System and method for delayed 5G positioning using mobile device

Abstract

Methods and techniques are described for efficiently supporting periodic and triggered positioning services of user equipments (UEs) in fifth generation wireless networks. A serving core network (CN) node, such as an AMF, receives a request for periodic or triggered positioning of a UE from another CN entity, such as a GMLC, and transmits the request to a positioning server, such as an LMF, which initiates and establishes a periodic and triggered positioning session with the UE. The serving CN node then releases all resources for the location request. The UE monitors periodic or trigger events and reports each event to a positioning server that forwards event reports, optionally including UE location, to an external client via a CN entity, such as GMLC. Event reporting may be valid because the serving CN node does not substantially participate.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the invention application whose applicant is Qualcomm Incorporated, whose application date is September 13, 2019, whose application number is 201980058511.X, and whose name is “System and method for delayed 5G positioning of mobile devices using a combined AMF and LMF-based positioning solution”.

[0002] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0003] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 731,764, filed on September 14, 2018, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DEFERRED 5G LOCATION OF A MOBILE DEVICE USING A COMBINED AMF AND LMF BASED SOLUTION”; U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 736,437, filed on September 25, 2018, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DEFERRED 5G LOCATION OF A MOBILE DEVICE USING A COMBINED AMF AND LMF BASED SOLUTION”; U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 736,437, filed on October 2, 2018, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DEFERRED 5G LOCATION OF A MOBILE DEVICE USING A COMBINED AMF AND LMF BASED SOLUTION” SOLUTION”; U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 740,400, filed on October 8, 2018, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DEFERRED 5G LOCATION OF A MOBILE DEVICE USING A COMBINED AMF AND LMF BASED SOLUTION”; U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 742,896, filed on October 8, 2018, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DEFERRED 5G LOCATION OF A MOBILE DEVICE USING A COMBINED AMF AND LMF BASED SOLUTION”; U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 807,222, filed on February 18, 2019, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DEFERRED 5G LOCATION OF A MOBILE DEVICE USING A COMBINED AMF AND LMF BASED SOLUTION”; U.S. Provisional Application No.62 / 844,047; and U.S. Non-Provisional Application No. 16 / 569,532, filed on September 12, 2019, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DEFERRED 5G LOCATION OF A MOBILE DEVICE USING A COMBINED AMF AND LMF BASED SOLUTION,” all of which are assigned to their assignees and are hereby expressly incorporated by reference in their entireties. . Technical Field

[0004] The present disclosure relates generally to communications, and more particularly to techniques for supporting positioning services for user equipment (UE). Background Art

[0005] Two solutions have been considered in the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) for supporting positioning of user equipment (UE) that is accessing fifth generation (5G) wireless networks. One solution, sometimes referred to as the access and mobility management function (AMF)-based solution, works closely with the EPC (Enhanced Packet Core) positioning solution for Long Term Evolution (LTE) access defined in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 23.271 and requires that all positioning requests go through, be managed and coordinated by the serving AMF of the target UE. The other solution, sometimes referred to as the positioning management function (LMF)-based solution, requires that all positioning requests go through, be managed and coordinated by the LMF in the serving 5G core network (5GCN) of the target UE and has little positioning-specific impact on the serving AMF. Compared to the AMF-based solution, the LMF-based solution can improve the distribution of positioning-related functions by only (or mainly) including these functions in positioning-related entities such as the LMF and the Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC). For a single positioning of a target UE (e.g., as requested by the UE, an external client, or by a network entity), the two solutions may have similar overall efficiency (e.g., similar signaling and processing impact). For multiple positioning of target UEs based on periodic events or triggered events, the LMF-based solution may be more efficient in requiring less signaling and processing and using fewer network entities and network interfaces. Although the LMF-based solution may be more efficient and therefore may be better than the AMF-based solution, the AMF-based solution works better with the EPC positioning solution currently used for LTE access and is selected by 3GPP to support positioning of emergency calls for 5G wireless access. However, for commercial positioning services, the LMF-based solution may be more efficient for network operators. However, it is unclear how these two solutions can be used to support regulatory and commercial positioning without significantly increasing the complexity and cost of the network by implementing both solutions. Summary of the invention

[0006] Methods and techniques are described for supporting periodic and triggered positioning services for user equipment (UE) using a positioning server such as a positioning management function (LMF) and a core network (CN) node such as an access and mobility management function (AMF) in a fifth generation wireless network. The CN node receives a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from an entity in the wireless network such as a gateway mobile positioning center (GMLC), initiates and establishes a periodic and triggered positioning session, and then releases all resources used for the request for periodic or triggered positioning. The positioning server receives periodic or triggered positioning events from the UE and reports the periodic or triggered positioning events to an entity such as a GMLC.

[0007] In one embodiment, a method for supporting positioning services for a user equipment (UE) performed by a first positioning server in a wireless network includes: receiving a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from a first core network (CN) node in the wireless network, wherein the first CN node receives the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from another entity; sending the request for periodic or triggered positioning to the UE; receiving a confirmation from the UE that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE; and sending a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE to the first CN node.

[0008] In one embodiment, a first positioning server in a wireless network for supporting positioning services for a user equipment (UE) includes: an external interface for receiving and sending messages to an entity in the network; at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled to the external interface and the at least one memory, the at least one processor being configured to: receive a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from a first core network (CN) node in the wireless network, wherein the first CN node receives the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from another entity; send the request for periodic or triggered positioning to the UE; receive a confirmation from the UE that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE; and send a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE to the first CN node.

[0009] In one embodiment, a first positioning server in a wireless network for supporting positioning services for a user equipment (UE) includes: a component for receiving a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from a first core network (CN) node in the wireless network, wherein the first CN node receives the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from another entity; a component for sending the request for periodic or triggered positioning to the UE; a component for receiving a confirmation from the UE that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE; and a component for sending a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE to the first CN node.

[0010] In one embodiment, a non-transitory storage medium including program code stored thereon, the program code being operable to cause at least one processor in a first positioning server in a wireless network to support positioning services for a user equipment (UE), comprising: program code for receiving a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from a first core network (CN) node in the wireless network, wherein the first CN node receives the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from another entity; program code for sending the request for periodic or triggered positioning to the UE; program code for receiving a confirmation from the UE that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE; and program code for sending a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE to the first CN node.

[0011] In one embodiment, a method for supporting positioning services for a user equipment (UE) performed by a core network (CN) node in a wireless network includes: receiving a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from another entity; sending the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE to a first positioning server in the wireless network, wherein the request for periodic or triggered positioning will be sent by the first positioning server to the UE, and the UE will confirm the activation of periodic or triggered positioning in the UE to the first positioning server; receiving a confirmation from the first positioning server that the periodic or triggered positioning of the UE is activated in the UE; sending a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE to another entity; and releasing all resources used for the request for periodic or triggered positioning, wherein the UE will report multiple periodic or triggered positioning events to a second positioning server, and the second positioning server will report multiple periodic or triggered positioning events to other entities.

[0012] In one embodiment, a core network (CN) node in a wireless network for supporting positioning services for a user equipment (UE) includes: an external interface for receiving and sending messages to an entity in the network; at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled to the external interface and the at least one memory, the at least one processor being configured to: receive a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from another entity; send the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE to a first positioning server in the wireless network, wherein the request for periodic or triggered positioning will be sent by the first positioning server to the UE, and the UE will confirm the activation of the periodic or triggered positioning in the UE to the first positioning server; receive a confirmation from the first positioning server that the periodic or triggered positioning of the UE is activated in the UE; send a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE to another entity; and release all resources used for the request for periodic or triggered positioning, wherein the UE will report multiple periodic or triggered positioning events to a second positioning server, and the second positioning server will report multiple periodic or triggered positioning events to other entities.

[0013] In one embodiment, a core network (CN) node in a wireless network for supporting positioning services for a user equipment (UE) includes: a component for receiving a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from another entity; a component for sending the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE to a first positioning server in the wireless network, wherein the request for periodic or triggered positioning will be sent by the first positioning server to the UE, and the UE will confirm the activation of periodic or triggered positioning in the UE to the first positioning server; a component for receiving a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning of the UE is activated in the UE from the first positioning server; a component for sending a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE to another entity; and a component for releasing all resources used for the request for periodic or triggered positioning, wherein the UE will report multiple periodic or triggered positioning events to a second positioning server, and the second positioning server reports multiple periodic or triggered positioning events to other entities.

[0014] In one embodiment, a non-transitory storage medium including program code stored thereon, the program code being operable to enable at least one processor in a core network (CN) in a wireless network to support positioning services for a user equipment (UE), comprising: program code for receiving a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from another entity; a component for sending the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE to a first positioning server in the wireless network, wherein the request for periodic or triggered positioning will be sent by the first positioning server to the UE, and the UE will confirm the activation of the periodic or triggered positioning in the UE to the first positioning server; program code for receiving a confirmation from the first positioning server that the periodic or triggered positioning of the UE is activated in the UE; program code for sending a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE to another entity; and program code for releasing all resources used for the request for periodic or triggered positioning, wherein the UE will report multiple periodic or triggered positioning events to a second positioning server, and the second positioning server will report multiple periodic or triggered positioning events to other entities.

[0015] In one embodiment, a method for supporting positioning services for a user equipment (UE) performed by an entity in a wireless network includes: receiving a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from an external client; querying another entity in the wireless network for an address of a core network (CN) node associated with the UE; sending the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE to the CN node, wherein the request for periodic or triggered positioning will be sent by the CN node to a first positioning server, wherein the first positioning server will send the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE to the UE, and the UE will confirm the activation of the periodic or triggered positioning in the UE; receiving a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning of the UE is activated in the UE from the CN node; sending a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE to the external client; receiving multiple periodic or triggered positioning event reports of the UE from a second positioning server, wherein each of the multiple periodic or triggered positioning event reports contains at least one of a location measurement, a location estimate, a type of a detected trigger event, or a combination thereof; and sending multiple corresponding periodic or triggered positioning event reports to the external client.

[0016] In one embodiment, an entity in a wireless network for supporting positioning services for a user equipment (UE) includes: an external interface for receiving and sending messages to an entity in the network; at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled to the external interface and the at least one memory, the at least one processor being configured to: receive a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from an external client; query another entity in the wireless network for an address of a core network (CN) node associated with the UE; send the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE to the CN node, wherein the request for periodic or triggered positioning will be sent by the CN node to a first positioning server in order to reach the UE, and the UE will confirm the activation of the periodic or triggered positioning in the UE; receive a confirmation from the CN node that the periodic or triggered positioning of the UE is activated in the UE; send a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE to the external client; receive multiple periodic or triggered positioning event reports of the UE from a second positioning server, wherein each of the multiple periodic or triggered positioning event reports contains at least one of a location measurement, a location estimate, a type of a detected trigger event, or a combination thereof; and send multiple corresponding periodic or triggered positioning event reports to the external client.

[0017] In one embodiment, an entity in a wireless network for supporting a positioning service for a user equipment (UE) includes: a component for receiving a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from an external client; a component for querying another entity in the wireless network for an address of a core network (CN) node associated with the UE; a component for sending the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE to a CN node, wherein the request for periodic or triggered positioning will be sent by the CN node to a first positioning server, wherein the first positioning server will send the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE to the UE, and the UE will confirm the activation of the periodic or triggered positioning in the UE; a component for receiving a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning of the UE is activated in the UE from the CN node; a component for sending a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE to the external client; a component for receiving multiple periodic or triggered positioning event reports of the UE from a second positioning server, wherein each of the multiple periodic or triggered positioning event reports contains at least one of a location measurement, a location estimate, a type of a detected triggering event, or a combination thereof; and a component for sending multiple corresponding periodic or triggered positioning event reports to the external client.

[0018] In one embodiment, a non-transitory storage medium including program code stored thereon, the program code being operable to cause at least one processor in an entity in a wireless network to support a positioning service for a user equipment (UE), comprising: program code for receiving a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from an external client; program code for querying another entity in the wireless network for an address of a core network (CN) node associated with the UE; program code for sending the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE to the CN node, wherein the request for periodic or triggered positioning is to be sent by the CN node to a first positioning server, wherein the first positioning server is to send the request for the UE to the UE. A request for periodic or triggered positioning, and the UE will confirm the activation of periodic or triggered positioning in the UE; a program code for receiving a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning of the UE is activated in the UE from the CN node; a program code for sending a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE to an external client; a program code for receiving multiple periodic or triggered positioning event reports of the UE from a second positioning server, wherein each of the multiple periodic or triggered positioning event reports contains at least one of a position measurement result, a position estimate, a type of a detected trigger event, or a combination thereof; and a program code for sending multiple corresponding periodic or triggered positioning event reports to the external client.

[0019] In one embodiment, a method for supporting positioning services for a user equipment (UE) performed by the UE includes: receiving a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from a first positioning server in a wireless network, wherein the first positioning server receives the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from a first core network (CN) node, wherein the first CN node receives the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from another entity; sending a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE to the first positioning server; detecting multiple triggering events; and for each detected triggering event, sending a corresponding event report to a second positioning server, each corresponding event report containing at least one of a location measurement result, a location estimate, a type of a detected triggering event, or a combination thereof, wherein the second positioning server sends each corresponding event report to another entity.

[0020] In one embodiment, a UE for supporting positioning services for a user equipment (UE) includes: at least one wireless transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate with at least one wireless network; at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled to the at least one wireless transceiver and the at least one memory, the at least one processor configured to: receive a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from a first positioning server in the wireless network, wherein the first positioning server receives the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from a first core network (CN) node, wherein the first CN node receives the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from another entity; send a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE to the first positioning server; detect multiple triggering events; and for each detected triggering event, send a corresponding event report to a second positioning server, each corresponding event report containing at least one of a location measurement result, a location estimate, a type of the detected triggering event, or a combination thereof, wherein the second positioning server sends each corresponding event report to another entity.

[0021] In one embodiment, a UE for supporting a positioning service for a user equipment (UE), the UE comprising: a component for receiving a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from a first positioning server in a wireless network, wherein the first positioning server receives the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from a first core network (CN) node, wherein the first CN node receives the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from another entity; a component for sending a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE to the first positioning server; a component for detecting multiple triggering events; and a component for sending a corresponding event report to a second positioning server for each detected triggering event, each corresponding event report containing at least one of a location measurement result, a location estimate, a type of the detected triggering event, or a combination thereof, wherein the second positioning server sends each corresponding event report to another entity.

[0022] In one embodiment, a non-transitory storage medium including program code stored thereon, the program code being operable to enable at least one processor in a user equipment (UE) to support a positioning service for the UE, comprising: program code for receiving a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from a first positioning server in a wireless network, wherein the first positioning server receives the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from a first core network (CN) node, wherein the first CN node receives the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from another entity; program code for sending a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE to the first positioning server; program code for detecting multiple triggering events; and program code for sending a corresponding event report to a second positioning server for each detected triggering event, each corresponding event report containing at least one of a location measurement result, a location estimate, a type of the detected triggering event, or a combination thereof, wherein the second positioning server sends each corresponding event report to another entity. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] An understanding of the nature and advantages of the various embodiments may be achieved by reference to the following drawings.

[0024] Figure 1 is a simplified block diagram showing a communication system for non-roaming support for UE positioning using a combined AMF and LMF based positioning solution.

[0025] Figure 2 is a simplified block diagram showing a communication system for roaming support for UE positioning using a combined AMF and LMF based positioning solution.

[0026] Figure 3is a simplified block diagram of another communication system illustrating roaming support for UE positioning using a combined AMF and LMF based positioning solution.

[0027] Figure 4 An implementation of an interface-based architecture for non-roaming services based on UE positioning using a combined AMF and LMF based positioning solution is shown.

[0028] Figure 5 An implementation of an interface-based architecture for roaming service based positioning for UE positioning using a combined AMF and LMF based positioning solution is shown.

[0029] Figure 6 The position determination process used by the LMF to support UE-based position determination, UE-assisted position determination and delivery of assistance data is shown.

[0030] Figure 7 A process is shown that may be used by the LMF to support network-assisted location determination and network-based location determination.

[0031] Figure 8 A process is shown that can be used by the LMF to obtain location-related information from a base station.

[0032] Fig. 9 The process of delayed UE positioning using a combined AMF and LMF based positioning solution is shown.

[0033] Fig.10 A procedure for changing an anchor LMF for delaying UE positioning using a combined AMF and LMF based positioning solution is shown.

[0034] Fig.11 The process of mobility for periodic or triggered positioning between the 5G system (5GS) and the evolved packet system (EPS) is shown.

[0035] Fig.12 A procedure for cancelling delayed periodicity or triggered positioning by a UE is shown.

[0036] Fig.13 The process of cancelling the delay of periodic or triggered positioning by an application function (AF) or an external location service (LCS) client is shown.

[0037] Fig.14 A process flow illustrating a method for supporting delayed UE positioning using a combined AMF and LMF based positioning solution and performed by a positioning server is shown.

[0038] Fig.15A process flow illustrating a method for supporting delayed UE positioning using a combined AMF and LMF based positioning solution and performed by a core network (CN) node (such as an AMF) is shown.

[0039] Fig.16 A process flow illustrating a method for supporting delayed UE positioning using a combined AMF and LMF based positioning solution and performed by a UE is shown.

[0040] Fig.17 A process flow illustrating a method for supporting delayed UE positioning using a combined AMF and LMF based positioning solution and performed by an entity (such as a GMLC) in a wireless network is shown.

[0041] Fig.18 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an LMF capable of supporting a positioning solution based on a combined AMF and LMF.

[0042] Fig.19 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) capable of supporting a combined AMF and LMF based positioning solution.

[0043] Fig. 20 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a GMLC capable of supporting a positioning solution based on a combined AMF and LMF.

[0044] Fig.21 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a UE capable of supporting a combined AMF and LMF based positioning solution.

[0045] According to certain example embodiments, similar reference numerals and symbols in the various drawings indicate similar elements. In addition, multiple instances of an element may be indicated by following a letter or hyphen and a second numeral after the first numeral of the element. For example, multiple instances of element 110 may be indicated as 110-1, 110-2, 110-3, etc. Similarly, multiple instances of element 152 may be indicated as 152A, 152B, 152C, etc. When only the first numeral is used to refer to such an element, it should be understood that any instance of the element (e.g., element 110 in the previous example will refer to element 110-1, 110-2, and 110-3, and element 152 in the previous example will refer to element 152A, 152B, and 152C). DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0046] Two solutions have been considered in 3GPP for supporting positioning of UEs accessing 5G wireless networks. One solution is referred to herein as the AMF-based positioning solution (also referred to as the AMF solution or AMF-based solution), which is closely aligned with the positioning solution for LTE access defined in 3GPP TS 23.271 and requires that all positioning requests go through and be managed and coordinated by the serving AMF of the target UE. The other solution is referred to herein as the LMF-based positioning solution (also referred to as the LMF solution or LMF-based solution), which requires that all positioning requests go through and be managed and coordinated by the LMF in the serving 5GCN of the target UE and has little positioning-specific impact on the serving AMF.

[0047] As described later in this document, AMF-based positioning solutions have a number of limitations that can be overcome by LMF-based positioning solutions. However, AMF-based positioning solutions do have the advantage of being more closely aligned with the positioning solution for UEs with LTE radio access to the Evolved Packet System (EPS) defined in 3GPP TS 23.271. Therefore, 3GPP defines an AMF-based positioning solution to support positioning of UEs that have placed an emergency call to a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP). The positioning solution for commercial services may therefore also be (or be based on) an AMF-based solution, at the potential cost of the various limitations mentioned above and described in more detail below. In order to overcome these limitations, while still maintaining alignment with the 3GPP-defined AMF-based positioning solution for positioning of UEs with emergency calls, a combined AMF and LMF-based positioning solution is introduced and described in detail below.

[0048] Figure 11 is a simplified block diagram showing a communication system 100 for non-roaming support for AMF-based positioning solutions, LMF-based positioning solutions, and combined AMF and LMF-based positioning solutions defined later herein. The communication system 100 includes a UE 105 and components of a fifth generation (5G) network, the fifth generation (5G) network including a next generation radio access network (NG-RAN) 112 including base stations (BSs), which are sometimes referred to as new radio (NR) NodeBs or gNBs 110-1, 110-2, and 110-3 (collectively referred to herein as gNBs 110), and a 5G core network (5GCN) 150 that communicates with external clients 130 and / or application functions (AFs) 163. The 5G network may also be referred to as a new radio (NR) network; the NG-RAN 112 may be referred to as an NR RAN or a 5G RAN; and the 5GCN 150 may be referred to as a next generation (NG) core network (NGC). The communication system 100 may further utilize information from a space vehicle (SV) 190 for a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) such as GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, or Beidou, or some other local or regional satellite position determination system (SPS) such as IRNSS, EGNOS, or WAAS. Additional components of the communication system 100 are described below. The communication system 100 may include additional or alternative components.

[0049] It should be noted that Figure 1 Only a generalized illustration of the various components is provided, any or all of which may be used as appropriate, and each component may be repeated or omitted as desired. In particular, although only one UE 105 is shown, it should be understood that many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) may utilize the communication system 100. Similarly, the communication system 100 may include a greater or lesser number of SVs 190, gNBs 110, external clients 130, AFs 163, and / or other components. The connections shown connecting the various components in the communication system 100 include data and signaling connections, which may include additional (intermediate) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections, and / or additional networks. In addition, components may be rearranged, combined, separated, replaced, and / or omitted, depending on the desired functionality.

[0050] although Figure 1A 5G-based network is shown, but similar network implementations and configurations may be used for other communication technologies such as 3G, Long Term Evolution (LTE) (4G), and IEEE 802.11 WiFi, etc. For example, in the case of a wireless local area network (WLAN) using, for example, an IEEE 802.11 radio interface, the UE 105 may communicate with an access network (AN), as opposed to a NG-RAN, and thus the component 112 is sometimes referred to herein as an AN or as a radio access network (RAN), represented by the term “(R)AN” or “(R)AN 112”. In the case of an AN (e.g., an IEEE 802.11 AN), the AN may be connected to a non-3GPP interworking function (N3IWF) (e.g., in a 5GCN 150) ( Figure 1 ), where the N3IWF is connected to the AMF 154.

[0051] As used herein, UE 105 may be any electronic device and may be referred to as a device, a mobile device, a wireless device, a mobile terminal, a terminal, a mobile station (MS), a secure user plane location (SUPL) enabled terminal (SET), or other names may be used. In addition, UE 105 may correspond to a smart watch, digital glasses, a fitness monitor, a smart car, a smart home appliance, a mobile phone, a smart phone, a laptop, a tablet computer, a PDA, a tracking device, a control device, or some other portable or movable device. UE 105 may include a single entity such as in a personal area network, or may include multiple entities, in which a user may use audio, video and / or data I / O devices and / or body sensors and a separate wired or wireless modem. Typically, although not necessarily, the UE 105 may support wireless communications using one or more radio access technologies (RATs), such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), LTE, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 WiFi (also known as Wi-Fi), Bluetooth® (BT), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), 5G New Radio (NR) (e.g., using NG-RAN 112 and 5GCN 150), etc. The UE 105 may also support wireless communications using a wireless local area network (WLAN), which may connect to other networks (e.g., the Internet) using, for example, a digital subscriber line (DSL) or packet cable. The use of one or more of these RATs may allow the UE 105 to communicate with external clients 130 (e.g., via Figure 1elements of the 5GCN 150 not shown, or possibly via a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 155), and / or allowing an external client 130 to receive location information about the UE 105 (e.g., via the GMLC 155).

[0052] UE 105 may enter a connected state with a wireless communication network, which may include NG-RAN 112. In one example, UE 105 may communicate with a cellular communication network by sending wireless signals to or receiving wireless signals from a cellular transceiver, such as gNB 110, in NG-RAN 112. A transceiver, such as gNB 110, provides user and control plane protocol terminations to UE 105 and may be referred to as a base station, a base transceiver station, a radio base station, a radio transceiver, a radio network controller, a transceiver function, a base station subsystem (BSS), an extended service set (ESS), or some other suitable terminology.

