Positioning method and communication device

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a positioning method and a communication device. The positioning method and the communication device can reduce positioning time delay. Taking the method applied to terminal equipment or at least one module in the terminal equipment as an example, the method comprises the following steps: receiving a positioning request from an application, the positioning request being used for requesting position information of the terminal equipment; acquiring first information from the access network equipment according to the positioning request; determining position information of the terminal equipment according to the first information; and sending the position information of the terminal equipment to the application.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communication, and in particular to a positioning method and a communication device. BACKGROUND

[0002] Currently, an application outside a mobile communication network wants to obtain a positioning service, needs to initiate a positioning request to a core network (CN) in the mobile communication network, and obtains a positioning result from the CN. For example, an application sends a positioning service request about a user equipment (UE) to a gateway mobile location center (GMLC), the GMLC sends a positioning request about the UE to an access and mobility management function (AMF) serving the UE, the AMF sends a positioning request of the UE to a location management function (LMF) serving the UE, so that the LMF initiates a positioning process for the UE to obtain a positioning result of the UE. The LMF sends the positioning result of the UE to the GMLC, and the GMLC can send the positioning result of the UE to the application.

[0003] The positioning process initiated by the LMF includes: the LMF obtains a positioning capability of the UE and a positioning capability of at least one base station, configures a positioning process according to the positioning capability of the UE and the positioning capability of the at least one base station, and then obtains a result obtained by measuring a reference signal from the UE and / or the at least one base station, so as to calculate a positioning result according to the result.

[0004] However, the above positioning process is complex, which can cause high positioning latency. SUMMARY

[0005] The positioning method and the communication device provided by the embodiments of the present application can reduce the positioning latency.

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

[0007] In a first aspect, a positioning method is provided, which can be applied to a terminal side, such as a terminal device or at least one module in the terminal device, the at least one module including a communication module or a circuit or chip responsible for a communication function (such as a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a system on chip (SoC) chip or a system in package (SIP) chip containing a modem core), and the method includes: receiving a positioning request from an application, the positioning request being used to request location information of the terminal device; obtaining first information from an access network device according to the positioning request; determining the location information of the terminal device according to the first information; and sending the location information of the terminal device to the application.

[0008] In the embodiments of the present application, the application can directly send a positioning request to the terminal device, the terminal device obtains first information from the access network device according to the positioning request, and determines the location information of the terminal device according to the first information, so as to feed back the location information of the terminal device to the application. Compared with the application sending a positioning request to a mobile communication network, the terminal device can directly obtain first information for assisting in determining the location of the terminal device from the access network device, without the need for the AMF in the mobile communication network to select an LMF, trigger the LMF to initiate a positioning process, and send a measurement result of a measurement reference signal to the LMF or obtain relevant information for determining the location of the terminal device from the LMF in the positioning process, thereby simplifying the positioning process and reducing the positioning delay to improve the real-time performance of the positioning.

[0009] Optionally, the positioning request is used to request the location information of the terminal device, which can be replaced by: the positioning request is used to request positioning of the terminal device.

[0010] In a possible implementation, the method provided in the first aspect further includes: obtaining the positioning information of the terminal device based on a non-third generation partnership project (3GPP) technology; and determining the location of the terminal device according to the first information, including: determining the location of the terminal device according to the first information and the positioning information of the terminal device obtained based on the non-3GPP technology. That is, the terminal device can obtain the positioning information of the terminal device based on the non-3GPP technology, and determine the location information of the terminal device by combining the first information obtained based on the 3GPP technology and the positioning information of the terminal device obtained based on the non-3GPP technology, thereby improving the positioning accuracy.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the first information is acquired from the access network device, including: in a case that the positioning manner is positioning performed by the terminal device, the first information is acquired from the access network device. That is, in a case that the positioning manner is positioning performed by the terminal device, the terminal device acquires the first information to perform positioning by interacting with the access network device, and then does not need to acquire the information for positioning from the LMF, so that the interaction process of the network side can be saved, and the positioning delay can be reduced.

[0012] In a possible implementation, the method provided in the first aspect further includes: determining, according to the positioning request, that the positioning manner is positioning performed by the terminal device. That is, the terminal device can directly determine, according to the positioning request, that the positioning manner is positioning performed by the terminal device, and then does not need to interact with the network (for example, sending the positioning request to the AMF in the network) to determine the positioning manner (that is, the LMF determines the positioning manner), so that the real-time performance of positioning can be improved by reducing the interaction between the terminal device and the network.

[0013] In a possible implementation, the positioning request includes at least one of the following: a positioning type, a positioning method, or a positioning requirement. It can be understood that the terminal device can also determine the positioning manner according to at least one of the positioning type, the positioning method, or the positioning requirement included in the positioning request. For example, positioning based on the 3GPP technology can include the following positioning types: terminal device positioning assisted by an access network device, terminal device positioning, or terminal device assisted positioning. Among them, the terminal device positioning assisted by the access network device refers to that the terminal device performs positioning based on information determined by the access network device. The information determined by the access network device can include: the location information of the access network device, and / or the information for positioning determined according to the reference signal transmitted by at least one terminal device. Among them, the at least one terminal device includes the terminal device. Optionally, the at least one terminal device also includes a positioning reference unit PRU. It can be understood that the main difference between the terminal device positioning assisted by the access network device and the terminal device positioning is that the terminal device directly performs calculation of the positioning result based on the information (for example, the location information of the access network device and / or the information for positioning) sent by the access network device, instead of performing positioning based on the information provided by the LMF. That is, since the information provided by the LMF needs to be processed by the LMF through a complex algorithm, which can cause high processing delay, the positioning based on the information determined by the access network device can reduce the processing delay, and thus the real-time performance of positioning can be improved.

[0014] It should be understood that, based on the access network device assisted terminal device positioning, the terminal device can be replaced by: the terminal device performs positioning according to the information (for example, the position information of the access network device and / or the information for positioning) determined by the access network device from the access network device. It can be understood that, in the flow based on the terminal device positioning, the UE and the access network device send the measurement results of the measurement reference signal to the LMF, and the LMF processes to obtain the information for positioning, and then the LMF sends the information for positioning to the UE. That is, the terminal device can directly obtain the information determined by the access network device from the access network device, without obtaining the information for positioning provided by the LMF from the LMF, thereby saving the interaction flow of the network side, thereby reducing the positioning delay. In addition, the terminal device can directly obtain the original measurement result (for example, the signal strength) of the access network device from the access network device, since the original measurement result can directly feedback the attenuation information on the signal propagation path, thereby helping to more accurately determine the distance and / or angle between the terminal device and the access network device, thereby improving the positioning accuracy.

[0015] For another example, the positioning method is a specific positioning method corresponding to the positioning type. For example, the positioning method of the access network device assisted terminal device positioning can include: positioning based on the position information of the access network device determined by the access network device, and / or positioning based on the information for positioning determined by the access network device according to the reference signal transmitted by at least one terminal device. It can be understood that, in the case that the positioning method included in the positioning request belongs to the positioning method of the access network device assisted terminal device positioning, the terminal device can determine that the positioning manner is positioning performed by the terminal device according to the positioning method included in the positioning request. In addition, the terminal device can also determine the specific positioning method for performing positioning of the terminal device according to the positioning method included in the positioning request, for example, whether to perform positioning based on the position information of the access network device determined by the access network device or to perform positioning based on the information for positioning determined by the access network device.

[0016] In a possible implementation, the positioning requirement includes a positioning accuracy requirement and / or a positioning delay requirement. That is, the terminal device can also determine the positioning manner according to the positioning accuracy requirement and / or the positioning delay requirement.

[0017] In a possible implementation, the method of the first aspect further includes: determining the positioning manner as positioning performed by the terminal device in a case where the positioning request meets a condition, the condition including at least one of: the positioning request including a positioning time delay requirement, the positioning time delay requirement being less than or equal to a first threshold; or, the positioning request including a positioning accuracy requirement, the positioning accuracy requirement being less than or equal to a second threshold. For example, the first threshold can be a specific time value, such as 0.5 milliseconds (ms), 1 ms, 2 ms, or another time value. Similarly, the positioning time delay requirement may, for example, be 0.8 ms, and in a case where the first threshold is 1 ms, the positioning time delay requirement is less than the first threshold, i.e., the positioning time delay requirement is higher, and a positioning manner with a smaller positioning time delay (e.g., the manner of positioning performed by the terminal device) should be used. For another example, the specific value of the second threshold can be in units of centimeters or meters (m). For example, the second threshold can be 2 m, 5 m, or another value. Similarly, the positioning accuracy requirement may, for example, be 2 m, i.e., a positioning accuracy of at least 2 m is required. In a case where the second threshold is 5 m, the positioning accuracy requirement is less than the second threshold, i.e., the positioning accuracy requirement is higher, and a positioning manner with higher positioning accuracy (e.g., the manner of positioning performed by the terminal device) should be used. That is, the terminal device can determine the positioning manner as positioning performed by the terminal device according to the positioning time delay requirement being less than or equal to the first threshold and / or the positioning accuracy requirement being less than or equal to the second threshold, which helps to simplify the positioning procedure, reduce the positioning time delay, and improve the real-time performance of positioning. In addition, the manner of positioning performed by the terminal device can include the above-mentioned terminal device positioning assisted by the access network device, in which the terminal device can directly obtain original measurement results of the access network device from the access network device, which helps to improve the positioning accuracy.

[0018] In a possible implementation, the method of the first aspect further includes: determining the positioning manner as positioning by the terminal device in a case that the terminal device is indoors. It can be understood that the terminal device can determine whether the terminal device is indoors according to a sensor in the terminal device. For example, the terminal device can determine that the terminal device is indoors according to weak wireless signals (for example, cellular signals or satellite signals). In addition, the terminal device can also determine whether the terminal device is indoors according to mobility measurement. It should be understood that the terminal device can determine whether the terminal device is indoors in response to the positioning request, that is, the terminal device determines whether the terminal device is indoors at the moment when the positioning request is received. In addition, in a case that the terminal device is indoors, the wireless signals can be weak, which is not conducive to positioning (for example, UE-assisted positioning) by the network side, and therefore it can be determined that the positioning manner is positioning by the terminal device. That is, in a case that the terminal device receives the positioning request, the terminal device determines whether the terminal device is indoors in response to the positioning request, and when the terminal device is indoors, it is determined that the positioning manner is positioning by the terminal device.

[0019] In a possible implementation, the first information is acquired from the access network device, including: sending a first request to the access network device, the first request being used to request to perform the positioning manner of positioning by the terminal device; and receiving a response to the first request from the access network device, the response to the first request including the first information. That is, the terminal device can send the first request to the access network device to request the access network device to assist the terminal device to perform the positioning manner of positioning by the terminal device, and then the access network device sends the first information to the terminal device in response to the first request, so as to save the interaction process of the network side through direct interaction between the terminal device and the access network device, thereby reducing the positioning delay.

[0020] In a possible implementation, the information for positioning determined by the access network device according to the reference signal transmitted by the at least one terminal device can include: a measurement result of the access network device, and / or a calculation result determined by the access network device according to the measurement result. For example, for a round trip time (RTT) positioning method, the calculation result can be a time difference between a sending time of a positioning reference signal (PRS) sent by the access network device and an arrival time of a sounding reference signal (SRS) received by the access network device from the terminal. For another example, when a time difference of arrival (TDOA) positioning method is used, the calculation result can be a time difference between a time of arrival (TOA) measurement value of the SRS received by the access network device and a reference time value, where the TOA measurement value can refer to a TOA of a symbol or a TOA of a subframe boundary at which the reference signal is received, and the reference time value can be 0.5 ms, 1 ms, or 2 ms. That is, the terminal device can directly obtain the original measurement result and the calculation result of the access network device from the access network device, and since the original measurement result can directly feed back the attenuation information on the signal propagation path and the calculation result can provide rich information for positioning, it is helpful to more accurately determine the distance and / or angle between the terminal device and the access network device, thereby improving the positioning accuracy.

[0021] In a possible implementation, the type of the measurement result includes at least one of: a time measurement value, an angle measurement value, a reference signal received power (RSRP), or a reference signal received path power (RSRPP). It can be understood that the time measurement value can refer to a time of arrival (TOA) measurement value of the reference signal received by the access network device. The angle measurement value can be an angle of arrival (AOA) in AOA positioning, or an angle of departure (AOD) in AOD positioning, and the like. The RSRP can refer to a signal strength of the reference signal received, for example, a linear average value of power contribution of a time-frequency unit (for example, a resource element (RE)) carrying the reference signal. The RSRPP can refer to a power of a linear average value of a channel response of the RE carrying the reference signal at an i th path delay. Wherein i is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and a path delay of a first path corresponds to the first path delay. That is, the terminal device and the access network device can perform different positioning methods, and the first information provided by the access network device to the terminal device can be different for different positioning methods, so that the terminal device can obtain different types of original measurement results, which is helpful to improve the positioning accuracy.

[0022] In a possible implementation, according to the positioning request, the terminal device obtains the first information from the access network device, including: obtaining the first information from the access network device according to the positioning request, in a case that the network authorizes the terminal device to perform the positioning mode of positioning by the terminal device. That is, the terminal device obtains the first information from the access network device in a case that the network authorizes the terminal device to perform the positioning mode of positioning by the terminal device, thereby guaranteeing that the access network device can cooperate with the terminal device to facilitate the terminal device to obtain the first information from the access network device.

[0023] In a possible implementation, the method provided in the first aspect further includes: obtaining first authorization information from the network, the first authorization information being used to indicate that the network authorizes the terminal device to perform the positioning mode of positioning by the terminal device. It can be understood that the terminal device obtaining the first authorization information from the network can be that the terminal device can send a request to the network to obtain the first authorization information, or the terminal device can send a subscription request to the network to receive the first authorization information from the network when the authorization information of the terminal device changes (for example, from the network not authorizing the terminal device to perform the positioning mode of positioning by the terminal device to the network authorizing the terminal device to perform the positioning mode of positioning by the terminal device), or the network directly sends the first authorization information to the terminal device after obtaining the first authorization information of the terminal device. That is, the first network element in the network can obtain the first authorization information of the terminal device, and the terminal device can obtain the first authorization information from the first network element in multiple ways, thereby improving the flexibility of the terminal device obtaining the first authorization information.

