Position information acquisition method and device, electronic equipment and storage medium

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a position information acquisition method and device, equipment, a medium and a program product. The method comprises the following steps: receiving a plurality of positioning requests corresponding to the same emergency session positioning service sent by a plurality of positioning service clients; sending a position determination request to the LMF via the AMF according to the positioning request; receiving a positioning event notification returned by the LMF in response to the position determination request; and sending a positioning response message to the positioning service client corresponding to the positioning request. Through the method, multiple positioning requests corresponding to the same emergency session positioning service can be subjected to association processing, and the position measurement values obtained in the processing process of each positioning request are fully utilized, so that the position of the target terminal can be more efficiently calculated, and more accurate position estimation is obtained.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of computer technology, and more specifically, to a method, apparatus, electronic device, storage medium, and computer program product for acquiring location information. Background Technology

[0002] When a terminal initiates an emergency call, the Location Services Client (LCS client) needs to obtain the terminal's location information. Location-based emergency call routing requires that the terminal's location information be obtained at each hop of the emergency communication route, and the emergency call establishment process should not be affected by delays. As the emergency call is passed hop-by-hop between different routing entities, the LCS client in each routing entity initiates a location request to obtain the terminal's location information in order to determine the next-hop routing entity. Location requests from routing entities closer to the terminal typically yield more accurate location information. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This disclosure provides a location information acquisition method, apparatus, electronic device, storage medium, and computer program product.

[0004] Other features and advantages of this disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description, or may be learned in part from practice of this disclosure.

[0005] According to one aspect of this disclosure, a location information acquisition method is provided, applied to a Gateway Mobile Location Centre (GMLC), the method comprising: receiving at least one location request sent by at least one location service client corresponding to the same emergency session location service; the emergency session location service being a location service used for conducting an emergency session with a target terminal; sending a location determination request to a Location Management Function (LMF) via an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) according to the location request; receiving a location event notification returned by the LMF in response to the location determination request; the location event notification including at least location information corresponding to the target terminal; and sending a location response message to the location service client corresponding to the location request; the location response message including at least the location information.

[0006] In an exemplary embodiment, the location request includes at least the identification information of the emergency session location service and / or the identification information of the target terminal.

[0007] In an exemplary embodiment, sending a location determination request to the LMF according to the location request includes: sending a location information provision request to the AMF according to the location request, so that the AMF sends the corresponding location determination request to the LMF according to the location information provision request.

[0008] In an exemplary embodiment, the request to provide location information includes at least the identification information of the emergency session location service and / or the identification information of the target terminal.

[0009] In an exemplary embodiment, the location information is calculated by the LMF based on at least one location measurement value obtained by performing location measurement on the target terminal corresponding to the emergency session location service.

[0010] In an exemplary embodiment, the location information includes at least: location estimation and estimated timestamp.

[0011] In an exemplary embodiment, sending a location response message to the location service client corresponding to the location request further includes: in response to the location service client being located on a route that is not an end node, causing the location service client to route the location request to a first location service client; the first location service client belongs to the at least one location service client.

[0012] In an exemplary embodiment, sending a location response message to the location service client corresponding to the location request further includes: terminating the emergency session location service in response to the location service client being located on a route that is the final node.

[0013] In an exemplary embodiment, the location request includes at least whether to accept intermediate location information and / or the maximum response time.

[0014] According to another aspect of this disclosure, a location information acquisition apparatus is provided, comprising: a location request receiving module configured to receive at least one location request corresponding to the same emergency session location service sent by at least one location service client; the emergency session location service being a location service used for conducting an emergency session with a target terminal; a location determination request sending module configured to send a location determination request to an LMF via an AMF according to the location request; a location event notification receiving module configured to receive a location event notification returned by the LMF in response to the location determination request; the location event notification including at least location information corresponding to the target terminal; and a location response message sending module configured to send a location response message to the location service client corresponding to the location request; the location response message including at least the location information.

[0015] According to another aspect of this disclosure, an electronic device is provided, comprising: one or more processors; and a storage device configured to store one or more programs, which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to implement the location information acquisition method as described in the above embodiments.

[0016] According to another aspect of this disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, the computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the location information acquisition method as described in the above embodiments.

[0017] According to another aspect of this disclosure, a computer program product is provided, including a computer program / signaling, characterized in that, when the computer program / signaling is executed by a processor, it implements the location information acquisition method as described in the above embodiments.

