CN117499865A

CN117499865A - Positioning method, device, equipment, system and storage medium

Info

Publication number: CN117499865A
Application number: CN202210887894.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李媛; 张宏平
Original assignee: Vivo Mobile Communication Co Ltd
Current assignee: Vivo Mobile Communication Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-07-26
Filing date: 2022-07-26
Publication date: 2024-02-02

Abstract

The application discloses a positioning method, a device, equipment, a system and a storage medium, which belong to the technical field of communication, and the positioning method of the embodiment of the application comprises the following steps: the UE receives a first message from an LMF network element, wherein the first message is used for requesting to locate the UE, the first message comprises first indication information, and the first indication information is used for indicating the priorities of an air interface locating mode and an SL locating mode, or the priorities of a plurality of locating methods corresponding to the air interface locating mode and the priorities of a plurality of locating methods corresponding to the SL locating mode; and the UE executes a positioning process according to the first indication information.

Description

Positioning method, device, equipment, system and storage medium

Technical Field

The application belongs to the technical field of communication, and particularly relates to a positioning method, a positioning device, positioning equipment, positioning system and a storage medium.

Background

Under the existing positioning framework, a location management function (Location Management Function, LMF) network element, serving as a positioning server (positioning server), may instruct a User Equipment (UE) to perform positioning measurement and/or calculation of a Uu interface. However, in the case that positioning of the Uu interface cannot be performed, how to perform the positioning procedure by the UE is a problem to be solved.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a positioning method, a device, equipment, a system and a storage medium, which can solve the problem of how to execute a positioning process by UE under the condition that the positioning of a Uu interface cannot be executed.

In a first aspect, a positioning method is provided, the method comprising: the method comprises the steps that a UE receives a first message from an LMF network element, wherein the first message is used for requesting to locate the UE, the first message comprises first indication information, and the first indication information is used for indicating the priority of an air interface locating mode and a Side Link (SL) locating mode, or the priority of a plurality of locating methods corresponding to the air interface locating mode and the priority of a plurality of locating methods corresponding to the SL locating mode; and the UE executes a positioning process according to the first indication information.

In a second aspect, there is provided a positioning apparatus for use with a UE, the positioning apparatus comprising: a receiving module and an executing module. The receiving module is configured to receive a first message from the LMF network element, where the first message is used to request to locate the UE, and the first message includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate priorities of an air interface locating mode and an SL locating mode, or priorities of a plurality of locating methods corresponding to the air interface locating mode and priorities of a plurality of locating methods corresponding to the SL locating mode. And the execution module is used for executing the positioning process according to the first indication information received by the receiving module.

In a third aspect, a positioning method is provided, the method comprising: the LMF network element sends a first message to the UE, wherein the first message is used for requesting to locate the UE, the first message comprises first indication information, and the first indication information is used for indicating the priorities of an air interface locating mode and an SL locating mode, or the priorities of a plurality of locating methods corresponding to the air interface locating mode and the priorities of a plurality of locating methods corresponding to the SL locating mode; the first indication information is used for the UE to execute a positioning process.

In a fourth aspect, a positioning device is provided, applied to an LMF network element, where the positioning device includes: and a transmitting module. The device comprises a sending module, a receiving module and a receiving module, wherein the sending module is used for sending a first message to the UE, the first message is used for requesting to locate the UE, the first message comprises first indication information, and the first indication information is used for indicating the priorities of an air interface locating mode and an SL locating mode, or the priorities of a plurality of locating methods corresponding to the air interface locating mode and the priorities of a plurality of locating methods corresponding to the SL locating mode; the first indication information is used for the UE to execute a positioning process.

In a fifth aspect, there is provided a UE comprising a processor and a memory storing programs or instructions executable on the processor, which when executed by the processor implement the steps of the method of the first aspect.

In a sixth aspect, a UE is provided, including a processor and a communication interface, where the communication interface is configured to receive a first message from an LMF network element, where the first message is used to request positioning of the UE, and the first message includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate priorities of an air interface positioning mode and an SL positioning mode, or priorities of a plurality of positioning methods corresponding to the air interface positioning mode and priorities of a plurality of positioning methods corresponding to the SL positioning mode. The processor is used for executing a positioning process according to the first indication information.

In a seventh aspect, there is provided an LMF network element comprising a processor and a memory storing programs or instructions executable on the processor, which when executed by the processor implement the steps of the method according to the third aspect.

An eighth aspect provides an LMF network element, including a processor and a communication interface, where the communication interface is configured to send a first message to a UE, where the first message is used to request positioning of the UE, and the first message includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate priorities of an air interface positioning mode and an SL positioning mode, or priorities of a plurality of positioning methods corresponding to the air interface positioning mode and priorities of a plurality of positioning methods corresponding to the SL positioning mode; the first indication information is used for the UE to execute a positioning process.

In a ninth aspect, there is provided a communication system comprising: UE and LMF network element, the UE being operable to perform the steps of the positioning method as described in the first aspect, the LMF network element being operable to perform the steps of the positioning method as described in the third aspect.

In a tenth aspect, there is provided a readable storage medium having stored thereon a program or instructions which when executed by a processor, performs the steps of the method according to the first aspect, or performs the steps of the method according to the third aspect.

In an eleventh aspect, there is provided a chip comprising a processor and a communication interface coupled to the processor, the processor being for running a program or instructions to implement the method according to the first aspect or to implement the method according to the third aspect.

In a twelfth aspect, there is provided a computer program/program product stored in a storage medium, the computer program/program product being executed by at least one processor to implement the steps of the positioning method as described in the first aspect, or to implement the steps of the positioning method as described in the third aspect.

In this embodiment of the present application, the UE may execute the positioning process according to first indication information from the LMF network element, where the first indication information is used to indicate priorities of an air interface positioning mode and an SL positioning mode, or priorities of a plurality of positioning methods corresponding to the air interface positioning mode and priorities of a plurality of positioning methods corresponding to the SL positioning mode. In the scheme, the LMF network element can indicate the priorities of the air interface positioning mode and the SL positioning mode to the UE, so that when the UE cannot perform positioning measurement on the air interface (the positioning scene does not meet the condition required by the positioning method or the positioning result precision does not reach the standard), the air interface positioning can be enhanced or replaced by introducing the PC5 interface positioning (namely SL positioning), so that the UE can automatically trigger and execute another positioning mode during measurement or calculation, the positioning precision can be improved, and the time delay of the positioning flow can be reduced; or, the LMF network element may indicate to the UE the priorities of the positioning methods corresponding to the air interface positioning method and the priorities of the positioning methods corresponding to the SL positioning method, so that the UE may switch from a high priority to a positioning method and/or a method with a secondary priority or even a lower priority, i.e. the UE triggers and executes another positioning method during measurement or calculation, which may save the delay overhead of an additional interaction procedure.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic architecture diagram of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2 is one of the flowcharts of a positioning method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3 is a second flowchart of a positioning method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a third flowchart of a positioning method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a fourth flowchart of a positioning method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a fifth flowchart of a positioning method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a positioning device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a second schematic diagram of a positioning device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a third schematic structural view of a positioning device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 10 is a schematic hardware structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 11 is a schematic hardware structure of a UE according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 12 is a schematic hardware structure of an LMF network element according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

Technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application, and it is apparent that the described embodiments are some embodiments of the present application, but not all embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments in the present application are within the scope of the protection of the present application.

The terms first, second and the like in the description and in the claims, are used for distinguishing between similar objects and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the application are capable of operation in sequences other than those illustrated or otherwise described herein, and that the terms "first" and "second" are generally intended to be used in a generic sense and not to limit the number of objects, for example, the first object may be one or more. Furthermore, in the description and claims, "and/or" means at least one of the connected objects, and the character "/" generally means a relationship in which the associated object is an "or" before and after.