[0024] In a possible implementation, the first authorization information further indicates at least one positioning method used by the network to authorize the terminal device, and the at least one positioning method belongs to the positioning mode of positioning by the terminal device. It can be understood that the first authorization information indicates the positioning method belonging to the positioning mode of positioning by the terminal device, which means that the first authorization information is used to indicate that the network authorizes the terminal device to perform the positioning mode of positioning by the terminal device. That is, on the basis of the network authorizing the terminal device to perform the positioning mode of positioning by the terminal device, the terminal device is further authorized to use at least one positioning method, so that the terminal device performs the positioning mode of positioning by the terminal device according to the at least one positioning method, thereby avoiding the terminal device from using a positioning method that is not supported by the network side (for example, the access network device) to perform positioning, and thereby wasting positioning resources can be avoided.

[0025] In a possible implementation, the first information is acquired from the access network device, including: sending a first request to the access network device, the first request being used to request to perform a first positioning method, the first positioning method belonging to the at least one positioning method indicated by the first authorization information; and receiving a response to the first request from the access network device, the response to the first request including the first information. That is, in the case where the terminal device requests the access network device to perform a positioning method that is not one of the at least one positioning method authorized by the network, the access network device can assist the terminal device to perform the first positioning method to send the first information, thereby avoiding the terminal device from sending a request that is not one of the at least one positioning method, and thus avoiding resource waste. In addition, the access network device can also refuse to perform the positioning method requested by the terminal device, which helps to reduce the load of the access network device.

[0026] In a possible implementation, before acquiring the first authorization information from the network, the method provided in the first aspect further includes: sending, to the network, information indicating that the terminal device supports a positioning method performed by the terminal device, and / or a message requesting to perform the positioning method performed by the terminal device. That is, the terminal device can send, according to a positioning requirement and / or a load condition, an indication that the terminal device supports the positioning method performed by the terminal device, or a message requesting to perform the positioning method performed by the terminal device, to the network to trigger authorization of the terminal device by the network, thereby improving flexibility of the network in authorizing the terminal device.

[0027] In a possible implementation, the first information is acquired from the access network device according to the positioning request, including: acquiring, from the network, second indication information in response to the positioning request, the second indication information indicating that the network allows the terminal device to perform a first positioning method, the first positioning method belonging to the at least one positioning method indicated by the first authorization information; and acquiring the first information from the access network device according to the second indication information. That is, after acquiring the first authorization information, the terminal device can acquire, from the first network element, a first positioning method that allows the terminal device to perform the at least one positioning method authorized by the network, thereby ensuring that the terminal device can perform the first positioning method and the access network device can assist the terminal device to perform the first positioning method.

[0028] In a possible implementation, the second indication information is acquired from the mobile communication network, including: in a case where it is determined according to the positioning request that the positioning manner is positioning performed by the terminal device, sending a third request to the mobile communication network, the third request being used to request to perform the first positioning method; and receiving a response to the third request from the network, the response to the third request including the second indication information. That is, the terminal device can select a more granular first positioning method request authorization according to the positioning request on the basis of the network authorizing at least one positioning method used by the terminal device, and then the network can allocate resources to the terminal device according to the first positioning method (for example, configure the terminal device with resources of the access network device to assist in performing the positioning method), so as to avoid resource waste.

[0029] In a possible implementation, the first information includes location information of the access network device; and / or, the first information is determined according to reference information from at least one terminal device, and the at least one terminal device includes the terminal device. It can be understood that the first information is determined according to the reference information from the at least one terminal device, which can be replaced by: the first information is based on the reference information from the at least one terminal device. In addition, the reference information from the terminal device includes: reference signals (for example, sounding reference signals SRS) sent by the terminal device, and / or reference information (for example, signaling sent by the terminal device for positioning measurement, such as signaling for activating configuration of the SRS) sent by the terminal device.

[0030] That is, the terminal device can reduce the demand for the number of access network devices during positioning according to the location information of the access network device included in the first information. In addition, the access network device can determine the first information according to the reference signals of multiple terminal devices (for example, including PRUs), so that the first information includes measurement results of reference signals from different terminal devices, which helps to improve positioning accuracy.

[0031] In a second aspect, a positioning method is provided, which can be applied to the access network side, for example, an access network device, a module (for example, a circuit, a chip or a chip system, etc.) in the access network device, or a logic node, a logic module or software capable of realizing all or part of the functions of the access network device. Taking the case where the method is applied to the access network device as an example, the method includes: receiving a first request from a terminal device, and sending first information to the terminal device. The first request is used to request to perform a positioning manner of positioning performed by the terminal device. The first information is used to determine the position of the terminal device in the positioning manner performed by the terminal device.

[0032] In the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device can send a first request to the access network device to request the access network device to assist the terminal device to perform a positioning method of positioning by the terminal device, and then the access network device can send first information to the terminal device, thereby saving the interaction process of the network side through the direct interaction between the terminal device and the access network device, so as to reduce the positioning delay.

[0033] In a possible implementation, the first information includes location information of the access network device.

[0034] In a possible implementation, before sending the first information to the terminal device, the method provided in the second aspect further includes: performing a first positioning method according to the first positioning method indicated by the first request; and determining the first information according to the performance of the first positioning method.

[0035] In a possible implementation, the method provided in the second aspect further includes: determining the first information according to reference information from at least one terminal device, the at least one terminal device including the terminal device.

[0036] In a possible implementation, the sending of the first information to the terminal device includes: sending the first information to the terminal device in a case where the network authorizes the terminal device to perform a positioning method of positioning by the terminal device, or in a case where the network authorizes the access network device to assist the terminal device to perform the positioning method of positioning by the terminal device. It can be understood that the network authorizing the access network device to assist the terminal device to perform the positioning method of positioning by the terminal device is, for example, the core network authorizing the access network device to assist the terminal device to perform the positioning method of positioning by the terminal device. That is, in the case where the network authorizes the terminal device to perform the positioning method of positioning by the terminal device, or in the case where the network authorizes the access network device to assist the terminal device to perform the positioning method of positioning by the terminal device, the access network device will assist the terminal device to perform the positioning method, and send the first information, so as to avoid the access network device from performing a positioning method that is not supported, so as to avoid resource waste. In addition, it can also avoid the access network device from performing a positioning method that is not authorized, and thus the location exposure of the terminal device or the access network device can be avoided, thereby improving the security.

[0037] In a possible implementation, the first request is used to request the performance of a first positioning method, and the first positioning method belongs to the positioning method of positioning by the terminal device.

[0038] In a possible implementation, the sending of the first information to the terminal device includes: sending the first information in a case where the first positioning method belongs to a positioning method used by the terminal device.

[0039] It should be understood that the beneficial effects brought by the second aspect and any implementation mode thereof can refer to the beneficial effects brought by the first aspect and any implementation mode thereof, which will not be repeated.

[0040] In a third aspect, a positioning method is provided, which can be applied to a first network element on a mobile communication network side, for example, a network element or network device in a core network CN. The method comprises: obtaining first authorization information of a terminal device, and sending the first authorization information to the terminal device. The first authorization information indicates that the mobile communication network authorizes the terminal device to perform a positioning mode in which the terminal device performs positioning.

[0041] In a possible implementation mode, the positioning mode in which the terminal device performs positioning comprises: positioning based on position information of an access network device determined by the access network device, and / or positioning based on information for positioning determined by the access network device according to reference information transmitted by at least one terminal device, the at least one terminal device including the terminal device.

[0042] In a possible implementation mode, obtaining the first authorization information of the terminal device comprises: obtaining subscription information of the terminal device, the subscription information indicating that the terminal device supports the positioning mode in which the terminal device performs positioning; and determining the first authorization information according to the subscription information of the terminal device. That is, the first network element can obtain the subscription information of the terminal device, determine the positioning mode in which the terminal device supports the positioning mode in which the terminal device performs positioning according to the subscription information, and determine the first authorization information. It should be understood that the first network element can authenticate the terminal device according to the subscription information of the terminal, and determine the first authorization information if the authentication is passed. Alternatively, the first network element can also generate the first authorization information according to the subscription information of the terminal device.

[0043] In a possible implementation mode, obtaining the subscription information of the terminal device comprises: obtaining the subscription information of the terminal device from an access mobility management network element or a data management network element. That is, the first network element can obtain the subscription information of the terminal device in multiple ways, thereby improving the flexibility of the first network element in obtaining the subscription information of the terminal device.

[0044] In a possible implementation, before obtaining the subscription information of the terminal device from the data management network element, the method provided by the third aspect further includes: receiving information from the terminal device, the information being used to indicate that the terminal device supports a positioning method in which the terminal device performs positioning, and / or a message used to request execution of the positioning method in which the terminal device performs positioning. That is, the first network element obtains the subscription information of the terminal device from the data management network element in response to the information sent by the terminal device and used to indicate that the terminal device supports the positioning method in which the terminal device performs positioning, or the message used to request execution of the positioning method in which the terminal device performs positioning, so as to authorize the terminal device. The first network element triggers the obtaining of the subscription information of the terminal device from the data management network element by sending the second request by the terminal device, which can avoid unnecessary subscription information query of the first network element and reduce resource consumption.

[0045] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: sending, to the access network device, second authorization information, the second authorization information being used to indicate that the mobile communication network authorizes the terminal device to execute the positioning method in which the terminal device performs positioning, or being used to indicate that the mobile communication network authorizes the access network device to execute the positioning method in which the terminal device performs positioning. That is, in the case where the first network element sends the first authorization information to the access network device, the terminal device has been authorized by the network to execute the positioning method in which the terminal device performs positioning, and then the first network element can send the second authorization information to the access network device, so as to inform the access network device to allow the access network device to assist the terminal device to execute the positioning method in which the terminal device performs positioning, thereby avoiding the access network device from refusing to assist the terminal device to perform positioning.

[0046] In a possible implementation, the first authorization information is further used to indicate at least one positioning method used by the terminal device, the at least one positioning method belonging to the positioning method in which the terminal device performs positioning.

[0047] In a possible implementation, before sending the second authorization information to the access network device, the method further includes: receiving a third request from the terminal device. The third request is used to request execution of a first positioning method. The first positioning method belongs to the at least one positioning method. That is, the terminal device can determine the first positioning method according to the positioning request and the at least one positioning method in the case where the terminal device receives the positioning request, and then send the third request to the first network element, so as to trigger the first network element to send the second authorization information to the access network device. Compared with the case where the network sends the second authorization information to the access network device in advance before receiving the positioning request, unnecessary resource consumption can be avoided.

[0048] In a possible implementation, the method of the third aspect further includes: sending, to the terminal device, a response of the third request. The response of the third request includes second indication information, and the second indication information indicates that the mobile communication network allows the terminal device to perform the first positioning method. That is, the terminal device can request authorization of the first positioning method with finer granularity based on the at least one positioning method authorized by the network for the terminal device to use according to the positioning request, and then the network can allocate resources (for example, configure the terminal device with resources for assisting the terminal device in performing the positioning method) for the terminal device according to the first positioning method, so that resource waste can be avoided.

[0049] In a possible implementation, the second authorization information further indicates at least one positioning method authorized by the mobile communication network for the terminal device to use, and the at least one positioning method belongs to the positioning mode in which the terminal device performs positioning. That is, on the basis of the network authorizing the terminal device to be able to perform the positioning mode in which the terminal device performs positioning, the terminal device is further authorized to use at least one positioning method, so that the access network device determines whether to accept the positioning method requested by the terminal device to perform according to the at least one positioning method, to avoid performing a positioning method that is not authorized by the network for the terminal device to use.

[0050] It should be understood that the beneficial effects brought by the third aspect and any implementation thereof can be specifically referred to the beneficial effects brought by the first aspect and any implementation thereof, which will not be repeated here.

[0051] The fourth aspect provides a communication apparatus for implementing the above methods. The communication apparatus can be the terminal device, or the access network device, or the first network element in any of the above aspects or any implementation thereof, or a device containing the terminal device, or the access network device, or the first network element, or a device (for example, a chip) contained in the terminal device, or the access network device, or the first network element. The communication apparatus includes modules, units, or means for implementing the above methods, which can be implemented by hardware, software, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the above functions.

[0052] In some possible designs, the communication apparatus can include a processing module and a transceiver module. The transceiver module, which can also be referred to as a transceiver unit, is configured to implement the functions of sending and / or receiving in any of the above aspects and any possible implementation thereof. The transceiver module can be composed of a transceiver circuit, a transceiver, a transceiver, or a communication interface. The processing module can be configured to implement the processing functions in any of the above aspects and any possible implementation thereof.

[0053] In some possible design, the transceiver module includes a transmitting module and a receiving module, which are used to implement the transmitting and receiving functions in any of the aspects and any possible implementation manner thereof.

[0054] In a fifth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which includes at least one processor; and the processor is configured to execute computer programs or instructions to enable the communication apparatus to perform the method in any of the aspects.

[0055] In a possible implementation, the communication apparatus further includes the memory. Optionally, the memory is coupled with the processor, and the memory can be integrated with the processor, or the memory can be independent of the processor. Optionally, the processor is configured to execute the computer programs or instructions stored in the memory.

[0056] In a possible implementation, the memory is independent of the communication apparatus.

[0057] In a possible implementation, the communication apparatus further includes a communication interface, which is configured to communicate with modules outside the communication apparatus.

[0058] The communication apparatus can be the terminal device, or the access network device, or the first network element in any of the aspects or any possible implementation manner thereof, or an apparatus including the terminal device, or the access network device, or the first network element, or a device included in the terminal device, or the access network device, or the first network element, such as a chip.

[0059] In a sixth aspect, a computer readable storage medium is provided, which stores computer programs or instructions, and when the computer programs or instructions are run on a communication apparatus, the communication apparatus can perform the method in any of the aspects or any possible implementation manner thereof.

[0060] In a seventh aspect, a computer program product is provided, which includes instructions, and when the instructions are run on a communication apparatus, the communication apparatus can perform the method in any of the aspects or any possible implementation manner thereof.

[0061] In an eighth aspect, a communication apparatus (for example, the communication apparatus can be a chip or a chip system) is provided, which includes a processor, and the processor is configured to implement the functions in any of the aspects or any possible implementation manner thereof.

[0062] In some possible design, the communication apparatus includes a memory, and the memory is configured to save necessary program instructions and data.

[0063] In some possible design, when the apparatus is a chip system, the apparatus can be composed of a chip, or the apparatus can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0064] It is understood that when the communication device provided by any of the fourth to eighth aspects is a chip, the aforementioned sending action / function can be understood as an output, and the aforementioned receiving action / function can be understood as an input.

[0065] The technical effects of any of the design methods in aspects four through eight can be found in the technical effects of the different design methods in aspect one above, and will not be repeated here.

[0066] Ninthly, a communication system is provided, comprising: a terminal device according to the first aspect and any implementation thereof, and an access network device according to the second aspect and any implementation thereof.

[0067] In some possible designs, the communication system may also include: the application of the first aspect described above, and / or, the first network element of the third aspect described above and any implementation thereof.