[0018] The location information acquisition method provided in this disclosure receives multiple location requests corresponding to the same emergency session location service from multiple location service clients, sends a location determination request to the Location Provider Function (LMF) based on each location request, obtains the returned location information of the target terminal, and sends the location information to the location service client corresponding to each location request. This method allows for the association and processing of multiple location requests corresponding to the same emergency session location service, fully utilizing the location measurements obtained during the processing of each location request. This enables more efficient location calculation of the target terminal and yields a more accurate location estimate.

[0019] It should be understood that the above general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only, and are not intended to limit this disclosure. Attached Figure Description

[0020] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with this disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of this disclosure, and are not intended to unduly limit this disclosure.

[0021] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a network architecture of a communication system to which embodiments of this disclosure apply is shown;

[0022] Figure 2 A flowchart of a location information acquisition method according to an embodiment of this disclosure is shown;

[0023] Figure 3 A flowchart of the LMF location calculation method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0024] Figure 4 A flowchart of a location response message sending method according to an embodiment of this disclosure is shown;

[0025] Figure 5 This illustration shows a schematic diagram of the message transmission flow for the location information acquisition process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0026] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the structure of a location information acquisition device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0027] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device suitable for implementing exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0028] Exemplary embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, these exemplary embodiments can be implemented in many forms and should not be construed as limited to the examples set forth herein; rather, they are provided so that this disclosure will be more comprehensive and complete, and will fully convey the concept of the exemplary embodiments to those skilled in the art. The described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

[0029] Furthermore, the accompanying drawings are merely illustrative of this disclosure and are not necessarily drawn to scale. The same reference numerals in the drawings denote the same or similar parts, and therefore repeated descriptions of them will be omitted. Some block diagrams shown in the drawings are functional entities and do not necessarily correspond to physically or logically independent entities. These functional entities may be implemented in software, in one or more hardware modules or integrated circuits, or in different network and / or processor devices and / or microcontroller devices.

[0030] It should be noted that the ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" mentioned in the embodiments of this disclosure are used to distinguish multiple objects, and are not used to limit the order, timing, priority or importance of multiple objects. Furthermore, the descriptions of "first" and "second" do not limit the objects to necessarily being different.

[0031] To address the aforementioned problems, this disclosure proposes an IMS registration method and an IMS call method, which can be applied to various communication systems. Examples include GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Frequency Division Duplex, LTE Time Division Duplex, UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunication System), WIMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access), 5G (5th generation), or future communication systems or other similar communication systems.

[0032] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a network architecture for a communication system to which embodiments of this disclosure apply is shown. Figure 1As shown, the network architecture includes UE, RAN (Radio Access Network) equipment, AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function) network elements, SMF (Session Management function) network elements, UPF (User Plane Function) network elements, PCF (Policy Control Function) network elements, NSSF (Network Slice Selection Function) network elements, NRF (Network Repository Function) network elements, NWDAF (Network Data Analytics Function) network elements, UDM (Unified Data Management) network elements, UDR (Unified Data Repository) network elements, ASF (Authentication Server Function) network elements, NEF (Network Exposure Function) network elements, AF (Application Function) network elements, and DN (Data Network) connecting to the operator's network.

[0033] The UE can be various electronic devices, deployed on land (indoor or outdoor, handheld, wearable, or vehicle-mounted); on water (e.g., ships); or in the air (e.g., airplanes, balloons, and satellites). The UE can communicate with the core network without RAN equipment, exchanging voice and / or data with RAN equipment. The UE can be a mobile phone, tablet, computer with wireless transceiver capabilities, mobile internet device, wearable device, virtual reality terminal device, augmented reality terminal device, wireless terminal in industrial control, wireless terminal in autonomous driving, wireless terminal in telemedicine, wireless terminal in smart grids, wireless terminal in transportation safety, wireless terminal in smart cities, wireless terminal in smart homes, etc. Optionally, the client applications installed in different UEs can be the same, or clients of the same type of application based on different operating systems. Depending on the terminal platform, the specific form of the application client can also differ; for example, the application client can be a mobile phone client, a computer client, etc.

[0034] RAN equipment is a device in the network used to connect UEs to the wireless network. It can include devices in the access network that communicate with wireless terminals through one or more sectors on the air interface. UEs can access AMF network elements through RAN equipment. Specifically, when a UE accesses an AMF network element through RAN equipment, the UE can access the AMF network element through network-side equipment such as 5G and later versions of base stations (e.g., 5G NR NB) or base stations in other communication systems (e.g., eNB base stations).

[0035] The AMF network element is mainly used for mobility management and access authentication / authorization of UEs, and is also responsible for transmitting user policies between UEs and PCF network elements.

[0036] SMF network elements are mainly used for session management, UE Internet Protocol address allocation and management, selection of manageable user plane functions, policy control, or terminal points for charging function interfaces, and downlink data notification, etc.

