Positioning reference unit association method, terminal, network device, and storage medium

Abstract

The present invention relates to the technical field of communications, and in particular to a positioning reference unit (PRU) association method, a terminal, a network device, and a storage medium. The PRU association method comprises: receiving a first message from a second device by means of a user plane, wherein the first message is used for instructing a first device to perform a PRU association operation with the second device; and sending a second message to a third device, wherein the second message is used for requesting the third device to perform a PRU verification operation. On this basis, whether the PRU association operation is performed on the second device can be determined on the basis of a PRU verification result for the second device, so as to prevent the first device from performing an association operation with a non-PRU device, saving communication resources and power consumption.

Description

Positioning reference unit association method, terminal, network device and storage medium Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a positioning reference unit association method, a terminal, a network device, and a storage medium. Background Art

[0002] The Positioning Reference Unit (PRU) can be used to locate other devices. To this end, the PRU needs to be associated with the Location Management Function (LMF) through a PRU association operation. The PRU association operation can be performed through the control plane (Control Plane) and / or the user plane (User Plane). If a PRU association request is sent to the LMF through the user plane, the Access Management Function (AMF) may be unable to perform the PRU verification operation.

[0003] Summary of the Invention

[0004] The embodiments of the present disclosure propose a positioning reference unit association method, terminal, network device and storage medium to solve the technical problem in the related art that sending a PRU association request to the LMF through the user may cause the AMF to be unable to perform the PRU verification operation.

[0005] According to a first aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a positioning reference unit association method is proposed, which is executed by a first device. The method includes: receiving a first message from a second device through a user plane, where the first message is used to instruct the first device to perform a positioning reference unit PRU association operation with the second device; and sending a second message to a third device, where the second message is used to request the third device to perform a PRU verification operation.

[0006] According to a second aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a positioning reference unit association method is proposed, which is executed by a second device. The method includes: determining to use a user plane to perform a PRU association operation with a first device; sending a first message to the first device through the user plane, wherein the first message is used to instruct the first device to perform a positioning reference unit PRU association operation with the second device, so that the first device sends a second message to a third device, and the second message is used to request the third device to perform a PRU verification operation.

[0007] According to a third aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a positioning reference unit association method is proposed, which is executed by a third device. The method includes: receiving a second message from a first device, the second message being used to request execution of a positioning reference unit PRU verification operation, the second message being sent by the first device in response to receiving a first message from a second device through a user plane, the first message being used to instruct the first device to perform a PRU association operation with the second device; and executing the PRU verification operation.

[0008] According to a fourth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a positioning reference unit association device is proposed, wherein the device includes: a transceiver module for receiving a first message from a second device through a user plane, wherein the first message is used to instruct the positioning reference unit association device to perform a positioning reference unit PRU association operation with the second device; the transceiver module is also used to send a second message to a third device, wherein the second message is used to request the third device to perform a PRU verification operation.

[0009] According to a fifth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a positioning reference unit association device is proposed, wherein the device includes: a processing module for determining to use a user plane to perform a PRU association operation with a first device; a transceiver module for sending a first message to the first device through the user plane, wherein the first message is used to instruct the first device to perform a positioning reference unit PRU association operation with the second device, so that the first device sends a second message to a third device, wherein the second message is used to request the third device to perform a PRU verification operation.

[0010] According to the sixth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a positioning reference unit association device is proposed, the device including: a transceiver module for receiving a second message from a first device, the second message being used to request execution of a positioning reference unit PRU verification operation, the second message being sent by the first device in response to receipt of a first message from a second device through a user plane, the first message being used to instruct the first device to perform a PRU association operation with the second device; and a processing module for executing the PRU verification operation.

[0011] According to a seventh aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a terminal is proposed, comprising: one or more processors; a memory coupled to the processor, the memory storing executable instructions, wherein the executable instructions, when executed by the processor, enable the terminal to execute the positioning reference unit association method described in the second aspect above.

[0012] According to an eighth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, an access network device is proposed, comprising: one or more processors; a memory coupled to the processor, the memory storing executable instructions, wherein the executable instructions, when executed by the processor, enable the access network device to execute the positioning reference unit association method described in the second aspect above.

[0013] According to the ninth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a core network device is proposed, comprising: one or more processors; a memory coupled to the processor, the memory storing executable instructions, wherein the executable instructions, when executed by the processor, enable the core network device to execute the positioning reference unit association method described in the first aspect and / or the third aspect above.