[0053] In certain embodiments, UE 105 may have circuitry and processing resources capable of obtaining location-related measurements. The location-related measurements obtained by UE 105 may include measurements of signals received from SV 190 belonging to an SPS or global navigation satellite system (GNSS) such as GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, or Beidou, and / or may include measurements of signals received from a ground-based transmitter fixed at a known location (e.g., such as gNB 110). The UE 105 or a separate positioning server (e.g., LMF 152) to which the UE 105 may send the measurements may then, for example, use any of several position determination methods to obtain a position estimate for the UE 105 based on these position-related measurements: such as GNSS, assisted GNSS (A-GNSS), advanced forward link trilateration (AFLT), observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA), real-time kinematics (RTK), angle of arrival (AOA), angle of departure (AOD), round-trip signal propagation time (RTT), WLAN (also known as WiFi) position determination, or enhanced cell ID (ECID), or a combination thereof. In some of these techniques (e.g., A-GNSS, AFLT, and OTDOA), pseudoranges or timing differences relative to three or more ground-based transmitters (e.g., gNB 110) fixed at known locations or relative to four or more SVs 190 with precisely known orbit data, or a combination thereof, may be measured at the UE 105 based at least in part on pilots, position determination reference signals (PRS), or other position determination-related signals transmitted by the transmitters or satellites and received at the UE 105.

[0054] A positioning server such as LMF 152 may be capable of providing position determination assistance data to UE 105, including, for example, information about signals to be measured (e.g., expected signal timing, signal coding, signal frequency, signal Doppler), locations and identities of ground transmitters (e.g., gNB 110), and / or signal, timing, and orbit information of GNSS SV 190 to facilitate position determination techniques such as A-GNSS, AFLT, OTDOA, and ECID. This facilitation may include improving signal acquisition and measurement accuracy for UE 105, and in some cases, enabling UE 105 to calculate its estimated position based on position measurements. For example, a positioning server (e.g., LMF 152) may contain an almanac that indicates the locations and identities of cellular transceivers and / or local transceivers in one or more specific areas (such as a specific location), and may provide information describing signals transmitted by cellular base stations or APs (e.g., gNB 110), such as transmit power and signal timing. The UE 105 may obtain measurements of signal strength of signals received from the cellular transceiver and / or the local transceiver (e.g., received signal strength indication (RSSI)), and / or may obtain signal-to-noise ratio (S / N), reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), time of arrival (TOA), angle of arrival (AOA), or round-trip signal propagation time (RTT) between the UE 105 and the cellular transceiver (e.g., gNB 110) or the local transceiver (e.g., WiFi access point (AP)). The UE 105 may transmit these measurements to a positioning server such as the LMF 152 to determine the location of the UE 105, or in some embodiments, the UE 105 may use these measurements together with assistance data (e.g., terrestrial almanac data or GNSS satellite data, such as GNSS almanac and / or GNSS ephemeris information) received from the positioning server (e.g., LMF 152) or broadcast by a base station (e.g., gNB 110) in the NG-RAN 112 to determine the location of the UE 105.

[0055] In the case of OTDOA, the UE 105 may measure a reference signal time difference (RSTD) between signals such as a position determination reference signal (PRS), a cell-specific reference signal (CRS), or a tracking reference signal (TRS) transmitted by each pair of nearby transceivers and a base station (e.g., gNB 110). The RSTD measurement may provide a time difference of arrival between signals (e.g., TRS, CRS, or PRS) received from two different transceivers at the UE 105. The UE 105 may return the measured RSTD to a positioning server (e.g., LMF 152), which may calculate an estimated position of the UE 105 based on the known positions and known signal timing of the measured transceivers. In some embodiments of OTDOA, the signals used for RSTD measurements (e.g., PRS or CRS signals) may be accurately synchronized by the transceivers to a common world time such as GPS time or coordinated universal time (UTC), for example using a GPS or GNSS receiver at each transceiver to accurately acquire the common world time.

[0056] The estimate of the position of the UE 105 may be referred to as a location, a position estimate, a position fix, a fix, a position determination (position), an orientation estimate, or an orientation fix, and may be geographic, thereby providing location coordinates (e.g., latitude and longitude) for the UE 105, which may or may not include a height component (e.g., altitude, height above ground or depth below ground, number of floors above ground or number of floors below ground). Alternatively, the location of the UE 105 may be expressed as a civic location (e.g., as a postal address or a designation of a point or small area in a building (such as a particular room or floor)). The location of the UE 105 may also be expressed as an area or volume (geographically defined or urbanized) in which the UE 105 is expected to be located with a certain probability or confidence (e.g., 67%, 95%, etc.). The location of the UE 105 may also be a relative location, including, for example, a distance and direction or relative X, Y (and Z) coordinates defined relative to some origin at a known location, which may be defined geographically, defined in terms of a city, or defined with reference to a point, area, or volume indicated on a map, floor plan, or building plan. In the description contained herein, unless otherwise stated, the use of the term "location" may include any of these variations. When calculating the location of the UE, the local x, y, and possibly z coordinates are typically solved first, and then the local coordinates are converted to absolute coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and altitude above or below mean sea level) when necessary.

[0057] like Figure 1 As shown in FIG. , each pair of gNBs 110 in the NG-RAN 112 may be connected to each other, for example, as Figure 1 , or indirectly via other gNBs 110. Access to the 5G network is provided to the UE 105 via wireless communications between the UE 105 and one or more gNBs 110, which may represent wireless communications access to the 5GCN 150 provided to the UE 105 using 5G (e.g., NR). Figure 1 , it is assumed that the serving gNB for UE 105 is gNB 110-1, although if UE 105 moves to another location, other gNBs (e.g., gNB 110-2 and / or gNB 110-3) may serve as serving gNBs, or may serve as auxiliary gNBs to provide additional throughput and bandwidth to UE 105. Figure 1 Some of the gNBs 110 (e.g., gNB 110-2 or gNB 110-3) may be configured to function as position-determination-only beacons, which may send signals (e.g., directional PRS) to assist in position determination of UE 105, but may not receive signals from UE 105 or other UEs.

[0058] As noted, despite Figure 1 Nodes configured to communicate according to a 5G communication protocol are depicted, but nodes configured to communicate according to other communication protocols (such as, for example, LTE protocols) may be used. Such nodes configured to communicate using different protocols may be controlled at least in part by the 5GCN 150. Thus, the NG-RAN 112 may include any combination of gNBs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) supporting LTE, or other types of base stations or access points. As an example, the NG-RAN 112 may include one or more next generation eNBs (ng-eNBs) 114 that provide LTE wireless access to the UE 105 and may be connected to entities in the 5GCN 150, such as the AMF 154.

[0059] The gNB 110 and / or ng-eNB 114 may communicate with an access and mobility management function (AMF) 154, which communicates with a location management function (LMF) 152 for location determination functions. The AMF 154 may support mobility of the UE 105, including cell changes and handovers, and may participate in supporting signaling connections to the UE 105, and may assist in establishing and releasing protocol data unit (PDU) sessions for the UE 105. Other functions of the AMF 154 may include: terminating the control plane (CP) interface from the NG-RAN 112; terminating the non-access stratum (NAS) signaling connection, NAS ciphering and integrity protection from a UE such as the UE 105; registration management; connection management; reachability management; mobility management; access authentication and authorization.

[0060] The LMF 152 may support location determination of the UE 105 when the UE 105 accesses the NG-RAN 112, and may support location determination procedures / methods such as Assisted GNSS (A-GNSS), Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA), Real-Time Kinematics (RTK), Precise Point Position Determination (PPP), Differential GNSS (DGNSS), Enhanced Cell ID (ECID), Angle of Arrival (AOA), Angle of Departure (AOD), WLAN location determination, and / or other location determination methods. The LMF 152 may also process, for example, a location service request for the UE 105 received from the AMF 154. In some embodiments, a node / system implementing the LMF 152 may additionally or alternatively implement other types of location support modules, such as an Enhanced Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC) or a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (SLP). It will be noted that in some embodiments, at least a portion of the location functions (including the derivation of the location of the UE 105) may be performed at the UE 105 (e.g., using signal measurements of signals sent by wireless nodes and assistance data provided to the UE 105).

[0061] In the case of an AMF-based positioning solution, the GMLC 155 may support positioning requests for the UE 105 received from the external client 130, and may forward such positioning requests to the serving AMF 154 of the UE 105. The AMF 154 may then forward the positioning request to the LMF 152, which may obtain one or more position estimates of the UE 105 (e.g., according to the request from the external client 130), and may return the position estimate(s) to the AMF 154, which may return the position estimate(s) to the external client 130 via the GMLC 155. In an alternative LMF-based positioning solution, the GMLC 155 may forward the positioning request received from the external client 130 directly to the LMF 152, thereby bypassing and not impacting the serving AMF 154. Then, similar to an AMF-based positioning solution, the LMF 152 may obtain one or more position estimates for the UE 105 and may return the position estimate(s) directly to the GMLC 155, which may return the position estimate(s) to the external client 130 (just as with an AMF-based positioning solution).

[0062] For an AMF-based positioning solution or an LMF-based positioning solution, the GMLC 155 may contain subscription information for the external client 130, and may authenticate and authorize positioning requests for the UE 105 from the external client 130, and verify support for any privacy requirements of the UE 105. The GMLC 155 may further initiate a positioning session for the UE 105 by sending a positioning request for the UE 105 to the AMF 154 or the LMF 152 (e.g., depending on whether an AMF-based or LMF-based positioning solution is used), and may include in the positioning request an identity of the UE 105 and the type of positioning being requested (e.g., such as a current positioning or a series of periodic or triggered positioning).

[0063] like Figure 1 As further shown in FIG. 1 , LMF 152 and gNB 110 may communicate using a new radio position determination protocol A (which may be referred to as NRPPa). NRPPa may be defined in 3GPP TS 38.455 and may be similar to or an extension of LTE position determination protocol A (LPPa) defined in 3GPP TS 36.455, wherein NRPPa messages are transmitted between gNB 110 and LMF 152 via AMF 154. Figure 1As further shown in , the LMF 152 and the UE 105 may communicate using the LTE Position Determination Protocol (LPP) defined in 3GPP TS 36.355 (and / or in 3GPP TS 37.355), wherein LPP messages are transmitted between the UE 105 and the LMF 152 via the serving AMF 154 and the serving gNB 110-1 of the UE 105. For example, the LPP messages may be transmitted between the LMF 152 and the AMF 154 using a transport protocol (e.g., based on IP) or a service-based operation (e.g., using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)), and may be transmitted between the AMF 154 and the UE 105 using a 5G Non-Access Stratum (NAS) protocol. The LPP protocol may be used to support position determination of the UE 105 using UE-assisted and / or UE-based position determination methods, such as Assisted-GNSS (A-GNSS), Real-Time Kinematics (RTK), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA), AOA, AOD, RTT, and / or Enhanced Cell Identity (ECID). The NRPPa protocol may be used to support position determination of the UE 105 using a network-based position determination method, such as ECID, when used with measurements obtained by or received from the gNB 110 from the UE 105, and / or may be used by the LMF 152 to obtain position-related information from the gNB 110, such as parameters defining a position determination reference signal (PRS) transmission from the gNB 110 and position coordinates of the gNB 110 to support OTDOA.

[0064] Using the UE-assisted location determination method, the UE 105 can obtain location measurements (e.g., measurements of RSSI, RTT, RSTD, RSRP, and / or RSRQ of the gNB 110, ng-eNB 114, or WLAN AP, or measurements of GNSS pseudorange, code phase, and / or carrier phase of the SV 190) and send the measurements to a positioning server (e.g., LMF 152) to calculate a location estimate of the UE 105. Using the UE-based location determination method, the UE 105 can obtain location measurements (e.g., which can be the same or similar to the location measurements of the UE-assisted location determination method) and can calculate the location of the UE 105 (e.g., with the assistance data received from a positioning server such as LMF 152 or broadcast by the gNB 110, ng-eNB 114, or other base station or AP). Using a network-based location determination method, one or more base stations (e.g., gNB110 and / or ng-eNB 114) or APs can obtain location measurement results (e.g., measurement results of RSSI, RTT, RSRP, RSRQ, AOA, or TOA of a signal sent by UE 105) and / or can receive measurement results obtained by UE 105, and can send the measurement results to a positioning server (e.g., LMF 152) to calculate a location estimate of UE 105.

[0065] The information provided by the gNB 110 to the LMF 152 using NRPPa may include timing and configuration information for PRS transmission and the location coordinates of the gNB 110. The LMF 152 may then provide some or all of this information to the UE 105 via the NG-RAN 112 and 5GCN 150 as assistance data in an LPP message.

[0066] Depending on the desired functionality, the LPP message sent from the LMF 152 to the UE 105 may instruct the UE 105 to perform various operations. For example, the LPP message may contain instructions for the UE 105 to obtain measurements of GNSS (or A-GNSS), WLAN, and / or OTDOA (or some other location determination method). In the case of OTDOA, the LPP message may instruct the UE 105 to obtain one or more measurements (e.g., RSTD measurements) of PRS signals transmitted within a particular cell supported by a particular gNB 110 (or supported by one or more ng-eNBs 114 or eNBs). The UE 105 may send the measurements back to the LMF 152 in the form of an LPP message (e.g., within a 5G NAS message) via the serving gNB 110-1 and the AMF 154.

[0067] In some embodiments, LPP may be enhanced or replaced by a NR or NG location determination protocol (NPP or NRPP) or by a multi-RAT location determination protocol (MRPP) that supports location determination methods such as OTDOA and ECID for NR radio access and location determination methods for other access types such as WLAN. For example, an LPP message may contain an embedded NPP message or may be replaced by an NPP or MRPP message.

[0068] When the NG-RAN 112 includes one or more ng-eNBs 114, the ng-eNB 114 may communicate with the LMF 152 using NRPPa to support position determination for the UE 105 (e.g., using a network-based position determination method) and / or may allow LPP, NPP, and / or MRPP messages to be transmitted between the UE 105 and the LMF 152 via the ng-eNB 114 and the AMF 154. The ng-eNB 114 and / or the gNB 110 in the NG-RAN 112 may also broadcast position determination assistance data to UEs such as the UE 105.

[0069] As shown, a unified data management (UDM) 156 may be connected to the GMLC 155. The UDM 156 is similar to a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) for LTE access, and if desired, the UDM 156 may be combined with the HSS. The UDM 156 is a central database that contains user-related and subscription-related information for the UE 105, and may perform the following functions: UE authentication, UE identification, access authorization, registration and mobility management, subscription management, and short message service management. Additionally, the GMLC 155 may be connected to a Location Retrieval Function (LRF) 157 that handles the retrieval of location information for the UE 105, and may be used to provide location information for the UE 105 to an external client 130 that is a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP), such as following an emergency call from the UE 105 to the PSAP.

[0070] To support services including location services for Internet of Things (IoT) UEs from external clients 130, a network exposure function (NEF) 159 may be included in the 5GCN 150. The NEF 159 may support the secure exposure of capabilities and events related to the 5GCN 150 and the UE 105 to the AF 163, and may enable secure provision of information from the AF 163 to the 5GCN 150. In the context of location services, the NEF 159 may be used to obtain the current location or last known location of the UE 105, may obtain an indication of a change in location of the UE 105, or obtain an indication of when the UE 105 becomes available (or reachable). The NEF 159 may be connected to the GMLC 155 to support the last known location, current location, and / or delayed periodicity and triggered location of the UE 105. If desired, the NEF 159 may include the GMLC 155, or may be combined with the GMLC 155, and may then obtain the location information of the UE 105 directly from the LMF 152 (e.g., it may be connected to the LMF 152). For example, the NEF 159 may replace the HGMLC 155H or may be combined with the HGMLC 155H. The NEF 159 may also be connected to the AMF 154, which may allow the NEF 159 to request location-related information of the UE 105 from the AMF 154. In some embodiments, the NEF 159 may choose whether to obtain location-related information of the UE 105 (e.g., the current location estimate of the UE 105 or a series of periodic or triggered location estimates of the UE 105) by sending a positioning request to the GMLC 155 (the GMLC 155 may then forward the positioning request to the AMF 154 or the LMF 152) or by sending a positioning request (or a location subscription request) to the AMF 154.

[0071] As previously described, the AMF-based positioning solution uses the AMF as the primary anchor point for the positioning service of the target UE. In the context of the communication system 100, this would mean using the serving AMF 154 as the primary anchor point for obtaining one or more locations of the UE 105. The AMF-based solution may then require that all positioning requests of the UE 105 pass through, and be managed and coordinated by, the AMF 154. On the other hand, the LMF-based positioning may require that all positioning requests pass through, and be managed and coordinated by, the LMF in the serving 5GCN of the target UE. In the context of the communication system 100, this would mean using the LMF 152 as the primary anchor point for obtaining one or more locations of the UE 105. Compared to the AMF-based solution, the LMF-based solution may have little positioning-specific impact on the serving AMF. Compared to the AMF-based solution, the LMF-based solution can further improve the allocation of positioning-related functions by mainly affecting positioning-related entities (such as LMF 152 and GMLC 155) in the context of the communication system 100, and by not affecting (or not significantly affecting) entities that are not dedicated to positioning support (such as AMF 154). For a single positioning of a target UE 105, for example, using a mobile terminal location request (MT-LR), a mobile originated location request (MO-LR), or a network induced location request (NI-LR) (e.g., as defined in 3GPP TS 23.271), the AMF-based and LMF-based solutions may have similar overall efficiency (e.g., similar signaling and processing requirements). However, since the AMF-based solution works better with the current EPC positioning solution for LTE access defined in 3GPP TS 23.271, 3GPP has selected the AMF-based positioning solution to support emergency call positioning for 5G wireless access.

[0072] For multiple position estimates of a target UE 105 based on periodic or triggered events, an LMF-based solution may be more efficient than an AMF-based solution in terms of requiring less signaling and processing and using fewer network entities and network interfaces. This may be the result of avoiding the transmission of the UE 105's positioning request and subsequent position estimate through the serving AMF 154, and avoiding the establishment and release of positioning sessions between the AMF 154 and the LMF 152 for each periodic or triggered position of the UE 105 that needs to be obtained. Therefore, the LMF-based solution may be an advanced solution for supporting 5G commercial positioning, especially in cases where multiple positioning of the target UE 105 is required. However, the LMF-based solution may not be compatible with the current EPC positioning solution for LTE access or the AMF-based solution defined for emergency calls for 5G wireless access.

[0073] From an efficiency perspective, and as previously described, there may be little difference between an AMF-based solution and an LMF-based solution for a single positioning of a target UE using MT-LR, MO-LR, or NI-LR. Therefore, an AMF-based solution may be used to support a single positioning of a target UE 105 for commercial applications, because efficiency may not be reduced, and the solution may be coordinated with the current EPC positioning solution for LTE access in 3GPP TS 23.271, as well as with the selected solution for emergency calls in 5G.

[0074] With respect to periodic and triggered positioning, for example, for commercial applications, and as previously described, an LMF-based solution may be superior to an AMF-based solution because it may minimize the number of network functions (NFs) involved in each positioning event report of the target UE 105 and the number of reference points to which the positioning event report may need to be sent, thereby improving efficiency. Since positioning event reports may consume a large amount of the overall resource utilization for periodic or triggered positioning requests, it may be desirable to use aspects of the LMF-based solution to optimize this part of the process, while the part of the process involving initiating a positioning request and activating the positioning request in the target UE 105 is only performed once and may therefore be less likely to require optimization, and therefore aspects of the AMF-based solution may be retained. Therefore, in order to maintain consistency with current EPC positioning solutions and AMF-based positioning solutions defined to support emergency calls for 5G wireless access, the positioning solution for periodic and triggered positioning may combine elements of an LMF-based solution that supports efficient reporting of positioning events with elements of an AMF-based solution that supports establishing a positioning session with the target UE 105. The resulting positioning solution is referred to herein as a "combined AMF and LMF-based solution" (or as a "combined AMF and LMF solution", "combined AMF and LMF positioning solution" or "combined AMF and LMF-based positioning solution"). The solution can be used to support periodic positioning of the target UE 105 and triggered positioning of the target UE 105 (for example, for trigger events, such as the target UE 105 entering, leaving or remaining in a certain target area or the movement of the target UE 105 exceeds a threshold straight-line distance). The resulting positioning solution can also be used to support positioning of the target UE 105 when the UE 105 first becomes available (or reachable) from the 5G network. These types of positioning are generally referred to as "delayed positioning" of the target UE 105 because the (one or more) positions generally appear at some time (for example, a few minutes or hours) after the external client 130 sends the positioning request, and therefore it is not the current position when the positioning request occurs. The combined AMF and LMF-based solution is further described below.

[0075] The combined AMF and LMF positioning solution uses at a high level elements from the AMF-based solution to initiate and establish delayed (e.g., periodic and triggered) positioning sessions, and uses elements from the LMF-based solution to obtain and report individual positioning events. The combined AMF and LMF positioning solution is fully compatible with the AMF-based solution defined for positioning of UEs with emergency calls and with commercial AMF-based solutions for single UE positioning.

[0076] Figure 2 Shown with Figure 1 The communication system 200 is similar to the communication system 100 but supports positioning for roaming UE 105. Similar to the communication system 100, the communication system 200 can provide roaming support for AMF-based positioning solutions, LMF-based positioning solutions, and combined AMF and LMF-based positioning solutions.

[0077] In the communication system 200, the core network 5GCN 150-1 that communicates with the UE 105 via the NG-RAN 112 is a visited network, i.e., a visited public land mobile network (VPLMN), which communicates with the home network 5GCN (i.e., a home public land mobile network (HPLMN)) 140-1. In the communication system 200, the VPLMN 5GCN 150-1 includes a location management function (LMF) 152V. In addition to the contents discussed below, the LMF 152V performs operations related to Figure 1 The VPLMN 5GCN 150-1 also includes a Visited Gateway Mobile Location Center (VGMLC) 155V, which is similar to the LMF 152 in the non-roaming communication system of the UE 105, but is designated as LMF 152V to indicate that it is located in the visited network of the UE 105. Figure 1 The GMLC 155 in the non-roaming communication system of UE 105 is designated as 155V to indicate that it is located in the visited network of UE 105. Figure 2 As shown in FIG. 1 , VGMLC 155V is connected to AMF 154, LMF 152V and LRF 157 in VPLMN5GCN 150-1.

[0078] As shown, the HPLMN 5GCN 140-1 may include a home GMLC (HGMLC) 155H, which may be connected to the VGMLC 155V (eg, via the Internet). Figure 2 ), HGMLC 155H may be connected to AMF 154 and / or LMF 152V (e.g., via the Internet), and in this case may not always be connected to VGMLC 155V. HGMLC 155H may be similar to Figure 1155H to indicate that it is located in the home network of UE 105. VGMLC 155V and HGMLC 155H are sometimes collectively referred to herein as GMLC 155. HGMLC 155H communicates with external client 130 and UDM 156 and LRF 147 in HPLMN 140-1. LRF 147 may also communicate with external client 130 and may perform similar functions as LRF 157. HGMLC 155H may provide location access to UE 105 on behalf of an external client such as external client 130. One or more of HGMLC 155H and LRF 147 may be connected to external client 130, for example, via another network such as the Internet. In some cases, a UE located in another PLMN ( Figure 2 The requesting GMLC (RGMLC) in the HGMLC 155H (not shown) can be connected to the HGMLC 155H (e.g., via the Internet) to provide location access to the UE 105 on behalf of an external client connected to the RGMLC. The HPLMN 5GCN 140-1 also includes an NEF 159, which can correspond to the NEF 159 in the communication system 100 and can be connected to the HGMLC 155H, the AMF 154 and / or the AF 163.

[0079] It should be noted that the abbreviations HGMLC and H-GMLC herein both refer to home GMLC. Similarly, the abbreviations VGMLC and V-GMLC herein both refer to access GMLC.

[0080] Figure 3 Another communication system 300 is shown, which is similar to Figure 2 , and provides alternative positioning support for roaming UE 105. Similar to communication systems 100 and 200, communication system 300 can provide roaming support for AMF-based positioning solutions, LMF-based positioning solutions, and combined AMF and LMF-based positioning solutions.

[0081] However, in the communication system 300, the LMF 152H is located in the HPLMN 5GCN 140-2 as opposed to the VPLMN 5GCN 150-2. In the case of an AMF-based positioning solution or a combined AMF and LMF positioning solution, the HGMLC 155H may select the LMF 152H in the HPLMN 5GCN 140-2 and may provide the address of the LMF 152H to the AMF 154 in the VPLMN 5GCN 150-2. The LMF 152H may perform communication with Figure 1The LMF 152 in the non-roaming communication system 100 and the LMF 152V in the roaming communication system 200 have the same or similar functions and operations, but are designated as LMF 152H to indicate that they are located in the home network of the UE 105. The LMFs 152, 152V, and 152H are sometimes collectively referred to herein as LMF 152. Figure 3 As shown in FIG. 1 , HGMLC 155H is connected to LMF 152H. HGMLC 155H and LMF 152H are also connected to AMF 154 in VPLMN 5GCN 150-2 (e.g., via the Internet). HGMLC 155H is also connected to UDM 156, LRF 147, and NEF 159 in HPLMN 140-2 and provides access on behalf of external client 130.

