the first resource indication information. For example, in case the first resource indication information comprises information of a first reference signal resource, the location management function network element determines the first reference signal resource as a target reference signal resource.

When the access network device allows the target reference signal resource to be obtained based on the first resource indication information, the second information may or may not include the first resource indication information. For example, the location management function network element determines that the access network device allows to obtain the reference signal resource based on the first resource indication information if it is determined that the second information does not include information for indicating the reference signal resource. It can be seen that, when the access network device allows the target reference signal resource to be obtained based on the first resource indication information, the second information sent by the access network device may not include the information for indicating the reference signal resource, so that the data amount carried by the second information may be reduced, the resource may be saved, and the data transmission speed may be increased.

In one possible implementation, the first information includes information for requesting a location service. In this way, the location management function network element may determine that the terminal device needs to request the location service based on the information for requesting the location service.

In one possible implementation, the first information and the second information sent by the location management function network element satisfy one of the following: the first information is carried in LCS information, and the second information sent by the position management function network element is carried in response information of the LCS information; or the first information is carried in an event report message, the second information sent by the location management function network element is carried in a response message of the event report message, and the event report message and the response message of the event report message belong to an LCS message. In this way, it is better compatible with the prior art.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a positioning method, where the method may be performed by a mobility management network element, or may be performed by a unit, a module, or a chip inside the mobility management network element, and in this application, a method on the mobility management network element side is described by taking the mobility management network element as an example. The method comprises the following steps: the mobility management network element receives first information from the terminal device, the first information being used for requesting a positioning service, the first information comprising first resource indication information, the first resource indication information being used for determining a target reference signal resource. The mobility management network element sends the first information to the location management function network element. The mobility management network element receives second information from the location management function network element, the second information is obtained based on the first resource indication information, the second information is used for determining target reference signal resources, the target reference signal resources are used for sending reference signals by the terminal equipment, and the reference signals are used for determining the location of the terminal equipment. The mobility management network element sends the second information to the terminal device.

The terminal equipment in the RRC idle state can establish the security on the NAS interface with the mobile management network element, but can not establish the connection and the air interface security on the air interface with the access network equipment, so the access network equipment can not know the current position of the terminal equipment and can not know which reference signal resources are suitable for the terminal equipment to use. And the mobility management network element sends the received first information from the terminal equipment to the location management function network element, wherein the first information comprises first resource indication information for determining the target reference signal resource. In this way, the location management function network element may forward the first resource indication information to the access network device, so that the access network device determines a target reference signal resource for the terminal device in the RRC idle state, so that the terminal device sends a reference signal according to the target reference signal resource, so as to implement positioning of the terminal device in the RRC idle state. In the process, the terminal equipment cannot establish connection on an air interface with the access network equipment and the air interface is safe, and can be in an RRC idle state all the time, and does not need to enter an RRC connection state or enter an RRC inactive state, so that the power consumption of the terminal equipment can be reduced, and the time delay for positioning the terminal equipment can be reduced.

In one possible implementation manner, after the mobility management network element receives the first information from the terminal device, before the mobility management network element sends the first information to the location management function network element, the mobility management network element sends a message for requesting to acquire service quality information corresponding to the location service of the terminal device to the unified data management network element; the mobility management network element receives the service quality information from the unified data management network element; the mobility management network element determines a location management function network element according to the service quality information. The mobility management network element can determine the location management function network element according to the service quality information, so that the positioning of the terminal equipment in the RRC idle state can be realized.

In one possible implementation, the mobility management network element receives an identification of the location management function network element from the terminal device before the mobility management network element sends the first information to the location management function network element. Therefore, the mobility management network element can determine the position management function network element according to the identification of the position management function network element, so that the time spent for searching the position management function network element can be saved, and the time delay of positioning the terminal equipment can be reduced.

In one possible implementation, the first resource indication information includes at least one of: information of a cell corresponding to a position of the terminal device; the terminal equipment carries out a result of Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurement on the received signals; the terminal equipment receives a result of PRS measurement; position information of the terminal equipment; or information of the first reference signal resource.

In one possible embodiment, the second information includes second resource indication information, and the second resource indication information includes: target reference signal resources, or information of cells.

In one possible implementation, the first information includes information for requesting a location service.

In one possible implementation, the first information includes a control plane service request in a NAS message, and the information for requesting a location service includes: the control plane service request is used for indicating that the control plane service type is information of a positioning service type.

In one possible implementation, the mobility management network element receives first information from the terminal device, including: the mobility management network element receives an initial terminal device message from the access network device, a NAS message container in the initial terminal device message including first information from the terminal device. The mobility management network element sends second information to the access network device, including: the mobile management network element sends a response message of the initial terminal equipment message to the access network equipment, wherein a NAS message container in the response message of the initial terminal equipment message comprises second information to be transmitted to the terminal equipment; or the mobile management network element sends a downlink NAS transmission message to the terminal equipment through the access network equipment, wherein the downlink NAS transmission message carries the second information. In this way, the prior art can be compatible.

In one possible implementation, the first information sent by the mobility management element to the location management function element is carried on an LCS message, and the second information received by the mobility management element from the location management function element is carried on a response message to the LCS message. Thus, the method is compatible with the prior art, and the flexibility of the scheme can be improved.

In one possible implementation, the mobility management network element receives first information from the terminal device, including: the mobility management network element receives an initial terminal device message from the access network device, wherein an event report message in a NAS message container in the initial terminal device message comprises first information from the terminal device, and the event report message belongs to an LCS message. The mobility management network element sends second information to the access network device, including: the mobile management network element sends a response message of an initial terminal device message to the access network device, wherein the response message of the event report message in the NAS message container in the response message of the initial terminal device message comprises second information to be transmitted to the terminal device, and the response message of the event report message belongs to LCS message; or the mobile management network element sends a downlink NAS transmission message to the terminal equipment through the access network equipment, and the response message of the event report message in the downlink NAS transmission message comprises second information to be transmitted to the terminal equipment. In this way, the prior art can be compatible.

In one possible implementation, the first information sent by the mobility management network element to the location management function network element is carried in an event report message, and the second information received by the mobility management network element from the location management function network element is carried in a response message to the event report message. In this way, the prior art can be compatible.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a positioning method, where the method may be performed by an access network device, or may be performed by a unit, a module, or a chip inside the access network device, and a method on the access network device side is described herein by taking the access network device as an example. The method comprises the following steps: the access network device receives first information from the terminal device in an RRC idle state, wherein the first information is used for requesting positioning service, the first information comprises first resource indication information, and the first resource indication information is used for determining target reference signal resources. The access network device sends the first information to the mobility management network element. The access network device receives a message from a location management function network element requesting to configure target reference signal resources for the terminal device, the message requesting to configure target reference signal resources for the terminal device including first resource indication information. The access network device sends second information to the location management function network element, the second information is used for determining target reference signal resources, the target reference signal resources are used for sending reference signals to the terminal device, and the reference signals are used for determining the location of the terminal device. The access network device receives second information from the mobility management network element. The access network device sends the second information to the terminal device in the RRC idle state.

It can be seen that the access network device can allocate the target reference signal resource for the terminal device in the RRC idle state based on the first resource indication information, and can send the second information for indicating the target reference signal resource to the terminal device, so that positioning of the terminal device in the RRC idle state can be achieved.

In a fifth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which may be a terminal device, a mobility management network element, a location management function network element or an access network device as described above, the communication apparatus may comprise a communication unit and a processing unit to perform any implementation of any of the methods of the first to fourth aspects described above. The communication unit is configured to perform functions related to transmission and reception. Optionally, the communication unit includes a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. In one design, the communication device may be a communication chip, the processing unit may be one or more processors or processor cores, and the communication unit may be an input/output circuit or port of the communication chip.

In another design, the communication unit may be a transmitter and a receiver, or the communication unit may be a transmitter and a receiver.

Optionally, the communication device further comprises respective modules operable to perform any of the embodiments of any of the methods of the first to fourth aspects above.

In a sixth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which may be a terminal device, a mobility management network element, a location management function network element or an access network device as described above, the communication apparatus may comprise a processor and a memory. Optionally, the apparatus further comprises a transceiver for storing a computer program or instructions, the processor being adapted to call and run the computer program or instructions from the memory, which when executed by the processor, cause the communication apparatus to perform any one of the embodiments of the methods of the first to fourth aspects.

In the alternative, the processor is one or more, and the memory is one or more.

Alternatively, the memory may be integrated with the processor or the memory may be separate from the processor.

Alternatively, a transmitter (transmitter) and a receiver (receiver) may be included in the transceiver.

In a seventh aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which may be the above-mentioned terminal device, mobility management network element, location management function network element or access network device, and the communication apparatus may include a processor. The processor is coupled to the memory and is operable to perform the method of any one of the first to fourth aspects and any one of the possible implementations of the first to fourth aspects. Optionally, the communication device further comprises a memory. Optionally, the communication device further comprises a communication interface, and the processor is coupled to the communication interface.

In one implementation, where the communication apparatus is a wireless communication device, the communication interface may be a transceiver, or an input/output interface. Alternatively, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit. Alternatively, the input/output interface may be an input/output circuit.

In yet another implementation, when the communication device is a chip or a system-on-chip, the communication interface may be an input/output interface, interface circuitry, output circuitry, input circuitry, pins or related circuitry, etc. on the chip or system-on-chip. A processor may also be embodied as processing or logic circuitry.

In an eighth aspect, a system is provided, where the system includes the first access network device, the second access network device, and a location management function network element.

In a ninth aspect, there is provided a computer program product comprising: a computer program (which may also be referred to as code, or instructions) which, when executed, causes a computer to perform the method in any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect described above, or causes a computer to perform the method in any one of the implementations of the first to fourth aspects described above.

In a tenth aspect, there is provided a computer readable storage medium storing a computer program (which may also be referred to as code, or instructions) which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect or causes the computer to perform the method of any one of the implementations of the first to fourth aspects.