[0014] According to the tenth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication system is proposed, comprising a first device, a second device, and a third device, wherein the first device is configured to implement the positioning reference unit association method described in the first aspect, the second device is configured to implement the positioning reference unit association method described in the second aspect, and the third device is configured to implement the positioning reference unit association method described in the third aspect.

[0015] According to an eleventh aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a storage medium is proposed, which stores instructions. When the instructions are executed on a communication device, the communication device executes the positioning reference unit association method described in the first, second or third aspect above.

[0016] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the serving LMF receives a PRU association request from a second device through the user plane, it may first send a PRU verification request to the serving AMF to perform PRU verification on the second device. Accordingly, whether to perform a PRU association operation on the second device can be determined based on the PRU verification result of the second device, thereby avoiding the LMF from performing an association operation with a non-PRU device, saving communication resources and power consumption. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present disclosure. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without any creative work.

[0018] FIG1 is a schematic diagram showing the architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0019] FIG2 is an interactive schematic diagram illustrating a positioning reference unit association method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0020] FIG3A is a schematic flowchart of a positioning reference unit association method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0021] FIG3B is a schematic flowchart of a positioning reference unit association method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0022] FIG4 is a schematic flow chart showing a positioning reference unit association method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0023] FIG5 is a schematic flowchart of a positioning reference unit association method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0024] FIG6 is a schematic block diagram showing the apparatus structure of a first device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0025] FIG7 is a schematic block diagram showing the structure of a second device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0026] FIG8 is a schematic block diagram showing the apparatus structure of a third device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0027] FIG9 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0028] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a chip proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a positioning reference unit association method, a terminal, a network device, and a storage medium.

[0030] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a positioning reference unit association method, which is executed by a first device, and the method includes: receiving a first message from a second device through a user plane, wherein the first message is used to instruct the first device to perform a positioning reference unit PRU association operation with the second device; and sending a second message to a third device, wherein the second message is used to request the third device to perform a PRU verification operation.

[0031] In the above embodiment, when the serving LMF receives a PRU association request from the second device through the user plane, it can first send a PRU verification request to the serving AMF to perform PRU verification on the second device. Accordingly, it can be determined whether to perform a PRU association operation on the second device based on the PRU verification result of the second device, thereby avoiding the LMF from performing an association operation with a non-PRU device, saving communication resources and power consumption.

[0032] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the PRU association operation includes a PRU association establishment operation or a PRU association update operation.

[0033] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first message is a message using a user plane positioning protocol; wherein the user plane positioning protocol may include at least one of the following: Location Service User Plane Protocol LCS-UPP; Secure User Plane Positioning SUPL protocol.

[0034] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect. In some embodiments, the first message is further used to indicate at least one of the following: a first device identifier, the first device identifier being a device identifier corresponding to the first device; a second device identifier, the second device identifier being a device identifier corresponding to the second device; first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate that the second device is a PRU; and a PRU association request.

[0035] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect. In some embodiments, the second message is an access and mobility management function AMF service message of the control plane.

[0036] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect. In some embodiments, the second message is further used to indicate at least one of the following: a first device identifier, the first device identifier being a device identifier corresponding to the first device; a second device identifier, the second device identifier being a device identifier corresponding to the second device; first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate that the second device is a PRU; and a PRU association request.

[0037] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the second device identifier may include at least one of the following: a Subscription Hidden Identity (SUCI); a Subscription Permanent Identity (SUPI); a General Public User Identity (GPSI); or an application layer identifier.

[0038] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the method further comprises: receiving a third message from the third device, the third message being used to indicate a PRU verification result, wherein the PRU verification result is obtained by the third device after performing the PRU verification operation.

[0039] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect. In some embodiments, the third message is an AMF service message of the control plane.

[0040] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect. In some embodiments, the third message is further used to indicate at least one of the following: a first device identifier, where the third device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the first device; a second device identifier, where the second device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the second device; first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the second device is a PRU; and the PRU verification result.

[0041] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the PRU verification result is verification failure, and the third message is further used to indicate the reason for the verification failure.

[0042] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the PRU verification result is used to indicate whether the device corresponding to the second device identifier is a PRU.

[0043] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: in response to receiving the third message, determining a PRU association result between the first device and the second device; and sending a fourth message to the second device, where the fourth message is used to indicate the PRU association result between the first device and the second device.

[0044] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the fourth message is a message using a user plane positioning protocol; wherein the user plane positioning protocol may include at least one of the following: Location Service User Plane Protocol LCS-UPP; Secure User Plane Positioning SUPL protocol.

