Method and device for reporting user equipment location information

Abstract

An embodiment of the present invention provides a method and apparatus for reporting user equipment location information, including a primary access node comprising: an acquisition module for acquiring user equipment location information, wherein the user equipment location information includes serving cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment; and a transmission module for transmitting the user equipment location information to a core network node, wherein the location information is used by the core network node to determine a control policy for the user equipment based on the user equipment location information. The method and apparatus for reporting user equipment location information provided by the embodiment of the present invention are used to achieve more fine-grained control of UEs.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments of the present invention relate to the field of wireless communication technologies, and in particular to a method and apparatus for reporting location information of a user equipment. Background Art

[0002] With the development of Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, the Multiple Stream Aggregation (MSA) solution has been introduced. The MSA solution allows a single user equipment (UE) to be served by multiple evolved Node Bs (eNBs) simultaneously, with one eNB being the master evolved Node B (MeNB) and the remaining eNBs being secondary evolved Node Bs (SeNBs).

[0003] In the MSA solution, the UE only establishes a signaling plane connection with the MeNB that serves it. Similarly, only the MeNB establishes a signaling plane connection with core network nodes such as the Mobility Management Entity (MME), Serving Gateway (S-GW), and Packet Data Network Gateway (P-GW).

[0004] Each core network node in the network, such as the Policy Control and Charging Rules Function (PCRF), implements control policies based on the UE's location information. The UE's location information is based on the UE's serving cell information and is reported to the core network node by the eNB in ​​that serving cell via signaling. In the MSA solution, since only the MeNB establishes a signaling plane connection with the core network node, the core network node only receives the MeNB's serving cell information reported by the MeNB. Therefore, the UE's location information is based on the MeNB's serving cell information.

[0005] In the current UE location reporting method, the core network node can only receive the serving cell information of the MeNB, and the granularity of the obtained UE location information is not accurate enough, so the granularity of the control of the UE is also not accurate enough. Summary of the Invention

[0006] Embodiments of the present invention provide a method and apparatus for reporting location information of a user equipment, which are used to achieve finer granularity control of the user equipment.

[0007] A first aspect provides a primary access node, including:

[0008] an acquisition module, configured to acquire location information of a user equipment, where the location information of the user equipment includes serving cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment;

[0009] The sending module is used to send the location information of the user equipment to the core network node, wherein the location information is used by the core network node to determine the control strategy of the user equipment according to the location information of the user equipment.

[0010] In combination with the first aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the sending module is specifically used to send the location information of the user equipment to the core network node through control plane signaling.

[0011] In combination with the first possible implementation manner of the first aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the serving cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment includes:

[0012] any one or more of identification information of a serving cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, bearer information corresponding to a serving cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, a tracking area identifier of a serving cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, and an access network type of a serving cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment;

[0013] The sending module is specifically configured to send the location information of the user equipment to the core network node via a radio access bearer modification indication message.

[0014] In combination with the first possible implementation manner of the first aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the serving cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment includes:

[0015] any one or more of identification information of a serving cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, the number of messages or data packets transmitted by the serving cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, a tracking area identifier of a serving cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, and an access network type of a serving cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment;

[0016] or the serving cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, including: multi-flow indication information, where the multi-flow indication information is used to indicate that the user equipment is served by at least two access nodes;

[0017] The sending module is specifically configured to send the location information of the user equipment to the core network node via a location information update message.

[0018] In combination with the first aspect, in the fourth possible implementation method of the first aspect, the sending module is specifically used to send the location information of the user device to the core network node through a first GTP-U message, and the location information of the user device is located in the extended header of the first GTP-U message; or send the location information of the user device to the core network node through a second GTP-U message, and the second GTP-U message is only used to send the location information of the user device.

[0019] In combination with the fourth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, in a fifth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the serving cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment includes:

[0020] Any one or more of the identification information of the service cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, the number of messages or data packets transmitted by the service cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, the tracking area identifier of the service cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, and the access network type of the service cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment.

[0021] In combination with any possible implementation of the first aspect to the fifth possible implementation of the first aspect, in the sixth possible implementation of the first aspect, the control policy of the user device includes: any one or more of the billing control policy of the user device, the rate control policy of the user device, the service quality control policy of the user device, and the priority control policy of the user device.

[0022] A second aspect provides a core network node, including:

[0023] A receiving module, configured to receive location information of a user equipment sent by a primary access node, where the location information of the user equipment includes serving cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment;

[0024] A processing module is configured to determine a control strategy for the user equipment according to the location information of the user equipment.

[0025] In combination with the second aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the receiving module is specifically configured to receive the location information of the user equipment sent by the primary access node through control plane signaling.

[0026] In conjunction with the first possible implementation manner of the second aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the serving cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment includes:

[0027] any one or more of identification information of a serving cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, a tracking area identifier of a serving cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, bearer information corresponding to a serving cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, and an access network type of a serving cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment;

[0028] The receiving module is specifically configured to receive the location information of the user equipment sent by the primary access node through a radio access bearer modification indication message.

[0029] In combination with the first possible implementation manner of the second aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the serving cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment includes:

[0030] any one or more of identification information of a serving cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, the number of messages or data packets transmitted by the serving cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, a tracking area identifier of a serving cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, and an access network type of a serving cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment;

[0031] or information of a serving cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, including: multi-flow indication information, where the multi-flow indication information is used to indicate that the user equipment is served by at least two access nodes;

[0032] The receiving module is specifically configured to receive the location information of the user equipment sent by the primary access node via a location information update message.

[0033] In combination with the second aspect, in the fourth possible implementation method of the second aspect, the receiving module is specifically used to receive the location information of the user device sent by the primary access node through the first GTP-U message, and the location information of the user device is located in the extended header of the GTP-U message; or receive the location information of the user device sent by the primary access node through the second GTP-U message, and the second GTP-U message is only used to send the location information of the user device.

[0034] In combination with the fourth possible implementation manner of the second aspect, in a fifth possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the serving cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment includes:

[0035] Any one or more of the identification information of the service cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, the number of messages or data packets transmitted by the service cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, the tracking area identifier of the service cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, and the access network type of the service cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment.

[0036] In combination with any possible implementation method of the second aspect to the fifth possible implementation method of the second aspect, in the sixth possible implementation method of the second aspect, the control policy of the user device includes: any one or more of the billing control policy of the user device, the rate control policy of the user device, the service quality control policy of the user device, and the priority control policy of the user device.

[0037] A third aspect provides a secondary access node, including:

[0038] An acquisition module, configured to acquire serving cell information of the secondary access node of the user equipment;

[0039] a sending module, configured to send the serving cell information of the secondary access node of the user equipment to the core network node through a first GTP-U message, where the serving cell information of the secondary access node of the user equipment is located in an extended header of the first GTP-U message; or send the serving cell information of the secondary access node of the user equipment to the core network node through a second GTP-U message, where the second GTP-U message is only used to send the serving cell information of the secondary access node of the user equipment; wherein the serving cell information of the secondary access node is used by the core network node to determine a control policy for the user equipment according to the serving cell information of the at least one secondary access node of the user equipment after receiving the serving cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment;

[0040] The service cell information of the secondary access node of the user equipment includes: identification information of the service cell of the secondary access node of the user equipment, bearer information corresponding to the service cell of the secondary access node of the user equipment, tracking area identification information of the service cell of the secondary access node of the user equipment, and any one or more of the access network type of the service cell of the secondary access node of the user equipment.

