Positioning method, communication device, and communication system

Abstract

[0009] Embodiments of the present application provide a positioning method, a communication apparatus, and a communication system. The method includes: a terminal device receives a first message from a location management network element by using a session, and the first message is used to request location information of the terminal device; the terminal device sends the first message to an access network device; the terminal device receives the location information from the access network device; and the terminal device sends the location information to the location management network element by using the session. In this solution, positioning signaling used for positioning and the location information of the terminal device are transmitted through a user plane. Because the user plane has a short route and low transmission latency, the positioning signaling used for positioning and the location information of the terminal device can be transmitted quickly, which can further reduce the latency in locating the terminal device, resulting in a quick location of the terminal device.

Description

[Technical field]

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

[0002] In a wireless network, a terminal device may move along with a user's movement, so the network side needs to obtain the location of the terminal device in real time or irregularly in order to implement services related to the terminal device.

[0003] Currently, some latency-sensitive services have high latency requirements, and therefore the location of the terminal device also needs to be quickly located.

[0004] How to quickly locate a terminal device is currently an urgent problem to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application provides a positioning method, a communication apparatus, and a communication system for quickly locating a terminal device.

[0006] According to a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a positioning method, including: a terminal device receives a first message from a location management network element by using a session, the first message is used to request location information of the terminal device, the terminal device sends the first message to an access network device, the terminal device receives the location information from the access network device, and the terminal device sends the location information to the location management network element by using the session.

[0007] Based on the above solution, the location management network element sends a first message (sometimes referred to as positioning signaling) used to request location information of the terminal device to the access network device through the terminal device by using a session. The access network device feeds back the location information of the terminal device to the location management network element through the terminal device by using a session based on the first message, so that the location management network element can determine the location of the terminal device. In other words, in this method, the positioning signaling used for positioning and the location information of the terminal device are transmitted through the user plane. Since the user plane has a short path and low transmission latency, the positioning signaling used for positioning and the location information of the terminal device can be transmitted quickly, and the latency in locating the terminal device can be further reduced, so that the location of the terminal device is quickly located.

[0008] According to a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a positioning method, including: an access network device receives a first message from a terminal device by using a session, the first message is used to request location information of the terminal device, and the access network device sends location information to the terminal device by using the session based on the first message.

[0009] Based on the above solution, the terminal device sends a first message (sometimes referred to as positioning signaling) used to request location information of the terminal device to the access network device by using a session, and the access network device feeds back the location information of the terminal device to the terminal device based on the first message by using the session. In other words, in this method, the positioning signaling used for positioning and the location information of the terminal device are transmitted through the user plane. Since the user plane has a short path and low transmission latency, the positioning signaling used for positioning and the location information of the terminal device can be transmitted quickly, and the latency in locating the terminal device can be further reduced, so that the location of the terminal device is quickly located.

[0010] In a possible implementation, the access network device sending location information of the terminal device to the terminal device based on the first message by using the session includes: the access network device determines location information of the terminal device based on the first message, and the access network device sends the location information of the terminal device to the terminal device by using the session.

[0011] According to a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a positioning method, including: an access network device receives indication information from a session management network element, where the indication information indicates that a session is related to a positioning service, the access network device receives a first message from a location management network element based on the indication information by using the session, where the first message is used to request location information of a terminal device, and the access network device transmits location information of the terminal device to the location management network element based on the first message by using the session.

[0012] Based on the above solution, the location management network element sends a first message (sometimes referred to as positioning signaling) used to request location information of a terminal device to an access network device by using a session, and the access network device feeds back the location information of the terminal device to the location management network element based on the first message by using the session, so that the location management network element can determine the location of the terminal device. In other words, in this method, the positioning signaling used for positioning and the location information of the terminal device are transmitted through the user plane. Since the user plane has a short path and low transmission latency, the positioning signaling used for positioning and the location information of the terminal device can be transmitted quickly, and the latency in locating the terminal device can be further reduced, so that the location of the terminal device is quickly located.

[0013] In a possible implementation, the access network device sending location information of the terminal device to the location management network element based on the first message by using the session includes: the access network device determines location information of the terminal device based on the first message, and the access network device sends the location information of the terminal device to the location management network element by using the session.

[0014] In a possible implementation, the access network device receiving a first message from a location management network element based on the indication information by using the session includes: the access network device determines, based on the indication information, that the session is related to a positioning service, and the access network device receives the first message from the location management network element by using the session.

[0015] According to a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a positioning method, including: a location management network element sends a first message to an access network device by using a session, the first message is used to request location information of a terminal device, the location management network element receives the location information of the terminal device from the access network device by using the session, and the location management network element determines a position of the terminal device based on the location information of the terminal device.

[0016] Based on the above solution, the location management network element sends a first message (sometimes referred to as positioning signaling) used to request location information of a terminal device to an access network device by using a session, and the access network device feeds back the location information of the terminal device to the location management network element based on the first message by using the session, so that the location management network element can determine the location of the terminal device. In other words, in this method, the positioning signaling used for positioning and the location information of the terminal device are transmitted through the user plane. Since the user plane has a short path and low transmission latency, the positioning signaling used for positioning and the location information of the terminal device can be transmitted quickly, and the latency in locating the terminal device can be further reduced, so that the location of the terminal device is quickly located.

[0017] In a possible implementation, the location management network element sending a first message to the access network device by using the session includes: The location management network element sending a first message to the access network device through the terminal device by using the session. The location management network element receiving location information of the terminal device from the access network device by using the session includes: The location management network element receiving location information of the terminal device from the access network device through the terminal device by using the session.

[0018] Based on the above solution, the location management network element sends a first message (sometimes referred to as positioning signaling) used to request location information of the terminal device to the access network device through the terminal device by using a session. The access network device feeds back the location information of the terminal device to the location management network element through the terminal device by using a session based on the first message, so that the location management network element can determine the location of the terminal device. In other words, in this method, the positioning signaling used for positioning and the location information of the terminal device are transmitted through the user plane. Since the user plane has a short path and low transmission latency, the positioning signaling used for positioning and the location information of the terminal device can be transmitted quickly, and the latency in locating the terminal device can be further reduced, so that the location of the terminal device is quickly located.

[0019] Based on any implementation in the first to fourth aspects,

[0020] In a possible implementation, the location information includes positioning reference signals and / or sounding reference signals, and the location information is used to calculate the position of the terminal device.

[0021] In a possible implementation, a positioning protocol between the location management network element and the access network device is used for the first message.

[0022] In a possible implementation, the positioning protocol is NRPPa.

[0023] In a possible implementation, the first message includes a correlation identifier of the terminal device and information indicating a positioning method.

[0024] In a possible implementation, the positioning method includes: An access network device measures radio signals transmitted by a terminal device and reports location information of the terminal device to a location management network element.

