Sidelink positioning method and communication device

Abstract

Provided are a sidelink positioning method and a communication device. The method comprises: a first device sends a first SLPP message to a second device, wherein the first SLPP message is associated with first NAS signaling, the first NAS signaling comprises application layer identifiers of M terminal devices for sidelink positioning, the application layer identifiers of the M terminal devices are arranged in a first NAS message in a first order, and M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1. The first SLPP message comprises information domains corresponding to the M terminal devices, the information domains corresponding to the M terminal devices are respectively used for bearing positioning related data corresponding to the M terminal devices, and the sorting of the information domains corresponding to the M terminal devices is determined on the basis of the first order.

Description

Sideways positioning method and communication device Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and more specifically, to a sideways positioning method and communication device. Background Art

[0002] In sidelink positioning scenarios, the location management function (LMF) and terminal devices may exchange positioning data for multiple terminal devices via Sidelink Positioning Protocol (SLPP) messages. Distinguishing the positioning data of different terminal devices in SLPP messages is a challenge.

[0003] Summary of the Invention

[0004] The embodiments of the present application provide a sideways positioning method and a communication device. The following describes in detail various aspects of the embodiments of the present application.

[0005] In a first aspect, a side positioning method is provided, including: a first device sends a first SLPP message to a second device; wherein the first SLPP message is associated with a first non-access stratum (NAS) signaling, and the first NAS signaling includes application layer identifiers of M terminal devices used for side positioning, and the application layer identifiers of the M terminal devices are arranged in a first order in the first NAS message, and M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1; wherein the first SLPP message includes information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices, and the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices are respectively used to carry positioning-related data corresponding to the M terminal devices, and the order of the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices is determined based on the first order.

[0006] In a second aspect, a side positioning method is provided, including: a second device receives a first SLPP message sent by a first device; wherein, the first SLPP message is associated with a first NAS signaling, and the first NAS signaling includes application layer identifiers of M terminal devices used for side positioning, and the application layer identifiers of the M terminal devices are arranged in a first order in the first NAS message, and M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1; wherein, the first SLPP message includes information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices, and the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices are respectively used to carry positioning-related data corresponding to the M terminal devices, and the order of the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices is determined based on the first order.

[0007] According to a third aspect, a side positioning method is provided, including: a first device sends a first SLPP message to a second device; wherein the first SLPP message is associated with a first NAS signaling, and the first NAS signaling includes application layer identifiers of M terminal devices used for side positioning, and the application layer identifiers of the M terminal devices are arranged in a first order in the first NAS message, and M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1; wherein the first SLPP message includes indexes of K terminal devices among the M terminal devices, and the indexes of the K terminal devices are determined based on the first order, K is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1, and K is less than or equal to M.

[0008] In a fourth aspect, a side positioning method is provided, including: a second device receives a first SLPP message sent by a first device; wherein, the first SLPP message is associated with a first non-access layer NAS signaling, and the first NAS signaling includes application layer identifiers of M terminal devices used for side positioning, and the application layer identifiers of the M terminal devices are arranged in a first order in the first NAS message, and M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1; wherein, the first SLPP message includes indexes of K terminal devices among the M terminal devices, and the indexes of the K terminal devices are determined based on the first order, K is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1, and K is less than or equal to M.

[0009] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, which is a first device, and the first device includes: a communication module, used to send a first SLPP message to a second device; wherein the first SLPP message is associated with a first NAS signaling, and the first NAS signaling includes application layer identifiers of M terminal devices used for side positioning, and the application layer identifiers of the M terminal devices are arranged in a first order in the first NAS message, and M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1; wherein, the first SLPP message includes information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices, and the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices are respectively used to carry positioning-related data corresponding to the M terminal devices, and the order of the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices is determined based on the first order.

[0010] In the sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, which is a second device, and the second device includes: a communication module, used to receive a first SLPP message sent by the first device; wherein the first SLPP message is associated with a first NAS signaling, and the first NAS signaling includes application layer identifiers of M terminal devices used for side positioning, and the application layer identifiers of the M terminal devices are arranged in a first order in the first NAS message, and M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1; wherein, the first SLPP message includes information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices, and the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices are respectively used to carry positioning-related data corresponding to the M terminal devices, and the order of the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices is determined based on the first order.

[0011] In the seventh aspect, a communication device is provided, which is a first device, and the first device includes: a communication module for sending a first SLPP message to a second device; wherein the first SLPP message is associated with a first NAS signaling, and the first NAS signaling includes application layer identifiers of M terminal devices used for side positioning, and the application layer identifiers of the M terminal devices are arranged in a first order in the first NAS message, and M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1; wherein the first SLPP message includes indexes of K terminal devices among the M terminal devices, and the indexes of the K terminal devices are determined based on the first order, K is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1, and K is less than or equal to M.

[0012] In the eighth aspect, a communication device is provided, which is a second device, and the second device includes: a communication module for receiving a first SLPP message sent by a first device; wherein the first SLPP message is associated with a first NAS signaling, and the first NAS signaling includes application layer identifiers of M terminal devices for side positioning, and the application layer identifiers of the M terminal devices are arranged in a first order in the first NAS message, and M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1; wherein the first SLPP message includes indexes of K terminal devices among the M terminal devices, and the indexes of the K terminal devices are determined based on the first order, K is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1, and K is less than or equal to M.

[0013] In the ninth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a transceiver, a memory and a processor, wherein the memory is used to store programs, and the processor is used to call the programs in the memory and control the transceiver to receive or send signals so that the communication device executes the method as described in any one of the first to fourth aspects.

[0014] In a tenth aspect, a device is provided, comprising a processor for calling a program from a memory so that the device executes a method as described in any one of the first to fourth aspects.

[0015] In an eleventh aspect, a chip is provided, comprising a processor for calling a program from a memory so that a device equipped with the chip executes a method as described in any one of the first to fourth aspects.

[0016] In a twelfth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which a program is stored, wherein the program enables a computer to execute the method as described in any one of the first to fourth aspects.

[0017] In a thirteenth aspect, a computer program product is provided, comprising a program, wherein the program enables a computer to execute the method as described in any one of the first to fourth aspects.

[0018] In a fourteenth aspect, a computer program is provided, which enables a computer to execute the method as described in any one of the first to fourth aspects.

[0019] The embodiment of the present application organizes the positioning-related data of the terminal device in the SLPP message based on the order of the application layer identifier of the terminal device in the NAS signaling, so that the positioning-related data of different terminal devices can be distinguished in an implicit manner. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] FIG1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system architecture of a wireless communication system to which an embodiment of the present application may be applied.

[0021] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a side positioning process.

[0022] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of another side positioning process.

[0023] FIG4 is a flow chart of the side-travel positioning method provided in Example 1 of the present application.

[0024] FIG5 is a flow chart of the side-by-side positioning method provided in Example 2 of the present application.

[0025] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in one embodiment of the present application.

[0026] FIG7 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in another embodiment of the present application.

[0027] FIG8 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in another embodiment of the present application.

[0028] FIG9 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in another embodiment of the present application.

[0029] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] The technical solution in this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0031] Communication system architecture

[0032] FIG1 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary system architecture of a wireless communication system 100 to which embodiments of the present application may be applied. The wireless communication system 100 may include a network device 110 and a terminal device 120. The network device 110 may be a device that communicates with the terminal device 120. The network device 110 may provide communication coverage for a specific geographic area and may communicate with the terminal device 120 within the coverage area.

[0033] FIG1 exemplarily shows a network device and a terminal device. Optionally, the wireless communication system 100 may include one or more network devices 110 and / or one or more terminal devices 120. For a network device 110, the one or more terminal devices 120 may all be located within the network coverage of the network device 110, or all be located outside the network coverage of the network device 110, or some may be located within the coverage of the network device 110 and others outside the network coverage of the network device 110. This is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0034] Optionally, the wireless communication system 100 may further include other network entities such as a network controller and a mobility management entity, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0035] It should be understood that the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: fifth generation (5G) system or new radio (NR), long term evolution (LTE) system, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, LTE time division duplex (TDD), etc. The technical solutions provided in this application can also be applied to future communication systems, such as the sixth generation mobile communication system, satellite communication system, etc.

[0036] The terminal device in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent or user device. The terminal device in the embodiments of the present application may refer to a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to a user and can be used to connect people, objects and machines, such as a handheld device with wireless connection function, a vehicle-mounted device, etc. The terminal device in the embodiments of the present application can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a PDA, a mobile internet device (MID), a wearable device, a virtual reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (AR) device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical surgery, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, etc. Optionally, the UE can be used to act as a base station. For example, the UE can act as a scheduling entity that provides sidelink signals between UEs in V2X or D2D, etc. For example, a cellular phone and a car communicate with each other using sidelink signals. The cellular phone and smart home devices communicate without relaying the communication signal through the base station.

[0037] The network device in the embodiments of the present application may be a device for communicating with a terminal device, and may also be referred to as an access network device or a radio access network device. For example, the network device may be a base station. The network device in the embodiments of the present application may refer to a radio access network (RAN) node (or device) that connects a terminal device to a wireless network. A base station can broadly cover various names as follows, or be replaced with the following names, such as: NodeB, evolved NodeB (eNB), next generation NodeB (gNB), relay station, access point, transmission point (TRP), transmission point (TP), master station MeNB, secondary station SeNB, multi-standard radio (MSR) node, home base station, network controller, access node, wireless node, access point (AP), transmission node, transceiver node, baseband unit (BBU), remote radio unit (RRU), active antenna unit (AAU), remote radio head (RRH), central unit (CU), distributed unit (DU), positioning node, etc. A base station can be a macro base station, a micro base station, a relay node, a donor node or the like, or a combination thereof. A base station can also refer to a communication module, a modem or a chip used to be set in the aforementioned device or apparatus. The base station can also be a mobile switching center and a device that performs base station functions in device-to-device D2D, vehicle-to-everything (V2X), and machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, a network-side device in a 6G network, or a device that performs base station functions in future communication systems. The base station can support networks with the same or different access technologies. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form used by the network equipment.

[0038] Base stations can be fixed or mobile. For example, a helicopter or drone can be configured to act as a mobile base station, and one or more cells can move based on the location of the mobile base station. In other examples, a helicopter or drone can be configured to act as a device that communicates with another base station.

[0039] In some deployments, the network device in the embodiments of the present application may refer to a CU or a DU, or the network device may include a CU and a DU. The gNB may also include an AAU.

[0040] The network equipment and terminal devices can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on water; they can also be deployed in the air on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the scenarios in which the network equipment and terminal devices are located.

[0041] It should be understood that all or part of the functions of the communication device in this application can also be implemented through software functions running on hardware, or through virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (such as a cloud platform).

[0042] Sidelink (SL) positioning

[0043] Side positioning refers to the positioning between terminal devices. The following explains some of the concepts involved in side positioning.

[0044] In side-by-side positioning, the target terminal device refers to the terminal device to be located. The distance, direction, and / or position of the target terminal device can be measured using side-by-side positioning or ranging with the support of one or more side-by-side reference terminal devices. In some embodiments, the target terminal device may also be referred to as the target UE.

[0045] In sideline positioning, a located terminal device refers to a sideline reference terminal device whose location is known, or a sideline reference terminal device whose location can be determined based on air interface (Uu) positioning. A located terminal device can be used to determine the location of a target terminal device. In some embodiments, a located terminal device may also be referred to as a located UE.

[0046] In sidelink positioning, a sidelink reference terminal device refers to another terminal device that supports the positioning of a target terminal device. For example, a sidelink reference terminal device can provide positioning-related information by sending or receiving a reference signal for positioning in a sidelink, thereby supporting the positioning of the target terminal device. A sidelink reference terminal device may also be referred to as a sidelink reference UE (SL reference UE). In some cases, a sidelink reference terminal device may also be referred to as an anchor terminal device, or anchor UE (anchor UE).

[0047] In side-traffic positioning, the side-traffic positioning client terminal device refers to a third-party terminal device other than the target terminal device and the reference terminal device. The side-traffic positioning client terminal device can initiate ranging / side-traffic positioning service requests on behalf of the application installed thereon. The side-traffic positioning client terminal device can also be called a side-traffic positioning client UE (SL Positioning Client UE). It should be noted that the side-traffic positioning client terminal device does not need to support ranging / positioning capabilities. However, the side-traffic positioning client terminal device needs to communicate with the side-traffic reference terminal device / target terminal device through a PC5 connection or a cellular network to transmit positioning requests and positioning results.

[0048] Side positioning scenarios include in coverage (IC) and out of coverage (OOC). In the IC scenario, since the anchor terminal device and / or the target terminal device are within the coverage of the communication system, the LMF can participate in and control the side positioning process. During the positioning process, the side positioning auxiliary information of the target terminal device and the anchor terminal device can be uploaded to the LMF, which will summarize and calculate the results to achieve the positioning of the target terminal device.

[0049] In the IC scenario, there are multiple types of ranging / side positioning processes in which the LMF participates. For example, there is a ranging / side positioning process in which the terminal device sends a side positioning request to the access and mobility management function (AMF) through NAS signaling. The side positioning request in this positioning process can be called a sidelink mobile originated location request (SL-MO-LR). For another example, there is also a ranging / side positioning process in which the terminal device receives a side positioning request sent by the AMF through NAS signaling. The side positioning request in this positioning process can be called a sidelink mobile terminated location request (SL-MT-LR). For details, please refer to the introduction of Figures 2 and 3 below.