It is noted that the techniques described in embodiments of the present application are not limited to long term evolution (Long Term Evolution, LTE)/LTE evolution (LTE-Advanced, LTE-a) systems, but may also be used in other wireless communication systems, such as code division multiple access (Code Division Multiple Access, CDMA), time division multiple access (Time Division Multiple Access, TDMA), frequency division multiple access (Frequency Division Multiple Access, FDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access, OFDMA), single carrier frequency division multiple access (Single-carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access, SC-FDMA), and other systems. The terms "system" and "network" in embodiments of the present application are often used interchangeably, and the techniques described may be used for both the above-mentioned systems and radio technologies, as well as other systems and radio technologies. The following description describes a New air interface (NR) system for purposes of example and uses NR terminology in much of the description that follows, but these techniques are also applicable to applications other than NR system applications, such as generation 6 (6) ^th Generation, 6G) communication system.

Fig. 1 shows a block diagram of a wireless communication system to which embodiments of the present application are applicable. The wireless communication system includes a UE 11 and a network device 12. The UE 11 may be a mobile phone, a tablet (Tablet Personal Computer), a Laptop (Laptop Computer) or a terminal-side Device called a notebook, a personal digital assistant (Personal Digital Assistant, PDA), a palm top, a netbook, an ultra-mobile personal Computer (ultra-mobile personal Computer, UMPC), a mobile internet appliance (Mobile Internet Device, MID), an augmented reality (augmented reality, AR)/Virtual Reality (VR) Device, a robot, a Wearable Device (weather Device), a vehicle-mounted Device (VUE), a pedestrian terminal (PUE), a smart home (home Device with a wireless communication function, such as a refrigerator, a television, a washing machine, or furniture), a game machine, a personal Computer (personal Computer, PC), a teller machine, or a self-service machine, and the Wearable Device includes: intelligent wrist-watch, intelligent bracelet, intelligent earphone, intelligent glasses, intelligent ornament (intelligent bracelet, intelligent ring, intelligent necklace, intelligent anklet, intelligent foot chain etc.), intelligent wrist strap, intelligent clothing etc.. Note that, the specific type of the UE 11 is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. The network-side device 12 may comprise an access network device or a core network device, wherein the access network device 12 may also be referred to as a radio access network device, a radio access network (Radio Access Network, RAN), a radio access network function or a radio access network element. Access network device 12 may include a base station, a WLAN access point, a WiFi node, or the like, which may be referred to as a node B, an evolved node B (eNB), an access point, a base transceiver station (Base Transceiver Station, BTS), a radio base station, a radio transceiver, a basic service set (Basic Service Set, BSS), an extended service set (Extended Service Set, ESS), a home node B, a home evolved node B, a transmission and reception point (Transmitting Receiving Point, TRP), or some other suitable terminology in the art, and the base station is not limited to a particular technical vocabulary so long as the same technical effect is achieved, and it should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, only a base station in an NR system is described as an example, and the specific type of the base station is not limited. The core network device may include, but is not limited to, at least one of: core network nodes, core network functions, mobility management entities (Mobility Management Entity, MME), access mobility management functions (Access and Mobility Management Function, AMF), session management functions (Session Management Function, SMF), user plane functions (User Plane Function, UPF), policy control functions (Policy Control Function, PCF), policy and charging rules function units (Policy and Charging Rules Function, PCRF), edge application service discovery functions (Edge Application Server Discovery Function, EASDF), unified data management (Unified Data Management, UDM), unified data repository (Unified Data Repository, UDR), home subscriber server (Home Subscriber Server, HSS), centralized network configuration (Centralized network configuration, CNC), network storage functions (Network Repository Function, NRF), network opening functions (Network Exposure Function, NEF), local NEF (or L-NEF), binding support functions (Binding Support Function, BSF), application functions (Application Function, AF), and the like. In the embodiment of the present application, only the core network device in the NR system is described as an example, and the specific type of the core network device is not limited.

The following explains some related background content related to a positioning method, a device, a system, and a storage medium provided in the embodiments of the present application.

1. Uu positioning procedure (air interface positioning procedure)

(1) A Location Service (LCS) entity of the Location Service issues a Location Service request (LCS request) to an access management function (Access Management Function, AMF) network element of the core network device.

(2) The AMF network element selects a proper LMF network element and sends Namf_location_Providlocation_Request, and the LMF network element plays a role of a Location Server (Location Server) in the Location service.

The LMF network element decides the type and number of the positioning methods and the positioning configuration parameters according to the quality of service (Quality of Service, qoS), LCS entity type, service type in the positioning service request, and capability information of the positioned UE and network.

And the LMF network element respectively interacts with the UE and the base station for positioning measurement and estimation according to the entity related to the positioning method.

(3a) The LMF network element and the base station interact with content related to the base station through NRPPa procedure, including transmission and reception point (Transmission Reception Point, TRP) information, transmission of an activated sounding reference signal (Sounding Reference Signal, SRS) configuration, measurement of SRS, etc.

(3b) The LMF network element and the UE interact with the UE's capabilities, assistance data, location information, etc. through LPP procedures.

After the UE and the base station report the measurement (LMF-based) or the positioning result (UE-based) to the LMF network element, the LMF network element calculates the positioning result according to the measurement.

(4) The LMF network element transmits the positioning result to the AMF network element through a positioning response (LCS response).

(5) The AMF network element forwards the positioning result to the LCS entity that sent the positioning service request.

2. 5G Proximity-based Service (ProSe) discovery procedure

Proximity service discovery is a communication procedure that a UE uses to probe and identify another UE nearby at the PC5 interface. The discovery function of the proximity service can be classified into two types according to application scenarios: discovery for public security mainly involves service authentication of the UE at the PC3a interface to a dynamic domain name management function (Dynamic Domain Name Management Function, DDNMF) network element on the core network side, discovery for commercial applications mainly sending discovery messages at the PC5 interface.

Discovery of authentication via DDNMF at PC3a port

Mode one: (1) The UE acquires the authorization of the policy and the like of the proximity service from the core network side.

If the UE is authorized to announce (announce):

(2a) After the UE is triggered to announce, the UE performs discovery and authentication to the 5G DDNMF. For limited discovery (restricted discovery), the 5G DDNMF further authenticates the discovery request to the application server (ProSe Application server).

(3a) If the UE obtains a proximity service application code or a restricted service application code (ProSe Application Code/ProSe Restricted Code), the UE will send an announcement message on the PC5 interface.

If the UE is authorized to monitor (monitor):

(2b) After the UE is triggered to monitor, the UE sends a discovery request to the 5G DDNMF. For limited discovery, the 5GDDNMF further authenticates the discovery request to the application server.

(3b) If the UE obtains a Discovery screen (Discovery Filter) consisting of a neighbor service application code or a restricted service code and an application mask, the UE will listen to the corresponding neighbor service code or restricted service code at the PC5 interface.

(4) When the UE detects that one or more neighbor service application codes or limited service codes are matched with the filtering carried by the UE, the UE reports the matched service application codes or limited service codes to the DDNMF.

Mode two: (1) The UE acquires the authorization of the policy and the like of the proximity service from the core network side.

If the UE is authorized for limited discovery and plays the role of being a discoveree:

(2a) The UE sends a discovery request to the 5G DDNMF, which further authenticates the discovery request to the application server ProSe Application Server.

(3a) If the request discovery is successful, the UE will be provided with a service reply Code and associated discovery Query filtering (Discovery Query Filter), and the UE listens to the service Query Code (ProSe Query Code) on the PC5 port.

(4a) If the received service query code and the service query filter are matched, the UE transmits the relevant service reply code at the PC5 port.

(2b) The UE sends a discovery request to the 5G DDNMF, which further authenticates the discovery request to the application server.

(3b) If the request discovery is successful, the UE will be provided with a service query code and associated discovery reply filter (Discovery Response Filter) consisting of a service reply code (ProSe Response Code) and a service application mask (ProSe Application Mask). The UE sends a service query code at the PC5 port.

(4b) The UE listens for the service reply code on the PC5 port.

(5) When one or more service reply codes matched with the found reply filter are detected, the 5G DDNMF reports the service reply codes.

