WO2023236703A1

WO2023236703A1 - Positioning method and apparatus, storage medium, and chip system

Info

Publication number: WO2023236703A1
Application number: PCT/CN2023/092829
Authority: WO
Inventors: 郭英昊
Original assignee: 华为技术有限公司
Priority date: 2022-06-09
Filing date: 2023-05-08
Publication date: 2023-12-14
Also published as: CN117278932A

Abstract

A positioning method and apparatus, a storage medium, and a chip system, relating to the technical field of communications, and used for positioning a terminal device in an RRC idle state. The terminal device in the RRC idle state sends first information to a core network element, the first information being used for requesting a positioning service, the first information comprising first resource indication information, and the first resource indication information being used for determining a target reference signal resource. The terminal device in the RRC idle state receives second information from the core network element, obtains the target reference signal resource on the basis of the second information, and sends a reference signal according to the target reference signal resource, the reference signal being used for determining a location of the terminal device. The second information is obtained on the basis of the first resource indication information. In the process, the terminal device may not establish an air interface connection and air interface security with an access network device, and may always be in the RRC idle state, thereby reducing power consumption of the terminal device.

Description

A positioning method, device, storage medium and chip system

Cross-references to related applications

This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the China Patent Office on June 9, 2022, with the application number 202210650136.1 and the application title "A positioning method, device, storage medium and chip", the entire content of which is incorporated by reference. in this application.

Technical field

The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a positioning method, device, storage medium and chip system.

Background technique

Location services are one of the important functions in new radio (new radio, NR) systems. Current uplink positioning technologies include uplink (UL) time difference of arrival (TDOA) positioning technology, UL angle of arrival (angle of arrival, AOA) positioning technology, etc. In the uplink positioning technology, the access network device can configure reference signal resource information for the terminal device, and the access network device sends the reference signal resource information to the terminal device. The terminal device may send the reference signal according to the reference signal resource information configured by the access network device for the terminal device. Each access network device measures the reference signal sent by the terminal device, and reports the obtained measurement results to the positioning management function network element, so that the positioning management function network element determines the location information of the terminal device based on each measurement result and other information.

When the terminal device is in the connected state of radio resource control (RRC), the access network device connected to the terminal device can configure reference signal resources for the terminal device through the RRC reconfiguration message. How to locate the terminal device in the RRC idle state has become an urgent problem that needs to be solved.

Contents of the invention

This application provides a positioning method, device, storage medium and chip system for positioning terminal equipment in RRC idle state.

In the first aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a positioning method, which can be executed by a terminal device or by a unit, module or chip inside the terminal device. In this application, the method on the terminal device side is performed by the terminal device. Examples are introduced. The method includes:

The terminal device in the RRC idle state sends first information to the core network element. The first information is used to request positioning services. The first information includes first resource indication information. The first resource indication information is used to determine target reference signal resources. The terminal device in the RRC idle state receives second information from the core network element, where the second information is obtained based on the first resource indication information. The terminal device in the RRC idle state obtains the target reference signal resource based on the second information. The terminal device in the RRC idle state sends a reference signal according to the target reference signal resource, and the reference signal is used to determine the location of the terminal device.

Since the terminal device in the RRC idle state can establish security on the NAS interface with the mobility management network element, it will not establish air interface connection and air interface security with the access network device, so the access network device will not know about the terminal device. At the current location, it is not clear what reference signal resources are suitable for terminal equipment. Because the terminal device can send the first information for requesting the positioning service to the core network element, the first information includes the first resource indication information, and because the terminal device can receive the second information from the core network element, the second information is based on The first resource indication information is obtained, and The terminal device can determine the target reference signal resource according to the second information, so that the terminal device in the RRC idle state can send the reference signal according to the target reference signal resource to achieve positioning of the terminal device in the RRC idle state. And during this process, the terminal device will not establish an air interface connection and air interface security with the access network device. It can always be in the RRC idle state without entering the RRC connected state or the RRC inactive state, which can reduce the performance of the terminal device. It consumes less energy and can also reduce the delay in locating the terminal device.

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

In a possible implementation, the first resource indication information includes at least one of the following: information about the cell corresponding to the location of the terminal device; radio resource management (RRM) performed by the terminal device on the received signal. ) measurement results; the measurement results of the positioning reference signal (PRS) received by the terminal device; the location information of the terminal device; or the information of the first reference signal resource. The access network equipment does not know the current location of the terminal equipment, so it does not know what reference signal resources are suitable for the terminal equipment. Through the above implementation, the access network equipment can be based on the terminal equipment in the RRC idle state. At least one of the information of the cell corresponding to the location, the result of RRM measurement, the result of PRS measurement, the location information or the information of the first reference signal resource determines the reference signal resource applicable to the terminal equipment, and then the reference signal resource applicable to the terminal equipment can be determined. In the signal resources, reference signal resources are allocated to the terminal equipment in the RRC idle state.

In a possible implementation, before the terminal device in the RRC idle state sends the first information, the terminal device in the RRC idle state receives an incoming call when a preset event that triggers the terminal device to request positioning service is met. System messages of network access equipment. The system messages include reference signal configuration information. The target reference signal resources are the resources in the reference signal configuration information. When the preset event that triggers the terminal device to request positioning services is not met, the terminal device in the RRC idle state may not receive system messages, thereby reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

In a possible implementation, after the terminal device in the RRC idle state receives the system message from the access network device and before the terminal device in the RRC idle state sends the first information, the terminal device measures the received signal according to As a result, the information of the first reference signal resource in the first resource indication information is determined from the reference signal configuration information included in the system message. The reference signal configuration information can be pre-configured with an association between the signal measurement results and the reference signal resources. The terminal device can find out the reference signal resources corresponding to the signal measurement results from the association, and then determine the reference signal resources from the corresponding reference signal resources. In this way, the terminal device can find out the first reference signal resource it wants from the reference signal resources available to it, and then can send the first reference signal resource to the core network device so that The core network device sends the first reference signal resource to the access network device, so that the access network device considers whether to allocate the first reference signal resource to the terminal device.

In a possible implementation, the second information includes second resource indication information, and the second resource indication information is determined based on the first resource indication information. The terminal equipment in the RRC idle state determines the target reference signal resource according to the second resource indication information. Since the second information includes the second resource indication information, that is, the access network device determines the second resource indication information based on the first resource indication information, the terminal device can determine, based on the second resource indication information, that the access network device allocates the resource to the terminal device. target reference signal resources.

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

In a possible implementation, the access network device is allowed to obtain target reference signal resources based on the first resource indication information. In this case, when the terminal device in the RRC idle state determines that the access network device is allowed to obtain the target reference signal resource based on the second information. After obtaining the target reference signal resource from the first resource indication information, the terminal device determines the target reference signal resource according to the first resource indication information. For example, in the case where the first resource indication information includes information about the first reference signal resource, the terminal device determines that the first reference signal resource is the target reference signal resource.

When the access network device allows the target reference signal resource to be obtained based on the first resource indication information, the second information may or may not include the first resource indication information. For example, when the terminal device in the RRC idle state determines that the second information does not include information indicating reference signal resources, it determines that the access network device allows the reference signal resources to be obtained based on the first resource indication information. It can be seen that when the access network device allows the target reference signal resource to be obtained based on the first resource indication information, the second information sent by the access network device may not include information for indicating the reference signal resource. In this way, it may Reduce the amount of data carried by the second information, save resources, and speed up data transmission.

In a possible implementation, the first information includes information used to request positioning services. In this way, the core network device can determine that the terminal device needs to request the positioning service based on the information used to request the positioning service.

In a possible implementation, the first information is carried in a control plane service request message in the NAS message, and the information used to request the positioning service includes: the control plane service request message is used to indicate that the control plane service type is a positioning service type. Information. In this way, it can be better compatible with existing technologies.

The first information may also be carried in an LCS message in a NAS message in a NAS message container. For example, the LCS message may include an event report message, and the event report message may include information about an event that triggers the terminal device to request positioning service. The information of the event that triggers the terminal device to request the positioning service may be regarded as the information in the first information used to request the positioning service.

In a possible implementation, when the core network element is a mobility management network element, before the terminal device in the RRC idle state receives the second information from the core network element, the terminal device in the RRC idle state sends a message to the mobility management network element. The core network element sends the identity of the location management function network element used to provide positioning services for the terminal device. In this way, the core network equipment can determine the location management function network element according to the identity of the location management function network element, thereby saving the time spent in searching for the location management function network element, thereby reducing the terminal device positioning delay.

In a possible implementation manner, the core network element is a mobility management network element. The first information and the second information satisfy one of the following contents: the first information is carried in the non-access network layer (non-access stratum, NAS) message container in message three in the four-step random access process; the second information The information is carried in the NAS message container in message four in the four-step random access process; the first information is carried in the NAS message container in message A in the two-step random access process, and the second information is carried in the two-step random access process. The NAS message container in message B in the process; the first information is carried in the NAS message container in configured grant small data transmission (CG-SDT), and the second information is carried in the response message of CG-SDT A NAS message container; the first information is carried in a NAS message container in a pre-configured uplink resource (PUR), and the second information is carried in a NAS message container in a response message of the PUR; or, the first The information is carried in the NAS message container in early data transmission (EDT), and the second information is carried in the NAS message container in the response message of EDT. This is compatible with existing technology.

In a possible implementation manner, the core network element is a location management function network element. The first information and the second information satisfy one of the following contents: the first information is carried in the location service (LCS) message in the NAS message container in message three in the four-step random access process; the second information Messages carried in the four-step random access process The LCS message in the NAS message container in the fourth step; the first information is carried in the LCS message in the NAS message container in message A in the two-step random access process, and the second information is carried in the message in the two-step random access process. The LCS message in the NAS message container in B; the first information is carried in the LCS message in the NAS message container in CG-SDT, and the second information is carried in the LCS message in the NAS message container in the response message of CG-SDT; The first information is carried in the LCS message in the NAS message container in the PUR, and the second information is carried in the LCS message in the NAS message container in the response message of the PUR; or, the first information is carried in the NAS message container in the EDT. LCS message, the second information is carried in the LCS message in the NAS message container in the EDT response message. This is compatible with existing technology.

In a possible implementation, the second information includes information of a second duration. After the terminal device in the RRC idle state receives the second information from the core network element, the terminal device in the RRC idle state sends information for requesting positioning services to the core network element after a second period of time. In this way, the access network device can control the time when the terminal device re-initiates the positioning service next time, thereby providing the access network device with more control items for the terminal device in the RRC idle state.