[0050] SL-MO-LR process with LMF participation

[0051] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the SL-MO-LR process in which the LMF participates. The prerequisite for triggering this process is that the terminal device 1 is within the network coverage and registered with the serving public land mobile network (PLMN). The terminal devices 2 to n can be within the network coverage or outside the network coverage. If the terminal devices 2 to n are within the network coverage, the terminal devices 2 to n can be registered with the same serving PLMN as the terminal device 1, or they can be registered with a different serving PLMN than the terminal device 1. The following describes the various steps involved in Figure 2.

[0052] In step S201, ranging / sidetrack positioning service authentication and policy / parameter provision are performed.

[0053] In step S202, a terminal device discovery process is executed. For example, the terminal device discovery process for ranging / sidetrack positioning can be triggered based on a service request (e.g., a service request received from the application layer). If terminal device 1 is the target terminal device, terminal device 1 discovers terminal devices 2 to n. If terminal device 1 is a located terminal device, the target terminal device (which can be one of terminal devices 2 to n) discovers terminal device 1 and the other terminal devices in terminal devices 2 to n except terminal device 1.

[0054] In step S203, a secure connection is established between terminal devices 1 to n. A secure multicast and / or unicast connection is established between terminal devices 1 to n. The secure multicast and / or unicast connection can be used for terminal device 1 to exchange ranging and sidelink positioning protocol (RSPP) messages with terminal devices 2 to n via the PC5-U reference point. The secure multicast and / or unicast connection may also be used for terminal devices 2 to n to exchange RSPP messages with each other via PC5-U. The RSPP and SLPP mentioned here can be understood as the same protocol. Alternatively, RSPP messages and SLPP messages can be understood as messages of the same type.

[0055] In step S204, ranging / side-line positioning is notified and verified. Terminal device 1 and terminal devices 2 to n can communicate through PC 5 to perform ranging / side-line positioning authentication and receive quality of service (QoS) parameters (if necessary). Each terminal device verifies whether ranging / side-line positioning is allowed and whether the ranging / side-line positioning results can be transmitted to the location service (LCS) client or application function (AF) based on the service authentication received in step S201 and the provided policy / parameters. In addition, QoS requirements for ranging / side-line positioning can also be provided based on the QoS requirements in the service request.

[0056] In step S205, capability exchange, the terminal device 1 may use the multicast and / or unicast link established in step S203 to obtain the sidewalk positioning capabilities of the terminal devices 2 to n.

[0057] In step S206, SL-MO-LR is determined. Based on the sidewalk positioning capabilities of terminal devices 1 to n, the target terminal device determines to perform SL-MO-LR. If terminal device 1 is a located terminal device (i.e., the target terminal device is one of terminal devices 2 to n and does not have a NAS connection), the target terminal device initiates an SL-MO-LR service request to terminal device 1.

[0058] In step S207, the terminal device triggers a service request. If the terminal device 1 is in the connection management idle state (CM idle), the terminal device 1 triggers a service request to establish a signaling connection with the serving AMF of the terminal device 1.

[0059] In step S208, an uplink NAS transport (UL NAS TRANSPORT) message is transmitted. The terminal device 1 sends a supplementary services SL-MO-LR request to the serving AMF via the UL NAS TRANSPORT message. The SL-MO-LR request indicates other terminal devices 2 to n via an application layer identifier. The SL-MO-LR request may also indicate any auxiliary data required, whether auxiliary position calculation is required, and whether the positioning result should be transmitted to the LCS client or AF. The message shall include the identifier of the LCS client or AF and may include the address of the gateway mobile location center (GMLC) through which the LCS client or AF can be accessed (via the network exposure function (NEF)).

[0060] In step S209, the Nlmf_Location_DetermineLocation request is transmitted. The serving AMF selects the LMF serving the terminal device 1 (for example, selects the LMF that supports ranging / sidewalk positioning) and sends the Nlmf_Location_DetermineLocation request to the LMF, carrying the information obtained from the SL-MO-LR request.

[0061] In step S210 , the LMF requests the terminal device 1 for capability information of the terminal devices 1 to n.

[0062] In step S211, terminal device 1 returns the capability information of terminal device 1 to LMF. If the capability information of other terminal devices other than terminal device 1 is requested in step S210, terminal device 1 may further return the capability information of the terminal device obtained in step S205.

[0063] In step S212, the terminal device 1 may request specific assistance data from the LMF.

[0064] In step S213, the LMF sends the requested assistance data to terminal device 1. Terminal device 1 forwards the assistance data sent by the LMF to terminal devices 2 through n. The assistance data can assist terminal devices 1 through n in obtaining sidetrack positioning measurements in step S215 and / or can assist in the calculation of subsequent ranging / sidetrack positioning results.

[0065] In step S214, if the SL-MO-LR request in step S208 indicates the need for assisted position calculation and / or indicates the transmission of ranging / side-bypass positioning results to the LCS client or AF, the LMF requests the position information of terminal device 1. If terminal devices 2 to n are served by the LMF, the LMF may also request the position information of terminal devices 2 to n.

[0066] In step S215, terminal device 1 initiates a measurement / sideways positioning process between terminal devices 1 to n. In this positioning process, terminal devices 1 to n obtain sideways position measurements, and terminal devices 2 to n transmit their sideways position measurements to terminal device 1 and / or LMF.

[0067] In step S216, if the absolute position of the target terminal device needs to be measured and the absolute position of the located terminal device is not available, the target terminal device sends a request to the located terminal device, triggering the located terminal device to perform an air interface-based positioning process to obtain its absolute position.

[0068] In step S217, if the LMF determines to use terminal device-based calculation, at least one of the terminal devices 1 to n calculates a ranging / sideways positioning result based on the sideways position measurement obtained in step S215. The positioning result may include the absolute position, relative position, ranging information, and / or direction information of the terminal devices 1 to n.

[0069] In step S218, if the terminal device 1 receives a request for location information in step S214, the terminal device 1 sends a response message to the LMF, and carries in the response message the lateral position measurement obtained in step S215, the ranging / lateral positioning result obtained in step S217 (if step S217 is executed), or the absolute position of the located terminal device obtained in step S216.

[0070] In step S219, if step S208 requires measuring the absolute position information of the target terminal device and the absolute position information of the located terminal device is not received in step S218, the LMF can either extract the position of the located terminal device locally, or trigger an air interface-based positioning process to use the application layer identifier or generic public subscription identifier (GPSI) of the located terminal device to obtain the absolute position of the located terminal device through the GMLC.

[0071] In step S220, the LMF calculates ranging / sideways positioning results for terminal devices 1 to n based on the sideways position measurements obtained in step S218 and the absolute positions of the located terminal devices obtained in step S19. The positioning results may include the absolute positions, relative positions, ranging information, and / or direction information of terminal devices 1 to n.

[0072] In step S221, the LMF returns an Nlmf_Location_DetermineLocation response message to the AMF. The response message may carry the ranging / sideways positioning result.

[0073] In step S222, the AMF sends the ranging / sideline positioning result to the GMLC, AF or LCS client. The positioning result includes the identifiers of terminal devices 1 to n received in step S208.

[0074] In step S223, the LMF returns a supplementary service SL-MO-LR response message to terminal device 1 via a downlink NAS transport (DL NAS TRANSPORT) message. This response message carries the ranging / sidetrack positioning result obtained in step S220. If terminal device 1 is a located terminal device and the target terminal device is a terminal device among terminals 2 to n that does not have a NAS connection, terminal device 1 can forward the positioning result to the target terminal device.

[0075] SL-MT-LR process in which LMF participates

[0076] The SL-MT-LR process can be used to estimate the relative position, distance and / or direction between terminal devices. The process is described below in conjunction with Figure 3. In the process shown in Figure 3, the LCS client or AF determines the ranging / side positioning results for a group of terminal devices (i.e., terminal devices 1 to n in Figure 3). In this process, the GMLC determines one terminal device from n terminal devices as terminal device 1 (i.e., the target terminal device) and one or more other terminal devices as terminal devices 2 to n (i.e., reference / located terminal devices). Based on the service request, the ranging / side positioning result may include the absolute position, relative position, ranging information or direction information related to the terminal device. The prerequisite for the process of Figure 3 is that at least one of the n terminal devices is within the network coverage and is registered to the serving PLMN.

[0077] In step S301, the LCS client or AF (through NEF) sends an LCS service request to the (H)GMLC to request the ranging / positioning results of n terminal devices. The n terminal devices can be identified by their respective GPSI or subscription permanent identifier (SUPI). The service request may include the required QoS, location results (such as the absolute position, relative position, distance and / or direction of the terminal device) and the side reference terminal device required when determining the relative position, distance or direction. In addition, the service request should contain the application layer identification of each terminal device in the n terminal devices so that the n terminal devices can be discovered in step S312.

[0078] In step S302, the (H)GMLC initiates a Nudm_SDM_Get service operation to the unified data management (UDM) of n terminal devices to obtain the privacy settings of the terminal devices identified by GPSI or SUPI. The UDM returns the privacy settings of the terminal devices.

[0079] In step S303, the (H)GMLC initiates the Nudm_UECM_Get service operation to the UDMs of the n terminal devices based on the GPSI or SUPI of the n terminal devices. The (H)GMLC selects the terminal device that initiates ranging / sideline positioning (terminal device 1 below) and selects the corresponding serving AMF.

[0080] In step S304, for non-roaming scenarios, this step is skipped. In the roaming scenario, the (H)GMLC may receive the address of the (V)GMLC from the UDM in step S303. Otherwise, the (H)GMLC may use the service selection function of the network repository function (NRF) in the (H)PLMN to select an available (V)GMLC based on the (V)PLMN identifier contained in the AMF address received in step S303. Then, the (H)GMLC sends a location request to the (V)GMLC by initiating an Ngmlc_Location_ProvideLocation request (or service operation) to the (V)GMLC. When the (H)GMLC does not receive the address of the (V)GMLC, or when the address of the (V)GMLC is the same as the address of the (H)GMLC, or when the operator of the PLMN agrees, the (H)GMLC sends a location service request message to the serving AMF.

[0081] In step S305, in the roaming scenario, the (V)GMLC first authorizes the location request. If the location request is not allowed, an error response is returned. The (H)GMLC or (V)GMLC initiates a Namf_Location_ProvidePositioningInfo request (or service operation) to the AMF serving terminal device 1 to request the ranging / sidewalk positioning results of n terminal devices. The service operation includes the SUPI of terminal device 1, the application layer identifiers of n terminal devices, and the client type. The service operation may also include the required LCS QoS, the required positioning results (such as the relative position, distance or direction of the terminal device), and other attribute information received or determined in step S301.

[0082] In step S306, if terminal device 1 is in the CM idle state, AMF initiates a service request process to establish a signaling connection with terminal device 1.

[0083] In steps S307-S308, if the privacy check indicator indicates that a privacy check is required, steps S307-S308 are executed, that is, a NAS location notification invoke request and a NAS location notification return result are executed.

[0084] In step S309, the serving AMF selects the LMF serving terminal device 1 (e.g., an LMF that supports ranging / sidewalk positioning) and sends an Nlmf_Location_DetermineLocation request (or service operation) to the LMF. This request may carry the information carried in step S305, such as the required positioning result (e.g., the relative position, distance, or direction between terminal devices), the sidewalk reference terminal device required for relative positioning, and the application layer identifier of the terminal device.

[0085] In step S310, the LMF uses the Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer request (or service operation) to send an SL-MT-LR request to the serving AMF as a supplementary services message. The SL-MT-LR request may include the application layer identifier of the terminal device 2 to n, the type of positioning result required (such as relative position, distance and / or direction), and the side reference terminal device required in the relative positioning.

[0086] In step S311, the serving AMF forwards the SL-MT-LR request to the terminal device 1 using a DL NAS TRANSPORT message.

[0087] In step S312 , the terminal device 1 attempts to discover other terminal devices 2 to n using the application layer identifier.

[0088] In step S313, the terminal device 1 obtains the sidewalk positioning capability information of the discovered terminal device through SLPP.

[0089] In step S314, terminal device 1 returns a supplementary service SL-MT-LR response message to the serving AMF via a UL NAS TRANSPORT message. The SL-MT-LR response message indicates which terminal devices 2 to n are discovered, and the sideline positioning capability information of the discovered terminal devices.

[0090] In step S315, the serving AMF forwards the SL-MT-LR response message to the LMF.

[0091] In step S316, Terminal Devices 1 to n perform the ranging / sideways positioning process. This process is similar to steps S210 to S219 in Figure 2 , except that the ranging / sideways positioning measurement data or results are always returned to the LMF. The LMF indicates to Terminal Device 1 that the ranging / sideways positioning result will be calculated by the LMF or Terminal Device 1.

[0092] In steps S317 to S320, the LMF returns the ranging / side positioning results to the LCS client or AF.

[0093] According to the above description, in the side positioning process in which LMF participates, the positioning-related data of multiple terminal devices may be exchanged between LMF and the terminal device through SLPP messages. Taking the process shown in Figure 2 as an example, the capability information of terminal devices 1 to n (see steps S210 to S211), positioning assistance information (see steps S212 to S213), and location information (see steps S214 and S218) may be exchanged between LMF and terminal device 1. At this time, how to distinguish the positioning-related data of different terminal devices in the SLPP message is a problem that needs to be solved.