Direct discovery only at PC5 port: without service authorization and authentication procedure to DDNMF, the application service code is preconfigured for the UE.

The positioning method provided by the embodiment of the application is described in detail below through specific embodiments and application scenes thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The embodiment of the application provides a positioning method, and fig. 2 shows a flowchart of the positioning method provided by the embodiment of the application. As shown in fig. 2, the positioning method provided in the embodiment of the present application may include the following steps 201 to 203.

Step 201, the LMF network element sends a first message to the UE, where the first message includes first indication information.

Step 202, the UE receives a first message from an LMF network element, where the first message includes first indication information.

In this embodiment of the present application, the first message is used to request positioning of the UE. The first indication information is used for indicating the priorities of the air interface positioning mode and the SL positioning mode, or the first indication information is used for indicating the priorities of a plurality of positioning methods corresponding to the air interface positioning mode and the priorities of a plurality of positioning methods corresponding to the SL positioning mode. The first indication information is used for the UE to execute a positioning process.

Alternatively, in an embodiment of the present application, the first message may be a location information request (Request Location Information).

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, the UE or the application server may send a location service request to the AMF network element, where the location service request includes a QoS requirement of the location service (i.e. a QoS required to be satisfied by the location service); the AMF network element sends a positioning service request to the LMF network element; the LMF network element generates first indication information according to the positioning service request, and sends the first indication information to the UE through the first message so as to indicate the priorities of the air interface positioning mode and the SL positioning mode or the priorities of a plurality of positioning methods corresponding to the air interface positioning mode and the priorities of a plurality of positioning methods corresponding to the SL positioning mode. It should be noted that, specific interaction procedures for the UE, the AMF network element, and the LMF network element will be described in the following embodiments, which are not described herein.

Optionally, in this embodiment of the present application, the air interface positioning manner has a first priority, and the SL positioning manner has a second priority.

Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, qoS may include at least one of: precision requirements, time delay requirements, etc.

Optionally, the positioning method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes the following steps 301 and 302.

Step 301, the LMF network element sends first information or second information to the UE.

Step 302, the UE receives the first information or the second information from the LMF network element.

In this embodiment of the present application, the first information includes second indication information and an air interface positioning related parameter, the second information includes third indication information and an SL positioning related parameter, the second indication information is used for indicating a positioning method corresponding to an air interface positioning mode, and the third indication information is used for indicating a positioning method corresponding to an SL positioning mode.

Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the air interface positioning related parameter may include at least one of the following: downlink positioning reference signal (Downlink Positioning Reference Signal, DL-PRS) configuration, physical Cell Identities (PCIs), global Cell Identities (GCIs), PRS identities, absolute frequency points of transmission and reception points (ARFCNs of candidate NR TRPs for measurement), synchronization signal block information of TRP (SSB information of the TRPs (the time/frequency occupancy of SSBs)). The SL-positioning related parameters may include SL-PRS configuration.

Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the positioning method corresponding to the air interface positioning manner may include at least one of the following: positioning method based on NR-Enhanced Cell-ID (E-CID), positioning method based on multi-station Round Trip Time (multi-RTT), positioning method based on downlink departure angle (Downlink Angle of Departure, DL-AoD), positioning method based on downlink arrival Time difference (Downlink Time Difference of Arrival, DL-TDOA), positioning method based on uplink arrival Time difference (Uplink Time Difference of Arrival, UL-TDOA), positioning method based on uplink arrival angle (Uplink Angles of Arrival, UL-AoA).

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the execution sequence of the steps 301 and 302, the steps 201 and 202 is not limited, and the steps 201 and 202 may be executed first, then the steps 301 and 302 may be executed, or the steps 301 and 302 may be executed first, then the steps 201 and 202 may be executed, or the steps 201 and 202, and the steps 301 and 302 may be executed simultaneously.

In the embodiment of the application, the LMF network element can indicate the priority of the positioning mode, the positioning method corresponding to the positioning mode and the corresponding positioning related parameters to the UE, so that the UE can quickly execute the positioning process based on the indication information from the LMF network element, and the time delay brought by various positioning information in the interaction in the positioning process is saved.

Step 203, the UE performs a positioning procedure according to the first indication information.

In this embodiment of the present application, the UE may perform air interface positioning measurement or SL positioning measurement, report the positioning measurement result to the LMF network element, and send the positioning measurement result to the AMF network element by the LMF network element, and then send the positioning measurement result to the positioning service requester device by the AMF network element.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, the UE may determine whether the air interface positioning manner meets a first preset condition, and determine to perform air interface positioning measurement or SL positioning measurement.

Optionally, in an implementation manner of the embodiment of the present application, the first indication information is used to indicate priorities of an air interface positioning manner and an SL positioning manner. Referring to fig. 2, as shown in fig. 3, the above step 203 may be implemented by the following step 203a or step 203 b.

In step 203a, if the air interface positioning manner does not meet the first preset condition, the UE performs discovery of candidate UEs participating in SL positioning according to the first indication information, and performs SL positioning measurement with the candidate UEs participating in SL positioning.

In this embodiment of the present application, the first preset condition is that QoS meets QoS requirements of a positioning service.

It can be understood that the UE may determine whether the air interface positioning mode meets the first preset condition according to the priorities of the air interface positioning mode and the SL positioning mode indicated by the first indication information, and execute the SL positioning measurement according to the priorities of the air interface positioning mode and the SL positioning mode indicated by the first indication information when the QoS in the air interface positioning mode does not meet the QoS requirement of the positioning service.

It should be noted that, the failure of the air interface positioning manner to meet the first preset condition may be understood as: the positioning method corresponding to the air interface positioning mode cannot be realized, for example, the number of the identified base stations or PRSs is too small (the number is smaller than a threshold), the positioning reference signal strength is too weak (the signal strength is smaller than a preset strength), and the like.

Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the first indication information includes a candidate UE list, where the candidate UE list includes at least one candidate UE that performs SL positioning with the UE.

It may be appreciated that the LMF network element may indicate the candidate UE list to the UE through the first indication information, so that the UE may select a candidate UE participating in SL positioning from at least one candidate UE in the candidate UE list to perform SL positioning measurement with the candidate UE when performing discovery of the candidate UE participating in SL positioning. For example, the UE may discover neighboring UEs and find out if the neighboring UEs are present in the candidate UE list; if present in the candidate UE list, the UE selects the neighboring UE as a candidate UE for participating in SL positioning.

In the embodiment of the application, a SL positioning process is carried out between the UE and the candidate UE participating in SL positioning at a PC5 port; the UE or the candidate UE participating in SL positioning reports the positioning measurement result to the LMF network element; the LMF network element sends the positioning measurement result to the AMF network element; the AMF network element sends the positioning measurement result to the service requester device (LCS client) through a positioning service reply (LCS response).

Alternatively, in the embodiment of the present application, the "UE performs discovery of the candidate UE participating in SL positioning according to the first indication information" in the above step 203a may be specifically implemented by the following step 203a 1.

Step 203a1, the UE performs discovery of candidate UEs capable of participating in SL positioning according to the first indication information, and reports the candidate UE information capable of participating in SL positioning to the LMF network element.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, the UE may report, to the LMF network element, candidate UE information capable of participating in SL positioning, such as an identification of the candidate UE, through a location information providing (Provide Location Information) message.

It can be appreciated that candidate UE information capable of participating in SL positioning includes: the candidate UE (i.e., UE in the vicinity of the UE that can receive a request for discovery (solicitation) message of the UE and reply to the corresponding discovery request) identity of the UE active discovery, or the candidate UE (i.e., UE that can receive a candidate UE discovery announcement (advertisement) message) identity of the UE passive discovery.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, after the step 203a1, the positioning method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes the following steps 401 to 403.

Step 401, the LMF network element receives candidate UE information from the UE capable of participating in SL positioning.

Step 402, the LMF network element determines a target candidate UE participating in SL positioning according to the candidate UE information capable of participating in SL positioning and a second preset condition, and sends a second message to the UE.

