A method for managing multi-terminal locations

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for managing the positions of multiple terminals. The method includes the following steps: Step 1: A third-party application sends a UE location query message to the network exposure function; Step 2: The network exposure function sends the request message sent by the third-party application to the gateway mobile location center; Step 3: The gateway mobile location center sends a request message to the unified data management function, and the request message carries the UE identifier and the UE user identity information; The gateway mobile location center obtains all the UE identifiers of the user and the network operator identifier from the data management function; Step 4: The gateway mobile location center sends a request message to the unified data management function to obtain the AMF address and the VGMLC address serving the UE, and the request message carries the UE identifier; Step 5: The gateway mobile location center requests the VGMLC to obtain the location information of the UE, and the request message includes the identifier of the UE.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a management method, specifically to a management method for multi-terminal locations, and belongs to the technical field of multi-terminal control. Background Art

[0002] Providing location services (LCS - Providing Location Services) for a terminal (UE) or multiple terminal (UE) entities is the result of cooperation among multiple network functions and service APIs in the 5G core network (5GC). There are three request methods for location service reports (LCS):

[0003] A network location request (NI-LR, Network Induced Location Request) is initiated by the AMF to determine the location of the UE on behalf of a regulatory agency (such as location determination during an IMS emergency call).

[0004] A mobile terminal (UE) location request (MT-LR, Mobile Terminated Location Request) is initiated by an internal or external LCS client, which may be related to the services or applications accessed by the UE, requests from regulatory agencies, or requests from PLMN operators.

[0005] A mobile originated location request (MO-LR, Mobile Originated Location Request) is initiated by the UE to determine its own location or provide its location to an external client.

[0006] If the LCS client needs to respond within a short period of time, the LCS client that initiates any of these requests can issue an immediate location request and can specify the required QoS. Using MT-LR, the LCS client can also subscribe to event-based or periodic location reports by generating a deferred location request.

[0007] The Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) exposes location services to external LCS clients via the Le interface (not shown). These clients can be commercial clients (e.g., web applications) or regulatory clients (e.g., emergency services or law enforcement). Commercial clients must obtain the UE's permission to access its location information, and if necessary, the GMLC uses the Nudm_SDM service on the NL6 interface to obtain the UE's LCS privacy policy. Internal clients, the NEF, and trusted AFs are implicitly authorized to access location information. If a client is authorized to access location information, whether implicitly or explicitly, the GMLC uses the Nudm_UECM service to find out which AMF is serving the UE and then uses the Namf_Location service on the NL2 interface to generate a location request to that AMF. In a roaming scenario, the LCS client interacts with the HGMLC, which forwards the authorization request to the VGMLC using Ngmlc_Location on the NL3 interface (not shown), and the VGMLC interacts with the serving AMF to relay the information back to the HGMLC.

[0008] The GMLC provides the interface "Ngmlc_Location Service" to interact with internal LCS clients. The "Location Service" includes the following operations:

[0009] ProvideLocation: Enables the HGMLC or NEF to initiate an MT-LR for immediate or deferred location reporting,

[0010] including parameters that define the location and reporting criteria. In a successful response, the GMLC will provide any available location information.

[0011] LocationUpdate: If the UE provides its location to an external LCS client, the AMF uses this operation to notify the GMLC of the UE's location during the MO-LR process. This operation triggers the HGMLC to provide location information to the LCS client and triggers the VGMLC to provide location information to the HGMLC that is interacting with the LCS client.

[0012] CancelLocation: The initiator of ProvideLocation for an MT-LR deferred location report uses this operation to cancel the report. EventNotify: The GMLC generates an event notification when indicated by the callback URI provided in a ProvideLocation request for an MT-LR deferred report.

[0013] LocationUpdateNotify: After receiving LocationUpdate, the GMLC uses this operation to notify the NEF of the new location information during the MO-LR process.

[0014] To support location services, the GMLC also includes some other functions. The Location Retrieval Function (LRF) can be deployed in the GMLC or independently, and is responsible for retrieving or verifying location information and providing routing and related information for the UE that has initiated an IMS emergency session.