[0041] In combination with the third aspect, in the first possible implementation of the third aspect, the control policy of the user device includes: any one or more of the billing control policy of the user device, the rate control policy of the user device, the service quality control policy of the user device, and the priority control policy of the user device.

[0042] A fourth aspect provides a core network node, including:

[0043] a receiving module, configured to receive serving cell information of the secondary access node of the user equipment sent by the secondary access node through a first GTP-U message, where the serving cell information of the secondary access node of the user equipment is located in an extended header of the first GTP-U message; or receive serving cell information of the secondary access node of the user equipment sent by the secondary access node through a second GTP-U message, where the second GTP-U message is only used to send the serving cell information of the secondary access node of the user equipment;

[0044] a processing module, configured to, after receiving serving cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, determine a control strategy for the user equipment according to the serving cell information of the at least one secondary access node of the user equipment;

[0045] The location information of the service cell of the secondary access node of the user equipment includes: the identification information of the service cell of the secondary access node of the user equipment, the bearer information corresponding to the service cell of the secondary access node of the user equipment, the tracking area identification information of the service cell of the secondary access node of the user equipment, and any one or more of the access network type of the service cell of the secondary access node of the user equipment.

[0046] In combination with the fourth aspect, in the first possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the control policy of the user device includes: any one or more of the billing control policy of the user device, the rate control policy of the user device, the service quality control policy of the user device, and the priority control policy of the user device.

[0047] A fifth aspect provides a method for reporting user equipment location information, including:

[0048] The primary access node obtains location information of a user equipment, where the location information of the user equipment includes serving cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment;

[0049] The primary access node sends the location information of the user equipment to the core network node, wherein the location information is used by the core network node to determine a control strategy for the user equipment according to the location information of the user equipment.

[0050] In conjunction with the fifth aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the primary access node sending the location information of the user equipment to the core network node includes:

[0051] The primary access node sends the location information of the user equipment to the core network node through control plane signaling.

[0052] In combination with the first possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the serving cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment includes:

[0053] any one or more of identification information of a serving cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, bearer information corresponding to a serving cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, a tracking area identifier of a serving cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, and an access network type of a serving cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment;

[0054] The primary access node sending the location information of the user equipment to the core network node through control plane signaling includes:

[0055] The primary access node sends the location information of the user equipment to the core network node through a radio access bearer modification indication message.

[0056] In combination with the first possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the serving cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment includes:

[0057] any one or more of identification information of a serving cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, the number of messages or data packets transmitted by the serving cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, a tracking area identifier of a serving cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, and an access network type of a serving cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment;

[0058] or the serving cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, including: multi-flow indication information, where the multi-flow indication information is used to indicate that the user equipment is served by at least two access nodes;

[0059] The primary access node sending the location information of the user equipment to the core network node through control plane signaling includes:

[0060] The primary access node sends the location information of the user equipment to the core network node through a location information update message.

[0061] In conjunction with the fifth aspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the primary access node sending the location information of the user equipment to the core network node includes:

[0062] The primary access node sends the location information of the user equipment to the core network node through a first GTP-U message, where the location information of the user equipment is located in an extended header of the first GTP-U message;

[0063] Alternatively, the primary access node sends the location information of the user equipment to the core network node through a second GTP-U message, where the second GTP-U message is only used to send the location information of the user equipment.

[0064] In combination with the fourth possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, in a fifth possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the serving cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment includes:

[0065] Any one or more of the identification information of the service cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, the number of messages or data packets transmitted by the service cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, the tracking area identifier of the service cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, and the access network type of the service cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment.

[0066] In combination with any possible implementation of the fifth aspect to the fifth possible implementation of the fifth aspect, in the sixth possible implementation of the fifth aspect, the control policy of the user device includes: any one or more of the billing control policy of the user device, the rate control policy of the user device, the service quality control policy of the user device, and the priority control policy of the user device.

[0067] A sixth aspect provides a method for reporting user equipment location information, including:

[0068] The core network node receives location information of a user equipment sent by a primary access node, where the location information of the user equipment includes serving cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment;

[0069] The core network node determines a control strategy for the user equipment according to the location information of the user equipment.

[0070] In conjunction with the sixth aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, the core network node receiving the location information of the user equipment sent by the primary access node includes:

[0071] The core network node receives the location information of the user equipment sent by the primary access node through control plane signaling.

[0072] In combination with the first possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, the serving cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment includes:

[0073] any one or more of identification information of a serving cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, a tracking area identifier of a serving cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, bearer information corresponding to a serving cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, and an access network type of a serving cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment;

[0074] The core network node receiving the location information of the user equipment sent by the primary access node through control plane signaling includes:

[0075] The core network node receives the location information of the user equipment sent by the primary access node through a radio access bearer modification indication message.

[0076] In combination with the first possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, the serving cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment includes:

[0077] any one or more of identification information of a serving cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, the number of messages or data packets transmitted by the serving cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, a tracking area identifier of a serving cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, and an access network type of a serving cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment;

[0078] or information of a serving cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, including: multi-flow indication information, where the multi-flow indication information is used to indicate that the user equipment is served by at least two access nodes;

[0079] The core network node receiving the location information of the user equipment sent by the primary access node through control plane signaling includes:

[0080] The core network node receives the location information of the user equipment sent by the primary access node through a location information update message.

[0081] In conjunction with the sixth aspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, the core network node receiving the location information of the user equipment sent by the primary access node includes:

[0082] The core network node receives the location information of the user equipment sent by the primary access node through a first GTP-U message, where the location information of the user equipment is located in an extension header of the GTP-U message;

[0083] Or the core network node receives the location information of the user equipment sent by the primary access node through a second GTP-U message, and the second GTP-U message is only used to send the location information of the user equipment.

[0084] In combination with the fourth possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, in a fifth possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, the serving cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment includes:

[0085] Any one or more of the identification information of the service cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, the number of messages or data packets transmitted by the service cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, the tracking area identifier of the service cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, and the access network type of the service cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment.

[0086] In combination with any possible implementation of the sixth aspect to the fifth possible implementation of the sixth aspect, in the sixth possible implementation of the sixth aspect, the control policy of the user device includes: any one or more of the billing control policy of the user device, the rate control policy of the user device, the service quality control policy of the user device, and the priority control policy of the user device.

[0087] A seventh aspect provides a method for reporting user equipment location information, including:

[0088] The secondary access node obtains serving cell information of the secondary access node of the user equipment;

[0089] The secondary access node sends the serving cell information of the secondary access node of the user equipment to the core network node through a first GTP-U message, where the serving cell information of the secondary access node of the user equipment is located in an extended header of the first GTP-U message; or the secondary access node sends the serving cell information of the secondary access node of the user equipment to the core network node through a second GTP-U message, where the second GTP-U message is only used to send the serving cell information of the secondary access node of the user equipment; the serving cell information of the secondary access node is used by the core network node to determine a control policy for the user equipment according to the serving cell information of the at least one secondary access node of the user equipment after receiving the serving cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment;

[0090] The service cell information of the secondary access node of the user equipment includes: identification information of the service cell of the secondary access node of the user equipment, bearer information corresponding to the service cell of the secondary access node of the user equipment, tracking area identification information of the service cell of the secondary access node of the user equipment, and any one or more of the access network type of the service cell of the secondary access node of the user equipment.

