Terminal positioning management method and device, location management function network element and storage medium

Abstract

The application provides a terminal positioning management method and device, a location management function network element and a storage medium, and relates to the technical field of communication. The method comprises the following steps: a state subscription request for a terminal device is sent to an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element; terminal device state information sent by the AMF network element according to the state subscription request when the state of the terminal device changes is received; and whether to perform periodic positioning measurement of the terminal device is determined according to the terminal device state information sent by the AMF network element in a periodic positioning measurement process of the terminal device and a plurality of base stations. The application can determine whether the base station continues to position the terminal device by monitoring the state of the terminal device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of communication technology, and more specifically, to a terminal positioning management method, apparatus, location management function network element, and storage medium. Background Technology

[0002] Measuring the distance between a base station and a terminal device is a crucial technology for locating the terminal device in mobile communications.

[0003] During periodic positioning measurements of terminal devices, it is essential to ensure that the state of the terminal device remains unchanged; otherwise, the base station will be unable to measure the terminal device or will be unable to measure it accurately.

[0004] However, in the process of multi-base station positioning, apart from the serving base station in the area where the terminal device is located, other base stations cannot detect whether the status of the terminal device has changed, and therefore cannot decide whether to continue to locate the terminal device. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to address the shortcomings of the prior art by providing a terminal positioning management method, apparatus, location management function network element, and storage medium, so as to determine whether the base station should continue to locate the terminal device by monitoring the status of the terminal device.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solutions adopted in the embodiments of this application are as follows:

[0007] In a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide a terminal positioning management method applied to a location management function (LMF) network element, the method comprising:

[0008] Send a status subscription request for the terminal device to the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) network element;

[0009] Receive terminal device status information sent by the AMF network element according to the status subscription request when the status of the terminal device changes;

[0010] During the periodic positioning measurement process between the terminal device and multiple base stations, the system determines whether to perform the periodic positioning measurement of the terminal device based on the status information of the terminal device sent by the AMF network element.

[0011] Optionally, before determining whether to perform the periodic positioning measurement of the terminal device based on the terminal device status information sent by the AMF network element during the periodic positioning measurement process between the terminal device and multiple base stations, the method further includes:

[0012] sending a periodic positioning measurement request for the terminal device to the plurality of base stations, so that periodic positioning measurement is performed between the terminal device and the plurality of base stations through signal transmission.

[0013] Optionally, the determining whether to perform the periodic positioning measurement of the terminal device according to the terminal device state information sent by the AMF network element comprises:

[0014] sending a positioning termination notification to the plurality of base stations according to the terminal device state information sent when the state of the terminal device changes.

[0015] Optionally, the determining whether to perform the periodic positioning measurement of the terminal device according to the terminal device state information sent by the AMF network element comprises:

[0016] after receiving the terminal device state information, determining whether to send a positioning termination notification to the plurality of base stations according to the positioning state of the plurality of base stations.

[0017] Optionally, the determining whether to send a positioning termination notification to the plurality of base stations according to the positioning state of the plurality of base stations comprises:

[0018] determining whether the positioning accuracy of the plurality of base stations performing periodic positioning measurement with the terminal device meets a preset positioning condition.

[0019] if the preset positioning condition is not met, sending a positioning termination notification to the plurality of base stations respectively.

[0020] Optionally, the determining whether the positioning accuracy of the plurality of base stations performing periodic positioning measurement with the terminal device meets a preset positioning condition comprises:

[0021] if the terminal device state information indicates that the terminal device switches from a connected state to an idle state, determining whether the positioning accuracy of the plurality of base stations performing periodic positioning measurement with the terminal device meets a preset positioning condition.

[0022] Optionally, the sending a periodic positioning measurement request for the terminal device to the plurality of base stations comprises:

[0023] determining whether the terminal device meets a preset positioning measurement condition according to the terminal device state information;

[0024] if the terminal device meets the preset positioning measurement condition, sending a periodic positioning measurement request for the terminal device to the plurality of base stations.

[0025] In a second aspect, the embodiments of the present application further provide a terminal positioning management apparatus, applied to a location management function (LMF) network element, comprising:

[0026] The subscription request sending module is configured to send a state subscription request for the terminal device to an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element;

[0027] The information receiving module is configured to receive terminal device state information sent by the AMF network element according to the state subscription request when a state of the terminal device changes.

[0028] The execution determining module is configured to determine whether to perform periodic positioning measurement of the terminal device according to the terminal device state information sent by the AMF network element during periodic positioning measurement of the terminal device and a plurality of base stations.

