Information transmission method and network element

Abstract

The present application discloses an information transmission method and a network element, belonging to the technical field of communications. An information transmission method of an embodiment of the present application includes: a step of a first core network element receiving a positioning service request from a second core network element, the positioning service request is for requesting positioning information of at least one terminal, the positioning service request includes positioning granularity indication information, and the positioning granularity indication information is for indicating at least one of a plurality of gradient positioning granularities; a step of the first core network element determining a positioning accuracy and a service quality QoS class according to the positioning service request; a step of the first core network element sending a terminal positioning service request to the first network element, the terminal positioning service request is for requesting positioning information of the terminal, the terminal positioning service request includes positioning accuracy and QoS class, and the first network element is a third core network element, a fourth core network element, or a fifth core network element; and a step of the first core network element receiving the terminal positioning information sent from the first network element.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] (CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS) This application claims priority to patent application No. 202210317145.9 filed in China on March 28, 2022, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The present application relates to the technical field of communications, and in particular to information transmission methods and network elements. [Background technology]

[0003] Currently, the location-related information of user equipment (UE) obtained by the Network Data Analytics Function (NWDAF) is collected by the Access Management Function (AMF). Furthermore, the obtained terminal location information is very coarse-grained, and it is not possible to obtain more accurate terminal positioning information. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The embodiments of the present application provide an information transmission method and a network element that can solve the problem that more accurate terminal positioning information cannot be obtained by NWDAF. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In a first aspect, a first core network element receives a positioning service request from a second core network element, the positioning service request is for requesting positioning information of at least one terminal, the positioning service request includes positioning granularity indication information, and the positioning granularity indication information is for indicating at least one of a plurality of gradient positioning granularities; The first core network element determines a positioning accuracy and a quality of service QoS class according to the positioning service request; The first core network element sends a terminal positioning service request to a first network element, the terminal positioning service request is for requesting terminal positioning information, the terminal positioning service request includes a positioning accuracy and a QoS class, and the first network element is a third core network element, a fourth core network element, or a fifth core network element; The first core network element receives positioning information of the terminal transmitted from the first network element; The present invention provides an information transmission method, including:

[0006] In a second aspect, there is provided an information transmission device applied to a first core network element, A first receiving module for receiving a positioning service request of a second core network element, the positioning service request is for requesting positioning information of at least one terminal, the positioning service request includes positioning granularity indication information, and the positioning granularity indication information is for indicating at least one of a plurality of gradient positioning granularities; a first determining module for determining a positioning accuracy and a quality of service QoS class according to the positioning service request; A first sending module for sending a terminal positioning service request to a first network element, the terminal positioning service request is for requesting terminal positioning information, the terminal positioning service request includes a positioning accuracy and a QoS class, and the first network element is a third core network element, a fourth core network element, or a fifth core network element; A second receiving module for receiving the terminal positioning information transmitted from the first network element; An information transmission device is provided.

[0007] In a third aspect, a first network element receives a terminal positioning service request sent from a first core network element, the terminal positioning service request is for requesting terminal positioning information, and the terminal positioning service request includes a positioning accuracy and a QoS class; The first network element sends positioning information of the terminal to a first core network element in response to the terminal positioning service request; Including, The first network element is a third core network element, a fourth core network element or a fifth core network element.

[0008] In a fourth aspect, there is provided an information transmission device for use in a first network element, comprising: A third receiving module for receiving a terminal positioning service request sent from a first core network element, the terminal positioning service request being for requesting terminal positioning information, the terminal positioning service request including a positioning accuracy and a QoS class; a second sending module for sending the terminal's positioning information to a first core network element in response to the terminal positioning service request; Equipped with The information transmission device provides an information transmission device, wherein the first network element is a third core network element, a fourth core network element or a fifth core network element.

[0009] In a fifth aspect, there is provided a core network element, being a first core network element, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein programs or commands executable by the processor are stored in the memory, and when the programs or commands are executed by the processor, steps of the method according to the first aspect are realised.

[0010] In a sixth aspect, a core network element is provided, which is a first core network element, comprising a processor and a communication interface, the communication interface being used for receiving a positioning service request of a second core network element, the positioning service request being for requesting positioning information of at least one terminal, the positioning service request including positioning granularity indication information, the positioning granularity indication information being for indicating at least one of a plurality of gradient positioning granularities, the processor being used for determining a positioning accuracy and a quality of service QoS class in response to the positioning service request, the communication interface being used for transmitting a terminal positioning service request to the first network element, the terminal positioning service request being for requesting positioning information of a terminal, the terminal positioning service request including a positioning accuracy and a QoS class, the first network element being a third core network element, a fourth core network element or a fifth core network element, and receiving the positioning information of the terminal transmitted from the first network element.

[0011] In a seventh aspect, there is provided a network element, being a first network element, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein programs or commands executable by the processor are stored in the memory, and wherein, when the programs or commands are executed by the processor, steps of the method according to the third aspect are achieved.

[0012] In an eighth aspect, a network element is a first network element, the network element including a processor and a communication interface, the communication interface being used for receiving a terminal positioning service request transmitted from a first core network element, the terminal positioning service request being for requesting terminal positioning information, the terminal positioning service request including a positioning accuracy and a QoS class, and transmitting the terminal positioning information to the first core network element in response to the terminal positioning service request; Provide a network element, wherein the first network element is a third core network element, a fourth core network element or a fifth core network element.

[0013] In a ninth aspect, there is provided an information transmission system including a first core network element that can be used to perform steps of the information transmission method described in the first aspect, and a first network element that can be used to perform steps of the information transmission method described in the third aspect.

[0014] In a tenth aspect, there is provided a readable storage medium having a program or command stored thereon, the program or command causing the steps of the method according to the first aspect to be realized or the steps of the method according to the third aspect to be realized when the program or command is executed by a processor.

[0015] In an eleventh aspect, there is provided a chip including a processor and a communication interface, the communication interface and the processor being coupled, the processor executing a program or command to implement the method according to the first aspect or being used to implement the method according to the third aspect.

[0016] In a twelfth aspect, there is provided a computer program / program product stored on a storage medium, which, when executed by at least one processor, realises the steps of the information transmission method described in the first or third aspect. Effect of the Invention

[0017] In an embodiment of the present application, a positioning service request with a gradient positioning granularity is received, and then positioning information is requested from a corresponding network element based on the positioning granularity, thereby ensuring that positioning information with a corresponding positioning granularity can be obtained, and ensuring that the first core network element obtains high-precision positioning information. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present application; [Diagram 2] 1 is a flowchart (part 1) of an information transmission method according to an embodiment of the present application. [Diagram 3] Schematic diagram of the process by which the NWDAF selects LMFs. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an information transmission process between network elements according to an embodiment of the present application; [Diagram 5] 1 is a flowchart of a specific application scenario 1. [Figure 6] 13 is a flowchart of a specific application scenario 2. [Figure 7] 13 is a flowchart of a specific application scenario 3. [Figure 8] 13 is a flowchart of a specific application scenario 4. [Figure 9] 13 is a flowchart of a specific application scenario 5. [Figure 10] 2 is a flowchart (part 2) of the information transmission method according to the embodiment of the present application. [Figure 11] 1 is a structural schematic diagram (part 1) of an information transmission device according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 12] FIG. 2 is a structural schematic diagram of a core network element in an embodiment of the present application; [Figure 13] FIG. 2 is a structural schematic diagram (part 2) of an information transmission device according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 14] FIG. 2 is a structural schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0019] Hereinafter, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly described with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application, and it is to be understood that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, and not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art belong to the protection scope of the present application.

[0020] The terms "first", "second", etc. in the specification and claims of this application are not intended to describe a particular order or sequence, but are intended to distinguish between similar objects. It should be understood that the terms used in this manner may be substituted for each other where appropriate, so that the embodiments of this application may be performed in an order other than that shown or described herein, and that the objects distinguished by "first" and "second" are generally of one type, and do not limit the number of objects, for example, the first object may be one or more. In addition, in the specification and claims, "and / or" refers to at least one of the connected objects, and the symbol " / " generally indicates that the related objects before and after are in an "or" relationship.