[0091] In combination with the seventh aspect, in the first possible implementation of the seventh aspect, the control policy of the user device includes: any one or more of the billing control policy of the user device, the rate control policy of the user device, the service quality control policy of the user device, and the priority control policy of the user device.

[0092] An eighth aspect provides a method for reporting user equipment location information, including:

[0093] The core network node receives the serving cell information of the secondary access node of the user equipment sent by the secondary access node through a first GTP-U message, where the serving cell information of the secondary access node of the user equipment is located in an extended header of the first GTP-U message; or the core network node receives the serving cell information of the secondary access node of the user equipment sent by the secondary access node through a second GTP-U message, where the second GTP-U message is only used to send the serving cell information of the secondary access node of the user equipment;

[0094] After receiving the serving cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, the core network node determines the control strategy of the user equipment according to the serving cell information of the at least one secondary access node of the user equipment;

[0095] The location information of the service cell of the secondary access node of the user equipment includes: the identification information of the service cell of the secondary access node of the user equipment, the bearer information corresponding to the service cell of the secondary access node of the user equipment, the tracking area identification information of the service cell of the secondary access node of the user equipment, and any one or more of the access network type of the service cell of the secondary access node of the user equipment.

[0096] In combination with the eighth aspect, in the first possible implementation of the eighth aspect, the control policy of the user device includes: any one or more of the billing control policy of the user device, the rate control policy of the user device, the service quality control policy of the user device, and the priority control policy of the user device.

[0097] The method and apparatus for reporting user equipment location information provided in the embodiments of the present invention obtain the serving cell information of at least one SeNB of the UE through the MeNB and send the information to the core network node, so that the core network node can achieve more fine-grained control over the UE. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0098] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative labor.

[0099] Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of a first embodiment of a master access node provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0100] Figure 2 This is a signaling flow chart for reporting location information through the bearer modification process in the SAE system;

[0101] Figure 3 This is a signaling flow chart for reporting location information through the location information update process in the SAE system;

[0102] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the structure of a core network node embodiment 1 provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0103] Figure 5 A schematic structural diagram of a first embodiment of an auxiliary access node provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0104] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the structure of a core network node according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

[0105] Figure 7 Flowchart of Example 1 of a method for reporting user equipment location information provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0106] Figure 8 Flowchart of Embodiment 2 of the method for reporting user equipment location information provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0107] Figure 9 Flowchart of Embodiment 3 of the method for reporting user equipment location information provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0108] Figure 10 This is a flowchart of a fourth embodiment of a method for reporting user equipment location information provided by an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0109] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention more clear, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field based on the embodiments of the present invention without making any creative efforts shall fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0110] MSA solutions can be divided into two types: packet-based architecture and radio access bearer (RAB-based) architecture. The packet-based architecture is referred to as the 3C architecture, and the RAB-based architecture is referred to as the 1A architecture.

[0111] In the 3C architecture, the UE establishes a signaling plane connection only with its serving MeNB. Only the MeNB establishes a signaling plane connection with the core network node, and only the MeNB establishes a user plane data connection with the core network node. SeNBs serving the UE have no connection to the core network node; data is exchanged between the SeNB and the MeNB. In other words, in the 3C architecture, only the MeNB exchanges signaling and data with the core network node. Data sent from the SeNB to the core network, and vice versa, must be transited through the MeNB.

[0112] In the 1A architecture, the UE only establishes a signaling plane connection with the MeNB serving it, and only the MeNB establishes a signaling plane connection with the core network node. Both the MeNB and SeNB have user plane data connections with the core network node, but a service is only transmitted on one MeNB or SeNB.

[0113] Taking the System Architecture Evolution system as an example, in the 3C architecture, signaling is only exchanged between the MeNB and the MME, and data is only exchanged between the MeNB and the S-GW. In the 1A architecture, signaling is only exchanged between the MeNB and the MME, while both the MeNB and SeNB exchange data with the S-GW.

[0114] The location information of the UE in the network is obtained based on the service cell information of the eNB serving the UE. The user's location information can be transmitted to the core network node during the attachment process, the location update process (Tracking Area Update, TAU), the routing area update (Routing Area Update, RAU) or the service request process. In the MSA solution, since only the MeNB establishes a signaling plane connection with the core network node, regardless of the 3C architecture or the 1A architecture, and the user's location information is transmitted to the core network node through the signaling of each process, the core network node can only receive the service cell information of the MeNB sent by the MeNB. In other words, in the MSA solution, the UE's location information is based on the service cell information of the MeNB serving the UE.

[0115] However, in the MSA solution, a UE is served by both a MeNB and one or more SeNBs. Reporting only the MeNB's serving cell information to the core network node results in inaccurate UE location information. While network service providers can use UE location information to control billing, speed, priority, and other aspects of the UE, inaccurate UE location information prevents more granular control over the UE.

[0116] It should be noted that the method and apparatus for reporting user equipment location information provided by the present invention are applicable not only to the SAE system, but also to other network communication systems such as the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). The only difference between these systems is that the network architectures of these communication systems are different, but all of them can use the method provided by the embodiments of the present invention to report user equipment location information. In the following embodiments of the present invention, the SAE system architecture is used as an example to illustrate the method for reporting user equipment location information provided by the present invention.

[0117] In addition, in the embodiment of the present invention, the MeNB and SeNB can be access nodes of any form, for example, the MeNB and SeNB can be macro eNBs and pico eNBs in the same system, or the MeNB and SeNB can be macro eNBs and access points (APs) in the same system, respectively. As long as the MeNB and SeNB can provide services to the UE at the same time, the MeNB and SeNB can serve the UE at the same time.

[0118] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of the master access node embodiment 1 provided in the embodiment of the present invention is shown as follows: Figure 1 As shown, the master access node of this embodiment includes:

[0119] The acquisition module 11 is configured to acquire location information of a user equipment, where the location information of the user equipment includes serving cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment.

[0120] Specifically, the MeNB provided in this embodiment is used to report the location information of the UE to the core network node, wherein the MeNB provides services for the UE, and at least one SeNB also provides services for the UE.

[0121] Since the UE's location information reflects the UE's location, and the coverage of the MeNB's serving cell is generally larger than that of the SeNB's serving cell, if the core network node obtains the serving cell information of the SeNB serving the UE, it will obtain a more accurate location of the UE. Therefore, by simultaneously reporting the serving cell information of the SeNB serving the UE to the core network node, the core network node will obtain more granular UE location information than if only the MeNB's serving cell information were reported to the core network node.

[0122] Therefore, the MeNB provided in this embodiment includes an acquisition module 11, which is configured to acquire UE location information, where the UE location information includes serving cell information of at least one SeNB of the UE. The serving cell information of the SeNB may be any information that can characterize the SeNB. The acquisition module 11 may acquire the SeNB's serving cell information through data exchange between the MeNB and the SeNB, or may acquire the SeNB's serving cell information through information reported by the UE to the MeNB.