In the second aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a positioning method. This method can be executed by a location management function network element, or can be executed by a unit, module or chip inside the location management function network element. In this application, the location management function is used The method on the network element side is introduced by taking the location management function network element as an example. The method includes: a location management function network element receives first information from a terminal device, the first information is used to request positioning services, the first information includes first resource indication information; the first resource indication information is used to determine target reference signal resources. The location management function network element sends a message for requesting to configure reference signal resources for the terminal device to the access network device, where the message for requesting to configure reference signal resources for the terminal device includes first resource indication information. The location management function network element receives second information from the access network device. The second information is obtained based on the first resource indication information. The second information is used to determine the target reference signal resource. The target reference signal resource is used for the terminal device to send reference Signal, reference signal is used to determine the location of the terminal device. The location management function network element sends the second information to the terminal device.

Since the terminal device in the RRC idle state can establish security on the NAS interface with the mobility management network element, it will not establish air interface connection and air interface security with the access network device, so the access network device will not know about the terminal device. At the current location, it is not clear what reference signal resources are suitable for terminal equipment. The first information sent by the terminal device to the location management function network element (for example, it can be sent to the location management function network element through the mobility management network element) may include first resource indication information, and the first resource indication information is used to determine the target reference signal. resource. In this way, the location management function network element can transfer the first resource indication information to the access network device, so that the access network device determines the target reference signal resource for the terminal device in the RRC idle state, so that the terminal device sends according to the target reference signal resource. Reference signal to achieve positioning of terminal equipment in RRC idle state. And during this process, the terminal device will not establish an air interface connection and air interface security with the access network device. It can always be in the RRC idle state without entering the RRC connected state or the RRC inactive state, which can reduce the performance of the terminal device. It can also reduce the time delay of positioning terminal equipment and reduce the cost of terminal equipment.

In a possible implementation, the first resource indication information includes at least one of the following: information about the cell corresponding to the location of the terminal device; the result of the radio resource management RRM measurement performed by the terminal device on the received signal; The result of the device measuring the received positioning reference signal PRS; the location information of the terminal device; or the information of the first reference signal resource.

For relevant descriptions and beneficial effects, please refer to the relevant descriptions in the foregoing first aspect and possible implementations of the first aspect, and will not be described again here.

In a possible implementation, after the location management function network element receives the second information from the access network device, the location management function network element obtains the target reference signal resource based on the second information; the location management function network element reports to the access network The access network device among the adjacent access network devices of the device and the access network device sends the target reference signal resource.

Since the location management function network element can obtain the target reference signal resources allocated by the access network equipment for the terminal equipment in the RRC idle state, the location management function network element can provide the access network equipment and the neighboring access network equipment of the access network equipment with Access network equipment target reference signal resources, so that these access network equipment can measure the reference signal from the terminal equipment, thereby achieving positioning of the terminal equipment in the RRC idle state.

In a possible implementation, the second information includes second resource indication information, and the second resource indication information is determined based on the first resource indication information. The location management function network element obtains the target reference signal resource based on the second information, including: the location management function network element determines the target reference signal resource based on the second resource indication information.

Since the second information includes the second resource indication information, that is, the access network device determines the second resource indication information based on the first resource indication information, the terminal device can determine, based on the second resource indication information, that the access network device allocates the resource to the terminal device. target reference signal resources.

In a possible implementation, the second resource indication information includes: target reference signal resources or cell information. When the second resource indication information includes one or more cell information, the location management function network element can find the reference signal resource associated with the cell information included in the first resource indication information from the reference signal configuration information, and use the reference signal The resource is determined to be the target reference signal resource.

In a possible implementation, the location management function network element obtains the target reference signal resource based on the second information, including: the location management function network element determines, based on the second information, that the access network device is allowed to obtain the target based on the first resource indication information. Reference signal resources. The location management function network element determines the target reference signal resource according to the first resource indication information. For example, in the case where the first resource indication information includes information about the first reference signal resource, the location management function network element determines the first reference signal resource as the target reference signal resource.

When the access network device allows the target reference signal resource to be obtained based on the first resource indication information, the second information may or may not include the first resource indication information. For example, when the location management function network element determines that the second information does not include information for indicating reference signal resources, it determines that the access network device allows the reference signal resources to be obtained based on the first resource indication information. It can be seen that when the access network device allows the target reference signal resource to be obtained based on the first resource indication information, the second information sent by the access network device may not include information for indicating the reference signal resource. In this way, it may Reduce the amount of data carried by the second information, save resources, and speed up data transmission.

In a possible implementation, the first information includes information used to request positioning services. In this way, the location management function network element can determine that the terminal device needs to request the location service based on the information used to request the location service.

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

In the third aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a positioning method, which can be executed by a mobility management network element or by a unit, module or chip inside the mobility management network element. In this application, the mobility management method is used The method on the network element side is introduced by taking the mobility management network element as an example. The method includes: a mobility management network element receives first information from a terminal device, the first information is used to request positioning services, the first information includes first resource indication information, and the first resource indication information is used to determine target reference signal resources. The mobility management network element sends the first information to the location management function network element. The mobility management network element receives second information from the location management function network element. The second information is obtained based on the first resource indication information. The second information is used to determine the target reference signal resource. The target reference signal resource is used for transmission by the terminal device. Reference signal, the reference signal is used to determine the location of the terminal device. The mobility management network element sends the second information to the terminal device.

Since the terminal device in the RRC idle state can establish security on the NAS interface with the mobility management network element, it will not establish air interface connection and air interface security with the access network device, so the access network device will not know about the terminal device. At the current location, it is not clear what reference signal resources are suitable for terminal equipment. The mobility management network element sends the first information received from the terminal device to the location management function network element, and the first resource indication information included in the first information is used to determine the target reference signal resource. In this way, the location management function network element can transfer the first resource indication information to the access network device, so that the access network device determines the target reference signal resource for the terminal device in the RRC idle state, so that the terminal device sends according to the target reference signal resource. Reference signal to achieve positioning of terminal equipment in RRC idle state. And during this process, the terminal device will not establish an air interface connection and air interface security with the access network device. It can always be in the RRC idle state without entering the RRC connected state or the RRC inactive state, which can reduce the performance of the terminal device. It consumes less energy and can also reduce the delay in locating the terminal device.

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

In a possible implementation manner, before the mobility management network element sends the first information to the location management function network element, the mobility management network element receives the identity of the location management function network element from the terminal device. In this way, the mobility management network element can determine the location management function network element according to the identity of the location management function network element, thereby saving the time spent searching for the location management function network element, thereby reducing the terminal device positioning delay.

In a possible implementation, the second information includes second resource indication information, and the second resource indication information includes: target reference signal resources, or cell information.

In a possible implementation, the first information includes information used to request positioning services.

Relevant descriptions and beneficial effects may be found in the aforementioned first aspect and possible implementation modes of the first aspect. Regarding the description, I won’t go into details here.

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

In a possible implementation, the mobility management network element receives the first information from the terminal device, including: the mobility management network element receives an initial terminal device message from the access network device, and the NAS message in the initial terminal device message The container contains first information from the terminal device. The mobility management network element sends the second information to the access network device, including: the mobility management network element sends a response message to the initial terminal device message to the access network device, and the NAS message container in the response message to the initial terminal device message includes the required The second information is transmitted to the terminal device; or, the mobility management network element sends a downlink NAS transmission message to the terminal device through the access network device, and the downlink NAS transmission message carries the second information. In this way, it can be compatible with existing technologies.

In a possible implementation, the first information sent by the mobility management network element to the location management function network element is carried in the LCS message, and the second information received by the mobility management network element from the location management function network element is carried in the LCS message. The response message of the message. In this way, it can be compatible with existing technologies and improve the flexibility of the solution.

In a possible implementation, the mobility management network element receives the first information from the terminal device, including: the mobility management network element receives an initial terminal device message from the access network device, and the NAS message in the initial terminal device message The event report message in the container includes the first information from the terminal device, and the event report message belongs to the LCS message. The mobility management network element sends the second information to the access network device, including: the mobility management network element sends a response message to the initial terminal device message to the access network device, and the NAS message container in the response message to the initial terminal device message The response message of the event report message includes the second information that needs to be transmitted to the terminal device, and the response message of the event report message belongs to the LCS message; or, the mobility management network element sends a downlink NAS transmission message to the terminal device through the access network device, and the downlink NAS The response message of the event report message in the transmission message includes second information to be transmitted to the terminal device. In this way, it can be compatible with existing technologies.

In a possible implementation, the first information sent by the mobility management network element to the location management function network element is carried in an event report message, and the second information received by the mobility management network element from the location management function network element is carried in The response message for the event reporting message. In this way, it can be compatible with existing technologies.

In the fourth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a positioning method, which can be executed by the access network device or by a unit, module or chip inside the access network device. In this application, the access network device side is used The method is introduced using access network equipment as an example. The method includes: the access network device receives first information from a terminal device in an RRC idle state, the first information is used to request positioning services, the first information includes first resource indication information, and the first resource indication information is used to determine a target Reference signal resources. The access network device sends the first information to the mobility management network element. The access network device receives a message from the location management function network element for requesting to configure target reference signal resources for the terminal device, where the message for requesting to configure the target reference signal resource for the terminal device includes first resource indication information. The access network device sends second information to the location management function network element. The second information is used to determine the target reference signal resource. The target reference signal resource is used for the terminal device to send the reference signal. The reference signal is used to determine the location of the terminal device. The access network device receives the second information from the mobility management network element. The access network device sends the second information to the terminal device in the RRC idle state.

It can be seen that the access network device can allocate target reference signal resources to the terminal device in the RRC idle state based on the first resource indication information, and can send the second information used to indicate the target reference signal resource to the terminal device, Thus, the terminal device in the RRC idle state can be positioned.

In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided. The communication device may be the above-mentioned terminal device, mobility management network element, location management function network element or access network device. The communication device may include a communication unit and a processing unit to execute Any embodiment of any method of the above-mentioned first to fourth aspects. The communication unit is used to perform functions related to sending and receiving. Optionally, the communication unit includes a receiving unit and a sending unit. In one design, the communication device is a communication chip, the processing unit may be one or more processors or processor cores, and the communication unit may be an input/output circuit or port of the communication chip.

