WO2012144615A1

WO2012144615A1 - Positioning support system, switching equipment and positioning support method

Info

Publication number: WO2012144615A1
Application number: PCT/JP2012/060753
Authority: WO
Inventors: 晋也青山
Original assignee: 株式会社エヌ・ティ・ティ・ドコモ
Priority date: 2011-04-22
Filing date: 2012-04-20
Publication date: 2012-10-26
Also published as: JP5405522B2; JP2012227890A; CN103493555A

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to more efficiently perform positioning support for a communication terminal capable of using a plurality of communication networks. A connection destination information storage unit for a #1MME, which is the switching equipment in an LTE communication network included in a positioning support system, holds information identifying a communication terminal and information identifying a #1xGSN, which is the switching equipment that this communication terminal visits in a 3G communication network. Then, on the basis of a positioning instruction from a GMLC, it is confirmed whether or not the communication terminal identified by the information included in the positioning instruction is performing communication using the #1MME, and when it is confirmed that communication is not being performed with the #1MME, the positioning instruction is transferred to the #1xGSN, which is the switching equipment in the 3G communication network.

Description

Positioning support system, exchange, and positioning support method

The present invention relates to a positioning support system that supports positioning by a communication terminal, an exchange included in the positioning support system, and a positioning support method using the positioning support system.

In a communication system (hereinafter referred to as 3G system) standardized by 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project), positioning using a communication terminal such as a mobile phone is generally performed. As a positioning method by a communication terminal, in addition to GPS positioning using radio waves from GPS satellites, cell-based positioning using information specifying the position of a cell with which the communication terminal communicates as position information of the communication terminal is known. Yes. In this cell-based positioning, when a positioning support device that supports cell-based positioning of a communication terminal receives a positioning request, information of a subscriber information database in which information specifying an exchange having jurisdiction over a communication area in which the communication terminal is located is stored. Based on the information, the communication area where the communication terminal communicates with the exchange is inquired based on the information to determine the position of the communication area where the communication terminal communicates, and this is transmitted to the communication terminal as a positioning result. (See, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2008-153858 A

In recent years, LTE (Long Term 新しい Evolution), a new communication method, has been proposed for the 3G method. When the communication terminal using LTE has a specification that can use the 3G method, the communication terminal can use two types of communication methods in combination. In addition, regarding a communication terminal in which the 3G system and LTE are used together, the information related to the exchange having jurisdiction over the communication area in which the communication terminal is located in the 3G system and the communication area in which the communication terminal is located in the LTE system Information related to the exchange is stored in the subscriber information database.

However, information relating to which communication method the communication terminal actually uses for communication connection is not held in the subscriber information database. For this reason, the positioning support apparatus that has received the positioning request related to the communication terminal inquires of both of the exchanges in the two types of communication schemes whether the communication terminal is performing communication connection in order to transmit the positioning result. It is necessary to specify the communication area in which the communication terminal is communicating. As described above, when positioning support is performed for a communication terminal that can communicate with a plurality of communication methods, the communication amount of the positioning support apparatus increases. In addition, there is a possibility that the transmission of the positioning result is delayed due to an increase in the communication amount for the transmission of the positioning result by the positioning support apparatus.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and provides a positioning support system, an exchange, and a positioning support method capable of more efficiently performing positioning support related to a communication terminal that can use a plurality of communication networks. With the goal.

In order to achieve the above object, a positioning support system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a communication terminal that can be connected to a first communication network and a second communication network that are different from each other via the first communication network. A first exchange for communicating with the communication terminal, a second exchange for the communication terminal to communicate via the second communication network, and a positioning support device for providing positioning information related to the communication terminal. A positioning support system, wherein the positioning support device associates and stores information identifying the communication terminal and information identifying the first exchange in which the communication terminal is located; The positioning request receiving means for receiving the positioning request of the communication terminal, and the information stored in the terminal information storage means in association with the information specifying the communication terminal related to the positioning request received by the positioning request receiving means. A positioning instruction means for transmitting a positioning instruction including information for identifying the communication terminal, which is transmitted to the first exchange specified by the mobile terminal, and a positioning according to the positioning instruction transmitted by the positioning instruction means A positioning result receiving means for receiving a result; and a positioning result transmitting means for transmitting the positioning result received by the positioning result receiving means to a transmission destination according to the positioning request, the first switch. Includes a destination report storage means for storing information for specifying the communication terminal, information for specifying the second exchange in which the communication terminal is located, and a first instruction for receiving the positioning instruction from the positioning support device. Based on the positioning instruction received by the first receiving means and whether or not the communication terminal specified by the information included in the positioning instruction is communicating using its own device. The connection destination information associated with information for identifying the communication terminal when the connection confirmation means confirms that the communication terminal is not performing communication using its own device. The first transfer means for transferring the positioning instruction to the second exchange specified by the information stored in the storage means, and the connection confirmation means confirmed that there is a communication connection with the communication terminal. A first positioning result transmitting means for transmitting, as a positioning result, position information of a base station to which the communication terminal is connected, to the positioning support device, and the second switch is the first switch Position information for specifying the position of a communication area to which the communication terminal is connected based on the positioning instruction received by the second receiving means and the positioning instruction received by the second receiving means. And a second positioning result transmitting means for transmitting to the positioning support apparatus as a positioning result.

