CN110351828B

CN110351828B - Positioning method and device

Info

Publication number: CN110351828B
Application number: CN201810301169.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 马景旺
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-04-04
Filing date: 2018-04-04
Publication date: 2021-02-09
Anticipated expiration: 2038-04-04
Also published as: WO2019192546A1; CN110351828A

Abstract

The application provides a positioning method and a positioning device. The method comprises the following steps: the location management network element receives a first message of a first network element, wherein the first message comprises an identifier of a terminal, and the first message is used for requesting to acquire location information of the terminal. The location management network element determines that a control plane of the terminal is in a congestion control state. And the position management network element determines the priority information of the acquired position information according to the first message. And the position management network element acquires the position information of the terminal according to the priority information. And the position management network element sends the position information of the terminal to the first network element. The method can determine the corresponding method for acquiring the terminal position information according to the priority information of the acquired terminal position, on one hand, the position information of the terminal is acquired in a flexible mode, and on the other hand, the method is favorable for saving the expenses of the terminal and a network.

Description

Positioning method and device

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of mobile communications technologies, and in particular, to a positioning method and apparatus.

Background

With the development of communication technology, the 5th generation (5G) communication system network has been applied to the fields of internet of things, industrial control, and the like, and external applications need to acquire the location information of a terminal through the 5G network, and implement related applications and services according to the location information of the terminal, such as implementing functions of active push, item tracking, accurate positioning of devices in a factory, and the like according to the location information. Therefore, the 5G network needs to enhance location information supporting open terminals to external applications.

A core network of the 5G network manages a large number of terminal devices, and since a large number of positioning services and other types of services occupy control plane connections between terminals and the network, a large load is imposed on the control plane connections of the network, so that the control plane may perform congestion control on some terminals, and the terminals enter a congestion control state. Under the situation, how to acquire the position information of the terminal in a flexible manner is achieved, no corresponding solution is provided at present.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a positioning method and device, and the positioning method and device can be used for acquiring the position information of a terminal in a more flexible mode.

In a first aspect, the present application provides a positioning method, including: the location management network element receives a first message of a first network element, wherein the first message comprises an identifier of a terminal, and the first message is used for requesting to acquire location information of the terminal. The location management network element determines that a control plane of the terminal is in a congestion control state. And the position management network element determines the priority information of the acquired position information according to the first message. And the position management network element acquires the position information of the terminal according to the priority information. And the position management network element sends the position information of the terminal to the first network element.

The method can determine the corresponding method for acquiring the terminal position information according to the priority information of the acquired terminal position, on one hand, the position information of the terminal is acquired in a flexible mode, and on the other hand, the method is favorable for saving the expenses of the terminal and a network.

In one possible implementation, the priority information is a common priority; and the position management network element acquires the position information of the terminal according to the priority information, and then the position management network element acquires the stored position information of the terminal from the local. Optionally, the location information includes a location of the terminal and a time for acquiring the location of the terminal.

In yet another possible implementation, the priority information is a high priority; the position management network element acquires the position information of the terminal according to the priority information, and the method comprises the following steps: the position management network element acquires measurement data from the terminal; and the position management network element determines the position information of the terminal according to the measurement data.

According to the method, when the priority information is the common priority, the position management network element obtains the stored position information of the terminal from the local, so that the expenses of the terminal and the network element are saved. And only when the priority information is high priority, the position management network element acquires the measurement data from the terminal and determines the position information of the terminal according to the measurement data. Thus, this embodiment contributes to saving overhead of the terminal and the network as a whole.

In a possible implementation method, a location management network element obtains measurement data from a terminal, including: if the load value of the mobility management network element is greater than the load threshold value, the position management network element acquires the measurement data of the terminal through the user plane connection of the terminal; if the load value of the mobility management network element is not greater than the load threshold, the location management network element acquires the measurement data of the terminal through the control plane connection of the terminal.

In the method, when the control surface of the terminal is in a high-load state, the position management network element acquires the measurement data of the terminal through the user surface connection of the terminal, and when the control surface of the terminal is in a low-load state, the position management network element acquires the measurement data of the terminal through the control surface connection of the terminal. On one hand, the measurement data of the terminal can be efficiently acquired, so that the position information of the terminal can be fed back to the first network element quickly; on the other hand, the pressure of the control plane of the terminal can be reduced, and the network performance is improved.

In one possible implementation, the location management element receives load status information from the mobility management element, the load status information including a load value.

In a possible implementation method, the determining, by the location management network element, that the control plane of the terminal is in the congestion control state includes: and the location management network element receives a second message from the mobility management network element, wherein the second message comprises the identifier of the terminal, and the second message is used for informing that the control plane of the terminal is in a congestion control state.

In a possible implementation method, the first message includes indication information, where the indication information is used to indicate priority information for acquiring the location information; alternatively, the first message includes priority information for acquiring the location information.

In a second aspect, the present application provides a positioning method, including: the method comprises the steps that a position management network element receives a first message of a first network element, wherein the first message comprises an identifier of a terminal, and the first message is used for requesting to acquire position information of the terminal; if the load value of the mobility management network element is greater than the load threshold value, the position management network element acquires the measurement data of the terminal through the user plane connection of the terminal; the position management network element determines the position information of the terminal according to the measurement data; and the position management network element sends the position information of the terminal to the first network element.