[0021] It should be noted that the techniques described in the embodiments of the present application are not limited to Long Term Evolution (LTE) / LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) systems, but can also be used in other wireless communication systems, such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Single-carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA), and other systems. The terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of the present application are often used interchangeably, and the techniques described can be used in other systems and wireless technologies in addition to the systems and wireless technologies mentioned above. Although the following description describes a New Radio (NR) system for illustrative purposes, and NR terminology is used in much of the following description, it should be understood that these technologies are not limited to 6th generation (6G) systems, but may be used in other systems and wireless technologies. th The present invention can also be applied to applications other than NR system applications, such as 6G (Generation, 6G) communication systems.

[0022] 1 shows a block diagram of a wireless communication system to which the embodiment of the present application can be applied. The wireless communication system includes a terminal 11 and a network side device 12. Among them, the terminal 11 may be a terminal side device such as a mobile phone, a tablet personal computer (TPC), a laptop computer (LC), also called a notebook computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a personal digital assistant, a netbook, an ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), a mobile internet device (MID), an augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) device, a robot, a wearable device, a vehicle user equipment (VUE), a pedestrian user equipment (PUE), a smart home (a home device with a wireless communication function such as a refrigerator, a television, a washing machine, or furniture), a game machine, a personal computer (PC), an automated teller machine, or a kiosk. The wearable device includes a smart watch, a smart wristband, a smart earphone, a smart glass, a smart jewelry (such as a smart bangle, a smart bracelet, a smart ring, a smart necklace, a smart anklet bangle, a smart anklet, etc.), a smart wrist strap, a smart wear, etc. It should be noted that the specific type of the terminal 11 is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. The network side equipment 12 may include an access network device or a core network device, among which the access network device may be called a radio access network device, a radio access network (Radio Access Network, RAN), a radio access network function, or a radio access network unit.The access network device may include a base station, a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) access point, or a Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) node, etc., and the base station may be referred to as a Node B, an evolved Node B (eNB), an access point, a Base Transceiver Station (BTS), a radio base station, a radio transceiver, a Basic Service Set (BSS), an Extended Service Set (ESS), a Home B node, a Home evolved B node, a Transmitting Receiving Point (TRP), or any other suitable term in the field. As long as the same technical effect can be achieved, the base station is not limited to a specific technical term. It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, only a base station in an NR system is described as an example, and the specific type of the base station is not limited.The core network devices are: Core Network Node, Core Network Function, Mobility Management Entity (MME), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), User Plane Function (UPF), Policy Control Function (PCF), Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF), Edge Application Server Discovery Function (EASDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Unified Data Repository (UDR), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Centralized network configuration (CNC), Network Repository Function (NRF), Network Exposure Function (NEF), Local NEF (Local NEF, or L-NEF), Binding Support Function (BSF), Application Function (Application Node B), Application Node C, Application Node D, Application Node E, Application Node F ... The present invention may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: A-F (Automatic Frequency Response Function, AF) and the like. It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, only the core network device in the NR system is described as an example, and the specific type of the core network device is not limited.

[0023] In the following, first, the background art related to the present application will be briefly described as follows.

[0024] 1. Location Service (LCS) LCS is implemented and provided by network elements such as AMF and Location Management Function (LMF) in the core network. LCS messages are exchanged between UE and LCS client terminal (client) or Application Function (AF), and one of the typical procedures is Mobile Terminated Location Request (MT-LR).

[0025] The MT-LR procedure is initiated by an external third party application (LCS client) or by the AF via the NEF network element, and finally the UE location information is obtained via network elements such as the Gateway Mobile Location Centre (GMLC), AMF, LMF, etc.

[0026] Here, in the LCS procedure, the overall level of the LCS service is represented by the LCS Quality of Service (QoS) parameter set, and LCS QoS is defined as follows: LCS QoS class and Accuracy (including horizontal and vertical positioning accuracy) and and delay information (Latency).

[0027] 2. Network Data Analytics Function (NWDAF) NWDAF is a network data analysis function network element that supports the collection of network element or terminal related data and provides information such as statistics and forecasts. NWDAF can collect data from network elements such as AMF, SMF, or Operation Administration and Maintenance (OAM). In the current procedure, the terminal location information obtained by NWDAF is collected by AMF, and the terminal location information is coarse-grained and at the Tracking Area (TA) or cell level, that is, NWDAF can know from AMF which cell or TA the terminal is currently under.

[0028] When an NWDAF consumer initiates a service request to the NWDAF, requesting the NWDAF to collect relevant information or perform predictions, the NWDAF collects information from different network elements based on the parameters in the request message, and after performing statistics and analysis, the NWDAF returns the results to the NWDAF consumer.

[0029] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, the information transmission method and network elements provided in the embodiments of the present application will be described in detail according to several embodiments and their application scenarios.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 2, the information transmission method according to the embodiment of the present application includes the following steps 21 to 24.

[0031] In step 21, the first core network element receives a positioning service request from the second core network element; What should be explained is that the positioning service request is for requesting positioning information of at least one terminal, the positioning service request includes positioning granularity indication information, and the positioning granularity indication information is for indicating at least one of a plurality of gradient positioning granularities.

[0032] Optionally, the first core network element described in the embodiments of the present application refers to an NWDAF network element, and the second core network element refers to an NWDAF consumer, i.e., a consumer of the NWDAF, which may be an AMF network element, an SMF network element, an AF network element, etc.

[0033] In step 22, the first core network element determines a positioning accuracy and a service quality QoS class according to the positioning service request; In step 23, the first core network element sends a terminal location service request to a first network element; It should be noted that the terminal positioning service request is for requesting positioning information of the terminal, the terminal positioning service request includes positioning accuracy and QoS class, and the first network element is a third core network element, a fourth core network element or a fifth core network element, optionally, the third core network element is an AMF network element, the fourth core network element is an LMF network element, and the fifth core network element is a GMLC network element.

[0034] In step 24, the first core network element receives the terminal positioning information transmitted from the first network element; It should be noted that while conventional positioning services can only provide coarse-grained positioning services, and coarse-grained positioning information may be understood as positioning information with a positioning accuracy of country / region accuracy and TA or cell accuracy, in the present application, a positioning service request sent by an NWDAF consumer carries a gradient of positioning granularity, and by obtaining positioning information for the positioning granularity, it is ensured that positioning information of the corresponding positioning granularity can be obtained, and it is ensured that the first core network element can obtain positioning information with higher accuracy.

[0035] It should be noted that the positioning information in the embodiment of the present application includes A11 to A14.

[0036] A11, geolocation of device It should be noted that the geolocation information can be divided into absolute location coordinates and relative location coordinates.

[0037] A12. Device movement information Optionally, the movement information of the terminal includes a moving speed of the terminal and a moving direction of the terminal. Includes.

[0038] A13, Positioning accuracy It should be noted that the positioning accuracy includes horizontal accuracy and vertical accuracy, the horizontal positioning accuracy is up to 0.3m, and the vertical positioning accuracy is up to 2m.

[0039] A14, positioning time information It should be noted that the time information of the positioning refers to the timestamp of the positioning.

[0040] Optionally, the positioning information may further include at least one of A21 to A25.

[0041] A21, UE identifier For example, it may be a Subscriber Permanent Identifier (SUPI), a Generic Public Subscription Identifier (GPSI), or the like.

[0042] A22, Civil location It should be noted that the civil location is used in emergency service scenarios where area supervision and management is required.

[0043] A23, Delay It should be noted that the delay refers to the delay information of the positioning service.

[0044] A24, QoS class It should be noted that the QoS class herein generally refers to a preferred QoS class, which can be divided into a high-level QoS, a medium-level QoS and a low-level QoS.

[0045] It should be noted that the high-level QoS is deterministic QoS, i.e., statistics and predictions need to be performed strictly based on the granularity of the required positioning information; the medium-level QoS is multiplexed QoS, i.e., the required granularity is given priority, and if it is not satisfied, the next granularity requirement needs to be met; and the low-level QoS is best-effort QoS, i.e., the positioning procedure is realized as much as possible, and there is no need to forcefully require accuracy.