Further, the first exchange included in the positioning support system according to the embodiment of the present invention is configured such that a communication terminal connectable to a first communication network and a second communication network that are different from each other includes the first communication network. A first exchange for communicating via a second exchange; a second exchange for allowing the communication terminal to communicate via the second communication network; and a positioning support device for providing positioning information relating to the communication terminal. A destination exchange storage means for storing information for identifying the communication terminal and information for identifying the second exchange in which the communication terminal is located, which is a first exchange included in the positioning support system configured; A first receiving unit that receives the positioning instruction from the positioning support device; and a communication terminal that is identified by information included in the positioning instruction based on the positioning instruction received by the first receiving unit. Use own aircraft The first connection confirmation means for confirming whether or not communication is being performed, and when the first connection confirmation means confirms that the communication terminal is not performing communication using its own device, the communication A first transfer means for transferring the positioning instruction to the second exchange specified by the information stored in the connection destination information storage means in association with information for specifying a terminal; and First positioning result transmission means for transmitting, as a positioning result, position information of a base station connected to the communication terminal to the positioning support apparatus when it is confirmed that there is a communication connection with the communication terminal. It is characterized by that.

According to the positioning support system according to the above embodiment, in the first exchange, information for specifying a communication terminal and information for specifying a second exchange that is an exchange in which the communication terminal is located in the second communication network are provided. It is held in the connection destination information storage means. Then, based on the positioning instruction from the positioning support device, it is confirmed whether or not the communication terminal specified by the information included in the positioning instruction is communicating using the own apparatus, and the communication terminal uses the own apparatus. When it is confirmed that communication is not being performed, a configuration is provided in which a positioning instruction is transferred to the second exchange. Therefore, even if the communication terminal does not perform communication using the first switch, the positioning instruction is transferred from the first switch to the second switch. It is no longer necessary to make inquiries to each exchange on the network, the amount of communication by the positioning support device is reduced, and positioning support for communication terminals that can use multiple communication networks can be performed more efficiently. .

Here, the second exchange is configured such that a communication terminal specified by information included in the positioning instruction performs communication using its own apparatus based on the positioning instruction received by the second receiving unit. A second connection confirmation means, and the second positioning result transmission means connects to the communication terminal when it is confirmed that the communication terminal is not performing communication using its own device. The base station position information can be transmitted to the positioning support apparatus as a positioning result.

According to the above aspect, in the second exchange as well, since it is confirmed whether the communication terminal is performing communication using its own equipment, the communication terminal temporarily uses either the first exchange or the second exchange. If it is not, for example, it is possible to prevent an erroneous positioning result related to the second switch from being returned to the positioning support apparatus, and it is possible to improve the accuracy related to positioning of the communication terminal.

In addition, the second exchange obtains information indicating the first exchange in which the communication terminal is located in the first communication network from the communication terminal, and the communication terminal automatically acquires information in the second communication network. Connection destination notifying means for notifying the first exchange that it is in the area, and the connection destination information storage means of the first exchange is information notified from the second exchange. In the second communication network, the information specifying the exchange in which the communication terminal is located can be updated.

According to the above configuration, when the information related to the second exchange stored in the connection destination information storage unit of the first exchange is updated, the positioning support apparatus does not need to communicate with the exchange. It is possible to suppress an increase in the communication amount of the positioning support apparatus for performing efficient positioning support.

Note that the present invention can be described as an invention of a positioning support method as follows, as well as described as an invention of a positioning support system as described below. This is substantially the same invention only in different categories, and has the same operations and effects.

In other words, the positioning support method according to an embodiment of the present invention allows communication terminals that can be connected to different first communication networks and second communication networks to communicate via the first communication network. The information identifying the communication terminal is associated with the information identifying the second exchange in which the communication terminal is located so that the communication terminal communicates via the second communication network. A first exchange having connection destination storing means for storing; a second exchange for the communication terminal to communicate via the second communication network; information identifying the communication terminal; and the communication terminal A positioning support method by a positioning support system, comprising terminal information storage means for storing information identifying the first exchange located in association with each other, and including a positioning support device that provides positioning information related to the communication terminal In The positioning request receiving step of receiving the positioning request of the communication terminal by the positioning request receiving means of the positioning support device, and the positioning request received in the positioning request receiving step by the positioning instruction means of the positioning support device. A positioning instruction including information specifying the communication terminal is transmitted to the first exchange specified by the information stored in the terminal information storage means in association with the information specifying the communication terminal. A positioning instruction step, a positioning result receiving step of receiving a positioning result according to the positioning instruction transmitted in the positioning instruction step by a positioning result receiving means of the positioning support device, and a positioning instruction means of the positioning support device And transmitting the positioning result received in the positioning result receiving step to a transmission destination corresponding to the positioning request. A positioning result transmitting step; a first receiving step of receiving the positioning instruction from the positioning support device by a first receiving means of the first exchange; and a first connection confirmation means of the first exchange. Thus, based on the positioning instruction received in the first reception step, the communication terminal specified by the information included in the positioning instruction confirms whether or not communication is performed using its own device. The communication confirmation step and the first transfer means of the first exchange identify the communication terminal when it is confirmed in the connection confirmation step that the communication terminal is not performing communication using its own device. A first transfer step of transferring the positioning instruction to the second exchange identified by the information stored in the connection destination information storage means in association with the information to be connected, and the first exchange When the first positioning result transmission means of the exchange confirms that there is a communication connection with the communication terminal in the connection confirmation step, the positioning support uses the position information of the base station to which the communication terminal is connected as a positioning result. A first positioning result transmitting step for transmitting to the device; a second receiving step for receiving the positioning instruction transferred from the first switch by the second receiving means of the second switch; Based on the positioning instruction received in the second reception step by the second positioning result transmission means of the second exchange, position information specifying the position of the communication area to which the communication terminal is connected is used as the positioning result. And a second positioning result transmitting step for transmitting to the positioning support apparatus.

According to the present invention, there are provided a positioning support system, an exchange, and a positioning support method capable of more efficiently performing positioning support related to a communication terminal that can use a plurality of communication networks.

