Positioning method, device and system

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a positioning method, device and system, which are used for enabling a network side to timely obtain accurate geographical location information of terminal equipment in a satellite communication scene. The method comprises: after determining that a trigger condition occurs, an access network device sends first position information of a terminal device to a core network device, the first position information comprising a first tracking area identifier (TAI), and the first TAI being an identifier of a tracking area where the terminal device is currently located. The application is applicable to the technical field of communication.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application. The application number of the original application is 202111173124.6, and the application date of the original application is October 8, 2021. The entire content of the original application is incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of communication technologies, and in particular to a positioning method, apparatus, and system. Background Art

[0003] In a mobile communication network, the network side (such as an access and mobility management function (AMF)) needs to obtain accurate location information of a user equipment (UE) (UE location information, ULI) in a timely manner, that is, the tracking area (TA) where the UE is currently located (UE current TA), so as to perform area-related operations on the UE. Among them, the area types include: prohibited areas, service areas, local area data network service areas, etc.

[0004] However, in a satellite communication scenario, due to the mobility characteristics of satellites, the tracking areas corresponding to their coverage areas often change. At this time, there is no relevant solution on how the network side can obtain accurate ULI in a timely manner. Summary of the Invention

[0005] Embodiments of this application provide a positioning method, apparatus, and system for enabling the network side to obtain accurate geographical location information of a terminal device in a timely manner in a satellite communication scenario.

[0006] To achieve the above objective, the embodiments of this application adopt the following technical solutions:

[0007] In a first aspect, a positioning method is provided. The communication device that executes this positioning method can be an access network device; it can also be a module applied to an access network device, such as a chip or a chip system. Hereinafter, an example in which the execution entity is an access network device will be described. After the access network device determines that a trigger condition occurs, it sends first location information of the terminal device to the core network device. The first location information includes a first tracking area identifier (TAI), and the first TAI is an identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located. Based on this solution, since the access network device can report the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located to the core network device when it determines that the trigger condition occurs, the core network device can obtain accurate ULI in a timely manner, so that area-related operations can be performed.

[0008] Combined with the above first aspect, in a possible implementation, the access network device determining that a trigger condition occurs includes: after the access network device determines that it cannot recognize the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located, the access network device determines the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located. For example, after the access network device determines that it cannot recognize the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located, an implicit subscription mechanism can be triggered, that is, it is determined that after the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located can be sensed, the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located is reported to the core network device.

[0009] Combined with the above first aspect, in a possible implementation, the access network device determining that a trigger condition occurs includes: after the access network device receives a first message from the core network device, the access network device determines the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located, and the first message is used to request the current location of the terminal device. For example, when the core network device senses that the location information reported by the access network device is inaccurate, it triggers a subscription to the current location of the terminal device from the access network device.

[0010] Combined with the above first aspect, in a possible implementation, the access network device determining that a trigger condition occurs includes: after the access network device receives a second message from the terminal device, the access network device determines the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located, and the second message is used to request a mobility update. In other words, in the embodiments of the present application, the mobility update process can trigger the access network device to report the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located to the core network device in a timely manner.

[0011] Combined with the above first aspect, in a possible implementation, the access network device determining that it cannot recognize the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located includes: the access network device determines that the location information of the terminal device currently obtained includes multiple TAI; or, the access network device determines that the location information of the terminal device currently obtained includes one TAI, but there is a possibility that the location corresponding to the one TAI included in the location information of the terminal device is inconsistent with the current location of the terminal device.

[0012] Combined with the above first aspect, in a possible implementation, the positioning method provided in the embodiments of the present application further includes: the access network device sends a third message to the core network device, and the third message includes the second location information of the terminal device and a first indication information, where the second location information includes a second TAI, and the first indication information is used to indicate that the second location information of the terminal device is inaccurate; or, the access network device sends a fourth message to the core network device, and the fourth message includes the third location information of the terminal device, and the third location information includes multiple TAI. Based on this solution, after receiving the third message or the fourth message, the core network device can learn that the location information of the terminal device reported by the access network device is inaccurate.

[0013] In combination with the first aspect described above, in a possible implementation, the second TAI is one of the multiple TAIs included in the location information of the terminal device currently obtained by the access network device; or, the second TAI is a TAI included in the location information of the terminal device currently obtained by the access network device.

[0014] In a second aspect, a positioning method is provided. The communication device that executes this positioning method can be a core network device; or it can be a module applied in a core network device, such as a chip or a chip system. The following description is made with the core network device as the execution entity as an example. After the core network device determines that the trigger condition occurs, it sends a first message to the access network device. The first message is used to request the current location of the terminal device. The core network device receives the first location information of the terminal device from the access network device. The first location information includes a first Tracking Area Identity (TAI). The first TAI is the identity of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located. Based on this solution, since the core network device can subscribe to the current location of the terminal device from the access network device in a timely manner when it determines that the trigger condition occurs, so that after the access network device knows the identity of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located, it immediately reports the identity of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located to the core network device. Therefore, the core network device can obtain accurate ULI in a timely manner, and then perform operations related to the area.

[0015] In combination with the second aspect described above, in a possible implementation, the core network device determines that the trigger condition occurs, including: the core network device determines that the location information of the terminal device received includes multiple TAIs; or, the core network device determines that it has received a first indication message, where the first indication message is used to indicate that the location information of the terminal device received by the core network device is inaccurate.

[0016] In combination with the second aspect described above, in a possible implementation, the positioning method provided in the embodiments of the present application further includes: the core network device determines that the terminal device is located in a prohibited area according to the first location information of the terminal device; the core network device sends a rejected TAI to the terminal device; or, the core network device sends the geographical location information corresponding to the rejected TAI to the terminal device. Based on this solution, after the terminal device receives the rejected TAI or the geographical location information corresponding to the rejected TAI sent by the core network device, it can update the prohibited area list maintained locally. Furthermore, after the terminal device obtains the geographical location information of its current location, it can determine whether to initiate a signaling process according to the geographical location information of its current location and this prohibited area list, which can avoid the signaling consumption caused by the terminal device blindly initiating a signaling process and finally the process fails, thus saving the signaling consumption of the terminal device.

[0017] Combined with the second aspect above, in a possible implementation, the positioning method provided by the embodiments of the present application further includes: The core network device sends service area restriction information in the form of geographical location, and / or local area data network service area information in the form of geographical location to the terminal device. Based on this solution, after the terminal device receives the service area restriction information in the form of geographical location, and / or the local area data network service area information in the form of geographical location, it can directly perform area-related operations according to the service area restriction information in the form of geographical location, and / or the local area data network service area information in the form of geographical location after obtaining the geographical location information of the current location of the terminal device, avoiding the signaling consumption caused by the terminal device blindly initiating relevant requests and finally failing the requests, thereby saving the signaling consumption of the terminal device.

[0018] In a third aspect, a positioning method is provided. The communication device that executes this positioning method can be a terminal device; it can also be a module applied in the terminal device, such as a chip or a chip system. The following description is made taking the execution entity as the terminal device as an example. The terminal device receives a Tracking Area Identity (TAI) rejection from the core network device; the terminal device determines the geographical location information corresponding to the rejected TAI according to the mapping relationship between the TAI and the geographical location information maintained locally; the terminal device adds the geographical location information corresponding to the rejected TAI to the prohibited area list maintained locally. Based on this solution, since the terminal device can maintain the mapping relationship between the TAI and the geographical location information locally, after the terminal device receives the rejected TAI sent by the core network device, it can determine the geographical location information corresponding to the rejected TAI according to the mapping relationship between the TAI and the geographical location information maintained locally, and then add the geographical location information corresponding to the rejected TAI to the prohibited area list maintained locally. That is, in the embodiments of the present application, the prohibited area list maintained locally by the terminal device can exist in the form of geographical location information. Furthermore, after the terminal device obtains the geographical location information of its current location, it can directly search the prohibited area list maintained locally to determine whether to initiate a signaling process, which can avoid the signaling consumption caused by the terminal device blindly initiating a signaling process and finally failing the process, thereby saving the signaling consumption of the terminal device.

[0019] Combined with the third aspect above, in a possible implementation, the positioning method provided by the embodiments of the present application further includes: The terminal device determines whether to initiate a signaling process according to the geographical location information of the current location of the terminal device and the prohibited area list.

[0020] Combined with the above third aspect, in a possible implementation, the terminal device determines whether to initiate a signaling process according to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located and the prohibited area list, including: when the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located is in the prohibited area list, the terminal device determines that it is not allowed to initiate a signaling process; or, the terminal device determines that after moving for a preset time and / or a preset distance, it is allowed to initiate a signaling process again.

[0021] In a fourth aspect, a positioning method is provided. The communication device that executes this positioning method can be a terminal device; it can also be a module applied to the terminal device, such as a chip or a chip system. Hereinafter, the description will be given by taking the execution entity as the terminal device as an example. The terminal device receives a rejected Tracking Area Identity (TAI) from the core network device; the terminal device adds the rejected TAI to the prohibited area list maintained locally; after the terminal device obtains the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located, the terminal device determines the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located according to the mapping relationship between the TAI maintained locally and the geographical location information; the terminal device determines whether to initiate a signaling process according to the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located and the prohibited area list. Based on this solution, on the one hand, since in the embodiments of the present application, the prohibited area list maintained locally by the terminal device exists in the form of TAI, after the terminal device receives the rejected TAI from the core network device, it can add the rejected TAI to the prohibited area list maintained locally, and the implementation is simple. On the other hand, since in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device can maintain the mapping relationship between the TAI and the geographical location information locally, after the terminal device obtains the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located, it can determine the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located according to the mapping relationship between the TAI maintained locally and the geographical location information. Furthermore, the terminal device can search the prohibited area list maintained locally to determine whether to initiate a signaling process, which can avoid the signaling consumption caused by the failure of the terminal device to blindly initiate a signaling process and finally the process fails, thereby saving the signaling consumption of the terminal device.

[0022] Combined with the above fourth aspect, in a possible implementation, the terminal device determines whether to initiate a signaling process according to the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located and the prohibited area list, including: when the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located is in the prohibited area list, the terminal device determines that it is not allowed to initiate a signaling process; or, the terminal device determines that after moving for a preset time and / or a preset distance, it is allowed to initiate a signaling process again.

[0023] Combined with the above third aspect or fourth aspect, in a possible implementation, the positioning method provided by the embodiments of the present application further includes: The terminal device receives service area restriction information in the form of TAI from the core network device; The terminal device determines the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located according to the mapping relationship between TAI and geographical location information maintained locally; The terminal device determines whether to initiate a service-related request according to the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located and the service area restriction information. Based on this solution, since in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device can maintain the mapping relationship between TAI and geographical location information locally, after the terminal device obtains the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located, it can determine the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located according to the mapping relationship between TAI and geographical location information maintained locally. Furthermore, the terminal device can determine whether to initiate a service-related request according to the service area restriction information in the form of TAI. This can avoid the signaling consumption caused by the terminal device blindly initiating a service-related request and finally the service request fails, thereby saving the signaling consumption of the terminal device.

[0024] Combined with the above third aspect or fourth aspect, in a possible implementation, when the terminal device determines whether to initiate a service-related request according to the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located and the service area restriction information, it includes: When the service area restriction information includes service allowed area information, if the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located is not in the service area restriction information, the terminal device determines that it is not allowed to initiate a service-related request; Or, the terminal device determines that it is allowed to initiate a service-related request again after moving for a preset time and / or a preset distance.

[0025] Combined with the above third aspect or fourth aspect, in a possible implementation, when the terminal device determines whether to initiate a service-related request according to the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located and the service area restriction information, it includes: When the service area restriction information includes service non-allowed area information, if the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located is in the service area restriction information, the terminal device determines that it is not allowed to initiate a service-related request; Or, the terminal device determines that it is allowed to initiate a service-related request again after moving for a preset time and / or a preset distance.

[0026] Fifth aspect, a positioning method is provided. The communication device that executes this positioning method can be a terminal device; or it can be a module applied in the terminal device, such as a chip or a chip system. Hereinafter, the description will be given taking the execution entity as the terminal device as an example. The terminal device receives the geographical location information corresponding to the rejected tracking area identity (TAI) from the core network device; the terminal device adds the geographical location information corresponding to the rejected TAI to the prohibited area list maintained locally. Based on this solution, since the core network device can perform the conversion between TAI and geographical location information, the terminal device can receive the geographical location information corresponding to the rejected TAI from the core network device, and then add the geographical location information corresponding to the rejected TAI to the prohibited area list maintained locally. That is, in the embodiments of the present application, the prohibited area list maintained locally by the terminal device can exist in the form of geographical location information. Furthermore, after the terminal device obtains the geographical location information of its current location, it can directly search the prohibited area list maintained locally to determine whether to initiate a signaling process, which can avoid the signaling consumption caused by the terminal device blindly initiating a signaling process and ultimately failing the process, thereby saving the signaling consumption of the terminal device.

[0027] Combined with the above fifth aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the positioning method provided in the embodiments of the present application further includes: the terminal device determines whether to initiate a signaling process according to the geographical location information of the terminal device's current location and the prohibited area list.

[0028] Combined with the above fifth aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the terminal device determines whether to initiate a signaling process according to the geographical location information of the terminal device's current location and the prohibited area list, including: when the geographical location information of the terminal device's current location is in the prohibited area list, the terminal device determines that it is not allowed to initiate a signaling process; or, the terminal device determines that after moving for a preset time and / or a preset distance, it is allowed to initiate a signaling process again.

[0029] Combined with the above fifth aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the positioning method provided in the embodiments of the present application further includes: the terminal device receives the service area restriction information in the form of geographical location from the core network device; the terminal device determines whether to initiate a service-related request according to the geographical location information of the terminal device's current location and the service area restriction information. Based on this solution, since the core network device can perform the conversion between TAI and geographical location information, the terminal device can receive the service area restriction information in the form of geographical location from the core network device. Furthermore, after the terminal device obtains the geographical location information of its current location, it can directly determine whether to initiate a service-related request according to the service area restriction information in the form of geographical location. This can avoid the signaling consumption caused by the terminal device blindly initiating a service-related request and ultimately failing the service request, thereby saving the signaling consumption of the terminal device.