In an eleventh aspect, a system on a chip is provided, which may include a processor. The processor is coupled to the memory and is operable to perform the method of any one of the first to fourth aspects and any one of the possible implementations of any one of the first to fourth aspects. Optionally, the system on a chip further comprises a memory. Memory for storing a computer program (which may also be referred to as code, or instructions). A processor for invoking and running a computer program from a memory, causing a device on which the system-on-chip is installed to perform any one of the first to fourth aspects and a method in any one of the possible implementations of any one of the first to fourth aspects.

A twelfth aspect provides a communication apparatus, which may be the above-mentioned terminal device, mobility management element, location management function element or access network device, the communication apparatus may include: interface circuitry and processing circuitry. The interface circuit may include an input circuit and an output circuit. The processing circuit is configured to receive a signal via the input circuit and to transmit a signal via the output circuit such that the method of any one of the first to fourth aspects and any one of the possible implementations of the first to fourth aspects is implemented.

In a specific implementation process, the processing device may be a chip, the input circuit may be an input pin, the output circuit may be an output pin, and the processing circuit may be a transistor, a gate circuit, a trigger, various logic circuits, and the like. The input signal received by the input circuit may be received and input by, for example and without limitation, a receiver, the output signal may be output by, for example and without limitation, a transmitter and transmitted by a transmitter, and the input circuit and the output circuit may be the same circuit, which functions as the input circuit and the output circuit, respectively, at different times. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific implementation manner of the processor and the various circuits.

In one implementation, when the communication apparatus is a wireless communication device, the wireless communication device may be a terminal such as a smart phone or a radio access network device such as a base station. The interface circuit may be a radio frequency processing chip in the wireless communication device, and the processing circuit may be a baseband processing chip in the wireless communication device.

In yet another implementation, the communication apparatus may be part of a device in a wireless communication device, such as an integrated circuit product, e.g., a system chip or a communication chip. The interface circuit may be an input/output interface, interface circuit, output circuit, input circuit, pin or related circuitry, etc. on the chip or system of chips. The processing circuitry may be logic circuitry on the chip.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a possible network architecture to which the embodiments of the present application are applicable;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a possible flow chart of a positioning method according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a possible flow chart of another positioning method according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a possible flow chart of another positioning method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The embodiment of the application provides a scheme for providing positioning service for terminal equipment in RRC idle state. The terminal equipment in the RRC idle state can establish the security on the NAS interface with the mobile management network element, but can not establish the connection and the air interface security on the air interface with the access network equipment, so the access network equipment can not know the current position of the terminal equipment and can not know which reference signal resources are suitable for the terminal equipment to use. In the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device sends (for example, may send through the mobility management network element) the first resource indication information for determining the target reference signal resource to the location management function network element. The position management function network element transfers the first resource indication information to the access network equipment, and the access network equipment allocates target reference signal resources for the terminal equipment in the RRC idle state, so that the terminal equipment sends reference signals according to the target reference signal resources, and the positioning of the terminal equipment in the RRC idle state is realized. The following further describes the solution provided in the embodiments of the present application with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the application is mainly applicable to a wireless communication system. The wireless communication system may conform to a third generation partnership project (third generation partnership project,3 GPP) wireless communication standard. For example, the scheme provided by the embodiments of the present application may be applied to a fourth generation (4th generation,4G) communication system, such as a long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE) communication system, and may also be applied to a fifth generation (5th generation,5G) communication system, such as a 5G New Radio (NR) communication system, or to various future communication systems, such as a sixth generation (6th generation,6G) communication system. The technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application may also conform to other wireless communication standards, such as the 802 series (e.g., 802.11, 802.15, or 802.20) wireless communication standards of the institute of electrical and electronics engineers (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, IEEE). The method provided by the embodiment of the application can also be applied to a Bluetooth system, a WiFi system, a LoRa system or a car networking system. The method provided by the embodiment of the application can also be applied to a satellite communication system, wherein the satellite communication system can be integrated with the communication system.

For convenience of explanation, the embodiment of the present application is exemplified by the 5G network architecture shown in fig. 1, which schematically illustrates one possible network architecture to which the embodiment of the present application is applicable. One possible network architecture to which the present application is applicable may include three parts, namely a terminal device, an access network device (also referred to as a Next Generation (NG) radio access network (radio access network, RAN) device), and a core network (core network).

The terminal device may include, among other things, a device that provides voice and/or data connectivity to a user, and may include, for example, a handheld device having wireless connectivity, or a processing device connected to a wireless modem. The terminal device may communicate with the core network via a radio access network (radio access network, RAN), exchanging voice and/or data with the RAN. The terminal device may include a User Equipment (UE), a wireless terminal device, a mobile terminal device, a device-to-device (D2D) terminal device, a vehicle-to-other device communication (vehicle to everything, V2X) terminal device, a machine-to-machine/machine-type communication (M2M/MTC) terminal device, an internet of things (internet of things, ioT) terminal device, a subscriber unit (subscriber unit), a subscriber station (subscriber station), a mobile station (mobile station), a remote station (remote station), an Access Point (AP), a remote terminal device (remote terminal), an access terminal device (access terminal), a user terminal device (user terminal), a user agent (user agent), or a user equipment (user device), etc. For example, mobile telephones (or "cellular" telephones) computers with mobile terminal devices, portable, pocket, hand-held, computer-built mobile devices, and the like may be included. Such as personal communication services (personal communication service, PCS) phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (session initiation protocol, SIP) phones, wireless local loop (wireless local loop, WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (personal digital assistant, PDAs), and the like. The terminal equipment can also be a tablet computer or a computer with a wireless receiving and transmitting function. The terminal device may also be a Virtual Reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (augmented reality, AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in unmanned, a wireless terminal in telemedicine, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in smart city, a wireless terminal in smart home, etc. But also limited devices such as devices with lower power consumption, or devices with limited memory capabilities, or devices with limited computing capabilities, etc. Examples include bar codes, radio frequency identification (radio frequency identification, RFID), sensors, global positioning systems (global positioning system, GPS), laser scanners, and other information sensing devices.

AN Access Network (AN) device (e.g., a base station) may refer to a device in AN access network that communicates over the air with wireless terminal devices through one or more cells, e.g., AN access network device may include AN evolved base station (NodeB or eNB or e-NodeB, evolutional Node B) in AN LTE system or long term evolution-advanced (LTE-a), or may also include fifth generation mobile communication technology (the 5) ^th generation, 5G) next generation node bs (next generation node B, gNB) in new wireless (NR) systems or may also include Centralized Units (CUs) and Distributed Units (DUs) in Cloud access network (Cloud radio access network, cloud RAN) systems, the embodiments of the present application are not limited.

As shown in fig. 1, the access network device in fig. 1 is illustrated as including a gNB and Ng-eNB. Ng-eNB is a base station of LTE and gNB is a base station of NR. The terminal device may communicate with the serving base station over a Uu link, e.g., may communicate with the Ng-eNB over an LTE-Uu link, and may communicate with the gNB over an NR-Uu link. The base stations can communicate through an Xn interface.

The network elements related to positioning (which may also be referred to as core network elements) in the core network mainly comprise: mobility management network elements, location management function network elements, etc. An evolved serving mobile location center (evolutional server mobile location center, E-SMLC) network element, a unified data management (unified data management, UDM) network element, an application function (application function, AF) network element may also be included.

Mobility management network element: the method is mainly used for mobility management, access management and the like, and can be used for realizing other functions besides session management in the functions of a mobility management network element (mobility management entity, MME), such as legal interception, access authorization/authentication, registration, connection, accessibility, mobility management and the like, and is a core network control plane access point for terminal equipment and wireless. As shown in fig. 1, in the 5G communication system, the access and mobility management may be an access and mobility management function (access and mobility management function, AMF) network element. In future communication systems, the mobility management network element may still be an AMF, or may have other names, which are not limited in this application.

The base station and the AMF network element can communicate through an NG-C interface, and the AMF network element can be equivalent to a router for gNB and LMF communication.

The location management function network element may be a location management function (location management function, LMF) network element. In future communication systems, the location management function network element may still be an LMF, or may have other names, which are not limited in this application.

The LMF network element may implement location estimation for the terminal device, and communication between the AMF and the LMF is performed through a NLs interface.

The E-SMLC network element is mainly responsible for the positioning request processing of the positioning service and selects a proper AMF network element for the positioning service.

The serving positioning protocol (service location protocol, SLP) network element may also communicate with the LMF network element and may be responsible for positioning request handling of positioning services.

The application scenario applicable to the embodiment of the application scenario can also comprise a positioning management component (location management component, LMC), wherein the LMC can be a part of functional components of the LMF and can be integrated on the gNB measured by the NG-RAN.

The mobility management network element, the location management network element, and the unified data management network element in the embodiments of the present application may be AMF, LMF, and UDM in fig. 1, or may be network elements having functions of the AMF, LMF, and UDM in future communications, such as a sixth generation (6th generation,6G) network, respectively, which is not limited in this application. For convenience of explanation, the present application describes the mobility management network element, the location management network element, and the unified data management network element as examples, where the AMF in the embodiment of the present application may be replaced by the mobility management network element, the LMF may be replaced by the location management network element, and the UDM may be replaced by the unified data management network element.

The solution provided in the embodiments of the present application is applicable to various positioning technologies, such as UL-TDOA positioning technology, UL-AOA positioning technology, and the like, which are not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

Based on fig. 1 and the other foregoing, fig. 2 schematically illustrates a possible flow chart of a positioning method provided by an embodiment of the present application, and in order to more clearly describe a solution provided by an embodiment of the present application, fig. 2 is described from an interaction point of view. The method may be performed by a first access network device, a second access network device, an AMF, an LMF, and a terminal device.