[0123] The sending module 12 is configured to send the location information of the user equipment to the core network node, wherein the location information is used by the core network node to determine a control strategy for the user equipment according to the location information of the user equipment.

[0124] Specifically, after the acquisition module 11 obtains at least one SeNB location information of the UE, the sending module 12 will send the location information to the core network node. Taking the SAE system as an example, the core network nodes include MME, S-GW, P-GW, PCRF, etc., wherein the MME establishes a signaling plane connection with the MeNB, and the S-GW establishes a user plane data connection with the MeNB. The sending module 12 can send the UE's location information to the MME or S-GW. The MME or S-GW sends the UE's location information to the PCRF through the P-GW. The PCRF configures different charging or control policies for the UE based on the different location information of the UE, and sends the configured charging or control policies to execution entities such as the Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF) or the Bearing Binding and Event Report Function (BBERF), thereby performing corresponding control on the UE.

[0125] Because the UE's location information includes the serving cell information of at least one SeNB of the UE, the core network node can obtain a more accurate location of the UE based on this location information, thereby being able to formulate a more granular control policy for the UE. Because the MeNB has a signaling plane connection and a user plane data connection with the core network node, the sending module 12 can send the UE's location information to the core network node via control plane signaling, or the sending module 12 can send the UE's location information to the core network node via a user plane message.

[0126] In this embodiment, the serving cell information of at least one SeNB of the UE is obtained through the MeNB, and the information is sent to the core network node, so that the core network node can achieve more fine-grained control over the UE.

[0127] There are two architectures for MSA. Figure 1 The master access node shown will perform different specific processing methods, which are described in detail below.

[0128] Under the 1A architecture, since the MeNB and SeNB establish user-plane data connections with the core network node respectively, that is, the MeNB and SeNB establish bearers with the core network node respectively. When the SeNB needs to provide services for the UE, the sending module 12 in the MeNB can send a radio access bearer modification indication message to the core network node. The radio access bearer modification indication message includes the UE's location information, so that the UE's location information can be sent to the core network node without changing the existing signaling process. Based on this situation, the service cell information of at least one SeNB of the UE includes: identification information of the service cell of at least one SeNB of the UE, bearer information corresponding to the service cell of at least one SeNB of the UE, tracking area identification of the service cell of at least one SeNB of the UE, and any one or more of the access network type of the service cell of at least one SeNB of the UE.

[0129] The above processing of MeNB is described by taking the SAE system as an example. Figure 2 This is a signaling flow chart for reporting location information through the bearer modification process in the SAE system. Figure 2 The MME, S-GW, P-GW, and PCRF in the SAE system shown are collectively referred to as core network nodes.

[0130] When a SeNB in ​​the network begins serving a UE, the MeNB needs to notify the SeNB of relevant information such as network configuration. Simultaneously, in step S201, the MeNB may obtain the SeNB's serving cell information. The SeNB's serving cell information may be any information that can characterize the serving cell served by the SeNB for the UE, such as any one or more of the following: SeNB's serving cell identification information, bearer information corresponding to the SeNB's serving cell, SeNB's serving cell tracking area identification, and the SeNB's serving cell access network type.

[0131] Since a new SeNB is added to serve the UE, the UE's bearer information changes. The SeNB needs to establish bearers with each node in the core network. However, there is no signaling plane connection between the SeNB and the MME. Therefore, in step S202, the MeNB needs to send an Evolved Packet System RAB (E-RAB) modification indication message to the MME to notify the MME to modify the UE's bearer information. This E-RAB modification indication message carries the UE's location information. In this embodiment, only one MeNB and one SeNB serve the UE, and the MeNB's serving cell information can be sent to the MME when the MeNB establishes bearers with each node in the core network. Therefore, in this embodiment, the UE's location information can include only the SeNB's serving cell information; or the UE's location information can include both the MeNB's serving cell information and the SeNB's serving cell information.

[0132] After the MME receives the E-RAB modification indication message, in step S203, it sends a modify bearer request message containing the UE's location information to the S-GW. In step S204, the S-GW sends a modify bearer request message containing the UE's location information to the P-GW as needed. After the P-GW receives the UE's location information, it sends the UE's location information to the PCRF as needed. The PCRF will determine the control policy for the UE based on the UE's location information. The PCRF may preset a correspondence between the UE's location information and the control policy. After receiving the UE's location information, the PCRF can determine the UE's control policy. Alternatively, the PCRF may preset setting rules for the UE's control policy. After receiving the UE's location information, the PCRF can determine the UE's control policy based on the preset rules. The UE's control policy may include any one or more of the following: the UE's charging control policy, the UE's rate control policy, the UE's quality of service control policy, and the UE's priority control policy. In other words, the PCRF can formulate different control policies for the UE based on the UE's location information, thereby controlling the UE in multiple aspects. After determining the control policy of the UE, the PCRF sends the control policy to the corresponding execution entity such as PCEF or BBERF. Each execution entity controls the UE accordingly according to the control policy sent by the PCRF.

[0133] It should be noted that if there are more than two SeNBs providing services to the UE at the same time, the MeNB only needs to send the serving cell information of any one or more SeNBs to the core network node, or the MeNB can send the serving cell information of all SeNBs of the UE to the core network node.

[0134] In the 3C architecture, since only the MeNB establishes a signaling plane connection and a user plane data connection with the core network node, when the SeNB needs to provide service to the UE, the sending module 12 in the MeNB also needs to report the UE's location information to the core network node. However, since there is no bearer between the SeNB and the core network node at this time, the sending module 12 cannot send the UE's location information to the core network node via a radio access bearer modification indication message. Therefore, a new signaling plane message, called a location information update message, can be defined. The location information update message is used to send the UE's location information to the core network node when the UE's location information changes. In this case, the serving cell information of the at least one SeNB of the UE includes any one or more of: identification information of the serving cell of the at least one SeNB of the UE, the number of messages or data packets transmitted by the serving cell of the at least one SeNB of the UE, the tracking area identification of the serving cell of the at least one SeNB of the UE, and the access network type of the serving cell of the at least one SeNB of the UE. Alternatively, the serving cell information of the at least one SeNB of the UE includes multi-flow indication information, which indicates that the UE is served by at least two access nodes.

[0135] Taking the SAE system as an example, under the 3C architecture, the signaling process of reporting location information is the same as Figure 2 Similar, the only difference is that the E-RAB modification indication message is changed to a location information update message. Figure 3 This is a signaling flow chart for reporting location information through the location information update process in the SAE system. Figure 3 The MME, S-GW, P-GW, and PCRF in the SAE system shown are collectively referred to as core network nodes.