[0025] According to a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a positioning method, including: a session management network element receives a session establishment request from a location management network element, the session establishment request is used to request to establish a session to transmit location information of a terminal device, and the session management network element sends indication information to an access network device based on the session establishment request, where the indication information indicates that the session is related to a positioning service.

[0026] Based on the above solution, the session management network element indicates to the access network device that the session is related to a positioning service, so that the access network device can feed back the location information of the terminal device to the location management network element by using the session. In other words, in this method, the positioning signaling used for positioning and the location information of the terminal device are transmitted through the user plane. Since the user plane has a short path and low transmission latency, the positioning signaling used for positioning and the location information of the terminal device can be transmitted quickly, and the latency in locating the terminal device can be further reduced, so that the terminal device is quickly located.

[0027] In a possible implementation, the session management network element transmits an identification of the location management network element to the terminal device.

[0028] According to a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device. The device may be a terminal device or a chip used in the terminal device. The communication device has a function for implementing each implementation of the first aspect. The function may be implemented by hardware, or may be implemented by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the function.

[0029] According to a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device. The device may be an access network device or a chip used in the access network device. The device has a function for implementing each implementation of the second aspect or the third aspect. The function may be implemented by hardware, or may be implemented by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to this function.

[0030] According to an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device. The device may be a location management network element or a chip used in the location management network element. The communication device has a function for implementing each implementation of the fourth aspect. The function may be implemented by hardware, or may be implemented by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the function.

[0031] According to a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device. The device may be a session management network element or a chip used in the session management network element. The communication device has a function for implementing each implementation of the fifth aspect. The function may be implemented by hardware, or may be implemented by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the function.

[0032] According to a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device including a processor and a memory. The memory is configured to store computer-executable instructions. When the device operates, the processor executes the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory, enabling the device to perform implementations of each of the first to fifth aspects.

[0033] According to an eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device including units or means in steps configured to implement each of the implementations of the first to fifth aspects.

[0034] According to a twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device including a processor and an interface circuit. The processor is configured to communicate with another communication device through the interface circuit and to perform each of the implementations of the first to fifth aspects. There may be one or more processors.

[0035] According to a thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device including a processor connected to a memory and configured to call a program stored in the memory, the processor implementing each of the first to fifth aspects. The memory may be located inside or outside the device. Further, there are one or more processors.

[0036] According to a fourteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, the computer-readable storage medium storing instructions, the instructions being executed on a computer to implement each of the first to fifth aspects.

[0037] According to a fifteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, the computer product including a computer program, which, when run, performs implementations of each of the first to fifth aspects.

[0038] According to a sixteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip system including a processor configured to perform each of the implementations of the first to fifth aspects.

[0039] According to a seventeenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system including an access network device configured to perform any implementation of the third aspect, and a location management network element configured to perform any implementation of the fourth aspect.

[0040] According to an eighteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system including a location management network element configured to perform any implementation of the fourth aspect, and a session management network element configured to perform any implementation of the fifth aspect. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0041] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a positioning method according to an embodiment of the present application; [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a positioning method according to an embodiment of the present application; [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a positioning method according to an embodiment of the present application; [Diagram 5]FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a positioning method according to an embodiment of the present application; [Figure 6] 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application; [Figure 7] 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application; [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present application; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0042] Location based service (LBS) is to use various types of positioning technologies to obtain the current location of a terminal device, and then provide information resources and basic services for the terminal device through the mobile Internet. In LBS, multiple information technologies such as mobile communication, Internet, spatial positioning, location information, and big data are integrated. A mobile Internet service platform is used to update and interact with the data so that users can obtain corresponding services through spatial positioning.

[0043] Currently, there are several positioning methods, including but not limited to global positioning system (GPS) positioning, access network device positioning, wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) assisted positioning, assisted global positioning system (A-GPS) positioning, BeiDou positioning, etc.

[0044] Access network device positioning requires that a deployed network architecture, such as a fourth generation (4G) network or a fifth generation (5G) network, is used. For ease of explanation, an embodiment of the present application is described by using the 5G network architecture shown in Figure 1 as an example. The 5G network architecture includes three parts: a terminal device, an access network device (also referred to as a radio access network (RAN) device), and a core network.

[0045] A terminal device is a device configured to implement wireless communication functions, such as a mobile phone or an Internet of Things terminal device. The terminal device mainly refers to a positioned object and is responsible for measuring and collecting positioning-related data.

[0046] In addition to implementing functions related to wireless access, the access network device also collects positioning data (e.g., location information of a terminal device) and reports the positioning data to the core network. The core network determines the location of the terminal device based on the positioning data. The access network device includes, but is not limited to, next generation NodeB (gNodeB, gNB), evolved NodeB (eNB), etc.

[0047] Positioning-related network elements in the core network include an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, a location management function (LMF) network element, a network exposure function (NEF) network element, a gateway mobile location center (GMLC) network element, a unified data management (UDM) network element, and an application function (AF) network element.

[0048] The AMF network element is mainly responsible for mobility management in a mobile network, such as user location update, user registration network, user switching, etc.

[0049] The UDM network element is configured to store user data, such as subscriber information and authentication and authorization information.

[0050] The LMF network element is mainly responsible for implementing positioning request management, positioning resource allocation, and determining the location of the terminal device in the positioning service.

[0051] The GMLC network element is mainly responsible for processing positioning requests in the positioning service and selecting an appropriate AMF network element for the positioning service.

[0052] The AF network element may be configured to initiate a positioning service to a core network and obtain a position of the terminal device from the core network.

[0053] The session management network element, mobility management network element, location management network element, and application function network element in the embodiment of the present application may be the SMF, AMF, LMF, and AF in Fig. 1, respectively, or may be network elements having the functions of SMF, AMF, LMF, and AF in future communication networks such as 6th generation (6G) networks. This is not limited in the present application. For ease of explanation, in the present application, an example in which the session management network element, mobility management network element, location management network element, and application function network element are the SMF, AMF, LMF, and AF, respectively, is used for explanation.

[0054] In order to quickly locate the position of a terminal device, an embodiment of the present application provides a positioning method. The method implements positioning based on message exchange on a control plane. The LMF interacts with an access network device by using an AMF to obtain information used for positioning (e.g., location information of a terminal device) from the access network device, and then the LMF determines the position of the terminal device based on the obtained information for use in positioning. In this method, messages between the access network device and the LMF need to be forwarded by the AMF. The AMF is a control plane network element and is usually deployed apart from the LMF. As a result, the message transmission and reception path between the access network device and the LMF is long, and ultimately requires a long time to be consumed to complete one positioning of the terminal device.

[0055] Therefore, an embodiment of the present application further provides a positioning method, in which the positioning of a terminal device is implemented through a user plane.

[0056] 2 is a schematic diagram of a positioning method according to an embodiment of the present application. The method includes the following steps:

[0057] Step 201: The LMF sends a first message to a terminal device by using a session. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first message by using the session.