[0082] exist Figure 1-3 The interfaces (also referred to as reference points) labeled Le, N2, Nm (where m is a number), and NLn (where n is a number) in the NL2 interface may be interfaces (or reference points) that support control plane signaling, and they may be associated with control plane protocols used on one or more interfaces (or reference points) to support control plane signaling. For example, a control plane protocol based on HTTP and supporting service-based operations may be used between the AMF 154 and the GMLC 155 on the NL2 interface and between the LMF 152 and the AMF 154 on the NL1 interface. Similarly, the NAS control plane protocol may be used between the AMF 154 and the UE 105 on the N1 interface, the CP NG Application Protocol (NGAP) may be used between the AMF 154 and the gNB 110 or ng-eNB 114 on the N2 interface, the CP LPP or NPP protocol may be used between the UE 105 and the LMF 152, and the CP Supplementary Service Protocol (SSP, e.g., as defined in 3GPP TS 24.080) may be used between the UE 105 and the LMF 152 and / or between the UE 105 and the AMF 154.

[0083] As noted, although the communication systems 100, 200, and 300 are described with respect to 5G technology, the communication systems may be implemented to support other communication technologies, such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, WiFi IEEE 802.11, etc., which are used to support and interact with mobile devices such as UE 105 (e.g., to implement voice, data, location determination, and other functions). For example, in some embodiments, the non-3GPP interworking function (N3IWF, Figure 1-Figure 3150-2) connects 5GCN 150, 150-1 and / or 150-2 to WLAN. For example, WLAN can support IEEE 802.11 WiFi access for UE 105. Here, N3IWF can be connected to WLAN and other elements in 5GCN 150, such as AMF 154. Then, the combined AMF and LMF positioning solution described herein can operate the same or similar to the solution further described below, except that LMF 152 can no longer interact with NG-RAN 112 to obtain location-related information of UE 105, but instead can interact with UE 105 by sending and receiving LPP and / or NPP messages to UE 105 and from UE 105 via N3IWF and WLAN.

[0084] In other embodiments, the 5GCN cores 140-1 and 140-2 (collectively, 5GCN 140) and 150, 150-1, 150-2 (collectively, 5GCN 150) may be configured to control a different air interface, such as an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) including one or more evolved NodeBs (eNBs) in place of the gNB 110. In some other embodiments, both the NG-RAN 112 and the 5GCNs 140, 150 may be replaced by other RANs and other core networks. For example, in an Evolved Packet System (EPS) supporting LTE access defined by 3GPP: UE 105 may access EPS instead of NG-RAN 112 and 5GCN 140 / 150; NG-RAN 112 may be replaced by E-UTRAN including eNBs replacing gNB 110 and ng-eNB 114; and 5GCN 140 / 150 may be replaced by an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) including a Mobility Management Entity (MME) replacing AMF 154, an Enhanced Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC) replacing LMF 152, and a GMLC that may be similar to or the same as GMLC 155. In such an EPS, the E-SMLC may use LPPa instead of NRPPa to send and receive location information to and from the eNB in ​​the E-UTRAN, and may use LPP to support location determination of the UE 105. Additionally, in some embodiments, a base station (e.g., similar to or based on gNB 110 or ng-eNB 114) may function as a location-only beacon and transmit signals (e.g., PRS) to assist in location determination for UE 105, but it may not be able to receive signals. As just described, EPS may be used to help support a combined AMF and LMF based positioning solution, such as described below for Fig.11As described above, in order to support mobility of UE 105 between 5GS and EPS.

[0085] A positioning solution using a combined AMF and LMF can avoid undesirable limitations of an AMF-based solution. For example, one limitation of an AMF-based solution may be that AMF 154 is used as an anchor point for positioning support, and AMF 154 needs to maintain state information for the positioning session. Therefore, after any inter-AMF handover or inter-AMF cell change of UE 105, the positioning session of the target UE 105 may need to be terminated. In addition, using AMF 154 as an anchor point for positioning support and requiring AMF 154 to maintain state information may have a significant impact on AMF 154 in terms of resource usage (e.g., processing and signaling) and / or implementation. Another limitation of an AMF-based positioning solution may be that some CP interfaces used by an AMF-based solution may not be removed by combining entities that perform similar functions (e.g., such as combining LMF 152 and GMLC 155 in the same 5GCN 150). Combining entities can reduce complexity, but is not feasible in all cases where an AMF-based solution is utilized. In addition, in the AMF positioning solution, location access from the HPLMN (e.g., HPLMN 5GCN 140) may require the LMF (e.g., LMF 152V) to be included in the VPLMN (e.g., VPLMN5GCN 150), and the LMF (e.g., LMF 152H) is not allowed to be included in the HPLMN, which may increase the impact on the VPLMN. Therefore, since the LMF 152V used to locate the UE 105 is located in the VPLMN 150 and may not be controlled by the HPLMN 140, customized HPLMN support for positioning (e.g., based on special needs of the UE 105 or the external client 130) may be limited. In addition, support for periodic or triggered positioning of UE 105 by an AMF-based positioning solution may require UE 105 and AMF 154 to support supplemental service signaling and procedures (e.g., to enable a Mobile Originated Location Request (MO-LR) to be used by UE 105 to report periodic or triggered positioning, as defined in 3GPP TS 23.271 for LTE access), which may add additional complexity to UE 105 and AMF 154.

[0086] If later in Fig. 9As shown in , the combined AMF and LMF positioning solution can be different from AMF-based positioning solutions and other positioning solutions because the LMF 152 can generally act as an anchor point for the positioning of the UE 105. One benefit of this is that there may be no need to abort the positioning session for the UE 105 after an inter-AMF handover or an inter-AMF cell change of the UE 105 because the same LMF 152 can be used as an anchor point for the positioning of the UE 105 both before and after the handover or cell change, and can therefore continue to support the positioning session. In addition, since the AMF 154 is no longer an anchor point for positioning support (except when the positioning session is first established), state information in the AMF 154 may not be required, and resource usage (e.g., processing and signaling) and / or implementation impact may be reduced. As another benefit, the LMF 152 may be combined with the GMLC 155 in the same 5GCN 150 or the same 5GCN 140, for example, to reduce complexity by avoiding the need to support an interface between the LMF 152 and the GMLC 155. Figure 3 As shown in , if the external client 130 accesses the HPLMN 5GCN 140 instead of the VPLMN 5GCN 150, then in the case of a roaming UE 105, the LMF 152H may be located in the HPLMN 5GCN 140. This may have several benefits, including: (i) allowing positioning support in the HPLMN 5GCN 140 to be more suitable for the subscription requirements of the UE 105 and / or the external client 130, and (ii) avoiding the need to support the NL3 interface between the HGMLC 155H and the VGMLC 155V. However, as Figure 2 As shown in , when the external client 130 accesses the VPLMN 5GCN 150 (for example, to make a positioning for an emergency call), the LMF 152V in the VPLMN 5GCN 150 can be used. In addition, support for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE 105 may not require the AMF 154 to support supplemental service signaling and procedures (for example, MO-LR), which can reduce the complexity of the AMF 154. The various benefits of these combined AMF and LMF positioning solutions are illustrated in the following exemplary message flows. Unless otherwise stated below, it can be assumed that the exemplary processes and techniques described below are applicable to the combined AMF and LMF positioning solutions of one or more of the communication systems 100, 200 and 300.

[0087] It may be ideal to use a service-based interface (SBI) architecture for 5GCN. Figure 4 An implementation of a non-roaming SBI based architecture 400 for a combined AMF and LMF delay location solution is shown. Figure 5Similarly, an implementation of a roaming SBI-based architecture 500 for a combined AMF and LMF delay location solution is shown. The non-roaming and roaming SBI-based architectures 400 and 500 may also correspond to a non-roaming communication system 100 (eg, Figure 1 ) and the roaming communication system 200 ( Figure 2 ), where like designated elements are identical. Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown in , the service-based interfaces for positioning services are identified as the service-based interface Ngmlc presented by the GMLC (e.g., GMLC 155, VGMLC 155V, and HGMLC 155H), the service-based interface Nlmf presented by the LMF (e.g., LMF 152), the service-based interface Nudm presented by the UDM (e.g., UDM156), and the service-based interface Namf presented by the AMF (e.g., AMF 154).

[0088] For the combined AMF and LMF location solution, not implemented through the service-based interface Figure 1-Figure 5 The reference points shown in may include, for example, N1 (a reference point between the UE 105 and the AMF 154 via the NAS); N2 (a reference point between the NG-RAN 112 and the AMF 154); and Le (a reference point between the GMLC 155 and the LCS client 130 (e.g., based on the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) Mobile Positioning Protocol (MLP)). The positioning solution implemented by the service-based interface (and usable by the combined AMF and LMF) Figure 1-Figure 5 The reference points shown in may include NL3 (a reference point between GMLC 155 and AMF 154); a reference point between GMLC 155 and LMF 152; NL1 (a reference point between AMF 154 and LMF 152); NL5 (a reference point between GMLC 155 and NEF 159); and NL6 (a reference point between GMLC 155 and UDM 156).

[0089] The combined AMF and LMF based solution can use certain service operations that 3GPP has defined for interfaces based on Namf and Nudm services to support the location of emergency calls. For interfaces based on Nlmf services (i.e. LMF SBI), three new service operations can be added as shown in Table 1.

[0090]

[0091] Table 1 - Nlmf service operations

[0092] For example, as shown in Table 1, the HTTP-based protocol defined in 3GPP TS 29.572 for supporting LMF service operations for an AMF-based positioning solution may be extended and used to support new LMF service operations.

[0093] Described below Figure 6-Figure 10 Exemplary details regarding the operation of a combined AMF and LMF based positioning solution are provided. For a single positioning request of a target UE 105, the solution may be identical to the AMF based positioning solution - for example, in the case of NI-LR or MT-LR as described in 3GPP TS 23.502 and TS 23.273. For a delayed positioning request of a target UE 105 (e.g., for periodic or triggered positioning of a target UE 105 or for positioning of a target UE 105 after the UE 105 becomes available), the solution may be as follows for Fig. 9 and Fig.10 Perform the operation as described. Figure 6-Figure 8 Exemplary operational details of a combined AMF and LMF based solution are provided, which details may also be common to both the AMF based solution and the LMF based solution. Figure 6-Figure 10 In the description of the process for locating or helping to locate the target UE 105, it is generally assumed that Figure 4-Figure 5 The communication systems 100, 200 and / or 300 and the SBI architecture shown in FIG.

[0094] Figure 6 A location determination procedure is shown, which is referred to herein as the UE-assisted and UE-based location determination procedure, used by the LMF 152 to support UE-based location determination, UE-assisted location determination, and the delivery of assistance data. The procedure is based on the use of the LPP protocol "LTE Position Determination Protocol (LPP)" defined in 3GPP TS 36.355 between the LPF 152 and the UE 105, although it may alternatively be NPP, MRPP, or LPP in combination with NPP. A prerequisite for the procedure may be that the serving AMF 154 has passed the UE 105 identifier, the AMF 154 identity, and optionally a correlation identity (ID) to the LMF 152. The UE identifier may be a Subscription Permanent Identifier (SUPI), a General Public Subscription Identifier (GPSI), or a 5G Temporary Mobile Subscription Identifier (5G-TMSI). As described below in Fig. 9 In stage 14, when AMF 154 notifies LMF 152 of a positioning request, or as Fig. 9At stage 25 of , when the AMF 154 transmits the positioning event report to the LMF 152, the UE identifier, the AMF 154 identifier, and optionally the correlation ID may be passed. If the correlation ID is passed to the LMF 152 by the AMF 154, the AMF 154 stores the correlation ID in association with the UE identifier (e.g., GPSI or SUPI) of the UE 105 and the identifier or identifiers of the LMF 152. It should be noted that the terms identity, identifier, and address may be the same and are used interchangeably herein.

[0095] exist Figure 6 In phase 1 of the LMF 152, the LMF 152 invokes the Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransport service operation to the AMF 154 to request that a downlink (DL) location determination message (e.g., an LPP message) be delivered to the UE 105. The service operation includes the DL location determination message and the UE 105 identifier or correlation ID (if received by the LMF 152). The downlink location determination message may request location information from the UE 105, provide assistance data to the UE 105, or query the capabilities of the UE 105.

[0096] In phase 2, if the UE 105 is in the connection management (CM) idle (IDLE) state, the AMF 154 initiates a network-triggered service request procedure defined in 3GPP TS 23.502 to establish a signaling connection with the UE 105.

[0097] In phase 3, AMF 154 forwards the downlink position determination message in a NAS transport message to UE 105. AMF 154 includes a routing identifier identifying LMF 152 (e.g., a global address of LMF 152, such as an IP address) or a correlation ID (if received in phase 1) in the NAS transport message.

[0098] In Phase 4, the UE 105 stores any assistance data provided in the downlink position determination message and performs any position determination measurements and position calculations requested by the downlink position determination message.

[0099] In phase 5, if the UE 105 is in the CM IDLE state, the UE 105 initiates a UE triggered service request defined in 3GPP TS 23.502 to establish a signaling connection with the AMF 154.

[0100] In stage 6, the UE 105 returns any location information obtained in stage 4 or any capabilities requested in stage 3 to the AMF 154 in an uplink position determination message (e.g., LPP message) included in a NAS transport message. The uplink position determination message may alternatively carry a request for additional assistance data. The UE 105 also includes the routing identifier or correlation ID received in stage 3 in the NAS transport message.

[0101] In phase 7, the AMF 154 invokes a Namf_Communication_N1MessageNotify service operation (LMF 152 in this example) to the LMF indicated by the routing identifier or correlation ID received in phase 6. The service operation includes the uplink location determination message and the UE 105 identifier received in phase 6. Phases 6 and 7 may be repeated if the UE 105 needs to send multiple messages in response to the request received in phase 3. Phases 1 to 7 may be repeated in order to send new assistance data and request additional location information and other UE capabilities.

[0102] Figure 7 A process called a network-assisted location determination process is shown, which may be used by the LMF 152 to support network-assisted and network-based location determination. The process may be based on the NRPPa protocol "NR Location Determination Protocol A (NRPPa)" defined in 3GPP TS 38.455 between the LMF 152 and the (R)AN 112. A prerequisite for the process may be that the serving AMF 154 has passed the UE 105 identifier, the AMF 154 identity, and optionally the correlation ID to the LMF 152, as Figure 6 The UE 105 identifier may be a SUPI, a GPSI or a 5G-TMSI.

[0103] exist Figure 7 In phase 1 of the present invention, LMF 152 invokes the Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransport service operation to AMF 154 to request that a network location determination message (e.g., an NRPPa message) be transmitted to a serving base station (e.g., gNB 110 or ng-eNB 114) of UE 105. The service operation includes a network location determination message and a UE 105 identifier or correlation ID. The network location determination message may request location information of UE 105 from (R)AN 112.

[0104] In phase 2, if the UE 105 is in the CM IDLE state, the AMF 154 initiates a network-triggered service request procedure defined in 3GPP TS 23.502 to establish a signaling connection with the UE 105.

[0105] In phase 3, AMF 154 forwards the network location determination message to the serving base station (e.g., gNB 110-1) in an N2 transport message. AMF 154 includes a routing identifier for identifying LMF 152 (e.g., a local or global address of LMF 152) in the N2 transport message.

[0106] In stage 4, the serving base station obtains any location information of UE 105 requested in stage 3.

[0107] In stage 5, the serving base station returns any location information obtained in stage 4 to the AMF 154 in a network location determination message (e.g., NRPPa message) included in the N2 transport message. The serving base station also includes the routing identifier received in stage 3 in the N2 transport message.

[0108] In stage 6, the AMF 154 invokes the Namf_Communication_N2InfoNotify service operation to the LMF 152 indicated by the routing identifier received in stage 5. The service operation includes the network location determination message and the UE 105 identifier received in stage 5. Stages 1 to 6 may be repeated to request other location information and other (R)AN capabilities.

[0109] Figure 8 A process for obtaining non-UE associated network assistance data is shown, which may be used by the LMF 152 to support position determination of one or more UEs such as the UE 105. The process may not be associated with a UE 105 positioning session. It may be used to obtain network assistance data from a base station such as a gNB 110 or ng-eNB 114. The process may be based on the NRPPa protocol "NR Position Determination Protocol A (NRPPa)" defined in 3GPP TS 38.455 between the LMF 152 and the (R)AN 112.

[0110] exist Figure 8In phase 1 of the present invention, LMF 152 invokes the Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransport service operation to AMF 154 to request that a network location determination message (e.g., NRPPa message) be transmitted to a base station (e.g., gNB 110 or ng-eNB 114) in (R)AN 112. The service operation includes a network location determination message and a target base station identifier. The network location determination message may request location-related information from (R)AN 112.

[0111] In phase 2, AMF 154 forwards the network location determination message in an N2 transport message to the target base station indicated in phase 1. AMF 154 includes a routing identifier for identifying LMF 152 (eg, a local or global address of LMF 152) in the N2 transport message.

[0112] In phase 3, the target base station obtains any location-related information requested in phase 2.

[0113] In phase 4, the target base station returns any location-related information obtained in phase 3 to the AMF 154 in a network location determination message (e.g., NRPPa message) included in the N2 transport message. The target base station also includes the routing identifier received in phase 2 in the N2 transport message.

[0114] In phase 5, the AMF 154 invokes the Namf_Communication_N2InfoNotify service operation to the LMF 152 indicated by the routing identifier received in phase 4. The service operation includes the network location determination message received in phase 4 and a possible target base station identity. Phases 1 to 5 may be repeated to request other location-related information from the (R)AN 112.

[0115] Fig. 9 The periodicity, triggering and delay of UE available positioning events for roaming or non-roaming UE 105 according to the combined AMF and LMF based positioning solution are shown. Fig. 9 The process illustrated in the example can support the mobility of UE105 within VPLMN 5GCN 150-1 and from 5GCN 150-1 to an EPC also belonging to VPLMN 150-1. References to (H-)GMLC 155H in the following description can be made to UE 105 such as Figure 2 155H when roaming as in the communication system 200 in FIG. 150 , or when the UE 105 is Figure 1 GMLC 155 is referred to when not roaming as in the communication system 100 in FIG.

[0116] exist Fig. 9 In stage 1a of the external location service client 130, or in Fig. 9 In phase 1b of , AF 163 (via NEF 159) sends a positioning request (also called LCS service request or LCS request) to (H-)GMLC 155H for positioning reporting of UE 105 for periodic, triggered or UE available positioning events. As an alternative to phase 1a, in Fig. 9 In phase 1b-1 of the LCS service, AF 163 sends the LCS service request to NEF 159. NEF 159 then forwards the request to (H-)GMLC 155H in phase 1b-2.

[0117] The positioning request sent in phase 1a or phase 1b (collectively referred to as phase 1) may include the target UE 105 identity, which may be a GPSI or SUPI. The positioning request may also include the required positioning service quality (QoS), such as the required positioning accuracy and / or response delay indication, the supported geographic area description (GAD) shape, and the LCS client 130 type. The (H-)GMLC 155 (for phase 1a) or NEF 159 (for phase 1b) may authorize the external client 130 or AF 163 to use the LCS service. In some cases, the (H-)GMLC 155H may derive the GPSI or SUPI and possibly the QoS of the target UE 105 from the subscription data or other data provided by the LCS client 130 or by the AF 163.

[0118] The LCS service request sent in Phase 1 (including Phase 1a or Phases 1b-1 and 1b-2) further provides the type of periodic or triggered positioning report being requested and related parameters. For periodic positioning, the LCS service request includes the time interval between consecutive positioning reports, the total number of reports, and may include positioning QoS. For area event reporting, the LCS service request includes details of the target area, whether the event to be reported is the UE 105 being inside, entering or leaving the target area, the duration of the event report, the minimum and maximum time intervals between consecutive event reports, the maximum event sampling interval, whether the position estimate (and the associated positioning QoS) should be included in the event report, and whether only one or more than one positioning report is required. If the target area is represented by a local coordinate system or a geopolitical name, the (H-)GMLC 155H can convert the target area into a geographic area represented by a shape defined in 3GPP TS 23.032. For motion event reports, the LCS service request includes the threshold linear distance, the duration of the event report, the minimum and maximum time intervals between consecutive event reports, the maximum event sampling interval, whether a position estimate (and associated positioning QoS) should be included in the event report, and whether only one or more than one positioning report is required.

[0119] exist Fig. 9 In Phase 2 of the UE-based positioning, the (H-)GMLC 155H may verify the UE privacy requirements by querying the UDM 156. If positioning of the target UE 105 is not allowed, the subsequent phases are skipped.

[0120] In phase 3, the (H-)GMLC 155H invokes the Nudm_UECM_Get service operation towards the home UDM 156 of the target UE 105 and includes the GPSI or SUPI of the UE 105 in order to obtain the serving AMF 154 address and optionally the VGMLC 155 address, as well as the current access type(s) of the UE 105.

[0121] Phase 4 may be skipped for non-roaming UEs 105. In Phase 4 for roaming UEs, the H-GMLC 155H obtains the V-GMLC 155V address (if not received in Phase 3) and invokes the Ngmlc_Provide location request service operation to forward the location request received in Phase 1 to the V-GMLC 155V. The H-GMLC 155H also includes the contact address of the H-GMLC 155H (referred to as the HGMLC contact address) (e.g., notification target address or uniform resource identifier (URI)) and the location delay request (LDR) reference number (also referred to as notification correlation ID) to be used in event reporting in Phases 20 and 29. The HGMLC 155H may also include requirements to notify the UE 105 of the location request and allow the UE 105 to accept or reject the location request.

[0122] In phase 5, the (H-)GMLC 155H or V-GMLC 155V invokes the Namf_Location_ProvidePositioningInfo request service operation to forward the positioning request received in phase 1 (for non-roaming) or phase 4 (for roaming) to the serving AMF 154 of the UE 105 and includes the HGMLC contact address and the LDR reference number. The (H-)GMLC 155H or V-GMLC 155V may also include a requirement to notify the UE 105 of the positioning request and allow the UE 105 to accept or reject the positioning request (e.g., if received in phase 4).

[0123] In phase 6-phase 8, if the AMF 154 supports the delayed positioning request, the AMF 154 returns an acknowledgement to the external LCS client 130 via the (H)GMLC 155H and V-GMLC 155V (in the case of roaming), thereby indicating that the request for delayed positioning is accepted. When using V-GMLC 155V, V-GMLC 155V can optionally release the resources used for the delayed positioning request at this moment.

[0124] In stage 9, if the UE 105 is currently unreachable (eg, using discontinuous reception (DRX) or power saving mode (PSM)), the AMF 154 waits for the UE 105 to become reachable.

[0125] It should be noted that when the UE 105 becomes reachable, in the event of movement of the UE 105 to another AMF or to the EPC, the old AMF 154 may return an event indication to the (H-)GMLC 155H, as in stages 19 and 20, and may contain the address of the new serving AMF or MME, if known. If the new serving AMF or MME is unknown, the (H-)GMLC 155H may repeat stage 3 to query the UDM 156 and / or the Home Subscriber Server (HSS) for the new AMF or MME address. If a new AMF address is received, the (H-)GMLC 155H may restart the process from stage 4.

[0126] It should be noted that if the AMF 154 decides to cancel the positioning request before the UE 105 becomes reachable (e.g. due to lack of AMF 154 resources or due to a timeout on the UE 105 becoming reachable), the AMF 154 skips Stage 10-Stage 18 and proceeds to Stage 19 to return an indication of positioning cancellation to the V-GMLC 155V or (H-)GMLC 155H.

[0127] In phase 10, once the UE 105 is reachable, if the UE 105 is then in the CM IDLE state, the AMF 154 initiates a network-triggered service request procedure as defined in 3GPP TS 23.502 to establish a signaling connection with the UE 105.

[0128] In phase 11-phase 12, AMF 154 notifies UE 105 of the positioning request and may allow UE 105 to verify the privacy requirement (if required by the positioning request received in phase 5 and if supported by UE 105). In the case of periodic or triggered positioning, AMF 154 includes the type of delayed positioning request in the notification to UE 105.

[0129] In stage 13, the AMF 154 selects the LMF 152. The selection may take into account the type of delayed positioning request (e.g., whether it is periodic or triggered) and any parameters of the delayed positioning request (e.g., the number and / or duration of event reports required).