The access network device in the embodiment of the present application may be a gNB in fig. 1 or an Ng-eNB. The solution executed by the first access network device in the embodiment of the present application may also be executed by a unit, a module or a chip inside the first access network device, or may also be executed by other devices, units, modules or chips that have the capability of executing the solution on the side of the first access network device.

The terminal device in this embodiment of the present application may be the terminal device in fig. 1. The solution executed by the terminal device in the embodiment of the present application may be executed by a unit, a module or a chip inside the terminal device, or may be executed by other devices, units, modules or chips capable of executing the solution of the terminal device.

The LMF in the embodiment of the present application may be the LMF in fig. 1. The solution executed by the LMF in the embodiment of the present application may also be executed by a unit, a module or a chip inside the LMF, or may be executed by another device, a unit, a module or a chip that has the capability of executing the LMF solution.

The AMF in the embodiment of the present application may be the AMF in fig. 1. The solution executed by the AMF in the embodiment of the present application may be executed by a unit, a module or a chip inside the AMF, or may be executed by other devices, units, modules or chips capable of executing the solution of the AMF.

As shown in fig. 2, the method includes:

in step 201, the terminal device in RRC idle state sends first information to the LMF.

Correspondingly, the LMF receives the first information.

Step 201 includes various embodiments, for example, the terminal device in RRC idle state may carry the first information in an LCS message, and send the LCS message to the LMF through other network elements (such as access network device, AMF, etc.). For another example, the terminal device in RRC idle state may carry the first information in a NAS message, send the NAS message to the AMF through another network element (such as an access network device), and then send the first information in the ANS message to the LMF through an LCS message by the AMF.

The first information is used to request a location service. In a possible implementation, the first information may include information for requesting a location service.

The first information may include first resource indication information for determining a target reference signal resource for the terminal device to transmit a reference signal for determining a location of the terminal device.

The first resource indication information may include at least one of the following information A1, information A2, information A3, information A4, or information A5.

Information A1, information of one or more cells corresponding to the location of the terminal device.

The terminal device may detect surrounding cells and obtain information of the surrounding cells through the received signals. The cells included in the information A1 may be all or part of surrounding cells detected by the terminal device. The terminal device reports the information A1 so that the access network device can allocate the target reference signal resource to the terminal device based on the information A1. The information A1 includes information of a cell, for example, information such as an identification of the cell.

The information of one or more cells reported by the terminal device may be reported in a table form, or may be reported in other forms (such as text form). In a possible implementation manner, the information A1 may be replaced by a first cell list, where the first cell list includes information of cells corresponding to the location of the terminal device.

Information A2, the terminal device performs RRM measurement on the received signal.

For the purposes of cell handover, beam management, etc., the terminal device may perform RRM measurement on the received air interface signal from the access network device, and the terminal device may report the result obtained by performing RRM measurement to determine the destination reference signal based on the result of RRM measurement. The result of RRM measurement performed by the terminal device on the received signal may include, for example: cell-level reference signal received power (reference signal receiving power, RSRP), reference signal received quality (reference signal receiving quality, RSRQ), synchronization signal (synchronization signal, SS) RSRP of a beam of a cell, or channel state information (channel state information, CSI) RSRP.

Information A3, the terminal device receives the PRS measurement result.

The terminal device may, for example, include: PRS-RSRP, reference signal time difference (reference signal time difference, RSTD), etc.

Information A4, location information of the terminal device.

The location information of the terminal device may include, for example, longitude information, latitude information, altitude information, street, town address (civilian address), etc. of the location where the terminal device is currently located. The location information of the terminal device may be determined by the terminal device itself or may be input to the terminal device by the user.

Information A5, information of the first reference signal resource.

In the embodiment of the present application, for the sake of distinction, the resource selected by the terminal device is referred to as the first reference signal resource. The information of the first reference signal resource may include an index, an identification, etc. of the first reference signal resource, which can indicate the first reference signal resource. The terminal device may also select a first reference signal resource that the terminal device wants to use, and report information of the first reference signal resource to the LMF. And the LMF is transmitted to the access network equipment so that the access network equipment can allocate target reference signal resources for the terminal equipment based on the information of the first reference signal resources.

In a possible implementation manner, the terminal device may acquire the reference signal configuration information. The reference signal configuration information may include a time-frequency position, a symbol position, a transmission number, a transmission period, or the like of the reference signal resource. The first reference signal resource is a resource in the reference signal configuration information. The target reference signal resource is a resource in the reference signal configuration information. In a possible implementation manner, the terminal device may determine the information of the first reference signal resource from the reference signal configuration information according to the measurement result of the received signal. For example, the reference signal configuration information may include an association relationship (may also be referred to as a mapping relationship) between information (such as a measurement result of a signal) for determining a target reference signal resource and a resource, and the terminal device may find, from the reference signal configuration information, a reference signal resource associated with the measurement result of the signal according to the measurement result of the received signal (such as at least one of a first cell list, an RRM measurement result, or a PRS measurement result obtained by the terminal device by measuring the received signal), and select the first reference signal resource from the associated reference signal resources.

The terminal device may pre-configure the reference signal configuration information, or may receive the reference signal configuration information from the access network device. In a possible implementation manner, before step 201, the terminal device in the RRC idle state may receive a system message from the access network device, where a preset event triggering the terminal device to request a location service is satisfied, where the system message includes reference signal configuration information. It may also be understood that the terminal device in RRC idle state does not need to receive the system message, and when the terminal device determines that the preset event triggering the terminal device to request the positioning service is satisfied, the terminal device receives the system message, so that power consumption can be saved more.

The event triggering the terminal device to request the location service may be a preset event or events. For example, the event may include: the terminal device periodically requests the location services, in which case the terminal device may determine that the event is satisfied when the period duration has arrived. For another example, the event may include: the terminal device moves out of the coverage area of the cell and requests a location service, in which case the terminal device determines that the event is satisfied when the terminal device moves out of the coverage area of the current cell.

In step 202, the lmf sends a message to the access network device requesting to configure reference signal resources for the terminal device. The message for requesting configuration of the reference signal resource for the terminal device includes first resource indication information.

Correspondingly, the access network device receives a message from the LMF requesting to configure reference signal resources for the terminal device.

In step 203, the access network device sends the second information to the LMF.

Correspondingly, the LMF receives the second information from the access network device.

The second information is derived based on the first resource indication information. The second information is used to determine a target reference signal resource.

In step 204, the lmf sends the second information to the terminal device.

Correspondingly, the terminal equipment in the RRC idle state receives the second information.

Step 204 includes various embodiments, for example, the LMF may carry the second information in an LCS message, and send the LCS message carrying the second information to the terminal device through other network elements (such as AMF, access network device, etc.). For another example, the LMF may carry the second information in an LCS message, send the LCS message to the AMF, and then the AMF carries the second information in a NAS message, and send the NAS message carrying the second information to the terminal device through other network elements (such as an access network device and the like).

In step 205, the terminal device in RRC idle state obtains the target reference signal resource based on the second information.

In step 205, the terminal device obtaining the target reference signal resource based on the second information may include two possible ways of the following embodiment B1 and embodiment B2.

In embodiment B1, the second information includes second resource indication information, and the second resource indication information is determined according to the first resource indication information.

In step 205, the terminal device in RRC idle state may determine the target reference signal resource according to the second resource indication information.

For example, if the second resource indication information includes the target reference signal resource, the terminal device may determine the target reference signal resource from the second information.

For another example, the second resource indication information includes information of one or more cells, such as the second resource indication information includes information of an identity, an index, etc. of the one or more cells. The information of the cells in the second resource indication information may be a cell list, and for distinguishing, in this embodiment of the present application, the cell list in the second resource indication information is referred to as a second cell list. In this case, the terminal device may determine the target reference signal resource according to the information of the cell included in the second information (such as the second cell list). For example, the reference signal configuration information may include an association relationship between information (such as a cell list) for determining a target reference signal resource and the resource, and the terminal device may find, according to the second cell list in the second information, a reference signal resource associated with the second cell list from the reference signal configuration information, and determine the reference signal resource as the target reference signal resource. The manner in which the terminal device obtains the reference signal configuration information may be referred to the foregoing, and will not be described in detail.

In embodiment B2, the terminal device determines that the access network device allows to obtain the target reference signal resource based on the first resource indication information, and determines the target reference signal resource according to the first resource indication information.

The terminal device in the RRC idle state may determine, based on the second information, whether the access network device allows the target reference signal resource to be obtained based on the first resource indication information.

When the access network device allows the target reference signal resource to be obtained based on the first resource indication information, the second information may or may not include the first resource indication information. The second information may implicitly indicate that the access network device allows the target reference signal resource to be derived based on the first resource indication information. For example, the terminal device in the RRC idle state determines that the access network device allows to obtain the reference signal resource based on the first resource indication information, if it is determined that the second information does not include information for indicating the reference signal resource. It can also be understood that: the terminal device in the RRC idle state determines that the access network device allows to obtain the reference signal resource based on the first resource indication information, in case it is determined that the second information does not include information of the reference signal resource, nor information for determining the reference signal resource, such as information of a cell (second cell list).

In another possible implementation manner, the second information may also carry information for indicating that the access network device allows the target reference signal resource to be obtained based on the first resource indication information. In this case, the terminal device determines, according to the information for indicating that the access network device allows the target reference signal resource to be obtained based on the first resource indication information, that the access network device allows the target reference signal resource to be obtained based on the first resource indication information.

When the first resource indication information includes information of the first reference signal resource, the terminal device determines that the first reference signal resource is a target reference signal resource.

When the first resource indication information includes other information (such as at least one of the information A1, the information A2, the information A3, or the information A4) for determining the target reference signal resource, the reference signal configuration information may include an association relationship between the information for determining the target reference signal resource and the reference signal resource, and the terminal device may find, according to the information for determining the target reference signal resource in the first resource indication information, a reference signal resource associated with the information for determining the target reference signal resource from the reference signal configuration information, and determine the reference signal resource as the target reference signal resource.