It is a block diagram explaining the structure of the communication system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the hardware constitutions of each apparatus, ISP, and GW included in the positioning assistance system 2. It is a figure which shows the hardware constitutions of a communication terminal. It is a block diagram explaining the structure of HLR and GMLC which comprise a positioning assistance apparatus. It is an example of the location registration information stored in HLR. It is a block diagram explaining the structure of xGSN and MME. It is an example of the connection destination information stored in the connection destination information storage part of xGSN and MME. It is a sequence diagram explaining a process when a communication terminal registers a location. It is a sequence diagram explaining a process when a communication terminal performs a position registration process again. It is a sequence diagram explaining the process for providing the positioning information which concerns on a communication terminal.

Hereinafter, an embodiment for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

<Configuration of positioning support system>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a communication system 1 including a positioning support system according to the present embodiment. The communication system 1 includes a positioning support system 2, an ISP (Internet Service Provider) 3, a GW (Gateway) 4, and a communication terminal 5. The positioning support system 2 includes an HLR (Home Location Centre) 11, a GMLC (Gateway Mobile Location Centre) 12, a # 1xGSN (serving / gateway General packet radio service Support. Node) 21, an RNC (Radio Network Controller) 22, and a BTS. (Base Transceiver Station) 23, # 1 Mobility Management Entity (MME) 31, eNB (e-Node B) 32, and BTS 33.

Among the devices constituting the positioning support system 2, # 1xGSN21, RNC22 and BTS23 are devices for constructing a 3G communication network which is the second communication network, and # 1MME31, eNB (e-Node B) 32 , And BTS 33 are devices for configuring the LTE communication network, which is the first communication network. The HLR 11 and the GMLC 12 are apparatuses that perform control related to these two communication networks.

First, each device constituting the 3G communication network will be described. # 1xGSN 21 is a device having a function as an exchange, and RNC 22 has a function as a radio base station control device. The BTS 23 functions as a base station. In an actual 3G communication network, a plurality of RNCs are connected to one xGSN, and a plurality of BTSs are further connected to one RNC. The communication terminal 5 is located in a cell (cell C2 in FIG. 1) formed by radio waves from one of these BTSs (BTS 23 in FIG. 1), and performs wireless communication with this BTS 23. Communication with a communication terminal via a 3G communication network can be performed.

Next, each device constituting the LTE communication network will be described. # 1 MME 31 is a device having a function as an exchange, and eNB 32 has a function as a radio base station control device. The BTS 23 functions as a base station. In an actual LTE communication network, a plurality of eNBs are connected to one MME, and a plurality of BTSs are further connected to one eNB. The communication terminal 5 is located in a cell (cell C3 in FIG. 1) formed by radio waves from one of these BTSs (BTS 33 in FIG. 1), and performs wireless communication with the BTS 33, for example. Communication with the communication terminal via the LTE communication network can be performed.

The HLR 11 is a device having a function of managing information related to the location registration of the communication terminal 5, and the GMLC 12 is a device having a function as a gateway for controlling the position information. The GMLC 12 communicates with the # 1xGSN 21 and the # 1 MME 31 to collect information related to the position of the communication terminal located in each communication network and transmit the information to the HLR 11. The HLR 11 stores information transmitted from the GMLC 12. The HLR 11 and the GMLC 12 have a function as a positioning support device in the positioning support system 2.

ISP 3 is a device having a function of providing a connection service to the Internet by the communication terminal 5. The GW 4 is a device having a function as a gateway when the communication terminal 5 connects to the Internet. Content provided to the communication terminal 5 via the Internet includes content using the location information of the communication terminal 5. In this case, with the consent of the user of the communication terminal 5, the positioning requesting the provision of the position information of the communication terminal 5 from the content creator (content provider) to the GMLC 12 that controls the position information in the communication network. A request is sent. On the other hand, in the positioning support system 2 including the GMLC 12, the position information of the communication terminal 5 is acquired, and this is returned to the ISP 3 as a positioning result and transmitted from the ISP 3 to the content provider.

The communication terminal 5 is a terminal having a function of connecting to both the 3G communication network and the LTE communication network. When the communication terminal 5 is located in the 3G communication network and performs location registration, information related to location registration is registered in the HLR 11 via the BTS 23, RNC 22, # 1xGSN 21, and GMLC 12. When the communication terminal 5 performs location registration in the LTE communication network, information related to location registration is registered in the HLR 11 via the BTS 33, eNB 32, # 1 MME 31, and GMLC 12.

Note that the communication terminal 5 cannot simultaneously communicate via both communication networks. Therefore, the communication terminal 5 actually has only one communication network. In addition, even when the communication network that communicates between the 3G communication network and the LTE communication network is switched, if the cell that is located in each communication network is not changed, the position held in the HLR 11 Registration information is not updated. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, when the communication terminal 5 located in the cell C2 of the 3G communication network constructed by the BTS 23 moves and resides in the cell C3 of the LTE communication network constructed by the BTS 33 The information related to the cell C3 is registered in the HLR 12. However, since the cell C2 in which the communication terminal 5 is located in the 3G communication network is not changed, the information related to the cell C2 is not updated in the HLR 12. In addition, the moved communication terminal 5 (5 ′) shown in FIG. 1 can perform both connection communication via the 3G communication network and connection communication via the LTE communication network. The HLR 11 and the GMLC 12 are not able to grasp whether or not connection communication is being performed.

Next, a positioning method for positioning the communication terminal will be described. In this embodiment, cell-based positioning will be described as a positioning method. In the cell-based positioning, the communication terminal 5 itself does not perform positioning unlike the GPS positioning in which the communication terminal 5 receives radio waves from the satellite and performs positioning, but information indicating the position of the cell to which the communication terminal 5 is connected for communication. It is used as position information. Therefore, when the GMLC 12 transmits the location information of the communication terminal 5 to the ISP 3 based on the positioning request from the ISP 3, the GMLC 12 specifies the cell to which the communication terminal 5 is connected and communicates the location information related to this cell. It is transmitted as a positioning result of the terminal 5.