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

Optionally, the communication device further includes various modules that can be used to perform any one of the methods of the first to fourth aspects.

In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided. The communication device may be the above-mentioned terminal device, mobility management network element, location management function network element or access network device. The communication device may include a processor and a memory. Optionally, a transceiver is also included, the memory is used to store computer programs or instructions, and the processor is used to call and run the computer program or instructions from the memory. When the processor executes the computer program or instructions in the memory, the The communication device performs any one of the implementation methods of any one of the above-mentioned first to fourth aspects.

Optionally, there are one or more processors and one or more memories.

Optionally, the memory can be integrated with the processor, or the memory can be provided separately from the processor.

Optionally, the transceiver may include a transmitter (transmitter) and a receiver (receiver).

In a seventh aspect, a communication device is provided. The communication device may be the above-mentioned terminal device, mobility management network element, location management function network element or access network device. The communication device may include a processor. The processor is coupled to a memory and may be used to execute any one of the first to fourth aspects and the method in any possible implementation of the first to fourth aspects. Optionally, the communication device further includes a memory. Optionally, the communication device further includes a communication interface, and the processor is coupled to the communication interface.

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

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

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

In a ninth aspect, a computer program product is provided. The computer program product includes: a computer program (which can also be called a code, or an instruction). When the computer program is run, it causes the computer to execute any of the possible implementations of the first aspect. The method in the above-mentioned manner, or causing the computer to execute the method in any one of the above-mentioned first to fourth aspects.

In a tenth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided. The computer-readable medium stores a computer program (which may also be called a code, or an instruction) that when run on a computer causes the computer to execute any one of the above-mentioned first aspects. The method in any possible implementation manner, or causing the computer to execute the method in any one of the above first to fourth aspects.

In an eleventh aspect, a chip system is provided, and the chip system may include a processor. The processor is coupled to a memory and may be used to execute any one of the first to fourth aspects, and any method in any possible implementation manner of any one of the first to fourth aspects. Optionally, the chip system also includes a memory. Memory is used to store computer programs (also called codes, or instructions). A processor, configured to call and run a computer program from a memory, so that the device installed with the chip system executes any one of the first to fourth aspects, and any possibility of any one of the first to fourth aspects. Methods in the implementation.

In a twelfth aspect, a communication device is provided. The communication device may be the above-mentioned terminal equipment, mobility management network element, location management function network element or access network equipment. The communication device may include: an interface circuit and a processing circuit. Interface circuits may include input circuits and output circuits. The processing circuit is configured to receive signals through the input circuit and transmit signals through the output circuit, so that the method in any one of the first to fourth aspects and any possible implementation manner of the first to fourth aspects is implemented.

In a specific implementation process, the above-mentioned processing device may be a chip, the input circuit may be an input pin, the output circuit may be an output pin, and the processing circuit may be a transistor, a gate circuit, a flip-flop, and various logic circuits. The input signal received by the input circuit may be received and input by, for example, but not limited to, the receiver, and the signal output by the output circuit may be, for example, but not limited to, output to and transmitted by the transmitter, and the input circuit and the output A circuit may be the same circuit that functions as an input circuit and an output circuit at different times. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific implementation methods of the processor and various circuits.

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

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

Description of the drawings

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a possible network architecture applicable to the embodiment of this application;

Figure 2 is a schematic flowchart of a possible positioning method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

Figure 3 is a schematic flow chart of another possible positioning method provided by the embodiment of the present application;

Figure 4 is a schematic flow chart of another possible positioning method provided by this embodiment of the present application;

Figure 5 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

Figure 6 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

Figure 7 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed ways

Embodiments of the present application provide a solution for providing positioning services to a terminal device in an RRC idle state. Since the terminal device in the RRC idle state can establish security on the NAS interface with the mobility management network element, it will not establish air interface connection and air interface security with the access network device, so the access network device will not know about the terminal device. At the current location, it is not clear what reference signal resources are suitable for terminal equipment. In the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device sends the first resource indication information for determining the target reference signal resource to the location management function network element (for example, it can be sent to the location management function network element through the mobility management network element). The location management function network element transfers the first resource indication information to the access network equipment, and the access network equipment allocates target reference signal resources to the terminal equipment in the RRC idle state, so that the terminal equipment sends reference signals according to the target reference signal resources, so that Realize the positioning of terminal equipment in RRC idle state. The solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application will be further introduced below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of this application are mainly applicable to wireless communication systems. The wireless communication system can comply with the wireless communication standards of the third generation partnership project (3GPP). For example, the solution provided by the embodiments of this application can be applied to the fourth generation (4th generation, 4G) communication system, such as the long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE) communication system, and can also be applied to the fifth generation (5th generation, 5G) Communication systems, such as 5G new radio (NR) communication systems, or various communication systems applied in the future, such as sixth generation (6th generation, 6G) communication systems. The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of this application may also comply with other wireless communication standards, such as the 802 series (such as 802.11, 802.15, or 802.20) wireless communication standards of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The methods provided by the embodiments of this application can also be applied to Bluetooth systems, WiFi systems, LoRa systems or Internet of Vehicles systems. The method provided by the embodiment of the present application can also be applied to a satellite communication system, and the satellite communication system can be integrated with the above-mentioned communication system.

For ease of explanation, this embodiment of the present application takes the 5G network architecture shown in Figure 1 as an example to illustrate a possible network architecture schematic diagram applicable to the embodiment of the present application. A possible network architecture applicable to this application may include terminal equipment, access network equipment (also called next generation (NG) radio access network (RAN) equipment) and core network (core network) three parts.

The terminal device may include a device that provides voice and/or data connectivity to the user, such as a handheld device with a wireless connection function, or a processing device connected to a wireless modem. The terminal device can communicate with the core network via a radio access network (radio access network, RAN), and exchange voice and/or data with the RAN. The terminal equipment may include user equipment (UE), wireless terminal equipment, mobile terminal equipment, device-to-device communication (D2D) terminal equipment, vehicle to everything (V2X) communication with other devices ) terminal equipment, machine-to-machine/machine-type communications (M2M/MTC) terminal equipment, Internet of things (IoT) terminal equipment, subscriber unit (subscriber unit), subscriber Subscriber station, mobile station, remote station, access point (AP), remote terminal, access terminal, user terminal equipment (user terminal), user agent (user agent), or user device (user device), etc. For example, this may include a mobile phone (or "cellular" phone), a computer with a mobile terminal device, a portable, pocket-sized, handheld, computer-built-in mobile device, etc. For example, personal communication service (PCS) phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants, PDA), and other equipment. The terminal device can also be a tablet computer or a computer with wireless transceiver function. The terminal device can also be a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, or an industrial control device. Wireless terminals in manufacturing, wireless terminals in autonomous driving, wireless terminals in telemedicine, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, etc. wait. Also includes constrained devices, such as devices with lower power consumption, or devices with limited storage capabilities, or devices with limited computing capabilities. Examples include barcodes, radio frequency identification (RFID), sensors, global positioning systems (GPS), laser scanners and other information sensing equipment.

An access network (AN) device (such as a base station) may refer to a device in the access network that communicates with wireless terminal devices through one or more cells over the air interface. For example, the access network device may include an LTE system or an advanced long-term Evolutionary base stations (NodeB or eNB or e-NodeB, evolutionary Node B) in evolution (long term evolution-advanced, LTE-A), or may also include the fifth generation mobile communication technology (the ^5th generation, 5G) new The next generation node B (gNB) in the wireless (new radio, NR) system may also include the centralized unit (CU) in the cloud radio access network (Cloud RAN) system. ) and distributed unit (DU) are not limited by the embodiments of this application.

As shown in Figure 1, Figure 1 takes the access network equipment including gNB and Ng-eNB as an example for demonstration. Ng-eNB is the base station of LTE, and gNB is the base station of NR. The terminal equipment and the serving base station can communicate through the Uu link, for example, they can communicate with the Ng-eNB through the LTE-Uu link, and they can communicate with the gNB through the NR-Uu link. Communication between base stations can be carried out through the Xn interface.

Positioning-related network elements in the core network (which can also be called core network elements) mainly include: mobility management network elements, location management function network elements, etc. It can also include evolutionary service mobile location center (E-SMLC) network elements, unified data management (UDM) network elements, and application function (AF) network elements.

Mobility management network element: Mainly used for mobility management and access management, etc., and can be used to implement other functions besides session management in the mobility management entity (MME) function, such as legal interception, Access authorization/authentication, registration, connection, reachability, mobility management and other functions serve as terminal equipment and wireless core network control plane access points. As shown in Figure 1, in the 5G communication system, the access and mobility management can be an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element. In future communication systems, the mobility management network element may still be an AMF, or may have other names, which are not limited in this application.

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

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

The LMF network element can estimate the location of the terminal device, and the AMF and LMF communicate through the NLs interface.

The E-SMLC network element is mainly responsible for processing positioning requests for positioning services and selecting appropriate AMF network elements for positioning services.

The service location protocol (service location protocol, SLP) network element can also communicate with the LMF network element and can be responsible for processing the positioning request of the positioning service.

The application scenarios applicable to the embodiments of this application may also include a location management component (LMC). The LMC may be a partial functional component of the LMF and may be integrated on the gNB tested in NG-RAN.

The mobility management network element, location management network element and unified data management network element in the embodiment of this application can be as shown in Figure 1 The AMF, LMF and UDM may also be network elements having the functions of the above-mentioned AMF, LMF and UDM respectively in future communications such as the sixth generation (6th generation, 6G) network. This application is not limited to this. For convenience of explanation, this application takes the mobility management network element, location management network element and unified data management network element as the above-mentioned AMF, LMF and UDM respectively as an example. The AMF in the embodiment of this application can be replaced by the mobility management network element. LMF can be replaced by the location management network element, and UDM can be replaced by the unified data management network element.

The solution provided by the embodiments of this application is applicable to a variety of positioning technologies, such as UL-TDOA positioning technology, UL-AOA positioning technology, etc., and the embodiments of this application do not limit this.

Based on Figure 1 and other contents mentioned above, Figure 2 schematically shows a possible flow diagram of a positioning method provided by the embodiment of the present application. In order to more clearly introduce the solution provided by the embodiment of the present application, Figure 2 is from the perspective of interaction. Make an introduction. The method may be executed by the first access network device, the second access network device, the AMF, the LMF and the terminal device.