[0058] The first message is used to request location information of the terminal device, and is, for example, a positioning message.

[0059] A session is used to provide data connectivity between a terminal device and a data network (DN). The uplink data and downlink data of the terminal device need to be carried by using a session. The session may be, for example, a protocol data unit (PDU) session, and the PDU type may be an internet protocol (IP), Ethernet, or unstructured type.

[0060] It should be understood that the first message may alternatively be replaced with a container, which includes information used to request location information of the terminal device.

[0061] Step 202: The terminal device sends a first message to the access network device by using the session. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the first message by using the session.

[0062] Optionally, a positioning protocol between the LMF and the access network device is used for the first message. Optionally, the positioning protocol is New Radio Positioning Protocol A (NRPPPa). Optionally, when the positioning protocol is NRPPa, the first message may be replaced with an NRPPa container. When the positioning protocol between the LMF and the access network device is used for the first message, after the terminal device receives the first message from the LMF, the terminal device does not parse the first message and transmits the first message to the access network device transparently. This can improve communication security and reduce overhead of the terminal device.

[0063] Optionally, in step 201, the LMF may send a second message to the terminal device by using the session, and the second message carries the first message. A positioning protocol between the LMF and the terminal device, such as a long term evolution (LTE) positioning protocol (LPP), is used for the second message. A positioning protocol between the LMF and the access network device, such as NRPPa, is used for the first message.

[0064] Step 203: The access network device sends the location information of the terminal device to the terminal device based on the first message by using the session. In response, the terminal device receives the location information of the terminal device.

[0065] The location information of the terminal device is used to calculate the position of the terminal device.

[0066] Optionally, the access network device determines location information of the terminal device, for example, location information, which may include a positioning reference signal (PRS) and / or a sounding reference signal (SRS).

[0067] Optionally, the first message includes a correlation identifier of the terminal device and information indicating a positioning method. Optionally, the correlation identifier of the terminal device is used to associate the terminal device. The positioning method includes: The access network device measures a radio signal transmitted by the terminal device and reports the location information of the terminal device to the LMF. For example, see the description in section 9.1.1.1 in 3GPP TS 38.455. The correlation identifier of the terminal device included in the first message may be reflected by using an LMF UE measurement ID, and the information included in the first message and indicating the positioning method may be reflected by using a measurement quantity item. The measurement quantity item may include one or more of a Cell-ID, an Angle of Arrival (AOA), a Timing Advance Type 1, a Timing Advance Type 2, a reference signal received power (RSRP), and a reference signal received quality (RSRQ).

[0068] Optionally, the access network device sends a measurement request to the terminal device based on the first message, the measurement request indicates the terminal device to transmit a wireless signal used by the access network device for measurement, and the terminal device transmits the wireless signal to the access network device based on the measurement request. The access network device measures the wireless signal and obtains location information of the terminal device. Optionally, the measurement request carries at least one of a frequency at which the wireless signal is transmitted, a time point at which the wireless signal is transmitted, and a time interval at which the wireless signal is transmitted.

[0069] Step 204: The terminal device sends location information of the terminal device to the LMF by using the session, and correspondingly, the LMF receives the location information of the terminal device.

[0070] Step 205: The LMF determines the position of the terminal device based on the location information of the terminal device.

[0071] The location of the terminal device may be, for example, a longitude and latitude, or a coordinate point.

[0072] In one implementation, there are two different quality of service (QoS) flows in a session, for example a first QoS flow in the downlink direction and a second QoS flow in the uplink direction. Optionally, in the above solution, the LMF sends a first message to the terminal device by using the first QoS flow, and the terminal device sends the first message to the access network device by using the second QoS flow. Then, the access network device sends the location information of the terminal device to the terminal device by using the first QoS flow, and the terminal device sends the location information of the terminal device to the LMF by using the second QoS flow.

[0073] Based on the above solution, the LMF sends a first message (sometimes referred to as positioning signaling) used to request location information of the terminal device to the access network device through the terminal device by using a session. The access network device feeds back the location information of the terminal device to the LMF through the terminal device by using a session based on the first message, so that the LMF can determine the location of the terminal device. In other words, in this method, the positioning signaling used for positioning and the location information of the terminal device are transmitted through the user plane. Since the user plane has a short path and low transmission latency, the positioning signaling used for positioning and the location information of the terminal device can be transmitted quickly, and the latency in locating the terminal device can be further reduced, so that the location of the terminal device is quickly located.

[0074] In addition, compared with the above-mentioned method for transmitting the positioning signaling and the location information of the terminal device used for positioning based on the control plane, the positioning signaling and the location information of the terminal device used for positioning between the access network device and the LMF can be avoided from being detouring by using the AMF on the control plane. Thus, the transmission latency can be reduced, and the latency in locating the terminal device can be further reduced, so that the terminal device can be quickly located.

[0075] 3 is a schematic diagram of a positioning method according to an embodiment of the present application. The method includes the following steps:

[0076] Step 301: The LMF sends a session creation request to the SMF. In response, the SMF receives the session creation request.

[0077] The create session request is used to request to establish a session that is used to transmit location information of a terminal device.

[0078] Step 302: The SMF sends indication information to the access network device. In response, the access network device receives the indication information.

[0079] After receiving the session creation request, the SMF establishes a session and sends an indication of the process of establishing the session to the access network device. Optionally, the location information of the LMF is further sent to the terminal device.

[0080] The indication information indicates that the established session is related to the positioning service. The session that the LMF requests the SMF to create is used to transmit location information of the terminal device, in other words, the session is related to the positioning service. Therefore, the SMF sends indication information to the access network device based on the session establishment request, indicating that the session is related to the positioning service.

[0081] Step 303: The LMF sends a first message to the access network device by using the session. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the first message by using the session.

[0082] The first message is used to request location information of the terminal device, and is, for example, a positioning message.

[0083] The session is used to provide data connectivity between a terminal device and a data network (DN). The uplink data and downlink data of the terminal device need to be carried by using the session. The session may be, for example, a protocol data unit (PDU) session, and the PDU type may be an inter-network Internet Protocol (IP), Ethernet, or unstructured type.

[0084] It should be understood that the first message may alternatively be replaced with a container, which includes information used to request location information of the terminal device.

[0085] Optionally, a positioning protocol between the LMF and the access network device is used for the first message. Optionally, the positioning protocol is NRPPa. Optionally, when the positioning protocol is NRPPa, the first message is replaced with an NRPPa container.

[0086] The access network device receives the indication information and determines that the session is related to the positioning service. Thus, the access network device may receive the first message based on the indication information and parse the first message. In other words, the access network device intercepts the first message based on the indication information, determines to directly parse the first message, and determines location information of the terminal device based on the first message.

[0087] Step 304: The access network device sends the location information of the terminal device to the LMF based on the first message by using the session. In response, the LMF receives the location information of the terminal device.