As shown in FIG. 2, each device, ISP 3 and GW 4 included in the positioning support system 2 of the communication system 1 includes a CPU 101, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 102 and a ROM (Read Only), respectively. Memory) 103, a communication module 104 for performing communication, and a computer including hardware such as an auxiliary storage device 105 such as a hard disk. And the function of each apparatus is exhibited when these components operate. As shown in FIG. 3, the communication terminal 5 includes hardware such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 501, a RAM 502, a ROM 503, an operation unit 504, a wireless communication unit 505, a display 506, and an antenna 507. And the function of the communication terminal 5 is exhibited by these components operating.

Note that the devices included in the positioning support system 2, the GMLC 12 and the ISP 3, and the ISP 3 and the GW 4 are respectively connected via a wired network. In addition, information is exchanged between the communication terminal 5 and the

BTSs

23 and 33 by wireless communication.

Next, among the devices included in the communication system 1, the HLR 11 and the GMLC 12 that function as positioning support devices, and the # 1xGSN 21 and the # 1 MME 31 that function as exchanges will be described in detail.

First, HLR11 and GMLC12 which comprise a positioning assistance apparatus are demonstrated using FIG.4 and FIG.5.

The HLR 11 functions as a terminal information storage unit that stores information that identifies a communication terminal and information that identifies an exchange in which the communication terminal is located in association with each other. Specifically, the information stored in the HLR 11 includes information for identifying the communication terminal 5 (in FIG. 5, the telephone number of the communication terminal) and the position of the communication terminal 5 in the 3G communication network, as shown in FIG. Information that identifies the exchange that has registered (# 1xGSN, # 2xGSN, etc.) and information that identifies the exchange that has registered the location in the LTE communication network (# 1MME, # 3MME, etc.) are associated with each other. is there. The information stored in the HLR 11 is updated when the communication terminal 5 is located in each communication network and performs location registration. In addition, when the exchange used by the communication terminal in each communication network is changed due to movement or the like, an update request is made from the communication terminal 5 to the HLR 11 via the GMLC 12, and based on this request Thus, the information stored in the HLR 11 is updated. Information stored in the HLR 11 is used for control related to positioning by the GMLC 12.

The GMLC 12 includes a communication unit 121 and a positioning control unit 122. The communication unit 121 has a function of communicating with an external device of the positioning support system 2, and more specifically, has a function as a positioning request receiving unit that receives a positioning request of a communication terminal, and uses a positioning result as a positioning request. It has a function as a positioning result transmission means for transmitting to the corresponding transmission destination. In the present embodiment, the communication unit 121 of the GMLC 12 communicates with the ISP 3, receives a positioning request related to the communication terminal 5 from the ISP 3, sends it to the positioning control unit 122, and is sent from the positioning control unit 122. The positioning result is transmitted to ISP3.

The positioning control unit 122 acquires information related to the communication terminal 5 from the HLR 11 based on the positioning request, and transmits a positioning instruction to the exchange (# 1 MME 31 in this embodiment) in which the communication terminal 5 is located. It has a function as a positioning instruction means having a function, and also has a function as a positioning result receiving means for receiving a positioning result according to this positioning instruction. That is, the positioning control unit 122 performs communication control with each device included in the positioning support system 2. The positioning result received by the positioning control unit 122 is transmitted to the communication unit 121, and is transmitted from the communication unit 121 to the transmission destination of the positioning request (ISP3 in the present embodiment). The GMLC 12 transmits a positioning instruction related to the communication terminal 5 to either one of the # 1xGSN 21 and the # 1 MME 31. The switch to which the GMLC 12 transmits is determined in advance by the administrator of the GMLC 12 or the like. Alternatively, the mode may be changed as appropriate in accordance with communication congestion. Details of the processing by the HLR 11 and the GMLC 12 will be described later.

Next, # 1xGSN21 and # 1MME31 will be described with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, a case where # 1xGSN 21 and # 1 MME 31 have similar functions will be described.

As shown in FIG. 6, # 1 × GSN 21 (second exchange) and # 1 MME 31 (first exchange) include a communication connection processing unit 201, a control unit 202, a transfer unit 203, and a connection destination information storage unit 204. Composed.

The communication connection processing unit 201 has a function of performing location registration (location) processing and communication processing of the communication terminal 5 with respect to the communication network (3G communication network or LTE communication network) based on a request from the communication terminal 5. Here, even when the communication terminal 5 changes the communication destination between communication networks, the communication terminal 5 has a function of performing processing related to communication start and processing related to disconnection. Details thereof will be described later.

Further, in the case of # 1MME31, the communication connection processing unit 201 has a function as a receiving unit (first receiving unit) that receives a positioning instruction from the GMLC 12, and the communication connection processing unit 201 corresponds to the positioning instruction. A function of transmitting the positioning result to the GMLC 12 (first positioning result transmitting means) In the case of # 1xGSN21, as receiving means (second receiving means) for receiving the positioning instruction transferred from the # 1 MME 31 And a function of transmitting a positioning result corresponding to the positioning instruction to the GMLC 12 via the # 1 MME 31 (second positioning result transmitting means). Regardless of the device, the position information of the base station used as the positioning result is acquired by inquiring of the lower radio base station control device (RNC 22 or eNB 32). The positioning instruction received by the communication connection processing unit 201 is sent to the control unit 202.