[0130] In phase 14, the AMF 154 calls the Nlmf_Location_DetermineLocation request service operation to the LMF 152 to initiate a request for delayed UE positioning. For requests for periodic or triggered positioning, the service operation includes all information received in phase 4 or phase 5, including the HGMLC contact address and the LDR reference number. For requests for UE available positioning events, the H-GMLC contact address and the LDR reference number are not included. In all cases, the service operation includes the LCS correlation identifier, the AMF 154 identifier, the serving cell identity, the external client 130 or AF 163 type, and may include an indication of whether the UE 105 supports LPP, the required QoS, and the shape of the supported GAD.

[0131] In phase 15, LMF 152 can use Figure 6 The UE-assisted and UE-based location determination process, for Figure 7 The network-assisted location determination process and / or for Figure 8 The LMF 152 may perform one or more location determination procedures according to the process for obtaining non-UE associated network assistance data described above. During stage 15, the LMF 152 may request and obtain the location determination capabilities of the UE 105 (e.g., which may indicate the types of periodic and triggered positioning supported by the UE 105 and the access types supported by the UE 105 for event reporting). For example, for a request for a UE available positioning event, or when requesting an initial position for periodic or triggered UE positioning, the LMF 152 may also obtain the location of the UE 105. For a request for a UE available positioning event, the LMF 152 skips stages 16 and 17.

[0132] In phase 16, if periodic or triggered positioning is requested, the LMF 152 sends an LCS periodic-triggered invocation request to the UE 105 via the serving AMF 154 by invoking the Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer service operation. The LCS periodic-triggered positioning invocation carries the positioning request information received from the AMF 154 in phase 14, including the H GMLC contact address and the LDR reference number. The LCS periodic-triggered positioning invocation also includes a routing identifier (referred to as a delayed routing identifier), which may be the identity of the LMF 152 (also referred to as the "serving LMF") when the LMF 152 acts as an anchor LMF, or another default LMF identity. The LCS periodic-triggered positioning call may indicate, and optionally prioritize, the access types allowed for event reporting at stage 25 (e.g., one or more of NR, LTE connected to 5GCN, LTE connected to EPC, non-3GPP access (e.g., WLAN) connected to 5GCN), and may indicate certain location measurements (or location estimates) that are allowed or required for each positioning event reported at stage 23 (e.g., based on the location determination capabilities of UE 105 obtained in stage 15 and the allowed access types). As part of the NAS transmission of the LCS periodic-triggered positioning call from the serving AMF 154 to the UE 105, the serving AMF 154 includes a second routing identifier (referred to as the immediate routing identifier) ​​for identifying the LMF 152 in the NAS transmission message.

[0133] It should be noted that the delayed routing identifier may be global (e.g., an IP address or URI) or may be local. The delayed routing identifier is used for routing in phase 25. However, the immediate routing identifier included by the AMF 154 in phase 15 is used for routing in phase 17. The two routing identifiers may be the same or different - for example, they may be different when the delayed routing identifier is used for the default LMF or an LMF different from the current LMF.

[0134] In phase 17, if the request in phase 16 can be supported, the UE 105 returns an acknowledgement to the LMF 152, which is transmitted via the serving AMF 154 using the immediate routing identifier and passed to the LMF 152 using the Namf_Communication_N1MessageNotify service operation.

[0135] It should be noted that the LCS periodic-triggered positioning request sent in stage 16 and its confirmation in stage 17 can be a message for a location determination protocol (e.g., LPP) or can be a message for a separate protocol (e.g., supplementary service protocol). In the latter case, each message can carry an embedded location determination protocol message (e.g., LPP message) to enable the LMF 152 to request or allow specific location measurement results from the UE 105 in stage 23 and establish an initial positioning session for the location report in stage 25.

[0136] In stage 18, LMF 152 invokes the Nlmf_Location_DetermineLocation response service operation to AMF 154 in response to the request in stage 14. For requests for UE available positioning events, the response includes any UE location obtained in stage 15, and then LMF 152 releases all resources. For periodic or triggered positioning requests, the response includes any location obtained in stage 15, confirmation whether periodic or triggered positioning has been successfully activated in UE 105 according to stages 16 and 17, and the identity of LMF 152 (in the case of successful activation using a serving LMF). If LMF 152 acts as a serving LMF, LMF 152 also retains state information and resources for subsequent stages. If UE 105 cannot support requests for periodic and triggered positioning, the service operation returned to AMF 154 may include an appropriate error cause.

[0137] In phase 19, the AMF 154 invokes the Namf_Location_EventNotify service operation for the roaming V-GMLC 155V, or the Namf_Location_EventNotify service operation for the non-roaming (H-)GMLC 155H, and includes any location received in phase 18, and for periodic or triggered positioning, includes confirmation whether the periodic or triggered positioning has been successfully activated in the target UE 105. If V-GMLC 155V is used, it can be the same V-GMLC 155V used in phases 5 and 6, or it can be a different V-GMLC. In the case of using a different V-GMLC 155V, the AMF 154 includes the H-GMLC contact address and the LDR reference number. The AMF 154 also includes the LMF identity (if received in phase 18). The AMF 154 can then release all resources used for the positioning request and stop supporting the process.

[0138] For non-roaming UEs 105, stage 20 is skipped. In stage 20, for roaming UEs 105, the V-GMLC 155V forwards the response received in stage 19 to the H-GMLC 155H using the H-GMLC contact address received in stage 19 (for a different V-GMLC 155V) or the H-GMLC contact address received and stored in stage 4 (for the same V-GMLC 155V), and includes the LDR reference number and any LMF identification received. The V-GMLC 155V may then release all resources used for the positioning request and cease support for the procedure.

[0139] It should be noted that as an optional optimization for roaming UEs 105, instead of performing stages 19 and 20, the AMF 154 may invoke the Namf_Location_EventNotify service operation directly to the H-GMLC 155H (e.g., if V-GMLC 155V is not used, or if V-GMLC 155V stops being supported after stage 7).

[0140] In phase 21, the (H-)GMLC 155H forwards the response (via NEF 159) to the external LCS client 130 or AF 163. If the positioning request in phase 1 is for a UE available positioning event, the process terminates here and further phases 22-31 are not performed.

[0141] In stage 22, for a periodic or triggered positioning request that successfully performed stages 16 and 17, the UE 105 monitors the occurrence of the trigger event or periodic event requested in stage 16. For an area event or motion event, the UE 105 monitors the requested event at an interval equal to or less than the maximum event sampling interval. The UE 105 may detect an event trigger when any of the following occurs: (i) the requested area event or motion event has been detected and the minimum reporting time interval has passed since the last report (if this is not the first event report); (ii) the requested periodic positioning event has occurred; or (iii) the maximum reporting time for the area event or motion event has expired. When a trigger or periodic event is detected and if the UE 105 is resident on or connected to (or otherwise accessible to) an access type allowed by the LMF 152 in stage 16, the UE 105 enters stage 23. Depending on the requirements received from LMF 152 in stage 16, UE 105 may skip reporting the triggering event if it cannot access the allowed access type, or may report the triggering event at a later time when the allowed access type becomes available.

[0142] In stage 23, the UE 105 obtains any location measurements or location estimates requested or allowed in stage 16. If no location measurements or location estimates were requested in stage 16, stage 23 may be skipped.

[0143] It should be noted that obtaining a position estimate on request may also be applied to trigger events corresponding to expiration of a maximum reporting interval for an area event or a motion event.

[0144] In phase 24, if the UE 105 is in CM IDLE state, it performs a UE triggered service request as defined in 3GPP TS 23.502 to establish a signaling connection with the AMF 154.

[0145] In stage 25, the UE 105 sends an event report message to the LMF 152, which is transmitted via the serving AMF 154 (which may be different from the original serving AMF 154 for stages 14-16) and is delivered to the LMF 152 using the Namf_Communication_N1MessageNotify service operation. The event report may indicate the type of event being reported (e.g., a regular event or expiration of a maximum reporting interval) and include any location measurements or position estimates obtained in stage 23. The UE 105 also includes the delay routing identifier received in stage 16 in the NAS transport message used to transmit the event report from the UE 105 to the AMF 154. The AMF 154 then forwards the event report to the serving LMF 152 or any appropriate LMF based on whether the delay routing identifier indicates a specific LMF or any (default) LMF. The UE 105 also includes in the event report the H-GMLC contact address, the LDR reference number, whether a position estimate is to be reported, and, if so, the positioning QoS.

[0146] It should be noted that the AMF 154 may not include the LCS correlation identifier when forwarding the Event Report message to the LMF 152 at stage 25 (this is because the AMF 154 does not have the LCS correlation identifier). In order to let the AMF 154 know that the LCS correlation identifier is not required, the Delayed Routing Identifier sent by the LMF 152 at stage 16 and possibly reallocated at stage 26 (as described below) may indicate that the LCS correlation identifier is not used. For example, the Delayed Routing Identifier may include a flag, or may be selected from a different range of identifiers to the Immediate Routing Identifier sent by the AMF 154 at stage 16.

[0147] In stage 26, when LMF 152 receives the event report and if it can process the event report, LMF 152 returns an acknowledgement of the event report to UE 105. The acknowledgement may optionally include a new delayed routing identifier indicating a new serving LMF or a default (any) LMF. If UE 105 does not receive any response from LMF 152 after a predetermined time, UE 105 may resend the event report one or more times.

[0148] It should be noted that the event reports and confirmations sent in stages 25 and 26 may be messages for a location determination protocol (e.g., LPP) or may be messages for a separate protocol (e.g., Supplementary Service Protocol). In the latter case, the event reports of stage 25 may carry embedded UL location determination messages (e.g., LPP messages) to enable the UE 105 to include any location measurements or location estimates obtained in stage 23.

[0149] It should be noted that including a new delayed routing identifier in the event report confirmation of stage 26 can be used to change the serving LMF (e.g., if UE 105 moves to an area or access type that is better supported by a different LMF, or if serving LMF 152 is overloaded), or to cause the default LMF to become the serving LMF.

[0150] At stage 27, if the event report requires a position estimate, the LMF 152 may use Figure 6 The UE-assisted and UE-based location determination process, such as Figure 7 The network-assisted location determination process and / or Figure 8 The LMF 152 then uses the position measurements and / or position estimate(s) obtained at this stage and / or received at stage 25 to determine the UE position.

[0151] In stage 28, in the roaming case, the LMF 152 selects a V-GMLC 155V (which may be different from the V-GMLC 155V of stages 4-7 and 19-20), and the LMF 152 then invokes the Nlmf_EventNotify service operation to the selected V-GMLC 155V or (H-)GMLC 155H (if the UE 105 is non-roaming), with an indication of the type of event being reported, the contact address and LDR reference number of the H-GMLC, the identity of the LMF (if it is the serving LMF) and any position estimate obtained in stage 27.

[0152] It should be noted that in the case where the UE 105 is roaming, the LMF 152 may select the V-GMLC 155V for stage 28 using a network repository function (NRF) service or using configuration information in the LMF 152, or may use the same V-GMLC 155V as for stages 4-7 (e.g., if the LMF 152 acts as a serving LMF and receives the V-GMLC 155V address from the AMF 154 as part of stage 14).

[0153] Phase 29 is skipped for non-roaming UEs 105. In phase 29, for roaming UEs 105, the V-GMLC 155V invokes the Ngmlc_EventNotify service operation to forward the information received in phase 28 (e.g., including the type of event being reported, the LDR reference number and possible LMF identity) to the H-GMLC 155H, which identifies the request for periodic and triggered positioning from the LDR reference number.

[0154] It should be noted that as an optional optimization for roaming UEs 105, instead of performing stages 28 and 29, the LMF 152 may directly invoke the Nlmf_EventNotify service operation towards the H-GMLC 155H.

[0155] In stage 30, the (H-)GMLC 155H uses the LDR reference number received in stage 28 or stage 29 to identify the request for periodic and triggered positioning received in stage 1, and then sends the type of event being reported and any position estimate to the external LCS client 130 or AF 163 (via NEF 159). The (H-)GMLC 155H may also verify the UE privacy requirements before reporting the event and any position to the external LCS client 130 or AF 163.

[0156] In stage 31, UE 105 continues to monitor for other periodic or triggering events as in stage 22, and initiates stages 23-30 each time a triggering event is detected.

[0157] exist Figure 1-Figure 3In some embodiments of the communication systems 100, 200, and 300 in the NG-RAN 112, a positioning server (LS) may be included in the NG-RAN 112, for example as part of the gNB 110, or independent of one or more gNBs 110 but connected thereto. The positioning server in the NG-RAN 112 may be referred to as a location management component (LMC) or a local LMF. The LS in the NG-RAN 112 may receive a positioning request for the UE 105 from the AMF 154, for example via the gNB 110. The LS in the NG-RAN 112 may then initiate a positioning session with the UE 105 to transmit assistance data to the UE 105, obtain location measurements from the UE 105, and / or obtain a location estimate or a series of periodic or triggered location estimates for the UE 105. The techniques described herein for supporting delayed positioning of the UE 105 using a combined AMF and LMF based solution may be applied at least in part to the LS in the NG-RAN 112. For example, when Fig. 9 When the LMF 152 in the NG-RAN 112 is replaced by the LS in the NG-RAN 112, the above Fig. 9 The described process still applies, except that Fig. 9 Signaling messages exchanged between the UE 105 and the LS in the NG-RAN 112 in Phases 15-17 and 25-27 of the NG-RAN 112 may be exchanged via the NG-RAN 112 instead of via the AMF 154, and Fig. 9 The signaling messages exchanged between the VGMLC 155V (or HGMLC 155H) and the LS in the NG-RAN 112 in stage 28 of the 5GCN 150 may be exchanged via the AMF 154 (or some other AMF in the 5GCN 150) instead of the AMF 154 as in the 5GCN 150. Fig. 9 Direct exchange in.

[0158] Fig.10 shows the LMF 152 used when the service is used Fig. 9 and the movement of the target UE 105 results in a change of the serving AMF 154, where the original anchor LMF 152 is not suitable for the serving AMF 154. For example, the anchor LMF 152 may be very far away from the AMF 154, resulting in higher resource utilization for AMF 154 to LMF 152 signaling, or the serving LMF 152 may not be configured with information (e.g., cell database) of the current access network (e.g., serving and neighbor gNB 110, ng-eNB 114, and / or WLAN) for the UE 105 to achieve positioning of the UE 105. In this case, the serving LMF 152 may need to be changed. Fig.10 The current serving LMF 152 of the UE 105 is shown as Fig.10 In the case of LMF1152A, UE 105 Fig. 9 The process for implementing the change service LMF 152 is when sending the event report in stage 25 of the present invention. Fig.10 The prerequisites for the phase shown may have already been executed Fig. 9 1 to 23 in the process, and all stages in stage 22 to 30 may not have been executed or may have been executed or repeated.

[0159] exist Fig.10 In phase 1, UE 105 performs a service request (if necessary), such as Fig. 9 As in stage 24 of .

[0160] exist Fig.10 In phase 2, UE 105 sends a NAS transport message containing an event report message to serving AMF 154. The NAS transport message includes a delayed routing identifier indicating LMF1 152A. Phase 2 may correspond to Fig. 9 Part of Phase 25.

[0161] In stage 3, based on operator configuration and policy, AMF 154 may evaluate and determine that LMF1 152A is not suitable or cannot support positioning for the current UE 105 accessing the network or serving cell, and determine that LMF2 152B is a more suitable LMF.

[0162] In phase 4, the AMF 154 invokes the Namf_Communication_N1MessageNotify service operation to the LMF1 152A. The service operation includes the event report received in phase 2. If in phase 3 the AMF 154 determines that a new LMF2 152B should be used, an indication (e.g., identification) of the LMF2 152B should also be included in the service operation.

[0163] In stage 5, if AMF 154 does not indicate a new LMF2 152B in stage 4, LMF1 152A determines that it is not suitable for or cannot support positioning for the current UE 105 accessing the network or serving cell, and determines LMF2 152B as a more suitable LMF.

[0164] In stage 6, LMF1 152A calls the Nlmf_LocationContextTransfer request service operation to LMF2 152B to provide the current location context of UE 105 and include the event report message received in stage 4. The service operation also includes the AMF 154 identity and the location context originally received by LMF1 152A from (i) according to Fig. 9The service operation may also include the current status of event reporting (e.g., the number of event reports received from the UE 105 so far and / or the duration of event reporting so far), and may include location-related information of the UE 105, such as previous location estimates or location measurements.

[0165] In phase 7, LMF2 152B notifies LMF1 152A of the successful receipt and acceptance of the location context transfer operation. LMF1 152A then discards all information for the process and releases all resources used for the process.

[0166] In phase 8, LMF2 152B invokes the Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer service operation towards AMF 154 to request that an Event Report Confirm message be delivered to UE 105. The Event Report Confirm indicates the change of anchor LMF and includes a Delayed Routing Identifier indicating LMF2 152B.

[0167] In stage 9, the AMF 154 forwards the Event Report Confirmation to the UE 105 in a NAS Transport message.

[0168] In stage 10, if the event report requires a position estimate of UE 105, LMF2 152B may perform position determination of UE 105 and determine the position of UE 105, such as Fig. 9 as described in stage 27. Then, Fig. 9 The rest of the process can be obtained from Fig. 9 Phase 28 continues with LMF2 152B retaining state information to enable support for subsequent event reporting from UE 105.

[0169] Fig.11 The process of mobility for periodic or triggered positioning of UE 105 between the 5G system (5GS) and EPS is shown. Fig.11 The process of FIG. 1 shows the initiation and reporting of a positioning event for a delayed 5GC-MT-LR for a periodic or triggered positioning event according to a positioning solution based on a combined AMF and LMF, where event reporting using both 5GS and EPS is allowed. This process enables event reporting to continue in the presence of mobility of the UE 105 between the 5GS and EPS. Fig.11 In the present invention, the service EPS 1150 may be used in addition to or instead of the service 5G system (5GS) 1180. The service 5GS 1180 may correspond to Figure 1-Figure 3The NG-RAN 112 and 5GCN 150 in any one of the communication systems 100, 200 or 300 of the present invention. The EPS 1150 may be as described above and may include: (i) an E-UTRAN 1112 including an eNB, which may be used to replace the NG-RAN 112 including the gNB 110; and (ii) an EPC ( Fig.11 ), which includes an MME 1154 that can be used to replace the AMF 154, an E-SMLC 1152 that can be used to replace the LMF 152, and an access GMLC 1155V that can be similar to or the same as the VGMLC 155V.

[0170] exist Fig.11 In phase 1, you can execute Fig. 9 Delayed 5G C-MT-LR procedures for periodic or triggered positioning events in stages 1 to 21, except that in stage 16, the LCS periodic-triggered positioning call includes the E-UTRAN (or LTE) connected to the EPC in the allowed access types for event reporting, and may include location measurement results of the E-UTRAN RAT-dependent location determination method (e.g. ECID for E-UTRAN or OTDOA for E-UTRAN) for each positioning event detected.

[0171] exist Fig.11 In stage 2, UE 105 monitors the occurrence of triggering or periodic events, such as Fig. 9 When a trigger or periodic event is detected and if the UE 105 is camped on Fig. 9 When the UE 105 is connected to (or otherwise accessible by) an access type permitted by the LMF 152 in stage 16 of Fig.11 Stage 3.

[0172] In stage 3, UE 105 obtains Fig. 9 Any position measurements or position estimates requested at stage 16 of Fig. 9 If UE 105 can Fig. 9 16 in the access type allowed, access the 5GS access type with the same or higher priority as the E-UTRAN connected to the EPC, or if the E-UTRAN connected to the EPC is not available, the UE 105 proceeds to stage 4. Otherwise, if the UE can access the E-UTRAN connected to the EPC, the UE proceeds to stage 5.

[0173] In stage 4, UE 105 Fig. 9Delayed 5GC-MT-LR procedure for periodic or triggered positioning events in phases 24 to 30, using 5GS 1180 to report the event. Then skip Fig.11 Stage 5 - Stage 9.

[0174] In stage 5, UE 105 reports the event using the E-UTRAN connected to the EPC according to the procedures for periodic and delayed EPC-MT-LR for triggered positioning for EPS defined in 3GPP TS 23.271. Through this process, the following actions are performed: in action (i), if UE 105 does not already have a signaling connection, UE 105 obtains a signaling connection to E-UTRAN 1112 and MME 1154; in action (ii), UE 105 sends a Mobile Originated Location Request (MO-LR) call request to MME 1154 via E-UTRAN 1112, indicating an event report for a request for delayed periodicity and triggered positioning, and including the type of event being reported; in action (iii), if a position estimate is required, MME 1154 requests the location of UE 105 from E-SMLC 1152, E-SMLC 1152 obtains the location of UE 105 (e.g., using LPP and / or LPPa) and returns the location to MME 1154; and in action (iv), MME 1154 returns the MO-LR return result to UE 105 to confirm the event report. It should be noted that actions (i)-(iv) are not included in the Fig.11 , but may be as described in 3GPP TS 23.271 (which is a publicly available document). Additionally, in action (ii), UE 105 may include in the MO-LR call Fig. 9 The UE 105 may also include in the MO-LR call the LDR reference number, H-GMLC contact address, and any QoS and an indication of whether a location estimate is required, received from the LMF 152 in stage 16 of the MO-LR call. Fig.11 The H-GMLC contact address and LDR reference number of the 5GS 1180 may be backward compatible with the corresponding parameters of the EPS 1150, or may be converted by the UE 105 to parameters that are backward compatible with or identical to the parameters of the conventional delayed EPC-MT-LR for periodic and triggered positioning for EPS defined in 3GPP TS 23.271.

[0175] exist Fig.11 In stage 6, the serving MME 1154 selects a V-GMLC 1155V in the same network in case of roaming, and sends a V-GMLC 1155V for roaming or an H-GMLC 155H for non-roaming (in Fig.11The UE sends a subscriber location report (not explicitly shown) with an indication of the type of event being reported, any position estimate obtained at stage 5 action (iii) and other information received from the UE at stage 5 action (ii).

[0176] In stage 7, V-GMLC 1155V or H-GMLC 155H (not in Fig.11 1554) returns confirmation to MME 1554.

[0177] In phase 8, when the UE 105 is roaming, the V-GMLC 1155V forwards the information received in phase 6 to the H-GMLC 155H. The transmission of information to the H-GMLC 155H in phase 6 or phase 8 may use a protocol applicable to the EPS 1150, rather than a protocol applicable to the 5GS 1180.

[0178] In Phase 9, the H-GMLC 155H uses the LDR reference number received in Phase 6 or Phase 8 to identify the request for periodic and triggered positioning, and then sends the type of event being reported and any position estimate to the external LCS Client 130 or AF 163 (via NEF 159), as shown. Fig. 9 Stage 30 of the process.

[0179] In stage 10, the UE 105 continues to monitor for other periodic or triggering events as in stage 2, and as described above, initiates stage 3 and either stage 4 or stage 5-stage 9 each time a triggering event is detected.

[0180] Fig.11 The serving EPS 1150 in the 5GS 1180 may not maintain state information for requests for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE 105 (e.g., according to the procedures in 3GPP TS 23.271). This may allow the UE 105 to start and subsequently stop event reporting using the EPS without affecting the serving EPS 1150. In order to report via the 5GS 1180 when using the serving LMF 152, the serving LMF 152 may maintain state information for periodic or triggered positioning. However, the serving LMF 152 may assume that the UE 105 is unable to access the serving 5GS 1180 and may return event reports using the EPS 1150 when an event report is not received from the UE 105 at the expected periodicity for periodic reporting or after the maximum reporting time for a triggered event.

[0181] Fig.12 The process of UE 105 canceling delayed 5GC-MT-LR for periodic or triggered positioning events is shown. Fig.12The procedure enables UE 105 to cancel the delayed 5GC-MT-LR procedure for periodic or triggered positioning events (e.g., if UE 105 loses power or if the user of UE 105 wishes to cancel positioning). Assuming, for example, according to Fig. 9 In the process of stage 1 to stage 17 in the above, a delayed 5GC-MT-LR for a periodic or triggered positioning event has been initiated in the UE 105. If the network entity (e.g., (H-)GMLC 155, AMF 154 or LMF 152) cancels the delayed 5GC-MT-LR process for a periodic or triggered positioning event, the following Fig.13 A portion of the process for cancellation of the AF 163 or external LCS client 130 shown in FIG. 1 may be used to cancel the UE 105, while Fig.12 A portion of the process shown in FIG. 1 may be used to cancel to the AF 163 or external LCS client 130 .

[0182] exist Fig.12 In phase 1, if the UE 105 is in the CM IDLE state, it performs a UE triggered service request as defined in 3GPP TS 23.502 to establish a signaling connection with the AMF 154.