According to the method, when the control plane of the terminal is in a high-load state, the position management network element acquires the measurement data of the terminal through the user plane connection of the terminal. On one hand, the measurement data of the terminal can be efficiently acquired, so that the position information of the terminal can be fed back to the first network element quickly, and the position information of the terminal can be acquired in a flexible mode; on the other hand, the pressure of the control plane of the terminal can be reduced, and the network performance is improved.

In a possible implementation method, if the load value of the mobility management network element is not greater than the load threshold, the location management network element obtains measurement data of the terminal through a control plane connection of the terminal.

In a third aspect, the present application provides a positioning method, including: the method comprises the steps that a position management network element receives a request message from a mobile management network element, wherein the request message comprises an identifier of a terminal and is used for requesting to activate a position location service of the terminal; a position management network element acquires positioning data of a terminal; and if the position management network element determines that the position location service of the terminal can be activated according to the positioning data, sending indication information to a mobility management network element, wherein the indication information is used for indicating that the position location service of the terminal is activated.

By the method, the location management network element can provide the location service of the terminal, and if the subsequent external application needs or the location information of the terminal, the location management network element can be requested to acquire the location information of the terminal, and then the location management network element provides the location information of the terminal for the external application. The position information of the terminal is provided for the external application through the position management network element, and the position information of the terminal is acquired in a flexible mode.

In one possible implementation, the location management network element sends the service area of the location management network element to the mobility management network element.

In a possible implementation method, a location management network element sends first subscription request information to a mobility management network element, where the first subscription request information is used to subscribe to a control plane connection state of a terminal.

In a possible implementation method, the location management network element sends second subscription request information to the mobility management network element, where the second subscription request information is used to subscribe to load state information of the mobility management network element.

In a possible implementation method, the location management network element sends a registration request message to the unified data management network element, where the registration request message includes an identifier of the location management network element, an identifier of the terminal, and a type of the location management network element.

In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a positioning method, including: a mobility management network element receives a registration request message from a terminal, wherein the registration request message comprises first indication information, and the first indication information is used for indicating to start a position location service; the mobile management network element sends a request message to the position management network element, wherein the request message comprises the identifier of the terminal and is used for requesting to activate the position location service of the terminal; and the mobility management network element receives second indication information from the location management network element, wherein the second indication information is used for indicating that the terminal location positioning service is activated.

In one possible implementation, the mobility management element receives a service area of the location management element from the location management element.

In a possible implementation method, a mobility management network element receives first subscription request information from a location management network element, where the first subscription request information is used to subscribe to a control plane connection state of a terminal.

In a possible implementation method, the mobility management element receives second subscription request information from the location management element, where the second subscription request information is used to subscribe to load status information of the mobility management element.

In a fifth aspect, the present application provides an apparatus, which may be a location management network element or a chip. The apparatus has the function of implementing the embodiments of the first aspect described above. The function can be realized by hardware, and can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

In a sixth aspect, the present application provides an apparatus comprising: a processor and a memory; the memory is configured to store instructions, and when the apparatus is running, the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory, so as to cause the apparatus to perform the positioning method in any of the implementation methods of the first aspect or the first aspect. It should be noted that the memory may be integrated into the processor or may be independent from the processor.

In a seventh aspect, the present application provides an apparatus, including a processor, configured to couple with a memory, read an instruction in the memory, and execute a positioning method in any implementation method of the first aspect or the first aspect according to the instruction.

In an eighth aspect, the present application provides an apparatus, which may be a location management network element or a chip. The apparatus has the function of implementing the embodiments of the second aspect described above. The function can be realized by hardware, and can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

In a ninth aspect, the present application provides an apparatus comprising: a processor and a memory; the memory is configured to store instructions, and when the apparatus is running, the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory to cause the apparatus to perform the positioning method in any of the implementation methods of the second aspect or the second aspect. It should be noted that the memory may be integrated into the processor or may be independent from the processor.

In a tenth aspect, the present application provides an apparatus, which includes a processor, which is coupled to a memory, and configured to read instructions in the memory and execute a positioning method in any implementation method of the second aspect or the second aspect according to the instructions.

In an eleventh aspect, the present application provides an apparatus, which may be a location management network element or a chip. The apparatus has a function of realizing the embodiments of the third aspect described above. The function can be realized by hardware, and can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

In a twelfth aspect, the present application provides an apparatus comprising: a processor and a memory; the memory is configured to store instructions, and when the apparatus is running, the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory to cause the apparatus to perform the positioning method in any implementation method of the third aspect or the third aspect. It should be noted that the memory may be integrated into the processor or may be independent from the processor.

In a thirteenth aspect, the present application provides an apparatus, which includes a processor, configured to couple with a memory, read an instruction in the memory, and execute a positioning method in any implementation method of the third aspect or the third aspect according to the instruction.

In a fourteenth aspect, the present application provides an apparatus, where the apparatus may be a mobility management network element or a chip. The apparatus has a function of realizing the embodiments of the fourth aspect described above. The function can be realized by hardware, and can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

In a fifteenth aspect, the present application provides an apparatus comprising: a processor and a memory; the memory is configured to store instructions, and when the apparatus is running, the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory to enable the apparatus to perform the positioning method in any implementation method of the fourth aspect or the fourth aspect. It should be noted that the memory may be integrated into the processor or may be independent from the processor.

In a sixteenth aspect, the present application provides an apparatus, which includes a processor, coupled to a memory, for reading an instruction in the memory and executing a positioning method in any implementation method of the fourth aspect or the fourth aspect according to the instruction.

In a seventeenth aspect, the present application further provides a readable storage medium having stored therein a program or instructions, which when run on a computer, causes the positioning method of any of the above aspects to be performed.

In an eighteenth aspect, the present application also provides a computer program product containing instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the positioning method of any of the above aspects.

In a nineteenth aspect, the present application further provides a system, where the system includes a location management network element, and the location management network element is configured to perform the steps performed by the location management network element in any of the methods of the first aspect and the first aspect. In a possible design, the system may further include a mobility management network element, where the mobility management network element may be configured to perform the steps performed by the mobility management network element in any of the methods of the first aspect and the first aspect described above or in the scheme provided in the embodiment of the present invention. In a possible design, the system may further include other devices, such as a terminal device, and the like, interacting with the location management network element and/or the mobility management network element in the solution provided in the embodiment of the present invention.

In a twentieth aspect, the present application further provides a system comprising a location management network element, said location management network element being operable to perform the steps performed by the location management network element in any of the methods of the second aspect and the second aspect. In a possible design, the system may further include a mobility management network element, where the mobility management network element may be configured to perform the steps performed by the mobility management network element in any of the methods of the second aspect and the second aspect described above or in the scheme provided in the embodiment of the present invention. In a possible design, the system may further include other devices, such as a terminal device, and the like, interacting with the location management network element and/or the mobility management network element in the solution provided in the embodiment of the present invention.

In a twenty-first aspect, the present application further provides a system, where the system includes a location management network element, and the location management network element is configured to perform the steps performed by the location management network element in any of the methods of the third aspect and the fourth aspect. In a possible design, the system may further include a mobility management network element, where the mobility management network element may be configured to perform the steps performed by the mobility management network element in any of the methods of the fourth aspect and the fourth aspect or in the scheme provided in the embodiment of the present invention. In a possible design, the system may further include other devices, such as a terminal device, and the like, interacting with the location management network element and/or the mobility management network element in the solution provided in the embodiment of the present invention.

These and other aspects of the present application will be more readily apparent from the following description of the embodiments.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a possible network architecture provided herein;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of another possible network architecture provided herein;

fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a positioning method provided in the present application;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of another positioning method provided herein;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of another positioning method provided herein;

fig. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating another measurement data obtaining method provided in the present application;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of an apparatus provided herein;

fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a location management network element provided in the present application;

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of yet another apparatus provided herein;

fig. 10 is a schematic diagram of a mobility management network element structure provided in the present application.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present application more clear, the present application will be further described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The particular methods of operation in the method embodiments may also be applied to apparatus embodiments or system embodiments. In the description of the present application, the term "plurality" means two or more unless otherwise specified.

The network architecture and the service scenario described in the embodiment of the present application are for more clearly illustrating the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, and do not form a limitation on the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application, and as a person of ordinary skill in the art knows that along with the evolution of the network architecture and the appearance of a new service scenario, the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application is also applicable to similar technical problems.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a possible network architecture to which the present application is applicable. The network architecture includes a location management network element and a first network element. Optionally, the network architecture further comprises a mobility management network element.

The location management network element may be, for example, a Location Management Function (LMF) network element in 5G. The location management network element supports the location function of the terminal, that is, location data can be obtained from the terminal, the access network and the like, and location information of the terminal is determined according to the location data. The signaling between the terminal and the location management network element may be transmitted through a control plane connection or a user plane connection.

The first network element may be a network open function (NEF) network element, and may also be a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) network element.

The NEF network element is mainly responsible for securely providing services and capabilities provided by the 5G network to the third-party application server, for example, providing location information of the terminal to the third-party application server.

The GMLC network element may receive a request for acquiring a terminal location from an external network function or application, and request the location management network element to acquire the location information of the terminal after verifying that the request is an allowed request. And providing the acquired position information of the terminal to an external network function or application.

The mobility management network element may be, for example, an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element in 5G. The mobility management network element is mainly responsible for access and mobility management of a terminal, and includes a mobility management function in a Mobility Management Entity (MME) in a network framework in Long Term Evolution (LTE), and adds an access management function.

It is understood that the above functions may be either network elements in a hardware device, software functions running on dedicated hardware, or virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform).

For convenience of description, in the following description, the LMF is used to represent a user group management function network element, the AMF is used to represent a mobility management network element, the NEF is used to represent a network open function network element, and the GMLC is used to represent a gateway mobile location center network element.

Fig. 2 is a specific system architecture based on the system architecture shown in fig. 1. The method comprises a terminal, a radio access network (radio access network) device, a user plane network element of a core network and a control plane network element of the core network. The user plane network element of the core network includes a User Plane Function (UPF) network element and a user plane connection function (UCF) network element, and the control plane network element of the core network includes an AMF, a NEF, an LMF, a GMLC and a Unified Data Management (UDM) network element.

The RAN device is a device that provides a terminal with a wireless communication function. The RAN equipment comprises a base station, specifically, for example, including but not limited to: next generation base station (G node B, gNB), evolved node B (eNB), Radio Network Controller (RNC), Node B (NB), Base Station Controller (BSC), Base Transceiver Station (BTS), home base station (e.g., home evolved node B, or home node B, HNB), BaseBand Unit (BBU), transmission point (TRP), Transmission Point (TP), mobile switching center, etc. in 5G.

The UPF network element is mainly responsible for connecting external networks, and comprises related functions of a Serving GateWay (SGW) of LTE and a public data network GateWay (PDN-GW).

And the UCF network element establishes connection with the terminal through the UPF network element and can realize the signaling between the user plane transmission terminal and the control plane network element.

And the UDM network element is used for managing the subscription data of the terminal. For example, the UDM network element stores therein location data of the terminal.

The terminal is a device with a wireless transceiving function, can be deployed on land, and comprises an indoor or outdoor terminal, a handheld terminal or a vehicle-mounted terminal; can also be deployed on the water surface (such as a ship and the like); and may also be deployed in the air (e.g., airplanes, balloons, satellites, etc.). The terminal may be a mobile phone (mobile phone), a tablet computer (pad), a computer with a wireless transceiving function, a Virtual Reality (VR) terminal, an Augmented Reality (AR) terminal, a wireless terminal in industrial control (industrial control), a wireless terminal in self driving (self driving), a wireless terminal in remote medical (remote medical), a wireless terminal in smart grid (smart grid), a wireless terminal in transportation safety (transportation safety), a wireless terminal in smart city (smart city), a wireless terminal in smart home (smart home), and the like.

The location management network element in the system architecture shown in fig. 1 may be an LMF in the system architecture shown in fig. 2. The first network element in the system architecture shown in fig. 1 may be a NEF or a GMLC in the system architecture shown in fig. 2. The mobility management network element in the system architecture shown in fig. 1 may be an AMF in the system architecture shown in fig. 2.

In the system architecture shown in fig. 2, the core network control plane adopts a service architecture, that is, NEF, UDM, AMF, LMF, GMLC, etc. in fig. 2 all have core network control functions, and call each other through a service interface. And, the LMF is a control plane deployed in the core network, and is used to provide location information of the terminal.

For convenience of description, in the following, UCF is used to represent a user plane connection function network element, UDM is used to represent a unified data management network element, and UPF is used to represent a user plane function network element.

The following describes the positioning method provided by the present application in detail with reference to fig. 1-2.

It should be noted that the present application is not limited to the system architectures shown in fig. 1-2, but may also be applied to other future communication systems, such as the 6th generation (6G) communication system architecture. Also, the names of the various network elements used in the present application may remain the same in future communication systems, but the names may change.

As shown in fig. 3, which is a schematic diagram of a positioning method provided in the present application, the method may be used to select an LMF for a terminal and start a location service function of the LMF. The method comprises the following steps:

in step 301, the terminal sends a registration request message to the AMF. Accordingly, the AMF receives the registration request message.

The registration request message includes first indication information indicating that the location positioning service is enabled.

As an application scenario, when the terminal needs to access the network after being powered on, the terminal sends a registration request (registration request) message to the AMF through the RAN device.

At step 302, the AMF sends a request message to the LMF. Accordingly, the LMF receives the request message.

The request message includes an identification of the terminal, the request message requesting activation of a position location service of the terminal.

After receiving the registration request message sent by the terminal, the AMF may, on one hand, perform service processing of terminal registration, including acquiring subscription data of the user, and performing authentication and key negotiation with an authentication server function (AUSF) network element in cooperation with the terminal, which belongs to the prior art and is not described herein again.

On the other hand, the AMF also selects an LMF for the terminal and sends a request message to the selected LMF for requesting to activate the location positioning service of the terminal. For example, the AMF may request a network storage function (NRF) network element to discover a deployed LMF function, that is, select an LMF for the terminal through the NRF network element.

Step 303, the LMF obtains the positioning data of the terminal.

As an implementation manner, after receiving the request message sent by the AMF, the LMF obtains the identifier of the terminal from the request message, and then requests the UDM to obtain the location data of the terminal. Wherein the positioning data includes but is not limited to: location service subscription data, location privacy profile (privacy profile), location service open setting information, and the like.

As yet another implementation, the LMF may also obtain pre-stored location data of the terminal from the local.

And step 304, the LMF judges whether the position location service of the terminal can be activated or not according to the location data.

If the LMF determines that the location positioning service of the terminal can be activated, the corresponding positioning process may be enabled according to the setting information of the location service opening acquired from the UDM, for example, the terminal location information may be provided periodically, so that the requested location service opening setting information may be enabled normally.

At step 305, the LMF sends second indication information to the AMF. Accordingly, the AMF receives the second indication information.

The second indication information is used to indicate that the position location service of the terminal has been activated.

The LMF sends 306 the service area of the LMF to the AMF. Accordingly, the AMF receives the service area of the LMF.

After the service area of the LMF is sent to the AMF, the AMF may subsequently determine whether to update the LMF providing the service for the terminal according to the service area. For example, if the terminal moves out of the service area of the LMF, the AMF may reselect an LMF for the terminal to provide the location service for the terminal.

This step 306 is an optional step. Further, if step 306 is executed, as an implementation manner, step 305 and step 306 may be executed in different steps, respectively. As a further implementation, step 305 and step 306 may also be combined into one step execution.

Further, the following step 307 may be included.

In step 307, the LMF sends the first subscription request information to the AMF. Accordingly, the AMF receives the first subscription request information.

The first subscription request information is used for subscribing the control plane connection state of the terminal.

For example, when the load of the AMF is high, the AMF may perform congestion control on a part of the terminals, the terminals in the congestion control state will enter an idle state, and the terminals will not actively initiate connection with the network without high priority traffic or emergency traffic.

When the LMF subscribes to the AMF in the control plane connection state of the terminal, if the AMF performs congestion control on the terminal, the AMF may send a notification message to the LMF, where the notification message includes an identifier of the terminal, a congestion indication, and a timer. The timer is used to indicate the duration of congestion control. Thus, the LMF may determine that the terminal is in a congestion control state.

Optionally, the following step 308 may also be included.

In step 308, the LMF sends the second subscription request information to the AMF. Accordingly, the AMF receives the second subscription request information.

The second subscription request information is used for subscribing the load status information of the AMF.

The load status information includes a load value of the AMF, and further may include a load threshold. It is understood that the loading threshold may also be configured on the LMF, or the LMF may be obtained by its means. And when the load value of the AMF is larger than the load threshold value, the AMF is in a high load state. When the load value of the AMF is less than or equal to the load threshold value, the AMF is in a low load state.

It should be noted that step 308 and step 309 may be executed in different steps, or may be executed in the same step by combining.

Further, the following step 309 may also be included.

Step 309, the LMF sends a registration request message to the UDM, and accordingly, the UDM receives the registration request message.

The registration request message is used to register the information of the LMF to the UDM. The registration request message includes an identification of the LMF, an identification of the terminal, and a type of the LMF. The identifier of the LMF is used for uniquely identifying the LMF, the identifier of the terminal is used for indicating the terminal served by the LMF, and the type of the LMF is used for indicating that the network element is an LMF.

Further, the following step 310 may also be included.

The AMF sends a registration accept message to the terminal, step 310. Accordingly, the terminal receives the registration acceptance message.

The registration acceptance is a response to the registration request message of step 301.

By the method, the LMF can be selected for the terminal, the LMF provides the positioning service of the terminal, if the subsequent external application needs or the position information of the terminal, the LMF can request to acquire the position information of the terminal, and then the LMF provides the position information of the terminal for the external application. The LMF provides the position information of the terminal for the external application, and the position information of the terminal can be acquired in a flexible mode.

Further, as shown in fig. 4, the present application also provides a positioning method, where the positioning method is implemented to provide location information of a terminal for an external application on the premise that the terminal has already started a positioning service function. The method for starting the location service function of the terminal may be the method shown in fig. 3, or may be other methods, which is not limited in this application. The positioning method shown in fig. 4 includes the following steps:

step 401, a first network element sends a first message to an LMF. Accordingly, the LMF receives the first message.

The first network element here may be a NEF or a GMLC. The first message comprises the identification of the terminal, and the first message is used for requesting to acquire the position information of the terminal.

For example, after receiving a request of an external application (e.g., an Tencent application, a Jingdong application, etc.), the first network element sends a first message to the LMF to request to acquire the location information of the terminal.

In step 402, the LMF determines that the control plane of the terminal is in a congestion control state.

For example, the LMF subscribes to the AMF for the congestion control state of the terminal before step 401, for example, the LMF may subscribe to the AMF for the congestion control state of the terminal in the terminal registration procedure shown in fig. 3.

And when the AMF determines that the terminal is in the congestion control state, the AMF sends a second message to the LMF, wherein the second message comprises the identification of the terminal, and the second message is used for informing that the control plane of the terminal is in the congestion control state. Thus, the LMF may store the state information of the terminal.

Therefore, in step 402, the LMF may determine that the terminal is currently in the congestion control state by locally acquiring the state information of the terminal.

And step 403, the LMF determines priority information for acquiring the location information according to the first message.

As an implementation manner, the first message may include indication information indicating priority information for acquiring the location information. Therefore, according to the indication information, the LMF can determine the priority information for acquiring the position information. For example, the indication information is 1 bit. When the indication information is "1", priority information indicating that the position information is acquired is a normal priority. When the indication information is "0", priority information indicating that the position information is acquired is high priority.

As yet another implementation, the first message may further include priority information for acquiring the location information. For example, a certain field of the first message includes priority information, which is "normal priority" or "high priority". The LMF may determine priority information for acquiring the location information directly from the first message.

Wherein the generic priority indicates that the requirement on the accuracy of the acquired terminal position is not very high. The LMF may thus not need to feed back real-time location information of the terminal to the first network element.

A high priority means that the accuracy of the acquired terminal position is highly demanding. For example, the location service request sent by the emergency service center or the lawful interception center to the first network element is a high-priority request, so that the accuracy of the terminal location requested to be obtained by the first network element from the LMF is required to be relatively high, and generally, the real-time location information of the terminal needs to be obtained.

Further, after determining the priority information for acquiring the terminal location information, the LMF acquires the location information of the terminal according to the priority information. The following are described separately for each case.

In case one, the priority information is a normal priority.

If the LMF determines that the priority information is the normal priority, the following steps 404 and 407 are performed.

In step 404, the LMF locally obtains the stored location information of the terminal.

Because the terminal is currently in the congestion control state, in order to save the overhead of the terminal and the network, when the priority information for acquiring the terminal position information is the common priority, the LMF does not acquire the real-time position information of the terminal, but locally acquires the stored terminal position information by the LMF and sends the terminal position information to the first network element.

The location information of the terminal locally stored by the LMF may be the location information of the terminal that is obtained and stored by the LMF most recently. The location information may include, for example, the location of the terminal and the time at which the location of the terminal was obtained.

In case two, the priority information is high priority.

If the LMF determines that the priority information is high priority, the following steps 405 to 407 are performed.

Step 405, the LMF obtains measurement data from the terminal.

Although the terminal is currently in the congestion control state, the LMF still needs to acquire the real-time location information of the terminal because the priority required to acquire the location information of the terminal is a high priority. The specific method comprises the following steps: the LMF firstly obtains measurement data from the terminal, and then determines the position information of the terminal based on the measurement data, wherein the position information is the real-time position information of the terminal.

Two implementation methods for the LMF to obtain the measurement data from the terminal are described below:

the method comprises the steps that if the LMF determines that the load value of the AMF is larger than the load threshold value, the LMF acquires measurement data of the terminal through the user plane connection of the terminal.

For example, the LMF may subscribe the load state information of the AMF to the AMF, and the AMF actively reports the load state of the LMF to the LMF, so that the LMF may obtain the load state information of the AMF in real time. The load state information includes a load value, and further may include a load threshold.

And if the LMF determines that the load value of the AMF is greater than the load threshold, the AMF is in a high-load state, namely the connection load of the control plane of the terminal is higher. The LMF may thus obtain measurement data for the terminal via the user plane connection of the terminal. As an example, the LMF may acquire measurement data of the terminal through the UCF and the UPF.

And in the second implementation method, if the LMF determines that the load value of the AMF is not greater than the load threshold, the LMF acquires the measurement data of the terminal through the control surface connection of the terminal.

And if the LMF determines that the load value of the AMF is less than or equal to the load threshold, the AMF is in a low-load state, namely the control plane connection load of the terminal is lower. The LMF may thus obtain measurement data for the terminal through a control plane connection of the terminal. As an example, the LMF may acquire measurement data of the terminal through the AMF.

And 406, the LMF determines the position information of the terminal according to the measurement data.

The specific implementation details of the LMF obtaining the location information of the terminal according to the measurement data are the prior art, and are not described herein again.

Step 407, the LMF sends the location information of the terminal to the first network element. Accordingly, the first network element receives location information of the terminal.

The LMF may acquire the location information of the terminal through the step 404 or through the steps 405 and 406, and then send the location information of the terminal to the first network element in step 407. Further, the first network element may send the acquired location information to an external application, so that the external application accesses the location information of the terminal. And the LMF can determine a corresponding method for acquiring the terminal position information according to the priority information of the acquired terminal position. When the priority information is the common priority, the LMF locally acquires the stored position information of the terminal, so that the position information of the terminal is acquired in a flexible manner, and the cost of the terminal and the network element is saved. And only when the priority information is high priority, the LMF acquires the measurement data from the terminal and determines the position information of the terminal according to the measurement data. Thus, this embodiment contributes to saving overhead of the terminal and the network as a whole.

As shown in fig. 5, the present application also provides another positioning method, which includes the steps of:

step 501, a first network element sends a first message to an LMF. Accordingly, the LMF receives the first message.

Step 502, if the load value of the AMF is greater than the load threshold, the LMF obtains the measurement data of the terminal through the user plane connection of the terminal.

In step 503, if the load value of the AMF is not greater than the load threshold, the LMF obtains the measurement data of the terminal through the control plane connection of the terminal.

Step 502 and step 503 are alternatively executed. If the load value of the AMF is greater than the load threshold, step 502 is executed. If the AMF load value is not greater than the load threshold, then step 503 is performed.

And step 504, the LMF determines the position information of the terminal according to the measurement data.

Step 505, the LMF sends the location information of the terminal to the first network element. Accordingly, the first network element receives location information of the terminal.

Further, the first network element may send the acquired location information to an external application, so that the external application accesses the location information of the terminal.

According to the method, when the control surface of the terminal is in a high-load state, the LMF obtains the measurement data of the terminal through the connection of the user surface of the terminal, and when the control surface of the terminal is in a low-load state, the LMF obtains the measurement data of the terminal through the connection of the control surface of the terminal. On one hand, the measurement data of the terminal can be efficiently acquired, the position information of the terminal can be acquired in a flexible mode, and the position information of the terminal can be fed back to the first network element quickly; on the other hand, the pressure of the control plane of the terminal can be reduced, and the network performance is improved.

For the first implementation method in step 405 of the embodiment shown in fig. 4 and step 503 of the embodiment shown in fig. 5, measurement data of the terminal is acquired through the user plane connection of the terminal. As an example, a specific implementation method is given below, and as shown in fig. 6, for the method for acquiring measurement data provided by the present application, the method includes the following steps:

step 601, the LMF acquires UCF information from the UDM.

For example, the LMF may send a request message to the UDM, where the request message carries an identifier of the terminal. And the UDM acquires the UCF information corresponding to the terminal identifier according to the terminal identifier and sends the acquired UCF information to the LMF.

As an alternative to this step 601, the LMF may also obtain information of the UCF corresponding to the terminal from the local.

Step 602, the LMF sends the identifier and the indication information of the terminal to the UCF. Accordingly, the UCF receives the identification and indication information of the terminal.

The indication information is required to be transmitted to the terminal. The indication information is used for indicating the reporting of the measurement data.

Step 603, the UCF determines the address of the terminal according to the identifier of the terminal.

Step 604, the UCF sends a downlink message to the terminal, and accordingly, the terminal receives the downlink message.

The downlink message includes indication information.

As one implementation, the UCF may establish a user plane connection with the terminal through the UPF, and then send a downlink message to the terminal through the UPF.

Optionally, the indication information may be encrypted by the UCF using a security key negotiated when the user plane connection is established. And the terminal decrypts by using the same secret key after receiving the indication information.

Step 605, the terminal sends an uplink message to the UCF. Accordingly, the UCF receives the upstream message.

And after the terminal acquires the measurement data, the measurement data is carried in the reported information.

And then the terminal sends an uplink message to the UCF, wherein the uplink message comprises the identification and the reporting information of the terminal.

Optionally, the reported information may also be encrypted by using a security key negotiated when the user plane connection is established by the terminal. And the UCF decrypts the report information by using the same secret key after receiving the report information.

In step 606, the UCF determines that the network element serving the terminal is an LMF.

And the UCF determines that the network element providing service for the terminal is the LMF according to the identifier of the terminal in the uplink message.

Step 607, the UCF sends the report information to the LMF, and accordingly, the LMF receives the report information.

The reported information carries measurement data.

By the method, the LMF can acquire the measurement data of the terminal through the user plane of the terminal.

In the case of using an integrated unit, fig. 7 shows a possible exemplary block diagram of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, where the apparatus 700 may exist in the form of software, or may be a location management network element, or may be a chip in the location management network element. The apparatus 700 comprises: a processing unit 702 and a communication unit 703, the communication unit 703 may comprise a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. The processing unit 702 is configured to control and manage operations of the apparatus 700. The communication unit 703 is used to support communication of the apparatus 700 with other network entities (e.g. terminals). The apparatus 700 may further comprise a storage unit 701 for storing program codes and data of the apparatus 700.

The processing unit 702 may be a processor or a controller, and may be, for example, a CPU, a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, a transistor logic device, a hardware component, or any combination thereof. Which may implement or perform the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the disclosure. The processor may also be a combination of computing functions, e.g., comprising one or more microprocessors, DSPs, and microprocessors, among others. The communication unit 703 may be a communication interface, a transceiver circuit, or the like, where the communication interface is generally referred to, and in a specific implementation, the communication interface may include a plurality of interfaces, which may include, for example: an interface between a location management network element and a mobility management network element, and/or other interfaces. The memory unit 701 may be a memory.

The processing unit 702 may enable the apparatus 700 to perform the actions of the location management network element in the above method examples, for example, enable the apparatus 700 to perform step 304 in fig. 3, step 402, step 403, step 404, step 406, and step 504 in fig. 5. The communication unit 703 may support communication between the device 700 and the AMF, UDM, e.g. the communication unit 703 may support the device 700 to perform step 302, step 303, step 305-step 309 in fig. 3, step 404, step 405, step 407, step 501-step 503 in fig. 5, step 505, step 601 in fig. 6, step 602, step 607 in fig. 4.

When the processing unit 702 is a processor, the communication unit 703 is a communication interface, and the storage unit 701 is a memory, the apparatus 700 according to the embodiment of the present invention may be the location management network element 800 shown in fig. 8.

Referring to fig. 8, the location management network element 800 includes: a processor 802, a communication interface 803, and a memory 801. Optionally, the location management network element 800 may further include a bus 804. The communication interface 803, the processor 802, and the memory 801 may be connected to each other via a bus 804; the bus 804 may be a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, or the like. The bus 804 may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is shown in FIG. 8, but this is not intended to represent only one bus or type of bus.

In the case of using an integrated unit, fig. 9 shows a possible exemplary block diagram of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, where the apparatus 900 may exist in the form of software, or may be a mobility management network element, or may be a chip in the mobility management network element. The apparatus 900 comprises: a processing unit 902 and a communication unit 903, the communication unit 903 may comprise a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. The processing unit 902 is used for controlling and managing the operation of the apparatus 900. The communication unit 903 is used to support communication of the apparatus 900 with other network entities (e.g. terminals, location management network elements). The apparatus 900 may further comprise a storage unit 901 for storing program codes and data of the apparatus 900.

The processing unit 902 may be a processor or a controller, and may be, for example, a CPU, a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, a transistor logic device, a hardware component, or any combination thereof. Which may implement or perform the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the disclosure. The processor may also be a combination of computing functions, e.g., comprising one or more microprocessors, DSPs, and microprocessors, among others. The communication unit 903 may be a communication interface, a transceiver circuit, or the like, where the communication interface is referred to as a generic term, and in a specific implementation, the communication interface may include a plurality of interfaces, which may include, for example: an interface between a mobility management network element and a terminal, an interface between a mobility management network element and a location management network element, and/or other interfaces. The storage unit 901 may be a memory.

The processing unit 902 may enable the apparatus 900 to perform the actions of the mobility management network element in the above examples of methods. The communication unit 903 may support communication between the device 900 and the LMF, the terminal, for example, the communication unit 903 may support the device 900 to perform step 301, step 302, step 305-step 308 in fig. 3, step 310, step 405 in fig. 4, step 502 in fig. 5, step 503.

When the processing unit 902 is a processor, the communication unit 903 is a communication interface, and the storage unit 901 is a memory, the apparatus 900 according to the embodiment of the present invention may be the mobility management network element 1000 shown in fig. 10.

Referring to fig. 10, the mobility management network element 1000 includes: processor 1002, communication interface 1003, memory 1001. Optionally, the mobility management element 1000 may further comprise a bus 1004. The communication interface 1003, the processor 1002, and the memory 1001 may be connected to each other by a bus 1004; the bus 1004 may be a PCI bus or an EISA bus, etc. The bus 1004 may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, and the like. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is shown in FIG. 10, but this is not intended to represent only one bus or type of bus.

In the above embodiments, the implementation may be wholly or partially realized by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When loaded and executed on a computer, cause the processes or functions described in accordance with the embodiments of the invention to occur, in whole or in part. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a network of computers, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another, for example, from one website site, computer, server, or data center to another website site, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device, such as a server, a data center, etc., that incorporates one or more of the available media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy Disk, hard Disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., Solid State Disk (SSD)), among others.

The various illustrative logical units and circuits described in this application may be implemented or operated upon by design of a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a digital signal processor core, or any other similar configuration.

The steps of a method or algorithm described in the embodiments herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software element executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. The software cells may be stored in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. For example, a storage medium may be coupled to the processor such the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC, which may be disposed in a terminal device. In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a terminal device.

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

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

Claims

1. A method of positioning, comprising:

a location management network element receives a first message of a first network element, wherein the first message comprises an identifier of a terminal, and the first message is used for requesting to acquire location information of the terminal;

the position management network element determines that a control plane of the terminal is in a congestion control state;

the position management network element determines to acquire priority information of the position information according to the first message;

the position management network element acquires the position information of the terminal according to the priority information;

and the position management network element sends the position information of the terminal to the first network element.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the priority information is a normal priority; the acquiring, by the location management network element, the location information of the terminal according to the priority information includes:

and the position management network element acquires the stored position information of the terminal from the local.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the location information comprises a location of the terminal and a time at which the location of the terminal was obtained.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the priority information is a high priority; the acquiring, by the location management network element, the location information of the terminal according to the priority information includes:

the position management network element obtains measurement data from the terminal;

and the position management network element determines the position information of the terminal according to the measurement data.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the obtaining, by the location management network element, the measurement data from the terminal comprises:

if the load value of the mobility management network element is greater than the load threshold value, the position management network element acquires the measurement data of the terminal through the user plane connection of the terminal; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

and if the load value of the mobility management network element is not greater than the load threshold, the position management network element acquires the measurement data of the terminal through the control plane connection of the terminal.

6. The method according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the determining, by the location management network element, that the control plane of the terminal is in a congestion control state comprises:

and the location management network element receives a second message from a mobility management network element, wherein the second message comprises the identifier of the terminal, and the second message is used for informing that a control plane of the terminal is in a congestion control state.

7. An apparatus, comprising a transmitting unit, a receiving unit, and a processing unit;

the receiving unit is configured to receive a first message of a first network element, where the first message includes an identifier of a terminal, and the first message is used to request to acquire location information of the terminal;

the processing unit is configured to determine that a control plane of the terminal is in a congestion control state; determining to acquire priority information of the position information according to the first message; acquiring the position information of the terminal according to the priority information;

the sending unit is configured to send the location information of the terminal to the first network element.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the priority information is a normal priority; the processing unit is specifically configured to obtain the stored location information of the terminal from the local.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the location information comprises a location of the terminal and a time at which the location of the terminal was obtained.

10. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the priority information is a high priority; the processing unit is specifically configured to obtain measurement data from the terminal; and determining the position information of the terminal according to the measurement data.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the processing unit is specifically configured to:

if the load value of the mobility management network element is greater than the load threshold value, acquiring the measurement data of the terminal through the user plane connection of the terminal; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

and if the load value of the mobility management network element is not greater than the load threshold, acquiring the measurement data of the terminal through the control plane connection of the terminal.

12. The apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 11, wherein the receiving unit is further configured to receive a second message from a mobility management network element, where the second message includes an identity of the terminal, and the second message is used to notify that a control plane of the terminal is in a congestion control state.