Based on the positioning instruction received by the communication connection processing unit 201, the control unit 202 performs communication using the communication terminal 5 specified by the information included in the positioning instruction using its own device (call connection is performed). (First connection confirmation means / second connection confirmation means). In addition, the control unit 202 acquires information indicating the exchange in which the communication terminal 5 is located in another communication network from the communication terminal 5, and indicates that the communication terminal is located in the own network in the other network. A function of notifying the exchange (connection destination notifying means). Further, when it is confirmed that the communication terminal 5 is not performing communication using its own device, information on the exchange where the communication terminal 5 is located in another network is acquired from the connection destination information storage unit 203, and this exchange Is sent to the transfer unit 204 to instruct the transfer of the positioning instruction to the exchange (# 1xGSN21 in the case of # 1MME31) in which the communication terminal 5 is located in the other network.

The connection destination information storage unit 203 registers a connection destination of the communication terminal 5 in the own network (a radio base station control device used when performing communication in the own network) and sets a location registration destination of the communication terminal 5 in the other network. It has a function to store (connection destination report storage means). 7A shows an example of information stored in the connection destination information storage unit 203 of # 1xGSN 21, and FIG. 7B shows an example of information stored in the connection information storage unit 203 of # 1 MME 31. Show. 5A and 5B, the communication terminal specified by the telephone number “09000000003” is connected to the exchange # 1MME31 of the LTE communication network, and the communication terminal specified by the telephone number “09000000004” is The case where it connects with exchange # 1xGSN21 of 3G communication network is demonstrated. As shown in FIG. 5A, in the # 1xGSN 21, for the communication terminal specified by “09000000004” that performs communication using the # 1xGSN 21, the RNC connected in the 3G communication network is specified. Information is stored. For communication terminals whose communication destination has been changed from # 1xGSN 21 to the switch of the LTE communication network, or communication terminals whose communication destination has been changed from the switch of the LTE communication network and connected to # 1xGSN 21, LTE communication Information (LTE switch information) for specifying the switch located in the network is further stored in association with each other. As a result, the communication terminal specified by “090000000003” is not currently performing communication using the 3G communication network, but in the LTE communication network, communication is performed using the LTE switch specified by # 1 MME. You can see that In addition, the communication terminal specified by “090000000004” is currently performing communication in the 3G communication network using # 1xGSN21. However, in the LTE communication network, location registration is performed for the LTE switch specified by # 1 MME. You can see that

On the other hand, in the # 1 MME 31 which is an exchange of the LTE communication network, as shown in FIG. 7B, information specifying the eNB performing communication is stored for the communication terminal performing communication using the # 1 MME 31. At the same time, information for specifying the exchange to be used in the 3G communication network is stored for the communication terminal that can be connected in the 3G communication network and performs location registration. As described above, in both the exchange in the 3G communication network and the exchange in the LTE communication network, information specifying the exchange in which the communication terminal is registered in the other network and the communication terminal connected in the own network Is stored in association with information specifying the connection destination and information specifying the communication terminal. These pieces of information are updated when the location of the communication terminal is registered, the communication destination (communication network to be used) is changed, or the like. Details will be described later.

Returning to FIG. 6, based on the instruction from the control unit 202, the transfer unit 204 sends a positioning instruction transmitted from the GMLC 12 to the exchange in which the communication terminal 5 is located in another network (# 1 × GSN 21 in the case of # 1 MME 31). (First transfer means). In the # 1xGSN 21 and # 1 MME 31 of this embodiment, when it is confirmed that the communication terminal 5 is not performing communication using its own device, the exchange in which the communication terminal 5 performs location registration in another network is used. It has a feature of a configuration in which a positioning instruction from the GMLC 12 is transferred. This eliminates the need for the GMLC 12 to individually inquire and confirm through which communication network the communication terminal 5 connectable to a plurality of communication networks (3G communication network and LTE communication network) is communicating. Thus, there is an effect that communication by the GMLC 12 is reduced.

<Positioning support method by positioning support system>
Next, a positioning support method by the communication system 1 including the positioning support system 2 will be described with reference to sequence diagrams shown in FIGS. 8 is a sequence diagram for explaining processing related to location registration by the communication terminal 5, and FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram for explaining processing when the communication terminal 5 performs the location registration processing again. 10 is a sequence diagram for explaining processing when positioning is performed on the communication terminal 5.

First, processing related to location registration of the communication terminal 5 will be described with reference to FIG. First, when the communication terminal 5 is located in the 3G communication network (S101), a location registration request is transmitted from the communication terminal 5 to the # 1xGSN 21 via the BTS 23 (not shown) and the RNC 22 (S102). When the communication connection processing unit 201 of # 1 × GSN 21 receives the location registration request, the information related to the connection destination of the communication terminal 5 held in the connection destination information storage unit 203 is updated (S103), and the location registration request The data is transmitted from the communication connection processing unit 201 of the 1xGSN 21 to the HLR 11 via the GMLC 12. As a result, the information stored in the HLR 11 is updated, and the location registration for the 3G communication network is performed (S104).

Further, even when the communication terminal 5 is in the LTE communication network (S111), the same processing as in the 3G communication network is performed. Specifically, a location registration request is transmitted from the communication terminal 5 to the # 1 MME 31 via the BTS 33 (not shown) and the eNB 32 (S112). When the communication connection processing unit 201 of the # 1 MME 31 receives the location registration request, the information related to the connection destination of the communication terminal 5 held in the connection destination information storage unit 203 is updated (S113), and the location registration request is The data is transmitted from the communication connection processing unit 201 of the 1MME 31 to the HLR 11 via the GMLC 12 (S114). As a result, information stored in the HLR 11 is updated, and location registration for the LTE communication network is performed (S115). At this time, the # 1 MME 31 acquires information on the exchange located in the 3G communication network (# 1xGSN21) from the communication terminal 5 and notifies this to the # 1xGSN21, thereby registering terminal information between the two. Is performed (S116).