[0094] According to the description in Figure 2 or Figure 3, in the side positioning process in which LMF participates, NAS signaling will be exchanged between the terminal device and AMF, and the application layer identifier of other terminal devices used for side positioning will be carried in the NAS signaling.

[0095] For example, referring to steps S208 to S209 of FIG. 2 , terminal device 1 sends an SL-MO-LR request to LMF via AMF via a NAS message (UL NAS TRANSPORT message), and indicates the application layer identifiers of terminal devices 2 to n in the SL-MO-LR request.

[0096] For another example, referring to steps S310 to S311 in FIG3 , the LMF sends an SL-MT-LR request to the terminal device 1 via the AMF through a NAS message (DL NAS TRANSPORT message), and indicates the application layer identifiers of the terminal devices 2 to n in the SL-MT-LR request.

[0097] For another example, referring to steps S314 to S315 in Figure 3 , terminal device 1 sends a response message of the SL-MT-LR request to terminal device 1 via the AMF via a NAS message (UL NAS TRANSPORT message). The response message of the SL-MT-LR request may also indicate which terminal devices 2 to n are discovered based on the application layer identifier of the terminal device.

[0098] It can be seen that in the side positioning process in which the LMF participates, the terminal device and the LMF have exchanged application layer identifiers of other terminal devices used for side positioning through NAS signaling. Therefore, with regard to the aforementioned problem of how to distinguish the positioning-related data of different terminal devices in the SLPP message, a possible solution is to continue to carry the application layer identifier in the NAS signaling in the SLPP message, and use the application layer identifier to distinguish the positioning-related data of different terminal devices. However, generally speaking, it is not a conventional way to explicitly indicate the application layer identifier in the SLPP message. This is because the LMF cannot directly recognize the application layer identifier. In order to understand the application layer identifier, the LMF needs to rely on the GMLC to parse the application layer identifier. The parsing process of this identifier is not a process of the SLPP layer, so it will introduce too much inter-layer interaction. In addition, the application layer identifier is relatively long, and directly using the application layer identifier will result in more signaling overhead. Therefore, the embodiment of the present application does not recommend directly carrying the application layer identifier in the SLPP message. However, since the terminal device and the LMF have already formed a consensus list of application layer identifiers of other terminal devices used for sideline positioning through the exchange of NAS messages, the embodiment of the present application hopes to use the sorting information of application layer identifiers provided by this application layer identifier list to solve the above problem. The present application is described in detail below.

[0099] Example 1:

[0100] Figure 4 is a schematic flow chart of the side positioning method provided in Example 1 of the present application. The method of Figure 4 can be applied to the side positioning process within the network coverage. Alternatively, the method of Figure 4 can be applied to the side positioning process in which the LMF participates. The side positioning process can be a side positioning process initiated by the terminal device, such as the SL-MO-LR process mentioned above. Alternatively, the side positioning process can be a side positioning process received by the terminal device, such as the SL-MT-LR process mentioned above.

[0101] The method of FIG4 is described from the perspective of interaction between a first device and a second device. In some implementations, the first device is a terminal device and the second device is a LMF. In some implementations, the first device is a LMF and the second device is a terminal device.

[0102] 4 , in step S410 , the first device sends a first SLPP message to the second device.

[0103] In some implementations, the first SLPP message may be used to provide positioning-related data of the terminal device.

[0104] In some implementations, the first SLPP message may be used to provide capability information of a terminal device. For example, the first SLPP message may be an SLPP ProvideCapabilities message. In this case, the first device may be a terminal device, and the second terminal device may be an LMF.

[0105] In some implementations, the first SLPP message may be used to provide location information of the terminal device. For example, the first SLPP message is an SLPP ProvideLocationInformation message. In this case, the first device may be the terminal device, and the second terminal device may be the LMF.

[0106] In some implementations, the first SLPP message may be used to provide positioning assistance data to a terminal device. For example, the first SLPP message may be an SLPP ProvideAssistanceData message. In this case, the first device may be an LMF and the second terminal device may be a terminal device.

[0107] In some implementations, the first SLPP message is associated with the first NAS signaling. For example, the first SLPP message and the first NAS signaling are for the same sidelink positioning procedure. Alternatively, the first SLPP message is triggered by the first NAS signaling (which may be indirectly triggered).

[0108] In some implementations, the first NAS signaling is used to carry a sidewalk positioning request message initiated by the terminal device. The sidewalk positioning request message initiated by the terminal device may be, for example, an SL-MO-LR request message.

[0109] In some implementations, the first NAS signaling is used to carry a sidewalk positioning request message received by the terminal device. The sidewalk positioning request message received by the terminal device may be, for example, an SL-MT-LR request message.

[0110] In some implementations, the first NAS signaling is used to carry a response message to a sidewalk positioning request message received by the terminal device. The response message to the sidewalk positioning request message received by the terminal device may be, for example, a response message to an SL-MT-LR request message.

[0111] In some implementations, the first NAS signaling includes application layer identifiers of M terminal devices for sideline positioning, where M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1. The application layer identifiers of the M terminal devices are arranged in a first order in the first NAS message. As an example, assuming that the first NAS signaling includes the application layer identifier of terminal device a, the application layer identifier of terminal device b, and the application layer identifier of terminal device c, the first order is: terminal device a → terminal device b → terminal device c.

[0112] In some implementations, the application layer identifiers of the M terminal devices may form an application identifier list, and the application identifier list may record the application layer identifiers of the M terminal devices in a first order.

[0113] As mentioned above, the first NAS signaling can be used to carry the SL-MT-LR request message or can be used to carry the response message of the SL-MT-LR request message. The application layer identifiers in the SL-MT-LR request message and the response message of the SL-MT-LR request message may be the same or different. If the application layer identifiers in the SL-MT-LR request message and the response message of the SL-MT-LR request message are different, the first NAS signaling can be the NAS signaling that carries the SL-MT-LR request message, or it can be the NAS signaling that carries the response message of the SL-MT-LR request message. Alternatively, whether the first NAS signaling is the NAS signaling that carries the SL-MT-LR request message or the NAS signaling that carries the response message of the SL-MT-LR request message can be determined based on pre-configuration information or configuration information of the network device.

[0114] In some implementations, the first SLPP message includes information fields corresponding to M terminal devices. The M terminal devices refer to the M terminal devices indicated by the application layer identifier in the first NAS message. The information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices are respectively used to carry positioning-related data corresponding to the M terminal devices. The positioning-related data may, for example, include one or more of the following: capability information of the terminal device, location information of the terminal device, and positioning assistance data of the terminal device.

[0115] In some implementations, in the first SLPP message, the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices may form a list.

[0116] In some implementations, in the first SLPP message, the order of the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices is determined based on the first order. For example, the order of the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices matches or corresponds to the first order. The so-called order of the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices matches or corresponds to the first order may refer to: the i-th information field in the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices is used to carry the positioning-related data of the terminal device corresponding to the i-th application layer identifier in the first NAS message. As an example, assuming that the first NAS signaling includes the application layer identifier of terminal device a, the application layer identifier of terminal device b, and the application layer identifier of terminal device c in sequence, the first order is terminal device a→terminal device b→terminal device c. Accordingly, the first SLPP message may include three information fields, namely, the information field corresponding to terminal device a, the information field corresponding to terminal device b, and the information field corresponding to terminal device c, and among the three information fields, the information field corresponding to terminal device a is ranked first, the information field corresponding to terminal device b is ranked second, and the information field corresponding to terminal device c is ranked third.

[0117] The following takes the first SLPP message being an SLPP ProvideCapabilities message, an SLPP ProvideLocationInformation message, and an SLPP ProvideAssistanceData message as examples to illustrate the implementation of the first SLPP message in more detail.

[0118] Example 1: The first message is the SLPP ProvideCapabilities message

[0119] In Example 1, the first device is a terminal device (hereinafter referred to as terminal device 1), the second device is LMF, and the M terminal devices mentioned above are referred to as terminal devices 2 to n in Example 1.

[0120] In the first NAS signaling (which can be used to carry an SL-MO-LR request message, an SL-MT-LR request message, or an SL-MT-LR response message), the application layer identifiers of terminal devices 2 to n form an application layer identifier list. In the SLPP ProvideCapabilities message, terminal device 1 arranges the capability information of terminal devices 2 to n in the order of the application layer identifier list, thereby forming a ProvideCapabilitiesList. In addition, the capability information of terminal device 1 can be arranged first in the ProvideCapabilitiesList, and the capability information of terminal devices 2 to n can be arranged in order after the capability information of terminal device 1.

[0121] The following is an example of an SLPP ProvideCapabilities message carrying ProvideCapabilitiesList.

[0122] In the above example, the number of elements included in ProvideCapabilitiesList is represented by maxUEs, and maxUEs=n.

[0123] Example 2: The first message is the SLPP ProvideLocationInformation message

[0124] In Example 2, the first device is a terminal device (hereinafter referred to as terminal device 1), the second device is an LMF, and the M terminal devices mentioned above are referred to as terminal devices 2 to n in Example 2.

[0125] In the first NAS signaling (which can be used to carry an SL-MO-LR request message, an SL-MT-LR request message, or an SL-MT-LR response message), the application layer identifiers of terminal devices 2 to n form an application layer identifier list. In the SLPP ProvideLocationInformation message, terminal device 1 arranges the location information of terminal devices 2 to n in the order of the application layer identifier list, thereby forming a ProvideLocationInformationList. In addition, the location information of terminal device 1 can be arranged first in the ProvideLocationInformationList, and the location information of terminal devices 2 to n is arranged in order after the location information of terminal device 1.

[0126] The following is an example of an SLPP ProvideLocationInformation message carrying ProvideLocationInformationList.

[0127] In the above example, the number of elements included in ProvideLocationInformationList is represented by maxUEs, and maxUEs=n.

[0128] Example 3: The first message is the SLPP ProvideAssistanceData message

[0129] In Example 3, the first device is LMF, the second device is a terminal device (hereinafter referred to as terminal device 1), and the M terminal devices mentioned above are referred to as terminal devices 2 to n in Example 3.

[0130] In the first NAS signaling (which can be used to carry the SL-MO-LR request message, the SL-MT-LR request message, or the SL-MT-LR response message), the application layer identifiers of terminal devices 2 to n form an application layer identifier list. In the SLPP ProvideAssistanceData message, the LMF arranges the positioning assistance data of terminal devices 2 to n in the order of the application layer identifier list, thereby forming a ProvideAssistanceDataList. In addition, the positioning assistance data of terminal device 1 can be arranged first in the ProvideAssistanceDataList, and the positioning assistance data of terminal devices 2 to n are arranged in order after the positioning assistance data of terminal device 1.

[0131] In the above example, the number of elements included in ProvideAssistanceDataList is represented by maxUEs, and maxUEs=n.

[0132] In some implementations, the order of the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices is determined based on the first order and may include: the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices are ordered based on a second order, and the second order is determined based on the first order. The second order may be, for example, the reverse order of the first order. As an example, assuming that the first NAS signaling includes the application layer identifier of terminal device a, the application layer identifier of terminal device b, and the application layer identifier of terminal device c in sequence, the first order is: terminal device a→terminal device b→terminal device c. Accordingly, the first SLPP message includes three information fields, namely, the information field corresponding to terminal device a, the information field corresponding to terminal device b, and the information field corresponding to terminal device c, and among the three information fields, the information field corresponding to terminal device c is ranked first, the information field corresponding to terminal device b is ranked second, and the information field corresponding to terminal device a is ranked third.

[0133] Embodiment 1 organizes the positioning-related data of the terminal device in the SLPP message based on the order of the application layer identifier of the terminal device in the NAS signaling, thereby implicitly distinguishing the positioning-related data of different terminal devices. That is, embodiment 1 utilizes the ordering information of the application layer identifier in the NAS signaling to implicitly indicate M terminal devices, so that even if the application layer identifier of the terminal device is not carried in the SLPP message, the positioning-related data of different terminal devices can be distinguished. This method can avoid the LMF introducing complex inter-layer interactions in order to parse the application layer identifier (the parsing of the application layer identifier requires interaction with the GMLC, which will introduce many unnecessary non-SLPP layer interaction processes), and can save signaling overhead (the application layer identifier is long, and carrying the application layer identifier in the SLPP message will introduce a large signaling overhead).

[0134] As mentioned above, the first SLPP message includes information fields corresponding to M terminal devices. If the first device does not obtain the positioning-related data of the i-th terminal device (i is a positive integer and 1≤i≤M, that is, the i-th terminal device can be any terminal device among the M terminal devices), the information field corresponding to the i-th terminal device can still be retained, thereby avoiding the destruction of the association between the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices and the first order.

[0135] In some implementations, if the first SLPP message includes positioning-related data of an i-th terminal device among the M terminal devices, the information field corresponding to the i-th terminal device carries first information. The first information includes the positioning-related data of the i-th terminal device.

[0136] In some implementations, if the first SLPP message does not include positioning-related data for the i-th terminal device among the M terminal devices, the information field corresponding to the i-th terminal device carries second information. The second information is different from the first information. For example, the second information does not include positioning-related data for the i-th terminal device.