[0015] The VGMLC (Visited GMLC) is a GMLC that is associated with the serving node of the target UE.

[0016] The HGMLC (Home GMLC) is a GMLC that resides in the local PLMN of the target UE and is responsible for controlling the privacy check of the target UE.

[0017] The Location Management Function (LMF) manages the resources and time of location activities and exposes the Nlmf_Location service to the AMF for immediate or deferred location information requests on the NL1 interface. The LMF uses the Namf_Communication service on the NL1 interface to request UE location from the access network via N2, or communicate with the UE via N1 for UE-based or UE-assisted location. It can also request the estimation of motion, speed, and direction, or the accuracy of location information when requested.

[0018] The LMF provides the following location operations through the "Nlmf_Location service" interface:

[0019] Determine Location: The AMF uses this operation to request an immediate location report or a deferred periodic or event-triggered location report for the target UE. When the ultimate consumer of the deferred report is the GMLC, the AMF will provide the GMLC's URI in the request, enabling the LMF to send notifications directly to it.

[0020] EventNotify: The LMF uses this operation to provide periodic or event-triggered location reports to the consumer.

[0021] CancelLocation: The AMF uses this operation to cancel a deferred report.

[0022] LocationContextTransfer: When the AMF selects a new LMF to complete or perform a location report, the new LMF uses this operation to obtain the location context from the old LMF.

[0023] The Access and Mobility management Function (AMF) supports UEs with different mobility management requirements. "Namf_Location_Service" provides the following operations:

[0024] ProvidePositioningInfo — The GMLC uses this operation to request the geodetic and optional civic location of the UE, triggering

[0025] the AMF to call Nlmf_Location. They can request an immediate location report or subscribe to periodic or event-triggered deferred location reports.

[0026] EventNotify — The AMF uses this operation to notify the subscribed GMLC of UE location events.

[0027] ProvideLocationInfo — The UDM uses this operation to obtain the NPLI of the UE.

[0028] CancelLocation — The subscribed GMLC uses this operation to cancel its subscription and related reports.

[0029] The Network Exposure Function (NEF) acts as a location proxy for internal and external AFs, just as the GMLC acts as a proxy for external LCS clients. When the AF subscribes to UE mobility events via Nnef_EventExposure, the NEF determines how best to fulfill the request. If the specified QoS requirements indicate an immediate location request, the NEF initiates an MT-LR with the GMLC using Ngmlc_Location. If a deferred location request is indicated to the NEF, after first authorizing the request from the external AF using Nudm_SDM, it subscribes to UE location events via Namf_EventExposure. In both cases, the NEF forwards the received information along with the event notification to the AF.

[0030] Unified Data Management (UDM): 5GC supports a separated data storage architecture for computing and storage. The Unified Data Repository (UDR) is the main database. The Unstructured Data Storage Function (UDSF) is introduced to store dynamic data.

[0031] AF (Application Function) refers to an application accessing 3GPP. Summary of the Invention

[0032] The present invention is precisely aimed at the problems existing in the prior art, and provides a method for managing the positions of multiple terminals. The existing technology can only rely on the identifiers of the terminals to obtain the location information of the terminals. However, when a user has multiple mobile terminals, the location information of multiple terminals cannot be obtained simultaneously, resulting in inaccurate user trajectory information. The method provided in this article can obtain the location information of multiple mobile terminals simultaneously when the user has multiple mobile terminals, so as to accurately depict the user's trajectory information.

[0033] In order to achieve the above object, the technical solution of the present invention is as follows. A method for managing the positions of multiple terminals, the method comprising the following steps:

[0034] Step 1: The third-party application sends a UE location query message to the network exposure function. The request message includes at least one of the following: service identifier, one or more UE identifiers, authorization information of the UE user, location information identifier of all UEs of the user, network operator identifier, time period for requesting location information, and type of reported location information. The service identifier is used to verify whether the AF has the permission to obtain the location information of the UE. The authorization information of the UE user is used to authorize the AF to obtain the location information and UE identifier information of the UE from the mobile operator.