[0088] The location information of the terminal device is used to calculate the position of the terminal device.

[0089] Optionally, the access network device determines location information of the terminal device, for example, location information, which may include a positioning reference signal (PRS) and / or a sounding reference signal (SRS).

[0090] Optionally, the first message includes a correlation identifier of the terminal device and information indicating a positioning method. Optionally, the correlation identifier of the terminal device is used to associate the terminal device. The positioning method includes: The access network device measures a radio signal transmitted by the terminal device and reports the location information of the terminal device to the LMF. For example, see the description in section 9.1.1.1 in 3GPP TS 38.455. The correlation identifier of the terminal device included in the first message may be reflected by using an LMF UE Measurement ID, and the information included in the first message and indicating the positioning method may be reflected by using a measurement quantity item. The measurement quantity item may include one or more of Cell-ID, Angle of Arrival (AOA), Timing Advance Type 1, Timing Advance Type 2, Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), and Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ).

[0091] Optionally, the access network device sends a measurement request to the terminal device based on the first message, the measurement request indicates the terminal device to transmit a wireless signal used by the access network device for measurement, and the terminal device transmits the wireless signal to the access network device based on the measurement request. The access network device measures the wireless signal and obtains location information of the terminal device. Optionally, the measurement request carries at least one of a frequency at which the wireless signal is transmitted, a time point at which the wireless signal is transmitted, and a time interval at which the wireless signal is transmitted.

[0092] Step 305: The LMF determines the position of the terminal device based on the location information of the terminal device.

[0093] The location of the terminal device may be, for example, a longitude and latitude, or a coordinate point.

[0094] In one implementation, there are two different QoS flows in a session, for example a first QoS flow in the downlink direction and a second QoS flow in the uplink direction. Optionally, in the above solution, the LMF sends a first message to the terminal device by using the first QoS flow, and the terminal device sends the first message to the access network device by using the second QoS flow. Then, the access network device sends the location information of the terminal device to the terminal device by using the first QoS flow, and the terminal device sends the location information of the terminal device to the LMF by using the second QoS flow.

[0095] Based on the above solution, the LMF sends a first message (sometimes referred to as positioning signaling) used to request location information of the terminal device to the access network device by using a session, and the access network device feeds back the location information of the terminal device based on the first message by using a session to the LMF, so that the LMF can determine the location of the terminal device. In other words, in this method, the positioning signaling used for positioning and the location information of the terminal device are transmitted through the user plane. Since the user plane has a short path and low transmission latency, the positioning signaling used for positioning and the location information of the terminal device can be transmitted quickly, and the latency in locating the terminal device can be further reduced, so that the location of the terminal device is quickly located.

[0096] In addition, compared with the above-mentioned method for transmitting the positioning signaling and the location information of the terminal device used for positioning based on the control plane, the positioning signaling and the location information of the terminal device used for positioning between the access network device and the LMF can be avoided from being detouring by using the AMF on the control plane. Thus, the transmission latency can be reduced, and the latency in locating the terminal device can be further reduced, so that the terminal device can be quickly located.

[0097] The following specifically describes the positioning method corresponding to Fig. 2 with reference to a specific example. The following embodiment corresponding to Fig. 4 is a specific example of the embodiment corresponding to Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a positioning method according to an embodiment of the present application. The method includes the following steps:

[0098] Step 401: A third party device sends a positioning request to the GMLC. In response, the GMLC receives the positioning request.

[0099] The positioning request carries information about the terminal device. The information about the terminal device may be, for example, an identifier of the terminal device or an address of the terminal device. The identifier of the terminal device is used to uniquely identify the terminal device. See FIG. 1. In one implementation, the third party device may be a Location Service Client (LCS Client), and the LCS Client may send the positioning request to the GMLC through the Le interface between the GMLC and the LCS Client. In another implementation, the third party device may be an AF, and the AF may send the positioning request to the GMLC through the NEF.

[0100] Optionally, the GMLC may authenticate the third party device to determine whether the third party device has permission to obtain the positioning information of the terminal device. If the authentication is successful, the third party device has permission to obtain the positioning information of the terminal device.

[0101] Step 402: The GMLC sends a positioning request to the AMF. In response, the AMF receives the positioning request.

[0102] The positioning request carries information about the terminal device, which may for example be an identifier of the terminal device or an address of the terminal device.

[0103] Step 403: The AMF sends a positioning request to the LMF. In response, the LMF receives the positioning request.

[0104] The positioning request carries information about the terminal device, which may for example be an identifier of the terminal device or an address of the terminal device.

[0105] The positioning request further carries indication information, where the indication information indicates to use a user plane positioning method to determine the positioning information of the terminal device.

[0106] Step 404: The LMF sends a session establishment request to the SMF. In response, the SMF receives the session establishment request.

[0107] The session establishment request is used to request the SMF to establish a session (alternatively referred to as a user plane connection) between a terminal device and an LMF. Nodes on the session include the terminal device, the access network device, the UPF, and the LMF.

[0108] In the process of the SMF establishing a user plane connection, the SMF further informs the terminal device of the identification information of the LMF, which may be, for example, an identifier or address of a location management network element.

[0109] Step 405: The LMF sends an LPP request to the terminal device by using the session. In response, the terminal device receives the LPP request.

[0110] The session is used to provide data connectivity between a terminal device and a data network (DN). The uplink data and downlink data of the terminal device need to be carried by using the session. The session may be, for example, a protocol data unit (PDU) session, and the PDU type may be an inter-network Internet Protocol (IP), Ethernet, or unstructured type.

[0111] LPP is a communication protocol between the LMF and the terminal device and is used to transfer positioning related information.

[0112] The LPP request is sent by the LMF to the terminal device by using a session between the LMF and the terminal device. Specifically, the LMF sends the LPP request to the terminal device by using the UPF and the access network device.

[0113] The LPP request carries an NRPPa container, which carries a correlation identifier and indication information of a terminal device, where the correlation identifier of the terminal device is used to associate the terminal device, and the indication information indicates a positioning method. Optionally, the positioning method includes: an access network device measures a radio signal transmitted by the terminal device and reports location information of the terminal device to the LMF. The NRPPa container is a specific example of a first message in an embodiment corresponding to FIG. 2. NRPPa is a communication protocol between an access network device and an LMF, and is used to transfer positioning-related information.

[0114] Step 406: The terminal device sends a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message to the access network device by using the session. Correspondingly, the access network device receives an RRC message by using the session.

[0115] The RRC message carries the NRPPa container.

[0116] Step 407: The access network device determines location information of the terminal device.

[0117] For the method for determining the location information of the terminal device by the access network device, please refer to the description in the above embodiment. Details will not be described again. The location information is, for example, location information, and the location information may include a positioning reference signal (PRS) and / or a sounding reference signal (SRS).

[0118] Step 408: The access network device sends an RRC message to the terminal device by using the session. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives an RRC message by using the session.