[0136] When a SeNB in ​​the network begins serving a UE, the MeNB provides data relay for the SeNB. All messages or data packets sent and received by the SeNB are forwarded through the MeNB. Simultaneously, in step S301, the MeNB may obtain the SeNB's serving cell information. The SeNB's serving cell information may be any information that can characterize the serving cell that the SeNB serves for the UE, such as any one or more of the following: the SeNB's serving cell identifier, the number of messages or data packets transmitted by the SeNB's serving cell, the SeNB's serving cell tracking area identifier, and the SeNB's serving cell access network type. Alternatively, the SeNB's serving cell information may include multi-flow indication information. Figure 3 and Figure 2 The difference between the shown embodiments is that Figure 2 The UE's serving cell information includes the bearer information corresponding to the SeNB's serving cell. Figure 3 The number of messages or data packets transmitted by the serving cell of SeNB is included. Figure 2In the process, SeNB establishes and bears with the core network node, so MeNB can obtain the serving cell information of SeNB; Figure 3 There is no bearer between the SeNB and the core network nodes. All messages or data packets from the SeNB must be forwarded through the MeNB. Therefore, the MeNB can only obtain the number of messages or data packets transmitted by the SeNB's serving cell. In addition, multi-flow indication information indicates that the UE is served by at least two access nodes. That is, when the MeNB knows that at least one SeNB is serving the UE, the MeNB can determine that the UE is served by at least one access node.

[0137] In step S302, the MeNB needs to send a location information update message to the MME to transmit the UE's location information. The location information update message is used only to transmit the UE's location information to the MME. In this embodiment, only one MeNB and one SeNB serve the UE, and the MeNB's serving cell information can be transmitted to the MME when the MeNB establishes a bearer with each node in the core network. Therefore, in this embodiment, the UE's location information may only include the SeNB's serving cell information; alternatively, the UE's location information may include both the MeNB's serving cell information and the SeNB's serving cell information.

[0138] After the MME receives the location information update message, in step S303, it sends a location information update message containing the UE's location information to the S-GW. In step S304, the S-GW sends a location information update message containing the UE's location information to the P-GW as needed. After the P-GW receives the UE's location information, it sends the UE's location information to the PCRF as needed. The PCRF determines the control policy for the UE based on the UE's location information. The PCRF may have a preset correspondence between the UE's location information and the control policy. After receiving the UE's location information, the PCRF can determine the UE's control policy. Alternatively, the PCRF may have preset rules for setting the UE's control policy. After receiving the UE's location information, the PCRF can determine the UE's control policy based on the preset rules. The UE's control policy may include any one or more of the following: the UE's charging control policy, the UE's rate control policy, the UE's quality of service control policy, and the UE's priority control policy. In other words, the PCRF can formulate different control policies for the UE based on the UE's location information, thereby controlling the UE in multiple aspects. After determining the control policy of the UE, the PCRF sends the control policy to the corresponding execution entity such as PCEF or BBERF. Each execution entity controls the UE accordingly according to the control policy sent by the PCRF.

[0139] In addition, after receiving the location information update message, the P-GW may also send a reception confirmation message to the S-GW. After receiving the reception confirmation message, the S-GW may also send a reception confirmation message to the MME.

[0140] It should be noted that if there are more than two SeNBs providing services to the UE at the same time, the MeNB only needs to send the serving cell information of any one or more SeNBs to the core network node, or the MeNB can send the serving cell information of all SeNBs of the UE to the core network node.

[0141] Under the 3C architecture, there is also a specific method for reporting UE location information. Under the 3C architecture, since only the MeNB has established a signaling plane connection and a user plane data connection with the core network node, when the SeNB needs to provide services to the UE, the sending module 12 in the MeNB also needs to report the UE's location information to the core network node. However, here, the sending module 12 does not send the UE's location information to the core network node through a signaling message, but can send the UE's location information to the core network node through a user plane data message. Based on this situation, the service cell information of at least one SeNB of the UE includes: any one or more of the following: identification information of the service cell of at least one SeNB of the UE, the number of messages or data packets transmitted by the service cell of at least one SeNB of the UE, the tracking area identification of the service cell of at least one SeNB of the UE, and the access network type of the service cell of at least one SeNB of the UE.

[0142] Taking the SAE system as an example, the MME, S-GW, P-GW, and PCRF in the SAE system are collectively referred to as core network nodes. Under the 3C architecture, the MeNB includes the UE's location information in the first General Packet Radio Service User plane (GTP-U) message sent to the S-GW. The UE's location information can be located in the extended header of the first GTP-U message; or the MeNB includes the UE's location information in the second GTP-U message sent to the S-GW. The second GTP-U message is a newly created message, which is only used to send the location information of the user device. The specific method for the MeNB to obtain the UE's location information is the same as step S301. After the S-GW receives the UE's location information through the GTP-U message, it sends the UE's location information to the P-GW. The P-GW can further send the UE's location information to the PCRF, and the PCRF can determine the UE's control policy based on the UE's location information. The interaction process between the S-GW, P-GW, and PCRF is the same as Figure 2 and Figure 3 The same is true in

[15] , so I will not repeat it here.

[0143] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the structure of a core network node embodiment 1 provided in an embodiment of the present invention is shown as follows: Figure 4 As shown, the core network nodes of this embodiment include:

[0144] The receiving module 41 is configured to receive location information of a user equipment sent by a primary access node, where the location information of the user equipment includes serving cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment.

[0145] Specifically, the core network node in this embodiment is a general term for all nodes in the core network. For example, for the SAE system, the core network node includes the MME, S-GW, P-GW, PCRF, etc. The core network node includes a receiving module 41. The receiving module 41 can be set in any core network node as long as the receiving module 41 can receive the UE location information sent by the MeNB.

[0146] In this embodiment, the MeNB provides services for the UE, and at least one SeNB also provides services for the UE. Since the UE's location information reflects the UE's location, and the coverage of the MeNB's serving cell is generally larger than that of the SeNB's serving cell, if the core network node obtains the serving cell information of the SeNB serving the UE, it will obtain a more accurate location of the UE. Therefore, by reporting the serving cell information of the SeNB serving the UE to the core network node, the core network node will obtain more granular UE location information than if the MeNB's serving cell information were reported to the core network node.

[0147] Therefore, the core network node provided in this embodiment includes a receiving module 41, which is configured to receive location information of a user equipment (UE) sent by a MeNB. The UE location information includes serving cell information of at least one SeNB of the UE. The serving cell information of the SeNB may be any information that can characterize the characteristics of the SeNB.

[0148] Since the MeNB has a signaling plane connection and a user plane data connection with the core network node, the receiving module 41 can receive the UE location information sent by the MeNB through control plane signaling, or the receiving module 41 can receive the UE location information sent by the MeNB through a user plane message.

[0149] The processing module 42 is configured to determine a control strategy for the user equipment according to the location information of the user equipment.

[0150] Specifically, the core network node provided in this embodiment further includes a processing module 42, which is configured to determine a control policy for the UE based on the UE's location information. Because the UE's location information includes serving cell information of at least one SeNB of the UE, the processing module 42 can obtain a more accurate location of the UE based on this location information, thereby enabling the formulation of a more granular control policy for the UE.

[0151] The processing module 42 can be set in any node in the core network node that can determine the control policy of the UE, such as the PCRF in the SAE system. The PCRF configures different billing or control policies for the UE according to the different location information of the UE, and sends the configured billing or control policies to the PCEF or BBERF) execution entity, thereby performing corresponding control on the UE.

[0152] In this embodiment, the serving cell information of at least one SeNB of the UE is obtained through the MeNB, and the information is sent to the core network node, so that the core network node can achieve more fine-grained control over the UE.

[0153] There are two architectures for MSA. Figure 2 The core network nodes shown will perform different specific processing methods, which are described in detail below.