In this embodiment of the present application, the second message is used to indicate a target candidate UE. The second preset condition includes at least one of the following: the location of the candidate UE is fixed and the location of the candidate UE is known to the LMF network element, and the candidate UE supports a positioning method corresponding to the same SL positioning mode as the UE.

It should be noted that, the location of the candidate UE is fixed and the location of the candidate UE is known to the LMF network element may be understood as: the location of the candidate UE is fixed and the location of the candidate UE is a Road Side Unit (RSU) known to the LMF network element.

It may be appreciated that the LMF network element may determine candidate UE information capable of participating in SL positioning from the UEs to determine a target candidate UE capable of participating in SL positioning from among the candidate UEs capable of participating in SL positioning by determining whether the candidate UE information capable of participating in SL positioning satisfies the second positioning condition.

Step 403, the UE receives a second message from the LMF network element.

In this embodiment of the present application, the second message is used to indicate a target candidate UE that participates in SL positioning, where the target candidate UE is a candidate UE determined by the LMF network element according to the candidate UE information capable of participating in SL positioning and a second preset condition.

In step 203b, if the air interface positioning mode meets the first preset condition, the UE performs air interface positioning measurement according to the first indication information.

It can be appreciated that, in the case that the QoS in the air interface positioning manner meets the QoS requirement of the positioning service, the UE may perform the air interface positioning measurement according to the priorities of the air interface positioning manner and the SL positioning manner indicated by the first indication information.

In fig. 3, step 203a and step 203b are "or" and the step 203b is illustrated in the form of a dashed box in order to illustrate the "or" and the "or" are illustrated in fig. 3.

In the embodiment of the application, when the location measurement cannot be performed at the Uu port (the location scene does not meet the condition required by the location method or the accuracy of the location result does not reach the standard) by using the LMF network element as the location server, the location of the Uu port can be enhanced or replaced by introducing the PC5 interface for location, so that the location accuracy is improved. And the LMF network element indicates the priority of the positioning mode through the indication information, and the LMF network element automatically triggers and executes another positioning mode when the UE measures or calculates, thereby reducing the time delay in the positioning process.

The following describes a specific procedure of the positioning method provided in the embodiment of the present application through a specific implementation manner.

Fig. 4 shows a flowchart of a positioning method provided by an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 4, the positioning method provided by the embodiment of the present application may include the following steps 21 and 31.

Steps 21a to 21c, an interactive location services request (LCS request).

In this embodiment, steps 21a to 21c correspond to a location service Request (LCS Request) sent by a location initiator (application server, UE, AMF network element) to the AMF network element in a location scenario of a mobile terminated location procedure (Mobile Terminating Location Request, MT-LR), a mobile originated location procedure (Mobile Originating Location Request, MO-LR), a network initiated location procedure (Network Induced Location Request, NI-LR), respectively, where the location service Request includes QoS (e.g. accuracy, latency, etc.) required for the present location service.

Step 22, the AMF network element sends the location service request to the LMF network element.

Step 23, the LMF network element and the UE exchange positioning capabilities.

Step 24, the LMF network element decides the positioning mode, the positioning method and the positioning related parameters.

In this embodiment of the present application, the LMF network element may determine, according to the UE, the capability of the network, and the QoS required by the positioning service, a positioning manner (an air interface positioning manner or an SL positioning manner) that may be used in the present positioning, a positioning method corresponding to the positioning manner, and a positioning related parameter (an air interface positioning related parameter or an SL positioning related parameter). And, the LMF network element generates first indication information for indicating the priority of the positioning mode.

Optionally, the air interface positioning mode has a first priority, and the SL positioning mode has a second priority.

Alternatively, the LMF network element may issue the SL positioning method and the SL positioning related parameters to the UE.

Step 25, the LMF network element instructs the UE to execute a subsequent positioning procedure by carrying first indication information through the location information request (Request Location Information), where the first indication information indicates priorities of the air interface positioning mode and the SL positioning mode.

Step 26, when the air interface positioning mode does not meet the first preset condition, the UE performs discovery of candidate UE capable of participating in SL positioning according to the first indication information; or,

and 26a, when the air interface positioning mode does not meet the first preset condition, the UE performs discovery of candidate UE capable of participating in SL positioning according to the first indication information, and reports the candidate UE capable of participating in SL positioning to the LMF network element through a position information providing (Provide Location Information) message.

In this embodiment, when the air interface positioning manner meets the first preset condition, the UE may perform air interface positioning measurement without performing SL positioning measurement. The first preset condition may be understood as: the positioning method corresponding to the air interface positioning mode cannot be realized, for example, the number of the identified base stations or PRSs is too small, the strength of the positioning reference signal is too weak, and the like.

Further, for step 26, the first indication message may include: a candidate UE list comprising at least one candidate UE performing SL positioning with the UE. For example, RSUs where the location of the candidate UE is fixed and its location is known to the LMF network element. The UE discovers the adjacent UE and searches whether the adjacent UE exists in a candidate UE list; if present in the candidate UE list, the UE selects the neighbor UE as the final candidate UE.

In step 26a, the candidate UE information capable of participating in SL positioning includes: the candidate UE (i.e., UE in the vicinity of the UE that can receive a request for discovery (solicitation) message of the UE and reply to the corresponding discovery request) identity of the UE active discovery, or the candidate UE (i.e., UE that can receive a candidate UE discovery announcement (advertisement) message) identity of the UE passive discovery.

And step 27, the LMF network element determines target candidate UE which participates in SL positioning according to the candidate UE information which can participate in SL positioning and the second positioning condition.

In this embodiment, the LMF network element screens and notifies the final candidate UE suitable for SL positioning according to the candidate UE information capable of participating in SL positioning in step 26a in combination with the second positioning condition. Wherein the second positioning condition comprises at least one of: the location of the candidate UE is fixed and the location of the candidate UE is known to the LMF network element, and the candidate UE supports a positioning method corresponding to the same SL positioning mode as the UE.

Step 28, the SL positioning process is performed between the UE and the target candidate UE at the PC5 port.

Step 29, the UE or the target candidate UE reports the positioning measurement result to the LMF network element.

Step 30, the LMF network element transmits the positioning measurement result (according to measurement and calculation) to the AMF network element.

Step 31, the AMF network element sends the positioning measurement result to the service requester through a positioning service reply.

Optionally, in another implementation manner of the embodiment of the present application, the first indication information is used to indicate priorities of a plurality of positioning methods corresponding to an air interface positioning manner and priorities of a plurality of positioning methods corresponding to an SL positioning manner. Referring to fig. 2, as shown in fig. 5, the above step 203 may be specifically implemented by the following step 203 c.

In step 203c, when the positioning method with high priority meets the triggering condition, the UE switches from the positioning method with high priority to the positioning method with low priority according to the first indication information, so as to execute the positioning process.

In an embodiment of the present application, the triggering condition includes at least one of the following: the QoS does not meet the QoS requirement of the positioning service, the number of the detected base stations is smaller than or equal to the preset number, and the first measurement quantity meets the preset measurement condition; the first measurement quantity comprises at least one of: reference signal power, number of direct paths, direct path signal power.

In the embodiment of the application, for each positioning method supported by the UE, the LMF may set a corresponding priority for each positioning method; and, the LMF may also set a trigger condition for switching to a low priority positioning method for each positioning method. When the positioning method with high priority meets the triggering condition, the UE is switched to the positioning method with one level lower priority, and so on until the positioning method with the lowest priority is triggered.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, for LMF-based positioning calculation, the UE is responsible for positioning measurement, and then the triggering condition may include at least one of the following:

for Enhanced Cell-ID (E-CID): the reference signal power reaches a lower bound;

for multi-station Round Trip Time (multi-Round Trip Time), comprising at least one of: the number of the non-direct paths (nLoS) reaches an upper limit, the signal power of the non-direct paths reaches an upper limit, and the signal power of the direct paths (LoS) reaches a lower limit;

for downstream arrival time difference (Downlink Time Difference of Arrival, DL-TDOA): the number of detected base stations is too small (less than or equal to a preset number).