[0119] The RRC message carries an NRPPa container, which carries location information of the terminal device.

[0120] Step 409: The terminal device sends an LPP response to the LMF by using the session. In response, the LMF receives an LPP response by using the session.

[0121] The LPP response carries the NRPPa container in step 408.

[0122] The LPP response is sent by the terminal device to the LMF by using the aforementioned session.

[0123] Step 410: The LMF determines the position of the terminal device based on the location information of the terminal device.

[0124] Step 411: The LMF sends a positioning response to the AMF. In response, the AMF receives a positioning response.

[0125] The positioning response conveys the location of the terminal device.

[0126] Step 412: The AMF sends a positioning response to the GMLC. In response, the GMLC receives the positioning response.

[0127] The positioning response conveys the location of the terminal device.

[0128] Step 413: The GMLC sends a positioning response to the third party device. In response, the third party device receives the positioning response.

[0129] The positioning response conveys the location of the terminal device.

[0130] Based on the above solution, the LMF sends an NRPPa container (sometimes referred to as positioning signaling) used to request location information of the terminal device to the access network device through the terminal device by using a session. The access network device feeds back the location information of the terminal device to the LMF through the terminal device by using a session based on the NRPPa container, so that the LMF can determine the location of the terminal device. In other words, the method is to transmit the positioning signaling used for positioning and the location information of the terminal device through the user plane. Since the user plane has a short path and low transmission latency, the positioning signaling used for positioning and the location information of the terminal device can be transmitted quickly, and the latency in locating the terminal device can be further reduced, so that the location of the terminal device is quickly located.

[0131] In addition, compared with the above-mentioned method for transmitting the positioning signaling and the location information of the terminal device used for positioning based on the control plane, the positioning signaling and the location information of the terminal device used for positioning between the access network device and the LMF can be avoided from being detouring by using the AMF on the control plane. Thus, the transmission latency can be reduced, and the latency in locating the terminal device can be further reduced, so that the terminal device can be quickly located.

[0132] The following specifically describes the positioning method corresponding to Fig. 3 with reference to a specific example. The following embodiment corresponding to Fig. 5 is a specific example of the embodiment corresponding to Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a positioning method according to an embodiment of the present application. The method includes the following steps:

[0133] The method includes the following steps.

[0134] Steps 501 to 503 are the same as steps 401 to 403. See above description.

[0135] Step 504: The LMF sends a session establishment request to the SMF. In response, the SMF receives the session establishment request.

[0136] The session creation request is used to request to establish a session used to transmit location information of the terminal device. Optionally, the session establishment request carries indication information, and the indication information indicates the NRPPa layer of the access network device to process packets of the session.

[0137] The session is used to provide data connectivity between the terminal device and the data network (DN). The uplink data and downlink data of the terminal device need to be carried by using the session. The session may be, for example, a protocol data unit (PDU) session, and the PDU type may be an inter-network Internet Protocol (IP), Ethernet, or unstructured type. In an alternative implementation, step 504 may alternatively be replaced with the following step 504'.

[0138] Step 504': The LMF sends a session modification request to the SMF. In response, the SMF receives the session modification request.

[0139] The session modification request is used to request the SMF to update a session between the terminal device and the LMF, and the session is used to carry location information of the terminal device. Optionally, the session modification request carries indication information, and the indication information indicates the NRPPa layer of the access network device to process packets of the session.

[0140] Step 505: The SMF sends the indication information to the access network device. In response, the access network device receives the indication information.

[0141] The indication information indicates that the established session is related to the positioning service. The session that the LMF requests the SMF to create or update is used to transmit location information of the terminal device, in other words, the session is related to the positioning service. Therefore, the SMF sends indication information to the access network device based on the session establishment request or the session modification request, indicating that the session is related to the positioning service.

[0142] Step 506: The LMF sends a packet to the access network device by using the session. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the packet by using the session.

[0143] Optionally, the packet carries an NRPPa container, which carries a correlation identifier of the terminal device and information indicating a positioning method. Optionally, the correlation identifier of the terminal device is used to associate the terminal device. The positioning method includes: the access network device measures a radio signal transmitted by the terminal device and reports location information of the terminal device to the LMF. Optionally, the NRPPa container uses a positioning protocol NRPPa between the LMF and the access network device.

[0144] The packet is sent by the LMF to the access network device by using the UPF. In one implementation, the LMF obtains a Tunnel Endpoint Identifier (TEID) between the LMF and the UPF, encapsulates the NRPPa container in a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol (GTP) packet, and sends the GTP packet to the access network device through a GTP tunnel corresponding to the TEID.

[0145] Step 507: The access network device processes the packet based on the indication information.

[0146] After receiving the indication information from the SMF, the access network device determines that the session is related to the positioning service. Therefore, the access network device can receive and parse the packet based on the indication information. In other words, the access network device determines to directly parse the packet based on the indication information, and determines the location information of the terminal device based on the packet.

[0147] For example, the access network device parses the packet, obtains an NRPPa container in the packet, and obtains from the NRPPa container a correlation identifier of the terminal device and information indicating a positioning method.

[0148] Step 508: The access network device determines location information of the terminal device.

[0149] For the method for determining the location information of the terminal device by the access network device, please refer to the description in the above embodiment. Details will not be described again. For example, the location information may include a positioning reference signal (PRS) and / or a sounding reference signal (SRS).

[0150] Step 509: The access network device sends an NRPPa message to the LMF by using the session. Correspondingly, the LMF receives the NRPPa message by using the session.

[0151] The NRPPa message carries an NRPPa container, which carries location information of the terminal device.

[0152] The NRPPa message is sent by the access network device to the LMF by using the UPF.

[0153] Steps 510 to 513 are the same as steps 410 to 413.

[0154] Based on the above solution, the LMF sends an NRPPa container (sometimes referred to as positioning signaling) used to request location information of a terminal device to an access network device by using a session. The access network device feeds back the location information of the terminal device to the LMF based on the NRPPa container by using a session, so that the LMF can determine the location of the terminal device. In other words, in this method, the positioning signaling used for positioning and the location information of the terminal device are transmitted through the user plane. Since the user plane has a short path and low transmission latency, the positioning signaling used for positioning and the location information of the terminal device can be transmitted quickly, and the latency in locating the terminal device can be further reduced, so that the location of the terminal device is quickly located.

[0155] In addition, compared with the above-mentioned method for transmitting the positioning signaling and the location information of the terminal device used for positioning based on the control plane, the positioning signaling and the location information of the terminal device used for positioning between the access network device and the LMF can be avoided from being detouring by using the AMF on the control plane. Thus, the transmission latency can be reduced, and the latency in locating the terminal device can be further reduced, so that the terminal device can be quickly located.

[0156] 6 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device is configured to implement steps corresponding to the terminal device, the access network device, the location management network element, or the session management network element in the above-mentioned embodiments. The communication device 600 includes a transceiver unit 610 and a processing unit 620.