[0068] In a tenth aspect, a communication system is provided, comprising: an access network device according to the second aspect and any implementation thereof, and a first network element according to the third aspect and any implementation thereof.

[0069] In some possible designs, the communication system may also include: a terminal device of the first aspect and any implementation thereof, and / or, an application of the first aspect.

[0070] Eleventhly, a communication system is provided, comprising: a terminal device and an application according to the first aspect and any implementation thereof.

[0071] In some possible designs, the communication system further includes: an access network device of the second aspect and any implementation thereof, and / or a first network element of the third aspect and any implementation thereof. Attached Figure Description

[0072] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a possible, non-limiting system architecture provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0073] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a service-oriented architecture provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0074] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a 5G network service architecture that supports location services, provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0075] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of an architecture for positioning centered on a terminal device, provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0076] Figure 5 , Figures 8-10is a flowchart of a positioning method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0077] Figures 6-7 is a schematic diagram of positioning by a terminal device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0078] Figures 11-12 is a schematic diagram of a communication device structure provided by an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0079] In order to facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the following points are explained before the embodiments of the present application are introduced.

[0080] 1. In the embodiments of the present application, “indication” can include direct indication and indirect indication, and can also include explicit indication and implicit indication. The information indicated by a certain information is referred to as to-be-indicated information. In the implementation process, there are many ways to indicate the to-be-indicated information, for example, but not limited to, the to-be-indicated information can be directly indicated, such as the to-be-indicated information itself or an index of the to-be-indicated information. The to-be-indicated information can also be indirectly indicated by indicating other information, where the other information and the to-be-indicated information have an association relationship. The to-be-indicated information can also be indicated only in part, and the other part of the to-be-indicated information is known or agreed in advance. For example, the indication of a specific information can also be achieved by means of the arrangement order of each information agreed in advance (for example, a protocol), thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent. Meanwhile, the common part of each information can be identified and indicated uniformly, so as to reduce the indication overhead caused by separately indicating the same information.

[0081] In addition, the specific indication manner can also be various existing indication manners, for example, but not limited to, the above-mentioned indication manners and various combinations thereof. The specific details of various indication manners can refer to the prior art, and will not be described herein. As can be seen from the above, for example, when multiple information of the same type needs to be indicated, the indication manner of different information can be different. In the implementation process, the required indication manner can be selected according to the specific needs, and the selected indication manner is not limited by the embodiments of the present application. In this way, the indication manner involved in the embodiments of the present application should be understood as covering various methods that can enable the to-be-indicated party to know the to-be-indicated information.

[0082] It should be understood that the to-be-indicated information can be sent as a whole, or can be sent separately in multiple sub-information, and the sending period and / or sending occasion of the sub-information can be the same or different. The specific sending method is not limited by the embodiments of the present application. The sending period and / or sending occasion of the sub-information can be pre-defined, for example, pre-defined according to a protocol, or configured by the sending end by sending configuration information to the receiving end.

[0083] 2、In this application, "sending information" can be understood as a device (or application, function, network element, etc.) sending information to another device (or application, function, network element, etc.), or can also be understood as a logical module in a device sending information to another logical module. For example, "application sending information to terminal device" can be understood as the device carrying the application sending information to the terminal device, or can be understood as logical module 1 carrying the application in the terminal device sending information to logical module 2 in the terminal device.

[0084] In this application, "receiving information" can be understood as a device (or application, function, network element, etc.) receiving information from another device (or application, function, network element, etc.), or can also be understood as a logical module in a device receiving information from another logical module. For example, "terminal device receiving information" can be understood as the terminal device receiving information from another device, or can be understood as logical module 1 in the terminal device receiving information from logical module 2.

[0085] In this application, "sending information to (for example, access and mobility management function)" or related illustrations in the drawings can be understood as the destination of the information being the access and mobility management function. It can include directly or indirectly sending information to the access and mobility management function. "Receiving information from (for example, access and mobility management function)" or "receiving information from (for example, access and mobility management function)" or "receiving information sent by (for example, access and mobility management function)", or related illustrations in the drawings can be understood as the source of the information being the access and mobility management function, which can include directly or indirectly receiving information from the access and mobility management function. The information between the source and the destination of the information sending can be processed as necessary, such as format change, etc., but the destination can understand the valid information from the source. Similar expressions in this application can be similarly understood, and will not be repeated here.

[0086] "Predefined" or "preconfigured" can be implemented by pre-saving corresponding codes, tables or other means that can be used to indicate related information in the device, and the specific implementation mode is not limited in the embodiments of the application. Wherein, "saving" can mean saving in one or more memories. The one or more memories can be separately set, or can be integrated in the encoder or decoder, processor, or communication device. The one or more memories can be part of separate settings and part of integrated in the decoder, processor, or communication device. The type of memory can be any form of storage medium, and the embodiments of the application do not limit this.

[0087] The "protocol" referred to in the embodiments of the present application can refer to a protocol family in the communication field, a standard protocol similar to the protocol family frame structure, or a related protocol applied in a future communication system, and the embodiments of the present application do not make a specific limitation thereon.

[0088] In the embodiments of the present application, "when", "in the case of", "if", and the like all refer to that the device will make corresponding processing under certain objective conditions, and are not limited to time, and do not require the device to have a judgment action when implemented, nor mean that there are other limitations.

[0089] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified, " / " represents that the objects before and after the " / " are in an "or" relationship, for example, A / B can represent A or B; "and / or" in the embodiments of the present application is only a description of the association relationship of the associated objects, and represents that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In addition, in the description of the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified, "multiple" means two or more than two. "At least one of the following" or the like means any combination of the items, including any combination of single item or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, or a-b-c, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple. In addition, in order to clearly describe the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, "first", "second", and the like are used to distinguish the same items or similar items with basically the same function and role. Those skilled in the art can understand that "first", "second", and the like do not limit the quantity and execution order, and "first", "second", and the like do not necessarily mean different. At the same time, in the embodiments of the present application, "exemplary" or "for example" is used to represent as an example, illustration, or description. Any embodiment or design scheme described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of the present application should not be interpreted as more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or design schemes. Rather, "exemplary" or "for example" is used to present the relevant concept in a specific manner, and is convenient for understanding.

[0090] In order to facilitate understanding of the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application, first, a system applicable to the present application is given.

[0091] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, for example, a vehicle to everything (V2X) communication system, a device-to-device (D2D) communication system, a vehicle networking communication system, a 4th generation (4G) mobile communication system (such as a long term evolution (LTE) system), a worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communication system, a 5th generation (5G) mobile communication system (such as a new radio (NR) system), a future communication system, or a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) system.

[0092] First, system architecture

[0093] Figure 1 is a possible, non-limiting system architecture diagram provided by the embodiments of the present application. As shown in the figure, the system can include a terminal device, a mobile communication network, and a data network (DN). Among them, the terminal device can (or can be able to) register or access the mobile communication network, and access the DN outside the mobile communication network through the mobile communication network. Figure 1

[0094] The DN can refer to a network that provides data transmission services for the terminal device, which can be an operator-controlled network, such as an internet protocol (IP) multi-media service (IMS) network, which can be used to provide IMS services to the terminal device; or it can also be a network outside the operator, such as the Internet, which can be used to provide third-party services to the terminal device.

[0095] ​The terminal device can be a terminal with transceiver function, or a chip or chip system that can be arranged in the terminal. The terminal can also be referred to as a user equipment (UE), an access terminal, a subscriber unit, a user station, a mobile station (MS), a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent, or a user apparatus. The terminal device in the embodiments of the present application can be a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a tablet computer (Pad), a wireless data card, a personal digital assistant computer (PDA), a wireless modem, a handset, a laptop computer, a machine type communication (MTC) terminal, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal, an augmented reality (AR) terminal, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical treatment, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart city, a wireless terminal in smart home, a vehicle-mounted terminal, a road side unit (RSU) with terminal function, and the like. The terminal device in the present application can also be a vehicle-mounted module, a vehicle-mounted module, a vehicle-mounted component, a vehicle-mounted chip, or a vehicle-mounted unit built into a vehicle as one or more components or units.

[0096] The mobile communication network can be used to provide services for the terminal device, for example, the mobile communication network can include a 4G network and / or a 5G network, and the mobile communication network can also include a future communication network. In the following, the 5G network is taken as an example to illustrate the mobile communication network.

[0097] As shown in Figure 2 , the 5G network can include an access network (AN) and a core network (CN).

[0098] The AN is configured to implement access-related functions, to provide access for authorized users, and to determine transmission links of different qualities for transmitting user data according to levels of the users and requirements of services. The AN forwards control signals and user data between terminals and the CN. The AN can include an access network device or an access network apparatus, which can also be referred to as a radio access network (RAN) apparatus or a RAN device.

[0099] For example, the RAN can include an access network device in a future communication network, or a base station; or in the future communication network, the RAN can also have other naming manners, which are all within the protection scope of embodiments of the present application, and the present application does not make any limitation in this regard. Alternatively, the RAN can include a gNB in a 5G (such as new radio (NR)), or one or a group (including multiple antenna panels) of antenna panels of a base station in the 5G, or can also be a network node constituting the gNB, a transmission and reception point (TRP or transmission point, TP), or a transmission measurement function (TMF), such as a building baseband unit (BBU), or a centralized unit (CU) or a distributed unit (DU), an RSU with base station function, or a wired access gateway, or a core network of the 5G. Alternatively, the RAN can also include an access point (AP) in a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) system, a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations (also referred to as small stations), relay stations, access points, wearable devices, or vehicle-mounted devices, and the like.

[0100] CN is mainly responsible for maintaining the subscription information of the mobile network, providing session management, mobility management, policy management, security authentication and other functions for the terminal. The CN mainly includes all or part of the following functions (or network functions, NFs): user plane function (UPF), authentication server function (AUSF), access and mobility management function (AMF), session management function (SMF), network slice selection function (NSSF), network exposure function (NEF), network repository function (NRF), policy control function (PCF), unified data management (UDM), unified data repository (UDR), or application function (AF).

[0101] It can be understood that the 5G network introduces a service-based architecture (SBA), and other NFs in the CN except the UPF can implement a service interface, and thus the 5G network can realize flexible supply of services through function splitting and enhancement of the service interface. For example, the RAN communicates with the AMF through an N2 interface (referred to as N2); the RAN communicates with the UPF through an N3 interface (referred to as N3); the SMF communicates with the UPF through an N4 interface (referred to as N4); and the UPF accesses a data network (DN) through an N6 interface (referred to as N6). In addition, Figure 2The NFs shown, such as AUSF, AMF, SMF, NSSF, NEF, NRF, PCF, UDM, UDR, or AF, interact using service-oriented interfaces. For example, the service-oriented interface provided by AUSF is Nausf; AMF is Namf; SMF is Nsmf; NSSF is Nnssf; NEF is Nnef; NRF is Nnrf; PCF is Npcf; UDM is Nudm; UDR is Nudr; and AF is Naf.

[0102] It is understood that the functions involved in the embodiments of this application can also be described as functional network elements or functional entities. For example, AMF can be described as AMF network element, AMF function, AMF entity, or AMF functional entity, etc. Other NFs can use similar alternative expressions, and the embodiments of this application do not limit this.

[0103] In addition, the terms "business" and "service" can be used interchangeably in the following text. Unless otherwise specified, they have the same meaning. This will be explained uniformly here and will not be repeated below.

[0104] Understandable, such as Figure 1 As shown, the system may also include a location application. A location application can refer to an application deployed outside the mobile communication network; the application can be an application client or an application server. Deployment outside the mobile communication network can mean deployment on a terminal device or on the DN side (e.g., on the Internet).

[0105] For example, a location application can be understood as a third-party application, such as a location service (LCS) client or an over-the-top (OTT) client. Alternatively, a location application can also be an LCS server or an OTT server running on a server, etc., but this application does not specifically limit this.

[0106] If a location application can be deployed on a terminal, then the location application can refer to an application deployed on the terminal or an application installed on the terminal. For example, the location application can be an LCS client or an OTT client installed on the terminal. This application does not specifically limit this.

[0107] It is understandable that when the location application refers to an application deployed on the application server on the DN side, the location application can interact with the application installed on the terminal.

[0108] In addition, the terminal can communicate with the positioning application in a manner of 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) access (i.e., through a mobile communication network) or in a manner of non-3GPP access (e.g., Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, etc.), and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations in this regard.

[0109] It should be understood that the application can also be referred to as a service consumer or a service consumption function entity, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations in this regard.

[0110] Second, a 5G network service architecture supporting positioning services

[0111] Figure 3 is a 5G network service architecture provided by an embodiment of the present application to support positioning services. As shown in Figure 3 , Figure 3 The difference between the architecture shown in Figure 2 The difference between the architecture shown in

[0112] Where the LCS client from outside the mobile communication network wants to obtain LCS (e.g., obtain the location of the target UE), the LCS client can send an LCS service request to the GMLC, the GMLC obtains the user privacy profile from the UDM according to the LCS service request, determines the authorization information of the LCS client, and in the case of authentication, the GMLC sends an LCS service request to the AMF to obtain the LCS service result (i.e., the location of the target UE). After the GMLC obtains the location of the target UE, it sends an LCS service response (LCS service response) to the LCS client, which includes the location of the target UE.

[0113] Where the GMLC obtains the LCS service result, including: the GMLC sends the positioning request about the target UE to the AMF serving the target UE from the UDM, the AMF sends the positioning request of the target UE to the LMF, the LMF initiates the positioning process in response to the positioning request of the target UE, obtains the location of the target UE, and then sends the location of the target UE to the GMLC.

[0114] In addition, the LMF-initiated positioning procedure includes: the LMF obtaining the positioning capability of the target UE and the positioning capability of at least one base station serving the target UE, configuring the positioning procedure (for example, the LMF determines which positioning types are used) according to the positioning capability of the target UE and the positioning capability of the at least one base station, and then the target UE and / or the at least one base station can measure the positioning reference signal to obtain measurement results; the target UE and / or the at least one base station sends the measurement results to the LMF, and the LMF obtains the position of the target UE according to the used positioning method.

[0115] It can be understood that the positioning type can be divided into UE-based positioning (or terminal device-based positioning) and UE-assisted positioning (or terminal device-assisted positioning). Among them, the UE-assisted positioning can mean, for example, that the LMF can obtain the measurement results required for positioning calculation from the UE and / or at least one base station, and then perform positioning calculation according to the measurement results. The terminal device-based positioning can mean that the UE is responsible for the positioning calculation, for example, the UE can obtain the measurement results from the LMF, and perform positioning calculation according to the measurement results, and send the position of the target UE obtained by the positioning calculation to the LMF.