In step 206, the terminal device in RRC idle state transmits a reference signal according to the target reference signal resource, where the reference signal is used to determine the location of the terminal device.

In a possible implementation manner, the second information includes information of a first duration, and in step 206, the terminal device in the RRC idle state sends the reference signal according to the target reference signal resource after the first duration. The reference signal sent by the terminal device in the embodiment of the present application may be a channel sounding reference signal (sounding reference signal, SRS).

Since the terminal device in RRC idle state can establish security on NAS interface with AMF, but will not establish connection and air interface security on air interface with access network device, air interface security refers to encryption and integrity protection of RRC layer. The access network device does not know where the terminal device is currently located, nor is it clear which of the reference signal resources are suitable for use by the terminal device. And the first information that the terminal device sends to the LMF (e.g., may be sent to the LMF through the AMF) may include first resource indication information, where the first resource indication information is used to determine the target reference signal resource. In this way, the LMF may forward the first resource indication information to the access network device, so that the access network device determines a target reference signal resource for the terminal device in the RRC idle state, so that the terminal device sends a reference signal according to the target reference signal resource, so as to implement positioning of the terminal device in the RRC idle state. In the process, the terminal equipment cannot establish connection on an air interface with the access network equipment and the air interface is safe, and can be in an RRC idle state all the time, and does not need to enter an RRC connection state or enter an RRC inactive state, so that the power consumption of the terminal equipment can be reduced, and the time delay for positioning the terminal equipment can be reduced. On the other hand, the scheme can realize the positioning service for the terminal equipment in the RRC idle state, and the terminal equipment can not need to support the RRC inactive state, so that the capability requirement on the terminal equipment can be reduced, and the cost of the terminal equipment can be reduced.

It should be noted that, in another possible implementation manner, after the step 204, the terminal device does not perform the step 205 and the step 206 any more. The second information includes information of a second duration. And after the second duration, the terminal equipment in the RRC idle state sends information for requesting the positioning service to the core network element. In this embodiment, the access network device may instruct the terminal device to not perform the positioning service any more through the second information, but start from the moment when the second information is received, and after a second period of time, the positioning service is re-requested, for example, the above step 201 may be re-performed to send updated first resource indication information to the LMF.

Based on fig. 1, fig. 2, and the other foregoing, fig. 3 schematically illustrates a possible flow chart of another positioning method according to an embodiment of the present application, and a description of the execution subject related to fig. 3 may be referred to the similar description in fig. 2 and will not be repeated.

As shown in fig. 3, the method includes:

step 301, the terminal device in RRC idle state determines whether a preset event triggering the terminal device to request a location service is satisfied, and if so, step 302 is performed.

In the case of unsatisfied, the terminal device may not need to receive the system message of the access network device, so that power consumption of the terminal device may be reduced.

In step 302, a terminal device in RRC idle state receives a system message from an access network device.

The system message includes reference signal configuration information. Step 301 and step 302 are optional steps, and the relevant content of step 301 and step 302 may be referred to the relevant description in the foregoing 201, and will not be repeated.

In step 303, the terminal device in RRC idle state sends an RRC message to the access network device.

Correspondingly, the access network device receives the RRC message from the terminal device in the RRC idle state.

The RRC message in step 303 may be message three in a four-step random access procedure, message a in a two-step random access procedure, grant small configuration data transfer (configured grant small data transmission, CG-SDT) message, pre-configured uplink resource (pre-configured uplink resource, PUR) message, or early data transfer (early data transmission, EDT) message. The RRC message may also have other names, such as may be referred to as an RRC low power high precision positioning (low power high accuracy positioning, LPHAP) request, and english may be written as RRC LPHAP request.

The RRC message may carry an identity of the terminal device and a non-access stratum (NAS) message container. The identifier of the terminal equipment carried in the RRC message may be, for example, a 5G system architecture evolution temporary mobile station identifier (system architecture evolution temporary mobile station identifier, S-TMSI), an invalid radio network temporary identifier (inactive radio network temporary identifier, I-RNTI), or a random number. The first information may be carried in a NAS message container of the RRC message. NAS message container english may be written as dedicated information NAS.

The NAS message in the NAS message container can be in a newly designed NAS message format, and can also be multiplexed into an existing NAS message format. For example, the NAS message may be a control plane service request (control plane service request) message, where the control plane service request message carries first information, and the control plane service type in the first information in the control plane service request message may be set to a location service (such as an lpaap service). The information indicating that the control plane service type is the location service type in the control plane service request message may be regarded as information for requesting the location service.

Step 304, the access network device sends an initial terminal device message to the AMF.

Correspondingly, the AMF receives the initial terminal equipment message.

The initial terminal device message carries a NAS message container in the RRC message in step 303, where the NAS message container includes first information from the terminal device.

The initial terminal device message may be, for example, an initial next generation interface application protocol (next generation application protocol, NG-AP) message. For example, the initial terminal device message is an initial terminal device context request (initial UE context request).

In step 305, the amf sends a message to the UDM requesting acquisition of quality of service (quality of service, qoS) information corresponding to the location services of the terminal device.

In step 306, the AMF receives QoS information from the UDM.

The QoS information corresponding to the terminal device may include positioning accuracy, positioning delay, positioning type, and the like corresponding to the positioning service requested by the terminal device. The location category may for example comprise LCS QoS class.

In step 307, the amf determines the LMF based on the QoS information.

For example, the AMF may obtain an association relationship between QoS information and LMF, and further find the LMF associated with the QoS information from the association relationship according to the obtained QoS information.

Step 305, step 306 and step 307 may be optional steps. In another possible implementation manner, the first information sent by the terminal device may carry an identifier of the LMF, so that the AMF may determine the LMF according to the obtained identifier of the LMF.

In step 308, the amf sends a location service (LCS) request message to the LMF.

Correspondingly, the LMF receives the location service request message from the AMF.

The location service request message includes first information. After receiving the initial terminal device message from the access network device, the AMF may obtain a NAS message from the terminal device from a NAS message container of the message, where first information in the NAS message is used to request a location service, based on which the AMF sends a location service request message to the LMF, and the message carries the first information in step 308. The location service request message may have other names as well, and the message name used in the embodiments of the present application is only an example.

In step 309, the lmf sends a message to the access network device requesting to configure reference signal resources for the terminal device. The message for requesting configuration of the reference signal resource for the terminal device includes first resource indication information.

Correspondingly, the access network device receives a message from the LMF requesting to configure the target reference signal resource for the terminal device.

The message sent by the LMF to request configuration of reference signal resources for the terminal device may be a new technology positioning protocol copy (new radio positioning protocol annex, NRPPa) message. The message for requesting to configure the reference signal resource for the terminal device may be a location information request (positioning information request) message or a newly defined message, for example, the message may be a reference signal transmission request (reference signal transmission request) message.

In step 310, the access network device sends a response message to the LMF for the message requesting configuration of reference signal resources for the terminal device.

Correspondingly, the LMF receives a response message from the access network device requesting a message to configure reference signal resources for the terminal device.

After receiving the message from the LMF requesting to configure the reference signal resource for the terminal device, the access network device may configure the reference signal resource for the terminal device based on the first resource indication information, then generate second information, and carry the second information through a response message for requesting the message for configuring the reference signal resource for the terminal device in step 310.

The response message for requesting the message for configuring the reference signal resource for the terminal device may be an NRPPa message, an existing message may be multiplexed, or a newly defined message. For example, when the message for requesting configuration of the reference signal resource for the terminal device is a location information request message, the response message for requesting configuration of the reference signal resource for the terminal device may be a location information response (positioning information response) message. For example, when the message for requesting to configure the reference signal resource for the terminal device is a reference signal transmission request message, the response message for requesting to configure the reference signal resource for the terminal device may be a reference signal transmission response (reference signal transmission response) message.

In step 311, the lmf sends a location service request acknowledgement (LCS request acknowledge) message to the AMF.

Correspondingly, the AMF receives a location service request acknowledgement message from the LMF.

The location service request acknowledgement message belongs to LCS message and is a response message of the location service request message. The positioning service request confirmation message carries second information.

In step 312, the amf sends a response message to the access network device for the initial terminal device message.

Correspondingly, the access network device receives a response message from the initial terminal device message of the AMF.

The response message of the initial terminal device message carries the second information.

The response message of the initial terminal device message may be, for example, an initial next generation interface application protocol (next generation application protocol, NG-AP) message. For example, the response message of the initial terminal device message is an initial terminal device context setup failure (initial UE context setup failure) message.

The response message of the initial terminal device message may include a NAS message container, and the NAS message in the NAS message container may include the second information. The NAS message may multiplex the existing NAS message format or may be a newly defined NAS message. For example, the NAS message may be a control plane service response (control plane service response) message. For another example, the NAS message may be a downstream NAS transport (download NAS transport) message.

In step 313, the access network device sends a response message of the RRC message to the terminal device.

Correspondingly, the terminal device receives a response message of the RRC message from the access network device.

The response message of the RRC message carries the second information.

The response message of the RRC message includes a NAS message container in the response message of the initial terminal device message, and it can be seen that the AMF sends the received second information to the access network device through the NAS message container, and the access network device sends the ANS message container to the terminal device.

When the RRC message in step 303 is message three in the four-step random access procedure, the response message of the RRC message may be message four in the four-step random access procedure. When the RRC message in step 303 is message a in the two-step random access procedure, the response message of the RRC message may be message B in the two-step random access procedure. When the RRC message in step 303 is a CG-SDT, the response message of the RRC message may be a CG-SDT response message. When the RRC message in step 303 is PUR, the response message of the RRC message may be a response message of PUR. When the RRC message in step 303 is an EDT, the response message of the RRC message may be an EDT response message.

In step 314, the terminal device in RRC idle state obtains the target reference signal resource based on the second information.

The relevant content of step 314 refers to the relevant content of step 205, and will not be described again.