[0183] In phase 2, the UE 105 sends a cancel location request message to the LMF 152, which is transmitted via the serving AMF 154 and delivered to the LMF 152 using the Namf_Communication_N1MessageNotify service operation. The UE 105 includes the information originally sent in the NAS transport message used to transmit the cancel location request from the UE 105 to the AMF 154. Fig. 9 received during stage 16 of the process (or by Fig. 9 Stage 26 or by Fig.10 The AMF 154 then forwards the cancel location request to the serving LMF 152 or any suitable LMF 152, depending on whether the delay routing identifier indicates a specific LMF or any (default) LMF, respectively. The UE 105 also includes the H-GMLC contact address and the LDR reference number.

[0184] In phase 3, in case of roaming, the LMF 152 selects the V-GMLC 155V. The LMF 152 then calls the Nlmf_EventNotify service operation with an indication to cancel the location event report, the H-GMLC contact address and the LDR reference number to the selected V-GMLC 155V or (H-)GMLC 155 (if no V-GMLC 155V is selected). In case of roaming, the LMF 152 may select the V-GMLC 155V using NRF services or using configuration information in the LMF 152, or may use the same Fig. 9 The same V-GMLC 155V of Phase 4-Phase 7 (for example, if the LMF 152 acts as the serving LMF and receives the V-GMLC 155V address from the AMF 154 as Fig. 9 part of Phase 14).

[0185] For non-roaming UEs 105, phase 4 is skipped. In phase 4, for roaming UEs 105, the V-GMLC 155V invokes the Ngmlc_EventNotify service operation, thereby forwarding the cancel location request (including the LDR reference number) to the H-GMLC 155H, which identifies the request for periodic and triggered location from the LDR reference number. For roaming UEs 105, instead of performing phases 3 and 4, the LMF 152 may directly invoke the Nlmf_EventNotify service operation to the H-GMLC 155H.

[0186] In Phase 5 (including Phases 5a, 5b-1, and 5b-2), the (H-)GMLC 155 uses the LDR reference number received in Phase 3 or Phase 4 to identify the LDR in Fig. 9 The periodic and triggered positioning requests received in Phase 1 will then be forwarded to the external LCS Client 130 or AF 163 (via NEF 159).

[0187] In stage 6, for the roaming UE 105, the H-GMLC 155H returns an acknowledgement to the V-GMLC 155V.

[0188] In stage 7, the V-GMLC 155V or (H-)GMLC 155 returns an acknowledgement to the LMF 152.

[0189] In stage 8, LMF 152 returns an acknowledgement to UE 105 via serving AMF 154.

[0190] Fig.13The process of cancelling the delayed 5GC-MT-LR for periodic or triggered positioning events by the AF or external LCS client is shown. Fig.13 The procedure enables the AF 163 or the external LCS client 130 to cancel the delayed 5GC-MT-LR procedure for periodic or triggered positioning. Fig. 9 In the process of UE 105, a delay 5GC-MT-LR for periodic or triggered positioning events is requested until Fig. 9 At least stage 20.

[0191] exist Fig.13 In phase 1 of the present invention, including phases 1a, 1b-1 and 1b-2, the external LCS client 130 or the AF 163 sends a request to the (H-)GMLC 155 (via the NEF 159) to cancel the periodic or triggered positioning of the UE 105.

[0192] In phase 2, the (H-)GMLC 155H queries the UDM 156 to determine the serving AMF 154 address, such as Fig. 9 as in Phase 3 of .

[0193] In phase 3, for roaming UE 105, H-GMLC 155H obtains the address of V-GMLC 155V (if not received in phase 2), and calls Ngmlc_CancelLocation service operation, thereby forwarding the cancellation request to V-GMLC 155V. H-GMLC 155 also includes the H-GMLC contact address and LDR reference number in the request, as well as Fig. 9 The most recent LMF identifier received during phase 20 or phase 29 of the UEFI protocol (if either phase has occurred and included an LMF identifier).

[0194] In phase 4, the (H-)GMLC 155 or V-GMLC 155V invokes the Namf_Location_CancelLocation service operation to forward the cancellation request to the serving AMF 154 and includes the H-GMLC contact address, LDR reference number and LMF identity (if available).

[0195] In phase 5, if the LMF identity is included in phase 4, the AMF 154 forwards the cancellation request to the indicated LMF 152 by calling the Nlmf_CancelLocation service operation and includes the H-GMLC contact address and LDR reference number. Then, the LMF 152 stops supporting the location request and releases all resources used for the location request.

[0196] In stage 6, if the UE 105 is currently unreachable (e.g., it is using DRX or PSM), the AMF 154 waits for the UE 105 to become reachable.

[0197] In Phase 7, once the UE 105 is reachable, if the UE 105 is then in CM IDLE state, the AMF 154 initiates a network triggered service request procedure as defined in 3GPP TS 23.502 to establish a signaling connection with the UE.

[0198] In phase 8, AMF 154 sends a cancellation request to the target UE 105 and includes the H-GMLC contact address and LDR reference number. Then, UE 105 stops supporting the positioning request and releases all resources used for the positioning request.

[0199] In stage 9, UE 105 returns an acknowledgement to AMF 154.

[0200] In stage 10, AMF 154 supplies power to V-GMLC 155V or (H-)GMLC 155.

[0201] At stage 11, for the roaming UE 105, the V-GMLC 155V returns an acknowledgement to the H-GMLC 155H.

[0202] Fig.14 A process 1400 is shown illustrating a method for supporting a positioning service for a user equipment (UE), such as UE 105, performed by a first positioning server, such as an LMF (e.g., LMF 152), according to the combined AMF and LMF positioning solution discussed above. The process flow 1400 may begin at block 1402, where the first positioning server (e.g., LMF 152) receives a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from a first core network (CN) node in a wireless network, where the first CN node receives a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from another entity, such as a first entity. Fig. 9 At block 1404, a request for periodic or triggered positioning is sent to the UE, e.g. Fig. 9 In some embodiments, the request for periodic or triggered positioning sent to the UE at block 1404 may include an identifier of the first positioning server, an identifier of the default positioning server, and / or an identifier of another positioning server different from the first positioning server (e.g., Fig. 9 of stage 16).

[0203] At block 1406, a confirmation is received from the UE that periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE, e.g. Fig. 9In block 1408, a confirmation is sent to the first CN node that periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE, for example, as Fig. 9 as described in stage 18.

[0204] The CN node, the first positioning server, and the other entity may be part of a fifth generation core network (5GCN), and may be, for example, an access and mobility management function (e.g., AMF 154), a positioning management function (e.g., LMF 152), and a gateway mobile positioning center (e.g., GMLC 155V or GMLC 155H), respectively. In some embodiments, the other entity may be a HGMLC (e.g., HGMLC 155H), and the first CN node may receive a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from the other entity via a VGMLC (e.g., VGMLC 155V).

[0205] In some embodiments, the method may further include the first positioning server retaining information of the request for periodic or triggered positioning after sending a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE to the first CN node, for example, Fig. 9 The first positioning server may receive multiple periodic or triggered positioning event reports (also referred to as multiple event reports) from the UE, wherein each of the multiple periodic or triggered positioning event reports contains at least one of a location measurement result, a location estimate, a type of a detected triggering event, or a combination thereof, such as Fig. 9 The first positioning server may send a plurality of corresponding periodic or triggered positioning event reports to another entity, for example, Fig. 9 In these embodiments, the method may further include, at block 1404, including, in the request for periodic or triggered positioning sent to the UE, an instruction to send a positioning event report to the first positioning server (e.g., Fig. 9 of stage 16).

[0206] In some embodiments, the other entity may be a HGMLC (eg, HGMLC 155H), and the first positioning server may send a plurality of corresponding periodic or triggered positioning event reports to the other entity via a VGMLC (eg, VGMLC 155V).

[0207] In some embodiments where the first positioning server receives a plurality of periodic or triggered positioning event reports from the UE, the method may further include: receiving a periodic or triggered positioning event report (e.g., Fig.10In stage 4); sending a positioning context to the second positioning server, wherein the positioning context includes information of a periodic or triggered positioning event report and a periodic or triggered positioning request for the UE received from the first CN node (for example, Fig.10 and after sending the positioning context to the second positioning server, discarding the information of the periodic or triggered positioning request and releasing the resources used for the request (for example, Fig.10 In these embodiments, the first positioning server may determine the second positioning server (e.g., Fig.10 For example, the second positioning server may be more suitable for periodic or triggered positioning event reporting than the first positioning server. The second CN node may include the first CN node. The second positioning server may send the periodic or triggered positioning event report to another entity directly or via a VGMLC (e.g., VGMLC 155V).

[0208] In some embodiments, the first positioning server may determine the location of the UE in response to receiving a periodic or triggered positioning event report from the UE, and may include the location in a corresponding periodic or triggered positioning event report sent to another entity, such as Fig. 9 as described in stages 27 and 28 of this document.

[0209] In some embodiments, a plurality of periodic or triggered positioning event reports are received from the UE via a second CN node, which may be different from the first CN node, such as Fig. 9 as discussed in Stage 25.

[0210] In some embodiments, the process may further include the first positioning server discarding information of the periodic or triggered positioning request and releasing resources used for the request after sending a confirmation to the first CN node that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE, for example Fig. 9 In some embodiments, the process may include the first positioning server including an instruction to send a positioning event report to any positioning server (or to a default positioning server) in a request for periodic or triggered positioning sent to the UE, for example, Fig. 9 as described in stage 16.

[0211] In one embodiment, the first positioning server may determine the location of the UE in response to receiving a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from the first CN node, and may include the location in a confirmation sent to the first CN node that periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE, such as Fig. 9 as described in stages 15 and 18 of this document.

[0212] Fig.15 A process flow 1500 illustrating a method for supporting location services for a user equipment (UE), such as UE 105, is shown, the method being performed by a core network (CN) node, such as an AMF (e.g., AMF 154), according to the combined AMF and LMF location solution discussed above. Flow 1500 may begin at block 1502, where the CN node (e.g., AMF 154) receives a request for periodic or triggered location of the UE from another entity (e.g., GMLC 155, VGLMC 155V, or HGMLC 155H), such as a GMLC 155V. Fig. 9 as discussed in Phase 5.

[0213] At block 1504, the CN node sends a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE to a first positioning server in the wireless network, wherein the request for periodic or triggered positioning is sent by the first positioning server to the UE, and the UE confirms activation of the periodic or triggered positioning in the UE to the first positioning server, e.g. Fig. 9 In block 1506, the CN node receives confirmation from the first positioning server that the periodic or triggered positioning of the UE is activated in the UE, such as Fig. 9 At block 1508, the CN node sends a confirmation that periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE to another entity, such as Fig. 9 In block 1510, the CN node releases all resources used for requests for periodic or triggered positioning, wherein the UE will report multiple periodic or triggered positioning events to the second positioning server, and the second positioning server will report multiple periodic or triggered positioning events to another entity, such as Fig. 9 As discussed in Stages 19, 25 and 28 of .

[0214] The CN node, the first positioning server, the other entity, and the second positioning server may be part of a fifth generation core network (5GCN) and may be an access and mobility management function (e.g., AMF 154), a positioning management function (e.g., LMF 152), a gateway mobile positioning center (e.g., GMLC 155, GMLC 155V, or GMLC 155H), and an LMF (e.g., LMF 152), respectively. In some embodiments, the second positioning server may be the first positioning server, for example, Fig. 9 of stage 25.

[0215] In one embodiment, the other entity may be a HGMLC (e.g., HGMLC 155H), and the CN node may receive a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from the other entity via a VGMLC (e.g., VGMLC 155V). In this embodiment, the second positioning server may report a plurality of periodic or triggered positioning events to the other entity via a VGMLC (e.g., VGMLC 155V).

[0216] In one embodiment, the CN node may return an acknowledgment to another entity indicating that the request for periodic or triggered positioning is accepted, such as Fig. 9 The CN node may wait until the UE becomes reachable to the CN node before sending a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE to the first positioning server, for example, Fig. 9 as discussed in Stage 9.

[0217] In one embodiment, the CN node may receive at least one of a plurality of periodic or triggered positioning events from the UE, and may forward at least one of the plurality of periodic or triggered positioning events to a second positioning server, for example, Fig. 9 In some embodiments, at least one of the plurality of periodic or triggered positioning events may indicate to the second positioning server, for example, Fig. 9 In some embodiments, at least one of the plurality of periodic or triggered positioning events does not indicate a second positioning server, and the CN node may determine the second positioning server, for example, Fig. 9 as discussed in Stage 25.

[0218] In one embodiment, the request for periodic or triggered positioning received from another entity may include multiple parameters, and the CN node may include at least some of the multiple parameters in the request for periodic or triggered positioning sent to the first positioning server, such as Fig. 9For example, the plurality of parameters may include a contact address of another entity (e.g., an HGMLC contact address), a reference number (e.g., an LDR reference number), an indication of a first positioning server (e.g., an address or identifier of LMF 152), a type of positioning report (e.g., periodic positioning reports or triggered positioning reports for area events or motion events), a positioning quality of service (QoS), a maximum duration of an event report, a maximum number of event reports, inclusion of a request for a position estimate in an event report, a minimum and / or maximum time interval between consecutive event reports, a maximum event sampling interval, an indication of whether only one or more than one event report is required, or some combination of these parameters. In some embodiments, the plurality of parameters does not include an indication of a first positioning server, and the CN node may then determine the first positioning server, for example, Fig. 9 as discussed in Stage 13 of this document.

[0219] Fig.16 A process flow 1600 illustrating a method for supporting a positioning service for a user equipment (UE) (such as UE 105) accessing a wireless network is shown, the method being performed by the UE according to the combined AMF and LMF positioning solution discussed above. The process 1600 may begin with block 1602, where the UE receives a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from a first positioning server in the wireless network, the first positioning server receives the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from a first core network (CN) node, and the first CN node receives the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from another entity, such as a first core network (CN) node. Fig. 9 discussed in Stages 5, 14, and 16 of the .

[0220] At block 1604, the UE sends a confirmation to the first positioning server that periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE, such as Fig. 9 In block 1606, the UE detects a plurality of triggering events, such as Fig. 9 At block 1608, the UE sends, for each detected triggering event, a corresponding event report (also referred to as a periodic or triggered positioning event report) to the second positioning server, wherein each corresponding event report contains at least one of a location measurement result, a location estimate, a type of the detected triggering event, or a combination thereof, and wherein the second positioning server sends each corresponding event report to another entity, such as Fig. 9 discussed in Stages 25 and 28 of this document.

[0221] In some embodiments, the periodic or triggered positioning request received at block 1602 may include an identifier of the first positioning server, an identifier of a default positioning server, or an identifier of another positioning server different from the first positioning server (e.g., Fig. 9 of stage 16).

[0222] The first CN node, the first positioning server, the other entity, and the second positioning server may be part of a fifth generation core network (5GCN) and may be an access and mobility management function (e.g., AMF 154), a positioning management function (e.g., LMF 152), a gateway positioning mobility center (e.g., GMLC 155, VGMLC 155V, or HGMLC 155H), and an LMF (e.g., LMF 152), respectively.

[0223] In one embodiment, the other entity may be a HGMLC (e.g., HGMLC 155H), and the first CN node may receive a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from the other entity via a VGMLC (e.g., VGMLC 155V). In this embodiment, the second positioning server may send each corresponding event report to the other entity via a VGMLC (e.g., VGMLC 155V).

[0224] In one embodiment, the second positioning server may be the first positioning server, and the request for periodic or triggered positioning received from the first positioning server at block 1602 may indicate sending an event report to the first positioning server, such as Fig. 9 For example, the instruction to send the event report to the first positioning server may include the identifier or address of the first positioning server in the request for periodic or triggered positioning received in block 1602.

[0225] In one embodiment, the second positioning server may be different from the first positioning server, and then the request for periodic or triggered positioning received from the first positioning server may indicate sending an event report to any positioning server (eg, a default positioning server), such as Fig. 9 For example, the instruction to send the event report to any positioning server may include the identification of the default positioning server in the request for periodic or triggered positioning received in block 1602.

[0226] In one embodiment, the request for periodic or triggered positioning received from the first positioning server may include the contact address (e.g., HGMLC contact address) and the reference number (e.g., LDR reference number) of the other entity, and the UE may include the contact address and the reference number of the other entity in each event report sent to the second positioning server, such as Fig. 9 as discussed in Stage 25.

[0227] In one embodiment, a request for periodic or triggered positioning of a UE is received from a first positioning server via a first CN node, wherein for at least some of the detected multiple triggering events, a corresponding event report is sent to a second positioning server via a second CN node, wherein the second CN node is different from the first CN node, such as Fig. 9 as discussed in Stage 25.

[0228] Fig.17 A process flow 1700 illustrating a method for supporting location services for a user equipment (UE) such as UE 105 is shown, the method being performed by an entity (e.g., GMLC 155 or HGMLC 155H) in a wireless network according to the combined AMF and LMF location solution discussed above. Flow 1700 may begin at block 1702, where the entity receives a request for periodic or triggered location of the UE from an external client (e.g., external client 130 or AF 163), such as Fig. 9 as discussed in Phase 1.

[0229] At block 1704, the entity queries another entity in the wireless network (eg, UDM 156) for the address of a core network (CN) node (eg, AMF 154) associated with the UE, such as Fig. 9 At block 1706, the entity sends a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE to the CN node, wherein the CN node will send a request for periodic or triggered positioning to the first positioning server, wherein the first positioning server will send a request for periodic or triggered positioning to the UE, and wherein the UE will confirm the activation of the periodic or triggered positioning in the UE, such as Fig. 9 discussed in Stages 4, 5, 14, 16 and 17 of the .

[0230] At block 1708, the entity receives confirmation from the CN node that periodic or triggered positioning of the UE is activated in the UE, such as Fig. 9 In block 1710, the entity sends a confirmation to the external client that periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE, such as Fig. 9 In block 1712, the entity receives a plurality of periodic or triggered positioning event reports of the UE from the second positioning server, wherein each of the plurality of periodic or triggered positioning event reports contains at least one of a location measurement result, a location estimate, a type of a detected triggering event, or a combination thereof, such as Fig. 9At block 1714, the entity sends a plurality of corresponding periodic or triggered positioning event reports to the external client, such as Fig. 9 as discussed in stage 30.

[0231] The entity, the CN node, the first positioning server, the other entity, and the second positioning server may each be part of a visited fifth generation core network (5GCN) or a home 5GCN, and may then be a gateway mobile positioning center (e.g., GMLC 155, GMLC 155V, or GMLC 155H), an access and mobility management function (e.g., AMF 154), a positioning management function (e.g., LMF 152), a unified data management (e.g., UDM 156), and an LMF (e.g., LMF 152), respectively. In some embodiments, the second positioning server may include the first positioning server, such as Fig. 9 as discussed in Stage 25.

[0232] In some embodiments, the entity is a home GMLC (eg, HGMLC 155H), and at block 1706 sends a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE to the CN node via a visiting GMLC (eg, VGMLC 155V), for example, for Fig. 9 In some embodiments, the entity is a home GMLC (e.g., HGMLC 155H), and receives a plurality of periodic or triggered positioning event reports of the UE from a second positioning server via a visiting GMLC (e.g., VGMLC 155V) at block 1712, such as Fig. 9 as described in stages 28 and 29.

[0233] In one embodiment, the entity may determine a first positioning server and may include the address of the first positioning server in a periodic or triggered positioning request sent to the UE of the CN node. Figure 3 communication system 300, which may occur when the LMF 152 is in the HPLMN 5GCN 140-2.

[0234] In one embodiment, the entity may receive a confirmation from the CN node indicating that the request for periodic or triggered positioning is accepted by the CN node, and may send a confirmation indicating that the request for periodic or triggered positioning is accepted by the CN node to the external client, such as Fig. 9 discussed in Stages 6, 7, and 8 of the .

[0235] In one embodiment, the entity may include multiple parameters in the request for periodic or triggered positioning sent to the CN node, such as discussed in stages 4 and 5. For example, the multiple parameters may include a contact address of the entity (e.g., HGMLC contact address), a reference number (e.g., LDR reference number), an indication of a first positioning server (e.g., an address or identifier of LMF 152), a type of positioning report (e.g., a periodic positioning report or a triggered positioning report for an area event or a motion event), positioning quality of service (QoS), a maximum duration of an event report, a maximum number of event reports, a request to include a position estimate in a positioning event report, a minimum and / or maximum time interval between consecutive positioning event reports, a maximum event sampling interval, an indication of whether only one or more than one positioning event report is required, or some combination of these parameters.

[0236] Fig.18 is a diagram showing LMF 1800 (such as Figure 1-Figure 3 1406. The LMF 1800 is a diagram of an example of a hardware implementation of an LMF 152 (shown in FIG. 1406). The LMF 1800 may be, for example, part of a wireless network such as a 5G core network (5GCN). The LMF 1800 includes, for example, hardware components such as an external interface 1802, which may be a wired or wireless interface capable of connecting to a GMLC (such as GMLC 155, VGMLC 155V, or HGMLC 155H) and an AMF (such as AMF 154). The LMF 1800 includes one or more processors 1804 and a memory 1810, which may be coupled to a bus 1806. The memory 1810 may contain executable code or software instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors 1804, cause the one or more processors 1804 to operate as a special-purpose computer programmed to perform the procedures and techniques disclosed herein (e.g., such as the process flow 1400).

[0237] like Fig.18As shown in the figure, the memory 1810 includes one or more components or modules, which, when implemented by one or more processors 1804, implement the methods described herein. Although the components or modules are shown as software in the memory 1810 that can be executed by one or more processors 1804, it should be understood that the components or modules can be dedicated hardware or firmware in or outside the processor 1804. As shown in the figure, the memory 1810 may include a positioning request receiving unit 1812, which enables one or more processors 1804 to receive and process a request for periodic or triggered positioning of a UE (e.g., UE 105) sent by a first core network (CN) node (such as AMF 154) in a wireless network via an external interface 1802. For example, the first CN node can receive a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from another entity (such as GMLC 155, VGMLC 155V or HGMLC 155H). The positioning request sending unit 1814 enables one or more processors 1804 to send a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE to the UE via the external interface 1802. The request for periodic or triggered positioning sent to the UE may include an indication that a positioning event report is to be sent by the UE to the LMF 1800. The request for periodic or triggered positioning sent to the UE may include an indication that a positioning event report is to be sent to any positioning server (e.g., any LMF).

[0238] The memory 1810 may include a confirmation receiving unit 1816 that enables the one or more processors 1804 to receive and process a confirmation from the UE that periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE via the external interface 1802. The memory 1810 may further include a confirmation sending unit 1818 that enables the one or more processors 1804 to send a confirmation that periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE to the first CN node via the external interface 1802.

[0239] The memory 1810 may include an information and resource unit 1820, which enables one or more processors 1804 to retain information of the request for periodic or triggered positioning (e.g., in the memory 1810) and resources used therefor, for example, after sending a confirmation to the first CN node that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE, when the request for periodic or triggered positioning sent to the UE includes an indication to send a positioning event report to the LMF 1800, or to discard information of the request for periodic or triggered positioning and release resources used for the request, after sending a confirmation to the first CN node that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE, for example, when the request for periodic or triggered positioning sent to the UE includes an indication to send a positioning event report to any positioning server.

[0240] The memory 1810 may include a periodic or triggered positioning event receiving unit 1822, which enables one or more processors 1804 to receive and process multiple periodic or triggered positioning event reports sent from the UE via the external interface 1802. The periodic or triggered positioning event report may, for example, include at least one of a location measurement result, a location estimate, a type of a detected triggering event, or a combination thereof. Multiple periodic or triggered positioning event reports may be received from the UE via the first CN node or via different CN nodes. The memory 1810 may further include a positioning reporting unit 1824, which enables one or more processors 1804 to send multiple corresponding periodic or triggered positioning event reports to another entity (e.g., GMLC 155, VGMLC155V, or HGMLC 155H) via the external interface 1802.

[0241] The memory 1810 may include a periodic or triggered positioning event receiving unit 1822 that enables the one or more processors 1804 to determine the location of the UE. For example, the location of the UE may be determined in response to receiving a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from the first CN node, and the location may be included in a confirmation sent to the first CN node that periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE. Additionally or alternatively, the location of the UE may be determined in response to receiving each periodic or triggered positioning event report from the UE, and the location may be included in each corresponding periodic or triggered positioning event report sent to another entity.