[0116] In addition, in order to eliminate the error when the UE measures using the downlink positioning reference signal, the 3rd generation partnership project (3rd generation partnership project, 3GPP) introduces a positioning reference unit (positioning reference unit, PRU) to eliminate the above-mentioned error, which can be referred to as PRU in Figure 3 When the PRU is a special UE, the UE network access process can be extended to register it to the network, or it can be configured to the LMF for use in the positioning process.

[0117] However, the above-mentioned positioning process involves more and more complex interactions, which can cause high positioning delay.

[0118] Based on this, the embodiments of the present application provide the following technical solutions, which can reduce the positioning delay.

[0119] In a possible implementation, a terminal device receives a positioning request from an application, the positioning request being used to request position information of the terminal device; the terminal device obtains first information from an access network device according to the positioning request; determines the position information of the terminal device according to the first information; and sends the position information of the terminal device to the application.

[0120] That is, the application can directly send a positioning request to the terminal device, the terminal device obtains first information from the access network device according to the positioning request, and determines the position information of the terminal device according to the first information, so as to feed back the position information of the terminal device to the application. Compared with the application sending a positioning request to the mobile communication network, the terminal device can directly obtain the first information for assisting in determining the position of the terminal device from the access network device, without the need for the AMF in the mobile communication network to select the LMF, trigger the LMF to initiate a positioning process, and send the measurement result of the measurement reference signal to the LMF in the positioning process, or obtain relevant information for determining the position of the terminal device from the LMF, and the like, thereby simplifying the positioning process and reducing the positioning delay, to improve the real-time performance of the positioning.

[0121] In the following, Figure 1 the terminal device is UE, the mobile communication network is a 5G network, and the application is a positioning application deployed outside the mobile communication network. The interaction interface involved in the above scheme is exemplarily described.

[0122] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of an architecture for terminal device-centered positioning provided by an embodiment of the present application. As Figure 4 indicated, the UE can provide an Nue service (or represented as Nue_service). The positioning application can send a positioning request to the UE by invoking the Nue service provided by the UE to request positioning of the UE, and the UE can send the position of the UE to the application by invoking the Nue service. It can be understood that the above Nue service can be understood as a service provided by a service interface (i.e., S1) between the UE and the positioning application.

[0123] As Figure 4 indicated, the UE can be a terminal device having a service providing capability for the positioning application, for example, can be a terminal device in a future communication system, and the present application does not make specific limitation thereto.

[0124] For example, the UE can include a communication module or a circuit or chip responsible for communication functions (such as a modem chip (also known as a baseband chip), or a SoC chip containing a modem core, or a SIP chip). The communication module or circuit or chip responsible for communication functions can be used to access the mobile communication network, that is, to connect to a network outside the mobile communication network through 3GPP access.

[0125] In addition, the above communication module or circuit or chip responsible for communication functions can also be used for non-3GPP access (such as Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth, etc.), and thus can be connected to a network outside the mobile communication network through non-3GPP access.

[0126] That is, Figure 4The UE in the UE can be connected to a network outside the mobile communication network through a 3GPP access or a non-3GPP access, and thus a positioning application on a DN side can send a positioning request to the UE to request positioning of the UE.

[0127] It can be understood that the UE can also include an application processor (AP) for processing an operation system (OS) and an application layer of the UE. In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, the OS can also provide a transmission channel between the modem and the AP.

[0128] That is, Figure 4 The positioning application in the UE can also be deployed on the AP and send a positioning request to the modem through an interface provided by the OS to request positioning of the UE.

[0129] The interaction between the UE and the RAN will be described below.

[0130] As Figure 4 indicated, the UE can interact with the RAN according to the positioning request, and thus obtain first information from the RAN. It can be understood that the UE and the RAN can interact through an air interface.

[0131] It should be understood that the UE can send a request to the RAN to request the RAN to assist in performing a positioning method requested by the UE, such as feeding back a measurement result of a reference signal. In addition, the resource of the reference signal can be configured by the RAN to the UE, such as the resource of a positioning reference signal (PRS) for downlink measurement or the resource of a sounding reference signal (SRS) for uplink measurement.

[0132] For example, taking a round trip time (RTT) positioning method requested by the UE as an example, the RAN can send a PRS to the UE, the UE sends a SRS to the RAN in response to receiving the PRS, and thus the RAN can calculate a time difference between a sending time of the PRS and an arrival time of the SRS, and send first information including the time difference between the sending time of the PRS and the arrival time of the SRS to the UE.

[0133] Optionally, the first information further comprises location information of the RAN. The location information of the RAN, for example, location coordinates of the RAN in an absolute coordinate system, or location coordinates of the RAN in a relative coordinate system (for example, in a scenario of positioning a UE located in a campus or indoor). It can be understood that, in the case of the location information of the RAN being the location coordinates in the relative coordinate system, the first information can further comprise indication information for indicating the relative coordinate system.

[0134] It should be understood that the above is only an exemplary description of the interaction between the UE and the RAN, and the UE can also interact with the RAN for signaling for performing the positioning method in the process of performing the positioning method between the UE and the RAN, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations.

[0135] It should also be understood that the RAN can be a serving RAN or a neighboring RAN of the UE. In addition, Figure 4 The RAN in the above can be multiple, for example, can include a serving RAN, and at least one neighboring RAN, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations.

[0136] In addition, the RAN sends the location information of the RAN to the UE, which helps to reduce the number of neighboring RANs for assisting positioning, or does not need the neighboring RAN to assist positioning. It can be understood that, generally, in the case of no location information of the RAN, at least two RANs are needed to cooperate to position the UE, and in the case of the location information of the RAN, the UE can directly position according to the location information of the RAN.

[0137] The interaction between the UE and the network element in the CN will be introduced below.

[0138] Optionally, before interacting with the RAN, the UE can also obtain authorization information on the mobile communication network side, which is used to indicate that the mobile communication network authorizes the UE to perform the positioning method for positioning by the UE. In addition, the interaction (for example, sending a positioning request, or capability information) of the UE with the mobile communication network can also trigger the mobile communication network side to send authorization information to the RAN, for example, authorizing the RAN to provide the first information to the UE.

[0139] It can be understood that, Figure 4 The AMF or LMF in the above can obtain the subscription data of the UE from the UDM, and then can authenticate the request of the UE for positioning, so as to send corresponding authorization information to the UE or the RAN after the authentication is passed.

[0140] It should be understood that the following is for the convenience of expression, and "network" and "mobile communication network" can be used interchangeably in the following, and the meanings of the two are the same when not explicitly indicated, and the following will not be repeated.

[0141] It should be understood that the architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are for more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application. Those skilled in the art can know that the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems with the evolution of the architecture and the appearance of new business scenarios.

[0142] The following describes the interaction process between the various network elements / devices in the system shown in Figures 5-10 The communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application can be applied to the above system and specifically applied to various scenarios / processes mentioned in the above system. Figure 1

[0143] It should be understood that the names of messages or data between various devices or apparatuses or network elements, parameters in the messages or data, or the names of information carried by the messages or data in the following embodiments of the present application are only examples, and other names can also be used in specific implementation, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0144] In addition, the embodiments of the present application take a terminal, an access network device, and an application as an example to illustrate the execution subject of the interaction, but the embodiments of the present application do not limit the execution subject of the interaction. For example, the method executed by the terminal in the embodiments of the present application can also be implemented by a terminal device, or a module in the terminal device, such as a communication module or a circuit or chip responsible for a communication function (such as a modem chip (also known as a baseband chip), or a SoC chip containing a modem core, or a SIP chip); the method executed by the access network device in the embodiments of the present application can also be implemented by a module (such as a circuit, a chip or a chip system, etc.) in the access device, or a logical node, a logical module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the access network device; the method executed by the application in the embodiments of the present application can also be implemented by a device deploying the application, or a module (such as a circuit, a chip or a chip system, etc.) in the device deploying the application, or a logical node, a logical module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the application.

[0145] Figure 5 FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of a positioning method provided by the embodiments of the present application. As shown in FIG. 1, the method includes the following steps S501-S504. Figure 5

[0146] S501, the application sends a positioning request to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the positioning from the application. The positioning request is used to request the location information of the terminal device.

[0147] S502, the terminal device acquires first information from the access network device according to the positioning request. ​​

[0148] S503, the terminal device determines the location information of the terminal device according to the first information.

[0149] S504, the terminal device sends the location information of the terminal device to the application.

[0150] The steps S501-S503 will be introduced respectively as follows.

[0151] For step S501

[0152] It can be understood that the application can be an application deployed outside the network (i.e., a mobile communication network). For example, the application can be an application program installed or running on the terminal device. For another example, the application can be an application program deployed on the DN side, which can be referred to the related description of the application in Figure 1 , and details are not described herein.

[0153] It should be understood that the network described above is the network in which the terminal device is registered, or the network accessed by the terminal device, or the network providing services for the terminal device, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on this.

[0154] For step S502

[0155] It should be understood that the access network device in step S502 can be a serving access network device of the terminal device, or a neighboring access network device of the terminal device. In the case where the access network device is a neighboring access network device of the terminal device, the neighboring access network device can send the first information to the serving access network device, and the serving access network device forwards the first information to the terminal device.

[0156] For the convenience of description, the access network device in the following can be understood as the serving access network device when it is not emphasized that the access network device is the serving access network device or the neighboring access network device, and the unified description is made here, and details are not described herein.

[0157] In a possible implementation, the terminal device obtains the first information from the access network device, including: in the case where the positioning manner is positioning performed by the terminal device, the terminal device obtains the first information from the access network device.

[0158] In the case where the positioning manner is positioning performed by the terminal device, the terminal device determines to obtain the first information from the access network device to perform positioning, and then does not need to obtain the information provided by the LMF for positioning, so that the interaction process of the network side can be saved, and the positioning delay can be reduced.

[0159] In a possible implementation, before the terminal device obtains the first information from the access network device, Figure 5 The method shown further includes:

[0160] S505, the terminal device determines the positioning manner as positioning by the terminal device.

[0161] It can be understood that the positioning manner can be replaced by: a manner of positioning by the terminal device.

[0162] In a possible implementation, the terminal device determines the positioning manner as positioning by the terminal device, comprising: the terminal device determines the positioning manner as positioning by the terminal device according to the positioning request.

[0163] For example, the terminal device can determine the positioning manner as positioning by the terminal device according to the positioning request being a positioning request from an application, instead of other positioning manners. The other positioning manners can be, for example, the aforementioned UE-assisted positioning manner. It can be understood that the other positioning manners are usually determined by requesting the terminal device to be positioned by an AMF in the network, to trigger an LMF to initiate a positioning process, and to determine the positioning manner by the LMF based on the capabilities of the terminal device and the access network device in the positioning process, resulting in a complex flow of determining the positioning manner. Figure 3

[0164] That is, the terminal device can directly determine the positioning manner as positioning by the terminal device according to the positioning request, and then does not need to determine the positioning manner by interacting with the network (for example, sending a positioning request to an AMF in the network, and then selecting an LMF by the AMF to make the LMF perform a positioning process), so as to improve the real-time performance of positioning by reducing the interaction between the terminal device and the network.

[0165] It should be understood that the above terminal device determines the positioning manner according to the positioning request being a positioning request from an application is only an example, and the terminal device can also determine the positioning manner according to the content included in the positioning request.

[0166] For example, the terminal device can determine the positioning manner according to the positioning request including at least one of the following information: a positioning type, a positioning method, or a positioning requirement.

[0167] The positioning type, the positioning method, and the positioning requirement will be introduced respectively as follows.

[0168] A. Positioning Type

[0169] ​For example, two positioning technologies can be distinguished according to different access network manners of the terminal device, such as positioning based on 3GPP technology or positioning based on non-3GPP technology. The positioning based on non-3GPP technology may, for example, include the following positioning types: positioning based on satellite (for example, global navigation satellite system (GNSS) positioning), positioning based on Wi-Fi, positioning based on Bluetooth, positioning based on radio frequency identification (RFID), positioning based on sensors, or positioning based on ultra wide band (UWB) signals, and the like, which are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0170] For another example, the positioning based on 3GPP technology may, for example, include the following positioning types: terminal device positioning based on access network device assistance, terminal device positioning, or terminal device assisted positioning. The terminal device positioning and the terminal device assisted positioning may, for example, refer to the related description of the positioning types determined by the LMF in Figure 3 . The terminal device positioning based on access network device assistance refers to that the terminal device performs positioning based on information determined by the access network device. The information determined by the access network device may, for example, include the location information of the access network device, and / or information for positioning determined according to reference information transmitted by at least one terminal device. The at least one terminal device may, for example, include the terminal device. Alternatively, the at least one terminal device may, for example, further include a PRU. The PRU may, for example, be the PRU in Figure 3 , and the related description of the PRU may, for example, refer to Figure 3 , which is not repeated here.

[0171] It can be understood that the location information of the access network device may, for example, refer to the related description of the location information of the RAN in Figure 4 , which is not repeated here.

[0172] In addition, the reference information from the terminal device may, for example, include any one or more of the following information: reference signal (for example, SRS), or signaling for positioning (also referred to as uplink message), wherein the signaling for positioning may, for example, be signaling for activating the configuration of the SRS.

[0173] In a possible implementation, the information for positioning determined by the access network device according to the reference information transmitted by the at least one terminal device may, for example, include the measurement result of the access network device, and / or the calculation result determined by the access network device according to the measurement result. For example, as Figure 4With respect to the RTT positioning method, the calculation result can be a time difference between a sending time of the PRS sent by the access network device and an arrival time of the SRS received by the access network device. For another example, when a time difference of arrival (TDOA) positioning method is used, the calculation result can be a time difference between a time of arrival (TOA) measurement value of the SRS received by the access network device and a reference time value. The TOA measurement value can be a TOA of a symbol in which the reference signal is received, or a TOA of a subframe boundary in which the reference signal is received. The reference time value can be 0.5 ms, 1 ms, or 2 ms, depending on the actual implementation of the access network device, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0174] In a possible implementation, the type of the measurement result includes at least one of the following: a time measurement value, an angle measurement value, a reference signal receiving power (RSRP), or a reference signal received path power (RSRPP).

[0175] It can be understood that the time measurement value can be a TOA measurement value of the reference signal received by the access network device. The angle measurement value can be an angle of arrival (AOA) in AOA positioning, or an AOD in angle of departure (AOD) positioning, etc. The RSRP can refer to the signal strength of the received reference signal, for example, a linear average value of the power contribution of a time-frequency unit (for example, a resource element (RE)) carrying the reference signal. The RSRPP can refer to the power of the linear average value of the channel response of the RE carrying the reference signal at the i th path delay. Wherein, i is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and the path delay of the first path corresponds to the first path delay.