In this embodiment of the present application, the access network device may be the gNB in Figure 1 or the Ng-eNB. The solution executed by the first access network device in the embodiment of the present application can also be executed by units, modules or chips inside the first access network device, or by other devices with the ability to execute the solution on the first access network device side. Executed by a unit, module or chip, the embodiment of this application takes the example of the solution being executed by the first access network device as an example.

The terminal device in this embodiment of the present application may be the terminal device in Figure 1. The solution executed by the terminal device in the embodiment of the present application can also be executed by the unit, module or chip inside the terminal device, or by other devices, units, modules or chips capable of executing the solution of the terminal device. The embodiment of the present application is based on this The solution is introduced by taking the implementation of the terminal device as an example.

In the embodiment of the present application, the LMF may be the LMF in Figure 1. The solution executed by LMF in the embodiment of the present application can also be executed by units, modules or chips inside the LMF, or by other devices, units, modules or chips capable of executing the LMF solution. In the embodiment of the present application, this solution is executed by the LMF The implementation is introduced as an example.

The AMF in the embodiment of this application may be the AMF in Figure 1. The solution executed by AMF in the embodiment of the present application can also be executed by the unit, module or chip inside the AMF, or by other devices, units, modules or chips capable of executing the AMF solution. In the embodiment of the present application, this solution is executed by the AMF The implementation is introduced as an example.

As shown in Figure 2, the method includes:

Step 201: The terminal device in the RRC idle state sends first information to the LMF.

Correspondingly, LMF receives the first information.

Step 201 includes various implementation methods. For example, the terminal device in the RRC idle state can carry the first information in the LCS message and send the LCS message to the LMF through other network elements (such as access network equipment, AMF, etc.). For another example, the terminal device in the RRC idle state can carry the first information in the NAS message, send the NAS message to the AMF through other network elements (such as access network equipment), and then the AMF sends the first information in the ANS message. A message is sent to the LMF via LCS message.

The first information is used to request location services. In a possible implementation, the first information may include information used to request positioning services.

The first information may include first resource indication information, the first resource indication information is used to determine the target reference signal resource, the target reference signal resource is used for the terminal device to send the reference signal, and the reference signal is used to determine the location of the terminal device.

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

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

The terminal device can detect surrounding cells and obtain information about surrounding cells through received signals. The cells included in the information A1 may be all or part of the surrounding cells detected by the terminal device. The terminal device reports the information A1, so that the access network device can allocate target reference signal resources to the terminal device based on the information A1. The information about the cell included in the information A1 may include, for example, the identity of the cell and other information.

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

Information A2, the result of RRM measurement of the received signal by the terminal device.

For the purpose of cell switching or beam management, the terminal equipment will perform RRM measurement on the air interface signal received from the access network equipment. The terminal equipment can report the results of the RRM measurement to determine the purpose reference based on the RRM measurement results. Signal. The results of the RRM measurement performed by the terminal equipment on the received signal may include, for example: cell-level reference signal receiving power (RSRP), reference signal receiving quality (RSRQ), and cell beam synchronization signal. (synchronization signal, SS) RSRP or channel state information (channel state information, CSI) RSRP.

Information A3, the result of the terminal device’s measurement of the received PRS.

The results of the received RRS measurement by the terminal device may include, for example: PRS-RSRP, reference signal time difference (RSTD), etc.

Information A4, location information of the terminal device.

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

Information A5, information about the first reference signal resource.

In this embodiment of the present application, for the sake of distinction, the resource selected by the terminal device itself is called the first reference signal resource. The information of the first reference signal resource may include information that can indicate the first reference signal resource, such as an index and an identifier of the first reference signal resource. The terminal device can also select the first reference signal resource it wants and report the information of the first reference signal resource to the LMF. The LMF is sent to the access network device, so that the access network device allocates target reference signal resources to the terminal device based on the information of the first reference signal resource.

In a possible implementation, the terminal device can obtain the reference signal configuration information. The reference signal configuration information may include the time-frequency position, symbol position, number of transmissions or transmission period of the reference signal resource, etc. The first reference signal resource is a resource in the reference signal configuration information. The target reference signal resource is the resource in the reference signal configuration information. In a possible implementation, the terminal device may determine the information of the first reference signal resource from the reference signal configuration information according to the measurement result of the received signal. For example, the reference signal configuration information may include the information used to determine the target reference signal resource (such as the measurement result of the signal) and the association relationship (also called a mapping relationship) of the resource. The terminal device can determine the target reference signal resource according to the received signal. Measurement results (such as at least one of the first cell list, RRM measurement results or PRS measurement results obtained by the terminal equipment by measuring the received signal), find out the measurement results associated with the signal from the reference signal configuration information reference signal resources, and select the first reference signal resource from the associated reference signal resources.

The terminal device can be configured with reference signal configuration information in advance, or can receive reference signal configuration information from the access network device. In a possible implementation, before step 201, the terminal device in the RRC idle state can receive a system message from the access network device when a preset event that triggers the terminal device to request positioning services is met. System messages include reference signal configuration information. It can also be understood that the terminal device in the RRC idle state does not need to receive system messages. When the terminal device determines that the preset event that triggers the terminal device to request positioning services is met, the terminal device receives the system message, which can save more power consumption. .

The event that triggers the terminal device to request location services may be one or more preset events. For example, the event may include: the terminal device periodically requests positioning services. In this case, when the period duration is reached, the terminal device may determine that the event is satisfied. For another example, the event may include: the terminal device requests positioning service when it moves out of the coverage of the cell. In this case, when the terminal device moves out of the coverage of the current cell, the terminal device determines that the event is satisfied.

Step 202: The LMF sends a message to the access network device for requesting to configure reference signal resources for the terminal device. The message for requesting to configure reference signal resources for the terminal device includes first resource indication information.

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

Step 203: The access network device sends second information to the LMF.

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

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

Step 204: LMF sends second information to the terminal device.

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

Step 204 includes various implementations. For example, the LMF may carry the second information in the LCS message, and send the LCS message carrying the second information to the terminal device through other network elements (such as AMF, access network equipment, etc.). For another example, the LMF can carry the second information in the LCS message and send the LCS message to the AMF. Then the AMF carries the second information in the NAS message and transmits it through other network elements (such as access network equipment, etc.) The NAS message carrying the second information is sent to the terminal device.

Step 205: The terminal device in the RRC idle state obtains the target reference signal resource based on the second information.

In step 205, the terminal device obtains the target reference signal resource based on the second information, which may include the following two possible ways: implementation mode B1 and implementation mode B2.

In embodiment B1, the second information includes second resource indication information, and the second resource indication information is determined based on the first resource indication information.

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

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

For another example, the second resource indication information includes information of one or more cells. For example, the second resource indication information includes information such as identifiers and indexes of one or more cells. The cell information in the second resource indication information may be a cell list. For distinction, in the embodiment of this application, the cell list in the second resource indication information is called the second cell list. In this case, the terminal device may determine the target reference signal resource according to the cell information (such as the second cell list) included in the second information. For example, the reference signal configuration information may include information used to determine the target reference signal resource (such as a cell list) and the association relationship between the resources. The terminal device may configure the information from the reference signal according to the second cell list in the second information. Find the reference signal resource associated with the second cell list, and determine the reference signal resource as the target reference signal resource. For the method for the terminal device to obtain the reference signal configuration information, please refer to the above content and will not be described again.

Embodiment B2: The terminal device determines that the access network device is allowed to obtain the target reference signal resource based on the first resource indication information, and the terminal device determines the target reference signal resource based on the first resource indication information.

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

When the access network device allows the target reference signal resource to be obtained based on the first resource indication information, the second information may or may not include the first resource indication information. The second information may implicitly instruct the access network device to allow the target reference signal resource to be obtained based on the first resource indication information. For example, when the terminal device in the RRC idle state determines that the second information does not include information indicating reference signal resources, it determines that the access network device allows the reference signal resources to be obtained based on the first resource indication information. It can also be understood that: the terminal equipment in the RRC idle state determines that the second information does not include information about the reference signal resources, nor does it include information used to determine the reference signal resources (such as cell information (second cell list)). In this case, it is determined that the access network device allows the reference signal resource to be obtained based on the first resource indication information.

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

When the first resource indication information includes information about the first reference signal resource, the terminal device determines the first reference signal resource as the target reference signal resource.

When the first resource indication information includes other information used to determine the target reference signal resource (such as at least one of the above-mentioned information A1, information A2, information A3, or information A4), the reference signal configuration information may include information used to determine the target reference signal resource. Regarding the relationship between the signal resource information and the reference signal resource, the terminal device can find out from the reference signal configuration information the information used to determine the target reference signal resource according to the information used to determine the target reference signal resource in the first resource indication information. the reference signal resource associated with the information, and determine the reference signal resource as the target reference signal resource.

Step 206: The terminal device in the RRC idle state sends a reference signal according to the target reference signal resource. The reference signal is used to determine the location of the terminal device.

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

Since the terminal device in the RRC idle state can establish security on the NAS interface with the AMF, it will not establish an air interface connection and air interface security with the access network device. Air interface security refers to the encryption and integrity protection of the RRC layer. Therefore, the access network equipment does not know the current location of the terminal equipment, nor does it know what reference signal resources are suitable for the terminal equipment to use. The first information sent by the terminal device to the LMF (for example, may be sent to the LMF through the AMF) may include first resource indication information, and the first resource indication information is used to determine the target reference signal resource. In this way, the LMF can transfer the first resource indication information to the access network device, so that the access network device determines the target reference signal resource for the terminal device in the RRC idle state, so that the terminal device sends the reference signal according to the target reference signal resource, so that Realize the positioning of terminal equipment in RRC idle state. And during this process, the terminal device will not establish an air interface connection and air interface security with the access network device. It can always be in the RRC idle state without entering the RRC connected state or the RRC inactive state, which can reduce the performance of the terminal device. It consumes less energy and can also reduce the delay in locating the terminal device. On the other hand, this solution can realize positioning services for terminal equipment in the RRC idle state without requiring the terminal equipment to support the RRC inactive state, thereby reducing the capability requirements for the terminal equipment and thereby reducing the cost of the terminal equipment.

It is worth noting that after the above step 204, in another possible implementation, the terminal device no longer executes Step 205 and step 206. The second information includes information of a second duration. After the second period of time, the terminal device in the RRC idle state sends information for requesting positioning services to the core network element. In this embodiment, the access network device can instruct the terminal device through the second information not to perform the positioning service this time, but to re-request the positioning service after the second time period starting from the time when the second information is received. For example, Execute the above step 201 again to send the updated first resource indication information to the LMF.