[0137] In some implementations, the values ​​of the information elements in the second information may all be default values ​​or absent.

[0138] For example, the first SLPP message is an SLPP ProvideCapabilities message, and the ProvideCapabilities-IEs corresponding to the i-th terminal device is a default value or absent.

[0139] For another example, the first SLPP message is an SLPP ProvideLocationInformation message, and the ProvideLocationInformation-IEs corresponding to the i-th terminal device is a default value or absent.

[0140] For another example, the first SLPP message is an SLPP ProvideAssistanceData message, and the ProvideAssistanceData-IEs corresponding to the i-th terminal device is a default value or absent.

[0141] In some implementations, the second information may include or only include common information or common information element (common IE) used for sideline positioning, but does not include positioning-related information of the i-th terminal device.

[0142] In some implementations, the first information may include positioning-related data of the i-th terminal device and common information or common IE for sideline positioning.

[0143] In some implementations, the first information may only include positioning-related data of the i-th terminal device, but not include common information or common information element (common IE) used for sideline positioning.

[0144] In some implementations, the first information and the second information include the same information elements, and the difference between the two is that the values ​​of the other information elements in the second information except the common information element are all default values ​​or absent.

[0145] In some implementations, before step S410 , the method of FIG. 4 may further include: the first device receiving a second SLPP message sent by the second device.

[0146] In some implementations, the second SLPP message may be used to instruct the first device to provide positioning-related data corresponding to M terminal devices.

[0147] For example, the second SLPP message is an SLPP RequestCapabilities message, the first device is a terminal device, and the second device is an LMF. The SLPP RequestCapabilities message can be used to instruct the first device to provide capability information corresponding to the first device. Furthermore, the SLPP RequestCapabilities message can be used to instruct the first device to provide capability information corresponding to M terminal devices (the M terminal devices indicated by the application layer identifier in the first NAS signaling).

[0148] For another example, the second SLPP message is an SLPP RequestLocationInformation message, the first device is a terminal device, and the second device is an LMF. The SLPP RequestLocationInformation message can be used to instruct the first device to provide location information corresponding to the first device. Furthermore, the SLPP RequestLocationInformation message can be used to instruct the first device to provide location information corresponding to M terminal devices (the M terminal devices indicated by the application layer identifier in the first NAS signaling).

[0149] For another example, the second SLPP message is an SLPP RequestAssistanceData message, the first device is an LMF, and the second device is a terminal device. The SLPP RequestAssistanceData message can be used to instruct the first device to provide positioning assistance data corresponding to the first device. Furthermore, the SLPP RequestLocationInformation message can be used to instruct the first device to provide positioning assistance data corresponding to M terminal devices (the M terminal devices indicated by the application layer identifier in the first NAS signaling).

[0150] In some implementations, the second SLPP message may not indicate to the first device which terminal device or devices among the M terminal devices need positioning-related data. In this case, the first device may provide the second device with positioning-related data of the M terminal devices by default.

[0151] For example, the second SLPP message is an SLPP RequestCapabilities message. The SLPP RequestCapabilities message can be used to instruct the first device to provide capability information corresponding to the first device. Furthermore, the SLPP RequestCapabilities message does not specifically indicate which terminal device or devices among the M terminal devices (the M terminal devices indicated by the application layer identifier in the first NAS signaling) require capability information. In this case, the first device provides the capability information of the M terminal devices by default.

[0152] For another example, the second SLPP message is an SLPP RequestLocationInformation message. The SLPP RequestLocationInformation message can be used to instruct the first device to provide location information corresponding to the first device. Furthermore, the SLPP RequestLocationInformation message does not specifically indicate which terminal device or devices among the M terminal devices (the M terminal devices indicated by the application layer identifier in the first NAS signaling) need location information. In this case, the first device provides the location information of the M terminal devices by default.

[0153] For another example, the second SLPP message is an SLPP RequestAssistanceData message. The SLPP RequestAssistanceData message can be used to instruct the first device to provide positioning assistance data corresponding to the first device. Furthermore, the SLPP RequestAssistanceData message does not specifically indicate which terminal device or devices among the M terminal devices (the M terminal devices indicated by the application layer identifier in the first NAS signaling) need positioning assistance data. In this case, the first device provides the positioning assistance data of the M terminal devices by default.

[0154] In some implementations, the second SLPP message may include first indication information. The first indication information may be used to indicate whether the first device provides positioning-related data corresponding to M terminal devices. The first indication information may occupy one or more bits. For example, the first indication information is 1-bit indication information.

[0155] Furthermore, in some implementations, the value of the first indication information includes a first value and a second value. The first value may be used to instruct the first device to provide positioning-related data for M terminal devices; the second value may be used to instruct the first device not to provide positioning-related data for M terminal devices.

[0156] For example, the second SLPP message is an SLPP RequestCapabilities message. The SLPP RequestCapabilities message includes first indication information (occupying 1 bit). If the value of the first indication information is 1, it indicates that the second device requires the first device to provide capability information of M terminal devices; if the value of the first indication information is 0, it indicates that the second device only requires the first device to provide its own capability information.

[0157] For another example, the second SLPP message is an SLPP RequestLocationInformation message. The SLPP RequestLocationInformation message includes first indication information (occupying 1 bit). If the value of the first indication information is 1, it indicates that the second device requires the first device to provide the location information of M terminal devices; if the value of the first indication information is 0, it indicates that the second device only requires the first device to provide its own location information.

[0158] For another example, the second SLPP message is an SLPP RequestAssistanceData message. The SLPP RequestAssistanceData message includes first indication information (occupying 1 bit). If the value of the first indication information is 1, it indicates that the second device requires the first device to provide positioning assistance data of M terminal devices; if the value of the first indication information is 0, it indicates that the second device only requires the first device to provide its own positioning assistance data.

[0159] In some implementations, before the first device sends the first SLPP message to the second device, the first device receives or sends a first NAS signaling. For example, if the first NAS signaling is used to carry a side positioning request initiated by a terminal device, the first device is a terminal device, and the second device is an LMF, then the first device sends the first NAS signaling to the second device. For another example, if the first NAS signaling is used to carry a side positioning request received by a terminal device, the first device is a terminal device, and the second device is an LMF, then the first device receives the first NAS signaling sent by the second device. For another example, if the first NAS signaling is used to carry a response message to a side positioning request received by a terminal device, the first device is a terminal device, and the second device is an LMF, then the first device sends the first NAS signaling to the second device.

[0160] It should be understood that one of the first device and the second device may be a terminal device, and the M terminal devices mentioned above do not include the terminal device in the first device and the second device.

[0161] Example 2:

[0162] Figure 5 is a schematic flow chart of the side positioning method provided in Example 2 of the present application. The method of Figure 5 can be applied to the side positioning process within the network coverage. Alternatively, the method of Figure 5 can be applied to the side positioning process in which the LMF participates. The side positioning process can be a side positioning process initiated by the terminal device, such as the SL-MO-LR process mentioned above. Alternatively, the side positioning process can be a side positioning process received by the terminal device, such as the SL-MT-LR process mentioned above.

[0163] The method of FIG5 is described from the perspective of interaction between a first device and a second device. In some implementations, the first device is a terminal device and the second device is a LMF. In some implementations, the first device is a LMF and the second device is a terminal device.

[0164] 5 , in step S510 , the first device sends a first SLPP message to the second device.

[0165] In some implementations, the first SLPP message may be used to provide positioning-related data of the terminal device.

[0166] In some implementations, the first SLPP message may be used to provide capability information of a terminal device. For example, the first SLPP message may be an SLPP ProvideCapabilities message. In this case, the first device may be a terminal device, and the second terminal device may be an LMF.

[0167] In some implementations, the first SLPP message may be used to provide location information of the terminal device. For example, the first SLPP message is an SLPP ProvideLocationInformation message. In this case, the first device may be the terminal device, and the second terminal device may be the LMF.

[0168] In some implementations, the first SLPP message may be used to provide positioning assistance data to a terminal device. For example, the first SLPP message may be an SLPP ProvideAssistanceData message. In this case, the first device may be an LMF and the second terminal device may be a terminal device.

[0169] In some implementations, the first SLPP message may be used to request capability information of a terminal device. For example, the first SLPP message may be an SLPP RequestCapabilities message. In this case, the first device may be an LMF and the second terminal device may be a terminal device.

[0170] In some implementations, the first SLPP message may be used to request location information of a terminal device. For example, the first SLPP message may be an SLPP RequestLocationInformation message. In this case, the first device may be an LMF and the second terminal device may be a terminal device.

[0171] In some implementations, the first SLPP message may be used to request positioning assistance data from a terminal device. For example, the first SLPP message may be an SLPP RequestAssistanceData message. In this case, the first device may be a terminal device, and the second terminal device may be a LMF.

[0172] In some implementations, the first SLPP message is associated with the first NAS signaling. For example, the first SLPP message and the first NAS signaling are for the same sidelink positioning procedure. Alternatively, the first SLPP message is triggered by the first NAS signaling (which may be indirectly triggered).

[0173] In some implementations, the first NAS signaling is used to carry a sidewalk positioning request message initiated by the terminal device. The sidewalk positioning request message initiated by the terminal device may be, for example, an SL-MO-LR request message.

[0174] In some implementations, the first NAS signaling is used to carry a sidewalk positioning request message received by the terminal device. The sidewalk positioning request message received by the terminal device may be, for example, an SL-MT-LR request message.

[0175] In some implementations, the first NAS signaling is used to carry a response message to a sidewalk positioning request message received by the terminal device. The response message to the sidewalk positioning request message received by the terminal device may be, for example, a response message to an SL-MT-LR request message.

[0176] In some implementations, the first NAS signaling includes application layer identifiers of M terminal devices for sideline positioning, where M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1. The application layer identifiers of the M terminal devices are arranged in a first order in the first NAS message. As an example, assuming that the first NAS signaling includes the application layer identifier of terminal device a, the application layer identifier of terminal device b, and the application layer identifier of terminal device c, the first order is: terminal device a → terminal device b → terminal device c.

[0177] In some implementations, the application layer identifiers of the M terminal devices may form an application identifier list, and the application identifier list may record the application layer identifiers of the M terminal devices in a first order.

[0178] As mentioned above, the first NAS signaling can be used to carry the SL-MT-LR request message or can be used to carry the response message of the SL-MT-LR request message. The application layer identifiers in the SL-MT-LR request message and the response message of the SL-MT-LR request message may be the same or different. If the application layer identifiers in the SL-MT-LR request message and the response message of the SL-MT-LR request message are different, the first NAS signaling can be the NAS signaling that carries the SL-MT-LR request message, or it can be the NAS signaling that carries the response message of the SL-MT-LR request message. Alternatively, whether the first NAS signaling is the NAS signaling that carries the SL-MT-LR request message or the NAS signaling that carries the response message of the SL-MT-LR request message can be determined based on pre-configuration information or configuration information of the network device.

[0179] In some implementations, the first SLPP message may include indexes of K terminal devices among the M terminal devices. That is, in the second embodiment, the first SLPP message may not directly carry the application layer identifier of the terminal device, but may carry the index of the terminal device.

[0180] In some implementations, the first SLPP message may further include positioning-related data of the K terminal devices. The indexes of the K terminal devices may be used to indicate the corresponding relationship between the positioning-related data of the K terminal devices and the K terminal devices.

[0181] In some implementations, the first SLPP message may further include request information for positioning-related data of K terminal devices. The indexes of the K terminal devices may be used to indicate the correspondence between the request information for positioning-related data of the K terminal devices and the K terminal devices.

[0182] In some implementations, the number of bits occupied by the terminal device's index may be smaller than the number of bits occupied by the terminal device's application layer identifier, thereby saving signaling overhead.

[0183] In some implementations, K is equal to M. That is, the first SLPP message may carry indexes of M terminal devices.

[0184] In some implementations, K is less than M. That is, the first SLPP message may carry the indexes of some of the M terminal devices. For example, the first SLPP message is used to provide positioning-related data. If the first device does not obtain the positioning-related data of a certain terminal device among the M terminal devices, the index and positioning-related data of the terminal device may not be included in the first SLPP message. In this case, K is less than M. For another example, the first SLPP message may be used to request the provision of positioning-related data. If the first device does not want to request the positioning-related data of a certain terminal device among the M terminal devices, the index and request content of the terminal device may not be included in the first SLPP message. In this case, K is less than M.

[0185] In some implementations, the indexes of the K terminal devices are determined based on the first order. For example, the indexes of the K terminal devices are numbered according to the first order. For example, assuming that the first NAS signaling includes the application layer identifier of terminal device a, the application layer identifier of terminal device b, and the application layer identifier of terminal device c in sequence, that is, the first order is terminal device a→terminal device b→terminal device c, then the index of terminal device a can be 1, the index of terminal device b can be 2, and the index of terminal device c can be 3. If the first SLPP message only contains the indexes of terminal device a and terminal device c, then the first SLPP message can contain index 1 and index 3. It should be noted that the indexes of the K terminal devices are numbered according to the first order, which does not mean that the indexes of the K terminal devices must be numbered from 1. For example, the indexes of the K terminal devices can also be numbered from 0 or 2. In addition, the indexes of the K terminal devices are numbered according to the first order, which does not mean that the indexes of the K terminal devices must be numbered in ascending order. The indexes of the K terminal devices can also be numbered in descending order.