[0046] A25. Age of location.

[0047] Optionally, the positioning information may further include location environment indication information.

[0048] Optionally, the location environment indication information comprises: The terminal is located on the ground; and The terminal is located underground, The terminal is located indoors; and The terminal is located outdoors; and The terminal is located inside the vehicle; and The terminal is located outside the vehicle; and The purpose of the present invention is to indicate at least one of the following:

[0049] Optionally, the manner in which the first core network element determines the positioning accuracy according to the positioning service request includes: The first core network element maps the positioning granularity indicated by the positioning granularity indication information to obtain the positioning accuracy.

[0050] For example, the positioning granularity in the positioning service request indicates the size of the positioning range, and for example, the positioning granularity carried in the positioning service request may be 10 km, or 100 to 1000 m.

[0051] Optionally, one of the optional mapping methods provided in the embodiment of the present application is: 0 indicates that the desired positioning information corresponds to national / regional accuracy (>10km), 1 indicates that the desired positioning information corresponds to TA or cell accuracy (approximately 1 km), 2 indicates that the desired positioning information corresponds to a medium level of accuracy (approximately 500m), 3 indicates that the desired positioning information corresponds to the next highest level of accuracy (approximately 100m), 4 indicates that the desired positioning information corresponds to a high level of accuracy (approximately 10m), 5 indicates that the desired positioning information corresponds to extremely high accuracy (about 1m).

[0052] It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, positioning information with a positioning accuracy of country / region accuracy and TA or cell accuracy is considered to be coarse-grained positioning information, and positioning information with an accuracy smaller than the TA or cell accuracy is considered to be fine-grained positioning information.

[0053] It should be noted that in the above mapping method, different positioning accuracy obtained by mapping is represented by different bit values.

[0054] Optionally, the second core network element can provide another precision requirement. Then, the first core network element determines the value for the first core network element according to the actual situation. Specifically, one of the following embodiments can be adopted:

[0055] In embodiment 1, when the second core network element wants to obtain a terminal accuracy of about 100 m, i.e., when the second core network element notifies the first core network element that the accuracy is [80 m to 120 m], the first core network element judges this current request based on its own situation or the QoS execution status fed back by the LCS last time, and finds that an accuracy request of 80 m is more appropriate, so enters 80 m in the accuracy information requested to the first network element.

[0056] In embodiment 2, if the second core network element directly provides the terminal's 80m accuracy as a reliable value, the first core network element directly forwards this accuracy information to the request of the first network element.

[0057] It should be noted that in such a mapping method, the positioning accuracy obtained by mapping is expressed by an unnecessary positioning accuracy value.

[0058] Optionally, the manner in which the first core network element determines a QoS class according to the positioning service request includes any of A31 to A32.

[0059] In A31, the first core network element obtains a QoS class carried in the positioning service request; It should be noted that in this case, the second core network element can include the QoS class in the positioning service request it sends, and the first core network element can directly obtain the QoS class.

[0060] In A32, the first core network element maps the preferred analysis accuracy information carried in the positioning service request to obtain a QoS class; It should be noted that in such a case, the second core network element does not directly include the QoS class in the positioning service request it sends, but includes preferred analysis accuracy information, and at this time, the first core network element needs to map the preferred analysis accuracy information to obtain the QoS class.

[0061] It should be noted that the preferred analysis accuracy information may be of multiple gradients, such as high, medium, and low, and when performing the mapping, the first core network element maps the multiple gradients of accuracy as QoS classes. Optionally, one implementation of the mapping scheme is as follows: In the case of gradient preference analysis accuracy information where high accuracy is required, it should be mapped as a high-level QoS. In the case of gradient preference analysis accuracy information where accuracy is required to be moderate, it should be mapped as a medium level QoS. In the case of gradient preference analysis accuracy information requiring low accuracy, it should be mapped as a low-level QoS.

[0062] Optionally, the terminal location service request includes an identifier of the terminal or a group identifier of the terminal.

[0063] It should be noted that if the second core network element requests the location status of all terminals in a certain vicinity from the first core network element, or directly provides a group identifier of a terminal group (UE group), the second core network element needs to obtain the positioning information of the terminals of a group.

[0064] Here, the method of acquiring the group identifier of the terminal includes any of B11 to B12.

[0065] In B11, the first core network element obtains a group identifier of a terminal carried in the positioning service request; It should be noted that if the group identifier provided by the first core network element is a group identifier of a UE group, the first core network element does not need to perform a mapping process.

[0066] At B12, the first core network element maps the location indication carried in the positioning service request to obtain a group identifier of the terminal.

[0067] It should be noted that if the second core network element provides a certain location, the first core network element obtains a group identifier after receiving the location according to a list statically configured therein or mapping information obtained from other core network elements.Optionally, the first core network element can request the positioning information of multiple terminals from the fifth core network element at one time, that is, when the first network element is the fifth core network element, the terminal positioning service request sent from the first core network element may include the group identifier of the terminal, and the fifth core network element needs to map the group identifier as a UE list after receiving the group identifier of the terminal, and then the fifth core network element obtains the positioning information of each UE respectively for the UE list in the positioning procedure. If the first network element is the third core network element or the fourth core network element, even if the first core network element knows that it needs to obtain positioning information of a group of terminals, it needs to send a terminal positioning service request to the third core network element or the fourth core network element respectively for each terminal, that is, the first core network element can only request positioning information of one terminal at a time.

[0068] It should be further explained that when the first network element is a fifth core network element, when the fifth core network element determines that the terminal positioning service request requests the positioning information of a group of terminals, it optionally obtains the positioning information of each terminal and then transmits it to the first core network element, that is, the GMLC network element transmits the positioning information to the NWDAF network element every time it collects the positioning information of the terminals.Optionally, it obtains all the positioning information of a group of terminals and then transmits the positioning information of the group of terminals to the first core network element, that is, at this time, the GMLC network element supports an information storage function, and after obtaining the positioning information of each terminal, the GMLC network element first stores the positioning information, and after obtaining all the positioning information of the terminals of the group, it transmits it to the NWDAF network element together.

[0069] Optionally, when the first network element is a fourth core network element, the acquisition manner of the fourth core network element is: The first core network element obtains an address of a second network element of the terminal; If the first core network element determines that the second network element can provide a service to the terminal, the second network element is determined as a fourth core network element, and if the first core network element determines that the second network element cannot provide a service to the terminal, the address of the fourth core network element provided by the second network element is obtained; Includes.

[0070] What should be noted is that in this case, the LMF address is obtained based on the terminal identifier (identifier of a single UE or group identifier of a UE group). As shown in FIG. 3, the specific implementation procedure is as follows: Step 1 to Step 3.

[0071] In step 1, within the NWDAF network element, a configuration list is pre-configured that can statically query the address of the UE's LMF1, and the LMF1 provides subsequent positioning services.

[0072] In step 2, the NWDAF network element finds the LMF1 address through the configuration list, and if the LMF1 determines that it cannot currently provide positioning services to the terminal, it notifies the NWDAF network element to modify its local static configuration and informs the NWDAF network element of the address of LMF2. After the NWDAF network element modifies the static configuration, it initiates a terminal positioning service request to the LMF2.

[0073] In step 3, if the information is not pre-configured in the NWDAF network element, the NWDAF network element queries other core network elements (including but not limited to AMF, UDM, NRF, etc., and the network elements are responsible for updating and maintaining the LMF address) for the current LMF address corresponding to a UE ID.

[0074] Optionally, when the first network element is a third core network element, the acquisition manner of the third core network element is: When the first core network element determines that the information of at least one terminal can be collected and used by the first core network element, obtaining an address of at least one third core network element from the sixth core network element. Including, Here, the at least one third core network element provides a service to the at least one terminal.