Based on Figures 1, 2 and other contents mentioned above, Figure 3 exemplarily shows a possible flow diagram of another positioning method provided by an embodiment of the present application. For relevant descriptions of the execution subjects involved in Figure 3, please refer to the aforementioned figures. Similar descriptions in 2 will not be repeated.

As shown in Figure 3, the method includes:

Step 301: The terminal device in the RRC idle state determines whether the preset event that triggers the terminal device to request positioning service is satisfied. If the event is satisfied, step 302 is executed.

When the requirements are not met, the terminal device does not need to receive system messages from the access network device, thereby reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

Step 302: The terminal device in the RRC idle state receives a system message from the access network device.

System messages include reference signal configuration information. Step 301 and step 302 are optional steps. For the relevant content of step 301 and step 302, please refer to the relevant description in step 201 and will not be described again.

Step 303: The terminal device in the RRC idle state sends an RRC message to the access network device.

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

The RRC message in step 303 can be message three in the four-step random access process, message A in the two-step random access process, configured grant small data transmission (CG-SDT) message, pre- Configure uplink resource (pre-configured uplink resource, PUR) message or early data transmission (early data transmission, EDT) message. The RRC message can also have other names. For example, it can be called an RRC low power high accuracy positioning (LPHAP) request. In English, it can be written as RRC LPHAP request.

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

The NAS message in the NAS message container can be a newly designed NAS message format, or the existing NAS message format can be reused. For example, the NAS message may be a control plane service request message. The control plane service request message carries first information. The control plane service type in the first information in the control plane service request message may be set to location service. (such as LPHAP service). The information used in the control plane service request message to indicate that the control plane service type is the location service type may be regarded as the information used to request the location service.

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

Correspondingly, AMF receives the initial terminal device message.

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

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

Step 305: AMF sends a message to UDM for requesting quality of service (QoS) information corresponding to the positioning service of the terminal device.

Step 306: AMF receives QoS information from UDM.

The QoS information corresponding to the terminal device may include positioning accuracy, positioning delay, positioning type, etc. corresponding to the positioning service requested by the terminal device. Positioning categories may include, for example, LCS QoS levels.

Step 307: The AMF determines the LMF based on the QoS information.

For example, AMF can obtain the correlation between QoS information and LMF, and further find the LMF associated with the QoS information from the correlation based on the obtained QoS information.

Step 305, step 306 and step 307 may be optional steps. In another possible implementation, the first information sent by the terminal device may carry the identifier of the LMF. In this way, the AMF can determine the LMF based on the obtained identifier of the LMF.

Step 308: The AMF sends a location service (LCS) request message to the LMF.

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

The positioning service request message includes the first information. In step 308, after receiving the initial terminal device message from the access network device, the AMF can obtain the NAS message from the terminal device from the NAS message container of the message. The first information in the NAS message is used to request positioning. service, based on this, the AMF sends a positioning service request message to the LMF, and the message carries the first information. The positioning service request message may also have other names. The message name used in the embodiment of this application is just an example.

Step 309: The LMF sends a message to the access network device for requesting to configure reference signal resources for the terminal device. The message for requesting to configure reference signal resources for the terminal device includes first resource indication information.

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

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

Step 310: The access network device sends a response message to the LMF for requesting the configuration of reference signal resources for the terminal device.

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

In step 310, after receiving the message from the LMF for requesting to configure reference signal resources for the terminal device, the access network device may configure the reference signal resource for the terminal device based on the first resource indication information, and then generate the second information, and The second information is carried through a response message for the message requesting configuration of reference signal resources for the terminal device.

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

Step 311, LMF sends a positioning service request acknowledgment (LCS request acknowledgment) message to AMF.

Correspondingly, the AMF receives the positioning service request confirmation message from the LMF.

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

Step 312: The AMF sends a response message to the initial terminal device message to the access network device.

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

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

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

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

Step 313: The access network device sends a response message of the RRC message to the terminal device.

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

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

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

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

Step 314: The terminal device in the RRC idle state obtains the target reference signal resource based on the second information.

For the relevant content of step 314, please refer to the relevant content of the aforementioned step 205, which will not be described again.

Step 315: The LMF sends a measurement request to at least one access network device among the access network device and a neighboring access network device of the access network device.

Correspondingly, at least one access network device among the access network device and the adjacent access network device of the access network device receives the measurement request. In Figure 3, an access network device and a neighboring access network device of the access network device receive a measurement request are taken as an example for illustration.

The measurement request may include target reference signal resources.

In this embodiment of the present application, the LMF may obtain the target reference signal resource based on the second information. The manner in which the LMF obtains the target reference signal resources based on the second information is similar to the manner in which the terminal device obtains the target reference signal resources based on the second information. For example, the second information may include target reference signal resources, and the LMF may determine the target reference signal resources from the second information. For another example, the second information includes the second resource indication information, and the LMF can Determine target reference signal resources. For another example, based on the second information, the LMF determines that the access network device is allowed to obtain the target reference signal resource based on the first resource indication information, and the LMF determines the target reference signal resource based on the first resource indication information. For example, when the LMF determines that the second information does not include information indicating reference signal resources, the LMF determines that the access network device allows the reference signal resources to be obtained based on the first resource indication information, and when the first resource indication information includes the first In the case of reference signal resource information, the LMF determines the first reference signal resource as the target reference signal resource. The relevant content is similar to the aforementioned content of the terminal device determining the target reference signal resource according to the second information, and will not be described again.

Step 316: The terminal device in the RRC idle state sends a reference signal according to the target reference signal resource.

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

Step 317: The access network device and the access network device adjacent to the access network device send a measurement request confirmation message to the LMF.

Correspondingly, the LMF receives the measurement request confirmation message from the access network device and the adjacent access network device of the access network device.

In step 317, the access network device or neighboring access network device that has received the reference signal can measure the reference signal from the terminal device, obtain the measurement result, and carry the measurement result in the measurement request confirmation message, so that the LMF can measure the reference signal according to the measurement result. Determine the location information of the terminal.

Step 318: LMF sends a location service reply message to AMF.

Correspondingly, AMF receives the positioning service reply message.

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

It can be seen from the above solution that the terminal device in the RRC idle state can send the first resource indication information to the AMF through the NAS message, the AMF sends the first resource indication information to the LMF, and the LMF sends the first resource indication information to the access network equipment so that the access network equipment allocates reference signal resources to the terminal equipment. Subsequently, the access network device sends the second information used to determine the target reference signal resource to the LMF, and the LMF sends the second information to the AMF. The AMF sends the second information to the terminal device through the NAS message. In this way, the terminal device in the RRC idle state can send the reference signal according to the target reference signal resource, thereby achieving positioning of the terminal device in the RRC idle state.

It is worth noting that in another possible implementation, the second information includes information of a second duration. The terminal device in the RRC idle state can perform step 303 again after the second period of time, that is, the terminal device re-requests the positioning service after the second period of time starting from the time when the second information is received. The process after requesting the positioning service again may be similar to what is shown in Figure 3 above, and will not be described again.

Based on Figures 1, 2, 3 and other contents mentioned above, Figure 4 exemplarily shows a possible flow diagram of another positioning method provided by the embodiment of the present application. The relevant description of the execution subject involved in Figure 4 can be Refer to the similar description in the aforementioned Figure 2, which will not be described again.

As shown in Figure 4, the method includes:

Step 401: The terminal device in the RRC idle state determines whether the preset event that triggers the terminal device to request positioning service is satisfied. If the event is satisfied, step 402 is executed.

For the relevant content of step 401, please refer to the relevant content of step 301, which will not be described again.

Step 402: The terminal device in the RRC idle state receives a system message from the access network device.

Step 403: The terminal device in the RRC idle state sends an RRC message to the access network device.

The RRC message sent in step 403 is similar to the RRC message sent in step 303. The difference is:

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

Among them, the LCS message in the NAS message in the NAS message container can be an event report (event report) message. In this case, the information for requesting the positioning service in the first information may include information about the event that triggers the terminal device to request the positioning service carried in the event report message.

In a possible implementation, the NAS message in the NAS message container may also carry an LMF identifier, so that after receiving the NAS message in the NAS message container, the AMF determines the LMF according to the LMF identifier.

The NAS message in the NAS message container can be a newly designed NAS message format, or the existing NAS message format can be reused. Regarding the RRC message and the format of the NAS message in the NAS message container in the RRC message, please refer to the relevant description in the foregoing step 303, and will not be described again.

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

Correspondingly, AMF receives the initial terminal device message.

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

For the relevant content of step 404, please refer to the relevant content of step 304, which will not be described again.

Step 405: AMF sends an event report message to LMF.

Correspondingly, LMF receives event report messages from AMF.

In step 405, after receiving the initial terminal device message, the AMF sends the LCS message in the NAS message in the NAS message container in the initial terminal device message to the LMF. When the LCS message is an event report message, in step 405, the AMF sends the event report message to the LMF. Figure 4 takes the event report message as an example for illustration. The first information is included in the event report message.

It is worth noting that when the NAS message in the NAS message container in the initial terminal device message received by the AMF includes the LMF identifier, the AMF can determine the LMF according to the LMF identifier in the NAS message. If the NAS message in the NAS message container in the initial terminal device message does not include the identifier of the LMF, the AMF can request the QoS information of the terminal devices from the UDM, and then determine the LMF based on the QoS information. For relevant content, please refer to the aforementioned description of step 305, step 306 and step 307, which will not be described again.

Step 406: The LMF sends a message to the access network device for requesting to configure reference signal resources for the terminal device. The message for requesting to configure reference signal resources for the terminal device includes first resource indication information.

For the relevant content of step 406, please refer to the relevant content of the aforementioned step 309, which will not be described again.

Step 407: The access network device sends a response message to the LMF for requesting the configuration of reference signal resources for the terminal device.

For the relevant content of step 407, please refer to the relevant content of the aforementioned step 310, which will not be described again.

Step 408: LMF sends an event report confirmation message to AMF.

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

The event report confirmation message belongs to the LCS message and is the response message of the event report message. It can also be called the response message of the event report message. The event report confirmation message carries the second information.

Step 409: The AMF sends the response message of the initial terminal device message to the access network device.

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

For the response message of the initial terminal device message and the relevant content of the NAS message in the NAS message container in the response message of the initial terminal device message, please refer to the relevant content of the aforementioned step 312, which will not be described again.