[0154] Under the 1A architecture, since the MeNB and SeNB establish user-plane data connections with the core network node respectively, that is, the MeNB and SeNB establish bearers with the core network node respectively. When the SeNB needs to provide services for the UE, the receiving module 41 in the core network node can receive the radio access bearer modification indication message sent by the MeNB. The radio access bearer modification indication message includes the UE's location information, so that the UE's location information sent to the receiving MeNB can be sent without changing the existing signaling process. Based on this situation, the service cell information of at least one SeNB of the UE includes: identification information of the service cell of at least one SeNB of the UE, bearer information corresponding to the service cell of at least one SeNB of the UE, tracking area identification of the service cell of at least one SeNB of the UE, and any one or more of the access network type of the service cell of at least one SeNB of the UE.

[0155] Taking the SAE system as an example, the MME, S-GW, P-GW, and PCRF in the SAE system are collectively referred to as core network nodes. The receiving module 41 is set in the MME, and the processing module 42 is set in the PCRF. For a specific method of reporting UE location information, see Figure 2 .

[0156] In the 3C architecture, since only the MeNB establishes a signaling plane connection and a user plane data connection with the core network node, when the SeNB needs to provide services to the UE, the receiving module 41 in the core network node also needs to receive the UE's location information reported by the MeNB. However, since there is no bearer between the SeNB and the core network node at this time, the receiving module 41 cannot receive the UE's location information sent by the MeNB via the Radio Access Bearer Modification Indication message. Therefore, a new signaling plane message, called the Location Information Update message, can be defined. The Location Information Update message is used to transmit the UE's location information from the MeNB to the core network node when the UE's location information changes. In this case, the serving cell information of the at least one SeNB of the UE includes any one or more of: identification information of the serving cell of the at least one SeNB of the UE, the number of messages or data packets transmitted by the serving cell of the at least one SeNB of the UE, the tracking area identification of the serving cell of the at least one SeNB of the UE, and the access network type of the serving cell of the at least one SeNB of the UE. Alternatively, the serving cell information of the at least one SeNB of the UE includes multi-flow indication information, which indicates that the UE is served by at least two access nodes.

[0157] Taking the SAE system as an example, the MME, S-GW, P-GW, and PCRF in the SAE system are collectively referred to as core network nodes. The receiving module 41 is set in the S-GW, and the processing module 42 is set in the PCRF. For a specific method of reporting UE location information, see Figure 3 .

[0158] In the 3C architecture, there is also a specific method for reporting UE location information. In the 3C architecture, since only the MeNB has established a signaling plane connection and a user plane data connection with the core network node, when the SeNB needs to provide service to the UE, the receiving module 41 in the core network node can receive the UE location information sent by the MeNB via a user plane data message. In this case, the serving cell information of the at least one SeNB of the UE includes any one or more of: identification information of the serving cell of the at least one SeNB of the UE, the number of messages or data packets transmitted by the serving cell of the at least one SeNB of the UE, the tracking area identification of the serving cell of the at least one SeNB of the UE, and the access network type of the serving cell of the at least one SeNB of the UE.

[0159] Taking the SAE system as an example, the MME, S-GW, P-GW, and PCRF in the SAE system are collectively referred to as core network nodes. The receiving module 41 is provided in the S-GW, and the processing module 42 is provided in the PCRF. The first GTP-U message sent by the MeNB includes the UE's location information, which may be located in an extension header of the first GTP-U message; or the second GTP-U message sent by the MeNB includes the UE's location information, which is a newly created message used only to send the user equipment's location information.

[0160] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the structure of the auxiliary access node embodiment 1 provided in the embodiment of the present invention is shown as follows: Figure 5 As shown, the auxiliary access node of this embodiment includes:

[0161] The acquisition module 51 is configured to acquire the serving cell information of the SeNB of the UE.

[0162] Specifically, the SeNB provided in this embodiment is applied to the 1A architecture. In the 1A architecture, since the MeNB and SeNB respectively establish user-plane data connections with the core network node, that is, the MeNB and SeNB respectively establish bearers with the core network node, both the MeNB and the SeNB can send data packets to the core network node. Thus, the core network node can obtain the serving cell information of the SeNB through the data packets sent by the SeNB.

[0163] Since the UE's location information reflects the UE's location, and generally, the coverage of the MeNB's serving cell is larger than that of the SeNB's serving cell, if the core network node obtains the serving cell information of the SeNB serving the UE, it will obtain a more accurate location of the UE. Therefore, by reporting the serving cell information of the SeNB serving the UE to the core network node, the core network node will obtain more granular UE location information than by reporting the serving cell information of the MeNB to the core network node.

[0164] The SeNB includes an acquisition module 51 configured to acquire serving cell information of the SeNB for a UE. The serving cell information of the SeNB may be any information that can characterize the SeNB. The serving cell information of the SeNB for a UE includes any one or more of: identification information of the serving cell of the SeNB for the UE, bearer information corresponding to the serving cell of the SeNB for the UE, tracking area identification information of the serving cell of the SeNB for the UE, and access network type of the serving cell of the SeNB for the UE.

[0165] The sending module 52 is configured to send the serving cell information of the SeNB of the UE to the core network node via a first GTP-U message, where the SeNB serving cell information of the UE is located in an extended header of the first GTP-U message; or to send the serving cell information of the SeNB of the UE to the core network node via a second GTP-U message, where the second GTP-U message is only used to send the serving cell information of the SeNB of the UE; wherein the SeNB serving cell information is used by the core network node to determine a control policy for the UE based on the at least one serving cell information of the UE after receiving the serving cell information of at least one SeNB of the UE.

[0166] Specifically, after the acquisition module 51 obtains the serving cell information of the SeNB of the UE, the sending module 52 will send the serving cell information to the core network node. Taking the SAE system as an example, the core network nodes include the MME, S-GW, P-GW, PCRF, etc., where the S-GW establishes a user plane data connection with the SeNB. The sending module 52 can send the serving cell information of the SeNB of the UE to the S-GW via a first GTP-U message, and the S-GW sends the serving cell information of the SeNB of the UE to the PCRF via the P-GW. The serving cell information of the SeNB of the UE is located in the extended header of the first GTP-U message. Alternatively, the sending module 52 can send the serving cell information of the SeNB of the UE to the S-GW via a second GTP-U message. The second GTP-U message is a newly established message and is only used to send the serving cell information of the SeNB of the UE. When the PCRF receives the serving cell information sent by at least one SeNB in ​​the network, it can determine the location of the UE and configure different charging or control policies for the UE based on the location. The configured charging or control policies are then sent to execution entities such as the Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF) or the Bearing Binding and Event Report Function (BBERF), thereby performing corresponding control on the UE.

[0167] Since the core network node determines the UE's location after receiving the serving cell information of at least one SeNB of the UE, the core network node can obtain a more accurate location of the UE based on the location information, thereby being able to formulate a more granular control strategy for the UE.

[0168] In this embodiment, the SeNB sends the serving cell information of the SeNB to the core network node through a GTP-U message, so that the core network node can achieve more fine-grained control over the UE.

[0169] Furthermore, Figure 5 In the illustrated embodiment, the UE control policy includes any one or more of the UE's charging control policy, the UE's rate control policy, the UE's quality of service control policy, and the UE's priority control policy.