[0029] Optionally, before the execution determining module, the apparatus further comprises:

[0030] The positioning request sending module is configured to send a periodic positioning measurement request for the terminal device to the plurality of base stations, so that the terminal device and the plurality of base stations perform periodic positioning measurement through signal transmission.

[0031] Optionally, the execution determining module is specifically configured to send a positioning termination notification to the plurality of base stations according to the terminal device state information sent when the state of the terminal device changes.

[0032] Optionally, the execution determining module is specifically configured to, after receiving the terminal device state information, determine whether to send a positioning termination notification to the plurality of base stations according to positioning states of the plurality of base stations.

[0033] Optionally, the execution determining module comprises:

[0034] The positioning determining unit is configured to determine whether positioning accuracy of the plurality of base stations performing periodic positioning measurement with the terminal device meets a preset positioning condition.

[0035] The notification sending unit is configured to send a positioning termination notification to the plurality of base stations respectively if the preset positioning condition is not met.

[0036] Optionally, the positioning determining unit is specifically configured to, if the terminal device state information indicates that the terminal device switches from a connected state to an idle state, determine whether positioning accuracy of the plurality of base stations performing periodic positioning measurement with the terminal device meets a preset positioning condition.

[0037] Optionally, the positioning request sending module comprises:

[0038] The positioning measurement determining unit is configured to determine whether the terminal device meets a preset positioning measurement condition according to the terminal device state information.

[0039] a positioning request sending unit, configured to send, to the plurality of base stations, a periodic positioning measurement request for the terminal device if the terminal device meets the preset positioning measurement condition.

[0040] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a location management function network element, comprising:

[0041] a transceiver, a processor and a storage medium;

[0042] the transceiver is configured to receive and send data;

[0043] the storage medium stores program instructions executable by the processor;

[0044] the processor is configured to invoke the program instructions stored in the storage medium to execute the steps of the terminal positioning management method according to any one of the first aspect.

[0045] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer readable storage medium, which stores a computer program, and the computer program is executed by a processor to perform the steps of the terminal positioning management method according to any one of the first aspect.

[0046] The present application has the following beneficial effects:

[0047] The present application provides a terminal positioning management method and device, a location management function network element and a storage medium, which subscribes to the state of a terminal device by an LMF network element to an AMF network element, so that when the state of the terminal device changes, the LMF network element can decide whether to allow the base station to continue to perform the periodic positioning measurement process, thereby avoiding the base station from performing invalid positioning on the terminal device when the state of the terminal device changes, and saving network resources. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0048] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the following will briefly introduce the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments. It should be understood that the following drawings only show some embodiments of the present application, and therefore should not be regarded as a limitation on the scope, and for those skilled in the art, other related drawings can also be obtained without creative labor on the basis of these drawings.

[0049] Figure 1 Interaction flowchart for positioning based on round trip time;

[0050] Figure 2 Interaction flowchart for positioning based on multi-point round trip time;

[0051] Figure 3 Flowchart of the terminal positioning management method provided by the embodiments of the present applicationFigure 1 ;

[0052] Figure 4 The state subscription interaction diagram provided for the embodiments of this application;

[0053] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the subscription notification interaction provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0054] Figure 6 A flowchart illustrating the terminal positioning management method provided in the embodiments of this application. Figure 2 ;

[0055] Figure 7 A flowchart illustrating the terminal positioning management method provided in the embodiments of this application. Figure 3 ;

[0056] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the terminal positioning management device provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0057] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of a location management function network element provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0058] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are some embodiments of the present invention, but not all embodiments.

[0059] Therefore, the following detailed description of the embodiments of this application provided in the accompanying drawings is not intended to limit the scope of the claimed application, but merely to illustrate selected embodiments of the application. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this application without inventive effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0060] Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," etc., used in the specification, claims, and accompanying drawings of this invention are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such data can be interchanged where appropriate so that embodiments of the invention described herein can be implemented in orders other than those illustrated or described herein. Additionally, the terms "comprising" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion; for example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus that comprises a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units explicitly listed, but may include other steps or units not explicitly listed or inherent to such processes, methods, products, or apparatus.

[0061] It should be noted that the features in the embodiments of the present application can be combined with each other without conflict.

[0062] Before the terminal positioning management method provided by the embodiments of the present application is described, the positioning process involved in the present application is introduced.