[0045] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect. In some embodiments, the fourth message is further used to indicate at least one of the following: a first device identifier, the first device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to a network device with a positioning management function associated with the second device; a second device identifier, the second device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the second device; first indication information, the first indication information is used to indicate that the second device is a PRU; a PRU association response, the PRU association response is used to indicate a PRU association result between the first device and the second device.

[0046] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect. In some embodiments, the fourth message indicates that the PRU association result between the first device and the second device is successful, and the method further includes performing at least one of the following: using the PRU location provided by the second device; performing a positioning operation with the second device to obtain the PRU location of the second device; and storing relevant information received from the second device.

[0047] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, performing a positioning operation with the second device includes: performing a positioning operation with the second device via a user plane and / or a control plane.

[0048] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first device is a LMF.

[0049] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the third device is an AMF.

[0050] In the second aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a positioning reference unit association method, which is executed by a second device, and the method includes: determining to use a user plane to perform a PRU association operation with a first device; sending a first message to the first device through the user plane, and the first message is used to instruct the first device to perform a positioning reference unit PRU association operation with the second device, so that the first device sends a second message to a third device, and the second message is used to request the third device to perform a PRU verification operation.

[0051] In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect. In some embodiments, the first message is further used to indicate at least one of the following: a first device identifier, the first device identifier being a device identifier corresponding to the first device; a second device identifier, the second device identifier being a device identifier corresponding to the second device; first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate that the second device is a PRU; and a PRU association request.

[0052] In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving a fourth message from the first device, where the fourth message is used to indicate a PRU association result obtained after performing the PRU association operation with the second device.

[0053] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the fourth message is a message using a user plane positioning protocol; wherein the user plane positioning protocol may include at least one of the following: Location Service User Plane Protocol LCS-UPP; Secure User Plane Positioning SUPL protocol.

[0054] In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect. In some embodiments, the fourth message is further used to indicate at least one of the following: a first device identifier, the first device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to a network device with a positioning management function associated with the second device; a second device identifier, the second device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the second device; first indication information, the first indication information is used to indicate that the second device is a PRU; a PRU association response, the PRU association response is used to indicate a PRU association result between the first device and the second device.

[0055] In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the fourth message indicates that the PRU association result between the first device and the second device is successful, and the method further includes: performing a positioning operation with the first device to obtain the PRU position of the second device.

[0056] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a positioning reference unit association method, which is performed by a third device, the method comprising: receiving a second message from a first device, the second message being used to request a positioning reference unit PRU verification operation to be performed, the second message being sent by the first device in response to receiving a first message from a second device via a user plane, the first message being used to instruct the first device to perform a PRU association operation with the second device; performing the PRU verification operation

[0057] In combination with some embodiments of the third aspect. In some embodiments, the second message is further used to indicate at least one of the following: a first device identifier, the first device identifier being a device identifier corresponding to the first device; a second device identifier, the second device identifier being a device identifier corresponding to the second device; first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate that the second device is a PRU; and a PRU association request.

[0058] In combination with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: sending a third message to the first device, where the third message is used to indicate a PRU verification result obtained after performing the PRU verification operation.

[0059] In combination with some embodiments of the third aspect. In some embodiments, the third message is further used to indicate at least one of the following: a first device identifier, the third device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the first device; a second device identifier, the second device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the second device; first indication information, the first indication information is used to indicate that the second device is a PRU; and the PRU verification result.

[0060] In conjunction with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, the PRU verification result is verification failure, and the third message is further used to indicate the reason for the verification failure.

[0061] In the fourth aspect, a positioning reference unit association device is proposed, which includes: a transceiver module for receiving a first message from a second device through a user plane, wherein the first message is used to instruct the positioning reference unit association device to perform a positioning reference unit PRU association operation with the second device; the transceiver module is also used to send a second message to a third device, wherein the second message is used to request the third device to perform a PRU verification operation.

[0062] In the fifth aspect, a positioning reference unit association device is proposed, which includes: a processing module for determining to use a user plane to perform a PRU association operation with a first device; a transceiver module for sending a first message to the first device through the user plane, and the first message is used to instruct the first device to perform a positioning reference unit PRU association operation with the second device, so that the first device sends a second message to the third device, and the second message is used to request the third device to perform a PRU verification operation.

[0063] In the sixth aspect, a positioning reference unit association device is proposed, which includes: a transceiver module for receiving a second message from a first device, the second message is used to request to perform a positioning reference unit PRU verification operation, the second message is sent by the first device in response to receiving a first message from the second device through the user plane, and the first message is used to instruct the first device to perform a PRU association operation with the second device; a processing module for performing the PRU verification operation.