[0242] The memory 1810 may include a positioning context unit 1828, which enables the one or more processors 1804 to send the positioning context of the UE to the second positioning server via the external interface 1802, wherein the positioning context includes the positioning event report of the UE received from the UE via the CN node and the information of the periodic or triggered positioning request for the UE received from the first core network (CN) node. The information and resource unit 1820 can enable the one or more processors 1804 to discard the information of the periodic or triggered positioning request and release the resources used for the request after sending the positioning context to the second positioning server.

[0243] Depending on the application, the methods described herein can be implemented in various ways. For example, the methods can be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof. For hardware implementation, one or more processors can be implemented in one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, electronic devices, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, or combinations thereof.

[0244] For implementations involving firmware and / or software, the methods may be implemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, etc.) that perform the individual functions described herein. Any machine-readable medium that tangibly embodies instructions may be used to implement the methods described herein. For example, software code may be stored in a memory (e.g., memory 1810) and executed by one or more processor units (e.g., processor 1804), causing the processor unit to operate as a special-purpose computer programmed to perform the techniques and procedures disclosed herein. The memory may be implemented within the processor unit or external to the processor unit. As used herein, the term "memory" refers to any type of long-term, short-term, volatile, non-volatile, or other memory, and is not limited to any particular type of memory or a particular amount of memory, or the type of medium on which the memory is stored.

[0245] If implemented in firmware and / or software, the functions may be stored as one or more instructions or codes on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. Examples include computer-readable media encoded with data structures and computer-readable media encoded with computer programs. Computer-readable media include physical computer storage media. The storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such a computer-readable medium may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, semiconductor storage or other storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store the required program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer; the disks and optical disks used herein include compact disks (CDs), laser disks, optical disks, digital versatile disks (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray disks, where disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while optical disks reproduce data optically by lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0246] In addition to being stored on a computer-readable storage medium, instructions and / or data may also be provided as signals on a transmission medium included in the communication device. For example, the communication device may include a transceiver having a signal indicating instructions and data. Instructions and data are stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium (e.g., memory 1810) and are configured to cause one or more processors (e.g., processor 1804) to operate as a special-purpose computer programmed to perform the techniques and procedures disclosed herein. That is, the communication device includes a transmission medium having a signal indicating information for performing the disclosed functions. At a first time, the transmission medium included in the communication device may include a first portion of information for performing the disclosed functions, and at a second time, the transmission medium included in the communication device may include a second portion of information for performing the disclosed functions.

[0247] Thus, a positioning server (e.g., LMF 1800) capable of supporting positioning services for a user equipment (UE) may include a component for receiving a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from a first core network (CN) node in a wireless network, wherein the first CN node receives a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from another entity, which component may be, for example, an external interface 1802 and one or more processors 1804 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 1810, such as a positioning request receiving unit 1812. A component for sending a request for periodic or triggered positioning to the UE may be, for example, an external interface 1802 and one or more processors 1804 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 1810, such as a positioning request sending unit 1814. A component for receiving a confirmation from the UE that periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE may be, for example, an external interface 1802 and one or more processors 1804 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 1810, such as a confirmation receiving unit 1816. Means for sending confirmation to the first CN node that periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE may be, for example, the external interface 1802 and one or more processors 1804 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 1810 , such as the confirmation sending unit 1818 .

[0248] In one embodiment, the positioning server may include a component for retaining information of a request for periodic or triggered positioning after sending a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE to the first CN node, which may be, for example, an external interface 1802 and one or more processors 1804 with dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 1810, such as an information and resource unit 1820. A component for receiving a plurality of periodic or triggered positioning event reports from the UE, wherein each of the plurality of periodic or triggered positioning event reports contains at least one of a location measurement result, a location estimate, a type of a detected triggering event, or a combination thereof, may be, for example, an external interface 1802 and one or more processors 1804 with dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 1810, such as a periodic or triggered positioning event receiving unit 1822. A component for sending a plurality of corresponding periodic or triggered positioning event reports to another entity may be, for example, an external interface 1802 and one or more processors 1804 with dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 1810, such as a positioning reporting unit 1824. In some embodiments, the means for including an indication to send a positioning event report to a positioning server in a request for periodic or triggered positioning sent to a UE may be, for example, an external interface 1802 and one or more processors 1804 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 1810, such as a positioning request sending unit 1814. In one embodiment, the means for determining the position of the UE in response to receiving each periodic or triggered positioning event report from the UE may be, for example, an external interface 1802 and one or more processors 1804 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 1810, such as a position determination unit 1826. The means for including the position in a corresponding periodic or triggered positioning event report sent to another entity may be, for example, an external interface 1802 and one or more processors 1804 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 1810, such as a positioning request sending unit 1814.

[0249] In some embodiments, the means for sending the positioning context (e.g., information including the positioning event report and the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE received from the first CN node) to the second positioning server may be, for example, an external interface 1802 and one or more processors 1804 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 1810, such as a positioning context unit 1828. The means for discarding the information of the periodic or triggered positioning request and releasing the resources used for the request after sending the positioning context to the second positioning server may be, for example, an external interface 1802 and one or more processors 1804 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 1810, such as an information and resource unit 1820.

[0250] In some embodiments, the positioning server may include a component for discarding information of the request for periodic or triggered positioning and releasing resources for the request after sending a confirmation to the first CN node that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE, which may be, for example, an external interface 1802 and one or more processors 1804 with dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 1810, such as an information and resource unit 1820. The positioning server may include a component for including an indication of sending a positioning event report to any positioning server in the request for periodic or triggered positioning sent to the UE, which may be, for example, an external interface 1802 and one or more processors 1804 with dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 1810, such as a positioning request sending unit 1814.

[0251] In one embodiment, the positioning server includes means for determining the location of the UE in response to receiving a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from the first CN node, which may be, for example, an external interface 1802 and one or more processors 1804 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 1810, such as a location determination unit 1826. Means for including the location in a confirmation sent to the first CN node that periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE may be, for example, an external interface 1802 and one or more processors 1804 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 1810, such as a confirmation sending unit 1818.

[0252] Fig.19 is a diagram showing a core network (CN) node 1900 (such as Figure 1-Figure 3 1900 is a diagram of an example of a hardware implementation of an AMF 154 shown in FIG. 1900. The CN node 1900 includes, for example, hardware components (such as an external interface 1902) that can be connected to an LMF (such as Figure 1-Figure 3The CN node 1900 includes a LMF 152 as shown in FIG. 1 and a wired or wireless interface to a RAN or NG-RAN (such as NG-RAN 112) and to a GMLC (such as GMLC 155, VGMLC 155V or HGMLC 155H). The CN node 1900 includes one or more processors 1904 and a memory 1910, which may be coupled to a bus 1906. The memory 1910 may contain executable code or software instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors 1904, cause the one or more processors 1904 to operate as a special-purpose computer programmed to perform the procedures and techniques disclosed herein (e.g., such as process flow 1500).

[0253] like Fig.19 As shown in the figure, the memory 1910 includes one or more components or modules, which implement the methods described herein when implemented by one or more processors 1904. Although the components or modules are shown as software in the memory 1910 that can be executed by one or more processors 1904, it should be understood that the components or modules can be dedicated hardware or firmware within or outside the processor. As shown, the memory 1910 may include a positioning request receiving unit 1912, which enables one or more processors 1904 to receive a request for periodic or triggered positioning of a UE (e.g., UE105) from another entity (e.g., GMLC 155) via an external interface 1902. The positioning request sending unit 1914 enables one or more processors 1904 to send a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE to a first positioning server (e.g., LMF 152) in the wireless network via the external interface 1902.

[0254] The memory 1910 may include a confirmation receiving unit 1916 that enables the one or more processors 1904 to receive and process a confirmation from the first positioning server that the periodic or triggered positioning of the UE is activated in the UE via the external interface 1902. The memory 1910 may further include a confirmation sending unit 1918 that enables the one or more processors 1904 to send a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE to another entity via the external interface 1902.

[0255] The memory 1910 may further include an information and resource unit 1920 that enables the one or more processors 1904 to release all resources for periodic or triggered positioning requests. The UE may report multiple periodic or triggered positioning events to the second positioning server, and the second positioning server may report multiple periodic or triggered positioning events to another entity.

[0256] The memory 1910 may further include a confirmation unit 1922 that enables the one or more processors 1904 to return a confirmation to another entity via the external interface 1902, thereby indicating that the request for periodic or triggered positioning has been accepted. The memory 1910 may further include a UE reachable unit 1924 that enables the one or more processors 1904 to wait until the UE becomes reachable to the CN node before sending the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE to the first positioning server.

[0257] The memory 1910 may further include a periodic or triggered positioning event unit 1926 that enables the one or more processors 1904 to receive at least one of a plurality of periodic or triggered positioning events from the UE via the external interface 1902 and forward the at least one of the plurality of periodic or triggered positioning events to a second positioning server.

[0258] The memory 1910 may also include a determine positioning server unit 1928, which enables the one or more processors 1904 to determine the first positioning server and / or the second positioning server, for example, if multiple periodic or triggered positioning events do not indicate a second positioning server, or if the request for periodic or triggered positioning does not include a parameter with an indication of the first positioning server.

[0259] Depending on the application, the methods described herein can be implemented in various ways. For example, the methods can be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof. For hardware implementation, one or more processors can be implemented in one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, electronic devices, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, or combinations thereof.

[0260] For implementations involving firmware and / or software, the methods can be implemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, etc.) that perform the individual functions described herein. Any machine-readable medium that tangibly embodies instructions can be used to implement the methods described herein. For example, software code can be stored in a memory and executed by one or more processor units, so that the processor unit operates as a special-purpose computer programmed to perform the algorithms disclosed herein. The memory can be implemented within the processor unit or external to the processor unit. As used herein, the term "memory" refers to any type of long-term, short-term, volatile, non-volatile, or other memory, and is not limited to any particular type of memory or a particular amount of memory, or the type of medium on which the memory is stored.

[0261] If implemented in firmware and / or software, the functions may be stored as one or more instructions or codes on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. For example, a communication device may include a transceiver with signals indicating instructions and data. Computer-readable media include physical computer storage media. The storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, semiconductor storage or other storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store the required program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer; disks and optical disks used herein include compact disks (CDs), laser disks, optical disks, digital versatile disks (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray disks, where disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while optical disks reproduce data optically by lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0262] In addition to being stored on a computer-readable storage medium, instructions and / or data may also be provided as signals on a transmission medium included in the communication device. For example, the communication device may include a transceiver having a signal indicating instructions and data. Instructions and data are stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium (e.g., memory 1910) and are configured to cause one or more processors to operate as a special-purpose computer programmed to perform the processes and techniques disclosed herein. That is, the communication device includes a transmission medium having a signal indicating information for performing the disclosed functions. At a first time, the transmission medium included in the communication device may include a first portion of information for performing the disclosed functions, and at a second time, the transmission medium included in the communication device may include a second portion of information for performing the disclosed functions.

[0263] Therefore, a core network (CN) entity (such as a CN node 1900) capable of supporting a positioning service for a user equipment (UE) may include a component for receiving a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from another entity (such as a GMLC 155, a VGMLC 155V, or a HGMLC 155H), which may be, for example, an external interface 1902 and one or more processors 1904 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in a memory 1910, such as a positioning request receiving unit 1912. A component for sending a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE to a first positioning server (such as a LMF 152) in a wireless network (wherein the request for periodic or triggered positioning will be sent by the first positioning server to the UE, and the UE will confirm to the first positioning server that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE) may be, for example, an external interface 1902 and one or more processors 1904 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in a memory 1910, such as a positioning request sending unit 1914. The means for receiving a confirmation from the first positioning server that the periodic or triggered positioning of the UE is activated in the UE can be, for example, the external interface 1902 and one or more processors 1904 with dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 1910, such as the confirmation receiving unit 1916. The means for sending a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE to another entity can be, for example, the external interface 1902 and one or more processors 1904 with dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 1910, such as the confirmation sending unit 1918. The means for releasing all resources used for the request for periodic or triggered positioning (wherein the UE will report multiple periodic or triggered positioning events to the second positioning server, which can be the first positioning server or a different positioning server, and the second positioning server will report multiple periodic or triggered positioning events to another entity) can be, for example, the external interface 1902 and one or more processors 1904 with dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 1910, such as the information and resource unit 1920.

[0264] In one embodiment, the CN node may include a component for returning a confirmation indicating that the request for periodic or triggered positioning has been accepted to another entity, which may be, for example, an external interface 1902 and one or more processors 1904 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 1910, such as a confirmation unit 1922. The component for waiting until the UE becomes reachable to the CN node before sending a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE to the first positioning server may be, for example, an external interface 1902 and one or more processors 1904 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 1910, such as a UE reachable unit 1924.

[0265] In one embodiment, the CN node includes a component for receiving at least one of a plurality of periodic or triggered positioning events from a UE, which may be, for example, an external interface 1902 and one or more processors 1904 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in a memory 1910, such as a periodic or triggered positioning event unit 1926. The component for forwarding at least one of the plurality of periodic or triggered positioning events to a second positioning server may be, for example, an external interface 1902 and one or more processors 1904 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in a memory 1910, such as a periodic or triggered positioning event unit 1926. For example, at least one of the plurality of periodic or triggered positioning events may indicate a second positioning server. In another example, at least one of the plurality of periodic or triggered positioning events does not indicate a second positioning server, and the CN node further includes a component for determining a second positioning server, which may be, for example, an external interface 1902 and one or more processors 1904 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in a memory 1910, such as a determining positioning server unit 1928.

[0266] In one embodiment, the request for periodic or triggered positioning received from another entity includes a plurality of parameters, and the CN node includes a component for including at least some of the plurality of parameters in the request for periodic or triggered positioning sent to the first positioning server, which may be, for example, an external interface 1902 and one or more processors 1904 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 1910, such as a positioning request sending unit 1914. In one embodiment, the plurality of parameters do not include an indication of the first positioning server, and the CN node includes a component for determining the first positioning server, which may be, for example, an external interface 1902 and one or more processors 1904 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 1910, such as a determining positioning server unit 1928.

[0267] Fig. 20 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware implementation of the GMLC 2000, such as Figure 1-Figure 3 155, VGMLC 155V, and HGMLC 155H are shown in FIG. GMLC 2000 may be part of a wireless network such as 5G core network (5GCN) 150 or 5GCN 140. GMLC 2000 includes, for example, hardware components such as external interface 2002, which may be capable of connecting to external client 130, connecting to Figure 1-Figure 3 LMF 152 shown in FIG. 154 , connected to another GMLC (such as VGMLC 155V or HGMLC 155H), connected to Figure 1-Figure 3 NEF 159 shown in Figure 1, connected to Figure 1-Figure 3 154, and connected to the wired or wireless interface of the UDM 156. The GMLC 2000 includes one or more processors 2004 and a memory 2010, which can be coupled together with a bus 2006. The memory 2010 can contain executable code or software instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors 2004, cause the one or more processors to operate as a special-purpose computer programmed to perform the procedures and techniques disclosed herein (e.g., such as the process flow 1700).

[0268] like Fig. 20 As shown in the figure, the memory 2010 includes one or more components or modules, which, when implemented by one or more processors 2004, implement the methods described herein. Although the components or modules are shown as software in the memory 2010 that can be executed by the one or more processors 2004, it should be understood that the components or modules can be dedicated hardware or firmware in or outside the processor 2004. As shown, the memory 2010 may include a positioning request receiving unit 2012, which enables the one or more processors 2004 to receive and process a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from an external client or AF via the external interface 2002. The memory 2010 may include a query unit 2014, which enables the one or more processors 2004 to query another entity in the wireless network (e.g., UDM 156) via the external interface 2002 to obtain the address of the core network (CN) node (e.g., AMF 154) associated with the UE. The positioning request sending unit 2016 enables one or more processors 2004 to send a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE to the CN node via the external interface 2002, wherein the request for periodic or triggered positioning will be sent by the CN node to the first positioning server, wherein the first positioning server will send the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE to the UE, and the UE will confirm the activation of the periodic or triggered positioning in the UE.

[0269] The memory 2010 may include a confirmation receiving unit 2018 that enables the one or more processors 2004 to receive and process a confirmation from the CN node that the periodic or triggered positioning of the UE is activated in the UE via the external interface 2002. The confirmation sending unit 2020 enables the one or more processors 2004 to send a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE to an external client or AF via the external interface 2002.

[0270] The memory 2010 may further include a periodic or triggered positioning event receiving unit 2022, which enables the one or more processors 2004 to receive and process multiple periodic or triggered positioning event reports of the UE from the second positioning server via the external interface 2002, wherein each of the multiple periodic or triggered positioning event reports contains at least one of a position measurement result, a position estimate, a type of a detected triggering event, or a combination thereof. The periodic or triggered positioning event sending unit 2024 enables the one or more processors 2004 to send multiple corresponding periodic or triggered positioning event reports to an external client or AF via the external interface 2002.

[0271] The memory 2010 may further include a determining positioning server unit 2026, which enables the one or more processors 2004 to determine a first positioning server and include the address of the first positioning server in the periodic or triggered positioning request of the UE sent to the CN node.

[0272] The memory 2010 may further include a confirmation unit 2028, which enables one or more processors 2004 to receive and process a confirmation from a CN node via the external interface 2002, indicating that the request for periodic or triggered positioning is accepted by the CN node, and send the confirmation indicating that the request for periodic or triggered positioning is accepted by the CN node to an external client or AF.

[0273] Depending on the application, the methods described herein can be implemented in various ways. For example, the methods can be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof. For hardware implementation, one or more processors can be implemented in one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, electronic devices, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, or combinations thereof.

[0274] For implementations involving firmware and / or software, the methods can be implemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, etc.) that perform the individual functions described herein. Any machine-readable medium that tangibly embodies instructions can be used to implement the methods described herein. For example, software code can be stored in a memory and executed by one or more processor units, causing the processor units to operate as special-purpose computers programmed to perform the algorithms disclosed herein. The memory can be implemented within the processor unit or external to the processor unit. As used herein, the term "memory" refers to any type of long-term, short-term, volatile, non-volatile, or other memory, and is not limited to any particular type of memory or a particular amount of memory, or the type of medium on which the memory is stored.

[0275] If implemented in firmware and / or software, the functions may be stored as one or more instructions or codes on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. Examples include computer-readable media encoded with data structures and computer-readable media encoded with computer programs. Computer-readable media include physical computer storage media. The storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such a computer-readable medium may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, semiconductor storage or other storage device, or any other medium that can be used to store the required program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer; disks and optical disks used herein include compact disks (CDs), laser disks, optical disks, digital versatile disks (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray disks, where disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while optical disks reproduce data optically by lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0276] In addition to being stored on a computer-readable storage medium, instructions and / or data may also be provided as signals on a transmission medium included in the communication device. For example, the communication device may include a transceiver with signals indicating instructions and data. Instructions and data are stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium (e.g., memory 2010) and are configured to cause one or more processors 2004 to operate as a special-purpose computer programmed to perform the processes and techniques disclosed herein. That is, the communication device includes a transmission medium with a signal indicating information for performing the disclosed functions. At a first time, the transmission medium included in the communication device may include a first portion of information for performing the disclosed functions, and at a second time, the transmission medium included in the communication device may include a second portion of information for performing the disclosed functions.

[0277] Thus, an entity in a wireless network capable of supporting a positioning service for a user equipment (UE), such as the GMLC 2000, may include a component for receiving a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from an external client, such as the external client 130, which may be, for example, an external interface 2002 and one or more processors 2004 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in a memory 2010, such as a positioning request receiving unit 2012. A component for querying another entity in the wireless network, such as the UDM 156, to obtain an address of a core network (CN) node, such as the AMF 154, associated with the UE may be, for example, an external interface 2002 and one or more processors 2004 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in a memory 2010, such as a querying unit 2014. The means for sending a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE to the CN node, wherein the request for periodic or triggered positioning will be sent by the CN node to the first positioning server (wherein the first positioning server will send the request for periodic or triggered positioning to the UE, and the UE will confirm the activation of the periodic or triggered positioning in the UE) can be, for example, the external interface 2002 and one or more processors 2004 with dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 2010, such as the positioning request sending unit 2016. The means for receiving a confirmation from the CN node that the periodic or triggered positioning of the UE is activated in the UE can be, for example, the external interface 2002 and one or more processors 2004 with dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 2010, such as the confirmation receiving unit 2018. The means for sending a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE to the external client can be, for example, the external interface 2002 and one or more processors 2004 with dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 2010, such as the confirmation sending unit 2020. The component for receiving multiple periodic or triggered positioning event reports of the UE from the second positioning server (where each of the multiple periodic or triggered positioning event reports contains at least one of a location measurement result, a location estimate, a type of a detected triggering event, or a combination thereof) can be, for example, an external interface 2002 and one or more processors 2004 with dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 2010, such as a periodic or triggered positioning event receiving unit 2022. The component for sending multiple corresponding periodic or triggered positioning event reports to the external client can be, for example, an external interface 2002 and one or more processors 2004 with dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 2010, such as a periodic or triggered positioning event sending unit 2024.

[0278] In one embodiment, the entity may include a component for determining a first positioning server and including the address of the first positioning server in a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE sent to the CN node, which may be, for example, an external interface 2002 and one or more processors 2004 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in a memory 2010, such as a determining positioning server unit 2026.

[0279] In one embodiment, the entity may include means for receiving a confirmation from the CN node indicating that the request for periodic or triggered positioning has been accepted by the CN node, which may be, for example, an external interface 2002 and one or more processors 2004 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 2010, such as a confirmation unit 2028. Means for sending a confirmation to the external client indicating that the request for periodic or triggered positioning has been accepted by the CN node may be, for example, an external interface 2002 and one or more processors 2004 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 2010, such as a confirmation unit 2028.

[0280] Fig.21 It shows that Figure 1-Figure 13 105 is shown in FIG. UE 2100 of an example of a hardware implementation. UE 2100 may include a wireless transceiver 2102 for wirelessly communicating with NG-RAN 112 (e.g., a base station such as gNB 110 or ng-eNB 114) (e.g., a base station such as gNB 110 or ng-eNB 114). Figure 1-Figure 3 UE 2100 may also include additional transceivers, such as a wireless local area network (WLAN) transceiver 2106, and an SPS receiver 2108 (eg, a receiver 2108) for receiving and measuring signals from SPS SV 190. Figure 1-Figure 3). The UE 2100 may further include one or more sensors 2110, such as a camera, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, an electronic compass, a magnetometer, a barometer, etc. The UE 2100 may further include a user interface 2112, which may include, for example, a display, a keyboard or other input device, such as a virtual keyboard on a display, through which a user can interact with the UE 2100. The UE 2100 further includes one or more processors 2104 and a memory 2120, which may be coupled to the bus 2116. The one or more processors 2104 and other components of the UE 2100 may be similarly coupled to the bus 2116 (a separate bus), or may be directly connected together or coupled using a combination of the foregoing. The memory 2120 may contain executable code or software instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors 2104, cause the one or more processors to operate as a special-purpose computer programmed to perform the methods and processes disclosed herein (e.g., such as process 1600).

[0281] like Fig.21As shown in the figure, the memory 2120 may include one or more components or modules, which can be implemented by one or more processors 2104 to perform the methods described herein. Although the components or modules are shown as software in the memory 2120 that can be executed by one or more processors 2104, it should be understood that the components or modules can be dedicated hardware or firmware in or outside the processor 2104. As shown in the figure, the memory 2120 may include a positioning request receiving unit 2122, which enables the one or more processors 2104 to receive and process a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE 2100 from a first positioning server (e.g., LMF 152) in the wireless network via the wireless transceiver 2102, wherein the first positioning server receives the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE 2100 from a first core network (CN) node (e.g., AMF 154), wherein the first CN node receives the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE 2100 from another entity (e.g., GMLC 155, VGMLC 155V or HGMLC 155H). The confirmation unit 2124 enables the one or more processors 2104 to send a confirmation that periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE 2100 to the first positioning server via the wireless transceiver 2102. The periodic or trigger event detection unit 2126 enables the one or more processors 2104 to detect multiple trigger events, for example, using the wireless transceiver 2102, the WLAN transceiver 2106, the SPS receiver 2108 and / or the sensor 2110. When implemented by the one or more processors 2104, the periodic or trigger event detection unit 2126 configures the one or more processors 2104 to receive and monitor trigger parameters provided, for example, in a request for location information from a positioning server. The trigger parameters may include, for example, a trigger evaluation interval, a periodic maximum reporting interval, and one or more location triggers, such as a change in location, entering a specified geographic area, leaving a specified geographic area or staying within a specified geographic area, moving more than a threshold linear distance from a previous location, etc. The periodic or triggered event reporting unit 2128 causes the one or more processors 2104 to send a corresponding periodic or triggered positioning event report to the second positioning server via the wireless transceiver 2102 for each detected trigger event, each corresponding positioning event report including at least one of a position measurement result, a position estimate, a type of the detected trigger event, or a combination thereof, wherein the second positioning server sends each corresponding positioning event report to another entity.