[0063] Please refer to Figure 1 , the interaction flowchart for positioning based on round-trip time is as shown in Figure 1 , the base station sends a round-trip time (RTT) measurement request to the terminal device, and the request carries a downlink positioning reference signal (DL PRS). The base station records the sending time t0 of sending the RTT measurement request using a local clock. After the terminal device receives the RTT measurement request sent by the base station, it records the arrival time t1 of the downlink positioning reference signal using a local clock. Then, the terminal device sends an uplink sounding reference signal (UL SRS) to the base station, and records the sending time t2 of sending the uplink sounding reference signal using a local clock. After the base station receives the uplink sounding reference signal sent by the terminal device, it records the arrival time t3 of the uplink sounding reference signal using a local clock. The base station reports the time difference (t3-t0) to the location management function (LMF) network element, and the terminal device reports the time difference (t2-t1) to the LMF network element. The LMF network element determines the distance between the terminal device and the base station according to the time difference between (t3-t0) and (t2-t1), and calculates the position of the terminal device in combination with the geographic coordinates of the base station.

[0064] In order to improve the positioning accuracy of the terminal device, multi-point round-trip time (multi-RTT) can be used to position the terminal device.

[0065] Please refer to Figure 2 , the interaction flowchart for positioning based on multi-point round-trip time is as shown in Figure 2 , the process can include:

[0066] Step 0: LMF network element exchanges NR positioning protocol copy downlink positioning reference signal configuration information (NRPPa DL PRS Configuration Information Exchange) with serving gNB and neighbour gNB, obtains the location information required for Multi-RTT positioning method, and the location information can include: cell corresponding to the base station and geographical position of the base station. It should be noted that in addition to the base station, other transmission and reception point (Transmission-Reception Point, TRP) devices with positioning function can also be used for positioning.

[0067] Step 1: LMF network element obtains the positioning capability of the terminal device through the positioning protocol capability transmission (LPP Capability Transfer) process, and the positioning capability of the terminal device can be the positioning method supported by the terminal device.

[0068] Step 2: The LMF network element sends a positioning information acquisition request message (NRPPa Positioning Information Request) to the serving base station of the terminal device UE to request the SRS configuration information of the terminal device.

[0069] Step 3: The serving base station determines the SRS resources available to the terminal device (gNB determines UL SRS Resources), and configures the SRS resources for the terminal device (UE SRS Configuration) according to step 3a.

[0070] Step 4: The serving base station replies to the LMF network element with a positioning information acquisition response (NRPPa Positioning Information Response) message, providing the LMF network element with the SRS configuration information of the terminal device.

[0071] Step 5: If semi-static SRS or aperiodic SRS is indicated in step 2, the LMF network element sends a positioning activation request message (NRPPa Positioning Activation Request) to the serving base station to request to activate the SRS transmission of the terminal device, then the serving base station activates the SRS transmission of the terminal device (Activate UE SRS transmission), and replies to the LMF network element with a positioning activation response message (NRPPa Positioning Activation Response), and the terminal device starts to send SRS according to the SRS configuration, if periodic SRS is indicated in step 2, this step is skipped.

[0072] Step 6: The LMF network element sends a positioning measurement request message (NRPPa Measurement Request) to the selected plurality of base stations (including the serving base station and the neighboring base stations), which contains the SRS configuration information in step 4.

[0073] Step 7: The LMF network element sends the terminal device the assistance data required for measuring the downlink positioning reference signal (LPP Provide Assistance Data), which includes the relevant configuration of the positioning reference signal and the expected value of the reference signal time difference (RSTD), etc.

[0074] Step 8: The LMF network element sends the terminal device a positioning information acquisition request (LPP Request LocationInformation) to request the Multi-RTT measurement results.

[0075] Step 9a: The terminal device performs downlink positioning reference signal measurement (DL PRS Measurements) on all the specified base stations according to the assistance data in step 7.

[0076] Step 9b: Each base station in step 6 performs uplink sounding reference signal measurement (UL SRS Measurements) on the terminal device.

[0077] Step 10: The terminal device reports the Multi-RTT measurement results based on DL PRS to the LMF network element through the positioning information providing message (LPP Provide Location Information).

[0078] Step 11: Each base station reports the Multi-RTT measurement results based on UL SRS to the LMF network element through the measurement response message (NRPPa Measurement Response). If periodic SRS is indicated in step 2, each base station subsequently reports the UL SRS measurement results of the terminal device to the LMF network element through the measurement report (NRPPa Measurement Report). When the LMF network element needs to instruct the base station to stop measurement reporting, the LMF network element sends the measurement termination message (NRPPa Measurement Abort) to the base station, carrying the identifier of this periodic positioning measurement.

[0079] Step 12: If the LMF network element sends a positioning activation request message (NRPPaPositioning Activation Request) to the base station in step 5, the LMF network element sends a positioning deactivation message (NRPPaPositioning Deactivation) to the serving base station.