[0157] In a first embodiment, the communication device is a terminal device or a chip used within a terminal device.

[0158] The processing unit 620 is configured to control the transceiver unit 610 to perform an operation of receiving a first message from a location management network element by using the session, where the first message is used to request location information of the terminal device, an operation of sending the first message to the access network device, an operation of receiving the location information from the access network device, and an operation of sending the location information of the terminal device to the location management network element by using the session.

[0159] In a possible implementation, the location information includes positioning reference signals and / or sounding reference signals, and the location information is used to calculate the position of the terminal device.

[0160] In a possible implementation, a positioning protocol between the location management network element and the access network device is used for the first message.

[0161] In a possible implementation, the positioning protocol is NRPPa.

[0162] In a possible implementation, the first message includes a correlation identifier of the terminal device and information indicating a positioning method.

[0163] In a possible implementation, the positioning method includes: An access network device measures radio signals transmitted by a terminal device and reports location information of the terminal device to a location management network element.

[0164] In a second embodiment, the communication device is an access network device or a chip used within an access network device.

[0165] The transceiver unit 610 is configured to receive a first message from a terminal device by using the session, the first message being used to request location information of the terminal device. The processing unit 620 is configured to transmit location information to the terminal device by using the session based on the first message.

[0166] In a possible implementation, the location information includes positioning reference signals and / or sounding reference signals, and the location information is used to calculate the position of the terminal device.

[0167] In a possible implementation, a positioning protocol between the location management network element and the access network device is used for the first message.

[0168] In a possible implementation, the positioning protocol is NRPPa.

[0169] In a possible implementation, the first message includes a correlation identifier of the terminal device and information indicating a positioning method.

[0170] In a possible implementation, the positioning method includes: An access network device measures radio signals transmitted by a terminal device and reports location information of the terminal device to a location management network element.

[0171] In a possible implementation, the processing unit 620 is specifically configured to determine location information of the terminal device based on the first message, and send the location information of the terminal device to the location management network element by using the session.

[0172] In a third embodiment, the communication device is an access network device or a chip used in an access network device.

[0173] The transceiver unit 610 is configured to receive indication information from a session management network element, where the indication information indicates that the session is related to a positioning service. The processing unit 620 is configured to receive a first message from the location management network element based on the indication information by using the session, where the first message is used to request location information of the terminal device, and to transmit location information of the terminal device to the location management network element based on the first message by using the session.

[0174] In a possible implementation, the location information includes positioning reference signals and / or sounding reference signals, and the location information is used to calculate the position of the terminal device.

[0175] In a possible implementation, a positioning protocol between the location management network element and the access network device is used for the first message.

[0176] In a possible implementation, the positioning protocol is NRPPa.

[0177] In a possible implementation, the first message includes a correlation identifier of the terminal device and information indicating a positioning method.

[0178] In a possible implementation, the positioning method includes: An access network device measures radio signals transmitted by a terminal device and reports location information of the terminal device to a location management network element.

[0179] In a possible implementation, the processing unit 620 is specifically configured to determine location information of the terminal device based on the first message, and send the location information of the terminal device to the location management network element by using the session.

[0180] In a possible implementation, the processing unit 620 is specifically configured to determine, based on the indication information, that the session is related to a positioning service, and receive a first message from the location management network element by using the session.

[0181] In a fourth embodiment, the communication device is a location management network element or a chip used within a location management network element.

[0182] The transceiver unit 610 is configured to: send a first message to the access network device by using the session, where the first message is used to request location information of the terminal device; and receive location information of the terminal device from the access network device by using the session. The processing unit 620 is configured to determine a position of the terminal device based on the location information of the terminal device.

[0183] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit 610 is specifically configured to send a first message to the access network device through the terminal device by using the session, and receive location information of the terminal device from the access network device through the terminal device by using the session.

[0184] In a possible implementation, the location information includes positioning reference signals and / or sounding reference signals, and the location information is used to calculate the position of the terminal device.

[0185] In a possible implementation, a positioning protocol between the location management network element and the access network device is used for the first message.

[0186] In a possible implementation, the positioning protocol is NRPPa.

[0187] In a possible implementation, the first message includes a correlation identifier of the terminal device and information indicating a positioning method.

[0188] In a possible implementation, the positioning method includes: An access network device measures radio signals transmitted by a terminal device and reports location information of the terminal device to a location management network element.

[0189] In a fifth embodiment, the communication device is a session management network element or a chip used within a session management network element.

[0190] The processing unit 620 is configured to control the transceiver unit 610 to perform an operation of receiving a session establishment request from a location management network element, where the session establishment request is used to request to establish a session to transmit location information of the terminal device, and an operation of sending indication information to the access network device based on the session establishment request, where the indication information indicates that the session is related to a positioning service.

[0191] In a possible implementation, the processing unit 620 is further configured to control the transceiver unit 610 to perform an operation of transmitting identification information of the location management network element to the terminal device, where the identification information of the location management network element may be, for example, an identifier or an address of the location management network element.

[0192] Optionally, the communication device may further include a storage unit. The storage unit is configured to store data or instructions (sometimes referred to as code or program). The aforementioned units may interact with or be coupled to the storage unit to implement corresponding methods or functions. For example, the processing unit 620 may read data or instructions in the storage unit to enable the communication device to implement the methods in the aforementioned embodiments.

[0193] It should be understood that the division into units in the communication device is merely a logical functional division. In actual implementation, all or some of the units may be integrated into one physical entity or may be physically separated. Furthermore, all units in the communication device may be implemented in the form of software called by a processing element, or may be implemented in the form of hardware, or some of the units may be implemented in the form of software called by a processing element and some of the units may be implemented in the form of hardware. For example, each unit may be a separately located processing element, or may be integrated into a communication device chip for implementation. Furthermore, each unit may alternatively be stored in a memory in the form of a program that will be called by a processing element of the communication device to perform the function of the unit. Furthermore, all or some of the units may be integrated or implemented independently. The processing element in this specification may also be referred to as a processor, and may be an integrated circuit having signal processing capabilities. During implementation, the steps in the aforementioned method or the aforementioned units may be implemented by using hardware integrated logic circuits in a processor element, or may be implemented in the form of software called by a processing element.

[0194] In one example, the unit in any one of the aforementioned communication devices may be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the aforementioned method, such as one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or one or more microprocessors (digital signal processors (DSPs), or one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms. As another example, when the unit in the communication device may be implemented in the form of scheduling a program by a processing element, the processing element may be a general-purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU) or another processor that can call a program. As yet another example, the unit may be integrated and implemented in the form of a system-on-a-chip (SoC).

[0195] 7 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device is configured to implement the operation of a terminal device, an access network device, a location management network element, or a session management network element in the above-mentioned embodiments. As shown in FIG. 7, the communication device includes a processor 710 and an interface 730. Optionally, the communication device further includes a memory 720. The interface 730 is configured to communicate with another device.