In step 315, the lmf sends a measurement request to at least one of the access network device and an adjacent access network device of the access network device.

Correspondingly, at least one of the access network device and the adjacent access network device of the access network device receives the measurement request. In fig. 3, an example is illustrated in which the access network device and a neighboring access network device of the access network device receive a measurement request.

The measurement request may include a target reference signal resource.

In the embodiment of the application, the LMF may obtain the target reference signal resource based on the second information. The LMF obtains the target reference signal resource based on the second information in a similar manner to the foregoing manner in which the terminal device obtains the target reference signal resource based on the second information. For example, the second information may include a target reference signal resource, and the LMF may determine the target reference signal resource from the second information. For another example, the second information includes second resource indication information, and the LMF may determine the target reference signal resource according to the second resource indication information. For another example, the LMF determines, based on the second information, that the access network device allows the target reference signal resource to be obtained based on the first resource indication information, and the LMF determines the target reference signal resource according to the first resource indication information. For example, in the case that the second information is determined not to include information for indicating the reference signal resource, the LMF determines that the access network device allows the reference signal resource to be obtained based on the first resource indication information, and in the case that the first resource indication information includes information of the first reference signal resource, the LMF determines the first reference signal resource as the target reference signal resource. The related content is similar to the content of the target reference signal resource determined by the terminal device according to the second information, and will not be described again.

In step 316, the terminal device in RRC idle state transmits the reference signal according to the target reference signal resource.

Correspondingly, the access network device and the adjacent access network device of the access network device receive the reference signal.

In step 317, the access network device and the adjacent access network device of the access network device send a measurement request acknowledgement message to the LMF.

Correspondingly, the LMF receives measurement request acknowledgement messages from the access network device and the neighboring access network devices of the access network device.

In step 317, the access network device or the neighboring access network device that receives the reference signal may measure the reference signal from the terminal device to obtain a measurement result, and carry the measurement result in a measurement request acknowledgement message, so that the LMF determines location information of the terminal according to the measurement result.

At step 318, the lmf sends a location services reply message to the AMF.

Correspondingly, the AMF receives the location services reply message.

The location service reply message may carry location information of the terminal device.

According to the scheme, the terminal equipment in the RRC idle state can send the first resource indication information to the AMF through the NAS message, the AMF sends the first resource indication information to the LMF, and the LMF sends the first resource indication information to the access network equipment so that the access network equipment can allocate reference signal resources for the terminal equipment. The subsequent access network device sends second information for determining the target reference signal resource to the LMF, and the LMF sends the second information to the AMF. The AMF sends the second information to the terminal equipment through the NAS message, so that the terminal equipment in the RRC idle state can send a reference signal according to the target reference signal resource, and the positioning of the terminal equipment in the RRC idle state is realized.

It is worth noting that in yet another possible embodiment, the second information comprises information of a second duration. The terminal device in RRC idle state may execute step 303 again after a second time period, i.e. the terminal device starts from the moment the second information is received, after which the location service is re-requested. The flow after requesting the location service again may be similar to that shown in fig. 3 and will not be repeated.

Based on fig. 1, fig. 2, fig. 3, and the other foregoing, fig. 4 is a schematic flow chart schematically illustrating another positioning method according to an embodiment of the present application, and a description of the execution subject related to fig. 4 may be referred to the similar description in fig. 2 and will not be repeated.

As shown in fig. 4, the method includes:

step 401, the terminal device in RRC idle state determines whether a preset event triggering the terminal device to request a location service is satisfied, and if so, step 402 is performed.

The relevant content of step 401 may be referred to the relevant content of step 301, and will not be described again.

In step 402, a terminal device in RRC idle state receives a system message from an access network device.

In step 403, the terminal device in RRC idle state sends an RRC message to the access network device.

The RRC message sent in step 403 is similar to the RRC message in step 303 described above, except that:

the NAS message of the NAS message container in the RRC message in step 403 may include an LCS message, in which the first information is carried.

Wherein the LCS message in the NAS message container may be an event report (event report) message. In this case, the information for requesting the location service in the first information may include information of an event that triggers the terminal device to request the location service, which is carried in the event report message.

In a possible implementation manner, the NAS message in the NAS message container may also carry an LMF identifier, so that after the AMF receives the NAS message in the NAS message container, the LMF is determined according to the LMF identifier.

The NAS message in the NAS message container can be in a newly designed NAS message format, and can also be multiplexed into an existing NAS message format. Regarding the RRC message, the format of the NAS message in the NAS message container in the RRC message and other relevant contents may be referred to the relevant description in step 303, and will not be repeated.

Step 404, the access network device sends an initial terminal device message to the AMF.

Correspondingly, the AMF receives the initial terminal equipment message.

The initial terminal device message carries a NAS message container in the RRC message in step 403, where the NAS message in the NAS message container includes an LCS message from the terminal device, and the LCS message includes first information from the terminal device.

The relevant content of step 404 may be referred to the relevant content of step 304, and will not be described again.

At step 405, the amf sends an event report message to the LMF.

Correspondingly, the LMF receives the event report message from the AMF.

After receiving the initial terminal equipment message, the AMF sends an LCS message in a NAS message container in the initial terminal equipment message to the LMF in step 405. In the case where the LCS message is an event report message, the AMF sends the event report message to the LMF in step 405, which is illustrated in fig. 4 by way of example. The event report message includes first information.

It should be noted that, when the NAS message in the NAS message container in the initial terminal apparatus message received by the AMF includes an LMF identifier, the AMF may determine the LMF according to the LMF identifier in the NAS message. If the NAS message in the NAS message container in the initial terminal device message does not include the identifier of the LMF, the AMF may request QoS information of the plurality of terminal devices from the UDM, and then determine the LMF according to the QoS information. The relevant content can be referred to the descriptions of the foregoing steps 305, 306 and 307, and will not be repeated.

In step 406, the lmf sends a message to the access network device requesting configuration of reference signal resources for the terminal device. The message for requesting configuration of the reference signal resource for the terminal device includes first resource indication information.

The relevant content of step 406 may be referred to the relevant content of step 309, and will not be described again.

In step 407, the access network device sends the response message to the LMF for the message requesting to configure the reference signal resource for the terminal device.

The relevant content of step 407 may be referred to the relevant content of step 310, and will not be described again.

In step 408, the lmf sends an event report acknowledgement message to the AMF.

Correspondingly, the AMF receives an event report acknowledge message from the LMF.

The event report acknowledgement message belongs to an LCS message, is a response message to the event report message, and may also be referred to as a response message to the event report message. The event report confirmation message carries second information.

In step 409, the amf sends a response message to the access network device for the initial terminal device message.

The response message of the initial terminal device message in step 409 is similar to the response message of the initial terminal device message in step 312, except that: the NAS message in the NAS message container in the response message of the initial terminal equipment message of step 409 includes an LCS message, which may be an event report confirm message received by the AMF from the LMF, so that the AMF transmits the event report confirm message from the LMF to the terminal equipment.

The response message of the initial terminal device message, and the relevant content of the NAS message in the NAS message container in the response message of the initial terminal device message may refer to the relevant content of step 312, which is not described herein.

In step 410, the access network device sends a response message of the RRC message to the terminal device.

The response message of the RRC message carries the second information.

The response message of the RRC message in step 410 is similar to the response message of the RRC message in step 313, except that: the NAS message in the NAS message container in the response message of the RRC message in step 410 includes an LCS message, which may be an event report acknowledgement message received by the AMF from the LMF, so that the AMF transmits the event report acknowledgement message from the LMF to the terminal device.

The response message of the RRC message, and the relevant content of the NAS message in the NAS message container in the response message of the RRC message may refer to the relevant content of step 313, which is not described herein.

In step 411, the terminal device in RRC idle state obtains the target reference signal resource based on the second information.

The relevant content of step 411 refers to the relevant content of step 314, and will not be described again.

In step 412, the lmf sends a measurement request to at least one of the access network device and an adjacent access network device of the access network device.

The relevant content of step 412 may be referred to the relevant content of step 315, and will not be described in detail.

In step 413, the terminal device in RRC idle state sends the reference signal according to the target reference signal resource.

The relevant content of step 413 may be referred to the relevant content of step 316, and will not be described again.

The access network device and the neighboring access network device of the access network device send a measurement request confirm message to the LMF, step 414.

The relevant content of step 414 may be referred to the relevant content of step 317, and will not be described again.

In step 415, the lmf sends a location services reply message to the AMF.

Correspondingly, the AMF receives the location services reply message.

The relevant content of step 415 may be referred to the relevant content of step 318, and will not be described again.

According to the scheme, the terminal equipment in the RRC idle state can send the first resource indication information to the LMF through the LCS message in the NAS message container, and the LMF sends the first resource indication information to the access network equipment so that the access network equipment can allocate the reference signal resource for the terminal equipment. The subsequent access network device sends the second information for determining the target reference signal resource to the LMF, and the LMF sends the second information to the terminal device through the LCS message, so that the terminal device in the RRC idle state can send the reference signal according to the target reference signal resource, thereby realizing the positioning of the terminal device in the RRC idle state.

It is worth noting that in yet another possible embodiment, the second information comprises information of a second duration. After the second period, the terminal device in the RRC idle state may execute the related content of step 403 again, which is similar to the foregoing description and will not be repeated.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, a certain network element (for example, an a network element) receives information from another network element (for example, a B network element), which may mean that the a network element receives information directly from the B network element, or that the a network element receives information from the B network element via another network element (for example, a C network element). When the a network element receives information from the B network element via the C network element, the C network element may transmit the information, or process the information, for example: and carrying the information in different messages for transmission or screening the information, and only sending the screened information to the A network element. Similarly, in embodiments of the present application, sending information from an a network element to a B network element may refer to sending information from the a network element to the B network element directly, or may refer to sending information from the a network element to the B network element via other network elements (e.g., a C network element).