[0080] Step 13: The LMF network element calculates the position of the terminal device according to the measurement results reported by the terminal device and each base station in steps 10 and 11.

[0081] In the above multi-point round-trip time positioning process, if the LMF network element instructs the serving base station and the adjacent base station to perform periodic positioning measurement on the terminal device, during the periodic positioning measurement process, if the state of the terminal device changes, the serving base station and / or the adjacent base station may not be able to continue to perform positioning on the terminal device, or may not be able to perform accurate positioning. However, except for the serving base station, other adjacent base stations cannot detect the state change of the terminal device, so that when the state of the terminal device changes, each base station still continues to perform periodic positioning measurement, which not only cannot accurately position the terminal device, but also wastes network resources.

[0082] Based on this, the embodiment of the present application provides a terminal positioning management method, which subscribes the state of the terminal device from the LMF network element to the AMF network element, so that when the state of the terminal device changes, the LMF network element can decide whether to allow the base station to continue to perform the periodic positioning measurement process, thereby avoiding the base station to perform invalid positioning on the terminal device when the state of the terminal device changes, and saving network resources.

[0083] The specific implementation of the terminal positioning management method applied to the LMF network element will be described below in combination with embodiments.

[0084] Please refer to Figure 3 The flowchart of the terminal positioning management method provided by the embodiment of the present application is shown in Figure 1 As shown in Figure 3 , the method can include:

[0085] S10: Send a state subscription request for a terminal device to an AMF network element.

[0086] In this embodiment, after receiving a positioning request for a terminal device, the LMF network element needs to send a state subscription request to the AMF network element to subscribe to the state information of the terminal device from the AMF network element, in order to ensure that the state of the terminal device can be monitored during the entire positioning process.

[0087] It should be noted that the LMF network element and the AMF network element belong to the same network element in the core network, and before the entire state subscription process, the terminal device needs to be registered in the core network first, so that the AMF network element can manage the terminal device.

[0088] For example, refer to Figure 4 The state subscription interaction diagram provided by the embodiment of the application is as shown in Figure 4 As shown in the figure, the LMF network element as a service consumer (NF Service Consumer) subscribes to the state information of the terminal device through the event exposure service (Namf_EventExposure) provided by the AMF network element, and the event type subscribed can be the connectivity state report (Connectivity-State-Report) of the terminal device, and the event notification identifier is provided for the AMF network element. The event notification identifier can be the uniform resource locator (Uniform Resource Locator, URL) of the LMF network element.

[0089] If the subscription is successful, the AMF network element sends a subscription success response to the LMF network element, and if the subscription fails, the AMF network element sends a subscription failure response to the LMF network element.

[0090] S20: Receiving the terminal device state information sent by the AMF network element according to the state subscription request when the state of the terminal device changes.

[0091] In this embodiment, the AMF network element monitors the state of the terminal device according to the state subscription request of the LMF network element, and when the state of the terminal device changes, the terminal device state information is sent to the LMF network element according to the event notification identifier in the state subscription request. The terminal device state information includes: the communication connection state between the terminal device and the core network, which can indicate whether the terminal device and the core network are in a connected state, or can indicate the signal connection strength between the terminal device and the core network.

[0092] For example, refer to Figure 5 The subscription notification interaction diagram provided by the embodiment of the application is as shown in Figure 5 As shown in the figure, the AMF network element sends the terminal device state information to the LMF network element according to the event notification identifier provided by the LMF network element in the subscription process. If the LMF network element successfully receives the terminal device state information, it does not need to send any response (No Content) to the AMF network element, otherwise it sends a failure response to the AMF network element.

[0093] S30: In the periodic positioning measurement process of the terminal device and the plurality of base stations, it is determined whether to perform periodic positioning measurement of the terminal device according to the terminal device state information sent by the AMF network element.

[0094] In this embodiment, in the periodic positioning measurement process between the terminal device and the plurality of base stations, the plurality of base stations periodically trigger to respectively send downlink positioning reference signals to the terminal device and record the sending time t0, the terminal device records the arrival time t1 of receiving the downlink positioning reference signal, the terminal device sends an uplink sounding reference signal to the plurality of base stations and records the sending time t2, the plurality of base stations respectively record the arrival time t3 of receiving the uplink sounding reference signal, the plurality of base stations respectively report the time difference (t3-t0) to the LMF network element, the terminal device reports the time difference (t2-t1) to the LMF network element, and the LMF network element calculates the position of the terminal device according to the time difference (t3-t0) and the time difference (t2-t1) and in combination with the geographic coordinates of the plurality of base stations.