[0037] UPF network elements can be used for packet routing and forwarding, or QoS processing of user plane data. User data can be accessed to the DN through this network element.

[0038] PCF network elements are a unified policy framework used to guide network behavior, providing policy rule information for control plane functional network elements (such as AMF and SMF network elements).

[0039] The NSSF network element is mainly used to select the appropriate network slice for the UE's services.

[0040] NRF network elements are primarily used to provide registration and discovery functions for network elements or the services they provide.

[0041] NWDAF network elements can collect data from various network functions and perform analysis and prediction.

[0042] UDM network elements are mainly used to manage UE subscription information. For example, during the authentication process, they perform authentication vector calculation, key deduction, user identifier decryption, etc. In the resynchronization process, they verify AUTS according to the corresponding algorithm and initiate a re-authentication process.

[0043] UDR network elements are mainly used to store structured data information, including subscription information, policy information, and network data or service data with standard format definitions.

[0044] The AUSF network element is mainly used for security authentication of terminal devices.

[0045] The NEF (Network Element) is located between the 5G core network and external third-party application functions, and may also have some internal application functions. It is responsible for managing the network data exposed to the outside world. All external applications that want to access the internal data of the 5G core network must go through the NEF. The NEF provides corresponding security guarantees to ensure the security of external applications to the network, and provides functions such as opening up QoS customization capabilities for external applications, subscription to mobility state events, and distribution of application function requests.

[0046] AF (Application Filter) network elements are primarily used to convey application-side requests to the network side, such as QoS requirements and user state event subscriptions. AF network elements can be third-party functional entities or application services deployed by the operator. For third-party application functional entities, authorization processing can also be handled through NEF (Network Filter) network elements when interacting with the core network. For example, a third-party application function may directly send a request to an NEF network element. The NEF network element determines whether the AF network element is authorized to send the request. If the verification is successful, the request will be forwarded to the corresponding PCF (Physical Processing Filter) network element or UDM (User Filtering Filter) network element.

[0047] It should be understood that the aforementioned network elements or functions can be network components in hardware devices, software functions running on dedicated hardware, or virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform).

[0048] Figure 2 A flowchart of a location information acquisition method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the message transmission flow for the location information acquisition process according to an embodiment of this disclosure is shown. Figure 2 , 5 The location information acquisition method provided in this embodiment is applied to a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC). For example... Figure 2 , 5 As shown, the method for obtaining location information may include the following steps.

[0049] In step S210, at least one location request corresponding to the same emergency session location service is received from at least one location service client; the emergency session location service is a location service used to conduct emergency sessions on the target terminal.

[0050] In related technologies, location services in operator networks should provide location information to each hop of routing entities and meet the Quality of Service (QoS) and latency requirements of a series of routing entities. Current standards only support location service processes for single LCS clients, meaning each LCS client needs to initiate a location request independently, and the network processes each request separately. However, in emergency call location services, emergency calls need to be routed hop-by-hop between different routing entities (e.g., from a provincial routing entity to a municipal routing entity). Multiple LCS clients deployed in multiple routing entities need to initiate a series of related location requests based on the same terminal to be located. Currently, this series of related location requests initiated based on the same terminal lacks the necessary correlation, failing to fully utilize the location measurement data obtained during each location request process.

[0051] In this embodiment of the disclosure, the location information acquisition method is applied to a GMLC. The GMLC is responsible for receiving location requests from LCS clients, coordinating network resources to determine the location information of the target terminal, and returning the location information to the requesting LCS client.

[0052] As mentioned earlier, in an emergency session location service targeting the same terminal, as location information becomes increasingly accurate, emergency calls need to be relayed hop-by-hop between different routing entities. Each routing entity deploys an LCS client. This LCS client is an application or entity that requests location information and is used in the mobile communication network to obtain the terminal's location information. The emergency session location service is a location service used to conduct emergency sessions with the target terminal. Multiple LCS clients corresponding to the same emergency session location service send a series of associated location requests to the GMLC. These location requests are used to request the location information of the target terminal.

[0053] In an exemplary embodiment, the location request includes at least the identification information of the emergency session location service and / or the identification information of the target terminal. The identification information of the emergency session location service identifies the emergency session location service. The identification information of the target terminal identifies the target terminal. Through the identification information of the emergency session location service and / or the identification information of the target terminal, the GMLC can identify from multiple location requests which location requests correspond to the same emergency session location service or target terminal. Based on this, the series of location requests can be associated using the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0054] In an exemplary embodiment, the location request includes at least whether to accept an intermediate location information response and / or a maximum response time. The acceptance of an intermediate location information response indicates whether the LCS client accepts preliminary or provisional location information provided by the network, even if this information has not yet reached the final accuracy requirements. This allows for rapid action in emergency situations without waiting for the most accurate location information. The maximum response time indicates the maximum time limit for the LCS client to wait for a network response to provide location information. This is a time threshold used to control the response time of the location request.