Next, a case where the communication network in which the communication terminal 5 communicates is changed between the 3G communication network and the LTE communication network will be described. Here, a case will be described in which the communication terminal 5 performing communication via the 3G communication network changes to communication via the LTE communication network after being disconnected once due to movement or the like.

First, when performing communication using the 3G communication network (S201), a connection request from the communication terminal 5 is sent to the # 1xGSN 21 via the BTS 23 (not shown) and the RNC 22 (S202). Here, communication is started by performing connection processing including authentication processing for performing communication between the # 1xGSN 21 and the communication terminal 5 (S203). When this connection process is performed, information related to the connection destination of the communication terminal 5 stored in the connection destination information storage unit 203 is updated.

Here, when the communication terminal 5 changes to communication using the LTE communication network (S211), a request (change) to perform processing for changing the communication network from the communication terminal 5 to the # 1xGSN 21 via the RNC 22 Request) is transmitted (S212), and the process related to this change is performed in # 1xGSN 21 (S213). As this change processing, at this time, the # 1xGSN 21 is also notified from the communication terminal 5 to the # 1xGSN 21 that the exchange used by the communication terminal 5 in the LTE communication network is the # 1MME31. Further, based on this information, the information of the communication terminal 5 stored in the connection destination information storage unit 203 is updated. Specifically, with respect to the communication terminal 5, information indicating that communication is performed using the # 1xGSN 21 is updated to information indicating that the communication terminal 5 has changed the connection destination with respect to the # 1 MME 31.

On the other hand, a connection request for performing communication using the LTE communication network is transmitted from the communication terminal 5 to the # 1 MME 31 via the eNB 32 (S214). Also, the # 1xGSN 21 notifies the # 1MME 31 that the communication terminal 5 that has used the # 1xGSN 21 changes the communication to use the # 1 MME 31 (S215). Thereby, connection processing including authentication processing for performing communication is performed between # 1 MME 31 and the communication terminal 5 (S216), whereby communication is started. Here too, as in the case of performing communication via the 3G communication network, the information related to the connection destination of the communication terminal 5 stored in the connection destination information storage unit 203 is updated. As described above, the connection process when the communication terminal 5 performs communication and the change process when the communication terminal 5 changes the communication network are completed.

Next, processing when performing positioning related to a communication terminal connectable to two communication networks as described above will be described with reference to FIG. As a premise, the case where the communication terminal 5 is connected to the ISP 3 via the 3G communication network will be described.

First, when the user of the communication terminal 5 operates the communication terminal 5, a positioning request is transmitted from the communication terminal to the # 1xGSN 21 via the BTS 23 (not shown) and the RNC 22 (S301). The positioning request from the communication terminal 5 here includes, for example, a request for providing Internet content using the location information of the communication terminal 5. Thereby, in # 1xGSN21, the connection process for performing communication via 3G communication network is performed (S302). Thereafter, a positioning request of the communication terminal 5 is transmitted to the ISP 3 via the GW 4 (not shown), the content provider (not shown), and the like (S303). The ISP 3 transmits a positioning request related to the communication terminal 5 to the GMLC 12 based on the positioning request from the communication terminal 5 (S304). In contrast, when the communication unit 121 of the GMLC 12 receives the positioning request, the positioning request is sent to the positioning control unit 122. Then, the positioning control unit 122 refers to the information stored in the HLR 12 and acquires information related to # 1 MME 31 stored in association with the communication terminal 5. And a positioning instruction | indication is transmitted with respect to # 1MME31 from the positioning control part 122 (S305). This positioning instruction includes information (for example, a telephone number) that identifies the communication terminal 5.

On the other hand, when receiving the positioning instruction from the GMLC 12, the # 1 MME 31 confirms whether the communication terminal 5 is performing communication using its own device based on the information specifying the communication terminal 5 included in the positioning instruction (S306). ). Specifically, referring to the information stored in the connection destination information storage unit 203, communication is performed via the LTE communication network, that is, the communication terminal 5 communicates under the # 1 MME 31. It is confirmed whether or not the information related to the base station being held is held in the connection destination information storage unit 203. In the present embodiment, since the communication terminal 5 performs communication via the 3G communication network, the information relating to the connection destination of the communication terminal 5 is not held in the # 1 MME 31, and the 3G communication to which the communication terminal 5 is connected. Since only information related to the network switch (that is, information specifying the # 1xGSN 21) is held, it is determined that the communication using the own device is not performed in the # 1 MME 31. Therefore, the positioning instruction is transferred from the transfer unit 204 of the # 1 MME 31 to the # 1xGSN 21 (S307).

And when # 1xGSN21 receives the positioning instruction transferred from # 1MME31, it is stored in connection destination information storage section 203 based on the information specifying communication terminal 5 included in the positioning instruction, as in # 1MME31. In connection destination information storage section 203, information related to the base station with which communication terminal 5 is communicating under the control of # 1sGSN 21, referring to the information, is performing communication via the 3G communication network It is confirmed whether it is done (S309). In this embodiment, since the communication terminal 5 performs communication via the 3G communication network (S302), information indicating that the communication terminal 5 is connected in the 3G communication network is stored in the connection destination information storage unit 203. Since it is held, it is determined that the communication terminal 5 is performing communication using its own device. As a result, the # 1xGSN 21 transmits a location information provision request of the communication terminal 5 to the RNC 22 based on the information stored in the connection destination information storage unit 203 (S310). The RNC 22 creates positioning information using the position information indicating the position of the cell with which the communication terminal 5 is communicating based on the position information provision request transmitted from the # 1xGSN 21 (S311). The result (position information) is transmitted to # 1xGSN 21 (S312).