[0186] Since the index of the terminal device is determined based on the first order (i.e., the sorting order of the application layer identifier of the terminal device in the first NAS signaling), in some embodiments, the index of the terminal device can also be called the index of the application layer identifier of the terminal device.

[0187] In the second embodiment, the SLPP message does not directly carry the application layer identifier of the terminal device, but carries the index of the terminal device. The application layer identifier of the terminal device and the index of the terminal device may have a mapping relationship, and the mapping relationship may be determined based on the order of the application layer identifier of the terminal device in the NAS message. Through the above design, even if the application layer identifier of the terminal device is not carried in the SLPP message, different terminal devices can be distinguished. Compared with the solution of carrying the application layer identifier directly in the SLPP message, carrying the index of the terminal device can save signaling overhead (the application layer identifier is relatively long). In addition, compared with the first embodiment, the indication method of the terminal device in the second embodiment is more flexible. For example, if there is no need to request or provide positioning-related data of a terminal device, the information field corresponding to the terminal device may not be included in the SLPP message.

[0188] The following is a more detailed example of how to implement the first SLPP message.

[0189] Example 1: The first SLPP message is the SLPP RequestCapabilities message

[0190] In Example 1, the first device may be an LMF, and the second terminal device may be a terminal device (hereinafter referred to as terminal device 1). The M terminal devices mentioned above are referred to as terminal devices 2 to n in Example 1.

[0191] In the first NAS signaling (which can be used to carry the SL-MO-LR request message, the SL-MT-LR request message or the SL-MT-LR response message), the application layer identifiers of the terminal devices 2 to n form an application layer identifier list. The SLPP RequestCapabilities message may include a list of information elements RequestCapabilitiesList requesting capability information, and the RequestCapabilitiesList contains the RequestCapabilities-IEs corresponding to the terminal devices 2 to n. The RequestCapabilities-IEs corresponding to the terminal devices 2 to n respectively contain the indexes of the terminal devices 2 to n, and the indexes of the terminal devices 2 to n are numbered according to the order in the above-mentioned application layer identifier list. In addition, the RequestCapabilities-IEs of the terminal device 1 can be placed at the first position of the RequestCapabilitiesList, and the RequestCapabilities-IEs corresponding to the terminal devices 2 to n can be arranged after the RequestCapabilities-IEs of the terminal device 1.

[0192] The following is a more specific example of the internal structure of the SLPP RequestCapabilities message:

[0193] In the above example, the number of elements contained in RequestCapabilitiesList is expressed by maxUEs, and maxUEs is equal to n. UE-ID-index is the index of the terminal device mentioned above. The index of each terminal device is located in the RequestCapabilities-IEs corresponding to the terminal device in RequestCapabilitiesList. In addition, as another implementation method, the UE-ID-index can also be set inside the specific capability information. For example, the UE-ID-index can be set inside SL-Multi-RTT-RequestCapabilities, SL-AoD-RequestCapabilities or SL-TDOA-RequestCapabilities.

[0194] Example 2: The first SLPP message is the SLPP ProvideCapabilities message

[0195] In Example 2, the first device may be a terminal device (hereinafter referred to as terminal device 1), and the second terminal device may be an LMF. The M terminal devices mentioned above are referred to as terminal devices 2 to n in Example 2.

[0196] In the first NAS signaling (which can be used to carry the SL-MO-LR request message, the SL-MT-LR request message or the SL-MT-LR response message), the application layer identifiers of the terminal devices 2 to n form an application layer identifier list. The SLPP ProvideCapabilities message may include a ProvideCapabilitiesList information element list providing capability information, and the ProvideCapabilitiesList contains the ProvideCapabilities-IEs corresponding to each of the terminal devices 2 to n. The ProvideCapabilities-IEs corresponding to the terminal devices 2 to n respectively contain the indexes of the terminal devices 2 to n, and the indexes of the terminal devices 2 to n are numbered according to the order in the above-mentioned application layer identifier list. In addition, the ProvideCapabilities-IEs of the terminal device 1 can be placed at the first position of the ProvideCapabilitiesList, and the ProvideCapabilities-IEs corresponding to the terminal devices 2 to n can be arranged after the ProvideCapabilities-IEs of the terminal device 1.

[0197] The following is a more specific example of the internal structure of the SLPP ProvideCapabilities message:

[0198] In the above example, the number of elements contained in ProvideCapabilitiesList is expressed by maxUEs, and maxUEs is equal to n. UE-ID-index is the index of the terminal device mentioned above. The index of each terminal device is located in the ProvideCapabilities-IEs corresponding to the terminal device in ProvideCapabilitiesList. In addition, as another implementation method, the UE-ID-index can also be set inside the specific capability information. For example, the UE-ID-index can be set inside SL-Multi-RTT-RequestCapabilities, SL-AoD-RequestCapabilities or SL-TDOA-RequestCapabilities.

[0199] Example 3: The first SLPP message is the SLPP RequestLocationInformation message

[0200] This implementation is similar to Example 1, except that the capability-related information in Example 1 is replaced with location-related information.

[0201] Example 4: The first SLPP message is the SLPP ProvideLocationInformation message

[0202] This implementation is similar to Example 2, except that the capability-related information in Example 2 is replaced with location-related information.

[0203] Example 5: The first SLPP message is the SLPP RequestAssistanceData message

[0204] This implementation is similar to Example 1, except that the capability-related information in Example 1 is replaced with positioning assistance data-related information. In addition, the SLPP RequestAssistanceData message and the SLPP RequestCapabilities message in Example 1 are transmitted in different directions. In Example 1, the LMF sends the SLPP RequestCapabilities message to Terminal Device 1; in Example 5, Terminal Device 1 sends the SLPP RequestAssistanceData message to the LMF.

[0205] Example 6: The first SLPP message is the SLPP ProvideAssistanceData message

[0206] This implementation is similar to Example 2, and the capability-related information in Example 2 is replaced with positioning assistance data-related information. In addition, the transmission direction of the SLPP ProvideAssistanceData message is different from that of the SLPP ProvideCapabilities message in Example 2. In Example 2, terminal device 1 sends a SLPP ProvideCapabilities message to LMF; in Example 6, LMF sends a SLPP ProvideAssistanceData message to terminal device 1. Different terminal devices usually have their own corresponding capability information and location information. Unlike the capability information and location information, different terminal devices may share positioning assistance information. Therefore, the SLPP ProvideCapabilities message may also adopt the implementation method of the second SLPP message mentioned later, that is, the SLPP ProvideCapabilities message carries the first indication information mentioned later. For detailed description, please refer to the following text. Alternatively, the SLPP ProvideCapabilities message may not indicate a specific terminal device. In this case, it can be regarded that the positioning assistance data provided by the SLPP ProvideCapabilities message is common to terminal devices 1 to n or shared by terminal devices 1 to n.

[0207] In some implementations, the first SLPP message is used to provide positioning-related data for K terminal devices. For example, the first SLPP message is the SLPP ProvideCapabilities message, SLPP ProvideLocationInformation message, or SLPP ProvideAssistanceData message mentioned above. Before step S510, the method of Figure 5 may further include: the first device receives a second SLPP message sent by the second device. The second SLPP message can be used to request positioning-related data for N terminal devices out of M terminal devices (N is a positive integer, and K≤N≤M). The second SLPP message can be, for example, the SLPP RequestCapabilities message, SLPP RequestLocationInformation message, or SLPP RequestAssistanceData message mentioned above.

[0208] In some implementations, the value of N may be greater than K. That is, the amount of positioning-related data of terminal devices provided by the first SLPP message may be less than the amount of positioning-related data requested by the second SLPP message. For example, the first device may not obtain positioning-related data for one or more of the N terminal devices requested.

[0209] In some implementations, the value of N may be equal to K. That is, the amount of positioning-related data of the terminal device provided by the first SLPP message is equal to the amount of positioning-related data requested by the second SLPP message.

[0210] In some implementations, the second SLPP message includes indexes of N terminal devices, where the indexes of the N terminal devices are determined based on the first order. For example, the indexes of the N terminal devices are numbered according to the first order. For example, assuming that the first NAS signaling includes the application layer identifier of terminal device a, the application layer identifier of terminal device b, and the application layer identifier of terminal device c in sequence, that is, the first order is terminal device a → terminal device b → terminal device c, then the index of terminal device a can be 1, the index of terminal device b can be 2, and the index of terminal device c can be 3. If the second SLPP message only includes the indexes of terminal device a and terminal device c, then the second SLPP message can include index 1 and index 3.

[0211] In some implementations, the second SLPP message may include first indication information. The first indication information may be used to indicate whether the first device provides positioning-related data corresponding to the M terminal devices.

[0212] In some implementations, the first indication information may include information fields corresponding to M terminal devices (the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices may be in a list). The information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices are respectively used to indicate whether the first device provides positioning-related data for the M terminal devices, and the order of the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices corresponds to the first order.

[0213] In some implementations, each information field in the information field corresponding to the M terminal devices may occupy 1 bit. Therefore, the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices form a bitmap. The M bits in the bitmap have a one-to-one mapping relationship with the application layer identifiers of the M terminal devices in the first NAS signaling. Therefore, the bitmap can also be called a bitmap of the index of the terminal device (or UE ID index bitmap). Positioning-related data of multiple terminal devices can be requested through the bitmap. The bitmap occupies a small number of bits, so it can save signaling overhead.

[0214] As an example, assuming that M=3, in the first NAS signaling, the three terminal devices are arranged in the order of terminal device a, terminal device b, and terminal device c. The second SLPP message includes a bitmap, which contains 3 bits. The first information field in the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices is the information field corresponding to terminal device a; the second information field is the information field corresponding to terminal device b; and the third information field is the information field corresponding to terminal device c. Each of the three information fields occupies 1 bit. Taking the first information field as an example, if the value of 1 bit in the first information field is 1, it means that the second device instructs the first device to provide positioning-related data of terminal device a.

[0215] In some implementations, the value of the first indication information includes a first value and a second value. The first value can be used to instruct the first device to provide positioning-related data for M terminal devices, and the second value can be used to instruct the first device not to provide positioning-related data for M terminal devices. For example, the first indication information occupies 1 bit. If the value of the 1 bit is 1, it can instruct the first device to provide positioning-related data for M terminal devices; if the value of the 1 bit is 0, it can instruct the first device not to provide positioning-related data for M terminal devices. Compared with the implementation method mentioned above in which the first indication information includes information fields corresponding to M terminal devices, the indication method provided by this implementation method is simpler and the signaling overhead is relatively small.

[0216] Several possible implementation examples of the second SLPP message are given below.

[0217] Example 1: The second SLPP message is the SLPP RequestCapabilities message

[0218] In Example 1, the first device is LMF, the second device is a terminal device (hereinafter referred to as terminal device 1), and the M terminal devices mentioned above are referred to as terminal devices 2 to n in Example 1.

[0219] In the first NAS signaling (which can be used to carry the SL-MO-LR request message, the SL-MT-LR request message or the SL-MT-LR response message), the application layer identifiers of terminal devices 2 to n form an application layer identifier list. The RequestCapabilities message can carry the first indication information. The first indication information is an n-bit bitmap. The bitmap can be called requestedUE-List. The first bit in the requestedUE-List can correspond to terminal device 1, and the second to n bits in the requestedUE-List can correspond to terminal devices 2 to n respectively (sorted in the order of the application layer identifier list).

[0220] Alternatively, the first indication information can be further simplified. For example, the first indication information can be 1-bit indication information. The first indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal device 1 provides the capability information of the terminal devices 2 to n in the ProvideCapabilities message. That is, the LMF may not specifically request the terminal device 1 for the capability information of which terminal devices 2 to n. In this case, the terminal device 1 can understand, based on the first NAS signaling, that the LMF indicates the following information through the first indication information: whether the LMF needs or does not need the capability information of the terminal devices 2 to n indicated by the application layer identifier in the first NAS signaling.

[0221] The following is a more specific example of the internal structure of the SLPP RequestCapabilities message:

[0222] In the above example, BIT STRING represents the bitmap mentioned above, maxUEs=n, that is, the BIT STRING contains n bits in total, terminal device 1 corresponds to the first bit in the BIT STRING, and terminal devices 2 to n correspond to the 2nd to nth bits in the BIT STRING respectively.

[0223] Example 2: The second SLPP message is the SLPP RequestLocationInformation message

[0224] The implementation of Example 2 is similar to that of Example 1, except that the capability-related information in Example 1 is replaced with location-related information.

[0225] Example 3: The second SLPP message is the SLPP RequestAssistanceData message

[0226] The implementation of Example 3 is similar to that of Example 1. Simply replace the capability-related information in Example 1 with positioning assistance-related information. It should also be noted that the message transmission directions of Example 3 and Example 1 are different. In Example 1, the SLPP RequestCapabilities message is transmitted from the LMF to Terminal Device 1; in Example 3, the SLPP RequestAssistanceData message is transmitted from Terminal Device 1 to the LMF.

[0227] As mentioned above, the first SLPP message includes the indexes of K terminal devices. In some embodiments, the indexes of the K terminal devices are located in the message header of the first SLPP message. In other embodiments, the indexes of the K terminal devices are located in the message body of the first SLPP message.