[0035] Step 2: The network exposure function sends the request message sent by the third-party application to the gateway mobile location center.

[0036] Step 3: The gateway mobile location center sends a request message to the unified data management function. The request message carries the UE identifier and UE user identity information. The gateway mobile location center obtains all UE identifiers of the user and the network operator identifier from the data management function.

[0037] Step 4: The gateway mobile location center sends a request message to the unified data management function to obtain the AMF address and VGMLC address serving the UE. The request message carries the UE identifier.

[0038] Step 5: The gateway mobile location center requests the VGMLC to obtain the location information of the UE. The request message includes the identifier of the UE.

[0039] Step 6: The VGMLC returns the location information of the UE according to the request message.

[0040] Among them, step 3 is specifically as follows:

[0041] The unified data management function verifies whether the UE allows the acquisition of location information according to the UE identifier.

[0042] The unified data management function verifies whether to allow obtaining the location information of other UEs of the UE user according to the identity information of the UE user;

[0043] The unified data management function obtains all UE identifiers and network operator identifiers of the user according to the identity information of the UE user;

[0044] The unified data management function returns all UE identifiers and network operator identifiers of the user.

[0045] Among them, step 4 is specifically as follows:

[0046] The gateway mobile location center determines the operator network serving the UE according to the network operator identifier indication;

[0047] The gateway mobile location center sends a request message to the unified data management function of the operator network to obtain the AMF address and VGMLC address serving the UE, and the request message carries the UE identifier.

[0048] Among them, step 5 is specifically as follows:

[0049] If there are multiple UE identifiers and VGMLCs, the gateway mobile location center needs to send location request messages to different VGMLCs respectively.

[0050] Among them, the unified data management function verifies whether to allow obtaining the location information of other UEs of the UE user according to the authorization information of the UE user. The user creates or updates user authorization information to the data management function through the network exposure function, and the user authorization information includes at least one of the following information: UE location query, user UE terminal identifier query, user authorization information, network operator identifier.

[0051] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages. Through user authorization management, the present invention allows third-party applications to query and obtain the location information of multiple terminals of the user, and supports cross-operator network terminal location query, solving the problem of inaccurate location information of multi-terminal users. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0052] Figure 1 It is a management schematic diagram of the prior art;

[0053] Figure 2 It is for UE location information authorization and configuration management;

[0054] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the UE location information acquisition process. Detailed Embodiment

[0055] To deepen the understanding of the present invention, the following detailed description is given of this embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0056] Embodiment 1: A method for managing the positions of multiple terminals, the method comprising the following steps:

[0057] Step 1: A third-party application sends a UE location query message to the network exposure function. The request message includes at least one of the following: service identifier, one or more UE identifiers, authorization information of the UE user, UE location information identifier of all UEs of the user, network operator identifier, time period for requesting location information, and reported location information type. The service identifier is used to verify whether the AF has the permission to obtain the location information of the UE. The authorization information of the UE user is used to authorize the AF to obtain the location information and UE identifier information of the UE from the mobile operator.

[0058] Step 2: The network exposure function sends the request message sent by the third-party application to the gateway mobile location center.

[0059] Step 3: The gateway mobile location center sends a request message to the unified data management function. The request message carries the UE identifier and the UE user identity information. The gateway mobile location center obtains all UE identifiers of the user and the network operator identifier from the data management function.

[0060] Step 4: The gateway mobile location center sends a request message to the unified data management function to obtain the AMF address and VGMLC address serving the UE. The request message carries the UE identifier.

[0061] Step 5: The gateway mobile location center requests the VGMLC to obtain the location information of the UE. The request message includes the identifier of the UE.

[0062] Step 6: The VGMLC returns the location information of the UE according to the request message.

[0063] Among them, Step 3 is specifically as follows:

[0064] The unified data management function verifies whether the UE allows the acquisition of location information according to the UE identifier.

[0065] The unified data management function verifies whether it is allowed to obtain the location information of other UEs of the UE user according to the identity information of the UE user.