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, for UE-based positioning calculation, the UE is responsible for calculating a positioning result, and then the triggering condition may include at least one of the following: qoS does not meet the QoS requirement of the positioning service, and triggering conditions corresponding to the LMF-based positioning calculation are not met.

In the embodiment of the application, the LMF network element decision is directed to the priority of each positioning method corresponding to the air interface positioning mode and the priority of each positioning method corresponding to the SL positioning mode. In the positioning process of the UE, the LMF network element controls the UE to switch from a high priority to a lower priority or even to a lower priority positioning mode and/or method through the triggering condition in the indication information, namely, the UE triggers and executes another positioning mode and method during measurement or calculation, so that the time delay expenditure of an additional interaction flow can be saved.

Fig. 6 shows a flowchart of a positioning method according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 6, the positioning method according to an embodiment of the present application may include the following steps 41 and 50.

Steps 41a to 41c are the same as steps 21a to 21c described above.

Steps 42 to 44 are the same as steps 22 to 24 described above.

Step 45, the LMF network element instructs the UE to execute a subsequent positioning procedure by carrying first indication information through the location information request (Request Location Information), where the first indication information indicates priorities of a plurality of positioning methods corresponding to the air interface positioning mode and priorities of a plurality of positioning methods corresponding to the SL positioning mode.

Step 46 is identical to step 26 described above.

Step 47, the SL positioning procedure is performed between the UE and the candidate UE participating in the SL positioning at the PC5 port.

Step 48, the UE or the candidate UE participating in SL positioning reports the positioning measurement result to the LMF network element.

Step 49 is the same as step 30 described above, and step 50 is the same as step 31 described above.

The embodiment of the application provides a positioning method, in which a UE may execute a positioning process according to first indication information from an LMF network element, where the first indication information is used to indicate priorities of an air interface positioning mode and an SL positioning mode, or priorities of a plurality of positioning methods corresponding to the air interface positioning mode and priorities of a plurality of positioning methods corresponding to the SL positioning mode. In the scheme, the LMF network element can indicate the priorities of the air interface positioning mode and the SL positioning mode to the UE, so that when the UE cannot perform positioning measurement on the air interface (the positioning scene does not meet the condition required by the positioning method or the positioning result precision does not reach the standard), the air interface positioning can be enhanced or replaced by introducing the PC5 interface positioning (namely SL positioning), so that the UE can automatically trigger and execute another positioning mode during measurement or calculation, the positioning precision can be improved, and the time delay of the positioning flow can be reduced; or, the LMF network element may indicate to the UE the priorities of the positioning methods corresponding to the air interface positioning method and the priorities of the positioning methods corresponding to the SL positioning method, so that the UE may switch from a high priority to a positioning method and/or a method with a secondary priority or even a lower priority, i.e. the UE triggers and executes another positioning method during measurement or calculation, which may save the delay overhead of an additional interaction procedure.

According to the positioning method provided by the embodiment of the application, the execution main body can also be a positioning device. In the embodiment of the present application, a positioning method performed by a UE and an LMF network element is taken as an example, and a positioning device provided in the embodiment of the present application is described.

Fig. 7 shows a schematic diagram of a possible structure of a positioning device according to an embodiment of the present application, where the positioning device is applied to a UE. As shown in fig. 7, the positioning device 70 may include: a receiving module 71 and an executing module 72.

The receiving module 71 is configured to receive a first message from an LMF network element, where the first message is used to request to locate a UE, and the first message includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate priorities of an air interface location mode and an SL location mode, or priorities of a plurality of location methods corresponding to the air interface location mode and priorities of a plurality of location methods corresponding to the SL location mode. An execution module 72, configured to execute a positioning process according to the first indication information received by the receiving module 71.

The embodiment of the application provides a positioning device, which can enhance or replace air interface positioning by introducing PC5 interface positioning (namely SL positioning) according to the priority of an air interface positioning mode and an SL positioning mode indicated by an LMF network element when positioning measurement cannot be performed on an air interface (positioning scene does not meet the condition required by a positioning method or positioning result precision does not reach the standard), so that another positioning mode is automatically triggered and executed when UE (user equipment) measures or calculates, the positioning precision can be improved, and the time delay of a positioning process can be reduced; or the positioning device can switch from a high priority to a positioning mode and/or a method with a lower priority or even lower priority according to the priorities of a plurality of positioning methods corresponding to the air interface positioning mode indicated by the LMF network element and the priorities of a plurality of positioning methods corresponding to the SL positioning mode, namely, the positioning device automatically triggers and executes another positioning method during measurement or calculation, so that the time delay cost of an additional interaction flow can be saved.

In one possible implementation manner, the first indication information is used to indicate priorities of the air interface positioning mode and the SL positioning mode. The executing module 72 is specifically configured to execute, when the air interface positioning manner does not meet the first preset condition, discovering a candidate UE participating in SL positioning according to the first indication information, and executing SL positioning measurement with the candidate UE participating in SL positioning; or under the condition that the air interface positioning mode meets the first preset condition, executing air interface positioning measurement according to the first indication information. The first preset condition is that QoS meets QoS requirements of positioning service.

In a possible implementation manner, the executing module 72 is specifically configured to execute, according to the first indication information, discovering candidate UEs capable of participating in SL positioning, and reporting, to the LMF network element, information of the candidate UEs capable of participating in SL positioning.

In a possible implementation manner, the receiving module 71 is further configured to receive, after the executing module 72 reports the candidate UE information capable of participating in SL positioning to the LMF network element, a second message from the LMF network element, where the second message is used to indicate a target candidate UE participating in SL positioning, where the target candidate UE is a candidate UE determined by the LMF network element according to the candidate UE information capable of participating in SL positioning and a second preset condition. Wherein the second preset condition includes at least one of: the location of the candidate UE is fixed and the location of the candidate UE is known to the LMF network element, and the candidate UE supports a positioning method corresponding to the same SL positioning mode as the UE.

In one possible implementation, the first indication information includes a candidate UE list including at least one candidate UE performing SL positioning with the UE.

In one possible implementation manner, the first indication information is used to indicate priorities of a plurality of positioning methods corresponding to the air interface positioning mode and priorities of a plurality of positioning methods corresponding to the SL positioning mode. The executing module 72 is specifically configured to switch from the high-priority positioning method to the low-priority positioning method according to the first indication information to execute the positioning process when the high-priority positioning method meets the trigger condition. Wherein the trigger condition includes at least one of: the QoS does not meet the QoS requirement of the positioning service, the number of the detected base stations is smaller than or equal to the preset number, and the first measurement quantity meets the preset measurement condition; the first measurement quantity comprises at least one of: reference signal power, number of direct paths, direct path signal power.

In a possible implementation manner, the receiving module is further configured to receive first information or second information from the LMF network element, where the first information includes second indication information and an air interface positioning related parameter, the second information includes third indication information and an SL positioning related parameter, the second indication information is used to indicate a positioning method corresponding to an air interface positioning mode, and the third indication information is used to indicate a positioning method corresponding to an SL positioning mode.

The positioning device in the embodiment of the application may be a UE, for example, a UE with an operating system, or may be a component in the UE, for example, an integrated circuit or a chip. The UE may be a terminal or may be another device other than a terminal. By way of example, the UE may include, but is not limited to, the types of UE11 listed above, other devices may be servers, network attached storage (Network Attached Storage, NAS), etc., and embodiments of the present application are not specifically limited.

The positioning device provided in the embodiment of the present application can implement each process implemented by the UE in the embodiment of the method and achieve the same technical effect, so that repetition is avoided, and details are not repeated here.

Fig. 8 shows a schematic structural diagram of a positioning device according to an embodiment of the present application, where the positioning device is applied to an LMF network element. As shown in fig. 8, the positioning device 80 may include: a transmitting module 81.

The sending module 81 is configured to send a first message to the UE, where the first message is used to request to locate the UE, and the first message includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate priorities of an air interface locating mode and an SL locating mode, or priorities of a plurality of locating methods corresponding to the air interface locating mode and priorities of a plurality of locating methods corresponding to the SL locating mode; the first indication information is used for the UE to execute a positioning process.