[0064] In the seventh aspect, a terminal is proposed, comprising: one or more processors; a memory coupled to the processor, the memory storing executable instructions, wherein when the executable instructions are executed by the processor, the terminal executes the positioning reference unit association method described in the second aspect and the optional embodiment of the second aspect.

[0065] In the eighth aspect, an access network device is proposed, comprising: one or more processors; a memory coupled to the processor, the memory storing executable instructions, wherein when the executable instructions are executed by the processor, the access network device executes the positioning reference unit association method described in the second aspect and the optional embodiment of the second aspect.

[0066] In the ninth aspect, a core network device is proposed, comprising: one or more processors; a memory coupled to the processor, the memory storing executable instructions, wherein when the executable instructions are executed by the processor, the core network device executes the positioning reference unit association method described in the first and third aspects, and the optional embodiments of the first and third aspects.

[0067] In the tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a communication device, which includes: one or more processors; a memory coupled to the processor, on which executable instructions are stored, wherein when the executable instructions are executed by the processor, the processor calls the executable instructions so that the communication device executes the positioning reference unit association method described in the first aspect, the second aspect and the third aspect, and the optional embodiments of the first aspect, the second aspect and the third aspect.

[0068] In the eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a communication system, which includes: a first device, a second device and a third device; wherein the first device is configured to execute the method described in the first aspect and the optional embodiment of the first aspect, the second device is configured to execute the method described in the second aspect and the optional embodiment of the second aspect, and the third device is configured to execute the method described in the third aspect and the optional embodiment of the third aspect.

[0069] In the twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a storage medium, which stores instructions. When the instructions are executed on a communication device, the communication device executes the methods described in the first, second and third aspects, as well as the optional embodiments of the first, second and third aspects.

[0070] In the thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a program product. When the program product is executed by a communication device, the communication device executes the method described in the first, second and third aspects, as well as the optional embodiments of the first, second and third aspects.

[0071] In the fourteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the methods described in the first, second and third aspects, as well as the optional embodiments of the first, second and third aspects.

[0072] It is understandable that the above-mentioned terminals, access network devices, core network devices, communication devices, communication systems, storage media, program products, and computer programs are all used to execute the methods proposed in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Therefore, the beneficial effects that can be achieved can refer to the beneficial effects of the corresponding methods and will not be repeated here.

[0073] The present disclosure provides a positioning reference unit association method, terminal, network device, and storage medium. In some embodiments, the terms "information sending method," "information receiving method," "information processing method," and "communication method" are interchangeable; the terms "terminal," "network device," "information processing device," and "communication device" are interchangeable; and the terms "information processing system" and "communication system" are interchangeable.

[0074] The embodiments of the present disclosure are not exhaustive and are merely illustrative of some embodiments, and are not intended to be a specific limitation on the scope of protection of the present disclosure. In the absence of contradiction, each step in a certain embodiment can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the steps can be arbitrarily combined. For example, a solution after removing some steps in a certain embodiment can also be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the order of the steps in a certain embodiment can be arbitrarily exchanged. In addition, the optional embodiments in a certain embodiment can be arbitrarily combined; in addition, the embodiments can be arbitrarily combined. For example, some or all steps of different embodiments can be arbitrarily combined, and a certain embodiment can be arbitrarily combined with the optional embodiments of other embodiments.

[0075] In each embodiment of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified or provided for by logic, the terms and / or descriptions between the embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form a new embodiment based on their inherent logical relationships.

[0076] The terms used in the embodiments of the present disclosure are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure.

[0077] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified, elements expressed in the singular form, such as "a", "an", "the", "above", "said", "aforementioned", "this", etc., may mean "one and only one", or "one or more", "at least one", etc.

[0078] For example, when using articles such as “a”, “an”, and “the” in English in translation, the noun following the article can be understood as a singular expression or a plural expression.

[0079] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, “plurality” refers to two or more.

[0080] In some embodiments, the terms "at least one," "one or more," "a plurality of," "multiple," etc. may be used interchangeably.

[0081] In some embodiments, descriptions such as "at least one of A and B," "A and / or B," "A in one case, B in another case," or "in response to one case A, in response to another case B" may include the following technical solutions depending on the situation: in some embodiments, A (A is executed independently of B); in some embodiments, B (B is executed independently of A); in some embodiments, execution is selected from A and B (A and B are selectively executed); and in some embodiments, A and B (both A and B are executed). The above is also applicable when there are more branches such as A, B, and C.