Step 410: The access network device sends a response message of the RRC message to the terminal device.

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

The response message of the RRC message in step 410 is similar to the response message of the RRC message in step 313. The difference is that: the NAS message in the NAS message container in the response message of the RRC message in step 410 includes an LCS message, and the LCS message can Confirm the event report received by the AMF from the LMF. In this way, the AMF transmits the event report confirmation message from the LMF to the terminal device.

For the response message of the RRC message and the relevant content of the NAS message in the NAS message container in the response message of the RRC message, please refer to the relevant content of the aforementioned step 313, which will not be described again.

Step 411: The terminal device in the RRC idle state obtains the target reference signal resource based on the second information.

For the relevant content of step 411, please refer to the relevant content of step 314, which will not be described again.

Step 412: The LMF sends a measurement request to at least one access network device among the access network device and a neighboring access network device of the access network device.

For the relevant content of step 412, please refer to the relevant content of step 315, which will not be described again.

Step 413: The terminal device in the RRC idle state sends a reference signal according to the target reference signal resource.

For the relevant content of step 413, please refer to the relevant content of the aforementioned step 316, which will not be described again.

Step 414: The access network device and the access network device adjacent to the access network device send a measurement request confirmation message to the LMF.

For the relevant content of step 414, please refer to the relevant content of the aforementioned step 317, which will not be described again.

Step 415: LMF sends a location service reply message to AMF.

Correspondingly, AMF receives the positioning service reply message.

For the relevant content of step 415, please refer to the relevant content of the aforementioned step 318, which will not be described again.

It can be seen from the above solution that the terminal device in the RRC idle state can send the first resource indication information to the LMF through the LCS message in the NAS message container, and the LMF sends the first resource indication information to the access network device to facilitate access. The network equipment allocates reference signal resources to the terminal equipment. Subsequently, the access network device sends the second information used to determine the target reference signal resource to the LMF, and the LMF sends the second information to the terminal device through the LCS message. In this way, the process The terminal equipment in the RRC idle state can send a reference signal according to the target reference signal resource, thereby achieving positioning of the terminal equipment in the RRC idle state.

It is worth noting that in another possible implementation, the second information includes information of a second duration. After the second period of time, the terminal device in the RRC idle state can perform step 403 again. The relevant content is similar to the foregoing description and will not be described again.

It should be noted that in the embodiment of the present application, when a certain network element (for example, network element A) receives information from another network element (for example, network element B), it may mean that network element A directly receives information from network element B. Receiving information may also refer to network element A receiving information from network element B via other network elements (for example, network element C). When network element A receives information from network element B via network element C, network element C can transparently transmit the information or process the information, for example, carry the information in different messages for transmission or filter the information. , and only sends the filtered information to network element A. Similarly, in various embodiments of the present application, when network element A sends information to network element B, it may mean that network element A sends information directly to network element B, or it may mean that network element A sends information to network element B via other network elements (for example, network C). element) sends information to network element B.

The terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of this application may be used interchangeably. "At least one" means one or more, and "plurality" means two or more. "And/or" describes the association of associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships, for example, A and/or B, which can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone, where A, B can be singular or plural. The character "/" generally indicates that the related objects are in an "or" relationship. “At least one of the following” or similar expressions thereof refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of a single item (items) or a plurality of items (items). For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, or a-b-c, where a, b, c can be single or multiple .

And, unless otherwise specified, the ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" mentioned in the embodiments of this application are used to distinguish multiple objects and are not used to limit the order, timing, priority or importance of multiple objects. degree.

It should be noted that the names of the above messages are only as examples. With the evolution of communication technology, any of the above messages may change its name. However, no matter how its name changes, as long as its meaning is the same as the meaning of the above message in this application. , all fall within the protection scope of this application.

According to the foregoing method, Figure 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 5, the communication device can be a terminal equipment, LMF, AMF or access network equipment, or it can be a chip or circuit, such as It can be set in chips or circuits of terminal equipment, LMF, AMF or access network equipment.

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

Further, the communication device 1801 may include a memory 1804. The dotted line on the memory 1804 in the figure further indicates that the memory is optional.

Furthermore, the communication device 1801 may further include a bus system, wherein the processor 1802, the memory 1804, and the transceiver 1803 may be connected through the bus system.

It should be understood that the above-mentioned processor 1802 may be a chip. For example, the processor 1802 can be a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a system on chip (SoC), or It can be a central processor unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), a digital signal processor (DSP), or a microcontroller Unit, MCU), can also be a programmable logic device (PLD) or other integrated chip.

During the implementation process, each step of the above method can be completed by instructions in the form of hardware integrated logic circuits or software in the processor 1802 . The steps of the method disclosed in conjunction with the embodiments of the present application can be directly implemented by a hardware processor, or executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor 1802. The software module can be located in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory or electrically erasable programmable memory, registers and other mature storage media in this field. The storage medium is located in the memory 1804. The processor 1802 reads the information in the memory 1804 and completes the steps of the above method in combination with its hardware.

It should be noted that the processor 1802 in the embodiment of the present application may be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. During the implementation process, each step of the above method embodiment can be completed through an integrated logic circuit of hardware in the processor or instructions in the form of software. The above-mentioned processor may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components. . Each method, step and logical block diagram disclosed in the embodiment of this application can be implemented or executed. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor, etc. The steps of the method disclosed in conjunction with the embodiments of the present application can be directly implemented by a hardware decoding processor, or executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module can be located in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory or electrically erasable programmable memory, registers and other mature storage media in this field. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and completes the steps of the above method in combination with its hardware.

It can be understood that the memory 1804 in the embodiment of the present application can be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or can include both volatile and non-volatile memories. For relevant descriptions of the memory in the embodiments of the present application, please refer to the foregoing content and will not be described again here.

When the communication device 1801 is the above-mentioned terminal device, the processor 1802 is configured to: send the first information to the core network element (such as AMF or LMF) through the transceiver 1803. The first information is used to request the positioning service, and the first information includes the first Resource indication information, the first resource indication information is used to determine the target reference signal resource. The second information from the core network element is received through the transceiver 1803, and the second information is obtained based on the first resource indication information. Obtain target reference signal resources based on the second information. The reference signal is sent through the transceiver 1803 according to the target reference signal resource, and the reference signal is used to determine the location of the terminal device.

When the communication device 1801 is the above-mentioned terminal device, in a possible implementation, the second information includes information of the first duration. The processor 1802 is configured to: after the first duration, send the reference signal through the transceiver 1803 according to the target reference signal resource.

When the communication device 1801 is the above-mentioned terminal device, in a possible implementation, the processor 1802 is also configured to: when a preset event triggering the terminal device to request positioning services is met, receive a message from the access device through the transceiver 1803. The system message of the network device includes the reference signal configuration information, and the target reference signal resource is the resource in the reference signal configuration information.

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

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

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

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

Based on the second information, determine that the access network device is allowed to obtain the target reference signal resource based on the first resource indication information;

Determine the target reference signal resource according to the first resource indication information.

When the communication device 1801 is the above-mentioned terminal device, in a possible implementation, the processor 1802 is specifically configured to: when determining that the second information does not include information indicating reference signal resources, determine that the access network device allows based on The first resource indication information obtains the reference signal resource, and the second resource indication information is obtained according to the first resource indication information.

When the communication device 1801 is the above-mentioned terminal device, in a possible implementation, the processor 1802 is specifically configured to: when the first resource indication information includes information about the first reference signal resource, determine the first reference signal resource as the target. Reference signal resources.

When the communication device 1801 is the above-mentioned terminal device, and in a possible implementation, when the core network element is an AMF, the processor 1802 is further configured to: send to the core network element through the transceiver 1803 a signal for providing the terminal device with The identifier of the LMF for the location service.

When the communication device 1801 is the above-mentioned LMF, the processor 1802 is configured to perform through the transceiver 1803: receiving the first information from the terminal device, the first information is used to request the positioning service, the first information includes the first resource indication information; the first resource The indication information is used to determine the target reference signal resource. A message for requesting to configure reference signal resources for the terminal device is sent to the access network device, where the message for requesting to configure the reference signal resource for the terminal device includes first resource indication information. Receive second information from the access network device. The second information is obtained based on the first resource indication information. The second information is used to determine the target reference signal resource. The target reference signal resource is used for the terminal equipment to send the reference signal. The reference signal is used To determine the location of the terminal device. Send second information to the terminal device.

When the communication device 1801 is the above-mentioned LMF, in a possible implementation, the processor 1802 is further configured to: obtain the target reference signal resource based on the second information. The target reference signal resource is sent through the transceiver 1803 to the access network device and the access network device among neighboring access network devices of the access network device.

When the communication device 1801 is the above-mentioned LMF, in a possible implementation, the second information includes second resource indication information, and the second resource indication information is determined based on the first resource indication information. The processor 1802 is specifically configured to determine the target reference signal resource according to the second resource indication information.

When the communication device 1801 is the above-mentioned LMF, in a possible implementation, the processor 1802 is specifically configured to: based on the second information, determine that the access network device is allowed to obtain the target reference signal resource based on the first resource indication information. The indication information determines the target reference signal resource.

When the communication device 1801 is the above-mentioned LMF, in a possible implementation, the processor 1802 is specifically configured to: when determining that the second information does not include information indicating reference signal resources, determine that the access network device allows the access network device to be based on the first The first resource indication information obtains the reference signal resource, and the second resource indication information is obtained according to the first resource indication information.

When the communication device 1801 is the above-mentioned LMF, in a possible implementation, the processor 1802 is specifically configured to: when the first resource indication information includes information about the first reference signal resource, determine the first reference signal resource as the target reference. Signal resources.

When the communication device 1801 is the above-mentioned AMF, the processor 1802 is configured to execute through the transceiver 1803: receive the first information from the terminal device, the first information is used to request the positioning service, the first information includes the first resource indication information, the first resource The indication information is used to determine the target reference signal resource. Send first message to LMF. Receives second from LMF information, the second information is obtained based on the first resource indication information, the second information is used to determine the target reference signal resource, the target reference signal resource is used for the terminal device to send the reference signal, and the reference signal is used to determine the location of the terminal device. Send second information to the terminal device.

When the communication device 1801 is the above-mentioned AMF, in a possible implementation, the processor 1802 is further configured to: send a message to the UDM through the transceiver 1803 for requesting to obtain the QoS information corresponding to the positioning service of the terminal device. QoS information from UDM is received through transceiver 1803. The LMF is determined based on the QoS information.