[0066] The unified data management function obtains all UE identifiers of the user and the network operator identifier according to the identity information of the UE user.

[0067] The unified data management function returns all UE identifiers of the user and the network operator identifier.

[0068] Among them, step 4 is specifically as follows:

[0069] The gateway mobile location center determines the operator network serving the UE according to the indication of the network operator identifier.

[0070] The gateway mobile location center sends a request message to the unified data management function of the operator network to obtain the AMF address and VGMLC address serving the UE, and the request message carries the UE identifier.

[0071] Among them, step 5 is specifically as follows:

[0072] If there are multiple UE identifiers and VGMLCs, the gateway mobile location center needs to send location request messages to different VGMLCs respectively.

[0073] Among them, the unified data management function verifies whether to allow obtaining the location information of other UEs of the UE user according to the authorization information of the UE user. The user creates or updates user authorization information to the data management function through the network exposure function. The user authorization information includes at least one of the following information: UE location query, user UE terminal identifier query, user authorization information, network operator identifier.

[0074] Embodiment 2: Refer to Figure 2 , a multi-terminal location management method, where the specific process of UE location information authorization and configuration management is as follows:

[0075] Step 1, the AF sends an Nnef_ParameterProvision_Create or Nnef_ParameterProvision_Update or Nnef_ParameterProvision_Delete message to the NEF, requesting to create or update or delete privacy information such as UE location. The message also carries a service identifier, user authorization information, UE identifier, network operator identifier, and reported location type information; the reported location information type includes one of the following situations: 1) reporting location information for a specified period; 2) continuously and periodically reporting location information; 3) triggering location information reporting when the geographical location of the UE changes; 4) reporting location information when the UE is in or enters a specified geographical location area; the user authorization information includes the authorization to query the locations of multiple terminals of the user.

[0076] Step 2, if the AF is authorized by the NEF, the NEF sends a Nudm_ParameterProvision_Create or Nudm_ParameterProvision_Update or Nudm_ParameterProvision_Delete message to the UDM, and the message carries the NEF identifier and the message content carried in Step 1.

[0077] Step 3, the UDM reads the corresponding subscription information and all the UE identifier information of the user from the UDR through Nudr_DM_Query to verify the required data update and authorize these changes for the corresponding AF.

[0078] Step 4, if the AF is authorized by the UDM, the UDM requests to create, update or delete the corresponding UE location subscription data through a Nudr_DM_Create or Nudr_DM_update or Nudr_DM_delete Request message, and the message carries the parameters provided in Step 2; the UE location subscription data includes all the UE location information identifiers of the user.

[0079] The UDR stores the provided data as part of the UE subscription data and responds with a Nudr_DM_Create / Update / Delete Response message.

[0080] Steps 5-6, the AF receives the requested message response.

[0081] Example 3, see Figure 3 , the UE location information acquisition process of the multi-terminal location management method is as follows:

[0082] Step 1, the external application AF sends a request message Nnef_EventExposure_Subscribe or Nnef_EventExposure_request for the UE location, and the request message includes at least one of the following contents: service identifier, one or more UE identifiers, authorization information of the UE user, all the UE location information identifiers of the user, network operator identifier, time period for requesting location information, and reported location information type;

[0083] The service identifier is used to verify whether the AF has the permission to obtain the location information of the UE;

[0084] The authorization information of the UE user is used to authorize the AF to obtain the location information and UE identifier information of the UE from different mobile operators;

[0085] The reported location information type includes one of the following situations: 1) Report the location information for a specified time period; 2) Continuously and periodically report the location information; 3) The change in the geographical location of the UE triggers the reporting of location information; 4) The UE is in or enters a specified geographical location area and reports the location information.

[0086] Step 2, the NEF sends a request message Ngmlc_Location_ProvideLocation to the HGMLC, and the message carries the information carried in the AF request message in Step 1.