[0176] A path represents the transmission route of a reference signal in a wireless environment. Since obstacles may exist in the wireless transmission environment, the reference signal may travel from the transmitting device to the receiving device via different paths. Therefore, paths can be divided into line-of-sight (LOS) paths and non-line-of-sight (NLOS) paths. An LOS path refers to the transmission path where the reference signal travels directly from the transmitting device to the receiving device. An NLOS path refers to the transmission path where the reference signal travels from the transmitting device to the receiving device through reflection, refraction, scattering, diffraction, etc. It can be understood that because different paths correspond to different transmission distances, the order in which the reference signal is detected differs under different paths, thus resulting in different time delays. In other words, different paths can be distinguished by their different time delays.

[0177] It should be understood that the first path refers to the path corresponding to the first detected reference signal when receiving the reference signal. In an ideal wireless environment with no obstacles between the transmitting and receiving devices, the first path is typically the LOS path. In a non-ideal wireless environment, the first path may be the NLOS path.

[0178] In other words, the terminal device and the access network device can perform a variety of different positioning methods. With different positioning methods, the first information provided by the access network device to the terminal device may be different, and thus the terminal device can obtain different types of raw measurement results, which helps to improve positioning accuracy.

[0179] It is understandable that terminal device positioning assisted by access network equipment is performed by the terminal device itself. Furthermore, terminal device positioning assisted by access network equipment is similar to the aforementioned... Figure 3 The main difference in terminal device-based positioning is that the terminal device locates itself based on information determined by the access network device (such as the location information of the access network device and / or information used for positioning), rather than based on information provided by the LMF. This is understandable, as the information provided by the LMF may require processing by the LMF through complex algorithms, leading to high processing latency. Positioning based on information determined by the access network device reduces processing latency, thereby improving the real-time performance of positioning.

[0180] It should be understood that, based on the access network device assisted terminal device positioning, the terminal device can be replaced by: the terminal device performs positioning according to the information (for example, the position information of the access network device and / or the information for positioning) determined by the access network device from the access network device. It can be understood that, in the process based on the terminal device positioning, the terminal device and the access network device send the measurement results of the measurement reference signal to the LMF, and the information for positioning is processed by the LMF, and then the LMF sends the information for positioning to the UE. That is, the terminal device can directly obtain the information determined by the access network device from the access network device, without obtaining the information for positioning provided by the LMF from the LMF, thereby saving the interaction process on the network side, thereby reducing the positioning delay. In addition, the terminal device can directly obtain the original measurement results (for example, signal strength) of the access network device from the access network device, since the original measurement results can directly feedback the attenuation information on the signal propagation path, thereby helping to more accurately determine the distance and / or angle between the terminal device and the access network device, thereby improving the positioning accuracy.

[0181] It can be understood that, in the case that the positioning type included in the positioning request is the above-mentioned access network device assisted terminal device positioning or terminal device positioning, the terminal device determines that the positioning method is positioning by the terminal device according to the positioning type.

[0182] B, positioning method

[0183] It should be understood that the positioning method is the positioning method corresponding to the positioning type. For example, the positioning method of the access network device assisted terminal device positioning can include: positioning based on the position information of the access network device determined by the access network device, and / or positioning based on the information for positioning determined by the access network device according to the reference signal transmitted by at least one terminal device.

[0184] It can be understood that, in the case that the positioning method included in the positioning request belongs to the positioning method of the access network device assisted terminal device positioning, the terminal device can determine that the positioning method is positioning by the terminal device according to the positioning method included in the positioning request. In addition, the terminal device can also determine the specific positioning method for positioning the terminal device according to the positioning method included in the positioning request, for example, whether to perform positioning based on the position information of the access network device determined by the access network device or to perform positioning based on the information for positioning determined by the access network device.

[0185] In addition, the above-mentioned positioning by the terminal device can be replaced by: terminal device centric positioning.

[0186] C, positioning requirement

[0187] In a possible implementation, the positioning requirement includes a positioning accuracy requirement, and / or a positioning latency requirement.

[0188] That is, the terminal device can further determine the positioning manner according to the positioning accuracy requirement and / or the positioning latency requirement.

[0189] In a possible implementation, the terminal device determines, according to the positioning request, that the positioning manner is positioning performed by the terminal device, including:

[0190] In a case where the positioning request meets a condition, the terminal device determines that the positioning manner is positioning performed by the terminal device, and the condition includes at least one of the following: the positioning request includes a positioning latency requirement, and the positioning latency requirement is less than or equal to a first threshold; or the positioning request includes a positioning accuracy requirement, and the positioning accuracy requirement is less than or equal to a second threshold.

[0191] It can be understood that the first threshold can be a time value, for example, 0.5 milliseconds (ms), 1 ms, 2 ms, or other time values, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on this. Similarly, the positioning latency requirement can be, for example, 0.8 ms, and in a case where the first threshold is 1 ms, the positioning latency requirement is less than the first threshold, that is, the positioning latency requirement is higher, and a positioning manner with a smaller positioning latency (that is, a manner of positioning performed by the terminal device) should be used.

[0192] In addition, the first threshold being a time value is only an example, and other values can also be used, which depends on actual implementation, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on this.

[0193] It can be understood that the second threshold can be in units of centimeters or meters (m). For example, the second threshold can be 2 m, 5 m, or other values, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on this. Similarly, the positioning accuracy requirement can be, for example, 2 m, that is, at least 2 m of positioning accuracy is reached. In a case where the second threshold is 5 m, the positioning accuracy requirement is less than the second threshold, that is, the positioning accuracy requirement is higher, and a positioning manner with higher positioning accuracy (that is, a manner of positioning performed by the terminal device) should be used.

[0194] In addition, the value of the second threshold is only an example, and depends on actual implementation, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on this.

[0195] That is, the terminal device can determine the positioning manner as positioning by the terminal device according to that the positioning latency requirement is less than or equal to the first threshold value, and / or, the positioning accuracy requirement is less than or equal to the second threshold value, which does not need to interact with the network to determine the positioning manner, thereby helping to simplify the positioning process, reduce the positioning latency, and improve the real-time performance of positioning. In addition, the positioning manner by the terminal device can include the above-mentioned terminal device positioning assisted by the access network device, in which the terminal device can directly obtain the original measurement result of the access network device from the access network device, thereby helping to improve the positioning accuracy.

[0196] In a possible implementation, the terminal device determines the positioning manner as positioning by the terminal device according to the positioning request, including:

[0197] In the case that the terminal device is indoors, the terminal device determines the positioning manner as positioning by the terminal device.

[0198] It can be understood that the terminal device can determine whether the terminal device is indoors according to the sensor in the terminal device. For example, the terminal device can determine that the terminal device is indoors according to that the wireless signal (such as a cellular signal or a satellite signal) is weak. In addition, the terminal device can also determine whether the terminal device is indoors according to the mobility measurement, which is not limited.

[0199] It should be understood that the terminal device can determine whether the terminal device is indoors in response to the positioning request, that is, whether the terminal device is indoors at the moment when the positioning request is received.

[0200] In addition, in the case that the terminal device is indoors, the signal is weak, which is not conducive to positioning by the network side (such as UE-assisted positioning), and thus it can be determined that the positioning manner is positioning by the terminal device.

[0201] That is, the terminal device determines whether the terminal device is indoors in response to the positioning request in the case that the terminal device receives the positioning request, and determines the positioning manner as positioning by the terminal device according to that the terminal device is indoors.

[0202] In a possible implementation, the positioning manner by the terminal device includes positioning based on the position information of the access network device determined by the access network device, and / or, positioning based on the information for positioning determined by the access network device according to the reference signal transmitted by at least one terminal device, the at least one terminal device including the terminal device.

[0203] It can be understood that the above-mentioned positioning based on the information determined by the access network device can refer to the above-mentioned related description about the terminal device positioning assisted by the access network device, which is not described herein again.

[0204] That is, the terminal device performs positioning according to the information (for example, the position information of the access network device and / or the information for positioning) determined by the access network device instead of the information provided by the LMF, which can avoid the problem of high processing delay caused by the LMF processing through a complex algorithm, and further reduce the processing delay, thereby improving the real-time performance of positioning.

[0205] The above describes the related implementation of the terminal device determining the positioning mode, and the following describes the terminal device obtaining the first information from the access network device.

[0206] In a possible implementation, the terminal device obtains the first information from the access network device (that is, step S502), including S502a and S502b.

[0207] S502a, the terminal device sends a first request to the access network device. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the first request from the terminal device. The first request is used to request to perform the positioning mode of positioning by the terminal device.

[0208] S502b, the access network device sends a response to the first request to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the response to the first request from the access network device. The response to the first request includes the first information.

[0209] It can be understood that the first information is used for the positioning mode of positioning by the terminal device to determine the position of the terminal device.

[0210] That is, the terminal device can send a first request to the access network device to request the access network device to assist the terminal device to perform the positioning mode of positioning by the terminal device, and then the access network device sends the first information to the terminal device in response to the first request, thereby saving the interaction process on the network side through direct interaction between the terminal device and the access network device to reduce the positioning delay.

[0211] It should be understood that the first request requests to perform the positioning mode of positioning by the terminal device refers to the positioning method of the terminal device positioning based on the assistance of the access network device. For the positioning mode of positioning by the terminal device, the positioning method of the terminal device positioning based on the assistance of the access network device, the protocol can be predefined, or the terminal device and the access network device can be negotiated in advance, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitation.

[0212] The following describes the first information.

[0213] In a possible implementation, before the access network device sends the first information to the terminal device (that is, step S502b), Figure 5 The method shown further includes:

[0214] S502c, the access network device determines the first information according to the positioning method requested to be performed by the first request.

[0215] It can be understood that the positioning method requested to be performed by the first request is a positioning method for positioning by the terminal device, which can be the aforementioned positioning method for terminal device positioning assisted by the access network device. The access network device can configure corresponding reference signal resources or obtain corresponding indications from the terminal device according to the positioning method to perform the positioning method and further determine the first information.

[0216] In a possible implementation, the first information includes location information of the access network device; and / or, the first information is determined according to reference information from at least one terminal device, the at least one terminal device including the terminal device.

[0217] It can be understood that the location information of the access network device can be specifically referred to the above description of the positioning method for terminal device positioning assisted by the access network device in step S501. The terminal device can reduce the demand for the number of access network devices during positioning according to the location information of the access network device, which will not be described herein again.

[0218] In addition, the first information is determined according to reference information from at least one terminal device. Specifically, the access network device can determine the first information according to the reference information from at least one terminal device. In other words, Figure 5 The method shown further includes: the access network device determines the first information according to reference information from at least one terminal device, the at least one terminal device including the terminal device.

[0219] For example, after receiving the first request from the terminal device, the access network device can measure the reference signal from the terminal device or receive indication information related to the measurement (for example, indicating which SRS corresponding to the configuration is measured) before sending the response to the first request to the terminal device.

[0220] It can be understood that determining the first information according to the reference signals of multiple terminal devices can improve the accuracy of determining the location of the terminal device according to the first information.

[0221] That is, the terminal device can reduce the demand for the number of access network devices during positioning according to the location information of the access network device included in the first information. In addition, the access network device can determine the first information according to the reference signals of multiple terminal devices (for example, including PRUs), so that the first information includes measurement results of reference signals from different terminal devices, which is helpful to improve the positioning accuracy.

[0222] The following examples are used to illustrate step S502c.

[0223] Example 1, RTT positioning method

[0224] In the RTT positioning method, the access network device can send PRS to the terminal device in response to the first request. Accordingly, after the terminal device receives the PRS from the access network device, the terminal device sends SRS to the access network device. The access network device calculates the time difference between the time of sending PRS and the time of receiving SRS (or SRS for RTT), and sends the time difference to the terminal device, i.e. the first information includes the time difference.

[0225] Optionally, the first information also includes the location information of the access network device (for example, the location coordinates of the access network device in the absolute coordinate system, or the location coordinates of the access network device in the relative coordinate system). It can be understood that the terminal device can obtain the location coordinates of the access network device in other ways, for example, by applying a server to obtain the location information of the access network device, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations thereto.

[0226] Example 2, RTT positioning method combined with uplink AOA positioning method

[0227] As shown in Figure 6 The difference between example 2 and example 1 is mainly that for the AOA positioning method, the terminal device will send an uplink message to the access network device, which is used to indicate the configuration of the activated SRS, i.e. the SRS for the access network device to measure the angle (or SRS for AOA). The access network device can determine the time-frequency resource of receiving SRS (SRS for AOA) according to the uplink message.

[0228] In addition, the difference between the first information in example 2 and the first information in example 1 is mainly that the first information in example 2 also includes the AOA angle value. In addition, the first information in example 2 also includes the coordinate system information corresponding to the AOA angle value, which indicates whether the AOA angle value is an angle value in the absolute coordinate system or an angle value in the relative coordinate system. In addition, in the case where the AOA angle value is an angle value in the relative coordinate system, the first information also includes the information of the relative coordinate system, so that the terminal device can determine which relative coordinate system is used by the access network device.

[0229] Example 3, uplink reference signal relative time difference (UL-RSTD)

[0230] As shown in Figure 7As shown, the access network device can measure the reference signals from the terminal device and the reference signals from the PRU (UE) respectively, and then obtain the RSTD by calculating the difference between the TOA measurement values of the two. The first information can include the RSTD and the location information of the access network device. Optionally, the first information also includes the location information of the PRU.

[0231] It should be understood that the access network device can be a serving access network device of the terminal device. In addition, the access device in the embodiments of the present application can be multiple, for example, including a serving access network device and a neighboring access network device. It can be understood that in the case where the multiple access network devices include the neighboring access network device, the neighboring access network device can send PRS to the terminal device or receive SRS from the terminal device, and the neighboring access network device can send the information used for positioning determined by the SRS measurement to the serving access network device.

[0232] In addition, the above-mentioned various positioning methods can be executed in mutual superposition or separately. For example, the RTT positioning method can be executed separately, the AOA positioning method can be executed separately, or the UL-RSTD positioning method can be executed separately. For another example, the RTT positioning method and the AOA positioning method can be executed, or the RTT positioning method and the UL-RSTD positioning method can be executed, or the AOA positioning method and the UL-RSTD positioning method can be executed, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on this.

[0233] It can be understood that whether the terminal device can execute the above-mentioned positioning mode of positioning by the terminal device can be protocol predefined, or pre-negotiated by the terminal device and the network, or network instructed, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on this.