[0030] In a sixth aspect, a positioning method is provided. The communication device that executes this positioning method can be a terminal device; it can also be a module applied in a terminal device, such as a chip or a chip system. Hereinafter, the description will be given taking the execution entity as a terminal device as an example. The terminal device receives service area restriction information in the form of geographical location from a core network device; the terminal device determines whether to initiate a service-related request according to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located and the service area restriction information. Based on this solution, since the core network device can perform the conversion between TAI and geographical location information, the terminal device can receive service area restriction information in the form of geographical location from the core network device. Furthermore, after the terminal device obtains the geographical location information where it is currently located, it can directly determine whether to initiate a service-related request according to the service area restriction information in the form of geographical location. This can avoid the signaling consumption caused by the terminal device blindly initiating a service-related request and finally the service request fails, thus saving the signaling consumption of the terminal device.

[0031] Combined with the above fifth aspect or sixth aspect, in a possible implementation, the terminal device determines whether to initiate a service-related request according to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located and the service area restriction information, including: when the service area restriction information includes service allowed area information, if the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located is not in the service area restriction information, the terminal device determines that it is not allowed to initiate a service-related request; or, the terminal device determines that it is allowed to initiate a service-related request again after moving for a preset time and / or a preset distance.

[0032] Combined with the above fifth aspect or sixth aspect, in a possible implementation, the terminal device determines whether to initiate a service-related request according to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located and the service area restriction information, including: when the service area restriction information includes service non-allowed area information, if the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located is in the service area restriction information, the terminal device determines that it is not allowed to initiate a service-related request; or, the terminal device determines that it is allowed to initiate a service-related request again after moving for a preset time and / or a preset distance.

[0033] In a seventh aspect, a positioning method is provided. The communication device that executes this positioning method can be a terminal device; it can also be a module applied to the terminal device, such as a chip or a chip system. Hereinafter, the description will be given taking the execution entity as the terminal device as an example. The terminal device sends a fifth message to the core network device. The fifth message is used for the terminal device to request initial access to the network or access to a service. When the terminal device determines to access the network via a satellite, or when the terminal device determines to receive multiple tracking area codes (TACs), or when the terminal device determines to receive second indication information, after the terminal device receives a sixth message from the core network device, the terminal device triggers a mobility update. Among them, the second indication information is used to indicate that the TAC included in the satellite broadcast message is inaccurate, and the sixth message is used to represent that the terminal device is allowed to access the network or access a service. Based on this solution, the terminal device can trigger the mobile update process in a timely manner and report the accurate geographical location information of the terminal device to the access network device in the mobility update process. Furthermore, after the access network device recognizes the mobility update process and determines the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located according to the accurate geographical location information of the terminal device, it reports the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located to the core network device in a timely manner, so that the core network device can obtain the accurate ULI in a timely manner, and thus can perform operations related to the area.

[0034] In an eighth aspect, a communication device is provided for implementing the above method. The communication device includes corresponding modules, units, or means for implementing the above method. The module, unit, or means can be implemented by hardware, software, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the above functions. The communication device can be the access network device described in the first aspect above, or a device including the above access network device; or, the communication device can be the core network device described in the second aspect above, or a device including the above core network device; or, the communication device can be the terminal device described in the third aspect, fourth aspect, fifth aspect, sixth aspect, or seventh aspect above, or a device including the above terminal device.

[0035] In a ninth aspect, a communication device is provided, including: a processor; the processor is used to be coupled with a memory, and after reading computer instructions stored in the memory, execute the method described in any of the above aspects according to the instructions.

[0036] Combined with the above ninth aspect, in a possible implementation, the communication device further includes a memory; the memory is used to store computer instructions.

[0037] In combination with the ninth aspect described above, in a possible implementation, the communication device further includes a communication interface; the communication interface is used for the communication device to communicate with other devices. Exemplarily, the communication interface can be a transceiver, an input / output interface, an interface circuit, an output circuit, an input circuit, a pin, or a related circuit, etc.

[0038] In combination with the ninth aspect described above, in a possible implementation, the communication device can be a chip or a chip system. Wherein, when the communication device is a chip system, the communication device can be composed of chips, or can include chips and other discrete devices.

[0039] In combination with the ninth aspect described above, in a possible implementation, when the communication device is a chip or a chip system, the above-mentioned communication interface can be an input / output interface, an interface circuit, an output circuit, an input circuit, a pin, or a related circuit, etc. on the chip or the chip system. The above-mentioned processor can also be embodied as a processing circuit or a logic circuit.

[0040] The tenth aspect provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which instructions are stored, and when it runs on a computer, it enables the computer to execute the method described in any of the above aspects.

[0041] The eleventh aspect provides a computer program product containing instructions, and when it runs on a computer, it enables the computer to execute the method described in any of the above aspects.

[0042] The twelfth aspect provides a communication device (for example, the communication device can be a chip or a chip system), the communication device includes a processor for implementing the functions involved in any of the above aspects. In a possible implementation, the communication device further includes a memory for storing necessary program instructions and data. When the communication device is a chip system, it can be composed of chips, or can include chips and other discrete devices.

[0043] Among them, the technical effects brought by any possible implementation in the eighth aspect to the twelfth aspect can be referred to the technical effects brought by different implementations in any of the first aspect to the seventh aspect above, and will not be elaborated here.

[0044] The thirteenth aspect provides a communication system, the communication system includes the access network device described in the first aspect above and the core network device described in the second aspect above. In combination with the thirteenth aspect described above, in a possible implementation, the communication system further includes a terminal device described in any of the third aspect to the seventh aspect above.

[0045] In a fourteenth aspect, a positioning method is provided. The method is applied to an access network device, or can be applied to a module in the access network device, such as a chip or a chip system. Hereinafter, the description will be given taking the access network device as the execution entity as an example. Broadcast N tracking area identifiers (TAIs) to the terminal device, where N is an integer greater than 1; after receiving a first message from the core network device, determine the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located, and the first message is used to request the current location of the terminal device; send the first location information of the terminal device to the core network device, where the first location information includes a first TAI, and the first TAI is the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located, and the N TAIs include the first TAI.

[0046] In combination with the fourteenth aspect above, in a possible implementation, send M tracking area identifiers (TAIs) of the terminal device to the core network device, where M is an integer greater than 1.

[0047] In combination with the fourteenth aspect above, in a possible implementation, determine the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located according to the current geographical location of the terminal device.

[0048] In combination with the fourteenth aspect above, in a possible implementation, receive the current geographical location sent by the terminal device.

[0049] In combination with the fourteenth aspect above, in a possible implementation, the receiving the current geographical location sent by the terminal device includes: after the access layer security between the access network device and the terminal device is established, receive the current geographical location sent by the terminal device.

[0050] In combination with the fourteenth aspect above, in a possible implementation, send indication information to the core network device for indicating that the terminal device accesses the network or access service through a satellite.

[0051] In combination with the fourteenth aspect above, in a possible implementation, the current geographical location of the terminal device includes: longitude, latitude, altitude, beam identifier or beam position. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0052] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system applied to the embodiments of the present application;

[0053] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the device form of an NR-RAN device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the device form of another NR-RAN device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the service-based architecture of the 5G network defined for 3GPP;

[0056] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the 5G network architecture based on reference points defined for 3GPP;

[0057] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] Figure 7 Schematic diagram of the satellite communication soft handover scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] Figure 8 Schematic diagram of the satellite communication hard handover scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0060] Figure 9 Schematic diagram of the process of a positioning method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0061] Figure 10 Schematic diagram of the process of another positioning method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0062] Figure 11 Schematic diagram of the process of yet another positioning method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] Figure 12 Schematic diagram of the process of yet another positioning method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0064] Figure 13 Schematic diagram of the process of yet another positioning method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0065] Figure 14 Schematic diagram of the process of yet another positioning method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0066] Figure 15 Schematic diagram of the process of yet another positioning method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0067] Figure 16 Schematic diagram of the process of yet another positioning method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0068] Figure 17 A positioning method in a 5G mobile communication system provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0069] Figure 18 Another positioning method in a 5G mobile communication system provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0070] Figure 19 Yet another positioning method in a 5G mobile communication system provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0071] Figure 20 It is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application. Detailed implementation manners

[0072] Next, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Among them, in the description of the present application, unless otherwise specified, " / " means that the objects associated before and after are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B may represent A or B; "and / or" in the present application is only a description of the association relationship of the associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B may represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. These three situations, where A and B can be singular or plural. Also, in the description of the present application, unless otherwise specified, "a plurality of" means two or more than two. "At least one (item)" or a similar expression thereof refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of a single item (item) or plural items (items). For example, at least one (item) of a, b, or c may represent: a, b, c, a - b, a - c, b - c, or a - b - c, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple. In addition, in order to clearly describe the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, terms such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish the same items or similar items with basically the same functions and roles. Those skilled in the art can understand that the terms "first", "second", etc. do not limit the quantity and execution order, and the terms "first", "second", etc. do not necessarily limit to be different. At the same time, in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to represent examples, illustrations, or explanations. Any embodiment or design solution described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of the present application should not be construed as being more preferred or having more advantages than other embodiments or design solutions. Exactly speaking, using words such as "exemplary" or "for example" aims to present relevant concepts in a specific way for easy understanding.

[0073] In addition, the network architecture and service scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are for more clearly explaining the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application. Those of ordinary skill in the art know that with the evolution of the network architecture and the emergence of new service scenarios, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are equally applicable to similar technical problems.

[0074] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system 1000 to which the embodiments of the present application are applied. As Figure 1As shown, the communication system includes a radio access network 100 and a core network 200. Optionally, the communication system 1000 may further include the Internet 300. Among them, the radio access network 100 may include at least one access network device (such as Figure 1 110a and 110b in Figure 1 ), and may further include at least one terminal device (such as Figure 1 120a - 120j in Figure 1 ). The terminal device is connected to the access network device wirelessly, and the access network device is connected to the core network device in the core network 200 wirelessly or wiredly. The core network device and the access network device may be independent different physical devices, or the functions of the core network device and the logical functions of the access network device may be integrated on the same physical device, or the functions of part of the core network device and part of the access network device may be integrated on a physical device. The terminal devices can be connected to each other, and the access network devices can be connected to each other, either wiredly or wirelessly. Figure 1 This is only a schematic diagram. The communication system 1000 may further include other network devices, such as wireless relay devices and wireless backhaul devices, which are not drawn in Figure 1 .

[0075] In the embodiments of the present application, the access network device may also be referred to as a radio access network (RAN) device, which is a device that provides satellite access for terminal devices. According to the functions of the satellites, the access network device may include satellites, ground stations, and base stations.

[0076] Taking the fifth generation (5G) mobile communication system (which may also be referred to as a new radio (NR) system) as an example, the access network device may be an NR-RAN device, and the NR-RAN device includes satellites, ground stations, and next generation NodeBs (gNBs) in the 5G mobile communication system.

[0077] In a possible implementation, such as Figure 2As shown in the figure, the gNB is deployed on the ground; the satellite serves as a radiofrequency (RF) remote unit, mainly performing intermediate frequency processing of signals (such as digital in-phase component (I) / quadrature component (Q) modulation and demodulation, up and down conversion, digital-to-analog (DA) / analog-to-digital (AD) conversion), RF processing, duplexing, etc.; the ground station serves as another part of the RF remote unit, that is, the remote radio unit. Among them, the terminal device communicates with the core network device through the gNB via the satellite. The communication interface between the terminal device and the RF remote unit is the NR-Uu interface, and the communication interface between the RF remote unit and the remote radio unit is the NR-Uu interface. The above satellite communication mode is called the transparent transmission mode, and the corresponding NR-RAN device can be considered to be enabled by a transparent satellite, where the satellite relays the signaling or data between the terminal device and the gNB.

[0078] In another possible implementation, as Figure 3 shown in the figure, the satellite and the base station are co-located, that is, the satellite serves as the gNB (next-generation NB). The terminal device communicates with the core network device through the ground station via the satellite. Among them, the communication interface between the terminal device and the gNB is the NR-Uu interface. This satellite communication mode is called the regenerative transmission mode, and the corresponding NR-RAN device can be considered to be enabled by a regenerative satellite. Of course, in the regenerative transmission mode, the satellite can also serve as the gNB data unit (gNB-DU), and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on this. In short, in the regenerative transmission mode, the satellite has signal conversion or processing capabilities.

[0079] It should be noted that the above embodiments only take the 5G mobile communication system as an example and exemplarily provide two deployment diagrams of the NR-RAN device when providing satellite access for the terminal device. Of course, there are other possible deployment forms for the access network device, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific device form of the access network device. This is uniformly explained here and will not be elaborated below.

[0080] In the embodiments of the present application, the core network device may include, for example, one or more of a mobility management network element, a session management network element, a user plane network element, an authentication service function network element, a unified data storage network element, a data management network element, a network open function network element, a policy control network element, or an application function network element.

[0081] The mobility management network element is mainly responsible for mobility management in the mobile network, such as user location update, user registration to the network, user handover, etc. In the 5G mobile communication system, this mobility management network element can be the AMF network element. In future communication systems, the mobility management network element can still be the AMF, or it can also have other names, which are not limited in the embodiments of this application.

[0082] The session management network element is mainly responsible for session management in the mobile network, such as session establishment, modification, and release. Specific functions include, for example, Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation, selection of user plane functions that provide packet forwarding functions, etc. In the 5G mobile communication system, this session management network element can be the SMF. In future communication systems, the session management network element can still be the SMF, or it can also have other names, which are not limited in this application.

[0083] The user plane network element is mainly responsible for processing user packets, such as forwarding, charging, etc. In the 5G mobile communication system, this user plane network element can be the User Plane Function (UPF). In future communication systems, the user plane network element can still be the UPF, or it can also have other names, which are not limited in this application.

[0084] The authentication service function network element is mainly responsible for providing authentication functions and supporting authentication for 3GPP access and Non-3GPP access. In the 5G mobile communication system, this authentication service function network element can be the Authentication Server Function (AUSF). In future communication systems, the authentication service function network element can still be the AUSF, or it can also have other names, which are not limited in the embodiments of this application.