When the positioning result from the RNC 22 is received, the # 1xGSN 21 transfers it to the # 1 MME 31 that is the source of the positioning instruction (S313). The # 1MME 31 transmits the positioning result transferred from the # 1xGSN 21 to the GMLC 12 as a positioning instruction response to the positioning instruction (S305) from the GMLC 12 (S314). Then, the GMLC 12 returns a positioning instruction response from the # 1 MME 31 to the ISP 3 that transmitted the positioning request (S304). Thereby, in ISP3, the positioning result of the communication terminal 5 is acquired, and this is transmitted with respect to the communication terminal 5 via # 1xGSN21 (S315). The transmission of the positioning result to the communication terminal 5 is not limited to the configuration in which the position information of the communication terminal 5 is simply returned, and the Internet content using the position information of the communication terminal 5 is transmitted to the communication terminal 5. You can also Thus, the processing related to the provision of the positioning information related to the communication terminal 5 is completed.

As described above, according to the positioning support system 2 and the positioning support method using the positioning support system 2 according to the above-described embodiment, the information identifying the communication terminal 5 and the communication terminal 5 are present in the 3G communication network in the # 1 MME 31. Information for identifying the # 1xGSN 21 that is the exchange to be served is held in the connection destination information storage unit 203. And based on the positioning instruction | indication from GMLC12, it is confirmed whether the communication terminal 5 specified by the information contained in a positioning instruction | indication is communicating using its own apparatus, and the communication terminal 5 used its own apparatus. When it is confirmed that communication is not being performed, a configuration is provided in which a positioning instruction is transferred to # 1xGSN 21. Therefore, even if the communication terminal 5 does not perform communication using the # 1 MME 31, a positioning instruction is transferred from the # 1 MME 31 to the # 1xGSN 21, so that the GMLC 12 has two exchanges (# 1 MME31 and # 1xGSN21). It is no longer necessary to make an inquiry to the GMLC 12, the amount of communication by the GMLC 12 is reduced, and positioning support for communication terminals that can use a plurality of communication networks can be performed more efficiently.

Further, in the above embodiment, since it is confirmed whether or not the communication terminal 5 performs communication using its own device also in the # 1xGSN 21, if the communication terminal 5 uses neither the # 1xGSN 21 nor the # 1 MME 31 In addition, for example, erroneous information related to # 1xGSN 21 can be prevented from being returned to the GMLC 12, and the accuracy related to positioning of the communication terminal 5 can be improved.

Moreover, in the said embodiment, when updating the location information of the communication terminal 5 in the other communication network stored in the connection destination information storage unit 203 of # 1MME31 and # 1xGSN21, between # 1MME31 and # 1xGSN21 Communication takes place. That is, since the information stored in the connection destination information storage unit 203 is updated without performing communication between the # 1 MME 31 or # 1xGSN 21 and the GMLC 12, a positioning support device for performing efficient positioning support ( In particular, it is possible to suppress an increase in the traffic of GMLC 12).

As mentioned above, although one Embodiment of this invention was described, the positioning system 1 containing the positioning assistance system 10 which concerns on this invention can perform a various change.

For example, the functions related to each device (for example, HLR 11 and GMLC 12) included in the positioning support system 2 may be all included in one device, or each function is distributed to different devices. It may be.

Moreover, although the said embodiment demonstrated the structure where the communication network which can connect the communication terminal 5 is two types (3G communication network and LTE communication network), even if this communication network is three or more, Good. In this case, the same processing as in the above embodiment can be performed by increasing the types of information stored in the connection destination information storage unit 203 of the exchange.

In the above embodiment, the # 1 MME 31 receives the positioning instruction from the GMLC 12 (S305), and when it is determined that the communication terminal 5 is not performing communication using the own device (S306), The positioning instruction is forwarded to (S307), and after receiving the location information of the communication terminal 5 returned from the # 1xGSN 21 (S312), it is forwarded to the # 1 MME 31 which is the positioning instruction forwarding source (S313). It is transmitted from # 1 MME 31 to GMLC 12. That is, GMLC12 demonstrates the structure which transmits a positioning instruction | indication with respect to # 1MME31, and receives the positioning instruction | indication response transmitted from # 1MME31. However, the exchange to which the GMLC 12 transmits a positioning instruction and the exchange that is a transmission source of the positioning result corresponding to the positioning instruction do not need to match. For example, in the above embodiment, # 1xGSN 21 receives a positioning instruction from GMLC 12 (S307), receives position information related to communication terminal 5 based on this from RNC 22 (S311), and then # 1xGSN 21 performs positioning to GMLC 12 It can also be set as the aspect which transmits a result.

Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the structure which has the same function in # 1xGSN21 and # 1MME31 was demonstrated, both need not be equipped with the same function, for example, only the exchange of any one communication network is It may be configured to have a function of transferring a positioning instruction to an exchange in another communication network.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Communication system, 2 ... Positioning support system, 3 ... ISP, 4 ... GW, 5 ... Communication terminal, 11 ... HLR, 12 ... GMLC, 21 ... # 1xGSN, 22 ... RNC, 23, 33 ... BTS, 31 ... # 1MME, 32 ... eNB.