[0095] In a long-term periodic positioning measurement process, the plurality of base stations periodically send downlink positioning reference signals to the terminal device, and complete the positioning of the terminal device based on the signal interaction between the plurality of base stations and the terminal device.

[0096] However, in a long-term periodic positioning measurement process, if the LMF network element receives the terminal device state information sent by the AMF network element and determines that the state of the terminal device has changed, the LMF network element needs to determine whether to continue to perform the periodic positioning measurement of the terminal device.

[0097] In a possible implementation, before the above S30 determines whether to perform the periodic positioning measurement of the terminal device according to the terminal device state information sent by the AMF network element in the periodic positioning measurement process between the terminal device and the plurality of base stations, the method can further include:

[0098] sending a periodic positioning measurement request for the terminal device to the plurality of base stations, so that the periodic positioning measurement is performed between the terminal device and the plurality of base stations through signal transmission.

[0099] In this embodiment, when the LMF network element receives the periodic positioning measurement requirement for the terminal device, in addition to subscribing to the state information of the terminal device from the AMF network element, a multi-point round-trip time positioning process as shown in Figure 2 is also adopted, that is, a periodic positioning measurement request is sent to the plurality of base stations, so that the periodic positioning measurement is performed between the terminal device and the plurality of base stations through signal interaction transmission.

[0100] In some embodiments, please refer to Figure 6 the flowchart of the terminal positioning management method provided by the embodiments of the present application Figure 2 , as shown in Figure 6 , the above sending a periodic positioning measurement request for the terminal device to the plurality of base stations can include:

[0101] S41: Determine whether the terminal device meets the preset positioning measurement condition according to the terminal device state information.

[0102] S42: If the terminal device meets the preset positioning measurement condition, send a periodic positioning measurement request for the terminal device to the plurality of base stations.

[0103] In this embodiment, when the LMF network element receives a positioning request for the terminal device and sends a state subscription request to the AMF network element, the AMF network element returns the current state information of the terminal device to the LMF network element immediately. The LMF network element can determine whether the terminal device meets the positioning measurement condition according to the current state information. The positioning measurement condition can be that the terminal device is in a connected state. If the terminal device meets the positioning measurement condition, the LMF network element sends a periodic positioning measurement request for the terminal device to the plurality of base stations, so that the terminal device and the plurality of base stations perform periodic positioning measurement through signal transmission.

[0104] The terminal positioning management method provided in the above embodiment subscribes to the state of the terminal device by the LMF network element to the AMF network element, so that when the state of the terminal device changes, the LMF network element can determine whether the plurality of base stations continue to perform the periodic positioning measurement process, thereby avoiding the plurality of base stations performing invalid positioning on the terminal device when the state of the terminal device changes, and saving network resources.

[0105] The possible implementation modes of the LMF network element determining whether to perform periodic positioning measurement according to terminal device state information are described below in combination with embodiments.

[0106] In one possible implementation, the above S30 of determining whether to perform periodic positioning measurement of the terminal device according to the terminal device state information sent by the AMF network element can include:

[0107] According to the terminal device state information sent when the state of the terminal device changes, send a termination positioning notification to the plurality of base stations.

[0108] In this embodiment, if the LMF network element receives the terminal device state information of the AMF network element and determines that the state of the terminal device has changed, it is confirmed that it is not suitable to continue positioning the terminal device. In this case, the LMF network element sends a termination positioning notification to the serving base station and the neighboring base station of the terminal device. After the serving base station and the neighboring base station receive the termination positioning notification, they stop sending downlink positioning reference signals to the terminal device to end the periodic positioning measurement between the terminal device and the base station.

[0109] In some embodiments, the above sending a termination positioning notification to the plurality of base stations according to the terminal device state information sent when the state of the terminal device changes can specifically include:

[0110] If the terminal device state information indicates that the terminal device switches from the connected state to the idle state, the terminal device sends a termination positioning notification to the plurality of base stations.

[0111] In this embodiment, the connected state refers to that the terminal device is in the connected state between the serving base station and the core network. If the terminal device switches from the connected state to the idle state between the serving base station, only the serving base station and the network element in the core network determine that the terminal device switches to the idle state, and the adjacent base station cannot determine that the terminal device switches to the idle state. In this case, the adjacent base station continues to perform positioning on the terminal device, which may result in failure to position or inaccurate positioning. In this case, since the LMF network element subscribes to the state of the terminal device from the AMF network element, the LMF network element sends a termination positioning notification to the serving base station and the adjacent base station after determining that the terminal device is in the idle state, so as to terminate the periodic positioning of the terminal device by the serving base station and the adjacent base station.