The terms "system" and "network" in embodiments of the present application may be used interchangeably. "at least one" means one or more, and "a plurality" means two or more. "and/or", describes an association relationship of an association object, and indicates that there may be three relationships, for example, a and/or B, and may indicate: a alone, a and B together, and B alone, wherein a, B may be singular or plural. The character "/" generally indicates that the context-dependent object is an "or" relationship. "at least one of" or the like means any combination of these items, including any combination of single item(s) or plural items(s). For example, at least one (one) of a, b, or c may represent: a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, or a-b-c, wherein a, b, c may be single or plural.

And, unless otherwise specified, references to "first," "second," etc. in the embodiments herein are for distinguishing between multiple objects and not for defining the order, timing, priority, or importance of the multiple objects.

It should be noted that the names of the above-mentioned messages are merely examples, and any message may change its name with the evolution of the communication technology, and no matter how the name changes, it falls within the protection scope of the present application as long as the meaning of the message is the same as that of the message.

According to the foregoing method, fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in the embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 5, the communication device may be a terminal device, an LMF, an AMF, or an access network device, or may be a chip or a circuit, for example, may be a chip or a circuit that is disposed in the terminal device, the LMF, the AMF, or the access network device.

The communication device 1801 includes a processor 1802 and a transceiver 1803.

Further, the communication device 1801 may include a memory 1804. The dashed line of memory 1804 is further illustrative of the optional meaning of memory.

Further, the communication device 1801 may further comprise a bus system, wherein the processor 1802, the memory 1804, and the transceiver 1803 may be connected by the bus system.

It is to be appreciated that the processor 1802 described above may be a chip. For example, the processor 1802 may be a field programmable gate array (field programmable gate array, FPGA), an application specific integrated chip (application specific integrated circuit, ASIC), a system on chip (SoC), a central processing unit (central processor unit, CPU), a network processor (network processor, NP), a digital signal processing circuit (digital signal processor, DSP), a microcontroller (micro controller unit, MCU), a programmable controller (programmable logic device, PLD) or other integrated chip.

In implementation, the steps of the methods described above may be performed by integrated logic circuitry in hardware or instructions in software in the processor 1802. The steps of a method disclosed in connection with the embodiments of the present application may be embodied directly in hardware processor execution or in a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor 1802. The software modules may be located in a random access memory, flash memory, read only memory, programmable read only memory, or electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, etc. as well known in the art. The storage medium is located in the memory 1804 and the processor 1802 reads the information in the memory 1804 and performs the steps of the method described above in connection with its hardware.

It should be noted that the processor 1802 in the embodiments of the present application may be an integrated circuit chip having signal processing capabilities. In implementation, the steps of the above method embodiments may be implemented by integrated logic circuits of hardware in a processor or instructions in software form. The processor may be a general purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, or discrete hardware components. The disclosed methods, steps, and logic blocks in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented or performed. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like. The steps of a method disclosed in connection with the embodiments of the present application may be embodied directly in hardware, in a decoded processor, or in a combination of hardware and software modules in a decoded processor. The software modules may be located in a random access memory, flash memory, read only memory, programmable read only memory, or electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, etc. as well known in the art. The storage medium is located in a memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and, in combination with its hardware, performs the steps of the above method.

It is appreciated that the memory 1804 in embodiments of the present application may be either volatile memory or nonvolatile memory, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. The related description of the memory in the embodiments of the present application may be referred to the foregoing, and will not be repeated herein.

When the communication device 1801 is the above terminal device, the processor 1802 is configured to: the transceiver 1803 sends first information to a core network element (such as an AMF or an LMF), where the first information is used to request a location service, and the first information includes first resource indication information, where the first resource indication information is used to determine a target reference signal resource. Second information from the core network element is received by the transceiver 1803, the second information being derived based on the first resource indication information. And obtaining the target reference signal resource based on the second information. A reference signal is transmitted via the transceiver 1803 in accordance with the target reference signal resource, the reference signal being used to determine the location of the terminal device.

When the communication device 1801 is the above-mentioned terminal device, in a possible implementation manner, the second information includes information of the first duration. The processor 1802 is configured to: after the first time period, reference signals are transmitted through transceiver 1803 in accordance with the target reference signal resources.

When the communication device 1801 is the above-mentioned terminal device, in a possible implementation manner, the processor 1802 is further configured to: and receiving a system message from the access network device through the transceiver 1803 under the condition that a preset event triggering the terminal device to request the positioning service is met, wherein the system message comprises reference signal configuration information, and the target reference signal resource is a resource in the reference signal configuration information.

When the communication device 1801 is the above-mentioned terminal device, in a possible implementation manner, the processor 1802 is further configured to: and determining information of the first reference signal resource in the first resource indication information from the reference signal configuration information included in the system message according to the measurement result of the received signal.

When the communication device 1801 is the above-mentioned terminal device, in a possible implementation manner, the second information includes second resource indication information, where the second resource indication information is determined according to the first resource indication information. The processor 1802 is also configured to: and determining the target reference signal resource according to the second resource indication information.

When the communication apparatus 1801 is the above-mentioned terminal device, in one possible implementation manner, the second resource indication information includes: target reference signal resources, or one or more cell information.

When the communication device 1801 is the above-mentioned terminal device, in one possible implementation, the processor 1802 is specifically configured to:

determining, based on the second information, that the access network device allows the target reference signal resource to be obtained based on the first resource indication information;

and determining the target reference signal resource according to the first resource indication information.

When the communication device 1801 is the above-mentioned terminal device, in one possible implementation, the processor 1802 is specifically configured to: and under the condition that the second information does not comprise the information for indicating the reference signal resource, determining that the access network equipment allows the reference signal resource to be obtained based on the first resource indication information, wherein the second resource indication information is obtained according to the first resource indication information.

When the communication device 1801 is the above-mentioned terminal device, in one possible implementation, the processor 1802 is specifically configured to: in the case that the first resource indication information includes information of the first reference signal resource, the first reference signal resource is determined to be a target reference signal resource.

When the communication apparatus 1801 is the above terminal device, in a possible implementation manner, in a case that the core network element is an AMF, the processor 1802 is further configured to: the identity of the LMF used to provide location services for the terminal device is sent to the core network element via transceiver 1803.

When the communication device 1801 is the LMF described above, the processor 1802 is configured to perform, via the transceiver 1803: receiving first information from a terminal device, wherein the first information is used for requesting positioning service, and the first information comprises first resource indication information; the first resource indication information is used to determine a target reference signal resource. And sending a message for requesting to configure the reference signal resource for the terminal equipment to the access network equipment, wherein the message for requesting to configure the reference signal resource for the terminal equipment comprises first resource indication information. And receiving second information from the access network equipment, wherein the second information is obtained based on the first resource indication information, the second information is used for determining target reference signal resources, the target reference signal resources are used for transmitting reference signals by the terminal equipment, and the reference signals are used for determining the position of the terminal equipment. And sending the second information to the terminal equipment.

When the communication device 1801 is the LMF described above, in one possible implementation, the processor 1802 is further configured to: and obtaining the target reference signal resource based on the second information. The target reference signal resource is transmitted via transceiver 1803 to the access network device and to an access network device of the access network device's neighboring access network devices.

When the communication device 1801 is the LMF, in a possible implementation manner, the second information includes second resource indication information, where the second resource indication information is determined according to the first resource indication information. The processor 1802 is specifically configured to: and determining the target reference signal resource according to the second resource indication information.

When the communication device 1801 is the LMF described above, in one possible implementation, the processor 1802 is specifically configured to: based on the second information, determining that the access network equipment allows the target reference signal resource to be obtained based on the first resource indication information, and determining the target reference signal resource according to the first resource indication information.

When the communication device 1801 is the LMF described above, in one possible implementation, the processor 1802 is specifically configured to: and under the condition that the second information does not comprise the information for indicating the reference signal resource, determining that the access network equipment allows the reference signal resource to be obtained based on the first resource indication information, wherein the second resource indication information is obtained according to the first resource indication information.

When the communication device 1801 is the LMF described above, in one possible implementation, the processor 1802 is specifically configured to: in the case that the first resource indication information includes information of the first reference signal resource, the first reference signal resource is determined to be a target reference signal resource.

When the communication device 1801 is the AMF, the processor 1802 is configured to perform, via the transceiver 1803: first information from the terminal device is received, the first information being for requesting a positioning service, the first information comprising first resource indication information for determining a target reference signal resource. The first information is sent to the LMF. And receiving second information from the LMF, wherein the second information is obtained based on the first resource indication information, the second information is used for determining target reference signal resources, the target reference signal resources are used for transmitting reference signals by the terminal equipment, and the reference signals are used for determining the position of the terminal equipment. And sending the second information to the terminal equipment.

When the communication device 1801 is the AMF, in one possible implementation, the processor 1802 is further configured to: a message for requesting acquisition of QoS information corresponding to a location service of the terminal device is transmitted to the UDM through the transceiver 1803. QoS information from the UDM is received through transceiver 1803. And determining the LMF according to the QoS information.

When the communication device 1801 is the AMF, in one possible implementation, the processor 1802 is further configured to: an identification of the LMF from the terminal device is received through transceiver 1803.

When the communication device 1801 is the AMF, in one possible implementation, the processor 1802 is specifically configured to perform, through the transceiver 1803: an initial terminal device message is received from an access network device, a NAS message container in the initial terminal device message including first information from a terminal device. Sending a response message of the initial terminal equipment message to the access network equipment, wherein a NAS message container in the response message of the initial terminal equipment message comprises second information to be transmitted to the terminal equipment; or sending a downlink NAS transmission message to the terminal equipment through the access network equipment, wherein the downlink NAS transmission message carries the second information.