[0228] As mentioned above, the second SLPP message includes the indexes of N terminal devices. In some embodiments, the indexes of the N terminal devices are located in the message header of the second SLPP message. In other embodiments, the indexes of the N terminal devices are located in the message body of the second SLPP message.

[0229] In some implementations, the message header of the first SLPP message or the second SLPP message (such as a RequestCapabilities message, a ProvideCapabilities message, a RequestLocationInformation message, a ProvideLocationInformation message, a RequestAssistanceData message, or a ProvideAssistanceData message) may include a session identifier (session ID). A terminal device may participate in multiple positioning processes (each positioning process may correspond to a session ID). Therefore, carrying the session ID in the SLPP message helps the terminal device distinguish between different positioning processes.

[0230] In some implementations, a message header of the first SLPP message or the second SLPP message (such as a RequestCapabilities message, a ProvideCapabilities message, a RequestLocationInformation message, a ProvideLocationInformation message, a RequestAssistanceData message, or a ProvideAssistanceData message) may include a transaction identifier (transaction ID).

[0231] In some implementations, the message header of the first SLPP message or the second SLPP message (such as a RequestCapabilities message, a ProvideCapabilities message, a RequestLocationInformation message, a ProvideLocationInformation message, a RequestAssistanceData message, or a ProvideAssistanceData message) may include an identifier of the terminal device. The identifier of the terminal device may use the terminal device index mentioned above, which can reduce the number of bits occupied by the message header, thereby simplifying the SLPP message.

[0232] In some implementations, before the first device sends the first SLPP message to the second device, the first device receives or sends a first NAS signaling. For example, if the first NAS signaling is used to carry a side positioning request initiated by a terminal device, the first device is a terminal device, and the second device is an LMF, then the first device sends the first NAS signaling to the second device. For another example, if the first NAS signaling is used to carry a side positioning request received by a terminal device, the first device is a terminal device, and the second device is an LMF, then the first device receives the first NAS signaling sent by the second device. For another example, if the first NAS signaling is used to carry a response message to a side positioning request received by a terminal device, the first device is a terminal device, and the second device is an LMF, then the first device sends the first NAS signaling to the second device.

[0233] It should be understood that one of the first device and the second device may be a terminal device, and the M terminal devices mentioned above do not include the terminal device in the first device and the second device.

[0234] The method embodiment of the present application is described in detail above in conjunction with Figures 1 to 5 . The device embodiment of the present application is described in detail below in conjunction with Figures 6 to 10 . It should be understood that the description of the method embodiment corresponds to the description of the device embodiment. Therefore, for parts not described in detail, reference can be made to the above method embodiment.

[0235] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in one embodiment of the present application. The communication device 600 shown in FIG6 may be the first device in the above embodiment 1. The communication device 600 may include a communication module 610.

[0236] The communication module 610 can be used to send a first SLPP message to the second device; wherein the first SLPP message is associated with a first NAS signaling, and the first NAS signaling includes application layer identifiers of M terminal devices used for side positioning, and the application layer identifiers of the M terminal devices are arranged in a first order in the first NAS message, and M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1; wherein the first SLPP message includes information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices, and the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices are respectively used to carry positioning-related data corresponding to the M terminal devices, and the order of the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices is determined based on the first order.

[0237] In some implementations, if the first SLPP message includes positioning-related data of the i-th terminal device among the M terminal devices, the information field corresponding to the i-th terminal device carries the first information; if the first SLPP message does not include positioning-related data of the i-th terminal device among the M terminal devices, the information field corresponding to the i-th terminal device carries the second information; wherein, the first information is different from the second information, i is a positive integer, and 1≤i≤M.

[0238] In some implementations, the second information includes public information used for sidetrack positioning.

[0239] In some implementations, the communication module 610 is further used to: receive a second SLPP message sent by the second device before the first device sends a first SLPP message to the second device, where the second SLPP message is used to instruct the first device to provide positioning-related data corresponding to the M terminal devices.

[0240] In some implementations, the second SLPP message includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate whether the first device provides positioning-related data corresponding to the M terminal devices.

[0241] In some implementations, the value of the first indication information includes a first value and a second value, the first value is used to indicate that the first device provides positioning-related data for the M terminal devices, and the second value is used to indicate that the first device does not provide positioning-related data for the M terminal devices.

[0242] In some implementations, the first indication information includes 1 bit.

[0243] In some implementations, the first device is a terminal device and the second device is a LMF.

[0244] In some implementations, the first SLPP message is used to provide capability information or location information of the terminal device.

[0245] In some implementations, the first device is a LMF and the second device is a terminal device.

[0246] In some implementations, the first SLPP message is used to provide positioning assistance data for the terminal device.

[0247] In some implementations, the first NAS signaling is used to carry one of the following: a sideways positioning request message initiated by a terminal device; a sideways positioning request message received by the terminal device; and a response message to the sideways positioning request message received by the terminal device.

[0248] In some implementations, the communication module 610 is further configured to: receive or send the first NAS signaling before sending the first SLPP message to the second device.

[0249] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in another embodiment of the present application. The communication device 700 shown in FIG7 may be the second device in the above embodiment 1. The communication device 700 may include a communication module 710.

[0250] The communication device 700 can be used to receive a first SLPP message sent by a first device; wherein the first SLPP message is associated with a first NAS signaling, and the first NAS signaling includes application layer identifiers of M terminal devices used for sideline positioning, and the application layer identifiers of the M terminal devices are arranged in a first order in the first NAS message, and M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1; wherein the first SLPP message includes information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices, and the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices are respectively used to carry positioning-related data corresponding to the M terminal devices, and the order of the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices is determined based on the first order.

[0251] In some implementations, if the first SLPP message includes positioning-related data of the i-th terminal device among the M terminal devices, the information field corresponding to the i-th terminal device carries the first information; if the first SLPP message does not include positioning-related data of the i-th terminal device among the M terminal devices, the information field corresponding to the i-th terminal device carries the second information; wherein, the first information is different from the second information, i is a positive integer, and 1≤i≤M.

[0252] In some implementations, the second information includes public information used for sidetrack positioning.

[0253] In some implementations, the communication module 710 is further used to: send a second SLPP message to the first device before the second device receives the first SLPP message sent by the first device, and the second SLPP message is used to instruct the first device to provide positioning-related data corresponding to the M terminal devices.

[0254] In some implementations, the second SLPP message includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate whether the first device provides positioning-related data corresponding to the M terminal devices.

[0255] In some implementations, the value of the first indication information includes a first value and a second value, the first value is used to indicate that the first device provides positioning-related data for the M terminal devices, and the second value is used to indicate that the first device does not provide positioning-related data for the M terminal devices.

[0256] In some implementations, the first indication information includes 1 bit.

[0257] In some implementations, the first device is a terminal device and the second device is a LMF.

[0258] In some implementations, the first SLPP message is used to provide capability information or location information of the terminal device.

[0259] In some implementations, the first device is a LMF and the second device is a terminal device.

[0260] In some implementations, the first SLPP message is used to provide positioning assistance data for the terminal device.

[0261] In some implementations, the first NAS signaling is used to carry one of the following: a sideways positioning request message initiated by a terminal device; a sideways positioning request message received by the terminal device; and a response message to the sideways positioning request message received by the terminal device.

[0262] In some implementations, the communication module 710 may be further configured to: send or receive the first NAS signaling before receiving the first SLPP message sent by the first device.

[0263] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in another embodiment of the present application. The communication device 800 shown in FIG8 may be the first device in the second embodiment described above. The communication device 800 may include a communication module 810.

[0264] The communication module 810 can be used to send a first SLPP message to the second device; wherein the first SLPP message is associated with a first NAS signaling, and the first NAS signaling includes application layer identifiers of M terminal devices used for side positioning, and the application layer identifiers of the M terminal devices are arranged in a first order in the first NAS message, and M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1; wherein the first SLPP message includes indexes of K terminal devices among the M terminal devices, and the indexes of the K terminal devices are determined based on the first order, K is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1, and K is less than or equal to M.

[0265] In some implementations, the indexes of the K terminal devices are determined based on a first order, including: the indexes of the K terminal devices are numbered according to the first order.

[0266] In some implementations, the first SLPP message is used to provide positioning-related data of the K terminal devices, and the communication module is also used to: before the first device sends the first SLPP message to the second device, receive a second SLPP message sent by the second device, and the second SLPP message is used to request positioning-related data of N terminal devices among the M terminal devices, where N is a positive integer and K≤N≤M.

[0267] In some implementations, the second SLPP message includes indexes of the N terminal devices, where the indexes of the N terminal devices are determined based on the first order.

[0268] In some implementations, the second SLPP message includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate whether the first device provides positioning-related data corresponding to the M terminal devices.

[0269] In some implementations, the first indication information includes information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices, and the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices are respectively used to indicate whether the first device provides positioning-related data of the M terminal devices, and the order of the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices corresponds to the first order.

[0270] In some implementations, each of the M information fields occupies 1 bit.

[0271] In some implementations, the value of the first indication information includes a first value and a second value, the first value is used to indicate that the first device provides positioning-related data for the M terminal devices, and the second value is used to indicate that the first device does not provide positioning-related data for the M terminal devices.

[0272] In some implementations, the first indication information includes 1 bit.

[0273] In some implementations, the first SLPP message includes a message header and a message body, and the indexes of the K terminal devices are located in the message header or the message body.

[0274] In some implementations, the first device is a terminal device and the second device is a LMF.

[0275] In some implementations, the first SLPP message is used to provide capability information of the terminal device; or, the first SLPP message is used to provide location information of the terminal device; or, the first SLPP message is used to request positioning assistance data of the terminal device.

[0276] In some implementations, the first device is a LMF and the second device is a terminal device.

[0277] In some implementations, the first SLPP message is used to provide positioning assistance data for the terminal device; or, the first SLPP message is used to request capability information of the terminal device; or, the first SLPP message is used to request location information of the terminal device.

[0278] In some implementations, the first NAS signaling is used to carry one of the following: a sideways positioning request message initiated by a terminal device; a sideways positioning request message received by the terminal device; and a response message to the sideways positioning request message received by the terminal device.

[0279] In some implementations, the communication module 810 may be further configured to: receive or send the first NAS signaling before sending the first SLPP message to the second device.

[0280] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in another embodiment of the present application. The communication device 900 shown in FIG9 may be the second device in the above embodiment 2. The communication device 900 may include a communication module 910.

[0281] The communication module 910 can be used to receive a first SLPP message sent by a first device; wherein the first SLPP message is associated with a first NAS signaling, and the first NAS signaling includes application layer identifiers of M terminal devices used for side positioning, and the application layer identifiers of the M terminal devices are arranged in a first order in the first NAS message, and M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1; wherein the first SLPP message includes indexes of K terminal devices among the M terminal devices, and the indexes of the K terminal devices are determined based on the first order, K is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1, and K is less than or equal to M.

[0282] In some implementations, the indexes of the K terminal devices are determined based on a first order, including: the indexes of the K terminal devices are numbered according to the first order.

[0283] In some implementations, the first SLPP message is used to provide positioning-related data of the K terminal devices, and the communication module is also used to: send a second SLPP message to the first device before the second device receives the first SLPP message sent by the first device, and the second SLPP message is used to request positioning-related data of N terminal devices among the M terminal devices, where N is a positive integer and K≤N≤M.

[0284] In some implementations, the second SLPP message includes indexes of the N terminal devices, where the indexes of the N terminal devices are determined based on the first order.

[0285] In some implementations, the second SLPP message includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate whether the first device provides positioning-related data corresponding to the M terminal devices.

[0286] In some implementations, the first indication information includes information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices, and the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices are respectively used to indicate whether the first device provides positioning-related data of the M terminal devices, and the order of the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices corresponds to the first order.

[0287] In some implementations, each of the M information fields occupies 1 bit.

[0288] In some implementations, the value of the first indication information includes a first value and a second value, the first value is used to indicate that the first device provides positioning-related data for the M terminal devices, and the second value is used to indicate that the first device does not provide positioning-related data for the M terminal devices.

[0289] In some implementations, the first indication information includes 1 bit.

[0290] In some implementations, the first SLPP message includes a message header and a message body, and the indexes of the K terminal devices are located in the message header or the message body.

[0291] In some implementations, the first device is a terminal device and the second device is a LMF.

[0292] In some implementations, the first SLPP message is used to provide capability information of the terminal device; or, the first SLPP message is used to provide location information of the terminal device; or, the first SLPP message is used to request positioning assistance data of the terminal device.

[0293] In some implementations, the first device is a LMF and the second device is a terminal device.

[0294] In some implementations, the first SLPP message is used to provide positioning assistance data for the terminal device; or, the first SLPP message is used to request capability information of the terminal device; or, the first SLPP message is used to request location information of the terminal device.

[0295] In some implementations, the first NAS signaling is used to carry one of the following: a sideways positioning request message initiated by a terminal device; a sideways positioning request message received by the terminal device; and a response message to the sideways positioning request message received by the terminal device.

[0296] In some implementations, the communication module 910 may be further configured to: send or receive the first NAS signaling before receiving the first Side Link Positioning Protocol (SLPP) message sent by the first device.