[0075] It should be noted that the sixth core network element in the embodiment of this application refers to a UDM network element. When the NWDAF network element needs to collect the coarse-grained and fine-grained positioning information of the terminal, it first checks the user's intention to the UDM network element, and checks whether the terminal's information can be collected and used by the NWDAF network element. If it can be collected and used, the NWDAF network element obtains the AMF address of the terminal's current location from the UDM network element. It should be noted that the NWDAF network element can request the AMF addresses of the locations of multiple terminals from the UDM network element at one time, and the corresponding AMF network elements may be different depending on the terminal, so the UDM network element returns multiple AMF addresses, and the NWDAF network element may request only one AMF address of the location of the terminal from the UDM network element at one time, so the UDM network element returns one AMF address.

[0076] It should be noted that the first core network element can send all positioning accuracy requests to the first network element without distinguishing the type of positioning accuracy, and optionally, the first core network element can only send a certain type of positioning accuracy request to the first network element. Specifically, a further optional implementation of the first core network element sending a terminal positioning service request to the first network element is: The first core network element determines the type of the positioning accuracy; The first core network element sends a terminal positioning service request to a first network element when the positioning accuracy type is a first accuracy type; Here, the first network element is a fourth core network element or a fifth core network element.

[0077] It should be noted that the first accuracy type is a fine-grained accuracy type, that is, in such a case, the first core network element may request only fine-grained positioning information from the fourth core network element or the fifth core network element, but may obtain coarse-grained positioning information from the AMF network element based on conventional procedures.

[0078] Optionally, after obtaining the positioning information of the terminal, if the first core network element determines that the positioning accuracy of the obtained at least one terminal positioning information is equal to or less than the positioning accuracy required by the second core network element, obtain the realized granularity and result reliability of the at least one terminal positioning information; The first core network element sends the positioning information of at least one terminal, the realized granularity, and a result reliability of the positioning information to the second core network element.

[0079] Optionally, the manner in which the first core network element obtains the realized granularity of the positioning information is: Mapping the positioning accuracy of the positioning information as an realized granularity. Includes.

[0080] Optionally, the manner in which the first core network element obtains the result reliability of the positioning information is: determining a result reliability of the positioning information based on the realized QoS class of the positioning information; Includes.

[0081] What should be explained here is that what is realized here is that after the first core network element obtains the positioning information of the terminal, it needs to perform reverse mapping of the positioning accuracy of the positioning information and map it as an realized granularity, and specifically, the realized granularity may be understood to be a positioning granularity corresponding to the positioning accuracy actually performed when the first network element obtains the positioning information.

[0082] It should be further noted that when the first core network element returns the terminal's positioning information to the second core network element, it also needs to send the result reliability of the positioning information to the second core network element, so that the second core network element finally decides whether to use the positioning information based on the result reliability.

[0083] In the following, specific applications of the embodiments of the present application will be described in detail as follows.

[0084] First, the information transmitted by each network element according to the embodiment of the present application will be described as follows.

[0085] As shown in Figure 4, Target MS in Figure 4 represents a target terminal, which may be one UE or a group of UEs, LCS server may be an LMF network element, an AMF network element or a GMLC network element, NWDAF network element is a core network element, performing functions such as intelligent statistics and prediction, and NWDAF consumer is a consumer of NWDAF, which may be AMF, SMF, AF, etc. What should be further explained here is that QoS class and LCS QoS class are not completely equivalent, but have a mapping relationship.

[0086] The specific process includes Step 1 to Step 6.

[0087] In step 1, the NWDAF consumer initiates a service request to the NWDAF network element, carrying the required parameters, including: C11, Analytics ID (a specific identifier for the service), C12, a target terminal (which may be a single terminal ID (SUCI, GPSI, etc.) or a group of terminals); C13, Analytics filter (including Area of ​​Interest and Visited Area(s) of Interest); C14, analysis time (instructing the NWDAF on the time interval for which statistics or forecasts will be made); C15, the order in which the Preferred results are sorted (ascending or descending), C16, the notification's associated ID and the notification's target address; C17, preferred analytical accuracy (which may be of multiple gradients: high, medium, low);

[0088] Optionally, the request may further include a maximum number of target terminals.

[0089] Optionally, the request may further include positioning granularity indication information (i.e., granularity of preferred positioning information), where the positioning granularity indication information is gradient indication information, i.e., for indicating one or more of a plurality of gradients of positioning granularity, where the gradient includes positioning accuracy from a national / regional range to a decimeter range. Granularity indication is an identification method similar to index type, and indicates a specific positioning accuracy value.

[0090] Optionally, the request may further include a preferred QoS class, and it should be noted that if this information is carried in the NWDAF consumer, it can be directly mapped to the QoS class of the LCS in Step 2, and if not, a mapping needs to be performed in Step 2.

[0091] In Step 2, after receiving the request, the NWDAF network element sends a message requesting positioning information to the LCS server. The message includes information such as positioning accuracy and QoS class.

[0092] In Step 3, the LCS server performs positioning accuracy requirements and QoS requirements during positioning with the target MS, that is, accuracy in LCS QoS, which includes horizontal accuracy, vertical accuracy, and QoS class.

[0093] In Step 4, the positioning accuracy and LCS QoS achieved in the positioning process are reported to the LCS server via LCS signaling.

[0094] In Step 5, the LCS server reports the achieved positioning accuracy and QoS class to the NWDAF network element, and may optionally provide information such as positioning delay, user privacy verification, etc. to the NWDAF network element.

[0095] In Step 6, after receiving the achieved positioning accuracy and QoS class, if the requirements in Step 1 are met, the NWDAF network element reverse maps these information into the achieved granularity and result confidence, and the NWDAF network element reports these information to the NWDAF consumer through a statistical result or forecast message.

[0096] Optionally, the realized positioning accuracy is mapped as an realized granularity indication and a reverse mapping is performed based on Step 2; The realized QoS class is one of the calculation elements of the result reliability, and the following D1 to D3 are methods for considering the result reliability.

[0097] D1, if a preferred QoS class is provided in Step 1, the NWDAF network element verifies whether the realized QoS class matches the requested one. If other factors match, the realized QoS class meets the requirement, and the result confidence is higher than the result confidence of not being realized or not meeting the requirement.

[0098] D2: If the preferred QoS class is not provided in Step 1, compare the realized QoS class with the QoS class after mapping based on the preferred analysis accuracy and the mapping relationship of the QoS class in Step 2. If other factors are consistent, if the realized QoS class meets the requirement, the result confidence is higher than the result confidence that is not realized or does not meet the requirement.

[0099] D3: If the granularity or QoS requirements requested in Step 1 cannot be met, the NWDAF network element evaluates the QoS, delay information, privacy verification, etc. information returned by the LCS server, and reports related factors to the NWDAF consumer, including long link delay, failed user privacy verification, etc.

[0100] It should be noted that the NWDAF network element sends a request to the LCS server, and the LCS server sends a request to the Target MS on the premise that the user privacy verification or user intent check is passed. The specific implementation process of the embodiments of the present application will be described below from the perspectives of different implementation forms as follows:

[0101] First, it should be explained that the NWDAF, AMF, LMF, UDM, and GMLC described below are used for the sake of simplicity, and all correspond to the relevant network elements.

[0102] Specific application scenario 1: NWDAF obtains multiple granularity positioning information of UE through AMF It should be noted that a specific implementation process in such an application scenario specifically includes steps 501 to 509, as shown in FIG.

[0103] In step 501, when the NWDAF needs to collect terminal positioning information (including coarse and fine granularity), it first checks the user's intention for the UDM and checks whether the terminal information can be collected and used by the NWDAF. If it can be collected and used, it obtains the AMF address of the terminal's current location for the UDM.

[0104] In step 502, the NWDAF requests the AMF for terminal positioning information, which the AMF may report immediately or the terminal may report based on an event (periodic, inter-cell, etc.).

[0105] It should be noted that the request sent by the NWDAF further includes the terminal identifier (SUPI, GPSI, etc.), positioning accuracy, positioning time information, etc.

[0106] In step 503, after receiving the request, the AMF determines whether the current positioning accuracy can be directly provided by the AMF, and if it determines that the NWDAF request can be satisfied, executes step 504, and if it cannot be satisfied, executes steps 505 to 509.

[0107] In step 504, the AFM provides positioning information to the NWDAF including that requested in step 502, and if certain parameters cannot be provided, the AMF optionally provides associated failure cause information.