[0170] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the structure of a core network node embodiment 2 provided by an embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. Figure 6 As shown, the core network nodes of this embodiment include:

[0171] The receiving module 61 is configured to receive serving cell information of the SeNB of a user equipment sent by the SeNB via a first GTP-U message, where the serving cell information of the SeNB of the UE is located in an extended header of the first GTP-U message; or to receive serving cell information of the SeNB of the UE sent by the SeNB via a second GTP-U message, where the second GTP-U message is used only to send the serving cell information of the SeNB of the UE.

[0172] Specifically, in this embodiment, the core network node is a general term for all nodes in the core network. For example, in an SAE system, the core network node includes the MME, S-GW, P-GW, PCRF, etc. The core network node includes a receiving module 61. The receiving module 61 can be provided in any core network node as long as the receiving module 61 can receive the serving cell information of the SeNB sent by the SeNB via GTP-U messages. In the SAE system, the receiving module 61 is provided in the S-GW.

[0173] Because the serving cell information of a UE's SeNB reflects the UE's location, and the coverage of a MeNB's serving cell is generally larger than that of a SeNB's serving cell, if the core network node obtains the serving cell information of the SeNB serving the UE, it will obtain a more accurate location of the UE. Therefore, by reporting the serving cell information of the SeNB serving the UE to the core network node, the core network node will obtain more granular UE location information than by reporting the serving cell information of the MeNB to the core network node.

[0174] Therefore, the core network node provided in this embodiment includes a receiving module 61, which is configured to receive the serving cell information of the SeNB sent by the SeNB. The serving cell information of the SeNB may be any information that can characterize the characteristics of the SeNB.

[0175] The receiving module 61 receives the serving cell information of the SeNB of the user equipment sent by the SeNB via a first GTP-U message. The serving cell information of the SeNB of the UE is located in an extension header of the first GTP-U message. Alternatively, the receiving module 61 receives the serving cell information of the SeNB of the UE sent by the SeNB via a second GTP-U message. The second GTP-U message is a newly created message and is used only to transmit the serving cell information of the SeNB of the UE.

[0176] The processing module 62 is configured to, after receiving the serving cell information of at least one SeNB of the UE, determine a control policy for the UE according to the serving cell information of the at least one SeNB of the UE.

[0177] Specifically, the core network node provided in this embodiment further includes a processing module 62, which is configured to determine a control policy for the UE after receiving serving cell information of at least one SeNB of the UE. Because the receiving module 61 receives the serving cell information of at least one SeNB of the UE, the processing module 62 can obtain a more accurate location of the UE based on the serving cell of the at least one SeNB of the UE, thereby enabling the formulation of a more granular control policy for the UE.

[0178] The processing module 62 can be set in any node in the core network node that can determine the control policy of the UE, such as the PCRF in the SAE system. The PCRF configures different billing or control policies for the UE according to the different location information of the UE, and sends the configured billing or control policies to the PCEF or BBERF) execution entity, thereby performing corresponding control on the UE.

[0179] In this embodiment, the SeNB sends the serving cell information of the SeNB to the core network node through a GTP-U message, so that the core network node can achieve more fine-grained control over the UE.

[0180] Furthermore, Figure 6 In the illustrated embodiment, the UE control policy includes any one or more of the UE's charging control policy, the UE's rate control policy, the UE's quality of service control policy, and the UE's priority control policy.

[0181] Figure 7 This is a flowchart of a first embodiment of a method for reporting user equipment location information provided by an embodiment of the present invention, such as Figure 7 As shown, the method of this embodiment includes:

[0182] Step S701: A primary access node obtains location information of a user equipment, where the location information of the user equipment includes serving cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment.

[0183] Step S702: The primary access node sends the location information of the user equipment to the core network node, wherein the location information is used by the core network node to determine a control policy for the user equipment according to the location information of the user equipment.

[0184] The method for reporting user equipment location information in this embodiment is used to complete Figure 1 The implementation principle and technical effect of the processing of the primary access node shown are similar and will not be repeated here.

[0185] Furthermore, Figure 7 In the illustrated embodiment, step S702 includes: the primary access node sending the location information of the user equipment to the core network node via control plane signaling.

[0186] Furthermore, Figure 7 In the illustrated embodiment, the service cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment includes: identification information of the service cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, bearer information corresponding to the service cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, tracking area identification of the service cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, and any one or more of the access network type of the service cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment; step S702 includes: the main access node sends the location information of the user equipment to the core network node through a wireless access bearer modification indication message.

[0187] Furthermore, Figure 7 In the illustrated embodiment, the service cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment includes: identification information of the service cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, the number of messages or data packets transmitted by the service cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, the tracking area identification of the service cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, and any one or more of the access network type of the service cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment; or the service cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment includes: multi-flow indication information, and the multi-flow indication information is used to indicate that the user equipment is served by at least two access nodes; step S702 includes: the main access node sends the location information of the user equipment to the core network node through a location information update message.

[0188] Furthermore, Figure 7In the illustrated embodiment, step S702 includes: the primary access node sending the location information of the user equipment to the core network node via a first GTP-U message, where the location information of the user equipment is located in an extended header of the first GTP-U message; or the primary access node sending the location information of the user equipment to the core network node via a second GTP-U message, where the second GTP-U message is only used to send the location information of the user equipment. The service cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment includes any one or more of: identification information of the service cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, the number of messages or data packets transmitted by the service cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, the tracking area identification of the service cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, and the access network type of the service cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment.

[0189] Furthermore, Figure 7 In the illustrated embodiment, the control policy of the user equipment includes any one or more of: a charging control policy of the user equipment, a rate control policy of the user equipment, a quality of service control policy of the user equipment, and a priority control policy of the user equipment.

[0190] Figure 8 This is a flow chart of a second embodiment of a method for reporting user equipment location information provided by an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. Figure 8 As shown, the method of this embodiment includes:

[0191] Step S801: A core network node receives location information of a user equipment sent by a primary access node, where the location information of the user equipment includes serving cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment.

[0192] Step S802: The core network node determines a control strategy for the user equipment according to the location information of the user equipment.

[0193] The method for reporting user equipment location information in this embodiment is used to complete Figure 4 The processing of the core network node shown has similar implementation principles and technical effects, which will not be repeated here.

[0194] Furthermore, Figure 8 In the illustrated embodiment, step S801 includes: the core network node receives the location information of the user equipment sent by the primary access node through control plane signaling.

[0195] Furthermore, Figure 8In the illustrated embodiment, the service cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment includes: identification information of the service cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, tracking area identification of the service cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, bearer information corresponding to the service cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, and any one or more of the access network type of the service cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment; step S801 includes: the core network node receives the location information of the user equipment sent by the primary access node via a wireless access bearer modification indication message.

[0196] Furthermore, Figure 8 In the illustrated embodiment, the service cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment includes: identification information of the service cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, the number of messages or data packets transmitted by the service cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, the tracking area identification of the service cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, and any one or more of the access network type of the service cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment; or the service cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment includes: multi-flow indication information, and the multi-flow indication information is used to indicate that the user equipment is served by at least two access nodes; step S801 includes: the core network node receives the location information of the user equipment sent by the primary access node through a location information update message.