The embodiment of the application provides a positioning device, which can indicate the priorities of an air interface positioning mode and an SL positioning mode to UE, so that when the UE cannot perform positioning measurement on an air interface (a positioning scene does not meet the condition required by a positioning method or the precision of a positioning result does not reach the standard), the positioning of the air interface can be enhanced or replaced by introducing PC5 interface positioning (namely SL positioning), so that the UE can automatically trigger and execute another positioning mode during measurement or calculation, the positioning precision can be improved, and the time delay of a positioning process can be reduced; or, the positioning device may indicate the priorities of the positioning methods corresponding to the air interface positioning manner and the priorities of the positioning methods corresponding to the SL positioning manner to the UE, so that the UE may switch from a high priority to a positioning manner and/or method with a secondary priority or even a lower priority, i.e. the UE triggers and executes another positioning method during measurement or calculation, which may save the delay overhead of an additional interaction procedure.

In one possible implementation manner, the first indication information is used to indicate priorities of the air interface positioning mode and the SL positioning mode. Referring to fig. 8, as shown in fig. 9, the positioning device provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes: a receiving module 82 and a determining module 83. The receiving module 82 is configured to receive, after the sending module 81 sends the first message to the UE, candidate UE information from the UE capable of participating in SL positioning. A determining module 83, configured to determine a target candidate UE participating in SL positioning according to the candidate UE information capable of participating in SL positioning and the second preset condition. The foregoing sending module 81 is further configured to send a second message to the UE, where the second message is used to indicate the target candidate UE. Wherein the second preset condition includes at least one of: the location of the candidate UE is fixed and the location of the candidate UE is known to the LMF network element, and the candidate UE supports a positioning method corresponding to the same SL positioning mode as the UE.

In a possible implementation manner, the sending module 81 is further configured to send, to the UE, first information or second information, where the first information includes second indication information and an air interface positioning related parameter, the second information includes third indication information and an SL positioning related parameter, the second indication information is used to indicate a positioning method corresponding to the air interface positioning mode, and the third indication information is used to indicate a positioning method corresponding to the SL positioning mode.

The positioning device provided in the embodiment of the present application can implement each process implemented by the LMF network element in the embodiment of the method, and achieve the same technical effect, so that repetition is avoided, and no further description is provided here.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 10, the embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device 5000, including a processor 5001 and a memory 5002, where the memory 5002 stores a program or instructions that can be executed on the processor 5001, for example, when the communication device 5000 is a UE, the program or instructions implement, when executed by the processor 5001, the steps of the method embodiment on the UE side, and the same technical effects can be achieved, so that repetition is avoided and no further description is provided herein; when the communication device 5000 is an LMF network element, the program or the instruction when executed by the processor 5001 implements the steps of the method embodiment on the LMF network element side, and the same technical effects can be achieved, so that repetition is avoided, and no further description is given here.

The embodiment of the application also provides the UE, which comprises a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is used for receiving a first message from the LMF network element, the first message is used for requesting to locate the UE, the first message comprises first indication information, and the first indication information is used for indicating the priorities of an air interface locating mode and an SL locating mode, or the priorities of a plurality of locating methods corresponding to the air interface locating mode and the priorities of a plurality of locating methods corresponding to the SL locating mode. The processor is used for executing a positioning process according to the first indication information. The UE embodiment corresponds to the UE-side method embodiment, and each implementation process and implementation manner of the method embodiment are applicable to the UE embodiment, and the same technical effects can be achieved. Specifically, fig. 11 is a schematic hardware structure of a UE implementing an embodiment of the present application.

The UE 7000 includes, but is not limited to: at least some of the components of the radio frequency unit 7001, the network module 7002, the audio output unit 7003, the input unit 7004, the sensor 7005, the display unit 7006, the user input unit 7007, the interface unit 7008, the memory 7009, the processor 7010, and the like.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the UE 7000 may further include a power source (e.g., a battery) for powering the various components, which may be logically connected to the processor 7010 by a power management system to perform functions such as managing charging, discharging, and power consumption by the power management system. The UE structure shown in fig. 11 does not constitute a limitation of the UE, and the UE may include more or less components than illustrated, or may combine certain components, or may be arranged in different components, which are not described herein.

It should be appreciated that in embodiments of the present application, the input unit 7004 may include a graphics processing unit (Graphics Processing Unit, GPU) 70041 and a microphone 70042, with the graphics processor 70041 processing image data of still pictures or video obtained by an image capture device (e.g., a camera) in a video capture mode or an image capture mode. The display unit 7006 may include a display panel 70061, and the display panel 70061 may be configured in the form of a liquid crystal display, an organic light emitting diode, or the like. The user input unit 7007 includes at least one of a touch panel 70071 and other input devices 70072. The touch panel 70071 is also referred to as a touch screen. The touch panel 70071 may include two parts, a touch detection device and a touch controller. Other input devices 70072 may include, but are not limited to, a physical keyboard, function keys (e.g., volume control keys, switch keys, etc.), a trackball, a mouse, a joystick, and so forth, which are not described in detail herein.

In this embodiment, after receiving downlink data from the network side device, the radio frequency unit 7001 may transmit the downlink data to the processor 7010 for processing; in addition, the radio frequency unit 7001 may send uplink data to the network side device. In general, radio frequency units 7001 include, but are not limited to, antennas, amplifiers, transceivers, couplers, low noise amplifiers, diplexers, and the like.

The memory 7009 may be used to store software programs or instructions and various data. The memory 7009 may mainly include a first memory area storing programs or instructions and a second memory area storing data, wherein the first memory area may store an operating system, application programs or instructions (such as a sound playing function, an image playing function, etc.) required for at least one function, and the like. Further, the memory 7009 may include volatile memory or nonvolatile memory, or the memory 7009 may include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. The nonvolatile Memory may be a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Programmable ROM (PROM), an Erasable PROM (EPROM), an Electrically Erasable EPROM (EEPROM), or a flash Memory. The volatile memory may be random access memory (Random Access Memory, RAM), static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double Data Rate SDRAM (ddr SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (Enhanced SDRAM), synchronous DRAM (SLDRAM), and Direct RAM (DRRAM). Memory 7009 in embodiments of the present application includes, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

The processor 7010 may include one or more processing units; the processor 7010 optionally integrates an application processor that primarily handles operations involving an operating system, user interfaces, applications, etc., and a modem processor that primarily handles wireless communication signals, such as a baseband processor. It will be appreciated that the modem processor described above may not be integrated into the processor 7010.

The radio frequency unit 7001 is configured to receive a first message from an LMF network element, where the first message is used to request to locate a UE, and the first message includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate priorities of an air interface locating mode and an SL locating mode, or priorities of a plurality of locating methods corresponding to the air interface locating mode and priorities of a plurality of locating methods corresponding to the SL locating mode. The processor 7010 is configured to perform a positioning process according to the first indication information.

The embodiment of the application provides a UE, wherein the UE can enhance or replace air interface positioning by introducing PC5 interface positioning (namely SL positioning) according to the priorities of an air interface positioning mode and an SL positioning mode indicated by an LMF network element when positioning measurement cannot be performed on an air interface (a positioning scene does not meet the condition required by a positioning method or positioning result precision does not reach the standard), so that another positioning mode is automatically triggered and performed when the UE measures or calculates, positioning precision can be improved and time delay of a positioning process can be reduced; or, the UE may switch from a high priority to a positioning mode and/or a method with a lower priority or even a positioning mode with a lower priority according to the priorities of a plurality of positioning methods corresponding to the air interface positioning modes and the priorities of a plurality of positioning methods corresponding to the SL positioning modes indicated by the LMF network element, that is, the UE triggers and executes another positioning method during measurement or calculation, which may save the delay overhead of the additional interaction flow.