[0108] In step 505, if the AMF cannot currently provide positioning information that meets the NWDAF granularity requirement, it obtains one by searching for a suitable LMF and initiating a positioning procedure, and searches for a suitable LMF through an LMF selection procedure.

[0109] In step 506, the AMF requests positioning information from the LMF and requests the LMF to provide positioning information that meets the accuracy requirement.

[0110] In step 507, at the request of the AMF, the LMF initiates a positioning procedure, including a positioning procedure such as UE assisted, UE based, network assisted, etc. In this process, the LMF can obtain the positioning information requested in step 506.

[0111] In step 508, the LMF returns the positioning information requested in step 506 to the AMF, and optionally, if certain parameters cannot be provided or met, the LMF provides associated failure cause information.

[0112] In step 509, the AMF reports the received terminal positioning information to the NWDAF.

[0113] It should be noted that when the NWDAF requests the AMF for terminal positioning information, it must request it for each terminal, that is, the NWDAF can only obtain the positioning information of one terminal each time it sends a request.

[0114] Specific application scenario 2: NWDAF obtains fine-grained positioning information from AMF via GMLC and obtains coarse-grained positioning information from AMF It should be noted that a specific implementation process in such an application scenario specifically includes steps 601 to 612, as shown in FIG.

[0115] In step 601, the NWDAF determines the terminal positioning information (including coarse granularity and fine granularity) that needs to be statistically collected, and if fine granularity positioning information needs to be requested, it executes steps 602 to 610, and if coarse granularity positioning information is requested, it executes steps 611 to 612.

[0116] In step 602, the NWDAF requests fine-grained positioning information of the terminal from the GMLC.

[0117] It should be noted that in the case of a roaming scenario, the NWDAF sends a request to the master service GMLC (H-GMLC), which in turn makes a request to the visited GMLC (V-GMLC), and in the case of a non-roaming scenario, the NWDAF sends a request directly to the H-GMLC. The GMLC further determines whether the request of the NWDAF can be met, including whether the positioning accuracy, maximum age of location, timestamp, etc. meet the requirements, by determining whether the positioning information of the currently associated terminal is stored, and if so, executes step 603, and if not, executes step 604 and subsequent procedures.

[0118] In step 603, the GMLC verifies that the currently stored terminal positioning information can meet the request of the NWDAF, and the GMLC directly returns the terminal positioning information that meets the request.

[0119] In step 604, the GMLC cannot satisfy the request of the NWDAF, and obtains the AMF address of the current terminal through signaling exchange with the UDM, and the GMLC initiates a positioning request to the AMF.

[0120] In step 605, after receiving the GMLC request, the AFM searches for a suitable LMF through an LMF selection process.

[0121] In step 606, the AMF requests positioning information from the LMF and requests the LMF to provide positioning information that meets the accuracy requirements of the terminal.

[0122] In step 607, upon request of the AMF, the LMF initiates a positioning procedure, including a positioning procedure such as UE assisted, UE based, network assisted, etc. In this process, the LMF can obtain the positioning information requested in step 606.

[0123] In step 608, the LMF returns the positioning information requested in step 607 to the AMF.

[0124] In step 609, the AMF reports the received terminal positioning information to the GMLC, and if certain parameters cannot be provided, the AMF optionally provides related failure cause information.

[0125] In step 610, the GMLC reports the terminal positioning information to the NWDAF.

[0126] In step 611, the NWDAF determines that it currently requires coarse-grained positioning information, obtains the current service AMF address of the terminal through UDM, and directly requests the terminal's positioning information from the AMF.

[0127] In step 612, the AMF reports the terminal's positioning information to the NWDAF, and if certain parameters cannot be provided, the AMF optionally provides related failure cause information.

[0128] Specific application scenario 3: NWDAF obtains different granularity positioning information from LMF by GMLC. It should be noted that a specific implementation process in such an application scenario specifically includes steps 701 to 712, as shown in FIG.

[0129] In step 701, the NWDAF requests fine-grained positioning information of the terminal from the GMLC.

[0130] It should be noted that in the case of a roaming scenario, the NWDAF sends a request to the H-GMLC, which in turn makes a request to the V-GMLC, and in the case of a non-roaming scenario, the NWDAF sends a request directly to the H-GMLC. The GMLC further determines whether the requirements of the NWDAF, including requirements for positioning accuracy, maximum age of location, timestamp, etc., can be met by determining whether the positioning information of the currently associated terminal is stored, and if so, executes step 702, and if not, executes step 703 and subsequent procedures.

[0131] In step 702, the GMLC verifies that the currently stored terminal positioning information can meet the request of the NWDAF, and the GMLC directly returns the terminal positioning information that meets the request.

[0132] In step 703, the GMLC cannot satisfy the request of the NWDAF, and obtains the AMF address of the current terminal through signaling exchange with the UDM, and the GMLC initiates a positioning request to the AMF.

[0133] In step 704, after receiving the request, the AMF determines whether the current positioning accuracy can be directly provided by the AMF, and if it determines that the NWDAF granularity requirement can be met, performs steps 705 and 706, and if it cannot be met, performs steps 707 to 712.

[0134] In step 705, the AMF provides the GMLC with positioning information that meets the requirements as requested in step 703, and optionally, if certain parameters cannot be provided, the AMF provides associated failure cause information.

[0135] In step 706, the GMLC reports the terminal positioning information to the NWDAF.

[0136] In step 707, if the AMF cannot currently provide positioning information that meets the NWDAF granularity requirements, a suitable LMF is obtained by searching for it and initiating the positioning process, and a suitable LMF is searched for through the LMF selection process.

[0137] In step 708, the AMF requests positioning information from the LMF and requests the LMF to provide positioning information that meets the accuracy requirement.

[0138] In step 709, upon request of the AMF, the LMF initiates a positioning procedure, including a positioning procedure such as UE assisted, UE based, network assisted, etc. In the process, the LMF can obtain the positioning information requested in step 708.

[0139] In step 710, the LMF returns the positioning information requested in step 708 to the AMF, and optionally provides associated failure cause information if certain parameters cannot be provided or met.

[0140] In step 711, the AMF reports the received terminal positioning information to the GMLC.

[0141] In step 712, the GMLC reports the terminal positioning information to the NWDAF.

[0142] Specific application scenario 4: NWDAF obtains fine-grained positioning information directly from LMF, and obtains coarse-grained positioning information from AMF.

[0143] It should be noted that a specific implementation process in such an application scenario specifically includes steps 801 to 808, as shown in FIG.

[0144] In step 801, the NWDAF determines whether the requested granularity is obtained from the AMF or the LMF.

[0145] In step 802, the NWDA obtains an AMF address via the FUDM and sends a positioning request to the AMF.

[0146] In step 803, the AMF provides coarse-grained positioning information to the NWDAF.

[0147] In step 804, the NWDAF requests the terminal's positioning information from the LMF.

[0148] In step 805, the LMF determines whether the requested granularity can be directly provided.

[0149] In step 806, the LMF provides the NWDAF with locally stored positioning information satisfying the request.

[0150] In step 807, the LMF initiates a positioning procedure for the terminal.

[0151] In step 808, the LMF returns positioning information satisfying the request to the NWDAF.

[0152] This will introduce an interface that allows direct communication between the NWDAF and the LMF.

[0153] When the NWDAF makes a decision, if it is necessary to obtain coarse-grained positioning information, the NWDAF initiates a positioning request to the AMF and executes steps 802 and 803; if it is necessary to obtain fine-grained positioning information, the NWDAF requests the LMF to directly initiate a positioning procedure and executes steps 804 to 808.

[0154] In step 805, if the LMF itself supports storing positioning information of different granularities and the stored positioning information meets the requirements of step 804, the LMF directly provides it in step 806; otherwise, the LMF performs steps 807 and 808.

[0155] Specific application scenario 5: NWDAF directly obtains positioning information with different granularity from LMF It should be noted that a specific implementation process in such an application scenario specifically includes steps 901 to 906, as shown in FIG.

[0156] In step 901, the NWDAF selects an appropriate LMF.

[0157] In step 902, the NWDAF requests the terminal's positioning information from the LMF.