[0197] Furthermore, Figure 8 In the illustrated embodiment, step S801 includes: the core network node receiving the location information of the user equipment sent by the primary access node via a first GTP-U message, where the location information of the user equipment is located in an extended header of the GTP-U message; or the core network node receiving the location information of the user equipment sent by the primary access node via a second GTP-U message, where the second GTP-U message is used only to send the location information of the user equipment. The serving cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment includes any one or more of: identification information of the serving cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, the number of messages or data packets transmitted by the serving cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, a tracking area identification of the serving cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, and an access network type of the serving cell of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment.

[0198] Furthermore, Figure 8In the illustrated embodiment, the control policy of the user equipment includes any one or more of: a charging control policy of the user equipment, a rate control policy of the user equipment, a quality of service control policy of the user equipment, and a priority control policy of the user equipment.

[0199] Figure 9 This is a flowchart of a third embodiment of a method for reporting user equipment location information provided by an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. Figure 9 As shown, the method of this embodiment includes:

[0200] Step S901: A secondary access node obtains serving cell information of the secondary access node of a user equipment.

[0201] In step S902, the secondary access node sends the service cell information of the secondary access node of the user equipment to the core network node through a first GTP-U message, where the service cell information of the secondary access node of the user equipment is located in an extended header of the first GTP-U message; or the secondary access node sends the service cell information of the secondary access node of the user equipment to the core network node through a second GTP-U message, where the second GTP-U message is only used to send the service cell information of the secondary access node of the user equipment; wherein the service cell information of the secondary access node is used by the core network node to determine the control policy of the user equipment according to the service cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment after receiving the service cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment; the service cell information of the secondary access node of the user equipment includes: any one or more of the identification information of the service cell of the secondary access node of the user equipment, the bearer information corresponding to the service cell of the secondary access node of the user equipment, the tracking area identification information of the service cell of the secondary access node of the user equipment, and the access network type of the service cell of the secondary access node of the user equipment.

[0202] The method for reporting user equipment location information in this embodiment is used to complete Figure 5 The implementation principle and technical effect of the processing of the auxiliary access node shown are similar and will not be repeated here.

[0203] Furthermore, Figure 9 In the illustrated embodiment, the control policy of the user equipment includes any one or more of: a charging control policy of the user equipment, a rate control policy of the user equipment, a quality of service control policy of the user equipment, and a priority control policy of the user equipment.

[0204] Figure 10 This is a flowchart of a fourth embodiment of a method for reporting user equipment location information provided by an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. Figure 10As shown, the method of this embodiment includes:

[0205] In step S1001, the core network node receives the service cell information of the secondary access node of the user equipment sent by the secondary access node through the first GTP-U message, and the service cell information of the secondary access node of the user equipment is located in the extended header of the first GTP-U message; or the core network node receives the service cell information of the secondary access node of the user equipment sent by the secondary access node through the second GTP-U message, and the second GTP-U message is only used to send the service cell information of the secondary access node of the user equipment.

[0206] Step S1002, after receiving the service cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, the core network node determines the control strategy of the user equipment according to the service cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment; the location information of the service cell of the secondary access node of the user equipment includes: the identification information of the service cell of the secondary access node of the user equipment, the bearer information corresponding to the service cell of the secondary access node of the user equipment, the tracking area identification information of the service cell of the secondary access node of the user equipment, and any one or more of the access network type of the service cell of the secondary access node of the user equipment.

[0207] The method for reporting user equipment location information in this embodiment is used to complete Figure 6 The processing of the core network node shown has similar implementation principles and technical effects, which will not be repeated here.

[0208] Furthermore, Figure 10 In the illustrated embodiment, the control policy of the user equipment includes any one or more of: a charging control policy of the user equipment, a rate control policy of the user equipment, a quality of service control policy of the user equipment, and a priority control policy of the user equipment.

[0209] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that all or part of the steps in the above-described method embodiments can be implemented using hardware associated with program instructions. The aforementioned program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. When executed, the program performs the steps of the above-described method embodiments. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as ROM, RAM, magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0210] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are intended only to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the technical solutions described in the above embodiments may be modified or some or all of the technical features therein may be replaced with equivalents. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention shall be subject to the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method is applied to a secondary access node, comprising: Sending serving cell information of a secondary access node to a primary access node of a user equipment, wherein the serving cell information of the secondary access node includes the number of messages or data packets transmitted by the serving cell of the secondary access node of the user equipment; The service cell information of the secondary access node is sent to the core network node. The service cell information of the secondary access node is used by the core network node to determine the charging control policy of the user equipment according to the service cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment after receiving the service cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment.

2. The communication method according to claim 1, wherein: The serving cell information of the secondary access node further includes the access network type of the serving cell of the secondary access node.

3. The communication method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: Sending serving cell information of the secondary access node to the primary access node of the user equipment includes: Sending location information of the user equipment to the primary access node of the user equipment, where the location information includes serving cell information of the secondary access node.

4. The communication method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The serving cell information of the secondary access node further includes identification information of the serving cell of the secondary access node.

5. A secondary access node, characterized in that: include: a sending module, configured to send the serving cell information of the secondary access node to the primary access node of the user equipment, wherein the serving cell information of the secondary access node includes the number of messages or data packets transmitted by the serving cell of the secondary access node of the user equipment; The service cell information of the secondary access node is sent to the core network node. The service cell information of the secondary access node is used by the core network node to determine the charging control policy of the user equipment according to the service cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment after receiving the service cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment.

6. The auxiliary access node according to claim 5, characterized in that The serving cell information of the secondary access node further includes an access network type of the serving cell of the secondary access node.

7. The auxiliary access node according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that The sending module is specifically configured to send the location information of the user equipment to the primary access node of the user equipment, where the location information includes the serving cell information of the secondary access node.

8. The auxiliary access node according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that The serving cell information of the secondary access node further includes identification information of the serving cell of the secondary access node.

9. A communication system, characterized in that: The communication system includes a primary access node and a core network node, wherein: The primary access node obtains serving cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment, wherein the serving cell information of the at least one secondary access node includes the number of messages or data packets transmitted by the serving cell of the at least one secondary access node of the user equipment; The primary access node sends the serving cell information of the at least one secondary access node to the core network node, wherein the serving cell information of the at least one secondary access node is used to determine the charging control policy of the user equipment; The core network node receives serving cell information of the at least one secondary access node from the primary access node; The core network node determines a charging control policy for the user equipment according to the serving cell information of the at least one secondary access node.

10. The communication system according to claim 9, wherein: The serving cell information of the at least one secondary access node further includes an access network type of a serving cell of the at least one secondary access node of the user equipment.

11. The communication system according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that The primary access node acquiring serving cell information of at least one secondary access node of the user equipment includes: Acquiring, by the primary access node, location information of the user equipment, where the location information includes serving cell information of the at least one secondary access node; The primary access node sending serving cell information of the at least one secondary access node to the core network node includes: The primary access node sends the location information to the core network node.

12. The communication system according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that The serving cell information of the at least one secondary access node further includes identification information of a serving cell of the at least one secondary access node of the user equipment.

13. A communication device, characterized in that: include: At least one processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores the program instructions involved; The program instructions involved are executed in the processor to enable the device to implement the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

14. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The computer-readable storage medium stores the relevant program instructions, and when the relevant program instructions are executed, the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 4 is implemented.

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