[0082] In some embodiments, "A or B" and other descriptions may include the following technical solutions depending on the situation: in some embodiments, A (A is executed independently of B); in some embodiments, B (B is executed independently of A); in some embodiments, execution is selected from A and B (A and B are selectively executed). The above is also applicable when there are more branches such as A, B, C, etc.

[0083] The prefixes such as "first" and "second" in the embodiments of the present disclosure are only used to distinguish different description objects and do not constitute any restrictions on the position, order, priority, quantity or content of the description objects. For the statement of the description objects, please refer to the description in the context of the claims or embodiments, and no unnecessary restrictions should be constituted due to the use of prefixes.

[0084] For example, if the description object is "field," the ordinal number preceding "field" in "first field" and "second field" does not restrict the position or order of the "fields." "First" and "second" do not restrict whether the modified "fields" are in the same message, nor do they restrict the order of the "first field" and "second field." For another example, if the description object is "level," the ordinal number preceding "level" in "first level" and "second level" does not restrict the priority of the "levels." For another example, the number of description objects is not restricted by the ordinal number and can be one or more. For example, in the case of "first device," the number of "devices" can be one or more. Furthermore, the objects modified by different prefixes can be the same or different. For example, if the description object is "device," "first device" and "second device" can be the same or different devices, and their types can be the same or different. For another example, if the description object is "information," "first information" and "second information" can be the same or different information, and their content can be the same or different.

[0085] In some embodiments, “including A,” “comprising A,” “used to indicate A,” and “carrying A” can be interpreted as directly carrying A or indirectly indicating A.

[0086] In some embodiments, terms such as "in response to...", "in response to determining...", "in the case of...", "at the time of...", "when...", "if...", "if...", etc. can be used interchangeably.

[0087] In some embodiments, terms such as "greater than", "greater than or equal to", "not less than", "more than", "more than or equal to", "not less than", "higher than", "higher than or equal to", "not less than", and "above" can be replaced with each other, and terms such as "less than", "less than or equal to", "not greater than", "less than", "less than or equal to", "not more than", "lower than", "lower than or equal to", "not higher than", and "below" can be replaced with each other.

[0088] In some embodiments, devices and the like can be interpreted as physical or virtual, and their names are not limited to those in the embodiments.

[0089] The recorded names, "device", "equipment", "device", "circuit", "network element", "node", "function", "unit", "section", "system", "network", "chip", "chip system", "entity", "subject" and other terms can be used interchangeably.

[0090] In some embodiments, "network" can be interpreted as devices included in the network (eg, access network equipment, core network equipment, etc.).

[0091] In some embodiments, the terms "access network device (AN device)", "radio access network device (RAN device)", "base station (BS)", "radio base station" "fixed station", "node", "access point", "transmission point (TP)", "reception point (RP)", "transmission / reception point (TRP)", "panel", "antenna panel", "antenna array", "cell", "macro cell", "small cell", "femto cell", "pico cell", "sector", "cell group", "serving cell", "carrier", "component carrier", "bandwidth part (BWP)" and the like may be used interchangeably.

[0092] In some embodiments, the terms "terminal", "terminal device", "user equipment (UE)", "user terminal", "mobile station (MS)", "mobile terminal (MT)", subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, client, etc. can be used interchangeably.

[0093] In some embodiments, the access network device, the core network device, or the network device can be replaced by a terminal. For example, the various embodiments of the present disclosure can also be applied to a structure in which the communication between the access network device, the core network device, or the network device and the terminal is replaced by communication between multiple terminals (for example, device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), etc.). In this case, it is also possible to set the structure in which the terminal has all or part of the functions of the access network device. In addition, terms such as "uplink" and "downlink" can also be replaced by terms corresponding to communication between terminals (for example, "side"). For example, uplink channels, downlink channels, etc. can be replaced by side channels, and uplinks, downlinks, etc. can be replaced by side links.

[0094] In some embodiments, the terminal may be replaced by an access network device, a core network device, or a network device. In this case, the access network device, the core network device, or the network device may have a structure that has all or part of the functions of the terminal.

[0095] In some embodiments, obtaining data, information, etc. may comply with the laws and regulations of the country where the data is obtained.

[0096] In some embodiments, data, information, etc. may be obtained with the user's consent.

[0097] In addition, each element, each row, or each column in the table of the embodiment of the present disclosure can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the combination of any elements, any rows, and any columns can also be implemented as an independent embodiment.