[0158] In step 903, the LMF determines whether the requested granularity can be directly provided.

[0159] In step 904, the LMF provides the NWDAF with locally stored positioning information satisfying the request.

[0160] In step 905, the LMF initiates a positioning procedure for the terminal.

[0161] In step 906, the LMF returns positioning information satisfying the request to the NWDAF.

[0162] This will introduce an interface that allows direct communication between the NWDAF and the LMF.

[0163] It should be noted that in such an application scenario, the interface between the NWDAF and the LMF is completely used as an interface to obtain positioning information. The NWDAF provides the requested accuracy information directly to the LMF without making any judgment, and judges whether the LMF can provide it directly. If it can, it returns the positioning information directly to the NWDAF. If it cannot, it executes the procedures of steps 905 and 906.

[0164] It should be noted that according to the embodiment of the present application, the NWDAF can obtain terminal positioning information of different granularity, and can improve the level of statistical and forecasting services of the NWDAF.

[0165] As shown in FIG. 10, the embodiment of the present application is Step 101: a first network element receives a terminal location service request sent from a first core network element, the terminal location service request is for requesting terminal location information, and the terminal location service request includes a location accuracy and a QoS class; Step 102, in response to the terminal location service request, the first network element sends location information of the terminal to a first core network element; Including, The information transmission method further provides, in which the first network element is a third core network element, a fourth core network element or a fifth core network element.

[0166] Optionally, the step of the first network element sending the positioning information of the terminal to a first core network element includes: When the first network element determines that the terminal positioning service request requires positioning information of one group of terminals, the first network element obtains the positioning information of each terminal and then transmits the positioning information to the first core network element, or obtains all the positioning information of one group of terminals and then transmits the positioning information of the one group of terminals to the first core network element. Including, Here, the first network element is a fifth core network element.

[0167] Optionally, when the first network element is a third core network element or a fifth core network element, the step of the first network element sending the positioning information of the terminal to the first core network element in response to the terminal positioning service request includes: determining whether the first network element can provide the positioning accuracy in the terminal positioning service request; If the first network element determines that it can provide positioning information of the positioning accuracy, the first network element transmits positioning information of the terminal to the first core network element.

[0168] Optionally, after the step of determining whether the first network element can provide the positioning accuracy in the terminal positioning service request, When the first network element determines that it cannot provide positioning information of the positioning accuracy, sending a terminal positioning service request to a third network element; The first network element receives positioning information of the terminal transmitted from the third network element; The first network element sends positioning information of the terminal to a first core network element; Further comprising: Here, if the first network element is the third core network element, the third network element becomes the fourth core network element, and if the first network element is the fifth core network element, the third network element becomes the third core network element.

[0169] Optionally, the positioning information is: The geolocation of the device; Movement information of the terminal; Positioning accuracy and Time information of the positioning; Includes.

[0170] Optionally, the movement information of the terminal is: The speed and direction of the device's movement Includes.

[0171] Optionally, the positioning information is: Location environment instruction information Includes.

[0172] Optionally, the location environment indication information comprises: The terminal is located on the ground; and The terminal is located underground, The terminal is located indoors; and The terminal is located outdoors; and The terminal is located inside the vehicle; and The terminal is located outside the vehicle; and The purpose of the present invention is to indicate at least one of the following:

[0173] In the information transmission method provided by the embodiment of the present application, the execution subject may be an information transmission device. In the embodiment of the present application, the information transmission device is taken as an example to execute the information transmission method, and the information transmission device provided by the embodiment of the present application is described.

[0174] As shown in FIG. 11, the information transmission device of the embodiment of the present application is applied to a first core network element; A first receiving module 111 for receiving a positioning service request of a second core network element, the positioning service request is for requesting positioning information of at least one terminal, the positioning service request includes positioning granularity indication information, and the positioning granularity indication information is for indicating at least one of a plurality of gradient positioning granularities; a first determining module 112 for determining a positioning accuracy and a quality of service QoS class according to the positioning service request; A first sending module 113 for sending a terminal positioning service request to a first network element, the terminal positioning service request is for requesting terminal positioning information, the terminal positioning service request includes a positioning accuracy and a QoS class, and the first network element is a third core network element, a fourth core network element or a fifth core network element; a second receiving module 114 for receiving the terminal positioning information sent from the first network element; Equipped with.

[0175] Optionally, the first determination module 112: This is used to map the positioning granularity indicated by the positioning granularity indication information and obtain the positioning accuracy.

[0176] Optionally, the first determination module 112: Obtaining a QoS class carried in said positioning service request; or The preferred analysis accuracy information carried in the positioning service request is used to map and obtain a QoS class.

[0177] Optionally, the QoS class is: High level QoS and Medium level QoS and Low level QoS and Includes at least one of the following:

[0178] Optionally, the information transmission device further includes an acquisition module for acquiring the realized granularity and result reliability of the positioning information of at least one terminal when the second receiving module 114 determines that the positioning accuracy of the acquired positioning information of at least one terminal is equal to or lower than the positioning accuracy required by the second core network element after receiving the terminal positioning information transmitted from the first network element; and a third sending module for sending the positioning information of at least one terminal, the achieved granularity, and a result reliability of the positioning information to the second core network element.

[0179] Optionally, the manner of obtaining the realized granularity of the positioning information includes: Mapping the positioning accuracy of the positioning information as an realized granularity. Includes.

[0180] Optionally, the manner of obtaining the result reliability of the positioning information includes: determining a result reliability of the positioning information based on the realized QoS class of the positioning information; Includes.

[0181] Optionally, the terminal location service request includes a terminal identifier or a terminal group identifier; Here, the method of acquiring the group identifier of the terminal is as follows: The first core network element obtains a group identifier of the terminal carried in the positioning service request; or The first core network element maps the location indication carried in the positioning service request to obtain a group identifier of the terminal. Includes.

[0182] Optionally, when the first network element is a fourth core network element, the acquisition manner of the fourth core network element is: Obtaining an address of a second network element of the terminal.

[0183] If it is determined that the second network element can provide a service to the terminal, it determines the second network element as a fourth core network element, and if it is determined that the second network element cannot provide a service to the terminal, it obtains an address of the fourth core network element provided by the second network element.

[0184] Optionally, when the first network element is a third core network element, the acquisition manner of the third core network element is: obtaining an address of at least one third core network element from a sixth core network element when it is determined that information of at least one terminal can be collected and used by the first core network element; Including, Here, the at least one third core network element serves the at least one terminal.

[0185] Optionally, the first sending module 113 is a first judging unit for judging a type of the positioning accuracy; a first sending unit for sending a terminal positioning service request to a first network element when the positioning accuracy type is a first accuracy type; Here, the first network element is a fourth core network element or a fifth core network element.

[0186] Optionally, the positioning information is: The geolocation of the device; Movement information of the terminal; Positioning accuracy and Time information of the positioning; Includes.

[0187] Optionally, the movement information of the terminal is: The speed and direction of the device's movement Includes.

[0188] Optionally, the positioning information is: Location environment instruction information Includes.

[0189] Optionally, the location environment indication information comprises: The terminal is located on the ground; and The terminal is located underground, The terminal is located indoors; and The terminal is located outdoors; and The terminal is located inside the vehicle; and The terminal is located outside the vehicle; and The purpose of the present invention is to indicate at least one of the following:

[0190] The information transmission device provided by the embodiments of the present application can enable the NWDAF to obtain terminal positioning information of different granularity, thereby improving the level of statistical and forecasting services of the NWDAF.

[0191] The information transmission device in the embodiment of the present application may be an electronic device, for example, an electronic device with an operating system, or may be a component in an electronic device, for example, an integrated circuit or chip. The electronic device may be other devices other than a terminal. Exemplarily, the other devices may be a server, a network attached storage (NAS), etc., and are not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0192] The information transmission device provided by the embodiments of the present application can realize each process realized in the method embodiment of FIG. 2 and achieve the same technical effects, and detailed description will be omitted here to avoid repetition.