[0234] In addition, if the network allows the terminal device to execute the positioning mode of positioning by the terminal device after negotiation, or is instructed to allow, it can be considered that the network authorizes the terminal device to execute the positioning mode of positioning by the terminal device.

[0235] The network authorizes the terminal device to execute the positioning mode of positioning by the terminal device is described below.

[0236] In a possible implementation, the terminal device obtains the first information from the access network device according to the positioning request (i.e., step S502), including: in the case where the network authorizes the terminal device to execute the positioning mode of positioning by the terminal device, the terminal device obtains the first information from the access network device according to the positioning request.

[0237] It can be understood that since the terminal device executes the positioning mode of positioning by the terminal device, the assistance of the access network device is required, and then the use and allocation of the access network device resources will be affected, so that the network authorization is required to ensure that the terminal device can obtain the first information from the access network device.

[0238] That is, the terminal device obtains the first information from the access network device in a case where the network authorizes the terminal device to perform the positioning mode of positioning by the terminal device, and thus the access network device can cooperate with the terminal device to facilitate the terminal device to obtain the first information from the access network device.

[0239] In a possible implementation, before step S502, Figure 5 The method shown further includes steps S506 and S507.

[0240] S506, the first network element in the network obtains the first authorization information of the terminal device. The first authorization information indicates that the network authorizes the terminal device to perform the positioning mode of positioning by the terminal device.

[0241] S507, the terminal device obtains the first authorization information from the first network element.

[0242] It can be understood that the terminal device obtains the first authorization information from the first network element, which can be that the terminal device can send a request to the first network element to obtain the first authorization information, or the terminal device can send a subscription request to the first network element to receive the first authorization information from the first network element when the authorization information of the terminal device changes (for example, from the network not authorizing the terminal device to perform the positioning mode of positioning by the terminal device to the network authorizing the terminal device to perform the positioning mode of positioning by the terminal device), or the first network element directly sends the first authorization information to the terminal device after obtaining the first authorization information of the terminal device.

[0243] That is, the first network element in the network can obtain the first authorization information of the terminal device, and the terminal device can obtain the first authorization information from the first network element in multiple ways, thereby improving the flexibility of the terminal device to obtain the first authorization information.

[0244] It should be understood that the first network element can be an access mobility management network element (for example, AMF) in the network, or a positioning management network element (for example, LMF), or other network elements, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations.

[0245] In a possible implementation, the first network element obtains the first authorization information of the terminal device (i.e., step S506) includes steps S506a and S506b.

[0246] S506a, the first network element obtains the subscription information of the terminal device. The subscription information indicates that the terminal device supports the positioning mode of positioning by the terminal device.

[0247] S506b, the first network element determines the first authorization information according to the subscription information of the terminal device.

[0248] That is, the first network element can obtain the subscription information of the terminal device, and determine the positioning method of positioning by the terminal device supported by the terminal device according to the subscription information, and determine the first authorization information.

[0249] It should be understood that the first network element can authenticate the terminal device according to the subscription information of the terminal, and determine the first authorization information if the authentication is passed. Alternatively, the first network element can also generate the first authorization information according to the subscription information of the terminal device, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitation.

[0250] In a possible implementation, the first network element obtains the subscription information of the terminal device (i.e., S506a), including: the first network element obtains the subscription information of the terminal device from an access mobile management network element or a data management network element.

[0251] For example, the subscription information of the terminal device can be stored in the data management network element (such as UDM), and the first network element can obtain the subscription information of the terminal device from the UDM, and then determine that the terminal device supports positioning by the terminal device according to the subscription information.

[0252] It can be understood that when the first network element is a positioning management network element, the positioning management network element can obtain the subscription information of the terminal device through the access mobile management network element. For example, in the case that the access mobile management network element obtains the subscription information of the terminal device from the data management network element, the access mobile management network element can send the subscription information of the terminal device to the positioning management network element.

[0253] That is, the first network element can obtain the subscription information of the terminal device in multiple ways, which can improve the flexibility of the first network element in obtaining the subscription information of the terminal device.

[0254] In a possible implementation, the first authorization information further indicates at least one positioning method authorized by the network for the terminal device to use, and the at least one positioning method belongs to the positioning method of positioning by the terminal device.

[0255] For example, the positioning method of positioning by the terminal device can be the positioning method of terminal device positioning assisted by the access network device in the foregoing, and the positioning method of terminal device positioning assisted by the access network device can include the positioning methods in examples 1-3, that is, the at least one positioning method can be the RTT positioning method in example 1, or the RTT combined with AOA positioning method in example 2, etc., which will not be repeated here.

[0256] It can be understood that the positioning method indicated by the first authorization information belongs to the positioning method of positioning by the terminal device, which means that the first authorization information is used to indicate that the network authorizes the terminal device to perform the positioning method of positioning by the terminal device.

[0257] That is, on the basis that the network authorizes the terminal device to perform the positioning mode of positioning by the terminal device, the terminal device is also authorized to use at least one positioning method, so that the terminal device performs the positioning mode of positioning the terminal device according to the at least one positioning method, avoiding the terminal device using a positioning method not supported by the network side (for example, the access network device) to perform positioning, and thereby avoiding wasting positioning resources.

[0258] It can be understood that in the case where the network authorizes the terminal device to use at least one positioning method, the first request in step S502a can be further improved to increase the efficiency of performing the positioning method between the terminal device and the access network device. For example, the terminal device obtains the first information (i.e., step S502) from the access network device, including S502a1 and S502b1.

[0259] S502a1, the terminal device sends a first request to the access network device. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the first request from the terminal device.

[0260] The first request is used to request to perform a first positioning method. The first positioning method belongs to the at least one positioning method indicated by the first authorization information.

[0261] S502b1, the access network device sends a response to the first request to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the response to the first request from the access network device.

[0262] The response to the first request includes the first information.

[0263] It should be understood that since the first request in step S502a does not specify a specific positioning method to be performed, and the actual positioning method performed between the terminal device and the access network device may be different from the first positioning method requested to be performed in the first request in step S502a1, the first information in step S502b may be different from the first information in step S502b1.

[0264] For example, the first request in step S502a is to perform a positioning mode in which the terminal device performs positioning, and does not indicate a specific positioning method. The access network device can negotiate with the terminal device a positioning method to be performed (which belongs to the positioning mode in which the terminal device performs positioning). It can be understood that the access network device can negotiate with the terminal device a positioning method to be performed according to a load condition. For example, the access network device has a high load, and negotiates with the terminal device to perform a single positioning method, such as the RTT positioning method in Example 1. For step S502a1, the first positioning method can be the RTT positioning method in combination with the AOA positioning method in Example 2. Therefore, the first information in step S502b is the first information in Example 1, and the first information in step S502b1 is the first information in Example 2, which are different.

[0265] It can be understood that the access network device sends the first information to the terminal device, including: in a case where the first positioning method belongs to at least one positioning method authorized by the network for the terminal device to use, the access network device sends the first information to the terminal device. It can be understood that, in a case where the first positioning method does not belong to the at least one positioning method authorized by the network for the terminal device, the access network device can refuse to assist the terminal device to perform the first positioning method, or the access network device can send a request message to the network to confirm whether the network allows the terminal device to perform the first positioning method, and embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations in this regard.

[0266] That is, in a case where the terminal device requests the access network device to perform a positioning method that is at least one positioning method authorized by the network for the terminal device to use, the access network device will assist the terminal device to perform the first positioning method to send the first information, and thus it can be avoided that the terminal device sends a request that does not belong to the at least one positioning method, thereby avoiding resource waste. In addition, the access network device can also refuse to perform a positioning method requested by the terminal device that does not belong to the at least one positioning method, which helps to reduce the load of the access network device.

[0267] Step S507 is described below.

[0268] In a possible implementation, the terminal device obtains first authorization information from the first network element (i.e., step S507), including S507a and S507b.

[0269] S507a, the terminal device sends a second request to the first network element. Correspondingly, the first network element receives the second request from the terminal device.

[0270] The second request indicates that the terminal device supports a positioning mode in which the terminal device performs positioning, and / or is used to request to perform the positioning mode in which the terminal device performs positioning.

[0271] S507b, the first network element sends a response to the second request to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the response to the second request from the first network element.

[0272] The response to the second request comprises the first authorization information.

[0273] That is, the terminal device can send the second request to trigger the network to authorize the terminal device according to the positioning requirement and / or the load condition, thereby improving the flexibility of the network to authorize the terminal device.

[0274] It can be understood that the terminal device can also obtain the first authorization information through other implementations. For example, in the process of the terminal device registering the network, the first network element can send the first authorization information to the terminal device, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations thereto.

[0275] In a possible implementation, before obtaining the subscription information of the terminal device from the data management network element (i.e., step S506a), the method comprises step S507a.

[0276] That is, the first network element obtains the subscription information of the terminal device from the data management network element in response to the second request sent by the terminal device to authorize the terminal device. By triggering the first network element to obtain the subscription information of the terminal device from the data management network element through the terminal device sending the second request, unnecessary subscription information query of the first network element can be avoided, and resource consumption can be reduced.

[0277] The above describes the network authorizing the terminal device to perform the positioning by the terminal device, and the following describes the network authorizing the access network device to assist the terminal device to perform the positioning by the terminal device.

[0278] In a possible implementation, the access network device sends the first information to the terminal device (i.e., step S502b or S502e), comprising: in the case that the network authorizes the terminal device to perform the positioning by the terminal device, or in the case that the network authorizes the access network device to assist the terminal device to perform the positioning by the terminal device, the access network device sends the first information to the terminal device.

[0279] That is, in the case that the network authorizes the terminal device to perform the positioning by the terminal device, or in the case that the network authorizes the access network device to assist the terminal device to perform the positioning by the terminal device, the access network device will assist the terminal device to perform the positioning method, and send the first information, so as to avoid the access network device to perform the positioning method which is not supported, thereby avoiding resource waste. In addition, the access network device can also avoid performing the unauthorized positioning, thereby avoiding the location exposure of the terminal device or the access network device, and improving the security.

[0280] In a possible implementation manner, Figure 5 The method shown further includes:

[0281] S508, the first network element sends the second authorization information to the access network device. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the second authorization information from the first network element.

[0282] For example, the first network element can send the second authorization information to the access network device, that is, the serving access network device and the neighboring access network device of the terminal device can both receive the second authorization information. In addition, in the case where the first network element is a positioning management network element, the serving area refers to the serving area of the access mobility management network element interacting with the positioning management network element, and the access mobility management network element sends the subscription information of the terminal device to the positioning management network element.

[0283] The second authorization information indicates that the network authorizes the terminal device to perform a positioning method in which the terminal device performs positioning, or indicates that the network authorizes the access network device to assist the terminal device to perform a positioning method in which the terminal device performs positioning.

[0284] That is, in the case where the first network element sends the first authorization information to the access network device, the terminal device has been authorized by the network to perform a positioning method in which the terminal device performs positioning, and then the first network element can send the second authorization information to the access network device to inform the access network device to allow the access network device to assist the terminal device to perform a positioning method in which the terminal device performs positioning, thereby avoiding the access network device refusing to assist the terminal device to perform positioning.

[0285] In a possible implementation manner, the second authorization information further indicates at least one positioning method used by the terminal device, and the at least one positioning method belongs to the positioning method in which the terminal device performs positioning.

[0286] That is, on the basis of the network authorizing the terminal device to perform a positioning method in which the terminal device performs positioning, the terminal device is further authorized to use at least one positioning method, so that the access network device determines whether to accept the positioning method requested by the terminal device to perform according to the at least one positioning method, to avoid performing a positioning method that is not used by the terminal device.

[0287] It should be understood that according to the related description of the foregoing step S502a1, the terminal device can perform step S502a1 in the case where the first authorization information is acquired, and it is determined according to the first authorization information that the first positioning method is requested to be performed. It can be understood that, in order to ensure that the terminal device can perform the first positioning method and the access network device can assist the terminal device to perform the first positioning method, the terminal device can acquire the first information from the access network device in the case where the network authorization allows the first positioning method to be performed.

[0288] In a possible implementation, the terminal device acquires the first information from the access network device according to the positioning request (i.e., step S502), including steps S502d and S502e.

[0289] S502d, the terminal device acquires the second indication information from the first network element in response to the positioning request.

[0290] The second indication information indicates that the network allows the terminal device to perform the first positioning method, which belongs to the at least one positioning method indicated by the first authorization information.

[0291] S502e, the terminal device acquires the first information from the access network device according to the second indication information.

[0292] It can be understood that the implementation of step S502e can refer to steps S502a1 and S502b1, which will not be described here again.

[0293] That is, after acquiring the first authorization information, the terminal device can acquire the first positioning method from the first network element, which allows the terminal device to perform the at least one positioning method authorized by the network, so as to guarantee that the terminal device can perform the first positioning method and the access network device can assist the terminal device to perform the first positioning method.

[0294] In a possible implementation, the terminal device acquires the second indication information from the first network element (i.e., step S502d), including steps S502d1 and S502d2.

[0295] S502d1, in a case where the terminal device determines, according to the positioning request, that the positioning mode is positioning performed by the terminal device, the terminal device sends a third request to the first network element. Correspondingly, the first network element receives the third request from the terminal device.

[0296] The third request is used to request to perform the first positioning method.

[0297] S502d2, the first network element sends a response to the third request to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the response to the third request from the first network element.

[0298] The response to the third request includes the second indication information.

[0299] That is, the terminal device can select a more granular first positioning method request authorization according to the positioning request on the basis of the at least one positioning method authorized by the network for the terminal device to use, so that the network can allocate resources (for example, configure resources of the access network device for assisting the terminal device to perform the positioning method) to the terminal device according to the first positioning method, thereby avoiding resource waste.

[0300] In a possible implementation, the terminal device sends the second authorization information to the access network device (i.e., step S508) before Figure 5 The method shown further includes step S502d1, i.e., in a case where the terminal device determines, according to the positioning request, that the positioning manner is positioning performed by the terminal device, sending a third request to the first network element. Correspondingly, the first network element receives the third request from the terminal device.

[0301] That is, the terminal device can determine, according to the positioning request and at least one positioning method, a first positioning method in a case where the terminal device receives the positioning request, and further send a third request to the first network element to trigger the first network element to send the second authorization information to the access network device. Compared with sending the second authorization information to the access network device in advance by the network before receiving the positioning request, unnecessary resource consumption can be avoided.

[0302] It should be understood that the second authorization information indicates the first positioning method, i.e., implicitly indicates the positioning manner of authorizing the terminal device to perform positioning performed by the terminal device.