[0112] The terminal positioning management method provided in the above embodiment can enable the LMF network element to determine that the plurality of base stations terminate the execution of the periodic positioning measurement process when the state of the terminal device changes, thereby avoiding invalid positioning of the terminal device by the plurality of base stations when the state of the terminal device changes, and saving network resources.

[0113] In another possible implementation, the S30 of determining whether to perform the periodic positioning measurement of the terminal device according to the terminal device state information sent by the AMF network element can include the following steps.

[0114] After receiving the terminal device state information, the method further includes the following steps.

[0115] In this embodiment, after receiving the terminal device state information sent by the AMF network element, the LMF network element determines that the state of the terminal device changes. At this time, the LMF network element needs to determine whether the serving base station and the adjacent base station can still perform positioning on the terminal device. The positioning state of the serving base station and the adjacent base station can be whether the serving base station and the adjacent base station have the capability of still performing positioning on the terminal device when the state of the terminal device changes. If it is determined that the serving base station and the adjacent base station have the capability of still performing positioning on the terminal device when the state of the terminal device changes, the LMF network element does not send a termination positioning notification to the serving base station and the adjacent base station. Otherwise, the LMF network element sends a termination positioning notification to the serving base station and the adjacent base station.

[0116] In some embodiments, the positioning state of the plurality of base stations can be the positioning accuracy of the plurality of base stations. For details, please refer to the description of the S30 of determining whether to perform the periodic positioning measurement of the terminal device according to the terminal device state information sent by the AMF network element. Figure 7 The flowchart of the terminal positioning management method provided in the embodiments of the present application is shown in FIG. 4. Figure 3 As shown in FIG. 4, the terminal positioning management method provided in the embodiments of the present application includes the following steps. Figure 8As shown, after receiving the terminal device state information, it is judged whether to send a positioning termination notification to the plurality of base stations according to the positioning state of the plurality of base stations, which can include:

[0117] S31: It is judged whether the positioning accuracy of the plurality of base stations performing periodic positioning measurement with the terminal device meets the preset positioning condition.

[0118] In this embodiment, after determining that the state of the terminal device has changed, the LMF network element needs to judge whether the serving base station and / or the adjacent base station can still accurately position the terminal device. Specifically, it can be judged whether the positioning accuracy of positioning the terminal device meets the preset positioning condition.

[0119] It should be noted that in some cases, although the state of the terminal device has changed, the base station still can accurately position the terminal device because the base station is pre-configured with the ability to correct the received signal. In this case, the LMF network element can not instruct the base station to stop positioning the terminal device.

[0120] In some other cases, although the state of the terminal device has changed, the positioning accuracy of the terminal device is low, and only the approximate area of the terminal device needs to be determined. In this case, the positioning of the terminal device by the base station can still meet the positioning requirement, and the LMF network element can not instruct the base station to stop positioning the terminal device.

[0121] In some embodiments, the positioning accuracy of the base station can be calculated according to the time difference (t3-t0) reported by the base station and the reference signal time difference expected value. The positioning accuracy of each base station can also be calculated according to the time difference reported by each base station, or the positioning accuracy of each base station can also be calculated according to the time difference (t2-t1) reported by the terminal device for signal interaction with each base station.

[0122] For example, the positioning accuracy of each base station is calculated according to the time difference reported by each base station. The way to calculate the positioning accuracy can be:

[0123] The LMF network element takes any base station as a standard base station, takes the time difference (t3-t0) reported by the standard base station and the time difference (t2-t1) reported by the terminal device for the signal of the standard base station as a standard time difference, calculates the position of the terminal device as a standard position according to the geographic coordinates of the standard base station and the standard time difference, and calculates the position of the terminal device according to the geographic coordinates of other base stations and the corresponding time difference. The positioning accuracy is determined according to the distance difference between the positions of other base stations and the standard position.

[0124] In some embodiments, the S31 judging whether the positioning accuracy of the plurality of base stations performing periodic positioning measurement with the terminal device meets the preset positioning condition can include:

[0125] If the terminal device state information indicates that the terminal device switches from the connected state to the idle state, it is determined whether the positioning accuracy of the multiple base stations performing periodic positioning measurement on the terminal device meets the preset positioning condition.

[0126] In this embodiment, if the base station has the capability of positioning the terminal device in the idle state, when the LMF network element determines that the terminal device is in the idle state, it does not directly send a positioning termination notification to the base station, but first determines whether the positioning accuracy of each base station meets the preset positioning condition.