When the communication device 1801 is the AMF, in one possible implementation, the processor 1802 is specifically configured to perform, through the transceiver 1803: an initial terminal device message from an access network device is received, an event report message in a NAS message container in the initial terminal device message includes first information from the terminal device, and the event report message belongs to an LCS message. Sending a response message of the initial terminal equipment message to the access network equipment, wherein the response message of the event report message in the NAS message container in the response message of the initial terminal equipment message comprises second information to be transmitted to the terminal equipment, and the response message of the event report message belongs to LCS message; or sending a downlink NAS transmission message to the terminal equipment through the access network equipment, wherein the response message of the event report message in the downlink NAS transmission message comprises second information to be transmitted to the terminal equipment.

When the communication apparatus 1801 is the above access network device, the processor 1802 is configured to perform, through the transceiver 1803: receiving first information from a terminal device in an RRC idle state, wherein the first information is used for requesting positioning service, the first information comprises first resource indication information, and the first resource indication information is used for determining target reference signal resources; and sending the first information to a core network element. A message from the LMF requesting configuration of target reference signal resources for the terminal device is received, the message requesting configuration of target reference signal resources for the terminal device including first resource indication information. And sending second information to the LMF, wherein the second information is used for determining target reference signal resources, the target reference signal resources are used for sending reference signals to the terminal equipment, and the reference signals are used for determining the position of the terminal equipment. Second information is received from a core network element. And sending the second information to the terminal equipment in the RRC idle state.

The concepts related to the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application, explanation, detailed description and other steps related to the communication device refer to the descriptions of the foregoing methods or other embodiments, and are not repeated herein.

Based on the above embodiments and the same concepts, fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 6, a communication device 1901 may include a communication interface 1903 and a processor 1902. Further, the communication device 1901 may include a memory 1904. The dashed line in the figure indicates that the memory 1904 further identifies the memory as optional. A communication interface 1903 for inputting and/or outputting information; a processor 1902, configured to execute a computer program or instructions, to cause the communications apparatus 1901 to implement a method on a terminal device side in the correlation scheme of any one of fig. 2, 3, or 4, or to cause the communications apparatus 1901 to implement a method on an LMF side in the correlation scheme of any one of fig. 2, 3, or 4, or to cause the communications apparatus 1901 to implement a method on an AMF side in the correlation scheme of any one of fig. 2, 3, or 4, or to cause the communications apparatus 1901 to implement a method on an access network device side in the correlation scheme of any one of fig. 2, 3, or 4. In this embodiment, the communication interface 1903 may implement the scheme implemented by the transceiver 1803 of fig. 5, the processor 1902 may implement the scheme implemented by the processor 1802 of fig. 5, and the memory 1904 may implement the scheme implemented by the memory 1804 of fig. 5, which is not described herein.

Based on the above embodiments and the same concept, fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a communication apparatus provided in the embodiments of the present application, and as shown in fig. 7, the communication apparatus 2001 may be a terminal device, an LMF, an AMF, or an access network device, or may be a chip or a circuit, for example, may be provided in the terminal device, the LMF, the AMF, or the access network device.

The communication apparatus 2001 includes a processing unit 2002 and a communication unit 2003. Further, the communication device 2001 may include the storage unit 2004 or may not include the storage unit 2004. The dashed line of storage 2004 is further intended to identify the memory as optional.

When the communication apparatus 2001 is the above-described terminal device, the processing unit 2002 is configured to: the communication unit 2003 sends first information to the core network element, the first information being used for requesting a positioning service, the first information comprising first resource indication information, the first resource indication information being used for determining a target reference signal resource. The second information from the core network element is received by the communication unit 2003, the second information being derived based on the first resource indication information. And obtaining the target reference signal resource based on the second information. A reference signal is transmitted by the communication unit 2003 according to the target reference signal resource, the reference signal being used for determining the location of the terminal device.

When the communication apparatus 2001 is the above-described LMF, the processing unit 2002 is configured to execute, by the communication unit 2003: receiving first information from a terminal device, wherein the first information is used for requesting positioning service, and the first information comprises first resource indication information; the first resource indication information is used to determine a target reference signal resource. And sending a message for requesting to configure the reference signal resource for the terminal equipment to the access network equipment, wherein the message for requesting to configure the reference signal resource for the terminal equipment comprises first resource indication information. And receiving second information from the access network equipment, wherein the second information is obtained based on the first resource indication information, the second information is used for determining target reference signal resources, the target reference signal resources are used for transmitting reference signals by the terminal equipment, and the reference signals are used for determining the position of the terminal equipment. And sending the second information to the terminal equipment.

When the communication apparatus 2001 is the AMF described above, the processing unit 2002 is configured to execute, by the communication unit 2003: first information from the terminal device is received, the first information being for requesting a positioning service, the first information comprising first resource indication information for determining a target reference signal resource. The first information is sent to the LMF. And receiving second information from the LMF, wherein the second information is obtained based on the first resource indication information, the second information is used for determining target reference signal resources, the target reference signal resources are used for transmitting reference signals by the terminal equipment, and the reference signals are used for determining the position of the terminal equipment. And sending the second information to the terminal equipment.

When the communication apparatus 2001 is the above access network device, the processing unit 2002 is configured to execute, by the communication unit 2003: receiving first information from a terminal device in an RRC idle state, wherein the first information is used for requesting positioning service, the first information comprises first resource indication information, and the first resource indication information is used for determining target reference signal resources; and sending the first information to a core network element. A message from the LMF requesting configuration of target reference signal resources for the terminal device is received, the message requesting configuration of target reference signal resources for the terminal device including first resource indication information. And sending second information to the LMF, wherein the second information is used for determining target reference signal resources, the target reference signal resources are used for sending reference signals to the terminal equipment, and the reference signals are used for determining the position of the terminal equipment. Second information is received from a core network element. And sending the second information to the terminal equipment in the RRC idle state.

A communication unit 2003 for inputting and/or outputting information; the processing unit 2002 is configured to execute a computer program or instructions, so that the communication device 2001 implements a method on a terminal device side in the related scenario of any of the above-mentioned fig. 2, 3 or 4, or so that the communication device 2001 implements a method on an LMF side in the related scenario of any of the above-mentioned fig. 2, 3 or 4, or so that the communication device 2001 implements a method on an AMF network element side in the related scenario of any of the above-mentioned fig. 2, 3 or 4, or so that the communication device 1901 implements a method on an access network device side in the related scenario of any of the above-mentioned fig. 2, 3 or 4. In this embodiment of the present application, the communication unit 2003 may implement the scheme implemented by the transceiver 1803 of fig. 5, the processing unit 2002 may implement the scheme implemented by the processor 1802 of fig. 5, and the storage unit 2004 may implement the scheme implemented by the memory 1804 of fig. 5, which is not described herein.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the application, the application further provides a computer program product, which comprises: computer program code or instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any of the embodiments shown in any of figures 2, 3 or 4.

According to the method provided in the embodiments of the present application, there is further provided a computer readable storage medium storing a program code, which when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of any one of the embodiments shown in fig. 2, 3 or 4.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the application, the application further provides a chip system, and the chip system can comprise a processor. The processor is coupled to the memory and is operable to perform the method of any of the embodiments shown in any of figures 2, 3 or 4. Optionally, the system on a chip further comprises a memory. Memory for storing a computer program (which may also be referred to as code, or instructions). A processor for calling and running a computer program from a memory, causing a device on which the chip system is installed to perform the method of any of the embodiments shown in any of figures 2, 3 or 4.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the application, the application also provides a system which comprises the terminal equipment, the access network equipment, the AMF and the LMF.

In the above embodiments, it may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions in accordance with embodiments of the present application are produced in whole or in part. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable apparatus. The computer instructions may be stored in or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another, for example, by wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (digital subscriber line, DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means from one website, computer, server, or data center. Computer readable storage media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer or data storage devices, such as servers, data centers, etc., that contain an integration of one or more available media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., a high-density digital video disc (digital video disc, DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a Solid State Disk (SSD)), or the like.

It is noted that a portion of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has reserved copyright rights, except for making copies of patent documents or recorded patent document content of the patent office.

The network device in the above-mentioned respective apparatus embodiments corresponds to the first network device or the second network device in the method embodiments, the respective steps are performed by respective modules or units, for example, the communication unit (transceiver) performs the steps of receiving or transmitting in the method embodiments, and other steps than transmitting and receiving may be performed by the processing unit (processor). Reference may be made to corresponding method embodiments for the function of a specific unit. Wherein the processor may be one or more.

As used in this specification, the terms "component," "module," "system," and the like are intended to refer to a computer-related entity, either hardware, firmware, a combination of hardware and software, or software in execution. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or a computer. By way of illustration, both an application running on a computing device and the computing device can be a component. One or more components may reside within a process and/or thread of execution and a component may be localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or more computers. Furthermore, these components can execute from various computer readable media having various data structures stored thereon. The components may communicate by way of local and/or remote processes such as in accordance with a signal having one or more data packets (e.g., data from two components interacting with one another in a local system, distributed system, and/or across a network such as the internet with other systems by way of the signal).

The foregoing is merely specific embodiments of the present application, but the scope of the present application is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily think about changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present application, and the changes or substitutions are intended to be covered by the scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A positioning method, comprising:

the method comprises the steps that terminal equipment in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) idle state sends first information to a core network element, wherein the first information is used for requesting positioning service, the first information comprises first resource indication information, and the first resource indication information is used for determining target reference signal resources;

the terminal equipment in the RRC idle state receives second information from the core network element, wherein the second information is obtained based on the first resource indication information;

the terminal equipment in the RRC idle state obtains the target reference signal resource based on the second information;

and the terminal equipment in the RRC idle state sends a reference signal according to the target reference signal resource, wherein the reference signal is used for determining the position of the terminal equipment.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first resource indication information comprises at least one of:

information of a cell corresponding to the position of the terminal equipment;

the terminal equipment carries out a result of Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurement on the received signals;

the terminal equipment receives a result of PRS measurement;

position information of the terminal equipment; or alternatively, the first and second heat exchangers may be,

information of the first reference signal resource.