[0085] The unified data storage network element is mainly responsible for storing structured data, including subscribed data and policy data, externally exposed structured data, and application-related data. In the 5G mobile communication system, this unified data storage network element can be the Unified Data Repository (UDR). In future communication systems, the unified data storage network element can still be the UDR, or it can also have other names, which are not limited in this application.

[0086] The data management network element is mainly responsible for processing user identification, access authentication, registration, or mobility management, etc. In the 5G mobile communication system, the data management network element can be the unified data management (UDM). In future communication systems, the data management network element can still be the UDM, or it can have other names, which are not limited in this application.

[0087] The network exposure function network element mainly provides services that enable the 3GPP network to securely provide network service capabilities to the application function network elements of third-party service providers. In the 5G communication system, the network exposure function network element can be the network exposure function (NEF). In future communication systems, the network exposure function network element can still be the NEF, or it can have other names, which are not limited in this application.

[0088] The policy control network element includes user subscription data management functions, policy control functions, charging policy control functions, quality of service (QoS) control, etc., and is a unified policy framework for guiding network behavior, providing policy rule information for control plane network elements (such as mobile management network elements or session management network elements, etc.). In the 5G mobile communication system, the policy control network element can be the PCF. In future communication systems, the policy control function network element can still be the PCF, or it can have other names, which are not limited in the embodiments of this application.

[0089] The application function network element is mainly responsible for providing services to the 3GPP network, such as affecting service routing and interacting with the policy control network element for policy control. In the 5G mobile communication system, the application function network element can be the application function (AF). In future communication systems, the application function network element can still be the AF, or it can have other names, which are not limited in this application.

[0090] Taking the 5G mobile communication system as an example, the schematic diagram of the service-based architecture of the 5G network defined by the technical standard (TS) 23.501 of the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) is as Figure 4 shown. Among them, as Figure 4As shown in the figure, the terminal device accesses the 5G network through the RAN device. The terminal device communicates with the AMF through the N1 interface (abbreviated as N1); the RAN device communicates with the AMF through the N2 interface (abbreviated as N2); the RAN device communicates with the UPF through the N3 interface (abbreviated as N3); the SMF communicates with the UPF through the N4 interface (abbreviated as N4), and the UPF accesses the DN through the N6 interface (abbreviated as N6). In addition, Figure 4 The control plane functions such as the AUSF, AMF, SMF, NEF, PCF, UDM, UDR, or AF shown in the figure interact through service-based interfaces. For example, the service-based interface provided by the AUSF externally is Nausf; the service-based interface provided by the AMF externally is Namf; the service-based interface provided by the SMF externally is Nsmf; the service-based interface provided by the NEF externally is Nnef; the service-based interface provided by the PCF externally is Npcf; the service-based interface provided by the UDM externally is Nudm; the service-based interface provided by the UDR externally is Nudr; the service-based interface provided by the AF externally is Naf. The relevant function descriptions and interface descriptions can refer to the 5G system architecture diagram in the 23.501 standard, which will not be elaborated here.

[0091] Figure 5 For Figure 4 the corresponding schematic diagram of the 5G network architecture based on reference points. As Figure 5 shown in the figure, the terminal device accesses the 5G network through the RAN device. The terminal device communicates with the AMF through the N1 interface (abbreviated as N1); the RAN device communicates with the AMF through the N2 interface (abbreviated as N2); the RAN device communicates with the UPF through the N3 interface (abbreviated as N3); different UPFs communicate with each other through the N9 interface (abbreviated as N9); the UPF accesses the DN through the N6 interface (abbreviated as N6). In addition, the SMF communicates with the UPF through the N4 interface (abbreviated as N4); the AMF communicates with the SMF through the N11 interface (abbreviated as N11); the AMF communicates with the UDM through the N8 interface (abbreviated as N8); the AMF communicates with the AUSF through the N12 interface (abbreviated as N12); the AMF communicates with the PCF through the N15 interface (abbreviated as N15); different AMFs communicate with each other through the N14 interface (abbreviated as N14); the SMF communicates with the PCF through the N7 interface (abbreviated as N7); the SMF communicates with the UDM through the N10 interface (abbreviated as N10); the SMF communicates with the NEF through the N29 interface (abbreviated as N29); the PCF communicates with the NEF through the N5 interface (abbreviated as N5); the UDR communicates with the PCF through the N36 interface (abbreviated as N36); the UDR communicates with the NEF through the N37 interface (abbreviated as N37); the UDM communicates with the AUSF through the N13 interface (abbreviated as N13).

[0092] It should be noted that, Figure 4 orFigure 5 Only some network elements in the 5G network architecture are schematically shown by way of example. Of course, the 5G network architecture may also include other network elements, such as a network exposure function repository function (NRF) or a charging function (CHF), etc. The embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations thereto.

[0093] Optionally, the terminal device in the embodiments of the present application may be a device for implementing wireless communication functions, such as a terminal or a chip that can be used in a terminal, etc. It can be deployed on land, including indoor or outdoor, handheld or vehicle-mounted; it can also be deployed on the water surface (such as a ship, etc.); it can also be deployed in the air (such as an airplane, a balloon, a satellite, etc.). Among them, the terminal may be a UE, an access terminal, a terminal unit, a terminal station, a mobile station, a mobile platform, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a wireless communication device, a terminal agent or a terminal device, etc. in a 5G network or a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN). The access terminal may be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication functions, a computing device or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device or a wearable device, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and a UAV controller (UAVC), a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, etc. The terminal may be mobile or fixed.

[0094] Optionally, the terminal device, access network device, or core network device in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as a communication device or communication equipment, which may be a general-purpose device or a dedicated device. The embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on this.

[0095] Optionally, the related functions of the terminal device, access network device, or core network device module in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented by one device, may be jointly implemented by multiple devices, or may also be implemented by one or more functional modules within one device. The embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on this. It can be understood that the above functions may be network elements in hardware devices, may also be software functions running on dedicated hardware, or may be a combination of hardware and software, or may be virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (such as a cloud platform).

[0096] For example, the related functions of the terminal device, access network device, or core network device in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented through Figure 6 the communication device 600 in Figure 6 FIG. 10 shows a schematic structural diagram of the communication device 600 provided by the embodiments of the present application. The communication device 600 includes one or more processors 601, a communication line 602, and at least one communication interface ( Figure 6 only the communication interface 604 and one processor 601 are taken as examples for illustration), and optionally may further include a memory 603.

[0097] The processor 601 may be a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits for controlling the execution of the program of the solution of the present application.

[0098] The communication line 602 may include a path for connecting different components.

[0099] The communication interface 604 may be a transceiver module for communicating with other devices or communication networks, such as Ethernet, RAN, wireless local area networks (WLAN), etc. For example, the transceiver module may be a device such as a transceiver or a transceiver. Optionally, the communication interface 604 may also be a transceiver circuit located within the processor 601 for implementing signal input and signal output of the processor.

[0100] The memory 603 can be a device with storage functions. For example, it can be a read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM) or other types of dynamic storage devices that can store information and instructions, or it can also be an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compact discs, laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs, Blu-ray discs, etc.), magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but not limited to this. The memory can exist independently and be connected to the processor through the communication line 602. The memory can also be integrated with the processor.

[0101] Among them, the memory 603 is used to store the computer execution instructions for executing the solution of this application, and is controlled by the processor 601 for execution. The processor 601 is used to execute the computer execution instructions stored in the memory 603, so as to implement the positioning method provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0102] Alternatively, optionally, in the embodiments of this application, it can also be that the processor 601 executes the functions related to the processing in the positioning method provided in the following embodiments of this application, and the communication interface 604 is responsible for communicating with other devices or communication networks. The embodiments of this application do not make specific limitations on this.

[0103] Optionally, the computer execution instructions in the embodiments of this application can also be referred to as application program code. The embodiments of this application do not make specific limitations on this.

[0104] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the processor 601 can include one or more CPUs, such as Figure 6 CPU0 and CPU1 in

[0105] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the communication device 600 can include multiple processors, such as Figure 6The processors 601 and 608 therein. Each of these processors can be a single-core processor or a multi-core processor. The processors here can include, but are not limited to, at least one of the following: a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a microcontroller unit (MCU), or an artificial intelligence processor, etc., which are various computing devices that run software, and each computing device can include one or more cores for executing software instructions to perform operations or processing.

[0106] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the communication device 600 may further include an output device 605 and an input device 606. The output device 605 communicates with the processor 601 and can display information in various ways. For example, the output device 605 can be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display device, a cathode ray tube (CRT) display device, or a projector, etc. The input device 606 communicates with the processor 601 and can receive user input in various ways. For example, the input device 606 can be a mouse, a keyboard, a touch screen device, or a sensing device, etc.

[0107] The above-mentioned communication device 600 can sometimes also be referred to as a communication apparatus, which can be a general-purpose device or a special-purpose device. For example, the communication device 600 can be a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a network server, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a wireless terminal device, an embedded device, the above-mentioned terminal devices, the above-mentioned network devices, or a device with a Figure 6 similar structure therein. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the type of the communication device 600.

[0108] The following will specifically elaborate on the positioning method provided by the embodiments of the present application in combination with the above Figures 1 to 6 description.

[0109] First, in the satellite communication scenario applicable to the embodiments of the present application, due to the mobility characteristics of the satellite, relevant introductions to the soft handover scenario and the hard handover scenario when the tracking area corresponding to its coverage area changes are given.

[0110] Assume that the satellite coverage area includes TA1 and TA2, then the soft handover scenario is as Figure 7As shown in the figure, the broadcast message sent by the access network device contains both the tracking area code (TAC) 1 and TAC 2 (i.e., all tracking areas covered by the satellite). The hard handover scenario is as Figure 8 As shown in the figure, the broadcast message sent by the access network device contains only TAC 1 or TAC 2 (i.e., one of the multiple tracking areas covered by the satellite). Among them, whether the broadcast message sent by the access network device includes TAC 1 or TAC 2 is an internal implementation of the access network device, and this application embodiment does not make specific limitations on this. In short, the location information broadcast by the access network device can be considered unreliable or inaccurate location information.

[0111] It should be noted that in this application embodiment, in addition to the TAC field, the satellite broadcast message also includes PLMN ID, cell identity, etc., and this application embodiment does not make specific limitations on this. The tracking area identity (TAI) in subsequent embodiments is composed of PLMN ID and TAC. This is explained uniformly here and will not be elaborated below.

[0112] Secondly, different types of regions and related functions involved in this application embodiment are introduced as shown in Table 1.

[0113] Table 1

[0114]

[0115]

[0116] It should be noted that in this application embodiment, the information of the tracking area may include TAI or the geographical location information corresponding to the tracking area. Among them, the geographical location information in this application embodiment can be represented by longitude, latitude, altitude, beam identifier, or wave position (i.e., beam position), etc. This is explained uniformly here and will not be elaborated below.

[0117] As Figure 9 As shown in the figure, a positioning method provided by this application embodiment includes the following steps:

[0118] S901. The access network device determines that a trigger condition occurs.

[0119] S902. The access network device sends the first location information of the terminal device to the core network device. Correspondingly, the core network device receives the first location information of the terminal device from the access network device. The first location information includes the first TAI, and the first TAI is the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located.

[0120] For the above steps S901 and S902, in a possible implementation, the access network device determines that the triggering condition occurs, including: after the access network device determines that it cannot identify the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located, the access network device determines the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located. For example, after the access network device determines that it cannot identify the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located, an implicit subscription mechanism can be triggered, that is, after determining that the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located can be sensed, the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located is reported to the core network device.

[0121] In a possible implementation, in the embodiments of the present application, the method for the access network device to determine the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located includes: the access network device determines the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located according to the accurate geographical location information of the terminal device obtained. Exemplarily, in the embodiments of the present application, the access network device may receive the accurate geographical location information of the terminal device reported by the terminal device. It should be noted that the above implementation is applicable to other embodiments of the present application and is described herein uniformly and will not be repeated below.

[0122] Wherein, in the embodiments of the present application, the access network device determines that it cannot identify the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located, including: the access network device determines that the location information of the terminal device currently obtained includes multiple TAI (such as Figure 7 in the soft handover scenario shown); or, the access network device determines that the location information of the terminal device currently obtained includes one TAI, but there is a possibility that the location corresponding to this TAI is inconsistent with the current location of the terminal device (such as Figure 8 in the hard handover scenario shown).

[0123] It should be noted that in the hard handover scenario shown in Figure 8 , the access network device only knows that it is currently a hard handover, and for whether the TA corresponding to the one TAI included in the location information of the terminal device is really the TA where the terminal device is currently located, the access network device cannot determine, and there may be two situations: the TA corresponding to the one TAI included in the location information of the terminal device is indeed the TA where the terminal device is currently located, or the TA corresponding to the one TAI included in the location information of the terminal device is not the TA where the terminal device is currently located. Therefore, in this scenario, the access network device determines that there is a possibility that the location corresponding to this TAI is inconsistent with the current location of the terminal device. In other words, the access network device determines that the location corresponding to this TAI cannot represent the current location of the terminal device, or the access network device determines that it cannot identify the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located.

[0124] For the above steps S901 and S902, in a possible implementation, the access network device determines that the trigger condition occurs as follows: after the access network device receives a first message from the core network device, the access network device determines the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located, where the first message is used to request the current location of the terminal device. For example, when the core network device senses that the location information reported by the access network device is inaccurate, it triggers a subscription to the current location of the terminal device from the access network device, that is, sends a first message to the access network device to request the current location of the terminal device. Further, after the access network device determines the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located, it can report the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located to the core network device in a timely manner.

[0125] It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, the core network device senses that the location information reported by the access network device is inaccurate, which can also be described or replaced as the core network device senses that the terminal device accesses through a satellite. This is uniformly explained here and will not be repeated below.

[0126] In a possible implementation, in the embodiments of the present application, after the core network device triggers a subscription to the current location of the terminal device from the access network device, the access network device can further trigger a subscription to the current location of the terminal device from the terminal device. Further, after the access stratum (AS) security between the terminal device and the access network device is established, the terminal device can report the accurate geographical location information of the terminal device to the access network device in a timely manner, so that the access network device determines the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located according to the accurate geographical location information of the terminal device. Of course, after the core network device triggers a subscription to the current location of the terminal device from the access network device, the access network device may not trigger a subscription to the current location of the terminal device from the terminal device, but after the AS security between the terminal device and the access network device is established, the terminal device actively (e.g., periodically) reports the accurate geographical location information to the access network device. After the access network device obtains the accurate geographical location information actively reported by the terminal device, it determines the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located according to the accurate geographical location information of the terminal device. The embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit the manner in which the access network device obtains the accurate geographical location information of the terminal device in a timely manner.