[0282] Depending on the application, the methods described herein can be implemented in various ways. For example, the methods can be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof. For hardware implementation, one or more processors 2104 can be implemented in one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, electronic devices, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, or combinations thereof.

[0283] For implementations of UE 2100 involving firmware and / or software, the methods can be implemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, etc.) that perform the individual functions described herein. Any machine-readable medium that tangibly embodies instructions can be used to implement the methods described herein. For example, software codes can be stored in a memory (e.g., memory 2120) and executed by one or more processors 2104, so that one or more processors 2104 operate as a special-purpose computer programmed to perform the techniques and programs disclosed herein. The memory can be implemented within a processor unit or outside a processor unit. As used herein, the term "memory" refers to any type of long-term, short-term, volatile, non-volatile, or other memory, and is not limited to any particular type of memory or a particular amount of memory, or the type of medium on which the memory is stored.

[0284] If implemented in firmware and / or software, the functions performed by the UE 2100 may be stored as one or more instructions or codes on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as the memory 2120. Examples of storage media include computer-readable media encoded with data structures and computer-readable media encoded with computer programs. Computer-readable media include physical computer storage media. Storage media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, semiconductor storage or other storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store the required program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer; disks and optical disks used herein include compact disks (CDs), laser optical disks, optical optical disks, digital versatile disks (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray disks, where disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while optical disks reproduce data optically by lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0285] In addition to being stored on a computer-readable storage medium, instructions and / or data for UE 2100 may also be provided as a signal on a transmission medium included in the communication device. For example, a communication device including part or all of UE 2100 may include a transceiver with a signal indicating instructions and data. Instructions and data are stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium (e.g., memory 2120) and are configured to cause one or more processors 2104 to operate as a special-purpose computer programmed to perform the processes and techniques disclosed herein. That is, the communication device includes a transmission medium with a signal indicating information for performing the disclosed functions. At a first time, the transmission medium included in the communication device may include a first portion of information for performing the disclosed functions, and at a second time, the transmission medium included in the communication device may include a second portion of information for performing the disclosed functions.

[0286] Therefore, a UE (such as UE 2100) capable of supporting a positioning service for the UE may include a component for receiving a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from a first positioning server (such as LMF 152) in a wireless network, wherein the first positioning server receives the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from a first core network (CN) node (such as AMF 154), wherein the first CN node receives the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from another entity (such as GMLC 155, VGMLC 155V or HGMLC 155H), the component may be, for example, a wireless transceiver 2102 and one or more processors 2104 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in a memory 2120, such as a positioning request receiving unit 2122. The means for sending a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE to the first positioning server can be, for example, a wireless transceiver 2102 and one or more processors 2104 with dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 2120, such as a confirmation unit 2124. The means for detecting multiple triggering events can be, for example, one or more of the following: a wireless transceiver 2102, a WLAN transceiver 2106, an SPS receiver 2108, a sensor 2110, and one or more processors 2104 with dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 2120, such as a periodic or triggering event detection unit 2126. The component for sending a corresponding periodic or triggered positioning event report to the second positioning server for each detected triggering event (wherein each corresponding positioning event report contains at least one of a position measurement result, a position estimate, a type of the detected triggering event, or a combination thereof, and wherein the second positioning server sends each corresponding positioning event report to another entity) can be, for example, a wireless transceiver 2102 and one or more processors 2104 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in a memory 2120, such as a periodic or triggered event reporting unit 2128.

[0287] References throughout this specification to "one example," "example," "some examples," or "exemplary embodiments" mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in conjunction with a feature and / or example may be included in at least one feature and / or example of the claimed subject matter. Thus, the appearance of the phrases "in one example," "example," "in some examples," or "in some embodiments," or other similar phrases in various places throughout this specification do not necessarily refer to the same feature, example, and / or limitation. Furthermore, particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in one or more examples and / or features.

[0288] Some parts of the detailed description included herein are presented in the form of algorithms or symbolic representations of operations on binary digital signals stored in the memory of a specific device or a dedicated computing device or platform. In the context of this particular specification, the term specific device, etc. includes a general-purpose computer as long as it is programmed to perform specific operations according to instructions from program software. Algorithmic descriptions or symbolic representations are examples of techniques used by ordinary technicians in signal processing or related fields to convey the essence of their work to other technicians in the field. The algorithm here is generally considered to be a self-consistent sequence of operations or similar signal processing that leads to a desired result. In this case, the operation or processing involves physical manipulation of physical quantities. Generally speaking, although not necessarily, such a quantity can take the form of an electrical or magnetic signal that can be stored, transmitted, combined, compared or otherwise manipulated. Mainly for reasons of common use, it has been proven that it is convenient to sometimes refer to such signals as bits, data, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, numerical values, etc. It should be understood, however, that all of these or similar terms are associated with appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels. Unless otherwise specifically stated, it is apparent from the discussion herein that discussions throughout this specification utilizing terms such as “processing,” “computing,” “calculating,” “determining,” etc. refer to actions or processes of a specific device, such as a special purpose computer, a special purpose computing device, or a similar special purpose electronic computing device. Thus, in the context of this specification, a special purpose computer or a similar special purpose electronic computing device is capable of manipulating or transforming signals, which are typically represented as physical electronic or magnetic quantities in a memory, register, or other information storage device, transmission device, or display device of the special purpose computer or a similar special purpose electronic computing device.

[0289] In the foregoing detailed description, numerous specific details have been set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the claimed subject matter. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the claimed subject matter may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, methods and apparatus known to those skilled in the art are not described in detail so as not to obscure the claimed subject matter.

[0290] As used herein, the terms "and," "or," and "and / or" may include a variety of meanings, which are also expected to depend, at least in part, on the context in which the terms are used. In general, "or," if used to associate a list, such as A, B, or C, means A, B, and C (used herein in an inclusive sense), as well as A, B, or C (used herein in an exclusive sense). Additionally, as used herein, the terms "one or more" may be used to describe any feature, structure, or characteristic in the singular, or may be used to describe a plurality or some other combination of features, structures, or characteristics. Although it should be noted that this is merely an illustrative example, and the claimed subject matter is not limited to this example.

[0291] An embodiment (1) may be a method for supporting a positioning service for a user equipment (UE) performed by a first positioning server in a wireless network, the method comprising: receiving a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from a first core network (CN) node in the wireless network, wherein the first CN node receives the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from another entity; sending the request for periodic or triggered positioning to the UE; receiving a confirmation from the UE that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE; and sending a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE to the first CN node.

[0292] There may be some embodiments (2) of the above method (1), further comprising: after sending a confirmation to the first CN node confirming that periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE, retaining information on the request for periodic or triggered positioning; receiving multiple periodic or triggered positioning event reports from the UE, wherein each of the multiple periodic or triggered positioning event reports contains at least one of a position measurement result, a position estimate, a type of a detected trigger event, or a combination thereof; and sending multiple corresponding periodic or triggered positioning event reports to another entity.

[0293] There may be some implementations (3) of the above method (2), further comprising: including an instruction to send a positioning event report to the first positioning server in the request for periodic or triggered positioning sent to the UE.

[0294] There may be some implementations (4) of the above method (2), further comprising: receiving a periodic or triggered positioning event report from the UE via the second CN node; sending a positioning context to the second positioning server, wherein the positioning context includes the periodic or triggered positioning event report and information of a periodic or triggered positioning request for the UE received from the first CN node; and after sending the positioning context to the second positioning server, discarding the information of the periodic or triggered positioning request and releasing resources used for the request.

[0295] There may be some implementations (5) of the above method (4), further comprising determining a second positioning server.

[0296] There may be some implementations (6) of the above method (4), wherein the second positioning server is more suitable for periodic or triggered positioning event reporting than the first positioning server.

[0297] There may be some implementations (7) of the above method (4), wherein the second CN node includes the first CN node.

[0298] There may be some implementations (8) of the above method (1), further comprising, after sending a confirmation to the first CN node that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE, discarding information of the periodic or triggered positioning request and releasing resources used for the request.

[0299] There may be some implementations (9) of the above method (8), further comprising: including an instruction to send a positioning event report to any positioning server in the request for periodic or triggered positioning sent to the UE.

[0300] There may be some embodiments (10) of the above method (1), further comprising: determining the location of the UE in response to receiving a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from the first CN node; and including the location in a confirmation sent to the first CN node that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE.

[0301] There may be some implementations (11) of the above method (2), further comprising: determining the location of the UE in response to receiving a periodic or triggered positioning event report from the UE; and including the location in a corresponding periodic or triggered positioning event report sent to another entity.

[0302] There may be some embodiments (12) of the above method (2), wherein a plurality of periodic or triggered positioning event reports are received from the UE via the second CN node.

[0303] There may be some implementations (13) of the above method (12) wherein the second CN node is different from the first CN node.

[0304] There may be some embodiments (14) of the above method (1), wherein the first CN node, the first positioning server and the other entity are part of a fifth generation core network (5GCN).

[0305] There may be some embodiments (15) of the above method (14) wherein the first CN node is an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), the first positioning server is a Location Management Function (LMF), and the other entity is a Gateway Mobile Location Centre (GMLC).

[0306] An embodiment (16) may be a first positioning server in a wireless network for supporting positioning services for a user equipment (UE), comprising: an external interface for receiving messages and sending messages to an entity in the network; at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled to the external interface and the at least one memory, the at least one processor being configured to: receive a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from a first core network (CN) node in the wireless network, wherein the first CN node receives a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from another entity; send a request for periodic or triggered positioning to the UE; receive a confirmation from the UE that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE; and send a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE to the first CN node.

[0307] There may be some embodiments (17) of the above-mentioned first positioning server (16), wherein at least one processor is further configured to: retain information of the periodic or triggered positioning request after sending a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE to the first CN node; receive multiple periodic or triggered positioning event reports from the UE, wherein each of the multiple periodic or triggered positioning event reports includes at least one of a location measurement result, a location estimate, a type of a detected trigger event, or a combination thereof; and send multiple corresponding periodic or triggered positioning event reports to another entity.

[0308] There may be some embodiments (18) of the first positioning server (17) above, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to include an instruction to send a positioning event report to the first positioning server in a request for periodic or triggered positioning sent to the UE.

[0309] There may be some embodiments (19) of the above-mentioned first positioning server (17), wherein at least one processor is further configured to: receive a periodic or triggered positioning event report from the UE via the second CN node; send a positioning context to the second positioning server, wherein the positioning context includes the periodic or triggered positioning event report and information of a periodic or triggered positioning request for the UE received from the first CN node; and after sending the positioning context to the second positioning server, discard the information of the periodic or triggered positioning request and release the resources used for the request.

[0310] There may be some embodiments (20) of the first positioning server (19) above, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to determine a second positioning server.

[0311] There may be some embodiments (21) of the first positioning server (19) described above, wherein the second positioning server is more suitable for periodic or triggered positioning event reporting than the first positioning server.

[0312] There may be some embodiments (22) of the above-mentioned first positioning server (19), wherein the second CN node includes the first CN node.

[0313] There may be some embodiments (23) of the first positioning server (16) described above, wherein at least one processor is further configured to discard information of the periodic or triggered positioning request and release resources used for the request after sending a confirmation to the first CN node that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE.

[0314] There may be some embodiments (24) of the first positioning server (23) above, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to include an instruction to send a positioning event report to any positioning server in a request for periodic or triggered positioning sent to the UE.

[0315] There may be some embodiments (25) of the above-mentioned first positioning server (16), wherein at least one processor is further configured to: determine the location of the UE in response to receiving a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from the first CN node; and include the location in a confirmation sent to the first CN node that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE.

[0316] There may be some embodiments (26) of the first positioning server (17) described above, wherein at least one processor is further configured to: determine the location of the UE in response to receiving a periodic or triggered positioning event report from the UE; and include the location in a corresponding periodic or triggered positioning event report sent to another entity.

[0317] There may be some embodiments (27) of the above first positioning server (17), wherein a plurality of periodic or triggered positioning event reports are received from the UE via the second CN node.

[0318] There may be some embodiments (28) of the above-mentioned first positioning server (27) wherein the second CN node is different from the first CN node.

[0319] There may be some embodiments (29) of the first positioning server (16) above, wherein the first CN node, the first positioning server and the further entity are part of a fifth generation core network (5GCN).

[0320] There may be some embodiments (30) of the above first positioning server (29) wherein the first CN node is an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), the first positioning server is a Location Management Function (LMF), and the other entity is a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC).

[0321] One embodiment (31) may be a first positioning server in a wireless network for supporting positioning services for a user equipment (UE), comprising: a component for receiving a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from a first core network (CN) node in the wireless network, wherein the first CN node receives the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from another entity; a component for sending a request for periodic or triggered positioning to the UE; a component for receiving a confirmation from the UE that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE; and a component for sending a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE to the first CN node.

[0322] There may be some embodiments (32) of the above-mentioned first positioning server (31), further comprising: a component for retaining information of a periodic or triggered positioning request after sending a confirmation to the first CN node confirming that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE; a component for receiving multiple periodic or triggered positioning event reports from the UE, wherein each of the multiple periodic or triggered positioning event reports contains at least one of a location measurement result, a location estimate, a type of a detected trigger event, or a combination thereof; and a component for sending multiple corresponding periodic or triggered positioning event reports to another entity.

[0323] There may be some embodiments (33) of the first positioning server (32) described above, further comprising means for including, in a request for periodic or triggered positioning sent to the UE, an indication to send a positioning event report to the first positioning server.

[0324] There may be some embodiments (34) of the above-mentioned first positioning server (32), further comprising: a component for receiving a periodic or triggered positioning event report from the UE via a second CN node; a component for sending a positioning context to the second positioning server, wherein the positioning context includes information about the periodic or triggered positioning event report and a periodic or triggered positioning request for the UE received from the first CN node; and a component for discarding the information about the periodic or triggered positioning request and releasing resources used for the request after sending the positioning context to the second positioning server.

[0325] There may be some embodiments (35) of the first positioning server (34) described above, further comprising a component for determining a second positioning server.

[0326] There may be some embodiments (36) of the first positioning server (34) described above, wherein the second positioning server is more suitable for periodic or triggered positioning event reporting than the first positioning server.

[0327] There may be some embodiments (37) of the first positioning server (34) described above, wherein the second CN node comprises the first CN node.

[0328] There may be some embodiments (38) of the first positioning server (31) described above, further comprising a component for discarding information of the periodic or triggered positioning request and releasing resources used for the request after sending a confirmation to the first CN node that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE.

[0329] There may be some embodiments (39) of the first positioning server (38) described above, further comprising means for including, in a request for periodic or triggered positioning sent to the UE, an indication to send a positioning event report to any positioning server.

[0330] There may be some embodiments (40) of the first positioning server (31) described above, further comprising: a component for determining the location of the UE in response to receiving a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from the first CN node; and a component for including the location in a confirmation sent to the first CN node that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE.

[0331] There may be some embodiments (41) of the first positioning server (32) described above, further comprising: a component for determining the location of the UE in response to receiving a periodic or triggered positioning event report from the UE; and a component for including the location in a corresponding periodic or triggered positioning event report sent to another entity.

[0332] There may be some embodiments (42) of the first positioning server (32) above, wherein a plurality of periodic or triggered positioning event reports are received from the UE via the second CN node.

[0333] There may be some embodiments (43) of the first positioning server (42) described above, wherein the second CN node is different from the first CN node.

[0334] There may be some embodiments (44) of the first positioning server (31) above, wherein the first CN node, the first positioning server and the further entity are part of a fifth generation core network (5GCN).

[0335] There may be some embodiments (45) of the above-mentioned first positioning server (44), wherein the first CN node is an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), the first positioning server is a Location Management Function (LMF), and the other entity is a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC).

[0336] One embodiment (46) may be a non-transitory storage medium including program code stored thereon, the program code being operable to enable at least one processor in a first positioning server in a wireless network to support positioning services for a user equipment (UE), comprising: program code for receiving a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from a first core network (CN) node in the wireless network, wherein the first CN node receives the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from another entity; program code for sending a request for periodic or triggered positioning to the UE; program code for receiving a confirmation from the UE that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE; and program code for sending a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE to the first CN node.

[0337] Some embodiments (47) of the above-mentioned non-transitory storage medium (46) may further include: program code for retaining information of periodic or triggered positioning request after sending a confirmation to the first CN node that periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE; program code for receiving multiple periodic or triggered positioning event reports from the UE, wherein each of the multiple periodic or triggered positioning event reports contains at least one of a location measurement result, a location estimate, a type of a detected trigger event, or a combination thereof; and program code for sending multiple corresponding periodic or triggered positioning event reports to another entity.

[0338] There may be some embodiments (48) of the non-transitory storage medium (47) above, further comprising: program code for including an instruction to send a positioning event report to the first positioning server in a request for periodic or triggered positioning sent to the UE.

[0339] Some embodiments (49) of the non-transitory storage medium (47) described above may further include: program code for receiving a periodic or triggered positioning event report from the UE via the second CN node; program code for sending a positioning context to a second positioning server, wherein the positioning context includes information about the periodic or triggered positioning event report and a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE received from the first CN node; and program code for discarding information about the periodic or triggered positioning request and releasing resources used for the request after sending the positioning context to the second positioning server.

[0340] Some embodiments (50) of the non-transitory storage medium (49) described above may further include a program code for determining a second positioning server.

[0341] There may be some embodiments (51) of the non-transitory storage medium (49) described above, wherein the second positioning server is more suitable for periodic or triggered positioning event reporting than the first positioning server.

[0342] There may be some embodiments (52) of the non-transitory storage medium (49) described above, wherein the second CN node includes the first CN node.

[0343] There may be some embodiments (53) of the above non-transitory storage medium (46), further comprising program code for discarding information of the periodic or triggered positioning request and releasing resources used for the request after sending a confirmation to the first CN node that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE.

[0344] There may be some embodiments (54) of the non-transitory storage medium (53) above, further comprising: program code for including, in a request for periodic or triggered positioning sent to the UE, an indication to send a positioning event report to any positioning server.

[0345] Some embodiments (55) of the above-mentioned non-transitory storage medium (46) may further include: program code for determining the location of the UE in response to receiving a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from the first CN node; and program code for including the location in a confirmation sent to the first CN node that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE.

[0346] Some embodiments (56) of the non-transitory storage medium (47) described above may further include: program code for determining the location of the UE in response to receiving a periodic or triggered positioning event report from the UE; and program code for including the location in a corresponding periodic or triggered positioning event report sent to another entity.

[0347] There may be some embodiments (57) of the non-transitory storage medium (47) above, wherein a plurality of periodic or triggered positioning event reports are received from the UE via the second CN node.

[0348] There may be some embodiments (58) of the non-transitory storage medium (57) described above, wherein the second CN node is different from the first CN node.

[0349] There may be some embodiments (59) of the non-transitory storage medium (46) above, wherein the first CN node, the first positioning server and the other entity are part of a fifth generation core network (5GCN).

[0350] There may be some embodiments (60) of the non-transitory storage medium (59) above, wherein the first CN node is an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), the first positioning server is a Location Management Function (LMF), and the other entity is a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC).

[0351] An embodiment (61) may be a method for supporting a positioning service for a user equipment (UE) performed by a core network (CN) node in a wireless network, the method comprising: receiving a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from another entity; sending the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE to a first positioning server in the wireless network, wherein the first positioning server will send a request for periodic or triggered positioning to the UE, and the UE will confirm the activation of the periodic or triggered positioning in the UE to the first positioning server; receiving a confirmation from the first positioning server that the periodic or triggered positioning of the UE is activated in the UE; sending a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE to another entity; and releasing all resources used for the request for periodic or triggered positioning, wherein the UE will report multiple periodic or triggered positioning events to a second positioning server, and the second positioning server will report multiple periodic or triggered positioning events to another entity.

[0352] There may be some implementations (62) of the above method (61), further comprising: returning a confirmation to another entity indicating that the request for periodic or triggered positioning has been accepted; and waiting until the UE becomes reachable to the CN node before sending a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE to the first positioning server.

[0353] There may be some embodiments (63) of the above method (61) wherein the CN node, the first positioning server, the further entity and the second positioning server are part of a fifth generation core network (5GCN).

[0354] There may be some embodiments (64) of the above method (63) wherein the CN node is an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), the first positioning server is a Positioning Management Function (LMF), the other entity is a Gateway Mobile Positioning Center (GMLC) and the second positioning server is the LMF.

[0355] There may be some implementations (65) of the above method (61), wherein the second positioning server includes the first positioning server.

[0356] There may be some implementations (66) of the above method (61), further comprising: receiving at least one of a plurality of periodic or triggered positioning events from the UE; and forwarding at least one of the plurality of periodic or triggered positioning events to a second positioning server.

[0357] There may be some embodiments (67) of the above method (66), wherein at least one of the plurality of periodic or triggered positioning events indicates a second positioning server.

[0358] There may be some embodiments (68) of the above method (66), wherein at least one of the plurality of periodic or triggered positioning events does not indicate a second positioning server, and further comprising determining the second positioning server.

[0359] There may be some embodiments (69) of the above method (61), wherein the request for periodic or triggered positioning received from another entity includes multiple parameters, and further comprises: including at least some of the multiple parameters in the request for periodic or triggered positioning sent to the first positioning server.

[0360] There may be some embodiments (70) of the method (69) described above, wherein the plurality of parameters comprises a contact address of the other entity, a location delay request (LDR) reference number, an indication of the first positioning server, a type of positioning report, a positioning service quality, a maximum duration, a maximum number of event reports, including a request for a position estimate in an event report, or some combination of these parameters.

[0361] There may be some embodiments (71) of the method (69) above, wherein the plurality of parameters does not include an indication of a first positioning server, and further comprises determining the first positioning server.

[0362] An embodiment (72) may be a core network (CN) node in a wireless network for supporting positioning services for a user equipment (UE), comprising: an external interface for receiving and sending messages to an entity in the network; at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled to the external interface and the at least one memory, the at least one processor being configured to: receive a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from another entity; send the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE to a first positioning server in the wireless network, wherein the request for periodic or triggered positioning will be sent by the first positioning server to the UE, and the UE will confirm the activation of the periodic or triggered positioning in the UE to the first positioning server; receive a confirmation from the first positioning server that the periodic or triggered positioning of the UE is activated in the UE; send a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE to another entity; and release all resources used for the request for periodic or triggered positioning, wherein the UE will report multiple periodic or triggered positioning events to a second positioning server, and the second positioning server will report multiple periodic or triggered positioning events to another entity.

[0363] There may be some embodiments (73) of the above-mentioned CN node (72), wherein at least one processor is further configured to: return a confirmation to another entity indicating that the request for periodic or triggered positioning has been accepted; and wait until the UE becomes reachable to the CN node before sending a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE to the first positioning server.

[0364] There may be some embodiments (74) of the CN node (72) above, wherein the CN node, the first positioning server, the further entity and the second positioning server are part of a fifth generation core network (5GCN).

[0365] There may be some embodiments (75) of the CN node (74) above, wherein the CN node is an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), the first positioning server is a Positioning Management Function (LMF), the other entity is a Gateway Mobile Positioning Center (GMLC) and the second positioning server is the LMF.

[0366] There may be some embodiments (76) of the CN node (72) above, wherein the second positioning server comprises the first positioning server.

[0367] There may be some embodiments (77) of the CN node (72) above, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive at least one of a plurality of periodic or triggered positioning events from the UE; and forward at least one of the plurality of periodic or triggered positioning events to a second positioning server.

[0368] There may be some embodiments (78) of the CN node (77) above, wherein at least one of the plurality of periodic or triggered positioning events indicates a second positioning server.

[0369] There may be some embodiments (79) of the CN node (77) above, wherein at least one of the plurality of periodic or triggered positioning events does not indicate a second positioning server, and wherein the at least one processor is further configured to determine the second positioning server.

[0370] There may be some embodiments (80) of the CN node (72) above, wherein the request for periodic or triggered positioning received from another entity contains a plurality of parameters, and wherein the at least one processor is further configured to include at least some of the plurality of parameters in the request for periodic or triggered positioning sent to the first positioning server.

[0371] There may be some embodiments (81) of the CN node (80) described above, wherein the plurality of parameters comprises a contact address of another entity, a location delay request (LDR) reference number, an indication of a first positioning server, a type of positioning report, a positioning service quality, a maximum duration, a maximum number of event reports, including a request for a position estimate in an event report, or some combination of these parameters.

[0372] There may be some embodiments (82) of the CN node (80) above, wherein the plurality of parameters does not include an indication of a first positioning server, and wherein the at least one processor is further configured to determine the first positioning server.

[0373] One embodiment (83) may be a core network (CN) node in a wireless network for supporting positioning services for a user equipment (UE), comprising: a component for receiving a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from another entity; a component for sending the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE to a first positioning server in the wireless network, wherein the first positioning server will send the request for periodic or triggered positioning to the UE, and the UE will confirm the activation of the periodic or triggered positioning in the UE to the first positioning server; a component for receiving a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning of the UE is activated in the UE from the first positioning server; a component for sending a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE to another entity; and a component for releasing all resources used for the request for periodic or triggered positioning, wherein the UE will report multiple periodic or triggered positioning events to a second positioning server, and the second positioning server will report multiple periodic or triggered positioning events to another entity.

[0374] There may be some embodiments (84) of the above-mentioned CN node (83), further comprising: a component for returning a confirmation to another entity indicating that the request for periodic or triggered positioning has been accepted; and a component for waiting until the UE becomes reachable to the CN node before sending a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE to the first positioning server.

[0375] There may be some embodiments (85) of the CN node (83) above, wherein the CN node, the first positioning server, the further entity and the second positioning server are part of a fifth generation core network (5GCN).

[0376] There may be some embodiments (86) of the above CN node (85) wherein the CN node is an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), the first positioning server is a Positioning Management Function (LMF), the other entity is a Gateway Mobile Positioning Center (GMLC) and the second positioning server is the LMF.

[0377] There may be some embodiments (87) of the CN node (83) above, wherein the second positioning server includes the first positioning server.

[0378] There may be some embodiments (88) of the CN node (83) described above, further comprising: a component for receiving at least one of a plurality of periodic or triggered positioning events from the UE; and a component for forwarding at least one of the plurality of periodic or triggered positioning events to a second positioning server.

[0379] There may be some embodiments (89) of the CN node (88) above, wherein at least one of the plurality of periodic or triggered positioning events indicates a second positioning server.

[0380] There may be some embodiments (90) of the CN node (88) above, wherein at least one of the plurality of periodic or triggered positioning events does not indicate a second positioning server, and further comprising determining the second positioning server.

[0381] There may be some embodiments (91) of the CN node (83) described above, wherein the request for periodic or triggered positioning received from another entity comprises a plurality of parameters, and further comprises: including at least some of the plurality of parameters in the request for periodic or triggered positioning sent to the first positioning server.

[0382] There may be some embodiments (92) of the CN node (91) described above, wherein the plurality of parameters comprises a contact address of another entity, a location delay request (LDR) reference number, an indication of a first positioning server, a type of positioning report, a positioning service quality, a maximum duration, a maximum number of event reports, including a request for a position estimate in an event report, or some combination of these parameters.

[0383] There may be some embodiments (93) of the CN node (91) above, wherein the plurality of parameters do not include an indication of the first positioning server, and further include determining the first positioning server.

[0384] An embodiment (94) may be a non-transitory storage medium including program code stored thereon, the program code being operable to enable at least one processor in a core network (CN) node in a wireless network to support positioning services for a user equipment (UE), comprising: program code for receiving a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from another entity; program code for sending a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE to a first positioning server in the wireless network, wherein the first positioning server will send a request for periodic or triggered positioning to the UE, and the UE will confirm to the first positioning server that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE; program code for receiving a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning of the UE is activated in the UE from the first positioning server; program code for sending a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE to another entity; and program code for releasing all resources used for requests for periodic or triggered positioning, wherein the UE will report multiple periodic or triggered positioning events to a second positioning server, and the second positioning server will report multiple periodic or triggered positioning events to another entity.

[0385] Some embodiments (95) of the non-transitory storage medium (94) described above may further include: a program code for returning a confirmation to another entity indicating that a request for periodic or triggered positioning has been accepted; and a program code for waiting until the UE becomes reachable to the CN node before sending a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE to the first positioning server.

[0386] There may be some embodiments (96) of the non-transitory storage medium (94) above, wherein the CN node, the first positioning server, the other entity and the second positioning server are part of a fifth generation core network (5GCN).

[0387] There may be some embodiments (97) of the above-mentioned non-transitory storage medium (96), wherein the CN node is an access and mobility management function (AMF), the first positioning server is a positioning management function (LMF), the other entity is a gateway mobile positioning center (GMLC) and the second positioning server is the LMF.

[0388] There may be some embodiments (98) of the non-transitory storage medium (94) described above, wherein the second positioning server includes the first positioning server.

[0389] Some embodiments (99) of the non-transitory storage medium (94) described above may further include: program code for receiving at least one of a plurality of periodic or triggered positioning events from a UE; and program code for forwarding at least one of the plurality of periodic or triggered positioning events to a second positioning server.

[0390] There may be some embodiments (100) of the non-transitory storage medium (99) above, wherein at least one of the plurality of periodic or triggered positioning events indicates a second positioning server.

[0391] There may be some embodiments (101) of the non-transitory storage medium (99) above, wherein at least one of the plurality of periodic or triggered positioning events does not indicate a second positioning server, and further comprising determining the second positioning server.

[0392] There may be some embodiments (102) of the non-transitory storage medium (94) described above, wherein the request for periodic or triggered positioning received from another entity includes multiple parameters, and further includes: including at least some of the multiple parameters in the request for periodic or triggered positioning sent to the first positioning server.

[0393] There may be some embodiments (103) of the non-transitory storage medium (102) described above, wherein the plurality of parameters comprises a contact address of another entity, a location delay request (LDR) reference number, an indication of a first positioning server, a type of positioning report, a positioning service quality, a maximum duration, a maximum number of event reports, including a request for a position estimate in an event report, or some combination of these parameters.

[0394] There may be some embodiments (104) of the non-transitory storage medium (102) above, wherein the plurality of parameters does not include an indication of a first positioning server, and further comprises determining the first positioning server.

[0395] An embodiment (105) may be a method for supporting a positioning service for a user equipment (UE) performed by an entity in a wireless network, the method comprising: receiving a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from an external client; querying another entity in the wireless network for an address of a core network (CN) node associated with the UE; sending the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE to the CN node, wherein the CN node will send a request for periodic or triggered positioning to a first positioning server, wherein the first positioning server will send the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE to the UE, and the UE will confirm the activation of the periodic or triggered positioning in the UE; receiving a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning of the UE is activated in the UE from the CN node; sending a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE to the external client; receiving multiple periodic or triggered positioning event reports of the UE from a second positioning server, wherein each of the multiple periodic or triggered positioning event reports contains at least one of a location measurement result, a location estimate, a type of a detected trigger event, or a combination thereof; and sending multiple corresponding periodic or triggered positioning event reports to the external client.

[0396] There may be some embodiments (106) of the above method (105), further comprising: determining a first positioning server and including an address of the first positioning server in a periodic or triggered positioning request of the UE sent to the CN node.

[0397] There may be some implementations (107) of the above method (105), further comprising: receiving a confirmation from the CN node indicating that the request for periodic or triggered positioning has been accepted by the CN node; and sending a confirmation to the external client indicating that the request for periodic or triggered positioning has been accepted by the CN node.

[0398] There may be some embodiments (108) of the above method (105), wherein the entity, the CN node, the first positioning server, the other entity and the second positioning server are respectively accessing a fifth generation core network (5GCN) or a home 5GCN.

[0399] There may be some embodiments (109) of the above method (108) wherein the entity is a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC), the CN node is an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), the first positioning server is a Location Management Function (LMF), the other entity is a Unified Data Management (UDM) and the second positioning server is the LMF.

[0400] There may be some embodiments (110) of the above method (109) wherein the entity is a Home GMLC, wherein the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE is sent to the CN node via the Visited GMLC.

[0401] There may be some embodiments (111) of the method (109) above, wherein the entity is a home GMLC, wherein a plurality of periodic or triggered positioning event reports for the UE are received from a second positioning server via a visiting GMLC.

[0402] There may be some implementations (112) of the above method (105), wherein the second positioning server includes the first positioning server.

[0403] There may be some embodiments (113) of the method (105) described above, further comprising: including multiple parameters in a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE sent to the CN node, wherein the multiple parameters include a contact address of an entity, a location delay request (LDR) reference number, an indication of a first positioning server, a type of positioning report, a positioning service quality, a maximum duration, a maximum number of event reports, including a request for a position estimate in an event report, or some combination of these parameters.

[0404] An embodiment (114) may be an entity in a wireless network for supporting positioning services for a user equipment (UE), comprising: an external interface for receiving and sending messages to an entity in the network; at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled to the external interface and the at least one memory, the at least one processor being configured to: receive a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from an external client; query another entity in the wireless network for an address of a core network (CN) node associated with the UE; send the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE to the CN node, wherein the CN node will send the request for periodic or triggered positioning to a first positioning server in order to reach the UE, and the UE will confirm the activation of the periodic or triggered positioning in the UE; receive a confirmation from the CN node that the periodic or triggered positioning of the UE is activated in the UE; send a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE to the external client; receive multiple periodic or triggered positioning event reports of the UE from a second positioning server, wherein each of the multiple periodic or triggered positioning event reports contains at least one of a location measurement result, a location estimate, a type of a detected trigger event, or a combination thereof; and send multiple corresponding periodic or triggered positioning event reports to the external client.

[0405] There may be some embodiments (115) of the entity (114) above, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: determine a first positioning server and include an address of the first positioning server in a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE sent to the CN node.

[0406] There may be some embodiments (115) of the above entity (114), wherein at least one processor is further configured to: receive a confirmation from the CN node indicating that the request for periodic or triggered positioning has been accepted by the CN node; and send a confirmation to the external client indicating that the request for periodic or triggered positioning has been accepted by the CN node.

[0407] There may be some embodiments (117) of the above entity (114), wherein the entity, the CN node, the first positioning server, the further entity and the second positioning server are respectively an access fifth generation core network (5GCN) or a home 5GCN.

[0408] There may be some embodiments (118) of the above entity (117), wherein the entity is a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC), the CN node is an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), the first positioning server is a Location Management Function (LMF), the other entity is a Unified Data Management (UDM) and the second positioning server is the LMF.

[0409] There may be some embodiments (119) of the above entity (118) wherein the entity is a Home GMLC, wherein the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE is sent to the CN node via the Visit GMLC.

[0410] There may be some embodiments (120) of the entity (118) above, wherein the entity is a home GMLC, wherein a plurality of periodic or triggered positioning event reports for the UE are received from a second positioning server via a visiting GMLC.

[0411] There may be some embodiments (121) of the entity (114) above, wherein the second positioning server comprises the first positioning server.

[0412] There may be some embodiments (122) of the entity (114) above, wherein the request for periodic or triggered positioning received from the external client comprises a plurality of parameters, and wherein the at least one processor is further configured to include the plurality of parameters in the request for periodic or triggered positioning sent to the CN node, wherein the plurality of parameters comprises a contact address of the entity, a location delay request (LDR) reference number, an indication of a first positioning server, a type of positioning report, a quality of positioning service, a maximum duration, a maximum number of event reports, including the request for a position estimate in an event report, or some combination of these parameters.

[0413] An embodiment (123) may be an entity in a wireless network for supporting positioning services for a user equipment (UE), comprising: a component for receiving a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from an external client; a component for querying another entity in the wireless network for an address of a core network (CN) node associated with the UE; a component for sending a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE to a CN node, wherein the CN node will send a request for periodic or triggered positioning to a first positioning server, wherein the first positioning server will send a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE to the UE, and the UE will confirm the activation of the periodic or triggered positioning in the UE; a component for receiving a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning of the UE is activated in the UE from the CN node; a component for sending a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE to the external client; a component for receiving multiple periodic or triggered positioning event reports of the UE from a second positioning server, wherein each of the multiple periodic or triggered positioning event reports contains at least one of a location measurement result, a location estimate, a type of a detected trigger event, or a combination thereof; and a component for sending multiple corresponding periodic or triggered positioning event reports to the external client.

[0414] There may be some embodiments (124) of the entity (123) above, further comprising: means for determining a first positioning server and including an address of the first positioning server in a periodic or triggered positioning request of the UE sent to the CN node.

[0415] There may be some embodiments (125) of the above entity (123), further comprising: a component for receiving a confirmation from a CN node indicating that the request for periodic or triggered positioning has been accepted by the CN node; and a component for sending a confirmation to an external client indicating that the request for periodic or triggered positioning has been accepted by the CN node.

[0416] There may be some embodiments (126) of the above entity (123), wherein the entity, the CN node, the first positioning server, the further entity and the second positioning server are respectively an access fifth generation core network (5GCN) or a home 5GCN.

[0417] There may be some embodiments (127) of the above entity (126), wherein the entity is a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC), the CN node is an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), the first positioning server is a Location Management Function (LMF), the other entity is a Unified Data Management (UDM) and the second positioning server is the LMF.

[0418] There may be some embodiments (128) of the above entity (127) wherein the entity is a Home GMLC, wherein the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE is sent to the CN node via the Visited GMLC.

[0419] There may be some embodiments (129) of the entity (127) above, wherein the entity is a home GMLC, wherein a plurality of periodic or triggered positioning event reports for the UE are received from a second positioning server via a visiting GMLC.

[0420] There may be some embodiments (130) of the entity (123) above, wherein the second positioning server comprises the first positioning server.

[0421] There may be some embodiments (131) of the entity (123) described above, further comprising means for including a plurality of parameters in a request for periodic or triggered positioning of a UE sent to a CN node, wherein the plurality of parameters comprises a contact address of the entity, a location delay request (LDR) reference number, an indication of a first positioning server, a type of positioning report, a quality of positioning service, a maximum duration, a maximum number of event reports, including a request for a position estimate in an event report, or some combination of these parameters.

[0422] An embodiment (132) may be a non-transitory storage medium including program code stored thereon, the program code being operable to cause at least one processor of an entity in a wireless network to support a positioning service for a user equipment (UE), comprising: program code for receiving a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from an external client; program code for querying another entity in the wireless network for an address of a core network (CN) node associated with the UE; program code for sending a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE to a CN node, wherein the CN node will send the request for periodic or triggered positioning to a first positioning server, wherein the first positioning server will send the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE to the UE The invention relates to a method for transmitting the periodic or triggered positioning event report of the UE to the external client. The method comprises: receiving a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from a CN node, and the UE confirms the activation of the periodic or triggered positioning in the UE; a program code for receiving a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning of the UE is activated in the UE from a CN node; a program code for sending a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning is activated in the UE to an external client; a program code for receiving a plurality of periodic or triggered positioning event reports of the UE from a second positioning server, wherein each of the plurality of periodic or triggered positioning event reports contains at least one of a position measurement result, a position estimate, a type of a detected triggering event, or a combination thereof; and a program code for sending a plurality of corresponding periodic or triggered positioning event reports to an external client.

[0423] There may be some embodiments (133) of the non-transitory storage medium (132) above, further comprising: program code for determining a first positioning server and including an address of the first positioning server in a periodic or triggered positioning request of the UE sent to the CN node.

[0424] Some embodiments (134) of the above-mentioned non-transitory storage medium (132) may further include: program code for receiving a confirmation from a CN node indicating that a request for periodic or triggered positioning has been accepted by the CN node; and program code for sending a confirmation to an external client indicating that a request for periodic or triggered positioning has been accepted by the CN node.

[0425] There may be some embodiments (135) of the above-mentioned non-transitory storage medium (132), wherein the entity, the CN node, the first positioning server, the other entity and the second positioning server are respectively accessing a fifth generation core network (5GCN) or a home 5GCN.

[0426] There may be some embodiments (136) of the above-mentioned non-transitory storage medium (135), wherein the entity is a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC), the CN node is an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), the first positioning server is a Location Management Function (LMF), the other entity is a Unified Data Management (UDM) and the second positioning server is the LMF.

[0427] There may be some embodiments (137) of the non-transitory storage medium (136) above, wherein the entity is a home GMLC, wherein a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE is sent to the CN node via the visiting GMLC.

[0428] There may be some embodiments (138) of the non-transitory storage medium (136) above, wherein the entity is a home GMLC, wherein a plurality of periodic or triggered positioning event reports of the UE are received from a second positioning server via a visiting GMLC.

[0429] There may be some embodiments (139) of the non-transitory storage medium (132) described above, wherein the second positioning server includes the first positioning server.

[0430] Some embodiments (140) of the non-transitory storage medium (132) described above may further include: program code for including multiple parameters in a request for periodic or triggered positioning of a UE sent to a CN node, wherein the multiple parameters include a contact address of an entity, a location delay request (LDR) reference number, an indication of a first positioning server, a type of positioning report, a positioning service quality, a maximum duration, a maximum number of event reports, including a request for a position estimate in an event report, or some combination of these parameters.

[0431] Although what is currently considered as exemplary features has been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various other modifications may be made, and equivalents may be substituted, without departing from the claimed subject matter. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation to the teachings of the claimed subject matter without departing from the central concept described herein.

[0432] Therefore, it is intended that the claimed subject matter not be limited to the particular examples disclosed, but that the claimed subject matter may also include all aspects falling within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A method for supporting a positioning service for a user equipment UE performed by a first positioning server in a wireless network, the method include: Receiving a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from a first core network CN node in the wireless network, wherein the first CN node receives the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from different entities; Sending the periodic or triggered positioning request to the UE; receiving a confirmation from the UE that the periodic or triggered positioning has been activated in the UE; and Sending the confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning has been activated in the UE to the first CN node.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: include: retaining information on the request for the periodic or triggered positioning after sending the confirmation to the first CN node that the periodic or triggered positioning has been activated in the UE; receiving a plurality of periodic or triggered positioning event reports from the UE, wherein each of the plurality of periodic or triggered positioning event reports comprises at least one of a positioning measurement, a positioning estimate, a type of a detected triggering event, or a combination thereof; as well as A plurality of corresponding periodic or triggered positioning event reports are sent to the different entities.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising: include: An instruction to send a positioning event report to the first positioning server is included in the periodic or triggered positioning request sent to the UE.

4. The method according to claim 2, further comprising: include: receiving a periodic or triggered positioning event report from the UE via a second CN node; Sending a positioning context to a second positioning server, wherein the positioning context includes the periodic or triggered positioning event report and information of the periodic or triggered positioning request for the UE received from the first CN node; as well as After sending the positioning context to the second positioning server, the information of the request for the periodic or triggered positioning is discarded and the resources of the request for the periodic or triggered positioning are released.

5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising: include: The second positioning server is determined.

6. The method according to claim 4, in, The second positioning server is more suitable for the periodic or triggered positioning event reporting than the first positioning server.

7. The method according to claim 4, in, The second CN node includes the first CN node.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: include: After sending the confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning has been activated in the UE to the first CN node, information of the request for the periodic or triggered positioning is discarded and resources for the request for the periodic or triggered positioning are released.

9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising: include: An instruction for sending a positioning event report to any positioning server is included in the periodic or triggered positioning request sent to the UE.

10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: include: In response to receiving the request for the periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from the first CN node, determining the positioning of the UE; as well as The positioning is included in the confirmation sent to the first CN node that the periodic or triggered positioning has been activated in the UE.

11. The method according to claim 2, further comprising: include: In response to receiving a periodic or triggered positioning event report from the UE, determining the positioning of the UE; as well as The position fix is ​​included in corresponding periodic or triggered position fix event reports sent to the different entities.

12. The method according to claim 2, in, The plurality of periodic or triggered positioning event reports are received from the UE via a second CN node.

13. The method according to claim 12, in, The second CN node is different from the first CN node.

14. The method according to claim 1, in, The first CN node, the first positioning server and the different entities are part of a fifth generation core network 5GCN.

15. The method according to claim 14, in, The first CN node is an Access and Mobility Management Function AMF, the first positioning server is a Positioning Management Function LMF, and the different entities are a Gateway Mobile Positioning Center GMLC.

16. A first positioning server in a wireless network for supporting a positioning service for a user equipment UE, wherein the first positioning server include: External interface, used to receive and send messages to entities in the network; at least one memory; as well as at least one processor, coupled to the external interface and the at least one memory, the at least one processor being configured to: Receiving a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from a first core network CN node in the wireless network, wherein the first CN node receives the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from different entities; Sending the periodic or triggered positioning request to the UE; receiving a confirmation from the UE that the periodic or triggered positioning has been activated in the UE; and Sending the confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning has been activated in the UE to the first CN node.

17. The first positioning server according to claim 16, in, The at least one processor is further configured to: retaining information on the request for the periodic or triggered positioning after sending the confirmation to the first CN node that the periodic or triggered positioning has been activated in the UE; receiving a plurality of periodic or triggered positioning event reports from the UE, wherein each of the plurality of periodic or triggered positioning event reports comprises at least one of a positioning measurement, a positioning estimate, a type of a detected triggering event, or a combination thereof; as well as A plurality of corresponding periodic or triggered positioning event reports are sent to the different entities.

18. The first positioning server according to claim 17, in, The at least one processor is further configured to include an instruction to send a positioning event report to the first positioning server in the request for periodic or triggered positioning sent to the UE.

19. The first positioning server according to claim 17, in, The at least one processor is further configured to: receiving a periodic or triggered positioning event report from the UE via a second CN node; Sending a positioning context to a second positioning server, wherein the positioning context includes the periodic or triggered positioning event report and information of the periodic or triggered positioning request for the UE received from the first CN node; as well as After sending the positioning context to the second positioning server, the information of the request for the periodic or triggered positioning is discarded and the resources of the request for the periodic or triggered positioning are released.

20. The first positioning server according to claim 19, in, The at least one processor is further configured to determine the second positioning server.

21. The first positioning server according to claim 19, in, The second positioning server is more suitable for the periodic or triggered positioning event reporting than the first positioning server.

22. The first positioning server according to claim 19, in, The second CN node includes the first CN node.

23. The first positioning server according to claim 16, in, The at least one processor is further configured to, after sending the confirmation to the first CN node that the periodic or triggered positioning has been activated in the UE, discard information of the request for the periodic or triggered positioning and release resources for the request for the periodic or triggered positioning.

24. The first positioning server according to claim 23, in, The at least one processor is further configured to include an instruction to send a positioning event report to any positioning server in the request for periodic or triggered positioning sent to the UE.

25. The first positioning server according to claim 16, in, The at least one processor is further configured to: In response to receiving the request for the periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from the first CN node, determining the positioning of the UE; as well as The positioning is included in the confirmation sent to the first CN node that the periodic or triggered positioning has been activated in the UE.

26. The first positioning server according to claim 17, in, The at least one processor is further configured to: In response to receiving a periodic or triggered positioning event report from the UE, determining the positioning of the UE; and The position fix is ​​included in corresponding periodic or triggered position fix event reports sent to the different entities.

27. The first positioning server according to claim 17, in, The plurality of periodic or triggered positioning event reports are received from the UE via a second CN node.

28. The first positioning server according to claim 27, in, The second CN node is different from the first CN node.

29. The first positioning server according to claim 16, in, The first CN node, the first positioning server and the different entities are part of a fifth generation core network 5GCN.

30. The first positioning server according to claim 29, in, The first CN node is an Access and Mobility Management Function AMF, the first positioning server is a Positioning Management Function LMF, and the different entities are a Gateway Mobile Positioning Center GMLC.

31. A first positioning server in a wireless network for supporting a positioning service for a user equipment UE, wherein the first positioning server include: A component for receiving a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from a first core network CN node in the wireless network, wherein the first CN node receives the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from a different entity; A component for sending the periodic or triggered positioning request to the UE; means for receiving a confirmation from the UE that the periodic or triggered positioning has been activated in the UE; and Means for sending said confirmation to said first CN node that said periodic or triggered positioning has been activated in said UE.

32. A non-transitory storage medium comprising program code stored thereon, the program code being operable to cause at least one processor in a first positioning server in a wireless network to support a positioning service for a user equipment UE, the non-transitory storage medium include: Program code for receiving a request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from a first core network (CN) node in the wireless network, wherein the first CN node receives the request for periodic or triggered positioning of the UE from a different entity; Program code for sending the request for periodic or triggered positioning to the UE; program code for receiving, from the UE, a confirmation that the periodic or triggered positioning has been activated in the UE; and Program code for sending the confirmation to the first CN node that the periodic or triggered positioning has been activated in the UE.

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