[0127] S32: If the preset positioning condition is not met, a positioning termination notification is sent to the multiple base stations respectively.

[0128] In this embodiment, if it is determined that the positioning accuracy of the serving base station or any adjacent base station does not meet the preset positioning condition, the terminal device cannot be accurately positioned according to the time difference reported by the multiple base stations. In this case, the LMF network element can send a positioning termination notification to the multiple base stations.

[0129] In some embodiments, it can be determined whether the positioning accuracy of a preset number of base stations meets the preset positioning condition. If the positioning accuracy of the preset number of base stations meets the preset positioning condition, it is determined that each base station can still accurately position the terminal device, and there is no need to send a positioning termination notification to the multiple base stations, or a positioning termination notification can be sent to the base station whose positioning accuracy does not meet the preset positioning condition, and other base stations continue to perform periodic positioning measurement on the terminal device.

[0130] The terminal positioning management method provided by the above embodiments can determine whether multiple base stations continue to perform periodic positioning measurement processes according to the positioning accuracy of the base stations when the state of the terminal device changes. When the positioning accuracy meets the preset positioning condition, the base stations continue to position the terminal device, and when the preset positioning condition is not met, the base stations stop positioning the terminal device, thereby avoiding invalid positioning of the terminal device by multiple base stations when the state of the terminal device changes, and saving network resources.

[0131] On the basis of the above method embodiments, the present embodiment further provides a terminal positioning management device applied to an LMF network element. Please refer to Figure 8 The structure diagram of the terminal positioning management device provided by the present embodiment is shown in Figure 9 The device can include:

[0132] The subscription request sending module 10 is configured to send a state subscription request for a terminal device to an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element.

[0133] The information receiving module 20 is configured to receive terminal device state information sent by the AMF network element according to the state subscription request when the state of the terminal device changes.

[0134] The execution determining module 30 is configured to determine whether to perform the periodic positioning measurement of the terminal device according to the terminal device state information sent by the AMF network element in the periodic positioning measurement process of the terminal device and the plurality of base stations.

[0135] Optionally, before the execution determining module 30, the apparatus can further include:

[0136] The positioning request sending module is configured to send a periodic positioning measurement request for the terminal device to the plurality of base stations, so that the periodic positioning measurement is performed between the terminal device and the plurality of base stations through signal transmission.

[0137] Optionally, the execution determining module 30 is specifically configured to send a positioning termination notification to the plurality of base stations according to the terminal device state information sent when the state of the terminal device changes.

[0138] Optionally, the execution determining module 30 is specifically configured to, after receiving the terminal device state information, determine whether to send the positioning termination notification to the plurality of base stations according to the positioning state of the plurality of base stations.

[0139] Optionally, the execution determining module 30 includes:

[0140] The positioning determining unit is configured to determine whether the positioning accuracy of the plurality of base stations performing the periodic positioning measurement with the terminal device meets a preset positioning condition.

[0141] The notification sending unit is configured to send a positioning termination notification to the plurality of base stations respectively if the preset positioning condition is not met.

[0142] Optionally, the positioning determining unit is specifically configured to, if the terminal device state information indicates that the terminal device switches from the connected state to the idle state, determine whether the positioning accuracy of the plurality of base stations performing the periodic positioning measurement with the terminal device meets the preset positioning condition.

[0143] Optionally, the positioning request sending module includes:

[0144] The positioning measurement determining unit is configured to determine whether the terminal device meets a preset positioning measurement condition according to the terminal device state information.

[0145] The positioning request sending unit is configured to send a periodic positioning measurement request for the terminal device to the plurality of base stations if the terminal device meets the preset positioning measurement condition.

[0146] The apparatus is used to execute the method provided by the foregoing embodiments, and has similar implementation principles and technical effects, which are not described herein again.

[0147] The above modules can be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above methods, for example, one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or one or more microprocessors, or one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), etc. For another example, when a certain module above is implemented in the form of a processing element scheduling code, the processing element can be a general purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU) or other processor that can invoke code. For another example, the modules can be integrated together to implement a system-on-a-chip (SOC).

[0148] Reference is made to Figure 9 The schematic diagram of the location management function network element provided by the embodiment of the present application is shown in ​ The location management function network element 100 includes a transceiver 110, a processor 120 and a storage medium 130. The transceiver 110 is configured to receive and send data. The storage medium 130 stores program instructions executable by the processor 120. The processor 120 is configured to invoke the program instructions stored in the storage medium 130 to execute the above method embodiments. The specific implementation manners and technical effects are similar, and will not be described here.