[0193] An embodiment of the present application further provides a core network element, where the core network element shown is a first core network element, including a processor and a communication interface, where the processor is used for receiving a positioning service request of a second core network element, where the positioning service request is for requesting positioning information of at least one terminal, where the positioning service request includes positioning granularity indication information, and where the positioning granularity indication information is for indicating at least one of a plurality of gradient positioning granularities, and the communication interface is used for determining a positioning accuracy and a quality of service QoS class according to the positioning service request, and sending a terminal positioning service request to the first network element, where the terminal positioning service request is for requesting positioning information of a terminal, where the terminal positioning service request includes a positioning accuracy and a QoS class, and the first network element is a third core network element, a fourth core network element or a fifth core network element, and receiving the positioning information of the terminal sent from the first network element.

[0194] The embodiment of the core network element corresponds to the method embodiment on the first core network element side, and each implementation process and realization form of the above method embodiment can be applied to the core network element embodiment and can achieve the same technical effects.

[0195] Specifically, an embodiment of the present application further provides a core network element, and the core network element is a first core network element. As shown in Figure 12, the core network element 1200 includes a processor 1201, a network interface 1202, and a memory 1203. Here, the network interface 1202 is, for example, a common public radio interface (CPRI).

[0196] Specifically, the core network element 1200 of the embodiment of the present invention further includes a command or program stored in the memory 1203 and executable by the processor 1201, and the processor 1201 calls the command or program in the memory 1203 to execute the method executed by each module shown in FIG. 11, and achieves the same technical effect, and detailed description is omitted here to avoid repetition.

[0197] The embodiments of the present application further provide a readable storage medium, which stores a program or command, and when the program or command is executed by a processor, each process of the above-mentioned information transmission method embodiment can be realized and the same technical effect can be achieved, and detailed description thereof will be omitted here to avoid repetition.

[0198] Wherein, the processor is the processor in the terminal according to the above embodiment. The readable storage medium includes a computer readable storage medium such as a computer read only memory ROM, a random access memory RAM, a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

[0199] As shown in FIG. 13, an embodiment of the present application is an information transmission device applied to a first network element, A third receiving module 131 for receiving a terminal positioning service request sent from a first core network element, the terminal positioning service request is for requesting terminal positioning information, and the terminal positioning service request includes a positioning accuracy and a QoS class; a second sending module 132 for sending the terminal's positioning information to a first core network element in response to the terminal's positioning service request; Equipped with The information transmission device further provides, wherein the first network element is a third core network element, a fourth core network element or a fifth core network element.

[0200] Optionally, the second transmitting module 132 is When it is determined that the terminal positioning service request requires positioning information of one group of terminals, the positioning information of each terminal is obtained and then transmitted to the first core network element, or the positioning information of all the terminals of one group is obtained and then transmitted to the first core network element; Here, the first network element is a fifth core network element.

[0201] Optionally, when the first network element is a third core network element or a fifth core network element, the second sending module 132: A second judging unit for judging whether the positioning accuracy in the terminal positioning service request can be provided; and a second sending unit for sending the positioning information of the terminal to the first core network element when it is determined that positioning information of the positioning accuracy can be provided.

[0202] Optionally, the information transmission device further includes a third sending unit for sending the terminal location service request to a third network element when the second judging unit judges whether the positioning accuracy in the terminal location service request can be provided and judges that the positioning information of the positioning accuracy cannot be provided; a receiving unit for receiving the terminal positioning information sent from the third network element; A fourth sending unit for sending the positioning information of the terminal to a first core network element; Here, if the first network element is the third core network element, the third network element becomes the fourth core network element, and if the first network element is the fifth core network element, the third network element becomes the third core network element.

[0203] Optionally, the positioning information is: The geolocation of the device; Movement information of the terminal; Positioning accuracy and Time information of the positioning; Includes.

[0204] Optionally, the mobility information of the terminal is: The speed and direction of the device's movement Includes.

[0205] Optionally, the positioning information is: Location environment instruction information Includes.

[0206] Optionally, the location environment indication information comprises: The terminal is located on the ground; and The terminal is located underground, The terminal is located indoors; and The terminal is located outdoors; and The terminal is located inside the vehicle; and The terminal is located outside the vehicle; and The purpose of the present invention is to indicate at least one of the following:

[0207] It should be noted that the device embodiment is an apparatus corresponding to the method applied to the first network element side described above, and all the implementation forms in the above method embodiments can be applied to the device embodiment to achieve the same technical effects.

[0208] The embodiment of the present application further provides a network element. The illustrated network element is a first network element, including a processor and a communication interface, and the communication interface is used for receiving a terminal positioning service request sent from a first core network element, the terminal positioning service request is for requesting terminal positioning information, the terminal positioning service request includes a positioning accuracy and a QoS class, and sending the terminal positioning information to the first core network element according to the terminal positioning service request, where the first network element is a third core network element, a fourth core network element or a fifth core network element. The network element embodiment corresponds to the method embodiment on the first network element side, and each implementation process and realization form of the method embodiment can be applied to the network element embodiment, and the same technical effects can be achieved.

[0209] Specifically, the embodiment of the present application further provides a network element. The illustrated network element is a first network element, the specific structure of which is shown in Figure 12, and detailed description is omitted here.

[0210] The embodiments of the present application further provide a readable storage medium, which stores a program or command, and when the program or command is executed by a processor, each process of the above-mentioned information transmission method embodiment can be realized and the same technical effect can be achieved, and detailed description thereof will be omitted here to avoid repetition.

[0211] Wherein, the processor is the processor in the terminal according to the above embodiment. The readable storage medium includes a computer readable storage medium such as a computer read only memory ROM, a random access memory RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0212] Optionally, as shown in Fig. 14, the embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device 1400. The communication device 1400 includes a processor 1401 and a memory 1402, and the memory 1402 stores a program or command executable by the processor 1401. For example, when the communication device 1400 is a first core network element, when the program or command is executed by the processor 1401, each step of the embodiment of the information transmission method described in the embodiment shown in Fig. 2 is realized, and the same technical effect can be achieved. When the communication device 1400 is a first network element, when the program or command is executed by the processor 1401, each step of the embodiment of the information transmission method described in the embodiment shown in Fig. 10 is realized, and the same technical effect can be achieved, and detailed description is omitted here to avoid repetition.

[0213] The embodiments of the present application further provide a chip, the chip includes a processor and a communication interface, the communication interface and the processor are coupled together, the processor is used to execute programs or commands to realize each process of the embodiments of the above information transmission method, and can achieve the same technical effects, and the detailed description is omitted here to avoid repetition.

[0214] It should be understood that the chips referred to in the embodiments of this application may be referred to as system level chips, system chips, chip systems, system on chips, or the like.

[0215] The embodiments of the present application further provide a computer program / program product, which is stored in a storage medium, and which is executed by at least one processor to realize each process of the embodiments of the above information transmission method, and achieve the same technical effects, and detailed description thereof will be omitted herein to avoid repetition.

[0216] An embodiment of the present application further provides an information transmission system including a first core network element that can be used to perform steps of the information transmission method as described above, and a first network element that can be used to perform steps of the information transmission method as described above.

[0217] It should be noted that in this specification, the terms "comprise", "consist of" or any other variations are intended to include a non-exclusive inclusion, whereby a process, method, article, or apparatus that includes a set of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not expressly stated or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Unless otherwise specified, an element limited by the phrase "comprises a" does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes the element. It should also be noted that the scope of the method and apparatus in the embodiments of this application is not limited to performing functions in the order shown or discussed, but may include performing functions substantially simultaneously or in the reverse order depending on such functions, for example, the described method may be performed in a different order than described, and various steps may be added, omitted, or combined. Also, features described with reference to any example may be combined in other examples.

[0218] From the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the above embodiment methods can be realized in the form of a combination of software and a necessary common hardware platform, and of course, they can also be realized by hardware, but in many cases the former is a more preferred embodiment. Based on this view, the technical solutions of the present application can be substantially or the part that contributes to the prior art can be realized in the form of a computer software product, which is stored in a storage medium (e.g., ROM / RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk) and includes a number of commands that cause a terminal (which may be a mobile phone, a computer, a server, an air conditioner, or a network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in the embodiments of the present application.

[0219] Although the examples of the present application have been described above with reference to the drawings, the present application is not limited to the above-mentioned specific embodiments, which are merely illustrative and not limiting. Based on the suggestions of the present application, many forms that a person skilled in the art can make without departing from the spirit of the present application and the scope of protection of the claims are all within the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A step of a first core network element receiving a positioning service request of a second core network element, the positioning service request being for requesting positioning information of at least one terminal, the positioning service request including positioning granularity indication information, the positioning granularity indication information being for indicating at least one of a plurality of gradient positioning granularities; The first core network element determines a positioning accuracy and a quality of service (QoS) class according to the positioning service request; The first core network element sends a terminal positioning service request to a first network element, the terminal positioning service request is for requesting terminal positioning information, the terminal positioning service request includes a positioning accuracy and a QoS class, and the first network element is a third core network element, a fourth core network element, or a fifth core network element; The first core network element receives positioning information of the terminal transmitted from the first network element; 23. An information transmission method comprising:

2. The manner in which the first core network element determines the positioning accuracy according to the positioning service request is: The first core network element maps the positioning granularity indicated by the positioning granularity indication information to obtain positioning accuracy. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

3. The first core network element determines a QoS class according to the positioning service request, The first core network element obtains a QoS class carried in the positioning service request; or The first core network element maps the preferred analysis accuracy information carried in the positioning service request to obtain a QoS class. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

4. The QoS class is: A high level of QoS; Intermediate level QoS; and A low level of QoS; The method according to claim 1 , further comprising at least one of the following steps:

5. After the first core network element receives the terminal positioning information transmitted from the first network element, When the first core network element determines that the positioning accuracy of the acquired positioning information of at least one terminal is equal to or less than the positioning accuracy required by the second core network element, acquiring an achieved granularity and a result reliability of the positioning information of at least one terminal; The first core network element sends the positioning information of at least one terminal, the realized granularity, and a result reliability of the positioning information to the second core network element; The method of claim 1 further comprising:

6. The manner in which the first core network element obtains the realized granularity of the positioning information is: Mapping the positioning accuracy of the positioning information as an realized granularity. The method of claim 5 , comprising:

7. The manner in which the first core network element obtains the result reliability of the positioning information is as follows: determining a result reliability of the positioning information based on the realized QoS class of the positioning information; The method of claim 5 , comprising:

8. The terminal location service request includes a terminal identifier or a terminal group identifier; The method of acquiring the group identifier of the terminal is as follows: The first core network element obtains a group identifier of the terminal carried in the positioning service request; or The first core network element maps the location indication carried in the positioning service request to obtain a group identifier of the terminal. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

9. When the first network element is a fourth core network element, the acquisition manner of the fourth core network element is: The first core network element obtains an address of a second network element of the terminal; If the first core network element determines that the second network element can provide a service to the terminal, the second network element is determined as a fourth core network element, and if the first core network element determines that the second network element cannot provide a service to the terminal, the address of the fourth core network element provided by the second network element is obtained; The method of claim 1 , comprising:

10. When the first network element is a third core network element, the acquisition manner of the third core network element is: When the first core network element determines that information of at least one terminal can be collected and used by the first core network element, obtaining an address of at least one third core network element from a sixth core network element. Including, The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one third core network element serves the at least one terminal.

11. The step of the first core network element sending a terminal location service request to the first network element includes: The first core network element determines a type of the positioning accuracy; the first core network element sending a terminal positioning service request to a first network element when the positioning accuracy type is a first accuracy type; Including, The method of claim 1 , wherein the first network element is a fourth core network element or a fifth core network element.

12. The positioning information is The geolocation of the device; Movement information of the terminal; Positioning accuracy and Time information of the positioning; The method of claim 1 , comprising:

13. The movement information of the terminal is The speed and direction of the device's movement The method of claim 12, comprising:

14. The positioning information is Location environment instruction information 15. The method of any one of claims 1 to 14, comprising:

15. The location environment indication information is The terminal is located on the ground; and The terminal is located underground, The terminal is located indoors; and The terminal is located outdoors; and The terminal is located inside the vehicle; The terminal is located outside the vehicle; and The method of claim 14, for indicating at least one of:

16. A step of a first network element receiving a terminal positioning service request sent from a first core network element, the terminal positioning service request being for requesting terminal positioning information, and the terminal positioning service request including a positioning accuracy and a QoS class; The first network element sends positioning information of the terminal to a first core network element in response to the terminal positioning service request; Including, The information transmission method, wherein the first network element is a third core network element, a fourth core network element or a fifth core network element.

17. The step of the first network element transmitting the positioning information of the terminal to a first core network element includes: When the first network element determines that the terminal location service request requests the positioning information of one group of terminals, the first network element obtains the positioning information of each terminal and then transmits the positioning information to the first core network element, or obtains all the positioning information of the terminals of the group and then transmits the positioning information of the terminals of the group to the first core network element. Including, The method of claim 16 , wherein the first network element is a fifth core network element.

18. When the first network element is a third core network element or a fifth core network element, the step of the first network element sending the positioning information of the terminal to the first core network element in response to the terminal positioning service request includes: determining whether the first network element can provide the positioning accuracy in the terminal positioning service request; If the first network element determines that it can provide positioning information of the positioning accuracy, transmitting the positioning information of the terminal to the first core network element; 17. The method of claim 16, comprising:

19. After the step of determining whether the first network element can provide the positioning accuracy in the terminal positioning service request, When the first network element determines that it cannot provide positioning information of the positioning accuracy, sending a terminal positioning service request to a third network element; The first network element receives positioning information of the terminal transmitted from the third network element; The first network element sends positioning information of the terminal to a first core network element; Further comprising:

20. The method of claim 18, wherein if the first network element is a third core network element, the third network element is a fourth core network element, and if the first network element is a fifth core network element, the third network element is a third core network element.

20. The positioning information is The geolocation of the device; Movement information of the terminal; Positioning accuracy and Time information of the positioning; 17. The method of claim 16, comprising:

21. The movement information of the terminal is The speed and direction of the device's movement 21. The method of claim 20, comprising:

22. The positioning information is Location environment instruction information 22. The method of any one of claims 16 to 21, comprising:

23. The location environment indication information is The terminal is located on the ground; and The terminal is located underground, The terminal is located indoors; and The terminal is located outdoors; and The terminal is located inside the vehicle; The terminal is located outside the vehicle; and 23. The method of claim 22, for indicating at least one of:

24. An information transmission device applied to a first core network element, A first receiving module for receiving a positioning service request of a second core network element, the positioning service request being for requesting positioning information of at least one terminal, the positioning service request including positioning granularity indication information, the positioning granularity indication information being for indicating at least one of a plurality of gradient positioning granularities; a first determining module for determining a positioning accuracy and a quality of service (QoS) class according to the positioning service request; A first sending module for sending a terminal positioning service request to a first network element, the terminal positioning service request is for requesting terminal positioning information, the terminal positioning service request includes a positioning accuracy and a QoS class, and the first network element is a third core network element, a fourth core network element, or a fifth core network element; A second receiving module for receiving the terminal positioning information transmitted from the first network element; An information transmission device comprising:

25. An information transmission device applied to a first network element, comprising: A third receiving module for receiving a terminal positioning service request sent from a first core network element, the terminal positioning service request being for requesting terminal positioning information, the terminal positioning service request including a positioning accuracy and a QoS class; a second sending module for sending positioning information of the terminal to a first core network element in response to the terminal positioning service request; Equipped with The information transmission device, wherein the first network element is a third core network element, a fourth core network element, or a fifth core network element.

26. A core network element, being a first core network element, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein a program or command executable by the processor is stored in the memory, and when the program or command is executed by the processor, the steps of the information transmission method described in any one of claims 1 to 15 are realized.

27. A network element, being a first network element, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein programs or commands executable by the processor are stored in the memory, and when the programs or commands are executed by the processor, the steps of the information transmission method described in any one of claims 16 to 23 are realized.

28. A readable storage medium having stored thereon a program or command, which, when executed by a processor, results in the steps of the information transmission method according to any one of claims 1 to 23.

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