3. The method according to any of claims 1-2, wherein before the terminal device in RRC idle state sends the first information, further comprising:

and the terminal equipment in the RRC idle state receives a system message from access network equipment under the condition that a preset event triggering the terminal equipment to request positioning service is met, wherein the system message comprises reference signal configuration information, and the target reference signal resource is a resource in the reference signal configuration information.

4. A method according to any of claims 1-3, wherein the second information comprises second resource indication information, the second resource indication information being determined from the first resource indication information;

The terminal device in the RRC idle state obtains the target reference signal resource based on the second information, including:

and the terminal equipment in the RRC idle state determines the target reference signal resource according to the second resource indication information.

5. The method according to any of claims 1-4, wherein the terminal device in RRC idle state obtains the target reference signal resource based on the second information, comprising:

the terminal equipment in the RRC idle state determines that the access network equipment allows the target reference signal resource to be obtained based on the first resource indication information based on the second information;

and the terminal equipment determines the target reference signal resource according to the first resource indication information.

6. The method according to any of claims 1-5, wherein, in case the core network element is a mobility management network element, before the terminal device in RRC idle state receives the second information from the core network element, further comprising:

and the terminal equipment in the RRC idle state sends the identifier of the position management function network element for providing the positioning service for the terminal equipment to the core network element.

7. The method according to any of claims 1-6, wherein the message carrying the first information message and the message carrying the second information comprises a non-access stratum, NAS, message or a location services, LCS, message;

the first information and the second information satisfy one of:

the message carrying the first information is carried in a NAS message container in a message III in a four-step random access process, and the message carrying the second information is carried in a NAS message container in a message IV in a four-step random access process;

the message carrying the first information is carried in an NAS message container in a message A in a two-step random access process, and the message carrying the second information is carried in an NAS message container in a message B in the two-step random access process;

the message carrying the first information is carried in a NAS message container in a response message of the CG-SDT, and the message carrying the second information is carried in a NAS message container in the response message of the CG-SDT;

the message carrying the first information is carried in a NAS message container in a pre-configured uplink resource PUR, and the message carrying the second information is carried in a NAS message container in a response message of the PUR; or alternatively, the first and second heat exchangers may be,

The message carrying the first information is carried in a NAS message container in an EDT of early data transmission, and the message carrying the second information is carried in a NAS message container in a response message of the EDT.

8. A positioning method, comprising:

the method comprises the steps that a position management function network element receives first information from terminal equipment, wherein the first information is used for requesting positioning service, and the first information comprises first resource indication information; the first resource indication information is used for determining target reference signal resources;

the position management function network element sends a message for requesting to configure reference signal resources for the terminal equipment to an access network device, wherein the message for requesting to configure reference signal resources for the terminal equipment comprises the first resource indication information;

the location management function network element receives second information from the access network device, wherein the second information is obtained based on the first resource indication information, the second information is used for determining the target reference signal resource, the target reference signal resource is used for the terminal device to send a reference signal, and the reference signal is used for determining the location of the terminal device;

And the position management function network element sends the second information to the terminal equipment.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first resource indication information comprises at least one of:

information of a cell corresponding to the position of the terminal equipment;

the terminal equipment receives a result of PRS measurement;

information of the first reference signal resource.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein after the location management function network element receives the second information from the access network device, further comprising:

the position management function network element obtains the target reference signal resource based on the second information;

and the position management function network element sends the target reference signal resource to the access network equipment in the access network equipment and the adjacent access network equipment of the access network equipment.

11. The method according to any of claims 8-10, wherein the location management function network element obtains the target reference signal resource based on the second information, comprising:

Determining the target reference signal resource according to second resource indication information, wherein the second resource indication information is determined according to the first resource indication information; or alternatively, the first and second heat exchangers may be,

and based on the second information, determining that the access network equipment allows the target reference signal resource to be obtained based on the first resource indication information, and determining the target reference signal resource according to the first resource indication information.

12. A positioning method, comprising:

the method comprises the steps that a mobility management network element receives first information from terminal equipment, wherein the first information is used for requesting positioning service, the first information comprises first resource indication information, and the first resource indication information is used for determining target reference signal resources;

the mobility management network element sends the first information to a location management function network element;

the mobility management network element receives second information from a location management function network element, wherein the second information is obtained based on the first resource indication information, the second information is used for determining the target reference signal resource, the target reference signal resource is used for the terminal equipment to send a reference signal, and the reference signal is used for determining the location of the terminal equipment;

And the mobility management network element sends the second information to the terminal equipment.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein after the mobility management network element receives the first information from the terminal device, the mobility management network element further comprises, before sending the first information to a location management function network element:

the mobility management network element sends a message for requesting to acquire service quality information corresponding to the positioning service of the terminal equipment to a unified data management network element;

the mobility management network element receives the service quality information from the unified data management network element;

and the mobility management network element determines the position management function network element according to the service quality information.

14. A terminal device, wherein the terminal device is in a radio resource control, RRC, idle state, the terminal device comprising a communication interface and a processor:

the processor is configured to:

transmitting first information to a core network element through the communication interface, wherein the first information is used for requesting positioning service, the first information comprises first resource indication information, and the first resource indication information is used for determining target reference signal resources;

Receiving second information from the core network element through the communication interface, wherein the second information is obtained based on the first resource indication information;

obtaining the target reference signal resource based on the second information;

and transmitting a reference signal through the communication interface according to the target reference signal resource, wherein the reference signal is used for determining the position of the terminal equipment.

15. The terminal device of claim 14, wherein the first resource indication information includes at least one of:

information of a cell corresponding to the position of the terminal equipment;

the terminal equipment receives a result of PRS measurement;

information of the first reference signal resource.

16. The terminal device of any of claims 14-15, wherein the processor is further configured to:

and receiving a system message from access network equipment through the communication interface under the condition that a preset event triggering the terminal equipment to request positioning service is met, wherein the system message comprises reference signal configuration information, and the target reference signal resource is a resource in the reference signal configuration information.

17. The terminal device according to any of the claims 14-16, wherein the second information comprises second resource indication information, the second resource indication information being determined from the first resource indication information;

the processor is further configured to:

and determining the target reference signal resource according to the second resource indication information.

18. The terminal device according to any of the claims 14-16, wherein the processor is specifically configured to:

based on the second information, determining that access network equipment allows the target reference signal resource to be obtained based on the first resource indication information;

19. The terminal device according to any of the claims 14-18, wherein in case the core network element is a mobility management network element, the processor is further configured to:

and sending the identification of the position management function network element for providing the positioning service for the terminal equipment to the core network element through the communication interface.

20. The terminal device according to any of the claims 14-19, wherein the message carrying the first information message and the message carrying the second information comprises a non-access stratum, NAS, message or a location services, LCS, message;

The first information and the second information satisfy one of:

21. A location management function network element, comprising a communication interface and a processor;

the processor is configured to perform, via the communication interface:

receiving first information from a terminal device, wherein the first information is used for requesting positioning service, and the first information comprises first resource indication information; the first resource indication information is used for determining target reference signal resources;

transmitting a message for requesting to configure reference signal resources for the terminal equipment to an access network equipment, wherein the message for requesting to configure reference signal resources for the terminal equipment comprises the first resource indication information;

receiving second information from the access network device, wherein the second information is obtained based on the first resource indication information, the second information is used for determining the target reference signal resource, the target reference signal resource is used for transmitting a reference signal by the terminal device, and the reference signal is used for determining the position of the terminal device;

and sending the second information to the terminal equipment.

22. The location management function network element of claim 21, wherein the first resource indication information comprises at least one of:

Information of a cell corresponding to the position of the terminal equipment;

the terminal equipment receives a result of PRS measurement;

information of the first reference signal resource.

23. The location management function network element of claim 21 or 22, wherein the processor is specifically configured to:

obtaining the target reference signal resource based on the second information;

and sending the target reference signal resource to the access network equipment in the access network equipment and the adjacent access network equipment of the access network equipment through the communication interface.

24. The location management function network element according to any of claims 21-23, wherein the processor is specifically configured to:

25. A mobility management network element comprising a communication interface and a processor;

the processor is configured to perform, via the communication interface:

receiving first information from a terminal device, wherein the first information is used for requesting positioning service, the first information comprises first resource indication information, and the first resource indication information is used for determining target reference signal resources;

transmitting the first information to a location management function network element;

receiving second information from a network element with a position management function, wherein the second information is obtained based on the first resource indication information, the second information is used for determining the target reference signal resource, the target reference signal resource is used for transmitting a reference signal by the terminal equipment, and the reference signal is used for determining the position of the terminal equipment;

and sending the second information to the terminal equipment.

26. The mobility management network element of claim 25, wherein said processor is further configured to:

sending a message for requesting to acquire service quality information corresponding to the positioning service of the terminal equipment to a unified data management network element through the communication interface;

receiving the service quality information from the unified data management network element through the communication interface;

And determining the position management function network element according to the service quality information.

27. A communication device is characterized by comprising a processor and a memory,

the memory is used for storing a computer program or instructions;

the processor for executing a computer program or instructions in a memory, causing the method of any one of claims 1-7, or causing the method of any one of claims 8-11, or causing the method of any one of claims 12-13 to be performed.

28. A communication device, comprising a processing unit and a communication unit;

the communication unit is used for inputting and/or outputting data;

the processing unit is adapted to perform the method according to any of claims 1-7, or to perform the method according to any of claims 8-11, or to perform the method according to any of claims 12-13, based on the communication unit.

29. A computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when invoked by a computer, cause the method of any one of claims 1-7, or cause the method of any one of claims 8-11, or cause the method of any one of claims 12-13, to be performed.

30. A system on a chip comprising a communication interface and a processor:

the communication interface is used for inputting and/or outputting signaling or data;

the processor for executing a computer executable program, causing the method of any one of claims 1-7 to be performed, or causing the method of any one of claims 8-11 to be performed, or causing the method of any one of claims 12-13 to be performed.