[0087] Step 3, the HGMLC sends a Nudm_SDM_Get request to the UDM. The request message carries the UE identifier and; the UDM verifies whether the UE is allowed to obtain location information according to the UE identifier, and verifies whether it is allowed to obtain the location information of other UEs of the UE user according to the authorization information of the UE user; if the request is allowed, the UDM queries and obtains all the UE identifiers of the user according to the UE user identity information and returns the query result to the HGMLC.

[0088] Step 4, the HGMLC sends a Nudm_UECM_Get request message to obtain the AMF address and VGMLC address serving these UEs. The request message carries the UE identifier information.

[0089] Step 5, if the UE user has multiple UEs and these UEs are served by different VGMLCs (the addresses of the VGMLCs are obtained in Step 4), the HGMLC needs to send location request messages to different VGMLCs. The HGMLC sends a UE location message Ngmlc_Location_ProvideLocation to the VGMLC. The message carries the UE identifier, the time period for which the location information is requested, and the reported location information type.

[0090] Step 6, the VGMLC sends a Namf_Location_ProvidePositioningInfo location request message to the AMF. The request message contains the UE identifier, the time period for which the location information is requested, and the reported location information type. The AMF is obtained according to Step 4. If the UE is served by different AMFs, the VGMLC needs to send

[0091] the Namf_Location_ProvidePositioningInfo location request message to all these AMFs.

[0092] Step 7, the UE reports the location information according to the requirements of the location request message.

[0093] Steps 8 to 11, the UE location message is sent to the AF.

[0094] It should be noted that the above embodiments are not intended to limit the protection scope of the present invention, and equivalent transformations or substitutions made on the basis of the above technical solutions all fall within the protection scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for managing multi - terminal locations, characterized in that, the method includes the following steps: Step 1: The third - party application sends a UE location query message to the network exposure function. The query message includes at least the following content: service identifier, one or more UE identifiers, authorization information of the UE user, UE location information identifier of all users of the user, network operator identifier, time period for requesting location information, and reported location information type. The service identifier is used to verify whether the AF has the permission to obtain the location information of the UE. The authorization information of the UE user is used to authorize the AF to obtain the location information and UE identifier information of the UE from the mobile operator. Step 2: The network exposure function sends the request message sent by the third - party application to the gateway mobile location center. Step 3: The gateway mobile location center sends a request message to the unified data management function. The request message carries the UE identifier and UE user identity information. The gateway mobile location center obtains all UE identifiers of the user and the network operator identifier from the data management function. Step 4: The gateway mobile location center sends a request message to the unified data management function to obtain the AMF address and VGMLC address serving the UE. The request message carries the UE identifier. Step 5: The gateway mobile location center requests the VGMLC to obtain the location information of the UE. The request message includes the identifier of the UE. Specifically as follows: If there are multiple UE identifiers and VGMLCs, the gateway mobile location center needs to send location request messages to different VGMLCs respectively. Step 6: The VGMLC returns the location information of the UE according to the request message.

2. The method for managing multi - terminal locations according to claim 1, characterized in that, Step 3 is specifically as follows: The unified data management function verifies whether the UE allows the acquisition of location information according to the UE identifier. The unified data management function verifies whether it is allowed to obtain the location information of other UEs of the UE user according to the identity information of the UE user. The unified data management function obtains all UE identifiers of the user and the network operator identifier according to the identity information of the UE user. The unified data management function returns all UE identifiers of the user and the network operator identifier.

3. The method for managing multi - terminal locations according to claim 1, characterized in that, Step 4 is specifically as follows: The gateway mobile location center determines the operator network serving the UE according to the network operator identifier indication. The gateway mobile location center sends a request message to the unified data management function of the operator network to obtain the AMF address and VGMLC address serving the UE. The request message carries the UE identifier.

4. According to the method for managing multi - terminal locations described in claim 2, the unified data management function verifies whether it is allowed to obtain the location information of other UEs of the UE user according to the authorization information of the UE user, characterized in that: The user creates or updates user authorization information through the network exposure function to the data management function, and the user authorization information includes at least one of the following information: UE location query, user UE terminal identifier query, user authorization information, network operator identifier.

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