[0055] In an exemplary embodiment, whether to accept intermediate location information responses and / or the maximum response time can be configured by the corresponding LCS client.

[0056] In step S220, based on the location request, a location determination request is sent to the Location Management Function (LMF) via the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF).

[0057] In this embodiment of the disclosure, the GMLC sends a location determination request to the LMF via the AMF based on the location requests from each LCS client. The AMF is used for mobility management and access authentication / authorization of the UE, including location management and related services. The LMF is responsible for acquiring and managing the UE's location information to support location services. Through this location determination request, the GMLC requests the LMF to measure and determine the location information of the target terminal.

[0058] In an exemplary embodiment, the GMLC sends a Location Information Request (Namf_Location_ProvidePositioningInfo Request) to the AMF based on the positioning request, and forwards the positioning request to the AMF through this Location Information Request. The AMF then sends a corresponding Location Determine Request (Nlmf_Location_DetermineLocationRequest) to the LMF based on the Location Information Request, so that the LMF can obtain the location information of the target terminal.

[0059] In an exemplary embodiment, the request to provide location information and the request to determine location may include the aforementioned acceptance of intermediate location information response and / or maximum response time.

[0060] In an exemplary embodiment, the location information request includes at least the identification information of the emergency session location service and / or the identification information of the target terminal. Based on the relevant identification information in the location request, the GMLC identifies the location request as a location request from multiple LCS clients, i.e., one of a series of location requests corresponding to the same emergency session location service or target terminal. Based on this relevant identification information, the GMLC includes the identification information in the location information request sent to the AMF, so that the AMF is also aware that the location request is a location request from multiple LCS clients and identifies the corresponding emergency session location service or target terminal. Based on this, the AMF can instruct the LMF to measure and estimate the location information of the target terminal according to the location strategy of multiple LCS client location requests.

[0061] In step S230, a location event notification returned by the LMF in response to the location determination request is received; the location event notification includes at least location information corresponding to the target terminal.

[0062] In this embodiment of the disclosure, after receiving a location determination request, the LMF is responsible for measuring and estimating the location of the target terminal based on the request to obtain relevant location information. The LMF sends the location information corresponding to the target terminal to the GMLC through a location event notification (Nlmf_Location_EventNotify). The GMLC receives the location event notification to obtain the location information.

[0063] In this embodiment, the LMF, through interaction with the target terminal and the base station, can acquire multiple location measurements using various positioning technologies (such as GPS, base station triangulation, etc.). The LMF evaluates the signal quality of the acquired multiple location measurements and calculates the location estimate of the target terminal based on relevant positioning algorithms. It should be noted that there are many relevant location measurement methods and location estimation algorithms, and the specific measurement method and location estimation algorithm used by the LMF are not limited here.

[0064] In this embodiment, when the LMF learns that the location request is from multiple LCS clients, the LMF not only estimates the location based on the location measurements obtained during the location request, but also saves the location measurements corresponding to the emergency session location service for the target terminal. Upon receiving a location request corresponding to the same emergency session location service, the LMF estimates the location not only based on the location measurements obtained during the current location request, but also based on the stored historical location measurements corresponding to the emergency session location service, thus obtaining a location estimate. Unlike location requests from a single LCS client, which only estimate the location based on the location measurements obtained during the current location request, this disclosure, considering the characteristics of multiple LCS client location requests, estimates the location by combining relevant historical location measurements with the current location measurements. This fully utilizes the obtained location measurements, enabling more efficient location calculation for the target terminal and obtaining a more accurate location estimate.

[0065] In an exemplary embodiment, in response to the LCS client receiving a reply of intermediate location information, the location information may be location information corresponding to the intermediate location.

[0066] In an exemplary embodiment, the location information includes at least: a location estimate and an estimation timestamp. The location estimate is a target terminal location estimate calculated by the LMF based on location measurements. If the location information corresponds to an intermediate location, then the location estimate is also a location estimate corresponding to that intermediate location. The estimation timestamp is a timestamp corresponding to the location estimate. The estimation timestamp allows determination of the timestamps corresponding to various location estimates for intermediate locations, thereby identifying which location estimate is more accurate.

[0067] In step S240, a location response message is sent to the location service client corresponding to the location request; the location response message includes at least the location information.