Optionally, the first indication information is used to indicate priorities of an air interface positioning mode and an SL positioning mode. The processor 7010 is specifically configured to perform discovery of a candidate UE participating in SL positioning according to the first indication information and perform SL positioning measurement with the candidate UE participating in SL positioning when the air interface positioning manner does not meet the first preset condition; or under the condition that the air interface positioning mode meets the first preset condition, executing air interface positioning measurement according to the first indication information. The first preset condition is that QoS meets QoS requirements of positioning service.

Optionally, the processor 7010 is specifically configured to perform discovering candidate UEs capable of participating in SL positioning according to the first indication information, and report the candidate UE information capable of participating in SL positioning to the LMF network element.

Optionally, the radio frequency unit 7001 is further configured to receive a second message from the LMF network element after reporting the information of the candidate UEs capable of participating in SL positioning to the LMF network element, where the second message is used to indicate a target candidate UE participating in SL positioning, and the target candidate UE is a candidate UE determined by the LMF network element according to the information of the candidate UEs capable of participating in SL positioning and a second preset condition. Wherein the second preset condition includes at least one of: the location of the candidate UE is fixed and the location of the candidate UE is known to the LMF network element, and the candidate UE supports a positioning method corresponding to the same SL positioning mode as the UE.

Optionally, the first indication information is used to indicate priorities of a plurality of positioning methods corresponding to the air interface positioning mode and priorities of a plurality of positioning methods corresponding to the SL positioning mode. The processor 7010 is specifically configured to switch from the high-priority positioning method to the low-priority positioning method according to the first indication information to perform the positioning process when the high-priority positioning method meets the trigger condition. Wherein the trigger condition includes at least one of: the QoS does not meet the QoS requirement of the positioning service, the number of the detected base stations is smaller than or equal to the preset number, and the first measurement quantity meets the preset measurement condition; the first measurement quantity comprises at least one of: reference signal power, number of direct paths, direct path signal power.

Optionally, the radio frequency unit 7001 is further configured to receive first information or second information from the LMF network element, where the first information includes second indication information and an air interface positioning related parameter, the second information includes third indication information and an SL positioning related parameter, the second indication information is used to indicate a positioning method corresponding to the air interface positioning mode, and the third indication information is used to indicate a positioning method corresponding to the SL positioning mode.

The UE provided in the embodiment of the present application can implement each process implemented by the UE in the embodiment of the method and achieve the same technical effect, so that repetition is avoided and details are not repeated here.

The embodiment of the application also provides an LMF network element, which comprises a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is used for sending a first message to the UE, the first message is used for requesting to locate the UE, the first message comprises first indication information, and the first indication information is used for indicating the priorities of an air interface locating mode and an SL locating mode, or the priorities of a plurality of locating methods corresponding to the air interface locating mode and the priorities of a plurality of locating methods corresponding to the SL locating mode; the first indication information is used for the UE to execute a positioning process. The embodiment of the LMF network element corresponds to the embodiment of the method of the LMF network element, and each implementation process and implementation mode of the embodiment of the method can be applied to the embodiment of the network side equipment, and the same technical effects can be achieved.

Specifically, the embodiment of the application also provides an LMF network element. As shown in fig. 12, the LMF network element 1200 includes: a processor 1201, a network interface 1202, and a memory 1203. The network interface 1202 is, for example, a common public radio interface (common public radio interface, CPRI).

Specifically, the network side device 1200 of the embodiment of the present invention further includes: instructions or programs stored in the memory 1203 and executable on the processor 1201, the processor 1201 invokes the instructions or programs in the memory 1203 to perform the methods performed by the modules shown in fig. 8 and 9 and achieve the same technical effects, and are not repeated here.

The network interface 1202 is configured to send a first message to the UE, where the first message is used to request to locate the UE, and the first message includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate priorities of an air interface locating mode and an SL locating mode, or priorities of a plurality of locating methods corresponding to the air interface locating mode and priorities of a plurality of locating methods corresponding to the SL locating mode; the first indication information is used for the UE to execute a positioning process.

The embodiment of the application provides an LMF network element, wherein the LMF network element can indicate the priority of an air interface positioning mode and an SL positioning mode to UE, so that when the UE cannot perform positioning measurement on an air interface (a positioning scene does not meet the condition required by a positioning method or the precision of a positioning result is not up to standard), the air interface positioning can be enhanced or replaced by introducing PC5 interface positioning (namely SL positioning), so that the UE can automatically trigger and execute another positioning mode during measurement or calculation, the positioning precision can be improved, and the time delay of a positioning flow can be reduced; or, the LMF network element may indicate to the UE the priorities of the positioning methods corresponding to the air interface positioning method and the priorities of the positioning methods corresponding to the SL positioning method, so that the UE may switch from a high priority to a positioning method and/or a method with a secondary priority or even a lower priority, i.e. the UE triggers and executes another positioning method during measurement or calculation, which may save the delay overhead of an additional interaction procedure.

The LMF network element provided in the embodiment of the present application can implement each process implemented by the LMF network element in the embodiment of the method, and achieve the same technical effect, so that repetition is avoided, and no description is repeated here.

The embodiment of the present application further provides a readable storage medium, where a program or an instruction is stored, and when the program or the instruction is executed by a processor, the program or the instruction implement each process of the embodiment of the method, and the same technical effects can be achieved, so that repetition is avoided, and no further description is given here.

Wherein the processor is a processor in the communication device described in the above embodiment. The readable storage medium includes computer readable storage medium such as computer readable memory ROM, random access memory RAM, magnetic or optical disk, etc.

The embodiment of the application further provides a chip, the chip includes a processor and a communication interface, the communication interface is coupled with the processor, and the processor is used for running a program or an instruction, implementing each process of the above method embodiment, and achieving the same technical effect, so as to avoid repetition, and not repeated here.

It should be understood that the chips referred to in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as system-on-chip chips, or the like.

The embodiments of the present application further provide a computer program/program product, where the computer program/program product is stored in a storage medium, and the computer program/program product is executed by at least one processor to implement each process of the above method embodiments, and achieve the same technical effects, so that repetition is avoided, and details are not repeated herein.

The embodiment of the application also provides a communication system, which comprises: a UE operable to perform the steps of the positioning method as described above, and an LMF network element operable to perform the steps of the positioning method as described above.

It should be noted that, in this document, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one … …" does not exclude the presence of other like elements in a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element. Furthermore, it should be noted that the scope of the methods and apparatus in the embodiments of the present application is not limited to performing the functions in the order shown or discussed, but may also include performing the functions in a substantially simultaneous manner or in an opposite order depending on the functions involved, e.g., the described methods may be performed in an order different from that described, and various steps may also be added, omitted, or combined. Additionally, features described with reference to certain examples may be combined in other examples.

From the above description of the embodiments, it will be clear to those skilled in the art that the above-described embodiment method may be implemented by means of software plus a necessary general hardware platform, but of course may also be implemented by means of hardware, but in many cases the former is a preferred embodiment. Based on such understanding, the technical solutions of the present application may be embodied essentially or in a part contributing to the prior art in the form of a computer software product stored in a storage medium (such as ROM/RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk), comprising several instructions for causing a terminal (which may be a mobile phone, a computer, a server, an air conditioner, or a network device, etc.) to perform the method described in the embodiments of the present application.