[0196] In the aforementioned embodiments, the method performed by the terminal device, the access network device, the location management network element, or the session management network element may be implemented by invoking a program stored in a memory (which may be a memory 720 in the terminal device, the access network device, the location management network element, or the session management network element, or may be an external memory) by the processor 710. Specifically, the terminal device, the access network device, the location management network element, or the session management network element may include the processor 710. The processor 710 invokes a program in the memory to perform the method performed by the terminal device, the access network device, the location management network element, or the session management network element in the aforementioned method embodiments. The processor in this specification may be an integrated circuit having a signal processing capability, for example, a CPU. The terminal device, the access network device, the location management network element, or the session management network element may be implemented by configuring one or more integrated circuits for implementing the aforementioned method, for example, one or more ASICs, one or more microprocessors DSPs, one or more FPGAs, or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms. Alternatively, the aforementioned implementations may be combined.

[0197] Specifically, the functions / implementation processes of the transceiver unit 610 and the processing unit 620 in Figure 6 may be implemented by the processor 710 in the communication device 700 shown in Figure 7 by invoking computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 720. Alternatively, the functions / implementation processes of the processing unit 620 in Figure 6 may be implemented by the processor 710 in the communication device 700 shown in Figure 7 by invoking computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 720, and the functions / implementation processes of the transceiver unit 610 in Figure 6 may be implemented by the interface 730 in the communication device 700 shown in Figure 7. For example, the functions / implementation processes of the transceiver unit 610 may be implemented by the processor by invoking program instructions in the memory to drive the interface 730.

[0198] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal device. For ease of explanation, FIG. 8 only shows the main components of the terminal device. As shown in FIG. 8, the terminal device 800 includes a processor, a memory, a control circuit, an antenna, and an input / output device. The processor is mainly configured to process communication protocols and communication data, control the entire terminal, execute software programs, and process data of the software programs. The memory is mainly configured to store software programs and data. The radio frequency circuit is mainly configured to perform conversion between baseband signals and radio frequency signals, and process radio frequency signals. The antenna is mainly configured to receive and transmit radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. The input / output device, such as a touch screen, a display, or a keyboard, is mainly configured to receive data input by a user and output data to a user.

[0199] After the terminal device is powered on, the processor can read the software program in the storage unit, parse and execute the instructions of the software program, and process the data of the software program. When data needs to be transmitted wirelessly, the processor performs baseband processing on the data to be transmitted, and outputs a baseband signal to the radio frequency circuit. The radio frequency circuit processes the baseband signal to obtain a radio frequency signal, and transmits the radio frequency signal to the outside in the form of an electromagnetic wave by using an antenna. When data is transmitted to the terminal device, the radio frequency circuit receives the radio frequency signal by using an antenna, and further converts the radio frequency signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor. The processor converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data.

[0200] For simplicity of explanation, FIG. 8 shows only one memory and one processor. In an actual terminal device, there may be multiple processors and memories. The memory may also be referred to as a storage medium, a storage device, etc. This is not limited in the embodiment of the present invention.

[0201] In an optional implementation, the processor may include a baseband processor and a central processing unit. The baseband processor is mainly configured to process communication protocols and communication data. The central processing unit is mainly configured to control the entire terminal device, execute software programs, and process data of the software programs. The processor in FIG. 8 integrates the functions of the baseband processor and the central processing unit. Those skilled in the art may understand that the baseband processor and the central processing unit may alternatively be independent processors and are interconnected by using a technology such as a bus. Those skilled in the art may understand that the terminal device may include multiple baseband processors to accommodate different network standards, the terminal device may include multiple central processing units to improve the processing capabilities of the terminal device, and the components of the terminal device may be connected by using various buses. The baseband processor may also be expressed as a baseband processing circuit or a baseband processing chip. The central processing unit may also be expressed as a central processing circuit or a central processing chip. The function of processing the communication protocol and communication data may be built into the processor or may be stored in the storage unit in the form of a software program, and the processor executes the software program to implement the baseband processing function.

[0202] In one example, the antenna and the control circuit having the transmitting and receiving functions may be considered as the transceiver unit 811 of the terminal device 800, and the processor having the processing functions may be considered as the processing unit 812 of the terminal device 800. As shown in FIG. 8, the terminal device 800 includes a transceiver unit 811 and a processing unit 812. The transceiver unit may also be referred to as a transceiver machine, a transceiver, a transceiver device, etc. Optionally, a component in the transceiver unit 811 configured to implement the receiving function may be considered as a receiving unit, and a component in the transceiver unit 811 configured to implement the transmitting function may be considered as a transmitting unit. In other words, the transceiver unit 811 includes a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. For example, the receiving unit may also be referred to as a receiver, a receiving machine, or a receiving circuit, and the transmitting unit may also be referred to as a transmitter, a transmitting machine, or a transmitting circuit. Optionally, the receiving unit and the transmitting unit may be one integrated unit or may be multiple independent units. The receiving unit and the transmitting unit may be in one geographic location or may be distributed across multiple geographic locations.

[0203] Those skilled in the art may understand that the various numbers such as "first" and "second" in this application are only used for distinction to simplify the description, and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application or to indicate order. The term "and / or" describes an association relationship to describe related objects and indicates that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B may represent three cases: only A exists, both A and B exist, and only B exists. The symbol " / " generally indicates an "or" relationship between related objects. "At least one" means one or more. "At least two" means two or more. "At least one," "any one," or similar expressions refer to any combination of those items, including a singular item, or any combination of multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c may refer to a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or a, b, and c, where a, b, and c may be singular or plural. The term "plurality" means two or more than one, and similarly other quantifiers.

[0204] It should be understood that the sequence numbers of the above processes do not refer to the execution order in various embodiments of the present application. The execution order of the processes should be determined according to the functions and internal logic of the processes, and should not be construed as any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0205] For the sake of convenience and concise description, the detailed operation processes of the above-mentioned systems, devices, and units may be referred to the corresponding processes in the above-mentioned method embodiments, which can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art, and the details will not be described again in this specification.

[0206] All or part of the above-mentioned embodiments may be implemented by using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When the embodiments are implemented by software, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the procedures or functions according to the embodiments of the present application are generated in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from a computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from a website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center by wire (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, or digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wirelessly (e.g., infrared, radio, or microwave). The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium accessible by a computer, or a data storage device such as a server or data center that incorporates one or more available media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, or a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a DVD), a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid-state drive (SSD)), or the like.

[0207] Various exemplary logic units and circuits in the embodiments of the present application may implement or operate the described functions by using a design of a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or another programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof. The general purpose processor may be a microprocessor. Optionally, the general purpose processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may be implemented by a combination of computing devices, such as a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors with a digital signal processor core, or any other similar configuration.