[0068] In this embodiment of the disclosure, the GMLC receives location event notifications returned by the LMF for each location request initiated by an LCS client. The GMLC generates a corresponding location response message based on the location information in the location event notification and sends the location response message to the LCS client corresponding to the location request. The location response message includes at least the location information.

[0069] In this embodiment, the GMLC sends corresponding location response messages to each location request initiated by an LCS client. Simultaneously, because the GMLC processes the location information acquisition according to the multi-LCS client location request method provided in this disclosure, location requests corresponding to the same emergency session location service are processed in a correlated manner. Thus, the LMF can perform location estimation based on multiple location measurements obtained from this series of location requests during the location process, thereby fully utilizing the obtained location measurements and more efficiently calculating the target terminal's location to obtain a more accurate location estimate. Therefore, each LCS client can obtain more accurate location information more efficiently.

[0070] The location information acquisition method provided in this disclosure receives multiple location requests corresponding to the same emergency session location service from multiple location service clients, sends a location determination request to the Location Provider Function (LMF) based on each location request, obtains the returned location information of the target terminal, and sends the location information to the location service client corresponding to each location request. This method allows for the association and processing of multiple location requests corresponding to the same emergency session location service, fully utilizing the location measurements obtained during the processing of each location request. This enables more efficient location calculation of the target terminal and yields a more accurate location estimate.

[0071] Figure 3 A flowchart illustrating the LMF location calculation method according to an embodiment of this disclosure is shown. Figure 3 As shown, the method for calculating the position of LMF in step S230 may include the following steps.

[0072] In step S310, a location measurement request is sent to the target terminal.

[0073] In this embodiment of the disclosure, after receiving a location determination request forwarded by the AMF, the LMF sends a location measurement request to the target terminal according to the location determination request.

[0074] LMF (Local Multi-Functional Detection) can measure the location of a target terminal in various ways. These include base station triangulation, satellite positioning measurement, and hybrid measurement. Base station triangulation uses distance or angle information between the UE and multiple base stations to determine the UE's location. It locates the UE by comparing the time differences in the arrival times of the UE's signals at different base stations. Satellite positioning measurement determines the UE's location based on the positioning satellite signals received by the UE, such as GPS, GLONASS, and BeiDou. Hybrid measurement combines the above two measurement methods to measure the UE's location. In this embodiment, the LMF can choose any of the above measurement methods or a combination of measurement methods to initiate a location measurement of the target terminal.

[0075] In step S320, at least one first position measurement value returned by the target terminal is received.

[0076] In this embodiment of the disclosure, the LMF receives at least one first location measurement value returned by the target terminal. The first location measurement value is location measurement data obtained from a single measurement. The first location measurement value can be positioning data returned by the target terminal, or it can be a measurement value obtained by the LMF based on the target terminal through measurement. The first location measurement value represents the current location measurement value obtained based on the location measurement request in step S310.

[0077] In step S330, location information is obtained by calculating the location based on at least one second location measurement value and a first location measurement value corresponding to the emergency session location service.

[0078] In this embodiment, based on the fact that the location request is a location request from multiple LCS clients, in addition to the first location measurement value obtained according to the aforementioned step S330, at least one second location measurement value corresponding to the emergency session location service is also obtained. This second location measurement value represents a historical location measurement value corresponding to the emergency session location service. Location information is obtained by performing location calculation based on the second location measurement value and the first location measurement value. This disclosure, taking into account the characteristics of multi-LCS client location requests, performs location estimation by combining relevant historical location measurement values ​​with the current location measurement value, making full use of the obtained location measurement values, which allows for more efficient location calculation of the target terminal's location and obtains a more accurate location estimate.

[0079] In an exemplary embodiment, the second location measurement value may also be location information obtained in the history of emergency session location services, that is, location information calculated from the location measurement value in the past.

[0080] In step S340, a location event notification is returned to the GMLC.

[0081] In this embodiment of the disclosure, the LMF generates a location event notification based on the calculated location information and returns the location event notification to the GMLC.

[0082] The location information acquisition method provided in this disclosure, taking into account the characteristics of multiple LCS client location requests, performs location estimation by combining relevant historical location measurement values ​​with the current location measurement value. By making full use of the obtained location measurement values, the location of the target terminal can be calculated more efficiently, resulting in a more accurate location estimate.

[0083] Figure 4 A flowchart illustrating a location response message sending method according to an embodiment of this disclosure is shown. Figure 4As shown, the step S240, which involves sending a location response message to the location service client corresponding to the location request, may include the following steps.

[0084] In step S410, a location response message is sent to the location service client corresponding to the location request.

[0085] In step S420, in response to the fact that the route where the location service client is located is not the endpoint, the location service client routes the location request to the first location service client; the first location service client belongs to the at least one location service client.