When the communication device 1801 is the above-mentioned AMF, in a possible implementation, the processor 1802 is further configured to: receive the identification of the LMF from the terminal device through the transceiver 1803.

When the communication device 1801 is the above-mentioned AMF, in a possible implementation, the processor 1802 is specifically configured to execute through the transceiver 1803: receive an initial terminal device message from the access network device, and the NAS message container in the initial terminal device message includes The first information from the terminal device. Send a response message to the initial terminal device message to the access network device, where the NAS message container in the response message to the initial terminal device message includes second information that needs to be transmitted to the terminal device; or, send a downlink NAS to the terminal device through the access network device. The downlink NAS transmission message carries the second information.

When the communication device 1801 is the above-mentioned AMF, in a possible implementation, the processor 1802 is specifically configured to perform through the transceiver 1803: receiving an initial terminal device message from the access network device, and placing it in the NAS message container in the initial terminal device message. The event report message includes the first information from the terminal device, and the event report message belongs to the LCS message. Send a response message to the initial terminal device message to the access network device. The response message to the event report message in the NAS message container in the response message to the initial terminal device message includes second information that needs to be transmitted to the terminal device. The response to the event report message The message belongs to the LCS message; or, the downlink NAS transmission message is sent to the terminal device through the access network device, and the response message of the event report message in the downlink NAS transmission message includes the second information that needs to be transmitted to the terminal device.

When the communication device 1801 is the above-mentioned access network device, the processor 1802 is configured to perform through the transceiver 1803: receive the first information from the terminal device in the RRC idle state, the first information is used to request the positioning service, and the first information includes the One resource indication information, the first resource indication information is used to determine the target reference signal resource; the first information is sent to the core network element. A message for requesting to configure target reference signal resources for the terminal device is received from the LMF, where the message for requesting to configure the target reference signal resource for the terminal device includes first resource indication information. Send second information to the LMF, the second information is used to determine the target reference signal resource, the target reference signal resource is used by the terminal device to send the reference signal, and the reference signal is used to determine the location of the terminal device. Receive second information from the core network element. Send the second information to the terminal device in the RRC idle state.

For the concepts, explanations, detailed descriptions and other steps involved in the communication device related to the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application, please refer to the descriptions of these contents in the foregoing methods or other embodiments, and will not be described again here.

Based on the above embodiments and the same concept, FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 6 , the communication device 1901 may include a communication interface 1903 and a processor 1902. Further, the communication device 1901 may include a memory 1904. The dotted line on memory 1904 in the figure further indicates that the memory is optional. The communication interface 1903 is used to input and/or output information; the processor 1902 is used to execute computer programs or instructions, so that the communication device 1901 implements the terminal device side in any of the related solutions in Figure 2, Figure 3 or Figure 4. The method, or causing the communication device 1901 to implement the method on the LMF side in the relevant solution of any one of the above-mentioned Figure 2, Figure 3 or Figure 4, or causing the communication device 1901 to implement any one of the above-mentioned Figure 2, Figure 3 or Figure 4 The method on the AMF side of the related scheme, Or the communication device 1901 is allowed to implement the method on the access network device side in any of the related solutions in FIG. 2, FIG. 3 or FIG. 4. In this embodiment of the present application, the communication interface 1903 can implement the solution implemented by the transceiver 1803 of Figure 5 , the processor 1902 can implement the solution implemented by the processor 1802 of Figure 5 , and the memory 1904 can implement the memory 1804 of Figure 5 . The implemented solution will not be described again here.

Based on the above embodiments and the same concept, Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 7, the communication device 2001 can be a terminal equipment, LMF, AMF or access network equipment, or it can also be a chip Or circuit, such as a chip or circuit that can be provided in terminal equipment, LMF, AMF or access network equipment.

The communication device 2001 includes a processing unit 2002 and a communication unit 2003. Further, the communication device 2001 may or may not include the storage unit 2004. The memory unit 2004 in the figure is dotted to further indicate that the memory is optional.

When the communication device 2001 is the above-mentioned terminal device, the processing unit 2002 is configured to: send the first information to the core network element through the communication unit 2003. The first information is used to request the positioning service. The first information includes the first resource indication information. The resource indication information is used to determine the target reference signal resource. The second information from the core network element is received through the communication unit 2003, and the second information is obtained based on the first resource indication information. Obtain target reference signal resources based on the second information. The reference signal is sent through the communication unit 2003 according to the target reference signal resource, and the reference signal is used to determine the location of the terminal device.

When the communication device 2001 is the above-mentioned LMF, the processing unit 2002 is configured to perform through the communication unit 2003: receiving the first information from the terminal device, the first information is used to request the positioning service, the first information includes the first resource indication information; the first resource The indication information is used to determine the target reference signal resource. A message for requesting to configure reference signal resources for the terminal device is sent to the access network device, where the message for requesting to configure the reference signal resource for the terminal device includes first resource indication information. Receive second information from the access network device. The second information is obtained based on the first resource indication information. The second information is used to determine the target reference signal resource. The target reference signal resource is used for the terminal equipment to send the reference signal. The reference signal is used To determine the location of the terminal device. Send second information to the terminal device.

When the communication device 2001 is the above-mentioned AMF, the processing unit 2002 is configured to perform through the communication unit 2003: receiving the first information from the terminal device, the first information is used to request the positioning service, the first information includes the first resource indication information, the first resource The indication information is used to determine the target reference signal resource. Send first message to LMF. Receive second information from the LMF. The second information is obtained based on the first resource indication information. The second information is used to determine the target reference signal resource. The target reference signal resource is used for the terminal device to send the reference signal. The reference signal is used to determine the terminal. The location of the device. Send second information to the terminal device.

When the communication device 2001 is the above-mentioned access network device, the processing unit 2002 is configured to perform through the communication unit 2003: receiving the first information from the terminal device in the RRC idle state, the first information is used to request the positioning service, and the first information includes the One resource indication information, the first resource indication information is used to determine the target reference signal resource; the first information is sent to the core network element. A message for requesting to configure target reference signal resources for the terminal device is received from the LMF, where the message for requesting to configure the target reference signal resource for the terminal device includes first resource indication information. Send second information to the LMF, the second information is used to determine the target reference signal resource, the target reference signal resource is used by the terminal device to send the reference signal, and the reference signal is used to determine the location of the terminal device. Receive second information from the core network element. Send the second information to the terminal device in the RRC idle state.

The communication unit 2003 is used to input and/or output information; the processing unit 2002 is used to execute computer programs or instructions, so that the communication device 2001 implements the terminal device side in any of the related solutions in Figure 2, Figure 3 or Figure 4. the party Method, or make the communication device 2001 implement the method on the LMF side in any one of the related solutions in Figure 2, Figure 3 or Figure 4, or make the communication device 2001 implement any one of the above Figure 2, Figure 3 or Figure 4 The method on the AMF network element side in the related solution, or the method on the access network equipment side in the related solution of any one of the above-mentioned related solutions in Figure 2, Figure 3 or Figure 4 is caused by the communication device 1901. In the embodiment of the present application, the communication unit 2003 can implement the solution implemented by the transceiver 1803 of Figure 5. The processing unit 2002 can implement the solution implemented by the processor 1802 of Figure 5. The storage unit 2004 can implement the memory of Figure 5. The solution implemented by 1804 will not be described again here.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, the present application also provides a computer program product. The computer program product includes: computer program code or instructions. When the computer program code or instructions are run on a computer, the computer causes the computer to execute Figure 2 , the method of any one of the embodiments shown in any one of Figure 3 or Figure 4.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable medium stores program code. When the program code is run on a computer, it causes the computer to execute Figures 2 and 3 Or the method of any one of the embodiments shown in any one of Figure 4.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, the present application also provides a chip system, and the chip system may include a processor. The processor is coupled to the memory and can be used to execute the method of any one of the embodiments shown in any one of Figure 2, Figure 3 or Figure 4. Optionally, the chip system also includes a memory. Memory is used to store computer programs (also called codes, or instructions). The processor is configured to call and run the computer program from the memory, so that the device equipped with the chip system executes the method of any one of the embodiments shown in any one of Figure 2, Figure 3 or Figure 4.

According to the method provided by the embodiments of this application, this application also provides a system, which includes the aforementioned terminal equipment, access network equipment, AMF, and LMF.

In the above embodiments, it may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. A computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When computer instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, processes or functions according to embodiments of the present application are generated in whole or in part. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. Computer instructions may be stored in or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium, e.g., computer instructions may be transmitted from a website, computer, server or data center via a wired link (e.g. Coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means to transmit to another website, computer, server or data center. Computer-readable storage media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, or other integrated media that contains one or more available media. Available media may be magnetic media (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks, tapes), optical media (e.g., high-density digital video discs (DVD)), or semiconductor media (e.g., solid state disks (SSD) )wait.

It should be noted that part of this patent application document contains content protected by copyright. The copyright owner retains copyright except in making copies of the contents of the patent document or records in the Patent Office.

The network equipment in each of the above apparatus embodiments corresponds to the first network equipment or the second network equipment in the method embodiment, and the corresponding modules or units perform corresponding steps. For example, the communication unit (transceiver) performs the reception or the second network equipment in the method embodiment. The sending step, other steps except sending and receiving, may be executed by the processing unit (processor). For the functions of specific units, please refer to the corresponding method embodiments. There can be one or more processors.

The terms "component", "module", "system", etc. used in this specification are used to refer to computer-related entities, hardware, firmware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. For example, components may be, but are not limited to, in A process, processor, object, executable, thread of execution, program, and/or computer running on a processor. Through the illustrations, both applications running on the computing device and the computing device may be components. One or more components can reside in a process and/or thread of execution and a component can be localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or more computers. Additionally, these components can execute from various computer-readable media having various data structures stored thereon. A component may, for example, be based on a signal having one or more data packets (eg, data from two components interacting with another component, a local system, a distributed system, and/or a network, such as the Internet, which interacts with other systems via signals) Communicate through local and/or remote processes.