[0303] It can be understood that step S502d2 can be performed before or after step S508, or both, and embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations thereto.

[0304] For step S503

[0305] It can be understood that the terminal device determines the terminal device position according to the first information, for example, for the RTT method in the aforementioned example 1, the terminal device can determine the terminal device position according to the time difference and the position of the access network device. Similarly, for the RTT combined with AOA positioning method in example 2, the terminal device can determine the terminal device position according to the time difference, AOA, and the position of the access network device.

[0306] In a possible implementation, Figure 5 The method shown further includes the following steps.

[0307] S509, the terminal device acquires the positioning information of the terminal device based on the non-3GPP technology.

[0308] Correspondingly, the terminal device determines the position of the terminal device according to the first information (i.e., step S503) includes: the terminal device determines the position of the terminal device according to the first information and the positioning information of the terminal device acquired based on the non-3GPP technology.

[0309] That is, the terminal device can acquire the positioning information of the terminal device based on the non-3GPP technology, and determine the position information of the terminal device in combination with the first information acquired based on the 3GPP technology and the positioning information of the terminal device acquired based on the non-3GPP technology, so as to improve the positioning accuracy.

[0310] In this embodiment, the application can directly send a location request to the terminal device. Based on this request, the terminal device obtains first information from the access network device and determines its location, thus providing feedback to the application. Compared to the application sending a location request to the mobile communication network, the terminal device can directly obtain first information from the access network device to assist in determining its location. This eliminates the need for the AMF (Advanced Location Function) within the mobile communication network to select the LMF (Local Location Function), trigger the LMF to initiate a location process, and send measurement results of measurement reference signals to the LMF during this process, or obtain relevant information from the LMF to determine the terminal device's location. This simplifies the location process and reduces location latency.

[0311] The following example uses the location application as the application, the UE as the terminal device, the base station as the access network device, the AMF as the first network element, the UDM as the data management network element, and the LMF as the location management network element. Figure 5 The method shown will be further explained.

[0312] Figure 8 This is a flowchart illustrating a positioning method provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure Two .like Figure 8 As shown, the process includes two sub-processes: the location authorization process and the location process. The location authorization process is used to authorize the UE to perform the location method performed by the terminal device before the UE performs the location method performed by the terminal device.

[0313] In addition, Figure 8 In the location authorization process shown, the AMF is responsible for authorizing whether the UE can execute the location method performed by the terminal device.

[0314] like Figure 8 As shown, the location authorization process includes the following steps S801 to S805.

[0315] S801, the UE sends a registration request message to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the registration request message from the UE.

[0316] The registration request message indicates that the UE has the capability to perform positioning by the terminal device, or requests to perform positioning by the terminal device. It is understood that the implementation of step S801 can be found in the aforementioned step S507a, and will not be repeated here.

[0317] S802 and AMF obtain the UE's subscription data from UDM.

[0318] It can be understood that the subscription data of the UE can include capability information for determining whether the UE supports positioning by the terminal device. For example, the UE can be contracted with the operator to support positioning by the terminal device.

[0319] It can be understood that the subscription data of the UE, which can be referred to step S506a, will not be repeated here.

[0320] In addition, the AMF can obtain the subscription data of the UE by calling the subscription data acquisition (Nudm_SDM_GET) provided by the UMD.

[0321] S803, the AMF determines the positioning method authorized by the network for the UE to perform positioning by the terminal device according to the subscription data of the UE.

[0322] It can be understood that the implementation of step S803 can be referred to step S506b, which will not be repeated here.

[0323] S804, the AMF sends a registration accept message to the UE. Accordingly, the UE receives the registration accept message from the AMF.

[0324] It can be understood that the registration accept message can include the first authorization information, which can be referred to step S507b, which will not be repeated here.

[0325] S805, the AMF sends the second authorization information to the base station. Accordingly, the base station receives the second authorization information from the AMF.

[0326] It can be understood that the implementation of step S805 can be referred to step S508, which will not be repeated here.

[0327] As shown in Figure 8 , the positioning process includes steps S806-S812.

[0328] S806, the positioning application sends a positioning request to the UE. Accordingly, the UE receives the positioning request from the positioning application.

[0329] It can be understood that the implementation of step S806 can be referred to step S501, which will not be repeated here.

[0330] S807, the UE determines the positioning method according to the positioning request.

[0331] It can be understood that the UE can determine the positioning method as the positioning method performed by the terminal device according to the positioning request, which can be referred to step S505, which will not be repeated here.

[0332] In addition, the UE can determine, according to the positioning request, a first positioning method from at least one positioning method authorized by the first authorization information for the UE to use, the first positioning method being a positioning method determined by the UE according to the positioning request.

[0333] S808, the UE sends the first request to the base station. Correspondingly, the base station receives the first request from the UE.

[0334] It can be understood that the implementation of step S808 can refer to step S502a or S502a1, which will not be repeated here.

[0335] S809, the base station verifies that the first request is passed according to the second authorization information.

[0336] It can be understood that in the case where the second authorization information indicates that the network authorizes the UE to perform the positioning method of positioning by terminal device, or in the case where the network authorizes the base station to assist the UE to perform the positioning method of positioning by terminal device, the UE verifies that the first request is passed.

[0337] S810, the base station sends the first information to the UE. Correspondingly, the UE receives the first information from the base station.

[0338] It can be understood that the implementation of step S810 can refer to the aforementioned step S502b or S502b1, which will not be repeated here.

[0339] In addition, the implementation of the positioning method between the UE and the base station can refer to the aforementioned step S502c and examples 1-3, which will not be repeated here.

[0340] S811, the UE determines the position of the UE according to the first information.

[0341] It can be understood that the implementation of step S811 can refer to step S503, which will not be repeated here.

[0342] S812, the UE sends the positioning result to the positioning application. Correspondingly, the positioning application receives the positioning result from the UE.

[0343] The positioning result includes the position of the UE.

[0344] In the embodiment of the present application, the UE can trigger the network to authorize the UE and the base station to perform the positioning mode of positioning by the terminal device by sending a registration request to the AMF, and then determine to perform the positioning mode of positioning by the terminal device after receiving the positioning request from the positioning application, and obtain the first information through interaction with the base station, and then determine the position of the UE according to the first information, and send the position of the UE to the positioning application. Compared with the positioning application sending a positioning request to the network, the UE can directly obtain the first information for assisting in determining the position of the UE from the base station without the need for the AMF in the network to select the LMF, and then trigger the LMF to initiate a positioning process, and send the measurement result of the measurement reference signal to the LMF in the positioning process, or obtain related information for determining the position of the UE from the LMF, and then the positioning process can be simplified and the positioning delay can be reduced.

[0345] Figure 9 is a flowchart of a positioning method provided by an embodiment of the present application Figure Three . As shown in Figure 9 , the flowchart shown in Figure 9 is different from the flowchart shown in Figure 8 in that: Figure 9 The positioning authorization process in is responsible for authorizing whether the UE can perform the positioning mode of positioning by the terminal device.

[0346] As shown in Figure 9 , the positioning authorization process of Figure 9 includes steps S901-S905, S901-S902 are the same as steps S801-S802, which will not be described here.

[0347] S903, the AMF sends the subscription data of the UE to the LMF. Correspondingly, the LMF receives the subscription data of the UE from the AMF.

[0348] S904, the LMF determines that the network authorizes the UE to perform the positioning mode of positioning by the terminal device according to the subscription data of the UE.

[0349] It can be understood that the implementation of step S904 can refer to step S803, which will not be described here.

[0350] S905, the LMF sends first authorization information to the UE through the AMF. Correspondingly, the UE receives the first authorization information from the LMF.

[0351] It can be understood that the implementation of step S905 can refer to step S507a, which will not be described here.

[0352] S906, the LMF sends second authorization information to the base station through the AMF. Correspondingly, the base station receives the second authorization information from the LMF.

[0353] It should be understood that in steps S905 and S906 described above, the AMF is used for transparent forwarding of data.

[0354] It can be understood that the implementation of step S906 can refer to step S507b, which will not be described here again.

[0355] In addition, Figure 9 In the positioning authorization process shown, another implementation manner can also be used, for example, the LMF can directly obtain the subscription data from the UDM, and the AMF does not need to obtain the subscription data of the UE from the UDM and then forward it to the LMF.

[0356] Optionally, steps S901-S903 can be replaced by steps S907-S908.

[0357] S907, the UE sends a positioning message to the LMF through the AMF. Correspondingly, the LMF receives the positioning message from the UE through the AMF.

[0358] Optionally, the positioning message can be a positioning capability reporting message. The positioning capability reporting message indicates that the UE has the capability to perform positioning by terminal device.

[0359] Alternatively, optionally, the positioning message can be a positioning request message. The positioning request message is used to request a positioning manner of performing positioning by terminal device.

[0360] S908, the LMF obtains the subscription data of the UE from the UDM.

[0361] It can be understood that the subscription data of the UE can include capability information used to determine whether the UE supports positioning by terminal device. For example, the UE can be contracted with the operator to support positioning by terminal device.

[0362] It can be understood that the subscription data of the UE can refer to step S506a, which will not be described here again.

[0363] It should be understood that, as Figure 9 indicated, Figure 9 the positioning procedure in includes steps S909-S915, steps S909-S915 are the same as steps S806-S812, which will not be described here again.

[0364] Figure 10 is a flowchart of a positioning method provided by an embodiment of the present application Figure Four . As Figure 10 indicated, Figure 10 the flow shown includes a positioning authorization procedure and a positioning procedure, Figure 10 the positioning authorization procedure shown is the same as Figure 9The difference between the flows shown is that the network does not send the second authorization information to the base station, but after the UE determines the positioning method, sends a request to the network to trigger the network to send the second authorization information to the base station.

[0365] As shown in Figure 10 , the flow includes steps S1001-S1011, S1001-S1005 are the same as steps S901-S905, S1006-S1007 are the same as steps S909-S910, S1012-S1016 are the same as steps S911-S915, which will not be repeated here.

[0366] S1008, the UE sends a third request to the LMF. Accordingly, the LMF receives the third request from the UE.

[0367] It can be understood that the UE can send the third request to the LMF through the AMF. In addition, the implementation of step S1008 can refer to step S502d1, which will not be repeated here.

[0368] S1009, the LMF determines that the network allows the UE to perform the first positioning method according to the subscription data of the UE.

[0369] It can be understood that the LMF can also determine to allow the base station to assist the UE to perform the first positioning method.

[0370] S1010, the LMF sends the second authorization information to the base station through the AMF. Accordingly, the base station receives the second authorization information from the LMF.

[0371] It can be understood that the implementation of step S1010 can refer to step S508, which will not be repeated here.

[0372] S1011, the LMF sends a response to the third request to the UE through the AMF. Accordingly, the UE receives the response to the third request from the LMF.

[0373] It can be understood that the implementation of step S1011 can refer to step S502d2, which will not be repeated here.

[0374] In addition, the above Figure 10 The steps shown are described by taking steps S901-S905 in Figure 9 as an example, Figure 10 Steps S1001-S1003 in may also be replaced by steps S907 and S908.

[0375] Figure 10 It can also be understood that the above Figure 8 The LMF authenticates the subscription data of the UE, and the AMF shown in Figure 10 may also be used for authentication, for exampleSteps S1001-S1005 in the method of the embodiment of the application can be replaced by steps S801-S804 in the method of the embodiment of the application. For example, the execution subject in steps S1009-S1011 can be replaced by the AMF, and the embodiment of the application does not make a specific limitation. Figure 8

[0376] The method embodiments provided by the embodiments of the application are introduced above. Correspondingly, the embodiments of the application also provide a communication apparatus, which is used to implement the various methods above. The communication apparatus can be the terminal device in the method embodiments above, or an apparatus containing the terminal device, or a component applicable to the terminal device; or the communication apparatus can be the access network device in the method embodiments above, or an apparatus containing the access network device, or a component applicable to the access network device; or the communication apparatus can be the first network element in the method embodiments above, or an apparatus containing the first network, or a component applicable to the first network.

[0377] Figure 11 is a structure of a communication apparatus provided by the embodiments of the application Figure One . As shown in Figure 11 , the communication apparatus 1100 can include modules or units for implementing the method embodiments above. In a possible design, the communication apparatus 1100 includes a processing unit 1102 and a communication unit 1103. Optionally, the communication apparatus 1100 can further include a storage unit 1101 for storing apparatus program code and / or data.

[0378] The communication apparatus 1100 can be the terminal device in the embodiments above or at least one module in the terminal device, for example, at least one module in the terminal device can be a communication module in the terminal device, or a circuit or chip responsible for the communication function.

[0379] For example, in an embodiment, the communication unit 1103 is configured to receive a positioning request from an application, where the positioning request is used to request location information of the terminal device. The processing unit 1102 is configured to acquire first information from an access network device through the communication unit 1103 according to the positioning request. The processing unit 1102 is further configured to determine the location information of the terminal device according to the first information. The communication unit 1103 is further configured to send the location information of the terminal device to the application.

[0380] In a possible design, when the communication apparatus 1100 is the terminal apparatus or the communication module in the terminal apparatus, the function of the communication unit 1103 can be implemented by one or more processors. Specifically, the processor can include a modem chip, or a system on chip (SoC) chip or a SIP chip containing a modem core.

[0381] ​In a possible design, when the communication apparatus 1100 is a circuit or a chip responsible for communication functions in a terminal, such as a modem chip or a system on chip (SoC) chip or a SIP chip including a modem core, the function of the processing unit 1102 can be implemented by circuitry including one or more processors or processor cores in the chip. The function of the communication unit 1103 can be implemented by interface circuitry or data transceiver circuitry on the chip.

[0382] The communication apparatus 1100 can be an access network device in a mobile communication network in the above-described embodiments.

[0383] For example, in an embodiment, the communication unit 1103 is configured to receive a first request from a terminal device, where the first request is used to request to perform a positioning mode in which the terminal device performs positioning. The communication unit 1103 is further configured to send first information to the terminal device, where the first information is used by the terminal device to perform the positioning mode to determine a position of the terminal device.

[0384] The communication apparatus 1100 can be a first network element in a mobile communication network in the above-described embodiments.

[0385] For example, in an embodiment, the processing unit 1102 is configured to obtain first authorization information of a terminal device, where the first authorization information indicates that the mobile communication network authorizes the terminal device to perform a positioning mode in which the terminal device performs positioning. The communication unit 1103 is configured to send the first authorization information to the terminal device.