[0086] As mentioned earlier, during the emergency call location service, the emergency call needs to be relayed hop-by-hop between different routing entities. Multiple LCS clients deployed in multiple routing entities need to initiate a series of related location requests based on the same terminal to be located. The routing entity needs to determine the next-hop router entity based on the location information obtained from the location requests, so that the emergency call can ultimately be routed to the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) closest to the target terminal that initiated the emergency call. This PSAP is the final node in the emergency call routing, typically a public service organization with emergency rescue and response capabilities, such as public safety, emergency medical services, or fire departments. The PSAP, as a routing entity node on the emergency call routing path, also deploys LCS clients.

[0087] In this embodiment of the disclosure, the LCS client reports the node attributes of the routing entity it is located on when sending a location request. In response to the fact that the route where the LCS client is located is not the endpoint, the GMLC sends a location response message to the LCS client, causing the LCS client to route the location request to a first LCS client. This first LCS client is an LCS client located on another routing entity. Based on receiving the location request, the first LCS client also belongs to at least one of the aforementioned location service clients corresponding to the same emergency session location service. The first LCS client also needs to send a location request corresponding to the emergency session location service to the GMLC.

[0088] In step S430, in response to the fact that the route where the location service client is located is the end node, the emergency session location service is terminated.

[0089] In this embodiment of the disclosure, the LCS client reports the node attributes of the routing entity it is located on when sending a location request. In response to the fact that the route where the LCS client is located is the final node, such as the route being PSAP, the GMLC terminates the emergency session location service. Based on this, the location information acquisition process for the emergency call ends.

[0090] In an exemplary embodiment, the GMLC also sends an emergency session location service termination message to the AMF, so that the AMF notifies the LMF to delete the location measurements associated with the emergency session location service.

[0091] The location information acquisition method provided in this disclosure allows for different routing node attributes of the LCS client, enabling the LCS client to route its location request to the next LCS client or terminate the emergency session location service. This method can select an appropriate routing path based on the obtained location information and terminate the emergency session location service after routing to the final node, thereby releasing resources occupied during the multi-LCS client location process.

[0092] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the message transmission flow for the location information acquisition process according to an embodiment of this disclosure is shown.

[0093] In step 1, as the emergency session request is routed through the routing entities (e.g., from the provincial routing entity to the municipal routing entity), a series of location requests are initiated from each LCS client to the GMLC. These location requests may include a response to receive intermediate location information and a maximum response time.

[0094] In step 2, GMLC identifies the received location request as a location request from multiple LCS clients and forwards the request to AMF via Namf_Location_ProvidePositioningInfo Request. This request may include accepting intermediate location information in response and the maximum response time.

[0095] In step 3, the AMF triggers the Nlmf_Location_DetermineLocation Request service, which sends the location request to the LMF. This service request may include accepting intermediate location information in response and a maximum response time.

[0096] In step 4, the LMF executes a location process, sequentially determining multiple location information estimates for the emergency session, and recording the location estimates and timestamps determined by the LMF for the emergency session. This specific location process may include:

[0097] Step 4.1: Obtain intermediate location information. The LMF triggers the Nlmf_Location_EventNotify service to the GMLC and provides the GMLC with the intermediate location estimate of the terminal and the timestamp of the location estimate.

[0098] In step 4.2, the GMLC obtains the intermediate location estimate of the terminal and the timestamp of the location estimate, and sends it to the corresponding LCS client. The routing entity routes the emergency session request based on the location information, leading to the next-hop routing entity. The next-hop routing entity repeats the process described in steps 1 to 4.2.

[0099] In step 5, the LMF replies to the AMF with the final UE location information, and the LMF guarantees to send the final UE location information to the AMF within the maximum reply time.

[0100] In step 6, the AMF sends the UE's final location information to the GMLC.

[0101] In step 7, the GMLC sends the UE's final location information to the terminal node LCS client.

[0102] Based on the same inventive concept, this disclosure provides a location information acquisition device, as described in the following embodiments. Since the principle by which this device solves the problem is similar to that of the method embodiments described above, the implementation of this communication authentication device can be referenced directly to the methods described above, and repeated details will not be repeated.

[0103] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the structure of a location information acquisition device according to an embodiment of this disclosure is shown. Figure 6 As shown, the location information acquisition device 600 may include: a location request receiving module 610, a location determination request sending module 620, a location event notification receiving module 630, and a location response message sending module 640.

[0104] The location request receiving module 610 is configured to receive at least one location request sent by at least one location service client corresponding to the same emergency session location service; the emergency session location service is a location service used to conduct emergency sessions on the target terminal.

[0105] Location request sending module 620 is configured to send a location request to LMF via AMF based on the location request.

[0106] The location event notification receiving module 630 is configured to receive a location event notification returned by the LMF in response to the location determination request; the location event notification includes at least location information corresponding to the target terminal.

[0107] The location response message sending module 640 is configured to send a location response message to the location service client corresponding to the location request; the location response message includes at least the location information.

[0108] In an exemplary embodiment, the location request includes at least the identification information of the emergency session location service and / or the identification information of the target terminal.

[0109] In an exemplary embodiment, the location determination request sending module 620 is further configured to send a location information provision request to the AMF according to the location request, so that the AMF sends the corresponding location determination request to the LMF according to the location information provision request.

[0110] In an exemplary embodiment, the request to provide location information includes at least the identification information of the emergency session location service and / or the identification information of the target terminal.

[0111] In an exemplary embodiment, the location information is calculated by the LMF based on at least one location measurement value obtained by performing location measurement on the target terminal corresponding to the emergency session location service.

[0112] In an exemplary embodiment, the location information includes at least: location estimation and estimated timestamp.

[0113] In an exemplary embodiment, the location response message sending module 640 is further configured to, in response to the location service client being located on a route that is not an end node, route the location service client to a first location service client; the first location service client belongs to the at least one location service client.

[0114] In an exemplary embodiment, the location response message sending module 640 is further configured to terminate the emergency session location service in response to the route where the location service client is located being the final node.

[0115] In an exemplary embodiment, the location request includes at least whether to accept intermediate location information and / or the maximum response time.

[0116] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device suitable for implementing exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. Referring below... Figure 7 To describe an electronic device 700 according to this embodiment of the present invention. Figure 7 The electronic device 700 shown is merely an example and should not impose any limitations on the functionality and scope of use of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0117] like Figure 7As shown, the electronic device 700 is manifested in the form of a general-purpose computing device. The components of the electronic device 700 may include, but are not limited to: at least one processing unit 710, at least one storage unit 720, a bus 730 connecting different system components (including storage unit 720 and processing unit 710), and a display unit 740.

[0118] Storage unit 720 may include a readable medium in the form of a volatile storage unit, such as random access memory (RAM) 7201 and / or cache memory 7202, and may further include a read-only memory (ROM) 7203.

[0119] The storage unit 720 may also include a program / utility 7204 having a set (at least one) program module 7205, such program module 7205 including but not limited to: an operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules and program data, each or some combination of these examples may include an implementation of a network environment.

[0120] Bus 730 can represent one or more of several types of bus structures, including a memory cell bus or memory cell controller, a peripheral bus, a graphics acceleration port, a processing unit, or a local bus using any of the various bus structures.

[0121] Electronic device 700 can also communicate with one or more external devices 770 (e.g., keyboard, pointing device, Bluetooth device, etc.), and with one or more devices that enable a user to interact with electronic device 700, and / or with any device that enables electronic device 700 to communicate with one or more other computing devices (e.g., router, modem, etc.). This communication can be performed via input / output (I / O) interface 750. Furthermore, electronic device 700 can also communicate with one or more networks (e.g., local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), and / or public networks, such as the Internet) via network adapter 760. As shown, network adapter 760 communicates with other modules of electronic device 700 via bus 730. It should be understood that, although not shown in the figures, other hardware and / or software modules can be used in conjunction with electronic device 700, including but not limited to: microcode, device drivers, redundant processing units, external disk drive arrays, RAID systems, tape drives, and data backup storage systems.

[0122] In exemplary embodiments of this disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is also provided, on which a program product capable of implementing the methods described above is stored.

[0123] In some possible implementations, various aspects of the present invention may also be implemented as a program product comprising program code that, when the program product is run on a terminal device, causes the terminal device to perform the steps described in the "Exemplary Methods" section of this specification according to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

[0124] According to embodiments of the present invention, a program product for implementing the above-described method may employ a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) and include program code, and may run on a terminal device, such as a personal computer. However, the program product of the present invention is not limited thereto. In this document, a readable storage medium may be any tangible medium containing or storing a program that may be used by or in conjunction with a signaling execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0125] The program product may employ any combination of one or more readable media. A readable medium may be a readable signal medium or a readable storage medium. A readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any combination thereof. More specific examples of readable storage media (a non-exhaustive list) include: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable disk, a hard disk, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical fiber, portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination thereof.

[0126] Computer-readable signal media may include data signals propagated in baseband or as part of a carrier wave, carrying readable program code. Such propagated data signals may take various forms, including but not limited to electromagnetic signals, optical signals, or any suitable combination thereof. A readable signal medium may also be any readable medium other than a readable storage medium, capable of sending, propagating, or transmitting programs for use by or in conjunction with a signaling execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0127] The program code contained on the readable medium may be transmitted using any suitable medium, including but not limited to wireless, wired, optical fiber, RF, etc., or any suitable combination thereof.