[0098] FIG1 is a schematic diagram showing the architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0099] As shown in FIG1 , the communication system 100 includes a first device 101 , a second device 102 and a third device 103 , wherein the second device 102 may be a terminal or an access network device, and the first device 101 and the third device 103 may be core network devices.

[0100] In some embodiments, the terminal includes, for example, a mobile phone, a wearable device, an Internet of Things device, a car with communication function, a smart car, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal device in industrial control, a wireless terminal device in self-driving, a wireless terminal device in remote medical surgery, a wireless terminal device in a smart grid, a wireless terminal device in transportation safety, a wireless terminal device in a smart city, and at least one of a wireless terminal device in a smart home, but is not limited thereto.

[0101] In some embodiments, the access network device is, for example, a node or device that accesses a terminal to a wireless network. The access network device may include an evolved NodeB (eNB), a next generation evolved NodeB (ng-eNB), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a node B (NB), a home node B (HNB), a home evolved nodeB (HeNB), a wireless backhaul device, a radio network controller (RNC), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a base band unit (BBU), a mobile switching center, a base station in a 6G communication system, an open base station (Open RAN), a cloud base station (Cloud RAN), a base station in other communication systems, and at least one of an access node in a Wi-Fi system, but is not limited thereto.

[0102] In some embodiments, a core network device may be a device including one or more network elements, or may be multiple devices or device groups, each including all or part of the one or more network elements. The network element may be virtual or physical. The core network may include, for example, at least one of an Evolved Packet Core (EPC), a 5G Core Network (5GCN), and a Next Generation Core (NGC).

[0103] In some embodiments, the technical solution of the present disclosure can be applied to the Open RAN architecture. In this case, the interfaces between or within the access network devices involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be transformed into internal interfaces of the Open RAN, and the processes and information interactions between these internal interfaces can be implemented through software or programs.

[0104] In some embodiments, the access network device can be composed of a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU), where the CU can also be called a control unit. The CU-DU structure can be used to split the protocol layer of the access network device, with the functions of some protocol layers centrally controlled by the CU, and the functions of the remaining part or all of the protocol layers distributed in the DU, which is centrally controlled by the CU, but is not limited to this.

[0105] It can be understood that the communication system described in the embodiment of the present disclosure is for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solution of the embodiment of the present disclosure, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solution proposed in the embodiment of the present disclosure. Ordinary technicians in this field can know that with the evolution of the system architecture and the emergence of new service scenarios, the technical solution proposed in the embodiment of the present disclosure is also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0106] The following embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to the communication system 100 shown in FIG1 , or a portion thereof, but are not limited thereto. The entities shown in FIG1 are illustrative only. The communication system may include all or part of the entities shown in FIG1 , or may include other entities outside of FIG1 . The number and form of the entities are arbitrary, and the entities may be physical or virtual. The connection relationships between the entities are illustrative only. The entities may be connected or disconnected, and the connection may be in any manner, including direct or indirect, wired or wireless.

[0107] The embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), LTE-Beyond (LTE-B), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4th generation mobile communication system (4G), 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), 5G new radio (NR), future radio access (FRA), new radio access technology (RAT), new radio (NR), new radio access (NX), future generation radio access (FX), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM (registered trademark)), CDMA2000, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.20, Ultra-WideBand (UWB), Bluetooth (registered trademark), Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) networks, Device-to-Device (D2D) systems, Machine-to-Machine (M2M) systems, Internet of Things (IoT) systems, Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X), systems utilizing other communication methods, and next-generation systems based on and extending these methods. Furthermore, multiple systems may be combined (for example, a combination of LTE or LTE-A with 5G).

[0108] FIG2 is an interactive schematic diagram illustrating a positioning reference unit association method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0109] As shown in FIG2 , the positioning reference unit association method includes:

[0110] Step S201: The second device sends a first message to the first device.

[0111] In some embodiments, before sending the first message to the first device, the second device may first decide to use the user plane and / or the control plane to perform the PRU association operation.

[0112] The PRU association operation may include transmitting PRU association information and performing a positioning operation.

[0113] In some embodiments, the second device may decide to use the user plane to transmit PRU association information and perform positioning operations.

[0114] In some embodiments, the second device may decide to use the control plane to transmit PRU association information and perform positioning operations.

[0115] In some embodiments, if the second device can decide to use the user plane and the control plane respectively for PRU association operations, for example, it can use the user plane to transmit PRU association information and use the control plane to perform positioning operations; or use the control plane to transmit PRU association information and use the user plane to perform positioning operations; or use the user plane and the control plane to transmit all or part of the PRU association information respectively, and use the user plane and / or the control plane to perform positioning operations.

[0116] In some embodiments, when the second device decides to use the user plane to transmit PRU association information, the second device may send a first message to the first device via the user plane, where the first message may be used to instruct the first device to perform a PRU association operation with the second device.

[0117] In some embodiments, the PRU association operation includes a PRU association establishment operation or a PRU association update operation.

[0118] In some embodiments, the second device may send a first message using a user plane positioning protocol to the first device; wherein the user plane positioning protocol may include at least one of the following: Location Service User Plane Protocol LCS-UPP; Secure User Plane Positioning SUPL protocol.

[0119] In some embodiments, the second device may send the first message to the first device using LCS-UPP.

[0120] In some embodiments, the second device may send the first message to the first device using the SUPL protocol.

[0121] In some embodiments, the first message is also used to indicate at least one of the following: a first device identifier, the first device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the first device; a second device identifier, the second device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the second device; first indication information, the first indication information is used to indicate that the second device is a PRU; a PRU association request.

[0122] In some embodiments, the second device identifier may include at least one of the following: a subscription hidden identifier SUCI; a subscription permanent identifier SUPI; a general public user identifier GPSI; or an application layer identifier.

[0123] Step S202: The first device sends a second message to the third device.

[0124] In some embodiments, after receiving the first message from the second device, the first device may send a second message to the third device, where the second message is used to request the third device to perform a PRU verification operation.

[0125] In some embodiments, the second message is an access and mobility management function AMF service message of the control plane.

[0126] In some embodiments, the second message is also used to indicate at least one of the following: a first device identifier, the first device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the first device; a second device identifier, the second device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the second device; first indication information, the first indication information is used to indicate that the second device is a PRU; a PRU association request.

[0127] Step S203: The third device performs a PRU verification operation.

[0128] In some embodiments, in response to receiving the second message from the first device, the third device may perform a PRU verification operation.

[0129] In some embodiments, the third device, in response to receiving the second message, performs a PRU verification operation, which may include verifying whether the device corresponding to the second device identifier, that is, the second device, is a PRU, and the obtained PRU verification result is used to indicate whether the device corresponding to the second device identifier is a PRU. If it is determined that the device corresponding to the second device identifier is a PRU, the obtained PRU verification result may be a verification success; if it is determined that the device corresponding to the second device identifier is not a PRU, the obtained PRU verification result may be a verification failure.

[0130] Step S204: The third device sends a third message to the first device.

[0131] In some embodiments, after performing a PRU verification operation and obtaining a PRU verification result, the third device may send a third message to the first device, where the third message is used to indicate the PRU verification result, wherein the PRU verification result is obtained by the third device after performing the PRU verification operation.

[0132] In some embodiments, the third message is an AMF service message of the control plane.

[0133] In some embodiments, the third message is also used to indicate at least one of the following: a first device identifier, the third device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the first device; a second device identifier, the second device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the second device; first indication information, the first indication information is used to indicate that the second device is a PRU; the PRU verification result.

[0134] In some embodiments, the PRU verification result is verification failure, and the third message is further used to indicate the reason for the verification failure.

[0135] Step S205: The first device performs a PRU association operation.

[0136] In some embodiments, in response to receiving the third message from the third device, the first device may perform a PRU association operation and determine a PRU association result with the second device.

[0137] In some embodiments, if the PRU verification result indicated by the third message is a successful verification, the first device may further determine whether to perform a PRU association operation and obtain a PRU association operation result. If the PRU verification result indicated by the third message is a failed verification, the first device may determine not to perform the PRU association operation.

[0138] Step S206: The first device sends a fourth message to the second device.

[0139] In some embodiments, in response to receiving a third message from a third device, the first device may perform a PRU association operation and determine a PRU association result with the second device; the first device may send a fourth message to the second device, and the fourth message is used to indicate the PRU association result between the first device and the second device.

[0140] In some embodiments, the fourth message is a message using a user plane positioning protocol; wherein the user plane positioning protocol may include at least one of the following: Location Service User Plane Protocol LCS-UPP; Secure User Plane Positioning SUPL protocol.

[0141] In some embodiments, the fourth message is also used to indicate at least one of the following: a first device identifier, the first device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to a network device with a positioning management function associated with the second device; a second device identifier, the second device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the second device; first indication information, the first indication information is used to indicate that the second device is a PRU; a PRU association response, the PRU association response is used to indicate the PRU association result between the first device and the second device.