[0297] FIG10 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. The dotted lines in FIG10 indicate that the unit or module is optional. Apparatus 1000 may be used to implement the method described in the above method embodiment. Apparatus 1000 may be a chip, a terminal device, or a network device.

[0298] The device 1000 may include one or more processors 1010. The processor 1010 may support the device 1000 to implement the method described in the method embodiment above. The processor 1010 may be a general-purpose processor or a special-purpose processor. For example, the processor may be a central processing unit (CPU). Alternatively, the processor may be another general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware component, etc. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor, etc.

[0299] The apparatus 1000 may further include one or more memories 1020. The memories 1020 store programs that can be executed by the processor 1010, causing the processor 1010 to perform the methods described in the above method embodiments. The memories 1020 may be independent of the processor 1010 or integrated into the processor 1010.

[0300] The apparatus 1000 may further include a transceiver 1030. The processor 1010 may communicate with other devices or chips via the transceiver 1030. For example, the processor 1010 may transmit and receive data with other devices or chips via the transceiver 1030.

[0301] The present invention also provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing a program. The computer-readable storage medium can be applied to the communication device provided in the present invention, and the program enables a computer to execute the method performed by the communication device in each embodiment of the present invention.

[0302] The present application also provides a computer program product. The computer program product includes a program. The computer program product can be applied to the communication device provided in the present application, and the program causes a computer to execute the method performed by the communication device in each embodiment of the present application.

[0303] The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program. The computer program can be applied to the communication device provided in the embodiments of the present application, and the computer program enables a computer to execute the method executed by the communication device in each embodiment of the present application.

[0304] It should be understood that the terms "system" and "network" in this application can be used interchangeably. In addition, the terms used in this application are only used to explain the specific embodiments of this application and are not intended to limit this application. The terms "first", "second", "third", and "fourth" in the specification and claims of this application and the accompanying drawings are used to distinguish different objects rather than to describe a specific order. In addition, the terms "including" and "having" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions.

[0305] In the embodiments of this application, the term "indication" may refer to a direct indication, an indirect indication, or an indication of an association. For example, "A indicates B" may refer to a direct indication of B, e.g., B can obtain information through A; it may refer to an indirect indication of B, e.g., A indicates C, e.g., B can obtain information through C; or it may refer to an association between A and B.

[0306] In the embodiment of the present application, "B corresponding to A" means that B is associated with A and B can be determined based on A. However, it should be understood that determining B based on A does not mean determining B based solely on A, but B can also be determined based on A and / or other information.

[0307] In the embodiments of the present application, the term "corresponding" may indicate a direct or indirect correspondence between the two, or an association relationship between the two, or a relationship between indication and indication, configuration and configuration, etc.

[0308] In the embodiments of the present application, "pre-definition" or "pre-configuration" may be implemented by pre-storing corresponding codes, tables, or other methods that can be used to indicate relevant information in a device (e.g., a terminal device and a network device). The present application does not limit the specific implementation method. For example, pre-definition may refer to information defined in a protocol.

[0309] In the embodiments of the present application, the “protocol” may refer to a standard protocol in the communications field, for example, it may include an LTE protocol, an NR protocol, and related protocols used in future communication systems, and the present application does not limit this.

[0310] In the embodiments of this application, the term "and / or" is simply a description of the association relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / " in this document generally indicates that the related objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0311] In various embodiments of the present application, the size of the serial numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0312] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0313] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0314] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0315] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part 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 process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be read by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated therein. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a digital versatile disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0316] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A side-travel positioning method, characterized in that: include: The first device sends a first sidelink positioning protocol SLPP message to the second device; The first SLPP message is associated with a first non-access layer NAS signaling, the first NAS signaling includes application layer identifiers of M terminal devices for sideline positioning, the application layer identifiers of the M terminal devices are arranged in a first order in the first NAS message, and M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1; Among them, the first SLPP message includes information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices, and the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices are respectively used to carry positioning-related data corresponding to the M terminal devices, and the order of the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices is determined based on the first order.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: If the first SLPP message includes positioning-related data of an i-th terminal device among the M terminal devices, the information field corresponding to the i-th terminal device carries the first information; If the first SLPP message does not include the positioning related data of the i-th terminal device among the M terminal devices, the information field corresponding to the i-th terminal device carries the second information; The first information is different from the second information, i is a positive integer, and 1≤i≤M.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The second information includes public information used for side-by-side positioning.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that Before the first device sends the first SLPP message to the second device, the method further includes: The first device receives a second SLPP message sent by the second device, where the second SLPP message is used to instruct the first device to provide positioning-related data corresponding to the M terminal devices.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The second SLPP message includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate whether the first device provides positioning-related data corresponding to the M terminal devices.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The value of the first indication information includes a first value and a second value, the first value is used to indicate that the first device provides positioning-related data for the M terminal devices, and the second value is used to indicate that the first device does not provide positioning-related data for the M terminal devices.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The first indication information includes 1 bit.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that The first device is a terminal device, and the second device is a location management function LMF.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The first SLPP message is used to provide capability information or location information of the terminal device.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that The first device is an LMF, and the second device is a terminal device.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The first SLPP message is used to provide positioning assistance data for the terminal device.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that The first NAS signaling is used to carry one of the following: Sideline positioning request message initiated by the terminal device; A side positioning request message received by the terminal device; and A response message to a sideline positioning request message received by a terminal device.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that Before the first device sends the first SLPP message to the second device, the method further includes: The first device receives or sends the first NAS signaling.

14. A side-travel positioning method, characterized in that: include: The second device receives a first sidelink positioning protocol SLPP message sent by the first device; The first SLPP message is associated with a first non-access layer NAS signaling, the first NAS signaling includes application layer identifiers of M terminal devices for sideline positioning, the application layer identifiers of the M terminal devices are arranged in a first order in the first NAS message, and M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1; Among them, the first SLPP message includes information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices, and the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices are respectively used to carry positioning-related data corresponding to the M terminal devices, and the order of the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices is determined based on the first order.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that: If the first SLPP message includes positioning-related data of an i-th terminal device among the M terminal devices, the information field corresponding to the i-th terminal device carries the first information; If the first SLPP message does not include the positioning related data of the i-th terminal device among the M terminal devices, the information field corresponding to the i-th terminal device carries the second information; The first information is different from the second information, i is a positive integer, and 1≤i≤M.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The second information includes public information used for side-by-side positioning.

17. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 16, characterized in that Before the second device receives the first SLPP message sent by the first device, the method further includes: The second device sends a second SLPP message to the first device, where the second SLPP message is used to instruct the first device to provide positioning-related data corresponding to the M terminal devices.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that The second SLPP message includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate whether the first device provides positioning-related data corresponding to the M terminal devices.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that The value of the first indication information includes a first value and a second value, the first value is used to indicate that the first device provides positioning-related data for the M terminal devices, and the second value is used to indicate that the first device does not provide positioning-related data for the M terminal devices.

20. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that The first indication information includes 1 bit.

21. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 20, characterized in that The first device is a terminal device, and the second device is a location management function LMF.

22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that The first SLPP message is used to provide capability information or location information of the terminal device.

23. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 20, characterized in that The first device is an LMF, and the second device is a terminal device.

24. The method according to claim 23, characterized in that The first SLPP message is used to provide positioning assistance data for the terminal device.

25. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 24, characterized in that The first NAS signaling is used to carry one of the following: Sideline positioning request message initiated by the terminal device; A side positioning request message received by the terminal device; and A response message to a sideline positioning request message received by a terminal device.

26. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 25, characterized in that Before the second device receives the first SLPP message sent by the first device, the method further includes: The second device sends or receives the first NAS signaling.

27. A sideways positioning method, characterized in that: include: The first device sends a first sidelink positioning protocol SLPP message to the second device; The first SLPP message is associated with a first non-access layer NAS signaling, the first NAS signaling includes application layer identifiers of M terminal devices for sideline positioning, the application layer identifiers of the M terminal devices are arranged in a first order in the first NAS message, and M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1; The first SLPP message includes indexes of K terminal devices among the M terminal devices, and the indexes of the K terminal devices are determined based on the first order, K is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1, and K is less than or equal to M.

28. The method according to claim 27, characterized in that The indexes of the K terminal devices are determined based on a first order, including: the indexes of the K terminal devices are numbered according to the first order.

29. The method according to claim 27 or 28, characterized in that The first SLPP message is used to provide positioning-related data of the K terminal devices. Before the first device sends the first SLPP message to the second device, the method further includes: The first device receives a second SLPP message sent by the second device, where the second SLPP message is used to request positioning-related data of N terminal devices among the M terminal devices, where N is a positive integer and K≤N≤M.

30. The method according to claim 29, characterized in that The second SLPP message includes indexes of the N terminal devices, and the indexes of the N terminal devices are determined based on the first order.

31. The method according to claim 29, characterized in that The second SLPP message includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate whether the first device provides positioning-related data corresponding to the M terminal devices.

32. The method according to claim 31, characterized in that The first indication information includes information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices, and the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices are respectively used to indicate whether the first device provides positioning-related data of the M terminal devices, and the order of the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices corresponds to the first order.

33. The method according to claim 32, characterized in that Each of the M information fields occupies 1 bit.

34. The method according to claim 31, characterized in that The value of the first indication information includes a first value and a second value, the first value is used to indicate that the first device provides positioning-related data for the M terminal devices, and the second value is used to indicate that the first device does not provide positioning-related data for the M terminal devices.

35. The method according to claim 34, characterized in that The first indication information includes 1 bit.

36. The method according to any one of claims 27 to 35, characterized in that The first SLPP message includes a message header and a message body, and the indexes of the K terminal devices are located in the message header or the message body.

37. The method according to claim 27 or 28, characterized in that The first device is a terminal device, and the second device is a location management function LMF.

38. The method according to claim 37, characterized in that: The first SLPP message is used to provide capability information of the terminal device; or, The first SLPP message is used to provide location information of the terminal device; or, The first SLPP message is used to request positioning assistance data of the terminal device.

39. The method according to claim 27 or 28, characterized in that The first device is an LMF, and the second device is a terminal device.

40. The method according to claim 39, characterized in that: The first SLPP message is used to provide positioning assistance data for the terminal device; or, The first SLPP message is used to request capability information of a terminal device; or, The first SLPP message is used to request location information of the terminal device.

41. The method according to any one of claims 27 to 40, characterized in that The first NAS signaling is used to carry one of the following: Sideline positioning request message initiated by the terminal device; A side positioning request message received by the terminal device; and A response message to a sideline positioning request message received by a terminal device.

42. The method according to any one of claims 27 to 41, characterized in that Before the first device sends the first SLPP message to the second device, the method further includes: The first device receives or sends the first NAS signaling.

43. A side positioning method, characterized in that: include: The second device receives a first side link positioning protocol SLPP message sent by the first device; The first SLPP message is associated with a first non-access layer NAS signaling, the first NAS signaling includes application layer identifiers of M terminal devices for sideline positioning, the application layer identifiers of the M terminal devices are arranged in a first order in the first NAS message, and M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1; The first SLPP message includes indexes of K terminal devices among the M terminal devices, and the indexes of the K terminal devices are determined based on the first order, K is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1, and K is less than or equal to M.

44. The method according to claim 43, characterized in that The indexes of the K terminal devices are determined based on a first order, including: the indexes of the K terminal devices are numbered according to the first order.

45. The method according to claim 43 or 44, characterized in that The first SLPP message is used to provide the positioning related data of the K terminal devices. Before the second device receives the first SLPP message sent by the first device, the method further includes: The second device sends a second SLPP message to the first device, where the second SLPP message is used to request positioning-related data of N terminal devices among the M terminal devices, where N is a positive integer and K≤N≤M.

46. ​​The method according to claim 45, characterized in that The second SLPP message includes indexes of the N terminal devices, and the indexes of the N terminal devices are determined based on the first order.

47. The method according to claim 45, characterized in that The second SLPP message includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate whether the first device provides positioning-related data corresponding to the M terminal devices.

48. The method according to claim 47, characterized in that The first indication information includes information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices, and the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices are respectively used to indicate whether the first device provides positioning-related data of the M terminal devices, and the order of the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices corresponds to the first order.

49. The method according to claim 48, characterized in that Each of the M information fields occupies 1 bit.

50. The method of claim 47, wherein: The value of the first indication information includes a first value and a second value, the first value is used to indicate that the first device provides positioning-related data for the M terminal devices, and the second value is used to indicate that the first device does not provide positioning-related data for the M terminal devices.

51. The method according to claim 50, characterized in that The first indication information includes 1 bit.

52. The method according to any one of claims 43 to 51, characterized in that The first SLPP message includes a message header and a message body, and the indexes of the K terminal devices are located in the message header or the message body.

53. The method according to claim 43 or 44, characterized in that The first device is a terminal device, and the second device is a location management function LMF.

54. The method according to claim 53, characterized in that: The first SLPP message is used to provide capability information of the terminal device; or, The first SLPP message is used to provide location information of the terminal device; or, The first SLPP message is used to request positioning assistance data of the terminal device.

55. The method according to claim 43 or 44, characterized in that The first device is an LMF, and the second device is a terminal device.