[0128] Program code for performing the operations of this invention can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Java and C++, and conventional procedural programming languages ​​such as C or similar languages. The program code can execute entirely on the user's computing device, partially on the user's device, as a standalone software package, partially on the user's computing device and partially on a remote computing device, or entirely on a remote computing device or server. In cases involving remote computing devices, the remote computing device can be connected to the user's computing device via any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or it can be connected to an external computing device (e.g., via the Internet using an Internet service provider).

[0129] It should be noted that although several modules or units for the device used to perform actions have been mentioned in the detailed description above, this division is not mandatory. In fact, according to embodiments of this disclosure, the features and functions of two or more modules or units described above can be embodied in one module or unit. Conversely, the features and functions of one module or unit described above can be further divided and embodied by multiple modules or units.

[0130] Furthermore, although the steps of the method in this disclosure are described in a specific order in the accompanying drawings, this does not require or imply that the steps must be performed in that specific order, or that all the steps shown must be performed to achieve the desired result. Additional or alternative steps may be omitted, multiple steps may be combined into one step, and / or a step may be broken down into multiple steps.

[0131] From the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art will readily understand that the exemplary embodiments described herein can be implemented by software or by combining software with necessary hardware. Therefore, the technical solutions according to the embodiments of this disclosure can be embodied in the form of a software product, which can be stored in a non-volatile storage medium (such as a CD-ROM, USB flash drive, external hard drive, etc.) or on a network, including several signaling instructions to cause a computing device (such as a personal computer, server, mobile terminal, or network device, etc.) to execute the method according to the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0132] Other embodiments of this disclosure will readily occur to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. This application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of this disclosure that follow the general principles of this disclosure and include common knowledge or customary techniques in the art not disclosed herein. The specification and examples are to be considered exemplary only, and the true scope and spirit of this disclosure are indicated by the appended claims.

[0133] It should be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the precise structures described above and shown in the accompanying drawings, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from its scope. The scope of this disclosure is limited only by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for acquiring location information, characterized in that, Applied to Gateway MobileLocation Centers (GMLCs), the method includes: Receive at least one location request sent by at least one location service client corresponding to the same emergency session location service; the emergency session location service is a location service used to conduct emergency sessions on the target terminal; Based on the location request, a location determination request is sent to the Location Management Function (LMF) via the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF); The system receives a location event notification returned by the LMF in response to the location determination request; the location event notification includes at least location information corresponding to the target terminal. A location response message is sent to the location service client corresponding to the location request; the location response message includes at least the location information.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The location request includes at least the identification information of the emergency session location service and / or the identification information of the target terminal.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Sending a location determination request to the LMF according to the location request includes: Based on the location request, a request to provide location information is sent to the AMF, so that the AMF sends the corresponding location determination request to the LMF based on the request to provide location information.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The request to provide location information includes at least the identification information of the emergency session location service and / or the identification information of the target terminal.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The location information is calculated by the LMF based on at least one location measurement value obtained by performing location measurement on the target terminal corresponding to the emergency session location service.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The location information includes at least: location estimate and estimated timestamp.

7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Sending a location response message to the location service client corresponding to the location request further includes: In response to the fact that the route where the location service client is located is not the final node, the location service client routes the location request to a first location service client; the first location service client belongs to the at least one location service client.

8. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Sending a location response message to the location service client corresponding to the location request further includes: The emergency session location service is terminated in response to the fact that the route where the location service client is located is the final node.

9. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The location request includes at least whether to accept intermediate location information and / or the maximum response time.

10. A location information acquisition device, characterized in that, include: The location request receiving module is configured to receive at least one location request sent by at least one location service client corresponding to the same emergency session location service; The emergency session location service is a location service used to conduct emergency sessions on the target terminal. The location request sending module is configured to send a location request to the LMF via the AMF based on the location request; The location event notification receiving module is configured to receive a location event notification returned by the LMF in response to the location determination request; the location event notification includes at least location information corresponding to the target terminal; The location response message sending module is configured to send a location response message to the location service client corresponding to the location request; The location response message includes at least the location information.

11. An electronic device, characterized in that, include: One or more processors; A storage device configured to store one or more programs, which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to implement the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 9.

12. A computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, characterized in that, When the computer program is executed by a processor, it implements the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 9.

13. A computer program product, comprising a computer program / signaling, characterized in that, When the computer program / signaling is executed by the processor, it implements the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 9.

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