Claims

A communication terminal that can be connected to a first communication network and a second communication network that are different from each other communicates via the first communication network, and the communication terminal uses the second communication. A positioning support system comprising a second exchange for communicating via a network and a positioning support device for providing positioning information related to the communication terminal,
The positioning support device includes:
Terminal information storage means for storing the information specifying the communication terminal and the information specifying the first exchange in which the communication terminal is located in association with each other;
Positioning request receiving means for receiving a positioning request of a communication terminal;
Transmitted to the first exchange specified by the information stored in the terminal information storage means in association with the information specifying the communication terminal related to the positioning request received by the positioning request receiving means, Positioning instruction means for transmitting a positioning instruction including information for identifying a communication terminal;
Positioning result receiving means for receiving a positioning result according to the positioning instruction transmitted by the positioning instruction means;
Positioning result transmitting means for transmitting the positioning result received by the positioning result receiving means to a transmission destination according to the positioning request;
With
The first exchange is
Connection destination information storage means for storing information for specifying the communication terminal and information for specifying the second exchange in which the communication terminal is located;
First receiving means for receiving the positioning instruction from the positioning support device;
Based on the positioning instruction received by the first receiving means, a first connection for confirming whether or not the communication terminal specified by the information included in the positioning instruction is communicating using its own device Confirmation means;
When it is confirmed in the first connection confirmation means that the communication terminal is not performing communication using its own device, the communication terminal is stored in the connection destination information storage means in association with information identifying the communication terminal. First positioning result acquisition means for acquiring a positioning result related to the communication terminal from the second switch by transferring the positioning instruction to the second switch specified by the information;
A first positioning result transmission for transmitting, as a positioning result, position information of a base station to which the communication terminal is connected when the connection confirmation unit confirms that there is a communication connection with the communication terminal. Means,
With
The second exchange is
Second receiving means for receiving the positioning instruction transferred from the first exchange;
Based on the positioning instruction received by the second receiving means, second positioning result transmission for transmitting position information specifying the position of the communication area to which the communication terminal is connected to the positioning support apparatus as a positioning result. Means,
A positioning support system comprising:
The second exchange is
Based on the positioning instruction received by the second receiving means, a second connection confirmation means determines whether or not the communication terminal specified by the information included in the positioning instruction is communicating using its own device. In addition,
When it is confirmed that the communication terminal does not perform communication using its own device, the second positioning result transmission means uses the position information of the base station to which the communication terminal is connected as a positioning result to determine the positioning support device. The positioning support system according to claim 1, wherein the positioning support system is transmitted.
The second exchange obtains information indicating the first exchange in which the communication terminal is located in the first communication network from the communication terminal, and the communication terminal communicates with itself in the second communication network. A connection destination notifying means for notifying the first exchange that it is in the area;
The connection destination information storage means of the first exchange updates information specifying the exchange in which the communication terminal is located in the second communication network, based on information notified from the second exchange. The positioning support system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that.
A communication terminal that can be connected to a first communication network and a second communication network that are different from each other communicates via the first communication network, and the communication terminal uses the second communication. A first switch included in a positioning support system including a second switch for communicating via a network and a positioning support device that provides positioning information related to the communication terminal;
Connection destination information storage means for storing information for specifying the communication terminal and information for specifying the second exchange in which the communication terminal is located;
First receiving means for receiving the positioning instruction from the positioning support device;
Based on the positioning instruction received by the first receiving means, a first connection for confirming whether or not the communication terminal specified by the information included in the positioning instruction is communicating using its own device Confirmation means;
When it is confirmed by the connection confirmation means that the communication terminal is not performing communication using its own device, it is identified by information stored in the connection destination information storage means in association with information for identifying the communication terminal. First positioning result acquisition means for acquiring a positioning result related to the communication terminal from the second switch by transferring the positioning instruction to the second switch that has been performed;
A first positioning result transmission for transmitting, as a positioning result, position information of a base station to which the communication terminal is connected when the connection confirmation unit confirms that there is a communication connection with the communication terminal. Means,
A first exchange comprising:
A communication terminal that can be connected to a first communication network and a second communication network that are different from each other is used for communication via the first communication network, and information that identifies the communication terminal and the communication terminal A first exchange comprising connection destination information storage means for storing in association with information for identifying the second exchange in which the communication terminal is located in order to communicate via the second communication network; Corresponding to a second exchange for the communication terminal to communicate via the second communication network, information for identifying the communication terminal and information for identifying the first exchange in which the communication terminal is located A positioning support method by a positioning support system comprising a positioning support device that includes terminal information storage means for storing and providing positioning information related to the communication terminal,
A positioning request receiving step of receiving a positioning request of the communication terminal by the positioning request receiving means of the positioning support device;
The positioning instruction means of the positioning support apparatus specifies the first information specified by the information stored in the terminal information storage means in association with the information specifying the communication terminal related to the positioning request received in the positioning request reception step. A positioning instruction step for transmitting a positioning instruction that is transmitted to one exchange and includes information for identifying the communication terminal;
A positioning result receiving step for receiving a positioning result according to the positioning instruction transmitted in the positioning instruction step by the positioning result receiving means of the positioning support device;
A positioning result transmitting step of transmitting the positioning result received in the positioning result receiving step to a destination corresponding to the positioning request by the positioning instruction means of the positioning support device;
A first receiving step of receiving the positioning instruction from the positioning support device by the first receiving means of the first exchange;
Based on the positioning instruction received in the first reception step by the first connection confirmation means of the first exchange, a communication terminal specified by information included in the positioning instruction uses its own device. A first connection confirmation step for confirming whether communication is being performed;
When the first positioning result acquisition means of the first exchange confirms that the communication terminal is not performing communication using its own device in the connection confirmation step, corresponds to information identifying the communication terminal In addition, a positioning result related to the communication terminal is acquired from the second switch by transferring the positioning instruction to the second switch specified by the information stored in the connection destination information storage unit. 1 positioning result acquisition step;
When the first positioning result transmission means of the first exchange confirms that there is a communication connection with the communication terminal in the connection confirmation step, the position information of the base station to which the communication terminal is connected is used as the positioning result. A first positioning result transmission step for transmitting to the positioning support device;
A second receiving step of receiving the positioning instruction transferred from the first switch by the second receiving means of the second switch;
Based on the positioning instruction received in the second reception step by the second positioning result transmission means of the second exchange, position information specifying the position of the communication area to which the communication terminal is connected is used as the positioning result. A second positioning result transmitting step for transmitting to the positioning support device;
A positioning support method characterized by comprising: