Ranging or positioning method and apparatus, communication device, communication system, and storage medium

Abstract

The present invention provides a ranging or positioning method and apparatus, a communication device, a communication system, and a storage medium. The method comprises: a first network element may send group discovery information to a first terminal, wherein the group discovery information is used for indicating that a second terminal belongs to a first terminal group, and the second terminal is used for performing ranging or positioning on the first terminal. According to the method of the present invention, a first network element may timely indicate group discovery information to a first terminal, thereby implementing ranging or positioning on the first terminal on the basis of a second terminal in a first terminal group.

Description

Ranging or positioning method and device, communication equipment, communication system, storage medium Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a ranging or positioning method and apparatus, communication equipment, a communication system, and a storage medium. Background Art

[0002] To support direct communication between terminals, sidelink (SL) communication was introduced. A terminal can communicate with a base station through the relay function of another terminal. Ranging refers to determining the distance between two or more terminals, or the direction from one terminal to another, using the PC5 interface. The PC5 interface is the communication interface between terminals. Positioning refers to estimating the location of the located terminal.

[0003] Summary of the Invention

[0004] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a ranging or positioning method, apparatus, device, chip system, storage medium, computer program, and computer program product, which can be applied in the field of communication technology to solve the technical problem of "not supporting ranging or positioning of a first terminal based on a second terminal in a specified terminal group."

[0005] The present disclosure provides a ranging or positioning method and apparatus, a communication device, a communication system, and a storage medium.

[0006] According to a first aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a ranging or positioning method is proposed, including:

[0007] Group discovery information is sent to a first terminal, where the group discovery information is used to indicate that a second terminal belongs to a first terminal group, and the second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal.

[0008] According to a second aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a ranging or positioning method is proposed, including:

[0009] Group discovery information sent by a first network element is received, wherein the group discovery information is used to indicate that a second terminal belongs to a first terminal group, and the second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal.

[0010] According to a third aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a ranging or positioning method is proposed, including:

[0011] Receive group discovery information sent by a third network element and / or a location service client, wherein the group discovery information is used to indicate that the second terminal belongs to a first terminal group, and the second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal.

[0012] According to a fourth aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a ranging or positioning method is proposed, including:

[0013] Group discovery information is sent to the second network element, where the group discovery information is used to indicate that the second terminal belongs to the first terminal group, and the second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal.

[0014] According to a fifth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a ranging or positioning method is proposed for a communication system, the communication system including a first network element, a first terminal, a second network element, and a third network element and / or a location service client, the method including:

[0015] The first network element is used to send group discovery information to the first terminal, wherein the group discovery information is used to indicate that the second terminal belongs to the first terminal group, and the second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal;

[0016] The first terminal is used to receive group discovery information sent by the first network element, wherein the group discovery information is used to indicate that the second terminal belongs to the first terminal group, and the second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal;

[0017] The second network element is used to receive group discovery information sent by a third network element and / or a location service client, wherein the group discovery information is used to indicate that the second terminal belongs to the first terminal group, and the second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal;

[0018] The third network element and / or location service client is used to send group discovery information to the second network element, wherein the group discovery information is used to indicate that the second terminal belongs to the first terminal group, and the second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal.

[0019] According to a sixth aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a ranging or positioning device is provided, comprising:

[0020] A transceiver module is used to send group discovery information to a first terminal, wherein the group discovery information is used to indicate that the second terminal belongs to the first terminal group, and the second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal; or to receive group discovery information sent by a first network element, wherein the group discovery information is used to indicate that the second terminal belongs to the first terminal group, and the second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal; or to receive group discovery information sent by a third network element and / or a location service client, wherein the group discovery information is used to indicate that the second terminal belongs to the first terminal group, and the second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal; or to send group discovery information to a second network element, wherein the group discovery information is used to indicate that the second terminal belongs to the first terminal group, and the second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal.

[0021] According to a seventh aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication device is provided, including:

[0022] one or more processors;

[0023] The processor is used to call instructions to enable the communication device to execute the ranging or positioning method described in any one of the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, and the fourth aspect.

[0024] According to the eighth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication system is proposed, characterized in that it includes a first network element, a first terminal, a second network element, a third network element and / or a location service client, wherein the first network element is configured to implement the ranging or positioning method described in the first aspect, the first terminal is configured to implement the ranging or positioning method described in the second aspect, the second network element is configured to implement the ranging or positioning method described in the third aspect, and the third network element and / or the location service client is configured to implement the ranging or positioning method described in the fourth aspect.

[0025] According to a ninth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a storage medium is proposed, wherein the storage medium stores instructions, and wherein when the instructions are executed on a communication device, the communication device executes the ranging or positioning method as described in any one of the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, and the fourth aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure or the background technology, the drawings required for use in the embodiments of the present disclosure or the background technology will be described below.

[0027] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0028] FIG2a is an interactive schematic diagram of a ranging or positioning method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0029] FIG2 b is an interactive schematic diagram illustrating a ranging or positioning method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0030] FIG3 a is a schematic diagram of a flow chart of a ranging or positioning method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0031] FIG3 b is a schematic diagram of a flow chart of a ranging or positioning method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0032] FIG3 c is a schematic diagram of a flow chart of a ranging or positioning method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0033] FIG4 a is a schematic diagram of a flow chart of a ranging or positioning method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0034] FIG4 b is a schematic diagram of a flow chart of a ranging or positioning method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0035] FIG4c is a schematic diagram of a flow chart of a ranging or positioning method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0036] FIG5a is a schematic diagram of a flow chart of a ranging or positioning method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0037] FIG5 b is a schematic diagram of a flow chart of a ranging or positioning method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0038] FIG6 a is a schematic diagram showing a flow chart of a ranging or positioning method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0039] FIG6 b is a schematic diagram of a flow chart of a ranging or positioning method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0040] FIG7 is a flow chart of a ranging or positioning method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0041] FIG8 is a schematic structural diagram of a distance measurement or positioning device proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0042] FIG9a is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0043] FIG9 b is a schematic structural diagram of a chip proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0044] The present disclosure provides a ranging or positioning method and apparatus, a communication device, a communication system, and a storage medium. In some embodiments, the terms ranging or positioning method, information processing method, and communication method are interchangeable; the terms information transmission device, information processing device, and communication device are interchangeable; and the terms information processing system and communication system are interchangeable.

[0045] The embodiments of the present disclosure are not exhaustive and are merely illustrative of some embodiments, and are not intended to be a specific limitation on the scope of protection of the present disclosure. In the absence of contradiction, each step in a certain embodiment can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the steps can be arbitrarily combined. For example, a solution after removing some steps in a certain embodiment can also be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the order of the steps in a certain embodiment can be arbitrarily exchanged. In addition, the optional implementation methods in a certain embodiment can be arbitrarily combined; in addition, the embodiments can be arbitrarily combined. For example, some or all steps of different embodiments can be arbitrarily combined, and a certain embodiment can be arbitrarily combined with the optional implementation methods of other embodiments.

[0046] In each embodiment of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified or provided for by logic, the terms and / or descriptions between the embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form a new embodiment based on their inherent logical relationships.

[0047] The terms used in the embodiments of the present disclosure are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure.

[0048] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified, elements expressed in the singular, such as "a", "an", "the", "above", "said", "the", "the", etc., may mean "one and only one", or "one or more", "at least one", etc. For example, when using articles such as "a", "an", "the" in English in translation, the noun following the article may be understood as a singular expression or a plural expression.

[0049] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, “plurality” refers to two or more.

[0050] In some embodiments, the terms "at least one," "one or more," "a plurality of," "multiple," etc. may be used interchangeably.

[0051] In some embodiments, descriptions such as "at least one of A and B," "A and / or B," "A in one case, B in another case," or "in response to one case A, in response to another case B" may include the following technical solutions depending on the situation: in some embodiments, A (A is executed independently of B); in some embodiments, B (B is executed independently of A); in some embodiments, execution is selected from A and B (A and B are selectively executed); and in some embodiments, A and B (both A and B are executed). The same applies when there are more branches such as A, B, and C.

[0052] In some embodiments, "A or B" and other descriptions may include the following technical solutions depending on the situation: in some embodiments, A (A is executed independently of B); in some embodiments, B (B is executed independently of A); in some embodiments, execution is selected from A and B (A and B are selectively executed). The above is also applicable when there are more branches such as A, B, C, etc.

[0053] The prefixes such as "first" and "second" in the embodiments of the present disclosure are only used to distinguish different description objects and do not constitute any restriction on the position, order, priority, quantity or content of the description objects. For the statement of the description object, please refer to the description in the context of the claims or embodiments, and no unnecessary restriction should be constituted due to the use of prefixes. For example, if the description object is a "field", the ordinal number before the "field" in the "first field" and the "second field" does not limit the position or order between the "fields". "First" and "second" do not limit whether the "fields" they modify are in the same message, nor do they limit the order of the "first field" and the "second field". For another example, if the description object is a "level", the ordinal number before the "level" in the "first level" and the "second level" does not limit the priority between the "levels". For another example, the number of description objects is not limited by the ordinal number and can be one or more. Taking "first device" as an example, the number of "devices" can be one or more. In addition, the objects modified by different prefixes can be the same or different. For example, if the description object is "device", then the "first device" and the "second device" can be the same device or different devices, and their types can be the same or different; for another example, if the description object is "information", then the "first information" and the "second information" can be the same information or different information, and their contents can be the same or different.

[0054] In some embodiments, “including A,” “comprising A,” “used to indicate A,” and “carrying A” can be interpreted as directly carrying A or indirectly indicating A.

[0055] In some embodiments, terms such as "in response to...", "in response to determining...", "in the case of...", "at the time of...", "when...", "if...", "if...", etc. can be used interchangeably.

[0056] In some embodiments, terms such as "greater than", "greater than or equal to", "not less than", "more than", "more than or equal to", "not less than", "higher than", "higher than or equal to", "not less than", and "above" can be replaced with each other, and terms such as "less than", "less than or equal to", "not greater than", "less than", "less than or equal to", "not more than", "lower than", "lower than or equal to", "not higher than", and "below" can be replaced with each other.

[0057] In some embodiments, devices, etc. can be interpreted as physical or virtual, and their names are not limited to the names recorded in the embodiments. Terms such as "device", "equipment", "device", "circuit", "network element", "node", "function", "unit", "section", "system", "network", "chip", "chip system", "entity", and "subject" can be used interchangeably.

[0058] In some embodiments, the terms "access network device (AN device)", "radio access network device (RAN device)", "base station (BS)", "radio base station" "fixed station", "node", "access point", "transmission point (TP)", "reception point (RP)", "transmission / reception point (TRP)", "panel", "antenna panel", "antenna array", "cell", "macro cell", "small cell", "femto cell", "pico cell", "sector", "cell group", "carrier", "component carrier", "bandwidth part (BWP)" and the like may be used interchangeably.

[0059] In some embodiments, the terms "terminal", "terminal device", "user equipment (UE)", "user terminal", "mobile station (MS)", "mobile terminal (MT)", subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, client, etc. can be used interchangeably.

[0060] In some embodiments, obtaining data, information, etc. may comply with the laws and regulations of the country where the data is obtained.

[0061] In some embodiments, data, information, etc. may be obtained with the user's consent.

[0062] In addition, each element, each row, or each column in the table of the embodiment of the present disclosure can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the combination of any elements, any rows, and any columns can also be implemented as an independent embodiment.

[0063] FIG1 is a schematic diagram showing the architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0064] As shown in FIG1 , a communication system 100 includes a terminal 101 , an access network device 102 , and a core network device 103 .

[0065] In some embodiments, the terminal 101 includes, for example, a mobile phone, a wearable device, an Internet of Things device, a car with communication function, a smart car, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal device in industrial control, a wireless terminal device in self-driving, a wireless terminal device in remote medical surgery, a wireless terminal device in a smart grid, a wireless terminal device in transportation safety, a wireless terminal device in a smart city, and at least one of a wireless terminal device in a smart home, but is not limited thereto.

[0066] In some embodiments, the access network device 102 is, for example, a node or device that accesses a terminal to a wireless network. The access network device may include an evolved NodeB (eNB), a next generation evolved NodeB (ng-eNB), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a node B (NB), a home node B (HNB), a home evolved nodeB (HeNB), a wireless backhaul device, a radio network controller (RNC), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a base band unit (BBU), a mobile switching center, a base station in a 6G communication system, an open base station (Open RAN), a cloud base station (Cloud RAN), a base station in other communication systems, and at least one of an access node in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, but is not limited thereto.

[0067] In some embodiments, the technical solution of the present disclosure can be applied to the Open RAN architecture. In this case, the interfaces between or within the access network devices involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be transformed into internal interfaces of the Open RAN, and the processes and information interactions between these internal interfaces can be implemented through software or programs.

[0068] In some embodiments, the access network device can be composed of a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU), where the CU can also be called a control unit. The CU-DU structure can be used to split the protocol layer of the access network device, with the functions of some protocol layers centrally controlled by the CU, and the functions of the remaining part or all of the protocol layers distributed in the DU, which is centrally controlled by the CU, but is not limited to this.

[0069] In some embodiments, the core network device 103 may be a single device including a first network element 1031, a second network element 1032, etc., or may be a plurality of devices or a device group including all or part of the first network element 1031, the second network element 1032, etc. The network element may be virtual or physical. The core network may include, for example, at least one of an evolved packet core (EPC), a 5G core network (5GCN), and a next generation core (NGC).

[0070] In some embodiments, the first network element 1031 is, for example, a location management function (LMF) network element.

[0071] In some embodiments, the first network element 1031 is used to provide location management function services to the terminal, and the name is not limited thereto.

[0072] In some embodiments, the second network element 1032 is, for example, a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) network element.

[0073] In some embodiments, the second network element 1032 is used to perform registration authorization check and request routing information, but the name is not limited thereto.

[0074] In some embodiments, the third network element 1033 is, for example, an application function (AF) network element.

[0075] In some embodiments, the third network element 1033 is used to interact with other core network control plane network functions (NFs) and provide business services, and the name is not limited to this.

[0076] In some embodiments, the third network element 1033 may be independent of the core network device 103 .

[0077] In some embodiments, the third network element 1033 may be part of the core network device 103 .

[0078] It can be understood that the communication system described in the embodiment of the present disclosure is for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solution of the embodiment of the present disclosure, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solution provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure. Ordinary technicians in this field can know that with the evolution of the system architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solution provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure is also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0079] The following embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to the communication system 100 shown in Figure 1, or a portion thereof, but are not limited thereto. The entities shown in Figure 1 are illustrative only. The communication system may include all or part of the entities shown in Figure 1, or may include other entities outside of Figure 1. The number and form of the entities may be arbitrary. The connection relationship between the entities is illustrative only. The entities may be connected or disconnected, and the connection may be in any manner, including direct or indirect, wired or wireless.

[0080] The embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), LTE-Beyond (LTE-B), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4th generation mobile communication system (4G), 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), 5G new radio (NR), future radio access (FRA), new radio access technology (RAT), new radio (NR), new radio access (NX), future generation radio access (FX), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM (registered trademark)), CDMA2000, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.20, Ultra-WideBand (UWB), Bluetooth (registered trademark), Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) networks, Device-to-Device (D2D) systems, Machine-to-Machine (M2M) systems, Internet of Things (IoT) systems, Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X), systems utilizing other communication methods, and next-generation systems based on and extending these methods. Furthermore, multiple systems may be combined (for example, a combination of LTE or LTE-A with 5G).

[0081] To facilitate understanding, the terms involved in this disclosure are first introduced.

[0082] 1. Access and mobility management function (AMF) network element.

[0083] The AMF network element is a logical node function network element on the core network side. It is the access point for the terminal and wireless core network control plane. It receives all connection and session related information from the user equipment and performs registration, connection, reachability, and mobility management. In addition, the AMF network element provides a session management message transmission channel for the terminal equipment and the session management function (SMF) device, providing authentication and authorization functions for user access.

[0084] 2. Location management function (LMF) network element.

[0085] The LMF is located in the local radio access network (RAN) or the core network (CN) side and is used to provide location management function services to the UE.

[0086] 3. Application function (AF) network elements, similar to an application server, can interact with other core network control plane network functions (NFs) and provide business services. AF network elements can exist for different application services and can be owned by operators or trusted third parties.

[0087] 4. The Network Exposure Function (NEF) network element, located between the core network and external third-party application functions (possibly also some internal AFs), is responsible for managing all external applications that expose network data to the outside world. The NEF provides security guarantees to ensure the secure access of external applications to the 3GPP network, and offers features such as quality of service (QoS) customization, mobility status event subscription, and AF request distribution.

[0088] 5. User plane function (UPF) network elements, including routing and forwarding of user data packets, data interaction with external data networks, user plane quality of service (QoS) processing, and flow control rule implementation (such as gating, redirection, and traffic steering).

[0089] 6. Unified data management (UDM) network element.

[0090] The UDM network element is responsible for the management of terminal device identification, contract data, authentication data, and service network element registration management of terminal devices (such as the AMF network element that currently provides services to the terminal device. For example, when the terminal device switches the AMF network element it accesses, the UDM network element will also initiate a deregistration message to the old AMF network element, requesting the old AMF network element to delete user-related information).

[0091] 7. Policy control function (PCF) network element, which supports a unified policy framework to manage network behavior, provides policy rules to network entities for implementation, and accesses subscription information in a unified data warehouse.

[0092] 8. Unified Data Repository (UDR) network element, used by UDM network elements to store subscription data or read subscription data and PCF network elements to store policy data or read policy data.

[0093] 9. Radio Access Network (RAN): used to control users' wireless access to the mobile communication network.

[0094] In order to support direct communication between terminals, a sidelink (SL) communication method is introduced. A terminal can communicate with a base station through the relay function of another terminal. Ranging refers to determining the distance between two or more terminals, or the direction from one terminal to another terminal, through the PC5 interface. The PC5 interface refers to the communication interface between terminals. SL positioning refers to estimating the position of the located terminal based on SL. For example, the located terminal can be ranged or SL positioned based on the information of a terminal (for example, a positioning terminal (located user equipment, located UE)). The reference terminal can be, for example, an SL reference terminal whose position is known or can be known in ranging or SL positioning.

[0095] Optionally, during the network-assisted sidelink positioning process, the position of the located terminal can be estimated with the help of the network by using the position of one or more positioning terminals, and the distance and / or direction between the positioning terminal and the located terminal, without limitation.

[0096] In some embodiments, "network" can be interpreted as devices included in the network (eg, access network equipment, core network equipment, etc.).

[0097] Optionally, one or more positioning terminals may be discovered by the terminal or core network device to support network-assisted sidelink positioning, which is not limited.

[0098] Optionally, a terminal with a non-access atratum (NAS) signaling connection is in the CM-Connected state and can interact with the 5G core network (5G Core, 5GC) to estimate the terminal's location with the help of the network.

[0099] Optionally, when the LMF network element determines to use network-assisted sidelink positioning, the LMF network element may trigger the target terminal to perform positioning terminal discovery.

[0100] Optionally, in order to assist the target terminal, the LMF network element may provide the target terminal with a list of candidate positioning terminals. In this case, the LMF may maintain a list of candidate positioning terminals, which may include, for example, capability and location information of the positioning terminal.

[0101] Optionally, when the target terminal is out of coverage and cannot establish a NAS connection with the AMF network element, for the 5G core network mobile originated positioning request (5GC Mobile Originated Location Request, 5GC-MO-LR) or the pending 5G core network mobile terminated positioning request (5GC Mobile Terminated Location Request, 5GC-MT-LR), such as the delayed 5GC-MT-LR, the following principles can be applied: the target terminal performs discovery and selection of the positioning terminal; the target terminal can transmit its ranging measurement / results to the positioning terminal; the positioning terminal can report the ranging / SL positioning measurement results to the LMF network element, which may include the ranging measurement / results received from the target terminal, wherein the endpoints of the long term evolution LTE positioning protocol (LPP) message are the LMF network element and the positioning terminal; the LMF network element can use the received information to calculate the location of the target terminal, and provide the resulting location to the target terminal through the positioning terminal, or provide the resulting location to the location services client (LCS Client) or application server through the NF.

[0102] Optionally, group member discovery means that users who are associated with each other can discover each other, and the association may be sharing the same application layer group identity (Identity, ID).

[0103] Optionally, group member discovery may be performed based on Mode A and Mode B.

[0104] Optionally, mode A may use a single discovery protocol message (Announcement), and the terminal that publishes the message sends a group member discovery notification message, wherein the group member discovery notification message may include: discovery message type, announcer information and application layer group ID.

[0105] Optionally, mode B can use two discovery protocol messages (request and response), and the discovery terminal sends a group member discovery request message, which may include: discovery message type, discoverer information, application layer group ID and optional target information, wherein other discovery terminals that match the parameters contained in the group member discovery request message (including application layer group ID and target information) send response messages to the discovery terminal.

[0106] Optionally, to support group discovery and / or management of demand-based business service group communications, group discovery and / or formation and / or management may be performed in collaboration with an application server at the application layer.

[0107] Based on this, the present disclosure proposes a ranging or positioning method.

[0108] Optionally, in some embodiments, the method of the present disclosure may be applied to ranging or SL positioning scenarios. For example, in some embodiments, the method of the present disclosure may be applied to any other possible ranging or positioning scenarios.

[0109] FIG2a is an interactive diagram of a ranging or positioning method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG2a, the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a ranging or positioning method, which can be used in a communication system 100. The method includes:

[0110] Step S2101: The second network element receives group discovery information sent by a third network element and / or a location service client.

[0111] In some embodiments, the second network element may receive group discovery information sent by a third network element and / or a location service client, wherein the group discovery information is used to indicate that the second terminal belongs to the first terminal group, and the second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal.

[0112] In some embodiments, the second network element is, for example, a GMLC network element.

[0113] In some embodiments, the third network element is, for example, an AF network element or a NEF network element.

[0114] In some embodiments, the location service client may be expressed as an LCS Client.

[0115] In some embodiments, the third network element may send group discovery information to the second network element.

[0116] In some embodiments, the location service client may send group discovery information to the second network element.

[0117] In some embodiments, the third network element and the location service client may send group discovery information to the second network element.

[0118] In some embodiments, the second network element may receive group discovery information sent by the third network element and / or the location service client.

[0119] In some embodiments, the group discovery information is used to indicate that the second terminal belongs to the first terminal group.

[0120] In some embodiments, the first terminal group may be a terminal group indicated by the group discovery information, or may be the terminal group to which the first terminal belongs.

[0121] In some embodiments, the group discovery information may be used to identify the first terminal group, such as information identifying the first terminal group.

[0122] In some embodiments, the group discovery information is used to indicate that the first terminal belongs to the first terminal group, that is, it can be understood as indicating that both the first terminal and the second terminal belong to the first terminal group.

[0123] In some embodiments, the group discovery information is used to identify the first terminal group and indicate that the first terminal belongs to the first terminal group.

[0124] In some embodiments, the group discovery information can be used to identify the first terminal group information, or the group discovery information can be used to indicate that the second terminal needs to be in the first terminal group, or the group discovery information can also be used to indicate that the first terminal and the second terminal need to be in the same terminal group, which same terminal group can be, for example, the first terminal group, or it may not be the first terminal group, or the group discovery information can also be used to indicate that the first terminal and the second terminal need to be in the first terminal group.

[0125] In some embodiments, the group discovery information may be used to discover the second terminal.

[0126] In some embodiments, the group discovery information may be used to discover group members associated with the second terminal.

[0127] In some embodiments, the group discovery information may be used to determine a candidate terminal list, the candidate terminal list may include one or more candidate terminals, and the second terminal may be determined from the one or more candidate terminals.

[0128] In some embodiments, the group discovery information may be represented as group discovery information.

[0129] In some embodiments, the group discovery information includes at least one of the following: first information, second information, third information, and fourth information, wherein the first information is used to identify the first terminal group information, the second information is used to indicate that the second terminal needs to be in the first terminal group, the third information is used to indicate that the first terminal and the second terminal need to be in the same terminal group, and the fourth information is used to indicate that the first terminal and the second terminal need to be in the first terminal group, thereby effectively improving the comprehensiveness of the group discovery information indication to support accurate discovery of the second terminal used to measure the distance or position the first terminal.

[0130] In some embodiments, the first information can be used to identify a specified terminal group (for example, the first terminal group), the second information can be used to indicate that the second terminal can be in the first terminal group, and the third information can be used to indicate that the first terminal and the second terminal can be in the same terminal group. At this time, the terminal group in which the first terminal and the second terminal are located can be the first terminal group indicated by the first information, or it may not be the first terminal group. The fourth information can be used to indicate that the first terminal and the second terminal can be in the first terminal group, and there is no restriction on this.

[0131] In some embodiments, the first terminal may be, for example, a terminal being ranged or SL positioned.

[0132] In some embodiments, the second terminal may be, for example, a terminal whose location is known or can be known and can be used for ranging or SL positioning.

[0133] In some embodiments, the first terminal may be, for example, a target terminal, and the second terminal may be, for example, a positioning terminal.

[0134] In some embodiments, the second terminal may be selected based on information of the first terminal. For example, a candidate terminal may be selected from one or more candidate terminals as the second terminal based on an identifier of the first terminal (an optional example of information of the first terminal).

[0135] In some embodiments, the first terminal may be, for example, a Target UE, and the number of Target UEs may be one or more.

[0136] In some embodiments, the second terminal may be, for example, a Located UE, and the number of Located UEs may be one or more.

[0137] In some embodiments, ranging or SL positioning of the first terminal can be performed based on the information of the selected and determined second terminal, such as location information.

[0138] In some embodiments, ranging or positioning of the first terminal is determined based on business scenario requirements.

[0139] In some embodiments, ranging or positioning of the first terminal is determined based on a third-party application.

[0140] In some embodiments, it is determined to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal, indicating group discovery information.

[0141] In some embodiments, when determining to perform ranging or positioning of the first terminal, the third network element and / or location service client may indicate group discovery information to the second network element. For example, it may determine whether to perform ranging or positioning of the first terminal based on business scenario requirements, or determine whether to perform ranging or positioning of the first terminal based on a third-party application.

[0142] In some embodiments, the third network element and / or the location service client may carry the group discovery information in any possible message and send the message to the second network element to indicate the group discovery information to the second network element.

[0143] In some embodiments, the third network element and / or the location service client may send a ranging or SL positioning service request message to the second network element, wherein the ranging or SL positioning service request message may include: group discovery information.

[0144] In some embodiments, the ranging or SL positioning service request message may be, for example, a Ranging / SL positioning service request, and the Ranging / SL positioning service request may include group discovery information.

[0145] In some embodiments, the second network element may receive a ranging or SL positioning service request message and obtain group discovery information from the ranging or SL positioning service request message.

[0146] In some embodiments, the GMLC network element may receive group discovery information sent by the AF network element or the NEF network element.

[0147] In some embodiments, the GMLC network element may receive group discovery information sent by the LCS Client.

[0148] In some embodiments, "obtain", "get", "get", "receive", "transmit", "bidirectional transmission", "send and / or receive" can be interchangeable, and can be interpreted as receiving from other entities, obtaining from protocols, obtaining from higher layers, obtaining by self-processing, autonomous implementation, etc.

[0149] In some embodiments, if the optional embodiments of subsequent steps do not involve the above-mentioned group discovery information, step S2101 can be omitted.

[0150] Step S2102: The second network element sends first information to the first network element, where the first information is used to indicate group discovery information.

[0151] In some embodiments, the first network element is, for example, a LMF network element.

[0152] In some embodiments, the first network element may be used to provide a location management function service to the terminal, and the name is not limited thereto.

[0153] In some embodiments, the second network element may send group discovery information to the first network element.

[0154] In some embodiments, the first network element may receive group discovery information sent by the second network element.

[0155] In some embodiments, after the GMLC network element receives the group discovery information sent by the AF network element or the NEF network element or the LCS Client, it can send the group discovery information to the LMF network element.

[0156] Step S2103: The first network element receives the first information sent by the second network element.

[0157] In some embodiments, the LMF network element may receive group discovery information sent by the GMLC network element.

[0158] In some embodiments, the first network element may also select a second terminal from at least one candidate terminal related to the group discovery information, and the selected second terminal may be used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal.

[0159] In some embodiments, the first network element may also determine a candidate terminal list based on the group discovery information, wherein the candidate terminal list includes at least one candidate terminal, and send the candidate terminal list to the first terminal to support the first terminal to select a second terminal from at least one candidate terminal for ranging or positioning.

[0160] In some embodiments, a candidate terminal refers to a terminal whose location is known or can be known. The number of candidate terminals can be one or more. The candidate terminal list can be determined based on the information of the first terminal and the group discovery information. The candidate terminal list includes at least one candidate terminal, and then the second terminal is selected from the at least one candidate terminal.

[0161] In some embodiments, the first network element may determine the positioning terminal based on the group discovery information, and select and determine the positioning terminal based on one or more of the existing functions such as the location information of the area of ​​interest, the information configured for the terminal, and the QoS required for positioning. The positioning terminal may also be determined based on the group discovery information and one or more of the aforementioned existing function examples. The terminal group to which the determined positioning terminal belongs may be the same as or different from the terminal group to which the target terminal belongs.

[0162] In some embodiments, the first network element may also determine the location of the terminal based on group discovery information, reference information, target information, and the like.

[0163] In some embodiments, the reference information includes at least one of the following: positioning required quality of service (QoS), and terminal preference.

[0164] In some embodiments, the positioning required quality of service QoS may be, for example, Required QoS for the location, that is, QoS required for positioning and / or location.

[0165] In some embodiments, the target information may include at least information describing positioning capabilities.

[0166] In some embodiments, the target information may include any other possible information, such as information describing an established connection, information describing a terminal preference that matches the first terminal, and the like.

[0167] In some embodiments, after determining the candidate terminal list according to the group discovery information, the first network element may further indicate the candidate terminal list to the first terminal, for example, the first network element sends the candidate terminal list to the first terminal.

[0168] Step S2104: The first network element sends group discovery information to the first terminal.

[0169] In some embodiments, after receiving the group discovery information sent by the second network element, the first network element may send the group discovery information to the first terminal.

[0170] In some embodiments, the LMF network element may send group discovery information to the first terminal, and the group discovery information may be used to trigger the first terminal to discover the second terminal.

[0171] In some embodiments, the LMF network element may transparently transmit group discovery information to the first terminal via the AMF network element.

[0172] In some embodiments, the first network element may carry the group discovery information in any possible message and send the message to the first terminal to indicate the group discovery information to the first terminal.

[0173] In some embodiments, the first network element may send a ranging or SL positioning service request message to the first terminal, wherein the ranging or SL positioning service request message may include: group discovery information.

[0174] Step S2105: The first terminal receives group discovery information sent by the first network element.

[0175] In some embodiments, the first terminal can receive group discovery information sent by the LMF network element, or receive group discovery information transmitted by the LMF network element via the AMF network element.

[0176] In some embodiments, the first terminal may receive a ranging or SL positioning service request message sent by the first network element, and obtain group discovery information from the ranging or SL positioning service request message.

[0177] In some embodiments, the first terminal determines that the group discovery information is not received, and sends indication information to the first network element, wherein the indication information is used to instruct the first network element to resend the group discovery information.

[0178] In some embodiments, if the first terminal fails to successfully receive the group discovery information, it may further instruct the first network element to resend the group discovery information.

[0179] Step S2106: The first terminal discovers the second terminal according to the group discovery information.

[0180] In some embodiments, after obtaining the group discovery information, the first terminal may discover the second terminal according to the group discovery information, and the discovered second terminal may be used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal.

[0181] In some embodiments, the first terminal may determine at least one candidate terminal based on the group discovery information, and determine the second terminal from the at least one candidate terminal.

[0182] In some embodiments, the candidate terminal determined by the first terminal based on the group discovery information may be, for example, a terminal that may be selected as a terminal for ranging or positioning the first terminal. The candidate terminal may also be named in any other possible form, such as a second terminal, a reference terminal, etc., without limitation.

[0183] In some embodiments, the first terminal may determine one or more second terminals based on the group discovery information, and select a second terminal that actually participates in ranging or positioning the first terminal from the one or more second terminals, without limitation.

[0184] In some embodiments, the first terminal may also directly receive a candidate terminal list indicated by the first network element, and select a second terminal from at least one candidate terminal included in the candidate terminal list. The selected second terminal may be used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal.

[0185] In some embodiments, after the first terminal discovers the second terminal, the LMF network element may initiate a positioning process for the second terminal to obtain a positioning result of the second terminal.

[0186] In some embodiments, the first terminal may also perform group member discovery based on the received group discovery information, and perform a ranging or positioning process to measure the ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal using the long term evolution positioning protocol (LPP) or the sidelink positioning protocol (SLPP), and calculate the positioning result of the first terminal.

[0187] In some embodiments, if the first terminal does not receive information about the second terminal (such as information about the second terminal discovered by the LMF network element), the first terminal may also perform group member discovery based on the received group discovery information to discover the second terminal that can be used.

[0188] In some embodiments, the first terminal may determine one or more second terminals based on reference information, and select the second terminal from the one or more second terminals based on group discovery information.

[0189] In some embodiments, the first terminal may determine at least one second terminal based on the reference information and the group discovery information, and select the second terminal from the at least one second terminal.

[0190] In some embodiments, the "second terminal" refers to, for example, a second terminal that actually participates in ranging or positioning the first terminal.

[0191] In some embodiments, the reference information includes at least one of the following: positioning required quality of service (QoS), and terminal preference.

[0192] In some embodiments, the positioning required quality of service QoS may be, for example, Required QoS for the location, that is, QoS required for positioning and / or location.

[0193] In some embodiments, the terminal preference, such as the terminal preference preference, may be used to describe the first terminal's preference for terminals that may participate in positioning, and this is not limited.

[0194] In some embodiments, the terminal preference may be, for example, a user equipment (UE) preference (UE preference), which is not limited.

[0195] In some embodiments, the terminal preference, for example, UE1 prefers UE2, or prefers UE3, which is not limited.

[0196] In some embodiments, the terminal preference may also be, for example, preference for terminals with which connections have been established, or preference for terminals belonging to the same cell, which is not limited.

[0197] In some embodiments, a preference standard or preference condition may be predefined, and candidate terminals that meet the preference standard or preference condition may be determined, without limitation.

[0198] In some embodiments, the first terminal may discover at least one candidate terminal in the first terminal group according to the group discovery information, and select a candidate terminal having target information from the at least one candidate terminal as the second terminal.

[0199] In some embodiments, the target information includes at least information describing positioning capabilities.

[0200] In some embodiments, the candidate terminal has target information, indicating that the candidate terminal has positioning capability.

[0201] In some embodiments, the target information may include any other possible information, such as information describing an established connection, information describing a terminal preference that matches the first terminal, and the like.

[0202] In some embodiments, when the first terminal is executing the process of discovering the second terminal based on the group discovery information, it can send a notification to other terminals (such as terminals in the second terminal group) to notify other terminals to feedback relevant information, such as whether it has positioning capability, the cell identifier, whether a connection has been established, etc. The first terminal can discover the second terminal based on the feedback related information.

[0203] In some embodiments, the first terminal may also determine whether other terminals (such as terminals in the second terminal group) have positioning capabilities, cell identifiers, whether a connection has been established, etc. based on information sent from the network side.

[0204] In some embodiments, the first terminal may send information of the second terminal to the first network element, wherein the information of the second terminal is used by the first network element to perform a privacy check to obtain a check result, and determine that the check result meets a condition.

[0205] In some embodiments, the first terminal may send the information of the discovered second terminal to the network side for further checking, for example, privacy checking, and perform ranging or positioning procedures.

[0206] In some embodiments, the first terminal may also send information of the second terminal to the first network element.

[0207] In some embodiments, the first network element performs ranging or positioning on the first terminal based on information of the second terminal.

[0208] In some embodiments, the first terminal may select a new second terminal and instruct the first network element to perform ranging or positioning on the new second terminal.

[0209] In some embodiments, the number of the second terminal may be one or more.

[0210] In some embodiments, when communication between a first terminal and a second terminal fails, a new second terminal is reactivated, and ranging or positioning of the first terminal is performed based on the new second terminal.

[0211] In some embodiments, if the first terminal is measured or positioned based on information of a second terminal, if communication between the first terminal and the second terminal fails, a new second terminal can be reactivated and the first terminal can be measured or positioned based on the new second terminal.

[0212] In some embodiments, a target number is determined based on actual positioning accuracy requirements, and a target number of second terminals is selected from a plurality of second terminals, where the target number can be, for example, one or more.

[0213] In some embodiments, any possible method may be used to implement selecting a target number of second terminals from a plurality of second terminals.

[0214] In some embodiments, the number of targets may be positively correlated with the actual positioning accuracy requirement. For example, the higher the actual positioning accuracy requirement, the more targets there are; and the lower the actual positioning accuracy requirement, the fewer targets there are.

[0215] In some embodiments, if there are multiple second terminals, the first terminal can be ranged or positioned based on the information of one or at least part of the second terminals. The first terminal can be ranged or positioned based on the information of one second terminal according to the actual positioning accuracy requirements. The first terminal can also be ranged or positioned based on the information of multiple second terminals.

[0216] Step S2107: The first terminal sends second information to the first network element, where the second information is used to indicate positioning assistance data.

[0217] In some embodiments, the positioning assistance data is data used as a reference for ranging or positioning of the first terminal.

[0218] In some embodiments, the positioning assistance data and the positioning result of the second terminal are used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal to obtain a ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or a positioning result of the first terminal.

[0219] In some embodiments, the positioning assistance data may be, for example, an angle between a line connecting the first terminal and the second terminal and a reference line, or may be any other possible reference data for assisting ranging or positioning.

[0220] In some embodiments, the first terminal may obtain the positioning assistance data by executing the protocol process agreed upon in the above-mentioned LPP or SLPP.

[0221] In some embodiments, the first terminal may send a ranging or SL positioning service response message to the first network element, and the ranging or SL positioning service response message may include information of the second terminal and / or second information to indicate positioning assistance data based on the second information.

[0222] In some embodiments, the ranging or SL positioning service response message may be, for example, a Ranging / SL positioning service response, and the Ranging / SL positioning service response may include positioning assistant data (an optional example of positioning assistance data).

[0223] In step S2108, the first network element receives second information sent by the first terminal, where the second information is used to indicate positioning assistance data, and determines the positioning result of the second terminal, as well as the ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or the positioning result of the first terminal.

[0224] In some embodiments, the first network element may receive the positioning assistance data sent by the first terminal, and initiate a positioning process for the second terminal to determine a positioning result of the second terminal.

[0225] In some embodiments, the first network element may initiate a positioning procedure for the second terminal, for example, by executing a Mobile Terminated Location Request (MT-LR) procedure.

[0226] In some embodiments, the first network element may perform a Mobile Terminated Location Request (MT-LR) procedure to determine a positioning result of the second terminal.

[0227] In some embodiments, the first network element may refer to the positioning assistance data and the positioning result of the second terminal to determine the ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or the positioning result of the first terminal.

[0228] In some embodiments, the LMF network element may refer to the positioning assistance data and the positioning result of the positioning terminal to determine the ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or the positioning result of the first terminal.

[0229] Step S2109: The first network element sends a ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or a positioning result of the first terminal to the second network element.

[0230] In some embodiments, after determining the ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or the positioning result of the first terminal, the first network element may send the ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or the positioning result of the first terminal to the second network element.

[0231] In some embodiments, the LMF network element may send the ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or the positioning result of the first terminal to the GMLC network element.

[0232] In some embodiments, the LMF network element may send a ranging or SL positioning service response message to the GMLC network element, and may carry the ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or the positioning result of the first terminal in the ranging or SL positioning service response message to indicate the ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or the positioning result of the first terminal to the GMLC network element.

[0233] Step S2110: The second network element receives a ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or a positioning result of the first terminal sent by the first network element.

[0234] In some embodiments, the second network element may receive a ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or a positioning result of the first terminal indicated by the first network element.

[0235] In some embodiments, the GMLC network element may receive a ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or a positioning result of the first terminal indicated by the LMF network element.

[0236] In some embodiments, the GMLC network element can receive the ranging or SL positioning service response message sent by the LMF network element, and obtain the ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or the positioning result of the first terminal from the ranging or SL positioning service response message.

[0237] Step S2111: The second network element sends a ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or a positioning result of the first terminal to a third network element and / or a location service client.

[0238] In some embodiments, the second network element may send a ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or a positioning result of the first terminal to the third network element and / or the location service client.

[0239] In some embodiments, the GMLC network element may send a ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or a positioning result of the first terminal to the AF network element or the NEF network element.

[0240] In some embodiments, the GMLC network element may send a ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or a positioning result of the first terminal to the location service client.

[0241] In some embodiments, the GMLC network element may send a ranging or SL positioning service response message to the AF network element or NEF network element or location service client, and carry the ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or the positioning result of the first terminal in the ranging or SL positioning service response message.

[0242] Step S2112: The third network element and / or the location service client receives the ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or the positioning result of the first terminal sent by the second network element.

[0243] The ranging or positioning method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S2101 to S2112. For example, step S2101 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S2102 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and so on. For another example, steps S2101+S2102 can be implemented as independent embodiments, steps S2101+S2102+S2103 can be implemented as independent embodiments, and so on, but are not limited thereto.

[0244] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other embodiments or other examples.

[0245] FIG2b is an interactive diagram of a ranging or positioning method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG2b, the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a ranging or positioning method, which can be used in a communication system 100. The method includes:

[0246] Step S2201: The first network element receives group discovery information sent by the third network element.

[0247] In some embodiments, the first network element may receive the group discovery information sent by the third network element via the second network element.

[0248] Step S2202: The first network element sends group discovery information to the first terminal.

[0249] Step S2203: The first terminal receives group discovery information sent by the first network element.

[0250] For the description of step S2201, step S2202, and step S2203, please refer to the embodiment shown in FIG2a above, which will not be repeated here.

[0251] Step S2204: The first terminal discovers the second terminal according to the group discovery information.

[0252] In some embodiments, after obtaining the group discovery information, the first terminal may discover the second terminal according to the group discovery information, and the discovered second terminal may be used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal.

[0253] In some embodiments, the first terminal may determine at least one candidate terminal based on the group discovery information, and determine the second terminal from the at least one candidate terminal.

[0254] In some embodiments, the candidate terminal determined by the first terminal based on the group discovery information may be, for example, a terminal that may be selected as a terminal for ranging or positioning the first terminal. The candidate terminal may also be named in any other possible form, such as a second terminal, a reference terminal, etc., without limitation.

[0255] In some embodiments, the first terminal may determine one or more second terminals based on the group discovery information, and select a second terminal that actually participates in ranging or positioning the first terminal from the one or more second terminals, without limitation.

[0256] In some embodiments, the first terminal may also directly receive a candidate terminal list indicated by the first network element, and select a second terminal from at least one candidate terminal included in the candidate terminal list. The selected second terminal may be used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal.

[0257] In some embodiments, after the first terminal discovers the second terminal, the LMF network element may initiate a positioning process for the second terminal to obtain a positioning result of the second terminal.

[0258] In some embodiments, the first terminal may also perform group member discovery based on the received group discovery information, and perform a ranging or positioning process to measure the ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal using the long term evolution positioning protocol (LPP) or the sidelink positioning protocol (SLPP), and calculate the positioning result of the first terminal.

[0259] In some embodiments, if the first terminal does not receive information about the second terminal (such as information about the second terminal discovered by the LMF network element), the first terminal may also perform group member discovery based on the received group discovery information to discover the second terminal that can be used.

[0260] In some embodiments, the first terminal may determine one or more second terminals based on reference information, and select the second terminal from the one or more second terminals based on group discovery information.

[0261] In some embodiments, the first terminal may determine at least one second terminal based on the reference information and the group discovery information, and select the second terminal from the at least one second terminal.

[0262] In some embodiments, the "second terminal" refers to, for example, a second terminal that actually participates in ranging or positioning the first terminal.

[0263] In some embodiments, the reference information includes at least one of the following: positioning required quality of service (QoS), and terminal preference.

[0264] In some embodiments, the positioning required quality of service QoS may be, for example, Required QoS for the location, that is, QoS required for positioning and / or location.

[0265] In some embodiments, the terminal preference, such as the terminal preference preference, may be used to describe the first terminal's preference for terminals that may participate in positioning, and this is not limited.

[0266] In some embodiments, the terminal preference may be, for example, a user equipment (UE) preference (UE preference), which is not limited.

[0267] In some embodiments, the terminal preference, for example, UE1 prefers UE2, or prefers UE3, which is not limited.

[0268] In some embodiments, the terminal preference may also be, for example, preference for terminals with which connections have been established, or preference for terminals belonging to the same cell, which is not limited.

[0269] In some embodiments, a preference standard or preference condition may be predefined, and candidate terminals that meet the preference standard or preference condition may be determined, without limitation.

[0270] In some embodiments, the first terminal may discover at least one candidate terminal in the first terminal group according to the group discovery information, and select a candidate terminal having target information from the at least one candidate terminal as the second terminal.

[0271] In some embodiments, the target information includes at least information describing positioning capabilities.

[0272] In some embodiments, the candidate terminal has target information, indicating that the candidate terminal has positioning capability.

[0273] In some embodiments, the target information may include any other possible information, such as information describing an established connection, information describing a terminal preference that matches the first terminal, and the like.

[0274] In some embodiments, when the first terminal is executing the process of discovering the second terminal based on the group discovery information, it can send a notification to other terminals (such as terminals in the second terminal group) to notify other terminals to feedback relevant information, such as whether it has positioning capability, the cell identifier, whether a connection has been established, etc. The first terminal can discover the second terminal based on the feedback related information.

[0275] In some embodiments, the first terminal may also determine whether other terminals (such as terminals in the second terminal group) have positioning capabilities, cell identifiers, whether a connection has been established, etc. based on information sent from the network side.

[0276] In some embodiments, the first terminal may send the information of the discovered second terminal to the network side for further checking, for example, privacy checking, and perform ranging or positioning procedures.

[0277] In some embodiments, the first terminal may also send information of the second terminal to the first network element.

[0278] In some embodiments, the first network element may perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal based on the information of the second terminal.

[0279] In some embodiments, the number of the second terminal may be one or more.

[0280] In some embodiments, if the first terminal is measured or positioned based on information of a second terminal, if communication between the first terminal and the second terminal fails, a new second terminal can be reactivated and the first terminal can be measured or positioned based on the new second terminal.

[0281] In some embodiments, a target number is determined based on actual positioning accuracy requirements, and a target number of second terminals is selected from a plurality of second terminals, where the target number can be, for example, one or more.

[0282] In some embodiments, any possible method may be used to implement selecting a target number of second terminals from a plurality of second terminals.

[0283] In some embodiments, the number of targets may be positively correlated with the actual positioning accuracy requirement. For example, the higher the actual positioning accuracy requirement, the more targets there are; and the lower the actual positioning accuracy requirement, the fewer targets there are.

[0284] In some embodiments, if there are multiple second terminals, the first terminal can be ranged or positioned based on the information of one or at least part of the second terminals. The first terminal can be ranged or positioned based on the information of one second terminal according to the actual positioning accuracy requirements. The first terminal can also be ranged or positioned based on the information of multiple second terminals.

[0285] Step S2205: The first terminal sends second information to the first network element, where the second information is used to indicate positioning assistance data.

[0286] Step S2206: The first network element receives second information sent by the first terminal, where the second information is used to indicate positioning assistance data.

[0287] For the description of step S2205 and step S2206, please refer to the embodiment shown in FIG2a above, which will not be repeated here.

[0288] Step S2207: The first network element performs a positioning process to determine a positioning result of the second terminal.

[0289] In some embodiments, after receiving the positioning assistance data, the first network element may determine the positioning result of the second terminal by performing a positioning process.

[0290] In some embodiments, the positioning process is such as an MT-LR process.

[0291] In some embodiments, the first network element may retrieve the location of the selected second terminal through the MT_LR process. The second terminal is a terminal whose location is known or can be known. The location of the second terminal may be acquired and saved in advance, and the location of the second terminal may be directly retrieved and determined.

[0292] Step S2208: The first network element determines a ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or a positioning result of the first terminal.

[0293] Step S2209: The first network element sends a ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or a positioning result of the first terminal to the third network element.

[0294] In some embodiments, the first network element may send a ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or a positioning result of the first terminal to the third network element through the second network element.

[0295] In some embodiments, the first network element sends a ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or a positioning result of the first terminal to the second network element.

[0296] In some embodiments, the second network element receives a ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or a positioning result of the first terminal sent by the first network element.

[0297] In some embodiments, the second network element sends a ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or a positioning result of the first terminal to the third network element.

[0298] Step S2210: The third network element receives a ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or a positioning result of the first terminal sent by the first network element.

[0299] For the description of step S2208, step S2208, and step S2210, please refer to the embodiment shown in Figure 2a above, and will not be repeated here.

[0300] The ranging or positioning method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S2201 to S2210. For example, step S2201 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S2202 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and so on. For another example, steps S2201+S2202 can be implemented as independent embodiments, steps S2201+S2202+S2203 can be implemented as independent embodiments, and so on, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0301] Figure 3a is a flow chart of a ranging or positioning method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 3a, the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a ranging or positioning method for a first network element, the method comprising:

[0302] Step S3101: Send group discovery information to a first terminal, where the group discovery information is used to indicate that a second terminal belongs to the first terminal group, and the second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal.

[0303] For a detailed description of step S3101, please refer to the embodiment shown in FIG2 .

[0304] In this embodiment, the first network element can send group discovery information to the first terminal, wherein the group discovery information is used to indicate that the second terminal belongs to the first terminal group, and the second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning of the first terminal. Thus, the first network element can promptly indicate the group discovery information to the first terminal, thereby realizing ranging or positioning of the first terminal based on the second terminal in the first terminal group.

[0305] FIG3b is a flow chart of a ranging or positioning method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG3b, the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a ranging or positioning method for a first network element, the method comprising:

[0306] Step S3201: Receive first information sent by a second network element, wherein the first information is used to indicate group discovery information, the group discovery information is used to indicate that the second terminal belongs to the first terminal group, and the second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal.

[0307] Step S3202: Send group discovery information to the first terminal.

[0308] Step S3203: Receive second information sent by the first terminal, where the second information is used to indicate positioning assistance data, and the positioning assistance data is data referenced for ranging or positioning of the first terminal.

[0309] Step S3204: Determine the ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or the positioning result of the first terminal based on the positioning assistance data and the positioning result of the second terminal.

[0310] Step S3205: Send the ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or the positioning result of the first terminal to the second network element.

[0311] For a detailed description of steps S3201 - S3205 , please refer to the embodiment shown in FIG2 .

[0312] The ranging or positioning method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S3201 to S3205. For example, step S3201 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S3202 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and so on. For another example, step S3201 + step S3202 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S3201 + step S3202 + step S3203 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and so on, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0313] Therefore, in this embodiment, the first network element can receive first information sent by the second network element, wherein the first information is used to indicate group discovery information, wherein the group discovery information is used to indicate that the second terminal belongs to the first terminal group, the second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal, and send group discovery information to the first terminal, receive second information sent by the first terminal, wherein the second information is used to indicate positioning assistance data, the positioning assistance data is data referenced for ranging or positioning of the first terminal, and according to the positioning assistance data and the positioning result of the second terminal, determine the ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or the positioning result of the first terminal, and send the ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or the positioning result of the first terminal to the second network element, so that the first network element can obtain the group discovery information in a timely manner, and indicate the group discovery information to the first terminal, realize ranging or positioning of the first terminal based on the second terminal in the first terminal group, and ensure that the ranging or positioning result can be effectively executed.

[0314] Figure 3c is a flow chart of a ranging or positioning method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 3c, the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a ranging or positioning method for a first network element, the method comprising:

[0315] Step S3301: Receive first information sent by a second network element, wherein the first information is used to indicate group discovery information, the group discovery information is used to indicate that the second terminal belongs to the first terminal group, and the second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal.

[0316] Step S3302: Determine a candidate terminal list according to the group discovery information, wherein the candidate terminal list includes: at least one candidate terminal, and the second terminal belongs to the at least one candidate terminal.

[0317] Step S3303: Send group discovery information and a candidate terminal list to the first terminal to trigger the first terminal to select a second terminal from at least one candidate terminal.

[0318] Step S3304: Receive second information sent by the first terminal, where the second information is used to indicate positioning assistance data, and the positioning assistance data is data referenced for ranging or positioning of the first terminal.

[0319] Step S3305: Determine the positioning result of the second terminal.

[0320] Step S3306: Determine the ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or the positioning result of the first terminal based on the positioning assistance data and the positioning result of the second terminal.

[0321] Step S3307: Send the ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or the positioning result of the first terminal to the second network element.

[0322] For a detailed description of steps S3301 - S3307 , please refer to the embodiment shown in FIG2 .

[0323] The ranging or positioning method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S3301 to S3307. For example, step S3301 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S3302 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and so on. For another example, step S3301 + step S3302 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S3301 + step S3302 + step S3303 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and so on, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0324] Therefore, the first network element can also determine a candidate terminal list based on the group discovery information indicated by the second network element, wherein the candidate terminal list includes at least one candidate terminal, and send the candidate terminal list to the first terminal so that the first terminal selects the second terminal from the at least one candidate terminal. Thus, the first network element can promptly obtain the group discovery information and promptly indicate the candidate terminal list determined based on the group discovery information to the first terminal to support the first terminal to discover the second terminal in the specified candidate terminal list. While being able to support the timely and effective execution of the ranging or positioning process, it can also be effectively applied to personalized ranging or positioning scenarios.

[0325] FIG4a is a flow chart of a ranging or positioning method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG4a, the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a ranging or positioning method for a first terminal, the method comprising:

[0326] Step S4101: Receive group discovery information sent by a first network element, wherein the group discovery information is used to indicate that a second terminal belongs to a first terminal group, and the second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal.

[0327] In some embodiments, the first terminal may be, for example, a terminal being ranged or positioned, and the first terminal may also be referred to as a target terminal.

[0328] In some embodiments, the first terminal may receive group discovery information sent by the first network element to clarify that the second terminal belongs to the first terminal group.

[0329] In some embodiments, the target terminal may receive group discovery information sent by the LMF network element to clearly determine that the terminal belongs to the first terminal group.

[0330] For a detailed description of step S4101, please refer to the embodiment shown in FIG2 .

[0331] In this embodiment, the first terminal can receive group discovery information sent by the first network element, wherein the group discovery information is used to indicate that the second terminal belongs to the first terminal group, and the second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning of the first terminal. Thus, the first terminal can promptly obtain the group discovery information indicated by the second network element, and realize ranging or positioning of the first terminal based on the second terminal in the first terminal group.

[0332] FIG4 b is a flow chart of a ranging or positioning method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG4 b , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a ranging or positioning method for a first terminal, the method comprising:

[0333] Step S4201: Receive group discovery information sent by a first network element, wherein the group discovery information is used to indicate that a second terminal belongs to a first terminal group, and the second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal.

[0334] Step S4202: discover the second terminal according to the group discovery information.

[0335] In some embodiments, the first terminal may discover the second terminal with reference to the group discovery information.

[0336] In some embodiments, the first terminal may further select the second terminal from at least one candidate terminal related to the group discovery information.

[0337] For a detailed description of steps S4201 - S4202 , please refer to the embodiment shown in FIG2 .

[0338] The ranging or positioning method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S4201 to S4203. For example, step S4201 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S4202 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and so on. For another example, step S4201 and step S4202 can be implemented as independent embodiments, but are not limited thereto.

[0339] In this embodiment, the first terminal can receive group discovery information sent by the first network element, wherein the group discovery information is used to indicate that the second terminal belongs to the first terminal group, and the second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal, discover the second terminal according to the group discovery information, and obtain the group discovery information in a timely manner. Based on the group discovery information, the second terminal in the first terminal group is discovered to support the effective execution of the ranging or positioning process.

[0340] Figure 4c is a flow chart of a ranging or positioning method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 4c, the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a ranging or positioning method for a first terminal, the method comprising:

[0341] Step S4301: Receive group discovery information sent by a first network element, wherein the group discovery information is used to indicate that a second terminal belongs to a first terminal group, and the second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal.

[0342] Step S4302: Receive a candidate terminal list sent by the first network element, wherein the candidate terminal list is determined by group discovery information, and the candidate terminal list includes: at least one candidate terminal.

[0343] Step S4303: Select a second terminal from at least one candidate terminal.

[0344] Step S4304: Send second information to the first network element, where the second information is used to indicate positioning assistance data, which is data referenced for ranging or positioning the first terminal. The positioning assistance data and the positioning result of the second terminal are used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal to obtain the ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or the positioning result of the first terminal.

[0345] For a detailed description of steps S4301-S4304, please refer to the embodiment of FIG2 above.

[0346] The ranging or positioning method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S4301 to S4304. For example, step S4301 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S4302 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and so on. For another example, step S4301 + step S4302 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step S4301 + step S4302 + step S4303 can be implemented as independent embodiments, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0347] In this embodiment, a first terminal may receive group discovery information sent by a first network element, where the group discovery information is used to indicate that the second terminal belongs to the first terminal group. The second terminal may perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal, receive a candidate terminal list determined and sent by the first network element based on the group discovery information, where the candidate terminal list includes at least one candidate terminal, select the second terminal from the at least one candidate terminal, and send positioning assistance data to the first network element. The positioning assistance data is data referenced for performing ranging or positioning on the first terminal. The positioning assistance data and the positioning result of the second terminal are used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal to obtain a ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or a positioning result of the first terminal. This enables timely acquisition of group discovery information, discovery of the second terminal in the specified candidate terminal list, and generation of positioning assistance data. The positioning assistance data and the positioning result of the second terminal may be used to support effective execution of network-assisted ranging or positioning processes.

[0348] Figure 5a is a flow chart of a ranging or positioning method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 5a, the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a ranging or positioning method for a second network element, the method comprising:

[0349] Step S5101: Receive group discovery information sent by a third network element and / or a location service client, wherein the group discovery information is used to indicate that a second terminal belongs to a first terminal group, and the second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal.

[0350] For a detailed description of step S5101, please refer to the embodiment shown in FIG2 .

[0351] In this embodiment, the second network element can receive group discovery information sent by the third network element and / or the location service client, wherein the group discovery information is used to indicate that the second terminal belongs to the first terminal group, and the second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning of the first terminal. Thus, the second network element can promptly obtain the group discovery information indicated by the third network element and / or the location service client, and realize ranging or positioning of the first terminal based on the second terminal in the first terminal group.

[0352] Figure 5b is a flow chart of a ranging or positioning method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 5b, the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a ranging or positioning method for a second network element, the method comprising:

[0353] Step S5201: Receive group discovery information sent by a third network element and / or a location service client, wherein the group discovery information is used to indicate that a second terminal belongs to a first terminal group, and the second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal.

[0354] Step S5202: Send first information to the first network element, where the first information is used to indicate group discovery information.

[0355] Step S5203: Receive a ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or a positioning result of the first terminal sent by the first network element.

[0356] Step S5204: Send the ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or the positioning result of the first terminal to the third network element and / or the location service client.

[0357] For a detailed description of steps S5201 - S5204 , please refer to the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 .

[0358] The ranging or positioning method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S5201 to S5204. For example, step S5201 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S5202 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and so on. For another example, step S5202 + step S5202 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S5201 + step S5202 + step S5203 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and so on, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0359] In this embodiment, the second network element may receive group discovery information sent by a third network element and / or a location service client, wherein the group discovery information is used to indicate that the second terminal belongs to the first terminal group. The second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal, and send first information to the first network element, wherein the first information is used to indicate the group discovery information. The second network element receives the ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or the positioning result of the first terminal sent by the first network element, and sends the ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or the positioning result of the first terminal to the third network element and / or the location service client. As a result, the second network element can promptly learn the group discovery information indicated by the third network element and / or the location service client and promptly indicate the group discovery information to the first network element. The group discovery information can be used by the first network element or the first terminal to discover the second terminal in the first terminal group to support the effective execution of the ranging or positioning process. The second network element may also promptly indicate the ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or the positioning result of the first terminal to the third network element and / or the location service client.

[0360] Figure 6a is a flow chart of a ranging or positioning method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 6a, the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a ranging or positioning method for a third network element and / or a location service client, the method comprising:

[0361] Step S6101: Send group discovery information to a second network element, where the group discovery information is used to indicate that the second terminal belongs to a first terminal group, and the second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal.

[0362] For a detailed description of step S6101, please refer to the embodiment shown in FIG2 .

[0363] In this embodiment, the third network element and / or the location service client can send group discovery information to the second network element, wherein the group discovery information is used to indicate that the second terminal belongs to the first terminal group, and the second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning of the first terminal. Thus, the second network element can promptly obtain the group discovery information indicated by the third network element and / or the location service client, and realize ranging or positioning of the first terminal based on the second terminal in the first terminal group.

[0364] FIG6b is a flow chart of a ranging or positioning method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG6b, the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a ranging or positioning method for a third network element and / or a location service client, the method comprising:

[0365] Step S6201: Send group discovery information to a second network element, where the group discovery information is used to indicate that the second terminal belongs to a first terminal group, and the second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal.

[0366] Step S6202: Receive a ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or a positioning result of the first terminal sent by the second network element.

[0367] For a detailed description of steps S6201 - S6202 , please refer to the embodiment shown in FIG2 .

[0368] The ranging or positioning method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S6201 and S6202. For example, step S6201 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step S6202 may be implemented as an independent embodiment. For another example, steps S6201 and S6202 may be implemented as independent embodiments, but are not limited thereto.

[0369] In this embodiment, the third network element and / or the location service client can send group discovery information to the second network element, wherein the group discovery information is used to indicate that the second terminal belongs to the first terminal group, and the second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning of the first terminal, and receive the ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or the positioning result of the first terminal sent by the second network element. Thus, the second network element can promptly obtain the group discovery information indicated by the third network element and / or the location service client, and realize ranging or positioning of the first terminal based on the second terminal in the first terminal group. The third network element and / or the location service client can promptly obtain the ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or the positioning result of the first terminal.

[0370] In the various embodiments of Figures 3a-3c above, the various embodiments of Figures 4a-4c above, the various embodiments of Figures 5a-5b above, and the various embodiments of Figures 6a-6b above, the group discovery information is also used to identify the first terminal group and / or to indicate that the first terminal belongs to the first terminal group.

[0371] In each embodiment of the above-mentioned Figures 3a to 3c, each embodiment of the above-mentioned Figures 4a to 4c, each embodiment of the above-mentioned Figures 5a to 5b, and each embodiment of the above-mentioned Figures 6a to 6b, the group discovery information includes at least one of the following: first information, second information, third information, and fourth information, wherein the first information is used to identify the first terminal group information, the second information is used to indicate that the second terminal needs to be in the first terminal group, the third information is used to indicate that the first terminal and the second terminal need to be in the same terminal group, and the fourth information is used to indicate that the first terminal and the second terminal need to be in the first terminal group, thereby effectively improving the comprehensiveness of the group discovery information indication to support accurate discovery of the second terminal used to measure the distance or position the first terminal.

[0372] In the various embodiments of Figures 3a to 3c above, the various embodiments of Figures 4a to 4c above, the various embodiments of Figures 5a to 5b above, and the various embodiments of Figures 6a to 6b above, the first information can be used to identify a specified terminal group (for example, the first terminal group), the second information can be used to indicate that the second terminal can be in the first terminal group, and the third information can be used to indicate that the first terminal and the second terminal can be in the same terminal group. At this time, the terminal group to which the first terminal and the second terminal belong can be the first terminal group indicated by the first information, or can also not be the first terminal group. The fourth information can be used to indicate that the first terminal and the second terminal can be in the first terminal group, and there is no restriction on this.

[0373] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other embodiments or other examples.

[0374] The following is an exemplary introduction to the above method.

[0375] Optional embodiment:

[0376] Figure 7 is a flow chart of a ranging or positioning method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, which shows an interaction diagram between a first terminal, a first network element, a second network element, a third network element and a location service client. The first terminal is taken as Target UE1, the first network element is an LMF network element, the second network element is a GMLC network element, the third network element is an AF network element or a NEF network element, and the location service client is an LCS Client. During the interaction process, Located UE2, Located UE3 and the next generation radio access network (NG-RAN) may be involved. Located UE2 and / or Located UE3 may be, for example, an optional example of the second terminal, and there is no limitation on this.

[0377] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, for network-assisted sidelink positioning, the method provided in the above embodiment can be used to consider the group discovery information to select a terminal for reference when ranging or positioning the first terminal. The ranging or SL positioning process can be performed based on a terminal determined from a specified terminal group. For example, a positioning terminal within a specified terminal group can be used for network-assisted sidelink positioning. Positioning terminal discovery can also be applied to situations where a NAS connection between a target terminal (an optional example of a first terminal) and the network is available or unavailable. In the following steps, the ranging or SL positioning process can be triggered by the network.

[0378] Step 0. Service authorization policy / parameter issuance.

[0379] In some embodiments, the service authorization policy / parameter issuance may be, for example, Service authurization policy / parameter provisioning, which is not limited.

[0380] In some embodiments, during this process, the group discovery information configured for the terminal may be stored on the network side.

[0381] In some embodiments, the service authorization policy / parameters may be provided to the Target UE1 and one or more potential positioning terminals (eg, Located UE2 and / or Located UE3), without limitation.

[0382] In some embodiments, group discovery information can be configured through the application layer or network, and the relevant group discovery information can be stored in the network, for example, in a UDR network element / UDM network element, and the relevant group identifier (ID) is associated with the terminal subscription data and stored as part of the terminal subscription data.

[0383] Step 1a. Send ranging or SL positioning service request message (including group discovery information).

[0384] In some embodiments, the LCS Client may send a ranging or SL positioning service request message to the GMLC network element.

[0385] Step 1b. Send ranging or SL positioning service request message (including group discovery information).

[0386] In some embodiments, the AF network element may send a ranging or SL positioning service request message to the GMLC network element.

[0387] In some embodiments, the AF network element may send a ranging or SL positioning service request message to the GMLC network element through the NEF network element.

[0388] In some embodiments, the group discovery information may be, for example, group discovery information.

[0389] In some embodiments, the ranging or SL positioning service request message may be, for example, a Ranging / SL positioning service request, which may include group discovery information.

[0390] In some embodiments, the LCS Client or the AF network element (may be through the NEF network element) may send a ranging or SL positioning service request message for ranging or SL positioning of the target terminal, which may include group discovery information to indicate that a terminal in a specified terminal group is used in the process. The group discovery information may include a specified terminal group ID, and / or indicate that the terminal selected for the process may be in the specified terminal group, the target terminal may not be associated with any terminal group, or indicate that the positioning terminal selected for this process is in the same terminal group as the target terminal.

[0391] In some embodiments, the positioning terminal is, for example, the aforementioned Located UE2 and / or Located UE3, and the target terminal is, for example, the aforementioned Target UE1, which is not limited thereto.

[0392] Step 2. Send ranging or SL positioning service request message (including group discovery information).

[0393] In some embodiments, the GMLC network element may send a ranging or SL positioning service request message (including group discovery information) to the LMF network element.

[0394] In some embodiments, the GMLC network element may send a ranging or SL positioning service request message (including group discovery information) to the AMF network element.

[0395] Step 3: Consider the group discovery information and determine the positioning terminal to be used.

[0396] In some embodiments, the AMF network element or LMF network element may determine the positioning terminal based on the group discovery information, and select and determine the positioning terminal based on one or more of the existing functions such as the location information of the area of ​​interest, the information configured for the terminal, and the QoS required for positioning. The positioning terminal may also be determined together with the group discovery information and one or more of the aforementioned existing function examples. The terminal group to which the determined positioning terminal belongs may be the same as or different from the terminal group to which the target terminal belongs.

[0397] In some embodiments, the AMF network element or LMF network element can also perform UE LMF selection and UE privacy check, without any restrictions.

[0398] Step 4. Send ranging or SL positioning service request message (including group discovery information).

[0399] In some embodiments, the AMF network element or LMF network element may also send a ranging or SL positioning service request message to the target terminal (Target UE1), and the group discovery information may be included in the ranging or SL positioning service request message.

[0400] In some embodiments, if the AMF network element or the LMF network element discovers the positioning terminal based on the group discovery information, the information of the positioning terminal can also be indicated to the target terminal, without limitation.

[0401] In some embodiments, the LMF network element may send a ranging or SL positioning service request message to the Target UE1 through the AMF network element, which may include the group discovery information and / or positioning terminal information determined in step 3, without limitation.

[0402] Step 5a. Execute the positioning process of the positioning terminal.

[0403] In some embodiments, the positioning procedure of the positioning terminal may be, for example, a Located UEs positioning procedure.

[0404] Step 6: The group member of the positioning terminal is discovered and the ranging or SL positioning process is performed.

[0405] In some embodiments, Target UE1 may perform group member discovery on the positioning terminal (Located UE2 and / or Located UE3) based on the group discovery information received from step 4, and perform ranging / SL positioning procedures with the positioning terminal to perform measurements and calculate results using LPP or SLPP.

[0406] In some embodiments, if the Target UE1 does not receive the information of the positioning terminal (such as the information of the second terminal sent by the LMF network element), the Target UE1 may also perform group member discovery based on the received group discovery information to discover the positioning terminal that can be used.

[0407] In some embodiments, the Target UE1 may send the information of the discovered positioning terminal to the network side for further checking, for example, privacy checking, and perform ranging or positioning procedures.

[0408] Step 7. Send ranging or SL positioning service response message (including positioning assistance data).

[0409] In some embodiments, the ranging or SL positioning service response message may be, for example, a Ranging / SL positioning service response, and the Ranging / SL positioning service response may include positioning assistant data (an optional example of positioning assistance data).

[0410] In some embodiments, the ranging or SL positioning service response message may also include information of the positioning terminal, which is not limited.

[0411] In some embodiments, Target UE1 may send positioning assistance data and related positioning terminal information (eg, 5G Globally Unique Temporary UE Identity (GUTI)), without limitation.

[0412] In some embodiments, step 5b may also be performed after step 7.

[0413] Step 5b: Execute the positioning process of the positioning terminal.

[0414] In some embodiments, the positioning procedure of the positioning terminal may be, for example, a Located UEs positioning procedure.

[0415] In some embodiments, the position of the selected positioning terminal can be retrieved through some mechanisms (e.g., MT_LR process), which can be performed in step 5a after determining the positioning terminal, or in step 5b after retrieving the positioning assistance data between Target UE1 and the positioning terminal, without limitation.

[0416] Step 8. Determine the location of the target terminal.

[0417] In some embodiments, the location of the Target UE1 may be determined.

[0418] In some embodiments, the LMF network element may determine the location of the target terminal based on the positioning assistance data of ranging / SL positioning and the location of the positioning terminal determined in step 5a or step 5b.

[0419] Step 9. Send ranging or SL positioning service response message (including the ranging or positioning result of the target terminal).

[0420] In some embodiments, the ranging or positioning result of the target terminal includes a ranging result between the target terminal and the positioning terminal or a positioning result of the target terminal.

[0421] In some embodiments, the LMF network element may send the ranging or positioning results of the target terminal to the GMLC network element.

[0422] In some embodiments, the LMF network element may send a ranging or SL positioning service response message to the GMLC network element, and may carry the ranging or positioning result of the target terminal in the ranging or SL positioning service response message to indicate the ranging or positioning result of the target terminal to the GMLC network element.

[0423] Step 10a. Send a ranging or SL positioning service response message (including the ranging or positioning result of the target terminal).

[0424] In some embodiments, the GMLC network element may send the ranging or positioning result of the target terminal to the LCS Client.

[0425] In some embodiments, the GMLC network element may send a ranging or SL positioning service response message to the LCS Client, and may carry the ranging or positioning result of the target terminal in the ranging or SL positioning service response message to indicate the ranging or positioning result of the target terminal to the LCS Client.

[0426] Step 10b. Send a ranging or SL positioning service response message (including the ranging or positioning result of the target terminal).

[0427] In some embodiments, the GMLC network element may send the ranging or positioning result of the target terminal to the AF network element (via the NEF network element).

[0428] In some embodiments, the GMLC network element may send a ranging or SL positioning service response message to the AF network element (through the NEF network element), and may carry the ranging or positioning result of the target terminal in the ranging or SL positioning service response message to indicate the ranging or positioning result of the target terminal to the LCS Client.

[0429] In some embodiments, the ranging or positioning result of the target terminal may be sent to the LCS Client or the AF network element (may be through the NEF network element).

[0430] In some embodiments, for ranging / SL positioning services through the 5GC network, the UE can also trigger the MO-LR process to interact with the LMF to perform ranging / SL positioning, where the discovery of related terminals can also be performed according to the method provided above.

[0431] In some embodiments, ranging / positioning services may be performed based on a reference terminal and / or an auxiliary terminal and / or a server terminal.

[0432] In some embodiments, if ranging / positioning services are performed based on a reference terminal and / or an auxiliary terminal and / or a server terminal, the discovery of related terminals may also be performed according to the method provided above.

[0433] In some embodiments, for the process of exposing ranging / SL positioning services through the 5GC network, the reference terminal and / or auxiliary terminal and / or server terminal can also be determined based on the group discovery information.

[0434] In some embodiments, for ranging / SL positioning services or exposure services performed through the 5GC network, the server terminal can provide positioning method determination, auxiliary data distribution, and / or position calculation. The server terminal can be on the same terminal as other terminals, or on an independent terminal. For position calculation, such as the position calculation of the target terminal, the server terminal can further complete the position calculation of the target terminal by obtaining the position information of the target terminal and the positioning terminal and / or the reference terminal and / or the auxiliary terminal.

[0435] The embodiments of the present disclosure further provide an apparatus for implementing any of the above methods. For example, an apparatus is provided, comprising units or modules for implementing each step performed by a terminal in any of the above methods. For another example, another apparatus is provided, comprising units or modules for implementing each step performed by a network device (e.g., an access network device, a core network function node, a core network device, etc.) in any of the above methods.

[0436] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a ranging or positioning device proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 8, the ranging or positioning device includes: a transceiver module, configured to send group discovery information to a first terminal, wherein the group discovery information is used to indicate that a second terminal belongs to the first terminal group, and the second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal; or to receive group discovery information sent by a first network element, wherein the group discovery information is used to indicate that the second terminal belongs to the first terminal group, and the second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal; or to receive group discovery information sent by a third network element and / or a location service client, wherein the group discovery information is used to indicate that the second terminal belongs to the first terminal group, and the second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal; or to send group discovery information to a second network element, wherein the group discovery information is used to indicate that the second terminal belongs to the first terminal group, and the second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal.

[0437] Optionally, the above-mentioned transceiver module is used to execute the relevant steps performed by the first network element in any of the above methods, which will not be repeated here.

[0438] Optionally, the ranging or positioning device also includes at least one of a sending module and a receiving module, the sending module is used to execute the steps related to sending performed by the first network element in any of the above methods, and the receiving module is used to execute the steps related to receiving performed by the first network element in any of the above methods, which will not be repeated here.

[0439] It should be understood that the division of the various units or modules in the above device is merely a division of logical functions. In actual implementation, they may be fully or partially integrated into a physical entity, or they may be physically separated. In addition, the units or modules in the device may be implemented in the form of a processor calling software: for example, the device includes a processor, the processor is connected to a memory, and the memory stores instructions. The processor calls the instructions stored in the memory to implement any of the above methods or implement the functions of the various units or modules of the above device, wherein the processor is, for example, a general-purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU) or a microprocessor, and the memory is a memory within the device or a memory outside the device. Alternatively, the units or modules in the device can be implemented in the form of hardware circuits, and the functions of some or all of the units or modules can be realized by designing the hardware circuits. The above-mentioned hardware circuits can be understood as one or more processors; for example, in one implementation, the above-mentioned hardware circuit is an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), which realizes the functions of some or all of the above units or modules by designing the logical relationship of the components in the circuit; for example, in another implementation, the above-mentioned hardware circuit can be realized by a programmable logic device (PLD). Taking a field programmable gate array (FPGA) as an example, it can include a large number of logic gate circuits, and the connection relationship between the logic gate circuits is configured by configuring the configuration file, thereby realizing the functions of some or all of the above units or modules. All units or modules of the above devices can be realized in the form of software called by the processor, or in the form of hardware circuits, or in part by the form of software called by the processor, and the rest by hardware circuits.

[0440] As shown in Figure 9a, the communication device 9100 includes one or more processors 9101. The processor 9101 can be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor, for example, a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor can be used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processing unit can be used to control the communication device (such as a base station, baseband chip, terminal device, terminal device chip, DU or CU, etc.), execute programs, and process program data. The processor 9101 is used to call instructions to enable the communication device 9100 to perform any of the above methods.

[0441] In some embodiments, the communication device 9100 further includes one or more memories 9102 for storing instructions. Optionally, all or part of the memories 9102 may be located outside the communication device 9100.

[0442] In some embodiments, the communication device 9100 further includes one or more transceivers 9103. When the communication device 9100 includes one or more transceivers 9103, the communication steps such as sending and receiving in the above method are performed by the transceiver 9103, and the other steps are performed by the processor 9101.

[0443] In some embodiments, a transceiver may include a receiver and a transmitter, which may be separate or integrated. Optionally, the terms transceiver, transceiver unit, transceiver, and transceiver circuit may be used interchangeably; the terms transmitter, transmitting unit, transmitter, and transmitting circuit may be used interchangeably; and the terms receiver, receiving unit, receiver, and receiving circuit may be used interchangeably.

[0444] Optionally, the communication device 9100 further includes one or more interface circuits 9104, which are connected to the memory 9102. The interface circuits 9104 can be used to receive signals from the memory 9102 or other devices, and can be used to send signals to the memory 9102 or other devices. For example, the interface circuits 9104 can read instructions stored in the memory 9102 and send the instructions to the processor 9101.

[0445] The communication device 9100 described in the above embodiment may be a network device or a terminal, but the scope of the communication device 9100 described in the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the structure of the communication device 9100 may not be limited by FIG. 9a. The communication device may be an independent device or may be part of a larger device. For example, the communication device may be: 1) an independent integrated circuit IC, or a chip, or a chip system or subsystem; (2) a collection of one or more ICs, optionally, the above IC collection may also include a storage component for storing data or programs; (3) an ASIC, such as a modem; (4) a module that can be embedded in other devices; (5) a receiver, a terminal device, an intelligent terminal device, a cellular phone, a wireless device, a handheld device, a mobile unit, an in-vehicle device, a network device, a cloud device, an artificial intelligence device, etc.; (6) others, etc.

[0446] FIG9b is a schematic diagram of the structure of a chip 9200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. If the communication device 9100 can be a chip or a chip system, reference can be made to the schematic diagram of the structure of the chip 9200 shown in FIG9b , but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0447] The chip 9200 includes one or more processors 9201, and the processor 9201 is used to call instructions so that the chip 9200 executes any of the above methods.

[0448] In some embodiments, chip 9200 further includes one or more interface circuits 9202, which are connected to memory 9203. Interface circuits 9202 can be used to receive signals from memory 9203 or other devices, and can be used to send signals to memory 9203 or other devices. For example, interface circuit 9202 can read instructions stored in memory 9203 and send the instructions to processor 9201. Optionally, the terms interface circuit, interface, transceiver pin, and transceiver are interchangeable.

[0449] In some embodiments, the chip 9200 further includes one or more memories 9203 for storing instructions. Alternatively, all or part of the memories 9203 may be located outside the chip 9200.

[0450] The present disclosure also proposes a storage medium having instructions stored thereon, which, when executed on the communication device 9100, causes the communication device 9100 to execute any of the above methods. Optionally, the storage medium is an electronic storage medium. Optionally, the storage medium is a computer-readable storage medium, but is not limited thereto and may also be a storage medium readable by other devices. Optionally, the storage medium may be a non-transitory storage medium, but is not limited thereto and may also be a temporary storage medium.

[0451] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the processor is a circuit with signal processing capabilities. In one implementation, the processor can be a circuit with instruction reading and execution capabilities, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a graphics processing unit (GPU) (which can be understood as a microprocessor), or a digital signal processor (DSP). In another implementation, the processor can implement certain functions through the logical relationship of the hardware circuit. The logical relationship of the above-mentioned hardware circuit is fixed or reconfigurable. For example, the processor is a hardware circuit implemented by an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a programmable logic device (PLD), such as an FPGA. In a reconfigurable hardware circuit, the process of the processor loading a configuration document and implementing the hardware circuit configuration can be understood as the process of the processor loading instructions to implement the functions of some or all of the above units or modules. In addition, it can also be a hardware circuit designed for artificial intelligence, which can be understood as an ASIC, such as a neural network processing unit (NPU), a tensor processing unit (TPU), a deep learning processing unit (DPU), etc.

[0452] The present disclosure also provides a program product, which, when executed by the communication device 9100, enables the communication device 9100 to perform any of the above methods. Optionally, the program product is a computer program product.

[0453] The present disclosure also proposes a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform any one of the above methods.

[0454] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs. When the computer program is loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present disclosure are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer program can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. 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 or data center that includes one or more available media integrated therein. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a high-density digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0455] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professionals and technicians can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this disclosure.

[0456] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0457] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present disclosure, but the scope of protection of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this disclosure should be included in the scope of protection of the present disclosure. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present disclosure should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A ranging or positioning method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Group discovery information is sent to a first terminal, wherein the group discovery information is used to indicate that a second terminal belongs to a first terminal group, and the second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The group discovery information is further used to identify the first terminal group and / or to indicate that the first terminal belongs to the first terminal group.

3. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 2, characterized in that: The group discovery information includes at least one of the following: First information, wherein the first information is used to identify the first terminal group information; second information, wherein the second information is used to indicate that the second terminal needs to be in the first terminal group; third information, wherein the third information is used to indicate that the first terminal and the second terminal need to be in the same terminal group; Fourth information, wherein the fourth information is used to indicate that the first terminal and the second terminal need to be in the first terminal group.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Determine a candidate terminal list according to the group discovery information, wherein the candidate terminal list includes: at least one candidate terminal, and the second terminal belongs to the at least one candidate terminal; The candidate terminal list is sent to the first terminal.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Receive first information sent by a second network element, wherein the first information is used to indicate the group discovery information.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The method further comprises: receiving second information sent by the first terminal, wherein the second information is used to indicate positioning assistance data, where the positioning assistance data is data referenced by the first terminal for ranging or positioning; Determining a positioning result of the second terminal; The ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or the positioning result of the first terminal is determined according to the positioning assistance data and the positioning result of the second terminal.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending a ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or a positioning result of the first terminal to a second network element, wherein the ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or the positioning result of the first terminal is forwarded by the second network element to a third network element and / or a location service client.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The method further comprises: receiving information of a second terminal sent by the first terminal; The first terminal is distanced or located according to the information of the second terminal.

9. A distance measurement or positioning method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Group discovery information sent by a first network element is received, wherein the group discovery information is used to indicate that a second terminal belongs to a first terminal group, and the second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The group discovery information is further used to identify the first terminal group and / or to indicate that the first terminal belongs to the first terminal group.

11. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 10, characterized in that: The group discovery information includes at least one of the following: First information, wherein the first information is used to identify the first terminal group information; second information, wherein the second information is used to indicate that the second terminal needs to be in the first terminal group; third information, wherein the third information is used to indicate that the first terminal and the second terminal need to be in the same terminal group; Fourth information, wherein the fourth information is used to indicate that the first terminal and the second terminal need to be in the first terminal group.

12. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The second terminal is discovered according to the group discovery information.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The discovering the second terminal according to the group discovery information includes: Determine at least one candidate terminal according to the group discovery information; The second terminal is selected from the at least one candidate terminal.

14. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The discovering the second terminal according to the group discovery information includes: Determine at least one candidate terminal according to the reference information, and select the second terminal from the at least one candidate terminal according to the group discovery information, wherein the reference information includes at least one of the following: positioning required quality of service QoS, terminal preference; or, discovering at least one candidate terminal in the first terminal group according to the group discovery information; A candidate terminal having target information is selected from the at least one candidate terminal as the second terminal, wherein the target information at least includes information describing positioning capability.

15. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that: The method further comprises: receiving a candidate terminal list sent by the first network element, wherein the candidate terminal list is determined by the group discovery information, and the candidate terminal list includes: at least one candidate terminal; The second terminal is determined from the at least one candidate terminal.

16. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 15, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Sending second information to the first network element, wherein the second information is used to indicate positioning assistance data, the positioning assistance data is data referenced for ranging or positioning the first terminal, and the positioning assistance data and the positioning result of the second terminal are used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal to obtain the ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or the positioning result of the first terminal.

17. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 15, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Sending information of a second terminal to the first network element, wherein the first network element performs ranging or positioning on the first terminal according to the information of the second terminal.

18. A distance measurement or positioning method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Receive group discovery information sent by a third network element and / or a location service client, wherein the group discovery information is used to indicate that the second terminal belongs to a first terminal group, and the second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that The group discovery information is further used to identify the first terminal group and / or to indicate that the first terminal belongs to the first terminal group.

20. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 19, characterized in that: The group discovery information includes at least one of the following: First information, wherein the first information is used to identify the first terminal group information; second information, wherein the second information is used to indicate that the second terminal needs to be in the first terminal group; third information, wherein the third information is used to indicate that the first terminal and the second terminal need to be in the same terminal group; Fourth information, wherein the fourth information is used to indicate that the first terminal and the second terminal need to be in the first terminal group.

21. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 20, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Sending first information to a first network element, wherein the first information is used to indicate the group discovery information.

22. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 21, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Receive a ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or a positioning result of the first terminal sent by a first network element.

23. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 22, characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending a ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or a positioning result of the first terminal to the third network element and / or the location service client.

24. A distance measurement or positioning method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Group discovery information is sent to the second network element, wherein the group discovery information is used to indicate that the second terminal belongs to the first terminal group, and the second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein: The group discovery information is further used to identify the first terminal group and / or to indicate that the first terminal belongs to the first terminal group.

26. The method according to any one of claims 24-25, characterized in that The group discovery information includes at least one of the following: First information, wherein the first information is used to identify the first terminal group information; second information, wherein the second information is used to indicate that the second terminal needs to be in the first terminal group; third information, wherein the third information is used to indicate that the first terminal and the second terminal need to be in the same terminal group; Fourth information, wherein the fourth information is used to indicate that the first terminal and the second terminal need to be in the first terminal group.

27. The method according to any one of claims 24 to 26, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Receive a ranging result of the first terminal relative to the second terminal or a positioning result of the first terminal sent by the second network element.

28. A distance measuring or positioning device, characterized in that: The device comprises: a transceiver module, configured to send group discovery information to a first terminal, wherein the group discovery information is used to indicate that a second terminal belongs to a first terminal group, and the second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal; or Used to receive group discovery information sent by a first network element, wherein the group discovery information is used to indicate that a second terminal belongs to a first terminal group, and the second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal; or, Used to receive group discovery information sent by a third network element and / or a location service client, wherein the group discovery information is used to indicate that the second terminal belongs to the first terminal group, and the second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal; or, Used to send group discovery information to a second network element, wherein the group discovery information is used to indicate that the second terminal belongs to a first terminal group, and the second terminal is used to perform ranging or positioning on the first terminal.

29. A communication device, characterized in that: include: One or more processors; The processor is used to call instructions so that the communication device executes the method according to any one of claims 1-27.

30. A communication system, characterized in that: It includes a first network element, a first terminal, a second network element, a third network element and / or a location service client, wherein the first network element is configured to implement the method described in any one of claims 1-8, the first terminal is configured to implement the method described in any one of claims 9-17, the second network element is configured to implement the method described in any one of claims 18-23, and the third network element and / or the location service client is configured to implement the method described in any one of claims 24-27.

31. A storage medium storing instructions, characterized in that: When the instruction is executed on a communication device, the communication device is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 27.

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