The embodiments of the present application have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present application is not limited to the above-described embodiments, which are merely illustrative and not restrictive, and many forms may be made by those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit of the present application and the scope of the claims, which are also within the protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A positioning method, comprising:

the method comprises the steps that User Equipment (UE) receives a first message from a Location Management Function (LMF) network element, wherein the first message is used for requesting to locate the UE, the first message comprises first indication information, and the first indication information is used for indicating priorities of an air interface locating mode and a Side Link (SL) locating mode, or priorities of a plurality of locating methods corresponding to the air interface locating mode and priorities of a plurality of locating methods corresponding to the SL locating mode;

and the UE executes a positioning process according to the first indication information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first indication information is used to indicate priorities of an air interface positioning mode and a SL positioning mode; the UE executes a positioning process according to the first indication information, and the positioning process comprises the following steps:

under the condition that the air interface positioning mode does not meet a first preset condition, the UE performs discovery of candidate UE participating in SL positioning according to the first indication information, and performs SL positioning measurement with the candidate UE participating in SL positioning;

or,

under the condition that the air interface positioning mode meets a first preset condition, the UE executes air interface positioning measurement according to the first indication information;

The first preset condition is that the QoS meets the QoS requirement of the positioning service.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the UE performs discovery of candidate UEs participating in SL positioning according to the first indication information, comprising:

and the UE executes discovery of candidate UE capable of participating in SL positioning according to the first indication information, and reports the candidate UE information capable of participating in SL positioning to the LMF network element.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein after reporting the candidate UE information capable of participating in SL positioning to the LMF network element, the method further comprises:

the UE receives a second message from the LMF network element, wherein the second message is used for indicating target candidate UE which participates in SL positioning, and the target candidate UE is a candidate UE which is determined by the LMF network element according to candidate UE information which can participate in SL positioning and a second preset condition;

wherein the second preset condition includes at least one of: and fixing the position of the candidate UE, wherein the position of the candidate UE is known to the LMF network element, and the candidate UE supports a positioning method corresponding to the same SL positioning mode as the UE.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the first indication information comprises a candidate UE list comprising at least one candidate UE performing SL positioning with the UE.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first indication information is used to indicate priorities of a plurality of positioning methods corresponding to the air interface positioning mode and priorities of a plurality of positioning methods corresponding to the SL positioning mode;

the UE executes a positioning process according to the first indication information, and the positioning process comprises the following steps:

under the condition that the positioning method with high priority meets the triggering condition, the UE switches from the positioning method with high priority to the positioning method with low priority according to the first indication information so as to execute the positioning process;

wherein the trigger condition includes at least one of: the QoS does not meet the QoS requirement of the positioning service, the number of the detected base stations is smaller than or equal to the preset number, and the first measurement quantity meets the preset measurement condition; the first measurement quantity comprises at least one of: reference signal power, number of direct paths, direct path signal power.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

the UE receives first information or second information from the LMF network element, wherein the first information comprises second indication information and an air interface positioning related parameter, the second information comprises third indication information and an SL positioning related parameter, the second indication information is used for indicating a positioning method corresponding to the air interface positioning mode, and the third indication information is used for indicating a positioning method corresponding to the SL positioning mode.

8. A positioning method, comprising:

the method comprises the steps that a Location Management Function (LMF) network element sends a first message to User Equipment (UE), wherein the first message is used for requesting to locate the UE, the first message comprises first indication information, and the first indication information is used for indicating priorities of an air interface locating mode and a Side Link (SL) locating mode, or priorities of a plurality of locating methods corresponding to the air interface locating mode and priorities of a plurality of locating methods corresponding to the SL locating mode;

the first indication information is used for the UE to execute a positioning process.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first indication information is used to indicate priorities of an air interface positioning mode and a SL positioning mode; after the LMF network element sends the first message to the UE, the method further includes:

the LMF network element receives candidate UE information which is from the UE and can participate in SL positioning;

the LMF network element determines target candidate UE which participates in SL positioning according to the candidate UE information which can participate in SL positioning and a second preset condition, and sends a second message to the UE, wherein the second message is used for indicating the target candidate UE;

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the first indication information comprises a candidate UE list comprising at least one candidate UE performing SL positioning with the UE.

11. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, further comprising:

the LMF network element sends first information or second information to the UE, wherein the first information comprises second indication information and air interface positioning related parameters, the second information comprises third indication information and SL positioning related parameters, the second indication information is used for indicating a positioning method corresponding to the air interface positioning mode, and the third indication information is used for indicating a positioning method corresponding to the SL positioning mode.

12. A positioning apparatus, applied to a user equipment UE, comprising: a receiving module and an executing module;

the receiving module is configured to receive a first message from a location management function LMF network element, where the first message is used to request to locate the UE, and the first message includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate priorities of an air interface location mode and a sidelink SL location mode, or priorities of a plurality of location methods corresponding to the air interface location mode and priorities of a plurality of location methods corresponding to the SL location mode;

The execution module is used for executing a positioning process according to the first indication information received by the receiving module.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the first indication information is used to indicate priorities of an air interface positioning mode and a SL positioning mode; the execution module is specifically configured to, when the air interface positioning manner does not meet a first preset condition, execute discovery of candidate UEs participating in SL positioning according to the first indication information, and execute SL positioning measurement with the candidate UEs participating in SL positioning; or under the condition that the air interface positioning mode meets a first preset condition, executing air interface positioning measurement according to the first indication information;

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the execution module is specifically configured to execute, according to the first indication information, discovery of candidate UEs capable of participating in SL positioning, and report, to the LMF network element, candidate UE information capable of participating in SL positioning.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the receiving module is further configured to receive a second message from the LMF network element after the executing module reports to the LMF network element candidate UE information capable of participating in SL positioning, the second message being used to indicate a target candidate UE participating in SL positioning, the target candidate UE being a candidate UE determined by the LMF network element according to the candidate UE information capable of participating in SL positioning and a second preset condition;

16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the first indication information comprises a candidate UE list comprising at least one candidate UE performing SL positioning with the UE.

17. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the first indication information is configured to indicate priorities of a plurality of positioning methods corresponding to the air interface positioning method and priorities of a plurality of positioning methods corresponding to the SL positioning method;

the execution module is specifically configured to switch from a positioning method with a high priority to a positioning method with a low priority according to the first indication information when the positioning method with the high priority meets a trigger condition, so as to execute a positioning process;

18. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the receiving module is further configured to receive first information or second information from the LMF network element, the first information including second indication information and an air interface positioning related parameter, the second information including third indication information and an SL positioning related parameter, the second indication information being used for indicating a positioning method corresponding to the air interface positioning method, and the third indication information being used for indicating a positioning method corresponding to the SL positioning method.

19. A positioning device, applied to a location management function LMF network element, comprising: a transmitting module;

the sending module is configured to send a first message to a user equipment UE, where the first message is used to request to locate the UE, and the first message includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate priorities of an air interface locating mode and a side link SL locating mode, or priorities of a plurality of locating methods corresponding to the air interface locating mode and priorities of a plurality of locating methods corresponding to the SL locating mode;

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the first indication information is used to indicate priorities of an air interface positioning mode and a SL positioning mode; the apparatus further comprises: a receiving module and a determining module;

the receiving module is configured to receive candidate UE information from the UE capable of participating in SL positioning after the sending module sends the first message to the UE;

the determining module is used for determining target candidate UE which participates in SL positioning according to the candidate UE information which can participate in SL positioning and a second preset condition;

the sending module is further configured to send a second message to the UE, where the second message is used to indicate the target candidate UE;

21. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the first indication information comprises a candidate UE list comprising at least one candidate UE performing SL positioning with the UE.

22. The apparatus according to any one of claims 19 to 21, wherein the sending module is further configured to send first information or second information to the UE, where the first information includes second indication information and an air interface positioning related parameter, the second information includes third indication information and an SL positioning related parameter, the second indication information is used to indicate a positioning method corresponding to the air interface positioning method, and the third indication information is used to indicate a positioning method corresponding to the SL positioning method.

23. A user equipment UE comprising a processor, a memory and a program or instructions stored on the memory and executable on the processor, which when executed by the processor carries out the steps of the positioning method according to any of claims 1 to 7.

24. A location management function, LMF, network element comprising a processor, a memory and a program or instruction stored on the memory and executable on the processor, which program or instruction when executed by the processor carries out the steps of the positioning method according to any of claims 8 to 11.

25. A communication system comprising a positioning device according to any of claims 12 to 18 and a positioning device according to any of claims 19 to 22; or,

the communication system comprises a user equipment UE as claimed in claim 23 and a location management function LMF network element as claimed in claim 24.

26. A readable storage medium, characterized in that the readable storage medium stores thereon a program or instructions which, when executed by a processor, implement the steps of the positioning method according to any of claims 1 to 7 or the steps of the positioning method according to any of claims 8 to 11.