[0149] In an embodiment, the embodiment of the present application further provides a computer readable storage medium, and the storage medium stores a computer program. When the computer program is run by a processor, the above method embodiments are executed.

[0150] In several embodiments provided by the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and method can be implemented in other manners. For example, the described apparatus embodiment is only schematic. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. There can be another division manner for the actual implementation. For example, a plurality of units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the displayed or discussed mutual couplings or direct couplings or communication connections can be indirect couplings or communication connections through some interfaces, devices or units, and can be electrical, mechanical or in other forms.

[0151] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components displayed as units may or may not be physical units, that is, may be located in one place, or may be distributed on multiple network units. Part or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the embodiment scheme.

[0152] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the application can be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically, or two or more units can be integrated in one unit. The integrated unit can be realized in the form of hardware or in the form of hardware plus software functional unit.

[0153] The integrated unit realized in the form of software functional unit can be stored in a computer readable storage medium. The software functional unit stored in a storage medium includes a plurality of instructions for making a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) or a processor (English: processor) execute part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the application. And the foregoing storage medium includes: U disk, mobile hard disk, read-only memory (English: Read-Only Memory, for short: ROM), random access memory (English: Random Access Memory, for short: RAM), magnetic disk or optical disk and various program code storage media.

[0154] The above is only a specific embodiment of the application, but the protection scope of the application is not limited thereto, any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or replacements within the technical range disclosed by the application, which should be covered within the protection scope of the application. Therefore, the protection scope of the application should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A terminal positioning management method, characterized by, The method is applied to a location management function (LMF) network element, and the method comprises the following steps: sending a state subscription request for a terminal device to an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element; receiving terminal device state information sent by the AMF network element according to the state subscription request and when a state of the terminal device changes; during a periodic positioning measurement process of the terminal device and a plurality of base stations, determining whether to perform the periodic positioning measurement of the terminal device according to the terminal device state information sent by the AMF network element; after receiving the terminal device state information, if the terminal device state information indicates that the terminal device switches from a connected state to an idle state, determining whether positioning accuracy of the plurality of base stations performing periodic positioning measurement on the terminal device meets a preset positioning condition; if the preset positioning condition is not met, sending a positioning termination notification to the plurality of base stations respectively. Before the step of determining whether to perform the periodic positioning measurement of the terminal device according to the terminal device state information sent by the AMF network element during the periodic positioning measurement process of the terminal device and the plurality of base stations, the method further comprises the following steps:

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, sending a periodic positioning measurement request for the terminal device to the plurality of base stations, so that the terminal device and the plurality of base stations perform periodic positioning measurement through signal transmission. The step of determining whether to perform the periodic positioning measurement of the terminal device according to the terminal device state information sent by the AMF network element comprises the following steps:

3. The method of claim 1, wherein, sending a positioning termination notification to the plurality of base stations according to the terminal device state information sent when the state of the terminal device changes. The step of sending a periodic positioning measurement request for the terminal device to the plurality of base stations comprises the following steps:

4. The method of claim 2, wherein, determining whether the terminal device meets a preset positioning measurement condition according to the terminal device state information; if the terminal device meets the preset positioning measurement condition, sending a periodic positioning measurement request for the terminal device to the plurality of base stations. The device is applied to a location management function (LMF) network element, and the device comprises the following modules:

5. A terminal positioning management apparatus characterized by comprising: a subscription request sending module configured to send a state subscription request for a terminal device to an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element; an information receiving module configured to receive terminal device state information sent by the AMF network element according to the state subscription request and when a state of the terminal device changes; an execution determining module configured to determine whether to perform a periodic positioning measurement of the terminal device according to the terminal device state information sent by the AMF network element during a periodic positioning measurement process of the terminal device and a plurality of base stations; ​ The execution determination module is specifically configured to, after receiving the terminal device state information, if the terminal device state information indicates that the terminal device switches from a connected state to an idle state, determine whether the positioning accuracy of a plurality of base stations performing periodic positioning measurement with the terminal device meets a preset positioning condition; and if the preset positioning condition is not met, send a positioning termination notification to the plurality of base stations respectively.

6. A location management function network element, characterized by, Comprise: a transceiver, a processor and a storage medium; the transceiver is used for receiving and sending data; the storage medium stores program instructions executable by the processor; the processor is used to call the program instructions stored in the storage medium to execute the steps of the terminal positioning management method according to any one of claims 1-4.

7. A computer readable storage medium characterized by The storage medium stores a computer program, and the computer program is executed by the processor to execute the steps of the terminal positioning management method according to any one of claims 1-4.

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