[0127] For the above steps S901 and S902, in a possible implementation, the access network device determines that the trigger condition occurs, including: after the access network device receives a second message from the terminal device, the access network device determines the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located, where the second message is used to request a mobility update. In other words, in the embodiments of the present application, the mobility update process can trigger the access network device to report the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located to the core network device in a timely manner. For example, the terminal device can report the accurate geographical location information of the terminal device to the access network device during the mobility update process. After the access network device recognizes the mobility update process and determines the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located based on the accurate geographical location information of the terminal device, it reports the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located to the core network device in a timely manner.

[0128] In a possible implementation, before the AS security is established between the terminal device and the access network device, the positioning method provided in the embodiments of the present application further includes: the access network device sends a third message to the core network device, where the third message includes the second location information of the terminal device and the first indication information, where the second location information includes a second TAI, and the first indication information is used to indicate that the second location information of the terminal device is inaccurate. For example, Figure 8 In the hard handover scenario shown, the second TAI is a TAI included in the location information of the terminal device currently obtained by the access network device. Or for example, Figure 7 In the soft handover scenario shown, the second TAI is one of the multiple TAIs included in the location information of the terminal device currently obtained by the access network device. This TAI can be randomly selected by the access network device from the multiple TAIs or selected based on certain rules. The embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on this.

[0129] After the core network device obtains the second location information and the first indication information of the terminal device, it can know that the location information of the terminal device reported by the access network device is inaccurate. That is, in this implementation, the core network device knows that the location information of the terminal device reported by the access network device is inaccurate, which can be understood as that the core network device obtains the second location information and the first indication information of the terminal device. This is explained uniformly here and will not be repeated below.

[0130] In another possible implementation, before the AS security is established between the terminal device and the access network device, the positioning method provided in the embodiments of the present application further includes: the access network device sends a fourth message to the core network device, where the fourth message includes the third location information of the terminal device, and the third location information includes multiple TAIs. For example, Figure 7 In the soft handover scenario shown, the third location information of the terminal device sent by the access network device to the core network device can include multiple TAIs.

[0131] After the core network device obtains the third location information of the terminal device, it can be known that the location information of the terminal device reported by the access network device is inaccurate. That is, in this implementation, the core network device knows that the location information of the terminal device reported by the access network device is inaccurate. It can be understood that the core network device obtains the third location information of the terminal device. This is uniformly described here and will not be repeated below.

[0132] Based on the positioning method provided in the embodiments of the present application, since the access network device can report the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located to the core network device when it determines that the trigger condition occurs, the core network device can obtain the accurate ULI in a timely manner, and thus can perform the operations related to the area described in Table 1.

[0133] Among them, the actions of the access network device in the above steps S901 to S902 can be Figure 6 performed by the processor 601 in the communication device 600 shown in the figure by calling the application program code stored in the memory 603 to instruct the access network device to execute. This embodiment does not make any restrictions on this.

[0134] As Figure 10 shown, another positioning method provided by the embodiments of the present application includes the following steps:

[0135] S1001. The core network device determines that the trigger condition occurs.

[0136] S1002. The core network device sends a first message to the access network device. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the first message from the core network device. The first message is used to request the current location of the terminal device.

[0137] Exemplarily, the first message in the embodiments of the present application can be, for example, a location reporting request.

[0138] S1003. After the access network device determines the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located, it sends the first location information of the terminal device to the core network device. Correspondingly, the core network device receives the first location information of the terminal device from the access network device. The first location information includes a first TAI, and the first TAI is the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located.

[0139] For the above steps S1001 and S1002, in a possible implementation, the core network device determines that the trigger condition occurs, including: the core network device determines that the location information of the received terminal device includes multiple TAIs. For example, Figure 7In the soft handover scenario shown, the third location information of the terminal device sent by the access network device to the core network device may include multiple TAIs. After the core network device obtains the third location information of the terminal device, it can learn that the location information of the terminal device reported by the access network device is inaccurate, and then trigger a subscription to the current location of the terminal device from the access network device, that is, send a first message to the access network device for requesting the current location of the terminal device.

[0140] For the above steps S1001 and S1002, in another possible implementation, the core network device determines that the trigger condition occurs, including: the core network device determines that it has received a first indication message, where the first indication message is used to indicate that the location information of the terminal device received by the core network device is inaccurate. For example, before the AS security between the terminal device and the access network device is established (such as in the initial registration process or the initial service request process), the access network device sends the second location information of the terminal device and the first indication message to the core network device, where the second location information includes a second TAI, and the first indication message is used to indicate that the second location information of the terminal device is inaccurate. After the core network device obtains the first indication message, it can learn that the location information of the terminal device reported by the access network device is inaccurate, and then trigger a subscription to the current location of the terminal device from the access network device, that is, send a first message to the access network device for requesting the current location of the terminal device.

[0141] It should be noted that this implementation may be applied to the scenario of satellite communication soft handover or the scenario of satellite communication hard handover. The embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on this. For example, Figure 8 In the hard handover scenario shown, the second TAI is a TAI included in the location information of the terminal device currently obtained by the access network device. Or for example, Figure 7 In the soft handover scenario shown, the second TAI is one of the multiple TAIs included in the location information of the terminal device currently obtained by the access network device. This TAI can be randomly selected by the access network device from the multiple TAIs or selected based on certain rules. The embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on this.

[0142] For the above steps S1001 and S1002, in another possible implementation, the core network device determines that the trigger condition occurs, including: before the AS security between the access network device and the terminal device is established, the core network device determines that it has received the third indication information, where the third indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device accesses the network or access service through a satellite. For example, the third indication information may be type indication information indicating that the radio access technology type is a satellite. Before the AS security between the terminal device and the access network device is established (such as in the initial registration process or the initial service request process), after the core network device obtains the third indication information, it immediately sends a first message for requesting the current location of the terminal device to the access network device. It can be understood that in this implementation, when the core network device determines that the terminal device accesses the network through a satellite, it immediately sends a first message for requesting the current location of the terminal device to the access network device.

[0143] For the above step S1003, after the access network device determines the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located, it can promptly report the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located to the core network device. Among them, the relevant description of how the access network device promptly obtains the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located can refer to Figure 9 the embodiments described above and will not be elaborated here.

[0144] Optionally, the positioning method provided in the embodiments of the present application further includes: after the core network device determines that the terminal device is located in a prohibited area according to the first location information of the terminal device, the core network device sends a rejection TAI to the terminal device; or, the core network device sends the geographical location information corresponding to the rejection TAI to the terminal device. Of course, in this scenario, the core network device can also send a rejection reason value to the terminal device, and the rejection reason value is, for example, that the terminal device is currently located in a prohibited area. The embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on this. The specific description of this solution can be found in Figure 11 、 Figure 12 or Figure 14 the embodiments described above and will not be elaborated here.

[0145] Optionally, the positioning method provided in the embodiments of the present application further includes: the core network device sends service area restriction information in geographical location form, and / or local area data network service area information in geographical location form to the terminal device, so that the terminal device performs operations related to the area described in Table 1 according to the service area restriction information in geographical location form, and / or local area data network service area information in geographical location form. The specific description of this solution can be found in Figure 15 the embodiments described above and will not be elaborated here.

[0146] Based on the positioning method provided by the embodiments of the present application, since the core network device can subscribe to the current location of the terminal device from the access network device in a timely manner when it determines that the triggering condition occurs, so that after the access network device obtains the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located, it immediately reports the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located to the core network device. Therefore, the core network device can obtain the accurate ULI in a timely manner, so as to perform the area-related operations described in Table 1.

[0147] Among them, the actions of the core network device in the above steps S1001 to S1003 can be called by the processor 601 in the communication device 600 shown in Figure 6 to instruct the access network device to execute the application program code stored in the memory 603. This embodiment does not make any restrictions on this.

[0148] In a possible implementation manner, in the positioning method provided by the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device can locally maintain the mapping relationship between the TAI and the geographical location information or the mapping relationship between the TAC and the geographical location information. This mapping relationship can be locally configured on the terminal device, or can be sent by the network management to the terminal device, or can be sent by the core network device to the terminal device in processes such as the registration process or the UE configuration update process. This embodiment does not make specific limitations on this. The following will take the terminal device locally maintaining the mapping relationship between the TAI and the geographical location information as an example and will be described in combination with the following Figures 11 to 13 described embodiments.

[0149] It should be noted that Figure 9 and Figure 10In the foregoing embodiments, the access network device determines the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located based on the accurate geographical location information of the terminal device reported by the terminal device, and further reports the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located to the core network device. Of course, in the embodiments of the present application, the access network device may also obtain the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located in other ways. For example, in a possible implementation manner, after the core network device determines the accurate geographical location information of the terminal device through a positioning method, it determines the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located according to the mapping relationship between the geographical location information stored locally and the TAI, and then sends the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located to the access network device. Or, for example, in another possible implementation manner, the core network device receives the accurate geographical location information of the terminal device from the terminal device, determines the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located according to the mapping relationship between the geographical location information stored locally and the TAI, and then sends the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located to the access network device. Or, for example, in yet another possible implementation manner, after the terminal device obtains the accurate geographical location information, it determines the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located according to the mapping relationship between the geographical location information stored locally and the TAI, and then sends the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located to the core network device, and the core network device sends the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located to the access network device. Or, for example, in yet another possible implementation manner, after the terminal device obtains the accurate geographical location information, it determines the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located according to the mapping relationship between the geographical location information stored locally and the TAI, and then sends the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located to the access network device. The embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit the manner in which the access network device obtains the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located.

[0150] As Figure 11 shown, another positioning method provided by the embodiments of the present application includes the following steps:

[0151] S1101. The core network device determines that the TA where the terminal device is currently located is in a prohibited area according to the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located.

[0152] In a possible implementation manner, the core network device may obtain the prohibited area TAI list corresponding to the terminal device during the subscription process of the terminal device. The prohibited area TAI list includes the TAI of one or more areas where the terminal device is prohibited from accessing. After the core network device obtains the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located, if it determines that the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located is in the prohibited area TAI list corresponding to the terminal device, it determines that the TA where the terminal device is currently located is in a prohibited area; otherwise, the core network device determines that the TA where the terminal device is currently located is in a non-prohibited area.

[0153] S1102. The core network device sends a rejected TAI to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the rejected TAI from the core network device.

[0154] Of course, in this scenario, the core network device may also send a rejection reason value to the terminal device. The rejection reason value is, for example, that the terminal device is currently located in a prohibited area. The embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on this.

[0155] Exemplarily, the core network device may carry the rejected TAI in the deregistration message sent to the terminal device. The embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on this.

[0156] S1103. The terminal device determines the geographical location information corresponding to the rejected TAI according to the mapping relationship between the TAI and the geographical location information maintained locally.

[0157] That is to say, in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device maintains a mapping relationship between the TAI and the geographical location information. After the terminal device obtains the rejected TAI, it can perform the conversion from the TAI to the geographical location information form according to this mapping relationship.

[0158] Exemplarily, taking the geographical location information consisting of longitude + latitude as an example, the mapping relationship between the TAI and the geographical location information may be as shown in Table 2:

[0159] Table 2

[0160] TAI Geographical location information TAI1 (Longitude 1 + Latitude 1, Longitude 2 + Latitude 2) TAI2 (Longitude 3 + Latitude 3, Longitude 4 + Latitude 4) TAI3 (Longitude 5 + Latitude 5, Longitude 6 + Latitude 6) ……

[0161] S1104. The terminal device adds the geographical location information corresponding to the rejected TAI to the prohibited area list maintained locally.

[0162] That is to say, in the embodiments of the present application, the prohibited area list maintained by the terminal device exists in the form of geographical location information.

[0163] Optionally, the positioning method provided by the embodiments of the present application further includes: The terminal device determines whether to initiate a signaling process according to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located and the prohibited area list maintained locally. Among them, the signaling process may be, for example, a registration process.

[0164] In a possible implementation, the terminal device determines whether to initiate a signaling process based on the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located and the prohibited area list maintained locally, including: when the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located is in the prohibited area list, the terminal device determines that it is not allowed to initiate a signaling process. This can avoid the signaling consumption caused by the terminal device blindly initiating a signaling process and finally the process fails, thereby saving the signaling consumption of the terminal device. For example, subsequently when the terminal device moves to this location area again, the terminal device can determine that the terminal device is in a prohibited area by checking the prohibited area list maintained locally, and then restrict the terminal device from initiating a registration process, which can avoid the signaling consumption caused by the terminal device directly initiating a registration process and finally resulting in a registration failure.

[0165] In another possible implementation, the terminal device determines whether to initiate a signaling process based on the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located and the prohibited area list maintained locally, including: when the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located is in the prohibited area list, the terminal device determines that after moving for a preset time and / or a preset distance, it is allowed to initiate a signaling process again. This can avoid the signaling consumption caused by the terminal device blindly initiating a signaling process and finally the process fails, thereby saving the signaling consumption of the terminal device. In addition, this solution is simple and easy to implement, which is beneficial for the terminal device to access the network in a timely manner. For example, after the terminal device moves for a preset time and / or a preset distance, it may have moved out of the range of the prohibited area corresponding to the terminal device. At this time, when the terminal device initiates a signaling process again, it may access the network in a timely manner. Of course, when the terminal device initiates a signaling process again after moving for a preset time and / or a preset distance, it may not necessarily succeed. At this time, the terminal device may receive a rejected TAI sent by the core network device and repeat the Figure 11 described process to continuously improve the prohibited area list maintained locally. The embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on this.

[0166] Based on the positioning method provided in the embodiments of the present application, since the terminal device can maintain the mapping relationship between the TAI and the geographical location information locally, after the terminal device receives the rejected TAI sent by the core network device, it can determine the geographical location information corresponding to the rejected TAI according to the mapping relationship between the TAI and the geographical location information maintained locally, and then add the geographical location information corresponding to the rejected TAI to the prohibited area list maintained locally. That is, in the embodiments of the present application, the prohibited area list maintained locally by the terminal device can exist in the form of geographical location information. Furthermore, after the terminal device obtains the geographical location information where it is currently located, it can directly search the prohibited area list maintained locally to determine whether to initiate a signaling process, which can avoid the signaling consumption caused by the terminal device blindly initiating a signaling process and finally the process fails, thereby saving the signaling consumption of the terminal device.

[0167] Among them, the actions of the terminal device in the above steps S1101 to S1104 can be called by the processor 601 in the communication device 600 shown in Figure 6 to instruct the terminal device to execute the application program code stored in the memory 603. This embodiment does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0168] As an alternative solution, Figure 11 in the above-described embodiment, after the core network device determines that the TA where the terminal device is currently located is in a prohibited area according to the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located, it may not send a rejected TAI to the terminal device, but send a rejection reason value to the terminal device. The rejection reason value is, for example, that the terminal device is currently in a prohibited area, or the rejection reason value is used to instruct the terminal device to add the information of the tracking area corresponding to the current geographical location of the terminal device to the local prohibited area list. After receiving the rejection reason value, the terminal device may add one or more geographical location information corresponding to the TAI corresponding to the current geographical location of the terminal device to the locally maintained prohibited area list according to the mapping relationship between the TAI and the geographical location information maintained locally. The remaining relevant descriptions can be referred to Figure 11 the above-described embodiment, which will not be elaborated here.

[0169] Figure 11 The above-described embodiment is described by taking the terminal device maintaining the mapping relationship between the TAI and the geographical location information locally, and the prohibited area list maintained by the terminal device existing in the form of geographical location information as an example. Optionally, when the terminal device maintains the mapping relationship between the TAI and the geographical location information locally, the prohibited area list maintained by the terminal device may also exist in the form of TAI. Specifically, as Figure 12 shown, another positioning method provided by an embodiment of the present application includes the following steps:

[0170] S1201. The core network device determines that the TA where the terminal device is currently located is in a prohibited area according to the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located.

[0171] S1202. The core network device sends a rejected TAI to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the rejected TAI from the core network device.

[0172] Among them, the relevant descriptions of steps S1201 - S1202 can be referred to Figure 11 steps S1101 - S1102 in the above-described embodiment, which will not be elaborated here.

[0173] S1203. The terminal device adds the rejected TAI to the locally maintained prohibited area list.

[0174] That is to say, in the embodiments of the present application, the prohibited area list maintained by the terminal device exists in the form of TAI. After the terminal device obtains the TAI, it can directly add the rejected TAI to the prohibited area list maintained locally.

[0175] S1204. After the terminal device obtains the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located, the terminal device determines the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located according to the mapping relationship between the TAI maintained locally and the geographical location information.

[0176] That is to say, in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device maintains a mapping relationship between the TAI and the geographical location information. For the relevant description of this mapping relationship, reference can be made to Figure 11 the description of step S1103 in the above-mentioned embodiments, which will not be elaborated here.

[0177] Since the prohibited area list in the embodiments of the present application exists in the form of TAI, after the terminal device obtains the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located, it can perform the conversion from the geographical location information to the TAI form according to this mapping relationship.

[0178] S1205. The terminal device determines whether to initiate a signaling process according to the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located and the prohibited area list.

[0179] In a possible implementation manner, the terminal device determines whether to initiate a signaling process according to the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located and the prohibited area list maintained locally, including: when the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located is in the prohibited area list, the terminal device determines that it is not allowed to initiate a signaling process.

[0180] In another possible implementation manner, the terminal device determines whether to initiate a signaling process according to the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located and the prohibited area list maintained locally, including: when the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located is in the prohibited area list, the terminal device determines that it is allowed to initiate a signaling process again after moving for a preset time and / or a preset distance.

[0181] Among them, for the relevant description of step S1205, reference can be made to Figure 11 the above-mentioned embodiments. The difference is, for example, that in the embodiments of the present application, when the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located is in the prohibited area list, the terminal device determines whether to initiate a signaling process; Figure 11 in the above-mentioned embodiments, when the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located is in the prohibited area list, the terminal device determines whether to initiate a signaling process, which will not be elaborated here.

[0182] Based on the positioning method provided in the embodiments of the present application, on the one hand, since in the embodiments of the present application, the prohibited area list locally maintained by the terminal device exists in the form of TAI, after the terminal device receives the rejected TAI from the core network device, it can add the rejected TAI to the locally maintained prohibited area list, which is simple to implement. On the other hand, since in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device can locally maintain the mapping relationship between TAI and geographical location information, after the terminal device obtains the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located, it can determine the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located according to the locally maintained mapping relationship between TAI and geographical location information. Furthermore, the terminal device can search the locally maintained prohibited area list to determine whether to initiate a signaling process, which can avoid the signaling consumption caused by the terminal device blindly initiating a signaling process and ultimately failing the process, thereby saving the signaling consumption of the terminal device.

[0183] Among them, the actions of the terminal device in the above steps S1201 to S1205 can be called by the processor 601 in the communication device 600 shown in Figure 6 to instruct the terminal device to execute the application program code stored in the memory 603. This embodiment does not make any restrictions on this.

[0184] As an alternative Figure 12 In the described embodiments, after the core network device determines that the TA where the terminal device is currently located is in a prohibited area according to the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located, it may also not send the rejected TAI to the terminal device, but send a rejection reason value to the terminal device. The rejection reason value is, for example, that the terminal device is currently in a prohibited area, or the rejection reason value is used to instruct the terminal device to add the information of the tracking area corresponding to the current geographical location of the terminal device to the local prohibited area list. After receiving the rejection reason value, the terminal device can add the TAI corresponding to the current geographical location of the terminal device to the locally maintained prohibited area list according to the locally maintained mapping relationship between TAI and geographical location information. The remaining relevant descriptions can refer to Figure 12 the described embodiments and will not be elaborated here.

[0185] Figure 11 and Figure 12 The described embodiments are all described by taking the related operations of the prohibited area list as an example under the condition that the terminal device locally maintains the mapping relationship between TAI and geographical location information. Of course, under the condition that the terminal device locally maintains the mapping relationship between TAI and geographical location information, relevant operations can also be performed on the service area restriction information and / or LADN service area information of the terminal device. The following takes the related operations of the service area restriction information as an example for description. As Figure 13As shown in the figure, another positioning method provided by an embodiment of the present application includes the following steps:

[0186] S1301. The core network device sends service area restriction information in the form of TAI to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the service area restriction information in the form of TAI from the core network device.

[0187] In the embodiment of the present application, the service area restriction information in the form of TAI can be understood as the service area restriction information characterized by the TAI method. For the relevant description of the service area restriction information, reference can be made to Table 1 above, which will not be elaborated here.

[0188] Exemplarily, the core network device may carry the service area restriction information in the form of TAI in the registration acceptance message or service acceptance message sent to the terminal device. The embodiment of the present application does not make specific limitations on this.

[0189] S1302. The terminal device determines the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located according to the mapping relationship between the TAI and the geographical location information maintained locally.

[0190] Among them, for the relevant description of step S1302, reference can be made to Figure 11 step S1103 in the above-mentioned embodiment, which will not be elaborated here.

[0191] S1303. The terminal device determines whether to initiate a service-related request according to the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located and the service area restriction information.

[0192] In a possible implementation manner, the terminal device determines whether to initiate a service-related request according to the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located and the service area restriction information, including: when the service area restriction information includes service allowed area information, if the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located is not in the service area restriction information, the terminal device determines that it is not allowed to initiate a service-related request. This can avoid the signaling consumption caused by the terminal device blindly initiating a service-related request and finally the service request fails, thereby saving the signaling consumption of the terminal device. For example, subsequently when the terminal device moves to this location area again, the terminal device can determine that it is not allowed to initiate a service-related request by checking the service area restriction information, and further restrict the terminal device from initiating a service-related request, such as restricting the terminal device from using ordinary data services (except emergency calls and high-priority services), which can avoid the signaling consumption caused by the terminal device directly initiating a service-related request and finally resulting in the failure of the service request.

[0193] In another possible implementation, the terminal device determines whether to initiate a service-related request based on the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located and the service area restriction information, including: when the service area restriction information includes service allowed area information, if the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located is not in the service area restriction information, the terminal device determines that after moving for a preset time and / or a preset distance, it is allowed to initiate a service-related request again. This can avoid the signaling consumption caused by the terminal device blindly initiating a service-related request and finally the service request fails, thereby saving the signaling consumption of the terminal device. In addition, this solution is simple and easy to implement, which is beneficial for the terminal device to access the service in a timely manner. For example, after the terminal device moves for a preset time and / or a preset distance, it may have moved into the service allowed area of the terminal device. At this time, when the terminal device initiates a service-related request again, it may access the service in a timely manner. Of course, after the terminal device moves for a preset time and / or a preset distance, it may not necessarily move into the service allowed area of the terminal device. At this time, before initiating a service-related request, it is still necessary to determine whether to initiate a service-related request based on the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located and the service area restriction information, and so on, which will not be elaborated here.

[0194] In yet another possible implementation, the terminal device determines whether to initiate a service-related request based on the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located and the service area restriction information, including: when the service area restriction information includes service non-allowed area information, if the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located is in the service area restriction information, the terminal device determines that it is not allowed to initiate a service-related request. For relevant examples and effects, reference can be made to the first implementation method above, which will not be elaborated here.

[0195] In yet another possible implementation, the terminal device determines whether to initiate a service-related request based on the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located and the service area restriction information, including: when the service area restriction information includes service non-allowed area information, if the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located is in the service area restriction information, the terminal device determines that after moving for a preset time and / or a preset distance, it is allowed to initiate a service-related request again. For relevant examples and effects, reference can be made to the second implementation method above, which will not be elaborated here.

[0196] Based on the positioning method provided in the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, since the terminal device can locally maintain the mapping relationship between the TAI and the geographical location information, after the terminal device obtains the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located, it can determine the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located according to the locally maintained mapping relationship between the TAI and the geographical location information. Furthermore, the terminal device can determine whether to initiate a service-related request according to the service area restriction information in the form of TAI. This can avoid the signaling consumption caused by the terminal device blindly initiating a service-related request and finally the service request fails, thereby saving the signaling consumption of the terminal device.

[0197] Among them, the actions of the terminal device in the above steps S1301 to S1303 can be called by the processor 601 in the communication device 600 shown in Figure 6 to instruct the terminal device to execute the application program code stored in the memory 603, and this embodiment does not make any restrictions on this.

[0198] It should be noted that Figure 13 the above embodiments are described by taking the related operations of the service area restriction information as an example. Of course, for other area information, the solutions of the Figure 13 described embodiments can also be referred to for execution. For example, for the LADN service area information, the core network device sends the LADN service area information in the form of TAI to the terminal device. After the terminal device receives the LADN service area information in the form of TAI from the core network device, it determines the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located according to the locally maintained mapping relationship between the TAI and the geographical location information. Furthermore, the terminal device determines whether to allow access to the LADN network according to the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located and the LADN service area information. The embodiments of the present application will not elaborate on this one by one.

[0199] It should be noted that Figures 11 to 13 the above embodiments are all described by taking the terminal device locally maintaining the mapping relationship between the TAI and the geographical location information as an example. As an alternative solution, the terminal device can locally maintain the mapping relationship between the TAC and the geographical location information. In this way, similar to Figure 11 the described embodiments, after the terminal device receives the rejected TAI from the core network device, it needs to determine the TAC corresponding to the rejected TAI. Furthermore, the terminal device can determine the geographical location information corresponding to the TAC corresponding to the rejected TAI according to the locally maintained mapping relationship between the TAC and the geographical location information. After that, the terminal device adds the geographical location information corresponding to the TAC corresponding to the rejected TAI to the locally maintained prohibited area list. Or, similar to Figure 12In the described embodiment, after the terminal device receives the rejected TAI from the core network device, it adds the rejected TAI to the prohibited area list maintained locally. Further, after the terminal device obtains the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located, it can determine the TAC corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located according to the mapping relationship between the TAC maintained locally and the geographical location information, and then determine whether to initiate a signaling process according to the TAC corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located and the prohibited area list. Or, similarly Figure 13 In the described embodiment, after the terminal device determines the TAC corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located according to the mapping relationship between the TAC maintained locally and the geographical location information, it determines whether to initiate a service-related request according to the TAC corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located and the service area restriction information. For the remaining relevant descriptions, reference can be made to Figures 11 to 13 the described embodiment, which will not be elaborated here.

[0200] It should be noted that the prohibited area list maintained locally by the terminal device may also be in the form of TAC, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on this.

[0201] In a possible implementation manner, in the positioning method provided by the embodiments of the present application, the core network device can convert the area information in the form of TAI into area information in the form of geographical location and then send the area information in the form of geographical location to the terminal device. The following will be described in combination with the following Figure 14 and Figure 15 described embodiments.

[0202] As Figure 14 shown, another positioning method provided by the embodiments of the present application includes the following steps:

[0203] S1401. The core network device determines that the TAI where the terminal device is currently located is in a prohibited area according to the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located.

[0204] Among them, for the relevant description of step S1401, reference can be made to Figure 11 step S1101 in the described embodiment, which will not be elaborated here.

[0205] S1402. The core network device sends the geographical location information corresponding to the rejected TAI to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the geographical location information corresponding to the rejected TAI from the core network device.

[0206] That is to say, in the embodiment of the present application, after the core network device determines that the TA where the terminal device is currently located is in the prohibited area, it can determine the geographical location information corresponding to the rejected TAI according to the mapping relationship between the TAI and the geographical location information stored locally, and then send the geographical location information corresponding to the rejected TAI to the terminal device.

[0207] S1403. The terminal device adds the geographical location information corresponding to the rejected TAI to the prohibited area list maintained locally.

[0208] That is to say, in the embodiment of the present application, the prohibited area list maintained by the terminal device exists in the form of geographical location information.

[0209] Optionally, the positioning method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes: the terminal device determines whether to initiate a signaling process according to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located and the prohibited area list maintained locally. For relevant implementations, reference can be made to Figure 11 the described embodiments, which will not be elaborated here.

[0210] Based on the positioning method provided in the embodiment of the present application, since the core network device can perform the conversion between the TAI and the geographical location information, the terminal device can receive the geographical location information corresponding to the rejected TAI from the core network device, and then add the geographical location information corresponding to the rejected TAI to the prohibited area list maintained locally. That is, in the embodiment of the present application, the prohibited area list maintained locally by the terminal device can exist in the form of geographical location information. Furthermore, after the terminal device obtains the geographical location information where it is currently located, it can directly search the prohibited area list maintained locally to determine whether to initiate a signaling process, which can avoid the signaling consumption caused by the terminal device blindly initiating a signaling process and finally the process fails, thereby saving the signaling consumption of the terminal device.

[0211] Among them, the actions of the terminal device in the above steps S1401 to S1403 can be Figure 6 invoked by the processor 601 in the communication device 600 shown in to execute the application program code stored in the memory 603 to instruct the terminal device, and this embodiment does not make any restrictions on this.

[0212] Figure 14 The above-described embodiments are all described by taking the relevant operations of the prohibited area list as examples. Of course, in the case where the core network device can convert the area information in the form of TAI into the area information in the form of geographical location, relevant operations can also be performed on the service area restriction information and / or LADN service area information of the terminal device. The following takes the relevant operations of the service area restriction information as an example for description. As Figure 15 shown, another positioning method provided in the embodiment of the present application includes the following steps:

[0213] S1501. The core network device sends service area restriction information in the form of geographical location to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the service area restriction information in the form of geographical location from the core network device.

[0214] In the embodiments of the present application, the service area restriction information in the form of geographical location can be understood as the service area restriction information characterized by geographical location information. For the relevant description of the service area restriction information, reference can be made to Table 1 above, which will not be elaborated here.

[0215] Exemplarily, the core network device may carry the service area restriction information in the form of geographical location in the registration acceptance message or service acceptance message sent to the terminal device. The embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on this.

[0216] S1502. The terminal device determines whether to initiate a service-related request according to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located and the service area restriction information.

[0217] In a possible implementation manner, the terminal device determines whether to initiate a service-related request according to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located and the service area restriction information, including: when the service area restriction information includes service allowed area information, if the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located is not in the service area restriction information, the terminal device determines that it is not allowed to initiate a service-related request.

[0218] In another possible implementation manner, the terminal device determines whether to initiate a service-related request according to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located and the service area restriction information, including: when the service area restriction information includes service allowed area information, if the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located is not in the service area restriction information, the terminal device determines that after moving for a preset time and / or a preset distance, it is allowed to initiate a service-related request again.

[0219] In yet another possible implementation manner, the terminal device determines whether to initiate a service-related request according to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located and the service area restriction information, including: when the service area restriction information includes service non-allowed area information, if the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located is in the service area restriction information, the terminal device determines that it is not allowed to initiate a service-related request.

[0220] In still another possible implementation manner, the terminal device determines whether to initiate a service-related request according to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located and the service area restriction information, including: when the service area restriction information includes service non-allowed area information, if the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located is in the service area restriction information, the terminal device determines that after moving for a preset time and / or a preset distance, it is allowed to initiate a service-related request again.

[0221] For relevant examples and effects of step S1502, reference can be made to Figure 13 step S1302 of the described embodiment. The difference is, for example, that the service area restriction information in the embodiment of the present application is in the form of geographical location; Figure 13 the service area restriction information in the described embodiment is in the form of TAI, which will not be elaborated here.

[0222] Based on the positioning method provided by the embodiment of the present application, since in the embodiment of the present application, the core network device can perform the conversion between TAI and geographical location information, the terminal device can receive the service area restriction information in the form of geographical location from the core network device. Then, after the terminal device obtains the geographical location information of its current location, it can directly determine whether to initiate a service-related request according to the service area restriction information in the form of geographical location. This can avoid the signaling consumption caused by the terminal device blindly initiating a service-related request and finally the service request fails, thereby saving the signaling consumption of the terminal device.

[0223] Among them, the actions of the terminal device in the above steps S1501 to S1502 can be Figure 6 performed by the processor 601 in the communication device 600 shown in

[0224] calling the application program code stored in the memory 603 to instruct the terminal device. This embodiment does not make any restrictions on this. Figure 15 It should be noted that Figure 15 the described embodiment is illustrated by taking the related operations of the service area restriction information as an example. Of course, for other area information, the solution of the described embodiment can also be referred to

[0225] For example Figure 16 As shown in

[0226] S1601. The terminal device sends a fifth message to the core network device. Correspondingly, the core network device receives the fifth message from the terminal device. The fifth message is used for the terminal device to request initial access to the network or access to service.

[0227] Exemplarily, the fifth message in the embodiments of the present application may be, for example, a registration request or a service request. Among them, the registration request is used to request initial access to the network, and the service request is used to request access to service services.

[0228] S1602. The core network device sends a sixth message to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the sixth message from the core network device. The sixth message is used to indicate that the terminal device is allowed to access the network or access service services.

[0229] In the embodiments of the present application, after receiving the fifth message, if the core network device determines that the terminal device is allowed to access the network or access service services, it sends a sixth message to the terminal device.

[0230] Exemplarily, if the fifth message is a registration request, the sixth message may be a registration acceptance message; or, if the fifth message is a service request, the sixth message may be a service acceptance message.

[0231] In a possible implementation manner, the core network device may determine that the terminal device is allowed to access the network or access service services according to multiple TAIs in the received geographical location information of the terminal device.

[0232] In another possible implementation manner, the core network device may determine that the terminal device is allowed to access the network or access service services according to the received first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the location information of the terminal device received by the core network device is inaccurate.

[0233] In yet another possible implementation manner, the core network device may determine that the terminal device is allowed to access the network or access service services according to the received third indication information, where the third indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device accesses the network or accesses services through a satellite. For the relevant description of the third indication information, reference may be made to Figure 10 the described embodiments, which will not be elaborated here.

[0234] The embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit how the core network device determines whether to allow the terminal device to access the network or access service services.

[0235] S1603. When the terminal device determines to access the network through a satellite, or when the terminal device determines to receive multiple TACs, or when the terminal device determines to receive the second indication information, after the terminal device receives the sixth message from the core network device, the terminal device triggers a mobility update, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the TAC included in the satellite broadcast message is inaccurate.

[0236] Exemplarily, in the embodiments of the present application, Figure 7In the soft handover scenario shown, the terminal device can receive a satellite broadcast message from the access network device. The satellite broadcast message includes multiple TACs, and the terminal device triggers a mobility update based on the multiple TACs. Or, Figure 7 In the soft handover scenario shown, the terminal device receives a sixth message from the core network device. The sixth message includes multiple TAls or fourth indication information, and the terminal device triggers a mobility update based on the multiple TAls or the fourth indication information. The fourth indication information is used to indicate that the location information of the terminal device is inaccurate.

[0237] Or, exemplarily, in the embodiments of the present application, Figure 8 In the hard handover scenario shown, the terminal device can receive a satellite broadcast message from the access network device. The satellite broadcast message includes a TAC and second indication information. The second indication information is used to indicate that the TAC included in the satellite broadcast message is inaccurate (it can also be understood that it cannot represent the current location of the terminal device), and the terminal device triggers a mobility update based on the second indication information. Or, Figure 8 In the hard handover scenario shown, the terminal device receives a sixth message from the core network device. The sixth message includes fourth indication information, and the terminal device triggers a mobility update based on the fourth indication information, where the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the location information of the terminal device is inaccurate.

[0238] Based on the positioning method provided in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device can timely trigger a mobile update process and report the accurate geographical location information of the terminal device to the access network device in the mobility update process. Furthermore, after the access network device recognizes the mobility update process, after determining the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located according to the accurate geographical location information of the terminal device, it timely reports the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located to the core network device, so that the core network device can timely obtain accurate ULI, and thus can perform the area-related operations described in Table 1.

[0239] Among them, the actions of the access network device in the above steps S1601 to S1603 can be Figure 6 performed by the processor 601 in the communication device 600 shown calling the application program code stored in the memory 603 to instruct the access network device to execute, and this embodiment does not make any restrictions on this.

[0240] It should be noted that Figures 9 to 16 the various embodiments described above can be implemented independently, or multiple of them can be implemented in cooperation. The embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on this. For example, after executing Figure 10 the steps S1001 - S1003 of the embodiments described above, if the core network device determines that the terminal device is located in a prohibited area according to the first location information of the terminal device, it can refer to Figure 11 , Figure 12 orFigure 14 The embodiments described are performed, or performed with reference to other methods, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on this.

[0241] In the following, in combination with the 5G mobile communication system, the core network device is AMF and the access network device is NR-RAN device as an example, the positioning method provided in the embodiment of the present application is specifically explained through specific examples.

[0242] It should be noted that the message names between various entities or modules or the names of various parameters in the messages in the following embodiments of the present application are only examples, and other names may be used in specific implementations, and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0243] For example, in Figures 9 to 16 Based on the above-described embodiments, Figure 17 A positioning method in a 5G mobile communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application includes the following steps:

[0244] S1701. The terminal device sends an access network (AN) message 1 (ASmessage1) to the NR-RAN device. Correspondingly, the NR-RAN device receives the AN message 1 from the terminal device.

[0245] The AN message 1 includes AN parameter 1 and non-access stratum (NAS) message 1 (NASmessage1), and the NAS message 1 includes a registration request or a service request. The registration request is used to request an initial access to a network, and the service request is used to request an access service.

[0246] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, since AS security between the terminal device and the NR-RAN device is not established, the AN parameter 1 may include coarse-grained geographic location information of the terminal device. For details, please refer to the prior art and will not be repeated here.

[0247] It should be noted that the registration request before the AS security between the terminal device and the NR-RAN device is established can be understood as the initial registration request, and the registration request after the AS security between the terminal device and the NR-RAN device is established can be understood as being used for mobility update, which can be specifically characterized by the registration type in the NAS message. When the registration type is initial registration, it indicates that the terminal device initiates the initial registration request, and when the registration type is mobility registration, it indicates that the terminal device initiates the mobility update registration. This is a unified explanation and will not be repeated below.

[0248] S1702. The NR-RAN device determines that it cannot identify the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located.

[0249] In an embodiment of the present application, after the NR-RAN device determines that it cannot recognize the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located, it may trigger an implicit subscription mechanism, that is, after determining that it can sense the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located, it immediately reports the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located to the core network device.

[0250] Among them, for the specific implementation of the NR-RAN device determining that it cannot recognize the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located, reference can be made to Figure 9 the described embodiment, which will not be elaborated here. It can be understood that the NR-RAN device determining that it cannot recognize the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located can also be described as the NR-RAN device determining that it cannot determine the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located, that is, it cannot determine the tracking area corresponding to the current location of the terminal device.

[0251] S1703. The NR-RAN device sends N2 message 1 (N2 message1) to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives N2 message 1 from the NR-RAN device.

[0252] Among them, N2 message 1 includes the location information of the terminal device (UE location information, ULI) and an N1 session management (session management, SM) container (container). The N1 SM container includes the NAS message 1 in step S1701.

[0253] In Figure 7 the soft handover scenario shown:

[0254] In a possible implementation manner, the ULI includes multiple TAI.

[0255] In another possible implementation manner, the ULI includes a second TAI, and the second TAI is one of the multiple TAI included in the location information of the terminal device currently obtained by the NR-RAN device. Among them, this TAI can be randomly selected by the NR-RAN device from multiple TAI, or can be selected based on certain rules. The embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on this. In this scenario, optionally, N2 message 1 further includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate that the ULI in N2 message 1 is inaccurate.

[0256] In Figure 8 the hard handover scenario shown, the ULI includes one TAI (which can also correspond to Figure 9 the second TAI in the described embodiment). In this scenario, optionally, N2 message 1 further includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate that the ULI in N2 message 1 is inaccurate.

[0257] S1704. The AMF determines to allow the terminal device to access the network or access the service.

[0258] Among them, for the specific implementation of the AMF determining to allow the terminal device to access the network or access the service, reference can be made to Figure 16 the steps of the embodiment described in S1602, which will not be elaborated here.

[0259] S1705. The AMF sends N2 message 2 to the NR-RAN device. Correspondingly, the NR-RAN device receives N2 message 2 from the AMF.

[0260] Among them, N2 message 2 includes mobility restriction information 1. This mobility restriction information 1 includes the prohibited area list corresponding to the terminal device and service area restriction information. After the NR-RAN device obtains the mobility restriction information 1, it can perform area-related operations. For details, reference can be made to Table 1, which will not be elaborated here.

[0261] In addition, if the NAS message in step S1701 includes a registration request, N2 message 2 also includes a registration acceptance message; or, if the NAS message in step S1701 includes a service request, N2 message 2 also includes a service acceptance message.

[0262] Among them, the registration acceptance message or the service acceptance message includes the identifier of the terminal device. The identifier of this terminal device can be, for example, a 5G globally unique temporary UE identity (GUTI).

[0263] In a possible implementation, the registration acceptance message or the service acceptance message also includes mobility restriction information 2. This mobility restriction information 2 includes service area restriction information and / or LADN service area information. This mobility restriction information 2 can be in the form of TAI or in the form of geographical location information. For the specific implementation, reference can be made to Figure 13 and Figure 15 the embodiments described, which will not be elaborated here.

[0264] S1706. The NR-RAN device sends a registration acceptance message or a service acceptance message to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the registration acceptance message or the service acceptance message from the NR-RAN device.

[0265] In the embodiments of this application, after the terminal device receives the registration acceptance message or the service acceptance message from the NR-RAN device, it can learn about the establishment of AS security between the terminal device and the NR-RAN device.

[0266] In the embodiments of the present application, after the terminal device obtains the mobility restriction information 2, it can perform operations related to the area. For specific implementation, reference can be made to Figure 13 and Figure 15 the embodiments described above, which will not be elaborated here.

[0267] Furthermore, the positioning method provided by the embodiments of the present application further includes the following steps:

[0268] S1707: The terminal device sends accurate geographical location information of the terminal device to the NR-RAN device. Correspondingly, the NR-RAN device receives the accurate geographical location information of the terminal device.

[0269] In a possible implementation, the accurate geographical location information of the terminal device can be actively reported (such as periodically) to the NR-RAN device by the terminal device after learning the establishment of AS security between the terminal device and the NR-RAN device.

[0270] In another possible implementation, it can also be that after the NR-RAN device determines that it cannot identify the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located, it triggers a subscription to the current location of the terminal device from the terminal device. Subsequently, after learning the establishment of AS security between the terminal device and the NR-RAN device, the terminal device immediately sends the accurate geographical location information of the terminal device to the NR-RAN device.

[0271] The embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit when the terminal device sends the accurate geographical location information of the terminal device to the NR-RAN device.

[0272] S1708: After the NR-RAN device determines that the trigger condition occurs and determines the first TAI based on the accurate geographical location information of the terminal device, it sends the first location information of the terminal device to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the first location information of the terminal device from the NR-RAN device. The first location information includes the first TAI, and the first TAI is the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located.

[0273] At this point, the AMF can learn the accurate location information of the terminal device.

[0274] In a possible implementation, the positioning method provided by the embodiments of the present application further includes: The AMF determines that the TA where the terminal device is currently located is in a prohibited area based on the first TAI, and then sends a rejected TAI or the geographical location information corresponding to the rejected TAI to the terminal device, so that the terminal device updates the prohibited area list maintained locally according to the rejected TAI or the geographical location information corresponding to the rejected TAI. For related implementation, reference can be made to Figure 11 、 Figure 12 and Figure 14 the embodiments described above, which will not be elaborated here.

[0275] Based on the positioning method provided in the embodiments of the present application, since the NR-RAN device determines that it cannot identify the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located, it can trigger an implicit subscription mechanism, that is, after determining that it can sense the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located, it immediately reports the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located to the core network device. Therefore, the AMF can obtain the accurate ULI in a timely manner, and thus can perform the area-related operations described in Table 1.

[0276] Among them, the actions of the NR-RAN device in the above steps S1701 to S1708 can be Figure 6 performed by the processor 601 in the communication device 600 shown in Figure 6 invoking the application program code stored in the memory 603 to instruct the NR-RAN device to execute; the actions of the AMF in the above steps S1701 to S1708 can be Figure 6 performed by the processor 601 in the communication device 600 shown in

[0277] invoking the application program code stored in the memory 603 to instruct the AMF to execute; the actions of the terminal device in the above steps S1701 to S1708 can be Figures 9 to 16 performed by the processor 601 in the communication device 600 shown in Figure 18 invoking the application program code stored in the memory 603 to instruct the terminal device to execute. This embodiment does not impose any restrictions.

[0278] S1801. The terminal device sends an AN message (AS message) to the NR-RAN device. Correspondingly, the NR-RAN device receives the AN message from the terminal device.

[0279] Among them, the specific implementation of step S1801 can refer to Figure 17 the embodiment step S1701 described above, and will not be elaborated here.

[0280] S1802. The NR-RAN device sends an N2 message 1 (N2 message1) to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the N2 message 1 from the NR-RAN device.

[0281] Among them, the specific implementation of step S1802 can refer to Figure 17 the embodiment step S1703 described above, and will not be elaborated here.

[0282] In a possible implementation manner, Figure 7In the soft handover scenario shown, after the NR-RAN device determines that it cannot recognize the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located, the ULI in the N2 message 1 sent to the AMF includes a second TAI, and the second TAI is one of the multiple TAIs included in the location information of the terminal device currently obtained by the NR-RAN device.

[0283] S1803. The AMF determines that the triggering condition occurs.

[0284] Among them, for the specific implementation of the AMF determining that the triggering condition occurs, reference can be made to Figure 10 the steps of the embodiment described in step S1001, which will not be elaborated here.

[0285] It should be noted that Figure 10 the type indication information indicating that the radio access technology type is satellite in the steps of the embodiment described in step S1001 can be carried in the N2 message 1.

[0286] S1804. The AMF sends a location reporting request to the NR-RAN device. Correspondingly, the NR-RAN device receives the location reporting request from the AMF. Among them, the location reporting request is used to request the current location of the terminal device.

[0287] In a possible implementation manner, after the NR-RAN device receives the location reporting request from the AMF, it can further trigger subscribing to the current location of the terminal device from the terminal device. For relevant descriptions, reference can be made to Figure 9 the embodiment described, which will not be elaborated here.

[0288] S1805 - S1809 are the same as Figure 17 the steps of the embodiment described in steps S1704 - S1708, which will not be elaborated here.

[0289] It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, the location reporting request and the N2 message 2 are taken as two independent messages for illustration. In a possible implementation manner, the location reporting request can also be included in the N2 message 2, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on this.

[0290] Thus, the AMF can obtain the accurate location information of the terminal device.

[0291] In a possible implementation manner, the positioning method provided in the embodiments of the present application further includes: the AMF determines that the TA where the terminal device is currently located is in a prohibited area according to the first TAI, and then sends a rejected TAI or the geographical location information corresponding to the rejected TAI to the terminal device, so that the terminal device updates the prohibited area list maintained locally according to the rejected TAI or the geographical location information corresponding to the rejected TAI. For relevant implementations, reference can be made to Figure 11 、 Figure 12 andFigure 14 The above-described embodiments will not be elaborated here.

[0292] Based on the positioning method provided in the embodiments of the present application, after the AMF determines that the trigger condition occurs, it can directly subscribe to the location information of the terminal device from the NR-RAN device. After the NR-RAN device senses the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located, it immediately reports the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located to the core network device. Therefore, the AMF can obtain the accurate ULI in a timely manner, and thus can perform the area-related operations described in Table 1.

[0293] Among them, the actions of the NR-RAN device in the above steps S1801 to S1809 can be Figure 6 performed by the processor 601 in the communication device 600 shown in Figure 6 invoking the application program code stored in the memory 603 to instruct the NR-RAN device to execute; the actions of the AMF in the above steps S1801 to S1809 can be Figure 6 performed by the processor 601 in the communication device 600 shown in

[0294] invoking the application program code stored in the memory 603 to instruct the AMF to execute; the actions of the terminal device in the above steps S1801 to S1809 can be Figures 9 to 16 performed by the processor 601 in the communication device 600 shown in Figure 19 invoking the application program code stored in the memory 603 to instruct the terminal device to execute. This embodiment does not make any restrictions on this.

[0295] S1901. The terminal device sends an AN message 1 (AS message1) to the NR-RAN device. Correspondingly, the NR-RAN device receives the AN message 1 from the terminal device.

[0296] For the details of step S1901, reference can be made to Figure 17 step S1701 of the embodiments described above. The difference is, for example, that Figure 17 in the embodiments described above, the NAS message 1 includes a registration request or a service request. In the embodiments of the present application, since the accurate geographical location information of the terminal device needs to be reported through the mobility update process later, and there is no mobility update in the service process, the NAS message 1 includes a registration request, and this registration request is used to request initial access to the network. For the rest of the relevant descriptions, reference can be made to Figure 17 the embodiments described above, which will not be elaborated here.

[0297] S1902. The same as Figure 17The step S1703 of the described embodiment will not be elaborated here.

[0298] S1903 - S1904 are the same as Figure 17 the steps S1704 - S1705 of the described embodiment, which will not be elaborated here.

[0299] S1905: The NR - RAN device sends a registration acceptance message to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the registration acceptance message from the NR - RAN device.

[0300] In the embodiment of the present application, after the terminal device receives the registration acceptance message from the NR - RAN device, it can know the establishment of AS security between the terminal device and the NR - RAN device.

[0301] In the embodiment of the present application, after the terminal device obtains the mobility restriction information 2, it can perform operations related to the area. For the specific implementation, reference can be made to Figure 13 and Figure 15 the described embodiment, which will not be elaborated here.

[0302] Among them, when the terminal device determines to access the network through a satellite, or when the terminal device determines to receive multiple TAIs, or when the terminal device determines to receive the second indication information, after the terminal device receives the registration acceptance message or service acceptance message from the core network device, the terminal device triggers a mobility update.

[0303] It can be understood that the terminal device triggering a mobility update can also be described as: the terminal device immediately initiates a mobility update, that is, after the terminal device receives the registration acceptance message or service reception message, it immediately initiates a mobility update process.

[0304] A possible implementation method includes the following steps:

[0305] S1906: The terminal device sends an AN message 2 to the NR - RAN device. Correspondingly, the NR - RAN device receives the AN message 2 from the terminal device.

[0306] Among them, the AN message 2 includes an AN parameter 2 and a NAS message 2. The NAS message 2 includes a registration request. This registration request is used for mobility update, and the AN parameter 2 includes the accurate geographical location information of the terminal device.

[0307] S1907: The NR - RAN device sends an N2 message 3 to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the N2 message 3 from the NR - RAN device.

[0308] Among them, the N2 message 3 includes the ULI and the N1 SM container. The N1 SM container includes the NAS message 2 in step S1906. The ULI is the first location information of the terminal device, and the first location information includes the first TAI, and the first TAI is the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located.

[0309] So far, the AMF can obtain the accurate location information of the terminal device.

[0310] In a possible implementation manner, the positioning method provided in the embodiments of the present application further includes: the AMF determines that the TA where the terminal device is currently located is in a prohibited area according to the first TAI, and then sends a rejected TAI or the geographical location information corresponding to the rejected TAI to the terminal device, so that the terminal device updates the prohibited area list maintained locally according to the rejected TAI or the geographical location information corresponding to the rejected TAI. For related implementations, reference can be made to Figure 11 、 Figure 12 and Figure 14 the described embodiments, which will not be elaborated here.

[0311] It should be noted that if the AMF determines that the TA where the terminal device is currently located is in a prohibited area according to the first TAI, the above-mentioned rejected TAI or the geographical location information corresponding to the rejected TAI can be carried in the deregistration message sent by the AMF to the terminal device. Of course, if the AMF determines that the TA where the terminal device is currently located is not in a prohibited area according to the first TAI, the AMF can send a registration acceptance message to the terminal device, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on this.

[0312] Based on the positioning method provided in the embodiments of the present application, since the NG-RAN device can sense the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located after receiving the message for mobility update, and then can trigger reporting the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located to the core network device, it is possible to enable the AMF to obtain the accurate ULI in a timely manner, so that the operations related to the area described in Table 1 can be executed.

[0313] Among them, the actions of the NR-RAN device in the above steps S1901 to S1907 can be called by the processor 601 in the communication device 600 shown in Figure 6 to instruct the NR-RAN device to execute the application program code stored in the memory 603; the actions of the AMF in the above steps S1901 to S1907 can be called by the processor 601 in the communication device 600 shown in Figure 6 to instruct the AMF to execute the application program code stored in the memory 603; the actions of the terminal device in the above steps S1901 to S1907 can be called by the processor 601 in the communication device 600 shown in Figure 6The processor 601 in the communication device 600 shown calls the application code stored in the memory 603 to instruct the terminal device to execute, and this embodiment does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0314] It can be understood that Figures 9 to 19 In the described embodiments, the methods and / or steps implemented by the access network device can also be implemented by components applicable to the access network device; the methods and / or steps implemented by the core network device can also be implemented by components applicable to the core network device (such as chips or circuits); the methods and / or steps implemented by the terminal device can also be implemented by components applicable to the terminal device (such as chips or circuits).

[0315] The above mainly introduces the solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application from the perspective of the interaction between each network element. Correspondingly, the embodiments of the present application also provide a communication device. This communication device can be the access network device in the above method embodiments, or a device including the above access network device, or a component applicable to the access network device; or, this communication device can be the core network device in the above method embodiments, or a device including the above core network device, or a component applicable to the core network device; or, this communication device can be the terminal device in the above method embodiments, or a device including the above terminal device, or a component applicable to the terminal device. It can be understood that in order to implement the above functions, this communication device includes the corresponding hardware structures and / or software modules for executing each function. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, combining the units and algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed in this article, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a certain function is executed in the way of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional technicians can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but this implementation should not be considered to exceed the scope of the present application.

[0316] Figure 20 A schematic structural diagram of a communication device 200 is shown. The communication device 200 includes a processing module 2002 and a transceiver module 2001. The transceiver module 2001, which can also be referred to as a transceiver unit, is used to implement the transceiver function. For example, it can be a transceiver circuit, a transceiver, a transceiver, or a communication interface.

[0317] Taking the communication device 200 as the access network device in the above method embodiments or a chip or other component provided in the access network device as an example:

[0318] Among them, the processing module 2002 is used to determine that a trigger condition occurs. The transceiver module 2001 is used to send the first location information of the terminal device to the core network device, and the first location information includes a first TAI, where the first TAI is an identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located.

[0319] In a possible implementation, the processing module 2002 is specifically used for: after determining that the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located cannot be recognized, determining the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located; or, after receiving a first message from the core network device through the transceiver module 2001, determining the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located, where the first message is used to request the current location of the terminal device; or, after receiving a second message from the terminal device through the transceiver module 2001, determining the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located, where the second message is used to request a mobility update.

[0320] In a possible implementation, the processing module 2002 determines that the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located cannot be recognized, including: the processing module 2002 determines that the location information of the terminal device currently obtained includes multiple TAIs; or, the processing module 2002 determines that the location information of the terminal device currently obtained includes one TAI, but there is a possibility that the location corresponding to the one TAI included in the location information of the terminal device is inconsistent with the current location of the terminal device.

[0321] In a possible implementation, the transceiver module 2001 is further used to send a third message to the core network device, where the third message includes the second location information of the terminal device and a first indication information, where the second location information includes a second TAI, and the first indication information is used to indicate that the second location information of the terminal device is inaccurate.

[0322] In another possible implementation, the transceiver module 2001 is further used to send a fourth message to the core network device, where the fourth message includes the third location information of the terminal device, and the third location information includes multiple TAIs.

[0323] Taking the communication device 200 as an example of the core network device in the above method embodiment or a chip or other component disposed in the core network device:

[0324] The processing module 2002 is used to determine that a trigger condition occurs. The transceiver module 2001 is used to send a first message to the access network device, where the first message is used to request the current location of the terminal device. The transceiver module 2001 is further used to receive the first location information of the terminal device from the access network device, and the first location information includes a first TAI, where the first TAI is an identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located.

[0325] In a possible implementation, the processing module 2002 is specifically configured to: determine that the location information of the received terminal device includes multiple TAI; or, determine that the first indication information is received, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the location information of the terminal device received by the core network device is inaccurate.

[0326] In a possible implementation, the processing module 2002 is further configured to determine that the terminal device is located in a prohibited area according to the first location information of the terminal device. The transceiver module 2001 is further configured to send a rejected TAI to the terminal device; or, the transceiver module 2001 is further configured to send the geographical location information corresponding to the rejected TAI to the terminal device.

[0327] In a possible implementation, the transceiver module 2001 is further configured to send service area restriction information in the form of geographical location, and / or local area data network service area information in the form of geographical location, to the terminal device.

[0328] Taking the communication device 200 as the terminal device in the above method embodiment, or a chip or other component disposed in the terminal device as an example, in a possible implementation:

[0329] The transceiver module 2001 is configured to receive a rejected TAI from the core network device. The processing module 2002 is configured to determine the geographical location information corresponding to the rejected TAI according to the mapping relationship between the TAI and the geographical location information maintained locally, and then add the geographical location information corresponding to the rejected TAI to the prohibited area list maintained locally.

[0330] In a possible implementation, the processing module 2002 is further configured to determine whether to initiate a signaling process according to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located and the prohibited area list.

[0331] In a possible implementation, the processing module 2002 is configured to determine whether to initiate a signaling process according to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located and the prohibited area list, including: the processing module 2002 is configured to determine that the signaling process is not allowed to be initiated when the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located is in the prohibited area list; or, determine that the signaling process is allowed to be initiated again after moving a preset time and / or a preset distance.

[0332] In a possible implementation, the transceiver module 2001 is further configured to receive service area restriction information in the form of TAI from the core network device. The processing module 2002 is further configured to determine the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located according to the mapping relationship between the TAI and the geographical location information maintained locally, and then determine whether to initiate a service-related request according to the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located and the service area restriction information.

[0333] In a possible implementation, the processing module 2002 is configured to determine whether to initiate a service-related request according to the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located and the service area restriction information, including: when the service area restriction information includes service allowed area information, if the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located is not in the service area restriction information, the processing module 2002 determines that it is not allowed to initiate a service-related request; or determines that after moving for a preset time and / or a preset distance, it is allowed to initiate a service-related request again.

[0334] In another possible implementation, the processing module 2002 is configured to determine whether to initiate a service-related request according to the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located and the service area restriction information, including: when the service area restriction information includes service non-allowed area information, if the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located is in the service area restriction information, the processing module 2002 determines that it is not allowed to initiate a service-related request; or determines that after moving for a preset time and / or a preset distance, it is allowed to initiate a service-related request again.

[0335] Taking the communication device 200 as the terminal device in the above method embodiment, or a chip or other component provided in the terminal device as an example, in a possible implementation:

[0336] The transceiver module 2001 is configured to receive a rejected TAI from the core network device. The processing module 2002 is configured to add the rejected TAI to the prohibited area list maintained locally. The processing module 2002 is further configured to, after obtaining the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located, determine the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located according to the mapping relationship between the TAI maintained locally and the geographical location information. The processing module 2002 is further configured to determine whether to initiate a signaling process according to the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located and the prohibited area list.

[0337] In a possible implementation, the processing module 2002 is configured to determine whether to initiate a signaling process according to the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located and the prohibited area list, including: when the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located is in the prohibited area list, the processing module 2002 determines that it is not allowed to initiate a signaling process; or determines that after moving for a preset time and / or a preset distance, it is allowed to initiate a signaling process again.

[0338] In a possible implementation, the transceiver module 2001 is further configured to receive the service area restriction information in the form of TAI from the core network device. The processing module 2002 is further configured to, after determining the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located according to the mapping relationship between TAI and geographical location information maintained locally, determine whether to initiate a service-related request according to the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located and the service area restriction information.

[0339] In a possible implementation, the processing module 2002 is configured to determine whether to initiate a service-related request according to the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located and the service area restriction information, including: when the service area restriction information includes service allowed area information, if the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located is not in the service area restriction information, the processing module 2002 is configured to determine that the service-related request is not allowed to be initiated; or determine that after moving for a preset time and / or a preset distance, the service-related request is allowed to be initiated again.

[0340] In another possible implementation, the processing module 2002 is configured to determine whether to initiate a service-related request according to the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located and the service area restriction information, including: when the service area restriction information includes service non-allowed area information, if the TAI corresponding to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located is in the service area restriction information, the processing module 2002 is configured to determine that the service-related request is not allowed to be initiated; or determine that after moving for a preset time and / or a preset distance, the service-related request is allowed to be initiated again.

[0341] Taking the communication device 200 as the terminal device in the above method embodiment, or a chip or other component disposed in the terminal device as an example, in a possible implementation:

[0342] The transceiver module 2001 is configured to receive the geographical location information corresponding to the rejected TAI from the core network device. The processing module 2002 is configured to add the geographical location information corresponding to the rejected TAI to the prohibited area list maintained locally.

[0343] In a possible implementation, the processing module 2002 is further configured to determine whether to initiate a signaling process according to the geographical location information where the terminal device is currently located and the prohibited area list.

[0344] In a possible implementation manner, the processing module 2002 is configured to determine whether to initiate a signaling process according to the geographical location information of the terminal device and the prohibited area list, including: the processing module 2002 is configured to determine that it is not allowed to initiate a signaling process when the geographical location information of the terminal device is in the prohibited area list; or determine that it is allowed to initiate the signaling process again after moving for a preset time and / or a preset distance.

[0345] In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver module 2001 is further configured to receive the service area restriction information in the form of geographical location from the core network device. The processing module 2002 is further configured to determine whether to initiate a service-related request according to the geographical location information of the terminal device and the service area restriction information.

[0346] In a possible implementation manner, the processing module 2002 is configured to determine whether to initiate a service-related request according to the geographical location information of the terminal device and the service area restriction information, including: the processing module 2002 is configured to determine that it is not allowed to initiate a service-related request when the service area restriction information includes service allowed area information and the geographical location information of the terminal device is not in the service area restriction information; or determine that it is allowed to initiate the service-related request again after moving for a preset time and / or a preset distance.

[0347] In a possible implementation manner, the processing module 2002 is configured to determine whether to initiate a service-related request according to the geographical location information of the terminal device and the service area restriction information, including: the processing module 2002 is configured to determine that it is not allowed to initiate a service-related request when the service area restriction information includes service non-allowed area information and the geographical location information of the terminal device is in the service area restriction information; or determine that it is allowed to initiate the service-related request again after moving for a preset time and / or a preset distance.

[0348] Taking the communication device 200 as the terminal device in the above method embodiment, or a chip or other component disposed in the terminal device as an example, in a possible implementation manner:

[0349] The transceiver module 2001 is configured to receive the service area restriction information in the form of geographical location from the core network device. The processing module 2002 is configured to determine whether to initiate a service-related request according to the geographical location information of the terminal device and the service area restriction information.

[0350] In a possible implementation, the processing module 2002 is configured to determine whether to initiate a service-related request according to the geographical location information of the terminal device and the service area restriction information, including: when the service area restriction information includes service allowed area information, if the geographical location information of the terminal device is not within the service area restriction information, the processing module 2002 determines that it is not allowed to initiate a service-related request; or, determines that after moving for a preset time and / or a preset distance, it is allowed to initiate a service-related request again.

[0351] In a possible implementation, the processing module 2002 is configured to determine whether to initiate a service-related request according to the geographical location information of the terminal device and the service area restriction information, including: when the service area restriction information includes service non-allowed area information, if the geographical location information of the terminal device is within the service area restriction information, the processing module 2002 determines that it is not allowed to initiate a service-related request; or, determines that after moving for a preset time and / or a preset distance, it is allowed to initiate a service-related request again.

[0352] Taking the communication device 200 as the terminal device in the above method embodiment, or a chip or other component disposed in the terminal device as an example, in a possible implementation:

[0353] The transceiver module 2001 is configured to send a fifth message to the core network device, and the fifth message is used for the terminal device to request initial access to the network or access to service; the processing module 2002 is configured to trigger a mobility update after the terminal device receives a sixth message from the core network device when the terminal device determines to access the network through a satellite, or when the terminal device determines to receive multiple TACs, or when the terminal device determines to receive a second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the TAC included in the satellite broadcast message is inaccurate, and the sixth message is used to represent that the terminal device is allowed to access the network or access to service.

[0354] Wherein, all relevant contents of each step involved in the above method embodiment can be cited to the function description of the corresponding functional module, and will not be elaborated here.

[0355] In this embodiment, the communication device 200 is presented in a form of dividing each functional module in an integrated manner. Here, a "module" may refer to a specific ASIC, circuit, a processor and a memory that execute one or more software or firmware programs, an integrated logic circuit, and / or other devices that can provide the above functions. In a simple embodiment, those skilled in the art can think that the communication device 200 can adopt Figure 6 the form of the communication device 600 shown.

[0356] For example,Figure 6 The processor 601 in the communication device 600 shown can cause the communication device 600 to execute the positioning method in the above method embodiments by invoking computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 603.

[0357] Specifically, Figure 20 The functions / implementation processes of the transceiver module 2001 and the processing module 2002 in can be implemented by Figure 6 the processor 601 in the communication device 600 shown invoking computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 603. Or, Figure 20 the functions / implementation processes of the processing module 2002 in can be implemented by Figure 6 the processor 601 in the communication device 600 shown invoking computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 603, Figure 20 the functions / implementation processes of the transceiver module 2001 in can be implemented by Figure 6 the communication interface 604 in the communication device 600 shown in.

[0358] Since the communication device 150 provided in this embodiment can execute the above positioning method, the technical effects it can obtain can refer to the above method embodiments and will not be elaborated here.

[0359] It should be noted that one or more of the above modules or units can be implemented by software, hardware, or a combination of both. When any of the above modules or units is implemented by software, the software exists in the form of computer program instructions and is stored in the memory. The processor can be used to execute the program instructions and implement the above method processes. The processor can be built into an SoC (system on a chip) or an ASIC, or it can be an independent semiconductor chip. In addition to the cores in the processor for executing software instructions for arithmetic or processing, it can further include necessary hardware accelerators, such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), PLDs (programmable logic devices), or logic circuits for implementing dedicated logical operations.

[0360] When the above modules or units are implemented by hardware, the hardware can be any one or any combination of a CPU, a microprocessor, a digital signal processing (DSP) chip, a microcontroller unit (MCU), an artificial intelligence processor, an ASIC, an SoC, an FPGA, a PLD, a dedicated digital circuit, a hardware accelerator, or a non-integrated discrete device, which can run the necessary software or execute the above method processes without relying on software.

[0361] In a possible implementation, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device (for example, the communication device may be a chip or a chip system). The communication device includes a processor for implementing the method in any of the above method embodiments. In a possible implementation, the communication device further includes a memory. The memory is used to store necessary program instructions and data, and the processor can call the program code stored in the memory to instruct the communication device to execute the method in any of the above method embodiments. Of course, the memory may not be in the communication device. When the communication device is a chip system, it may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices. The embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on this.

[0362] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using a software program, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center in a wired manner (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or a wireless manner (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or a data center that includes one or more integrated media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (such as a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (such as a solid state disk (SSD)), etc.

[0363] Although the present application has been described in conjunction with various embodiments herein, however, in the process of implementing the claimed present application, those skilled in the art can understand and implement other variations of the disclosed embodiments by viewing the accompanying drawings, the disclosure content, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other components or steps, and "a" or "one" does not exclude a plurality. A single processor or other unit can implement several functions recited in the claims. Certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims, but this does not mean that these measures cannot be combined to produce good results.

[0364] Although the present application has been described in connection with specific features and their embodiments, it will be apparent that various modifications and combinations can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Accordingly, the present specification and the drawings are merely exemplary illustrations of the present application as defined by the appended claims, and are considered to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations, or equivalents within the scope of the present application. Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalent technologies, the present application is also intended to include these changes and modifications.

Claims

1. A positioning method, which is applied to an access network device, characterized in that, the method includes: receiving a first message from a core network device, where the first message is used to request the current location of the terminal device; sending the first location information of the terminal device to the core network device, where the first location information includes a first tracking area identifier (TAI), and the first TAI is the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located, and the first TAI belongs to multiple TAIs broadcast by the access network device.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, the method further includes: broadcasting N TAIs to the terminal device, where N is an integer greater than 1.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, the method further includes: determining the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located according to the current geographical location of the terminal device.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, the method further includes: receiving the current geographical location sent by the terminal device.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, the receiving the current geographical location sent by the terminal device includes: after the access layer security between the access network device and the terminal device is established, receiving the current geographical location sent by the terminal device.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, the method further includes: sending indication information to the core network device for indicating that the terminal device accesses the network or access service through a satellite.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, the current geographical location of the terminal device includes: longitude, latitude, altitude, beam identifier or beam position.

8. A positioning method, which is applied to a core network device, characterized in that, the method includes: sending a first message, where the first message is used to request the current location of the terminal device; receiving the first location information of the terminal device sent by the access network device, where the first location information includes a first tracking area identifier (TAI), and the first TAI is the identifier of the tracking area where the terminal device is currently located, and the first TAI belongs to multiple TAIs broadcast by the access network device.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, the method includes: receiving indication information sent by the access network device for indicating that the terminal device accesses the network or access service through a satellite.

10. A communication system, characterized in that, the communication system includes: a core network device and an access network device; the access network device is configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-7; the core network device is configured to execute the method according to claim 8 or 9.

11. A communication device, characterized in that, it includes a processor; the processor is configured to read and run a program from a memory to implement the method according to any one of claims 1-7, or to implement the method according to claim 8 or 9.

12. A computer program product containing instructions, characterized in that, When it runs on a computer, it causes the computer to execute the method described in any one of claims 1-7, or causes the computer to execute the method described in claim 8 or 9.

13. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that the computer-readable storage medium stores instructions that, when run on a computer, cause the processor to execute the method described in any one of claims 1-7, or cause the processor to execute the method described in claim 8 or 9.

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