56. The method according to claim 55, characterized in that: The first SLPP message is used to provide positioning assistance data for the terminal device; or, The first SLPP message is used to request capability information of a terminal device; or, The first SLPP message is used to request location information of the terminal device.

57. The method according to any one of claims 43 to 56, characterized in that The first NAS signaling is used to carry one of the following: Sideline positioning request message initiated by the terminal device; A side positioning request message received by the terminal device; and A response message to a sideline positioning request message received by a terminal device.

58. The method according to any one of claims 43 to 57, characterized in that Before the second device receives the first SLPP message sent by the first device, the method further includes: The second device sends or receives the first NAS signaling.

59. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device is a first device, and the first device includes: A communication module, configured to send a first sidelink positioning protocol SLPP message to the second device; The first SLPP message is associated with a first non-access layer NAS signaling, the first NAS signaling includes application layer identifiers of M terminal devices for sideline positioning, the application layer identifiers of the M terminal devices are arranged in a first order in the first NAS message, and M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1; Among them, the first SLPP message includes information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices, and the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices are respectively used to carry positioning-related data corresponding to the M terminal devices, and the order of the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices is determined based on the first order.

60. The communication device according to claim 59, characterized in that: If the first SLPP message includes positioning-related data of an i-th terminal device among the M terminal devices, the information field corresponding to the i-th terminal device carries the first information; If the first SLPP message does not include the positioning related data of the i-th terminal device among the M terminal devices, the information field corresponding to the i-th terminal device carries the second information; The first information is different from the second information, i is a positive integer, and 1≤i≤M.

61. The communication device according to claim 60, characterized in that The second information includes public information used for side-by-side positioning.

62. The communication device according to any one of claims 59 to 61, characterized in that: The communication module is also used to: before the first device sends a first SLPP message to the second device, receive a second SLPP message sent by the second device, where the second SLPP message is used to instruct the first device to provide positioning-related data corresponding to the M terminal devices.

63. The communication device according to claim 62, characterized in that The second SLPP message includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate whether the first device provides positioning-related data corresponding to the M terminal devices.

64. The communication device according to claim 63, characterized in that The value of the first indication information includes a first value and a second value, the first value is used to indicate that the first device provides positioning-related data for the M terminal devices, and the second value is used to indicate that the first device does not provide positioning-related data for the M terminal devices.

65. The communication device according to claim 64, characterized in that The first indication information includes 1 bit.

66. The communication device according to any one of claims 59 to 65, characterized in that: The first device is a terminal device, and the second device is a location management function LMF.

67. The communication device according to claim 66, characterized in that The first SLPP message is used to provide capability information or location information of the terminal device.

68. The communication device according to any one of claims 59 to 65, characterized in that: The first device is an LMF, and the second device is a terminal device.

69. The communication device according to claim 68, characterized in that The first SLPP message is used to provide positioning assistance data for the terminal device.

70. The communication device according to any one of claims 59 to 69, characterized in that: The first NAS signaling is used to carry one of the following: Sideline positioning request message initiated by the terminal device; A side positioning request message received by the terminal device; and A response message to a sideline positioning request message received by a terminal device.

71. The communication device according to any one of claims 59 to 70, characterized in that: The communication module is further configured to: receive or send the first NAS signaling before sending the first SLPP message to the second device.

72. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device is a second device, and the second device includes: A communication module, configured to receive a first sidelink positioning protocol SLPP message sent by a first device; The first SLPP message is associated with a first non-access layer NAS signaling, the first NAS signaling includes application layer identifiers of M terminal devices for sideline positioning, the application layer identifiers of the M terminal devices are arranged in a first order in the first NAS message, and M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1; Among them, the first SLPP message includes information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices, and the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices are respectively used to carry positioning-related data corresponding to the M terminal devices, and the order of the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices is determined based on the first order.

73. The communication device according to claim 72, characterized in that: If the first SLPP message includes positioning-related data of an i-th terminal device among the M terminal devices, the information field corresponding to the i-th terminal device carries the first information; If the first SLPP message does not include the positioning related data of the i-th terminal device among the M terminal devices, the information field corresponding to the i-th terminal device carries the second information; The first information is different from the second information, i is a positive integer, and 1≤i≤M.

74. The communication device according to claim 73, characterized in that The second information includes public information used for side-by-side positioning.

75. The communication device according to any one of claims 72 to 74, characterized in that: The communication module is also used to: before the second device receives the first SLPP message sent by the first device, send a second SLPP message to the first device, where the second SLPP message is used to instruct the first device to provide positioning-related data corresponding to the M terminal devices.

76. The communication device according to claim 75, characterized in that The second SLPP message includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate whether the first device provides positioning-related data corresponding to the M terminal devices.

77. The communication device according to claim 76, characterized in that The value of the first indication information includes a first value and a second value, the first value is used to indicate that the first device provides positioning-related data for the M terminal devices, and the second value is used to indicate that the first device does not provide positioning-related data for the M terminal devices.

78. The communication device according to claim 77, characterized in that The first indication information includes 1 bit.

79. The communication device according to any one of claims 72 to 78, characterized in that The first device is a terminal device, and the second device is a location management function LMF.

80. The communication device according to claim 79, characterized in that The first SLPP message is used to provide capability information or location information of the terminal device.

81. The communication device according to any one of claims 72 to 78, characterized in that The first device is an LMF, and the second device is a terminal device.

82. The communication device according to claim 81, characterized in that The first SLPP message is used to provide positioning assistance data for the terminal device.

83. The communication device according to any one of claims 72 to 82, characterized in that The first NAS signaling is used to carry one of the following: Sideline positioning request message initiated by the terminal device; A side positioning request message received by the terminal device; and A response message to a sideline positioning request message received by a terminal device.

84. The communication device according to any one of claims 72 to 83, characterized in that The communication module is further configured to: send or receive the first NAS signaling before receiving the first SLPP message sent by the first device.

85. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device is a first device, and the first device includes: A communication module, configured to send a first sidelink positioning protocol SLPP message to the second device; The first SLPP message is associated with a first non-access layer NAS signaling, the first NAS signaling includes application layer identifiers of M terminal devices for sideline positioning, and the application layer identifiers of the M terminal devices are arranged in the first NAS message in a first sequence Order, M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1; The first SLPP message includes indexes of K terminal devices among the M terminal devices, and the indexes of the K terminal devices are determined based on the first order, K is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1, and K is less than or equal to M.

86. The communication device according to claim 85, characterized in that The indexes of the K terminal devices are determined based on a first order, including: the indexes of the K terminal devices are numbered according to the first order.

87. The communication device according to claim 85 or 86, characterized in that The first SLPP message is used to provide positioning-related data of the K terminal devices, and the communication module is also used to: before the first device sends the first SLPP message to the second device, receive a second SLPP message sent by the second device, and the second SLPP message is used to request positioning-related data of N terminal devices among the M terminal devices, where N is a positive integer and K≤N≤M.

88. The communication device according to claim 87, characterized in that The second SLPP message includes indexes of the N terminal devices, and the indexes of the N terminal devices are determined based on the first order.

89. The communication device according to claim 87, characterized in that The second SLPP message includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate whether the first device provides positioning-related data corresponding to the M terminal devices.

90. The communication device according to claim 89, characterized in that The first indication information includes information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices, and the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices are respectively used to indicate whether the first device provides positioning-related data of the M terminal devices, and the order of the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices corresponds to the first order.

91. The communication device according to claim 90, characterized in that Each of the M information fields occupies 1 bit.

92. The communication device according to claim 89, characterized in that The value of the first indication information includes a first value and a second value, the first value is used to indicate that the first device provides positioning-related data for the M terminal devices, and the second value is used to indicate that the first device does not provide positioning-related data for the M terminal devices.

93. The communication device according to claim 92, characterized in that The first indication information includes 1 bit.

94. The communication device according to any one of claims 85 to 93, characterized in that The first SLPP message includes a message header and a message body, and the indexes of the K terminal devices are located in the message header or the message body.

95. The communication device according to claim 85 or 86, characterized in that The first device is a terminal device, and the second device is a location management function LMF.

96. The communication device according to claim 95, characterized in that: The first SLPP message is used to provide capability information of the terminal device; or, The first SLPP message is used to provide location information of the terminal device; or, The first SLPP message is used to request positioning assistance data of the terminal device.

97. The communication device according to claim 85 or 86, characterized in that: The first device is an LMF, and the second device is a terminal device.

98. The communication device according to claim 97, characterized in that: The first SLPP message is used to provide positioning assistance data for the terminal device; or, The first SLPP message is used to request capability information of a terminal device; or, The first SLPP message is used to request location information of the terminal device.

99. The communication device according to any one of claims 85 to 98, characterized in that The first NAS signaling is used to carry one of the following: Sideline positioning request message initiated by the terminal device; A side positioning request message received by the terminal device; and A response message to a sideline positioning request message received by a terminal device.

100. The communication device according to any one of claims 85 to 99, characterized in that: The communication module is further configured to: receive or send the first NAS signaling before sending the first SLPP message to the second device.

101. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device is a second device, and the second device includes: A communication module, configured to receive a first side link positioning protocol SLPP message sent by a first device; The first SLPP message is associated with a first non-access layer NAS signaling, the first NAS signaling includes application layer identifiers of M terminal devices for sideline positioning, the application layer identifiers of the M terminal devices are arranged in a first order in the first NAS message, and M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1; The first SLPP message includes indexes of K terminal devices among the M terminal devices, and the indexes of the K terminal devices are determined based on the first order, K is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1, and K is less than or equal to M.

102. The communication device according to claim 101, characterized in that The indexes of the K terminal devices are determined based on a first order, including: the indexes of the K terminal devices are numbered according to the first order.

103. The communication device according to claim 101 or 102, characterized in that: The first SLPP message is used to provide positioning-related data of the K terminal devices, and the communication module is also used to: before the second device receives the first SLPP message sent by the first device, send a second SLPP message to the first device, and the second SLPP message is used to request positioning-related data of N terminal devices among the M terminal devices, where N is a positive integer and K≤N≤M.

104. The communication device according to claim 103, characterized in that The second SLPP message includes indexes of the N terminal devices, and the indexes of the N terminal devices are determined based on the first order.

105. The communication device according to claim 103, characterized in that The second SLPP message includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate whether the first device provides positioning-related data corresponding to the M terminal devices.

106. The communication device according to claim 105, characterized in that The first indication information includes information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices, and the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices are respectively used to indicate whether the first device provides positioning-related data of the M terminal devices, and the order of the information fields corresponding to the M terminal devices corresponds to the first order.

107. The communication device according to claim 106, characterized in that Each of the M information fields occupies 1 bit.

108. The communication device according to claim 105, characterized in that The value of the first indication information includes a first value and a second value, the first value is used to indicate that the first device provides positioning-related data for the M terminal devices, and the second value is used to indicate that the first device does not provide positioning-related data for the M terminal devices.

109. The communication device according to claim 108, characterized in that The first indication information includes 1 bit.

110. The communication device according to any one of claims 101 to 109, characterized in that: The first SLPP message includes a message header and a message body, and the indexes of the K terminal devices are located in the message header or the message body.

111. The communication device according to claim 101 or 102, characterized in that: The first device is a terminal device, and the second device is a location management function LMF.

112. The communication device according to claim 111, characterized in that: The first SLPP message is used to provide capability information of the terminal device; or, The first SLPP message is used to provide location information of the terminal device; or, The first SLPP message is used to request positioning assistance data of the terminal device.

113. The communication device according to claim 111 or 112, characterized in that: The first device is an LMF, and the second device is a terminal device.

114. The communication device according to claim 113, characterized in that: The first SLPP message is used to provide positioning assistance data for the terminal device; or, The first SLPP message is used to request capability information of a terminal device; or, The first SLPP message is used to request location information of the terminal device.

115. The communication device according to any one of claims 111 to 114, characterized in that: The first NAS signaling is used to carry one of the following: Sideline positioning request message initiated by the terminal device; A side positioning request message received by the terminal device; and A response message to a sideline positioning request message received by a terminal device.

116. The communication device according to any one of claims 101 to 115, characterized in that: The communication module is further used to: send or receive the first NAS signaling before receiving the first side link positioning protocol SLPP message sent by the first device.

117. A communication device, characterized in that: It includes a transceiver, a memory and a processor, wherein the memory is used to store programs, and the processor is used to call the programs in the memory and control the transceiver to receive or send signals so that the communication device executes the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 13, 14 to 26, 27 to 42 and 43 to 58.

118. A device, characterized in that: The device comprises a processor for calling a program from a memory so as to cause the device to execute a method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 13, 14 to 26, 27 to 42 and 43 to 58.

119. A chip, characterized in that: It comprises a processor for calling a program from a memory so that a device equipped with the chip executes a method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 13, 14 to 26, 27 to 42 and 43 to 58.

120. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that A program is stored thereon, the program causing a computer to execute the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 13, 14 to 26, 27 to 42 and 43 to 58.

121. A computer program product, characterized in that A program is included, which causes a computer to execute the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 13, 14 to 26, 27 to 42 and 43 to 58.

122. A computer program, characterized in that The computer program causes a computer to execute the method of any one of claims 1 to 13, 14 to 26, 27 to 42 and 43 to 58.

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