[0386] It can be understood that the division of units in the above-described apparatus is only a logical functional division, one function unit can correspond to one function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one function unit. In actual implementation, all or part of the units can be integrated into one physical entity, or distributed on different physical entities. In addition, the above-mentioned function units can be implemented in the form of hardware, or in the form of software, or in the form of combination of hardware and software. Whether a certain function is implemented in the form of hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional technicians can use different methods to implement the described functions for specific applications, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present application.

[0387] In an example, the functional units in any of the above apparatuses can be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above methods, for example: one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or, one or more central processing units (CPUs), one or more microcontroller units (MCUs), one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), or, one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms.

[0388] In an example, the storage unit 1101 can include random access memory, flash memory, read only memory, programmable read only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, and / or registers, etc.

[0389] In addition, the communication apparatus 1100 can perform the above communication method, and thus the technical effects that it can obtain can refer to the above method embodiments, which will not be described here again.

[0390] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of a terminal device structure provided by an embodiment of the present application. The terminal device can correspond to the terminal device shown in Figure 1 , and is used to implement the operations of the terminal device in the above embodiments. As shown in Figure 12 , the terminal device includes one or more antennas 1210, a radio frequency (RF) processing system 1220, and a processor system 1230.

[0391] In the downlink or sidelink direction, the RF processing system 1220 receives a radio frequency signal through the antenna 1210, and sends the signal after RF processing to the processor system 1230 for further processing. In the uplink or sidelink direction, the processor system 1230 performs signal processing on the information (such as data) at the terminal side, and sends it to the RF processing system 1220, which performs RF processing on the signal and transmits it through the antenna 1210.

[0392] In one example, the radio frequency processing system 1220, which serves as a communication interface for the terminal to communicate with the outside, can include a radio frequency front end 1221 (RFFE) and a radio frequency transceiver 1222. The RFFE 1221 is mainly used for one or more of shaping, passband selection, or gain processing of RF signals received by an antenna or to be transmitted through an antenna, and can include one or more of radio frequency switches, duplexers, filters, power amplifiers, antenna tuning, and low-noise amplifiers. The RFFE 1221 can be circuitry composed of a plurality of discrete devices, or can be integrated and packaged in one or more chips. The radio frequency transceiver 1222 is used to process the RF signals received by the RFFE into baseband / intermediate frequency signals for further processing by the processor system 1230, and to process the baseband / intermediate frequency signals provided by the processor system 1230 into RF signals for transmission to the RFFE 1221. The baseband / intermediate frequency signals transmitted between the radio frequency transceiver 1222 and the processor system 1230 can be digital signals or analog signals. The radio frequency transceiver 1222 can be implemented by one or more chips, which are commonly referred to as radio frequency chips (RFICs).

[0393] In one example, the processor system 1230 can include one or more processors for processing signals and executing one or more communication protocols. Optionally, the processor system 1230 can further include a memory 1236. In one example, the one or more processors include at least one baseband processor 1231 (also referred to as a modem processor). The memory 1236 is used to store data and / or computer program instructions. Optionally, the processor system 1230 can further include one or more application processors 1232 for implementing processing of the terminal operating system and the application layer. Optionally, the processor system 1230 can further include one or more of a voice subsystem 1233, a multimedia subsystem 1234, or an interface circuit 1235. The voice subsystem 1233 is used to process voice signals, the multimedia subsystem 1234 is used to process multimedia-related operations such as video encoding and decoding, image processing, etc., and the interface circuit 1235 is used to implement communication with other terminal components such as a display 1240, an input device 1250, a memory 1260, etc. The above-mentioned components in the processor system 1230 can communicate with each other through a bus or a communication interface circuit.

[0394] In one example, the processor system 1230 can be packaged as a processor chip, such as a SoC chip or a SIP chip. In one example, the processor system 1230 can be a system composed of multiple chips, for example, the baseband processor 1231 can be packaged as a separate chip, or packaged as a chip together with part or all of the circuit of the radio frequency processing system.

[0395] In one example, the memory 1236 can be an on-chip memory, i.e., located on the chip of the processor system 1230. In one example, the memory 1260 can be an off-chip memory, i.e., located off the chip of the processor system 1230.

[0396] In one example, the baseband processor 1231 can include one or more processor cores 12311 and interface circuit 12314. The one or more processor cores 12311 are configured to process signals and perform one or more communication protocols. Optionally, the baseband processor 1231 can further include a memory 12312 configured to store at least part of corresponding computer program instructions and / or data. In one example, the one or more processor cores 12311 implement the above-mentioned operations in the method embodiments by executing the computer program instructions stored in the memory 12312. In the embodiments of the present application, the memory 12312 configured to store corresponding computer program instructions and / or data can mean that the memory 12312 is configured to store all corresponding computer program instructions and / or data for execution by the processor core 12311; or can mean that the memory 12312 is configured to store part of corresponding computer program instructions and / or data, which includes computer program instructions and / or data currently needed for execution by the processor core 12311, and the memory 12312 can store different parts of computer program instructions and / or data for execution by the processor core 12311 multiple times to implement the above-mentioned operations in the method embodiments. The interface circuit 12314 as a communication interface is configured to communicate with other components, such as transmitting signals with the radio frequency processing system 1220, communicating with other subsystems and related components of the processor system 1230 through a bus, such as transmitting data control signals with the application processor 1232, and transmitting data or computer program instructions with the memory 1236 or the memory 1260. Optionally, in order to reduce the load of the processor core, the baseband signal processing circuit 12313 can be further configured to implement at least part of the processing work of the baseband signal, including one or more of demodulation, modulation, encoding or decoding of the signal.

[0397] In one example, the communication device provided by the embodiments of the present application can be Figure 12 The terminal shown in FIG. 12 includes a communication module including the processor system 1230 and the radio frequency system 1220, the processor system 1230, or the baseband processor 1231.

[0398] The processor, processor system, application processor, baseband processor, processor circuit, or processor core can be collectively referred to as a processor, which can include one or a combination of a CPU, DSP, microprocessor unit (MPU), MCU, graphics processing unit (GPU), FPGA, artificial intelligence processor (AI processor), or neural processing unit (NPU).

[0399] The memory can include one or more of the following storage media: random access memory (RAM), static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), phase-change memory (PCM), resistive RAM (ReRAM), magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM), ferroelectric RAM (FRAM), cache, register, read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), hard disk, and the like. In one example, computer program instructions for implementing the above embodiments can be stored on a non-volatile memory, such as at least part of the memory 1260 (e.g., one or more of ROM, flash memory, EPROM, or hard disk). During terminal operation, the corresponding computer program instructions can be partially or entirely loaded onto a memory with faster transmission speed than the processor, such as at least part of the memory 1236 and / or the memory 12312 (e.g., one or more of RAM, SRAM, DRAM, PCM, ReRAM, MRAM, FRAM, cache, or register), for execution by the processor to implement the steps in the above method embodiments.

[0400] In one example, the radio frequency transceiver 1222 and the radio frequency front end 1221 can also be packaged in one chip. In one example, the radio frequency transceiver 1222, the radio frequency front end 1221 and the baseband processor 1231 can also be packaged in one chip.

[0401] In a possible implementation, the embodiment of the present application further provides a computer readable storage medium, which stores a computer program or instructions, and the computer program or instructions are executed by a computer to realize the functions of the above method embodiments.

[0402] In a possible implementation, the embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, which is executed by a computer to realize the functions of the above method embodiments.

[0403] In a possible implementation, the embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system, which includes the terminal device and the first application in the above method embodiments.

[0404] Optionally, the above communication system further includes a first network element in a mobile communication network, and the first network element is a network element in a RAN or a CN.

[0405] In a possible implementation, the embodiment of the present application further provides a communication method, which includes the method in any of the above method embodiments or any implementation thereof.

[0406] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions according to the embodiments of the present application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another computer readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center through wired (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode. The computer readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or data storage device including one or more servers, data centers, etc. integrated with the medium. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium or a semiconductor medium (such as a solid state drive (SSD)) and the like.

[0407] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in combination with the embodiments disclosed herein can be realized by electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether the functions are realized in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to realize the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present application.

[0408] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of the description, the specific working processes of the above-described system, device and unit can refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0409] In several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, device and method can be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described device embodiments are only schematic, for example, the division of the units is only a logical function division, and actual implementation can have another division manner, for example, a plurality of units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection between the units shown or discussed can be indirect coupling or communication connection through some interface, device or unit, and can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0410] The units described as separate components can or can not be physically separated, and the components shown as units can or can not be physical units, that is, they can be located in one place, or can be distributed on a plurality of network units. According to actual needs, some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of the embodiment.

[0411] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application can be integrated into a processing unit, or each unit can exist physically independently, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0412] If the functions are implemented in the form of software function units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solutions of the present application essentially or the parts that contribute to the prior art or parts of the technical solutions can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes a number of instructions for causing a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: a U disk, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and various media that can store program codes.

[0413] Although the present application is described in conjunction with specific features and embodiments thereof, it is obvious that various modifications and combinations can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present application. Accordingly, the description and drawings are merely illustrative of the present application and are to be regarded as covering all modifications, variations, combinations or equivalents that are within the scope of the present application. Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to the present application without departing from the scope of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalent technologies, the present application is intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A positioning method, characterized in that, The method, applied to a terminal device or at least one module in a terminal device, includes: Receive a location request from an application, the location request being used to request the location information of the terminal device; Based on the positioning request, obtain first information from the access network device; Based on the first information, the location information of the terminal device is determined; Send the location information of the terminal device to the application.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The step of obtaining the first information from the access network device includes: When the positioning method is performed by the terminal device, the first information is obtained from the access network device.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The method further includes: Based on the location request, the location method is determined to be location performed by the terminal device.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The step of determining the positioning method as positioning by the terminal device based on the positioning request includes: If the location request meets the conditions, the location method is determined to be location performed by the terminal device, and the conditions include at least one of the following: The location request includes a location latency requirement, which is less than or equal to a first threshold; or... The location request includes a location accuracy requirement, which is less than or equal to a second threshold.

5. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that, The method further includes: When the terminal device is indoors, the positioning method is determined to be positioning performed by the terminal device.

6. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that, Obtaining the first information from the access network device includes: Send a first request to the access network device, the first request being used to request the execution of the positioning method performed by the terminal device; Receive a response from the access network device in response to the first request, the response to the first request including the first information.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The step of obtaining the first information from the access network device according to the positioning request includes: When the network authorizes the terminal device to perform the positioning method performed by the terminal device, the first information is obtained from the access network device according to the positioning request.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The method further includes: Obtain first authorization information from the network, the first authorization information being used to instruct the network to authorize the terminal device to perform the positioning method performed by the terminal device.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The first authorization information also indicates that the network authorizes the terminal device to use at least one positioning method, wherein the at least one positioning method belongs to the positioning method performed by the terminal device.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, Obtaining the first information from the access network device includes: Send a first request to the access network device, the first request being used to request the execution of a first positioning method, the first positioning method being one of the at least one positioning methods indicated by the first authorization information; Receive a response from the access network device in response to the first request, the response to the first request including the first information.

11. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that, Prior to obtaining the first authorization information from the network, the method further includes: Send information to the network to indicate that the terminal device supports the positioning method performed by the terminal device, and / or send a message to request the execution of the positioning method performed by the terminal device.

12. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that, The step of obtaining the first information from the access network device according to the positioning request includes: In response to the location request, second indication information is obtained from the network, the second indication information instructing the network to allow the terminal device to perform a first location method, the first location method being one of the at least one location method indicated by the first authorization information; The first information is obtained from the access network device according to the second instruction information.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, The step of obtaining the second indication information from the network includes: If, based on the location request, it is determined that the location method is location performed by the terminal device, a third request is sent to the network, the third request being used to request the execution of the first location method; Receive a response from the network for the third request, the response to the third request including the second indication information.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that, The first information includes the location information of the access network device; and / or, The first information is determined based on reference information from at least one terminal device, including the terminal device itself.

15. A positioning method, characterized in that, Applied to access network equipment, the method includes: Receive a first request from a terminal device, the first request being used to request the execution of a positioning method performed by the terminal device; Send first information to the terminal device, the first information being used by the positioning method performed by the terminal device to determine the location of the terminal device.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, The first information includes the location information of the access network device.

17. The method according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that, The method further includes: determining the first information based on reference information from at least one terminal device, wherein the at least one terminal device includes the terminal device.

18. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 17, characterized in that, Sending the first information to the terminal device includes: When the network authorizes the terminal device to perform the positioning method performed by the terminal device, or when the network authorizes the access network device to assist the terminal device in performing the positioning method performed by the terminal device, the first information is sent to the terminal device.

19. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 18, characterized in that, The first request is used to request the execution of a first positioning method, which is a positioning method performed by the terminal device.

20. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that, Sending the first information to the terminal device includes: If the first positioning method is a positioning method authorized by the network for use by the terminal device, the first information is sent.

21. A positioning method, characterized in that, The method, applied to a first network element in a mobile communication network, includes: Obtain first authorization information from the terminal device, wherein the first authorization information instructs the mobile communication network to authorize the terminal device to perform a positioning method performed by the terminal device; The first authorization information is sent to the terminal device.

22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that, The acquisition of the first authorization information of the terminal device includes: Obtain the subscription information of the terminal device, wherein the subscription information indicates that the terminal device supports the positioning method performed by the terminal device; The first authorization information is determined based on the contract information of the terminal device.

23. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that, Before obtaining the subscription information of the terminal device, the method further includes: Receive information from the terminal device indicating that the terminal device supports the positioning method performed by the terminal device, and / or a message requesting the execution of the positioning method performed by the terminal device.

24. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 23, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a second authorization message to the access network device. The second authorization message instructs the mobile communication network to authorize the terminal device to perform the positioning method performed by the terminal device, or instructs the mobile communication network to authorize the access network device to assist the terminal device in performing the positioning method performed by the terminal device.

25. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 24, characterized in that, The first authorization information also indicates that the mobile communication network authorizes the terminal device to use at least one positioning method, wherein the at least one positioning method belongs to the positioning method performed by the terminal device.

26. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that, Before sending the second authorization information to the access network device, the method further includes: A third request is received from the terminal device, the third request being used to request the execution of the first positioning method, the first positioning method being one of the at least one positioning methods.

27. The method according to claim 26, characterized in that, The method further includes: A response to the third request is sent to the terminal device, the response to the third request including second indication information, the second indication information instructing the mobile communication network to allow the terminal device to perform the first positioning method.

28. The method according to any one of claims 24 to 27, characterized in that, The second authorization information also indicates that the mobile communication network authorizes the terminal device to use at least one positioning method, wherein the at least one positioning method belongs to the positioning mode performed by the terminal device.

29. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device includes a module or unit for performing the method according to any one of claims 1-28.

30. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-28.

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