[0208] The steps of the method or algorithm described in the embodiments of the present application may be directly embedded in hardware, in a software unit executed by a processor, or in a combination thereof. The software unit may be stored in a Random Access Memory (RAM), a Flash memory, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), an EPROM memory, an EEPROM memory, a register, a hard disk, a removable magnetic disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium in the art. For example, the storage medium may be connected to the processor, so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium may be integrated into the processor. The processor and the storage medium may be located in an ASIC.

[0209] These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or another programmable data processing device such that a sequence of operations and steps are performed on the computer or another programmable device to generate a computer-implemented process. Thus, the instructions that execute on the computer or another programmable device provide steps for implementing a particular function in one or more processes within one or more blocks in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams.

[0210] In one or more exemplary designs, the functions described in this application may be implemented by using hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When the invention is implemented by software, the functions may be stored in or transmitted to a computer-readable medium in the form of one or more instructions or codes. A computer-readable medium is a computer storage medium or a communication medium that allows a computer program to move from one place to another. A storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by any general-purpose or special-purpose computer. For example, such computer-readable media may include, but are not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM, or other optical disk storage, disk storage, or other magnetic storage, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store program code, the program code being in the form of instructions or data structures, or in a form that can be read by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Additionally, any connection may be properly defined as a computer-readable medium. For example, software is included in the defined computer readable medium if it is transmitted from a website, server, or another remote resource using coaxial cable, fiber optic computer, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wirelessly, such as infrared, radio, or microwave. Disk and disc include compact discs, laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray discs. Disks usually copy data in a magnetic manner, and discs usually copy data optically, such as with a laser. Combinations of the above may also be included in computer readable media.

[0211] Those skilled in the art should recognize that in one or more of the above examples, the functions described in the present application may be implemented by hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When the functions are implemented by software, the functions may be stored in a computer-readable medium or transmitted as one or more instructions or codes in a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media include computer storage media and communication media, and communication media include any medium that allows a computer program to be transmitted from one place to another. Storage media may be any available medium accessible to a general-purpose or special-purpose computer.

[0212] In the above specific implementation, the objectives, technical solutions, and advantageous effects of the present application are described in more detail. It should be understood that the above description is only a specific implementation of the present application, and is not intended to limit the protection scope of the present application. Modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made based on the technical solutions of the present application shall fall within the protection scope of the present application. According to the above description in this specification in the present application, the technology in the art may use or implement the contents of the present application. Modifications based on the disclosed contents shall be considered self-evident in the art. The basic principles described in this application may be applied to other variations without departing from the essence and scope of the present application. Therefore, the contents disclosed in the present application are not limited to the described embodiments and designs, but may be extended to the widest scope consistent with the principles of the present application and the novel features disclosed.

[0213] Although the present application has been described with reference to certain features and embodiments thereof, it is clear that various modifications and combinations can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Correspondingly, the specification and the accompanying drawings are merely exemplary descriptions of the present application as defined by the claims, and any or all of the modifications, variations, combinations, or equivalents that fall within the scope of the present application are considered. It is clear that a person skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to the present application without departing from the scope of the present application. The present application is intended to cover these modifications and variations of the present application as long as they fall within the scope of protection defined by the following claims and their equivalent technologies.

Claims

1. 1. A positioning method, comprising: receiving, by a terminal device, a first message from a location management network element by using a session, the first message being used to request location information of the terminal device, the location information being used to calculate a position of the terminal device; sending, by the terminal device, the first message to an access network device by using the session; receiving, by the terminal device, the location information from the access network device by using the session; sending, by the terminal device, the location information of the terminal device to the location management network element by using the session; Including, The session is established between the location management network element and the access network device via the terminal device.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the location information comprises a positioning reference signal and / or a sounding reference signal.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a positioning protocol between the location management network element and the access network device is used for the first message.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the positioning protocol is NRPPa.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the first message includes a correlation identifier of the terminal device and information indicating the positioning method.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the positioning method includes the steps of measuring, by the access network device, radio signals transmitted by the terminal device, and reporting the location information of the terminal device to the location management network element.

7. 1. A positioning method, comprising: receiving, by an access network device, a first message from a terminal device by using a session, the first message being used to request location information of the terminal device, the location information being used to calculate a position of the terminal device; transmitting, by the access network device, the location information to the terminal device based on the first message by using the session; Including, The method, wherein the session is established between the access network device and the terminal device.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the location information comprises a positioning reference signal and / or a sounding reference signal.

9. The step of transmitting, by the access network device, the location information of the terminal device to the terminal device based on the first message by using the session, further comprises: determining, by the access network device, the location information of the terminal device based on the first message; transmitting, by the access network device, the location information of the terminal device to the terminal device by using the session; 9. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 8, comprising:

10. 1. A positioning method, comprising: receiving, by the access network device, indication information from a session management network element, the indication information indicating that the session is related to a positioning service; receiving, by the access network device, a first message from a location management network element based on the indication information by using the session, the first message being used to request location information of a terminal device, and the location information being used to calculate a position of the terminal device; sending, by the access network device, the location information of the terminal device to the location management network element based on the first message by using the session; Including, The method, wherein the session is established between the session management network element and the location management network element via the access network device.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the location information comprises a positioning reference signal and / or a sounding reference signal.

12. The step of receiving, by the access network device, a first message from a location management network element based on the indication information by using the session, comprises: determining, by the access network device based on the indication information, that the session is related to the positioning service; receiving, by the access network device, the first message from the location management network element by using the session; 12. The method of claim 10 or 11, comprising:

13. 1. A positioning method, comprising: sending a first message by a location management network element to an access network device by using a session, the first message being used to request location information of a terminal device, the location information being used to calculate a position of the terminal device; receiving, by the location management network element, the location information of the terminal device from the access network device by using the session; determining, by the location management network element, a position of the terminal device based on the location information of the terminal device; Including, The session is established between the location management network element and the access network device.

14. The step of transmitting a first message by a location management network element to an access network device by using a session includes: transmitting, by the location management network element, the first message through the terminal device to the access network device by using the session; The step of receiving, by the location management network element, the location information of the terminal device from the access network device by using the session, comprises: The method of claim 13, comprising receiving, by the location management network element, the location information of the terminal device from the access network device through the terminal device by using the session.

15. A terminal device comprising a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, the memory configured to store program instructions, the processor configured to execute the program instructions to implement a method according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

16. An access network device comprising a processor, wherein a memory is coupled to the processor, the memory is configured to store program instructions, and the processor is configured to execute the program instructions to implement a method according to any one of claims 7 to 12.

17. A location management network element comprising a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, the memory configured to store program instructions, and the processor configured to execute the program instructions to implement a method as claimed in claim 13 or 14.

18. A communication system comprising an access network device configured to implement the method according to any one of claims 10 to 12 and a location management network element configured to implement the method according to claim 13 or 14.

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