The above are only specific embodiments of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person familiar with the technical field can easily think of changes or replacements within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, and all of them should be covered. within the protection scope of this application. Therefore, the protection scope of this application should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

A positioning method, characterized by including:

The terminal device in the radio resource control RRC idle state sends first information to the core network element. The first information is used to request positioning services. The first information includes first resource indication information. The first resource indication information Used to determine target reference signal resources;

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

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

The terminal device in the RRC idle state sends a reference signal according to the target reference signal resource, and the reference signal is used to determine the location of the terminal device.
The method of claim 1, wherein the first resource indication information includes at least one of the following:

Information about the cell corresponding to the location of the terminal device;

The terminal device performs radio resource management RRM measurement results on the received signals;

The result of the terminal device measuring the received positioning reference signal PRS;

The location information of the terminal device; or,

Information about the first reference signal resource.
The method according to any one of claims 1-2, characterized in that, before the terminal device in the RRC idle state sends the first information, it further includes:

The terminal device in the RRC idle state receives a system message from the access network device when a preset event that triggers the terminal device to request positioning service is met. The system message includes reference signal configuration information, so The target reference signal resources are resources in the reference signal configuration information.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the second information includes second resource indication information, and the second resource indication information is determined based on the first resource indication information;

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

The terminal device in the RRC idle state determines the target reference signal resource according to the second resource indication information.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the terminal device in the RRC idle state obtains the target reference signal resource based on the second information, including:

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

The terminal device determines the target reference signal resource according to the first resource indication information.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, when the core network element is a mobility management network element, the terminal device in the RRC idle state receives data from the core network element. Before the second information of the network element, it also includes:

The terminal device in the RRC idle state sends the identity of the location management function network element used to provide positioning services for the terminal device to the core network element.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the message carrying the first information message and the message carrying the second information include a non-access layer NAS message or a positioning service LCS message;

The first information and the second information satisfy one of the following contents:

The message carrying the first information is carried in the NAS message container in message three in the four-step random access process, and the message carrying the second information is carried in the NAS message in message four in the four-step random access process. container;

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

The message carrying the first information is carried in the NAS message container in the CG-SDT granted small configuration data transmission, and the message carrying the second information is carried in the NAS message container in the response message of the CG-SDT;

The message carrying the first information is carried in the NAS message container in the pre-configured uplink resource PUR, and the message carrying the second information is carried in the NAS message container in the response message of the PUR; or,

The message carrying the first information is carried in the NAS message container in the early data transmission EDT, and the message carrying the second information is carried in the NAS message container in the response message of the EDT.
A positioning method, characterized by including:

The location management function network element receives first information from the terminal device, the first information is used to request positioning services, the first information includes first resource indication information; the first resource indication information is used to determine the target reference signal resource;

The location management function network element sends a message for requesting to configure reference signal resources for the terminal device to the access network device, where the message for requesting to configure reference signal resources for the terminal device includes the first resource. instructional information;

The location management function network element receives second information from the access network device, the second information is obtained based on the first resource indication information, and the second information is used to determine the target reference signal Resources, the target reference signal resources are used by the terminal device to send reference signals, and the reference signals are used to determine the location of the terminal device;

The location management function network element sends the second information to the terminal device.
The method of claim 8, wherein the first resource indication information includes at least one of the following:

Information about the cell corresponding to the location of the terminal device;

The terminal device performs radio resource management RRM measurement results on the received signals;

The result of the terminal device measuring the received positioning reference signal PRS;

The location information of the terminal device; or,

Information about the first reference signal resource.
The method of claim 9, wherein after the location management function network element receives the second information from the access network device, it further includes:

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

The location management function network element sends the target reference signal resource to the access network device and an access network device among adjacent access network devices of the access network device.
The method according to any one of claims 8-10, wherein the location management function network element obtains the target reference signal resource based on the second information, including:

In the case where the second information includes second resource indication information, the target reference signal resource is determined according to the second resource indication information, and the second resource indication information is determined according to the first resource indication information. ;or,

Based on the second information, it is determined that the access network device is allowed to obtain the target reference signal resource based on the first resource indication information, and the target reference signal resource is determined based on the first resource indication information.
A positioning method, characterized by including:

The mobility management network element receives first information from the terminal device, the first information is used to request positioning service, the first information includes first resource indication information, the first resource indication information is used to determine the target reference signal resource;

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

The mobility management network element receives second information from the location management function network element, the second information is obtained based on the first resource indication information, and the second information is used to determine the target reference signal resource. , the target reference signal resource is used by the terminal device to send a reference signal, and the reference signal is used to determine the location of the terminal device;

The mobility management network element sends the second information to the terminal device.
The method of claim 12, wherein after the mobility management network element receives the first information from the terminal device, the mobility management network element sends the first information to the location management function network element. ,Also includes:

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

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

The mobility management network element determines the location management function network element based on the service quality information.
A terminal device, characterized in that the terminal device is in a radio resource control (RRC) idle state, and the terminal device includes a communication interface and a processor:

The processor is used for:

The first information is sent to the core network element through the communication interface. The first information is used to request positioning services. The first information includes first resource indication information. The first resource indication information is used to determine the target reference. signal resources;

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

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

A reference signal is sent through the communication interface according to the target reference signal resource, and the reference signal is used to determine the location of the terminal device.
The terminal device according to claim 14, wherein the first resource indication information includes at least one of the following:

Information about the cell corresponding to the location of the terminal device;

The terminal device performs radio resource management RRM measurement results on the received signals;

The result of the terminal device measuring the received positioning reference signal PRS;

The location information of the terminal device; or,

Information about the first reference signal resource.
The terminal device according to any one of claims 14-15, characterized in that the processor is also used to:

When the preset event that triggers the terminal device to request positioning service is met, receive a system message from the access network device through the communication interface, where the system message includes reference signal configuration information, the target reference signal The resources are resources in the reference signal configuration information.
The terminal device according to any one of claims 14 to 16, wherein the second information includes second resource indication information, and the second resource indication information is determined based on the first resource indication information;

The processor is also used to:

The target reference signal resource is determined according to the second resource indication information.
The terminal device according to any one of claims 14 to 16, characterized in that the processor is specifically configured to:

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

The target reference signal resource is determined according to the first resource indication information.
The terminal device according to any one of claims 14 to 18, wherein when the core network element is a mobility management network element, the processor is further configured to:

The identity of the location management function network element used to provide positioning services for the terminal device is sent to the core network element through the communication interface.
The terminal device according to any one of claims 14 to 19, wherein the message carrying the first information message and the message carrying the second information include a non-access layer NAS message or a positioning service LCS message;

The first information and the second information satisfy one of the following contents:

The message carrying the first information is carried in the NAS message container in message three in the four-step random access process, and the message carrying the second information is carried in the NAS message in message four in the four-step random access process. container;

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

The message carrying the first information is carried in the NAS message container in the CG-SDT granted small configuration data transmission, and the message carrying the second information is carried in the NAS message container in the response message of the CG-SDT;

The message carrying the first information is carried in the NAS message container in the pre-configured uplink resource PUR, and the message carrying the second information is carried in the NAS message container in the response message of the PUR; or,

The message carrying the first information is carried in the NAS message container in the early data transmission EDT, and the message carrying the second information is carried in the NAS message container in the response message of the EDT.
A location management function network element, characterized by including a communication interface and a processor;

The processor is configured to execute through the communication interface:

Receive first information from the terminal device, the first information is used to request positioning services, the first information includes first resource indication information; the first resource indication information is used to determine target reference signal resources;

Send a message for requesting to configure reference signal resources for the terminal device to the access network device, where the message for requesting to configure reference signal resources for the terminal device includes the first resource indication information;

Receive second information from the access network device, the second information is obtained based on the first resource indication information, the second information is used to determine the target reference signal resource, the target reference signal The resource is used by the terminal device to send a reference signal, and the reference signal is used to determine the location of the terminal device;

Send the second information to the terminal device.
The location management function network element according to claim 21, wherein the first resource indication information includes at least one of the following:

Information about the cell corresponding to the location of the terminal device;

The terminal device performs radio resource management RRM measurement results on the received signals;

The result of the terminal device measuring the received positioning reference signal PRS;

The location information of the terminal device; or,

Information about the first reference signal resource.
The location management function network element according to claim 21 or 22, wherein the processor is specifically configured to:

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

The target reference signal resource is sent to the access network device and an access network device among adjacent access network devices of the access network device through the communication interface.
The location management function network element according to any one of claims 21 to 23, characterized in that the processor is specifically used to:

In the case where the second information includes second resource indication information, the target reference signal resource is determined according to the second resource indication information, and the second resource indication information is determined according to the first resource indication information. ;or,

Based on the second information, it is determined that the access network device is allowed to obtain the target reference signal resource based on the first resource indication information, and the target reference signal resource is determined based on the first resource indication information.
A mobility management network element, characterized by including a communication interface and a processor;

The processor is configured to execute through the communication interface:

Receive first information from the terminal device, the first information is used to request positioning services, the first information includes first resource indication information, the first resource indication information is used to determine target reference signal resources;

Send the first information to the location management function network element;

Receive second information from the location management function network element, the second information is obtained based on the first resource indication information, the second information is used to determine the target reference signal resource, the target reference signal resource Used by the terminal device to send a reference signal, the reference signal being used to determine the location of the terminal device;

Send the second information to the terminal device.
The mobility management network element according to claim 25, wherein the processor is further configured to:

Send a message for requesting to obtain the service quality information corresponding to the positioning service of the terminal device to the unified data management network element through the communication interface;

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

The location management function network element is determined according to the quality of service information.
A communication device, characterized by including a processor and a memory,

The memory is used to store computer programs or instructions;

The processor is used to execute computer programs or instructions in the memory, so that the method described in any one of claims 1-7 is performed, or the method described in any one of claims 8-11 is performed, Or causing the method described in any one of claims 12-13 to be executed.
A communication device, characterized by including a processing unit and a communication unit;

The communication unit is used to input and/or output data;

The processing unit is configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-7 based on the communication unit, or perform the method according to any one of claims 8-11, or perform the method according to claim 12- The method described in any one of 13.
A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that the computer-readable storage medium stores computer-executable instructions, and when called by a computer, the computer-executable instructions cause any one of claims 1-7 to of The method is executed, or the method described in any one of claims 8-11 is executed, or the method described in any one of claims 12-13 is executed.
A chip system, characterized by including a communication interface and a processor:

The communication interface is used to input and/or output signaling or data;

The processor is configured to execute a computer executable program so that the method described in any one of claims 1-7 is executed, or the method described in any one of claims 8-11 is executed, or the method described in any one of claims 8-11 is executed. The method described in any one of claims 12-13 is performed.