[0142] In some embodiments, the fourth message indicates that the PRU association result between the first device and the second device is a successful association, and the method also includes performing at least one of the following: using the PRU location provided by the second device; performing a positioning operation with the second device to obtain the PRU location of the second device; and storing relevant information received from the second device.

[0143] In some embodiments, performing a positioning operation with the second device includes: performing a positioning operation with the second device via a user plane and / or a control plane.

[0144] In some embodiments, the first device is a LMF.

[0145] In some embodiments, the third device is an AMF.

[0146] The communication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S201 to 202. For example, step S201 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S202 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and steps S201+S202 may be implemented as independent embodiments, but are not limited thereto.

[0147] In some embodiments, steps S201 and S202 may be performed in an interchangeable order or simultaneously.

[0148] In some embodiments, step S201 is optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0149] In some embodiments, step S202 is optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0150] In some embodiments, reference may be made to other optional embodiments described before or after the description corresponding to FIG. 2 .

[0151] In some embodiments, devices in the network can be located based on a Positioning Reference Unit (PRU). The second device serving as the PRU needs to be associated with a corresponding first device having a location management function, where the first device may be a Location Management Function (LMF) in a core network device. The LMF corresponding to the second device may provide services for the second device and may also be referred to as the service LMF of the second device. For simplicity, the following embodiments are all illustrated by taking the service LMF of the second device as the first device.

[0152] In some embodiments, the second device that can serve as the PRU may be a terminal, such as a user equipment (UE), or a network device, such as an access network device.

[0153] In some embodiments, the second device may perform a PRU association operation with the serving LMF through a control plane and / or a user plane, wherein the PRU association operation may include at least one of an initial PRU association establishment operation and a PRU association update operation.

[0154] In some embodiments, the second device may perform a PRU association operation with the serving LMF via the control plane. The PRU association operation on the control plane may include: the second device sending a PRU association request to the serving LMF via the control plane, so that the serving LMF performs the PRU association operation with the second device.

[0155] The second device sending the PRU association request by controlling the service-oriented LMF may include:

[0156] The second device sends a PRU association request to the corresponding third device through a control direction. The third device can be a network device with access and mobility management functions, for example, the access and mobility management function (AMF) in the core network device. The AMF corresponding to the second device can provide services for the second device and can also be called a serving AMF. For simplicity, the following embodiments are all illustrated by taking the serving AMF of the second device as the third device;

[0157] In response to receiving a PRU association request from the second device, the service AMF may perform a PRU verification operation on the second device that sends the PRU association request. The PRU verification operation may include verifying whether the second device is a PRU and / or verifying whether the second device is a stationary PRU (stationary PRU); if the second device is verified to be a PRU and / or a stationary PRU, the PRU association request may be forwarded to the service LMF so that the service LMF performs the PRU association operation; otherwise, the PRU association request is not forwarded to the service LMF.

[0158] In some embodiments, the second device may perform a PRU association operation with the serving LMF through the user plane. The PRU association operation on the user plane may include: the second device sends a PRU association request through the user-facing serving LMF, so that the serving LMF performs the PRU association operation on the second device. When the second device sends the PRU association request through the user-facing serving LMF, since there is no need to send the PRU association request through the serving AMF, the PRU verification operation cannot be performed on the second device. If the second device is not a PRU, the LMF will be associated with a non-PRU device, thereby wasting communication resources.

[0159] In a first aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for associating positioning reference units. Figure 3A is a schematic flow chart illustrating a method for associating positioning reference units according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method for associating positioning reference units illustrated in this embodiment can be performed by a first device. The first device can be a network device with location management functionality, such as a LMF in a core network device.

[0160] As shown in FIG3A , the positioning reference unit association method may include the following steps:

[0161] In step S301, a first message is received from a second device via a user plane, where the first message is used to instruct the first device to perform a positioning reference unit (PRU) association operation with the second device.

[0162] In some embodiments, the second device may be a terminal or a network device that supports the function of the PRU. For the sake of simplicity, the following embodiments are all described by taking a terminal as an example.

[0163] In some embodiments, the functions of the PRU may include at least one of the following: supporting service level PRU association establishment, PRU association update and PRU association release with the serving LMF; supporting PRU association with multiple LMFs, for example, the second device is located in a service area where multiple LMFs overlap.

[0164] The PRU information involved in the PRU association establishment and PRU association update may include at least one of the following: PRU positioning capability; PRU location information; and PRU switch (ON / OFF) status. The PRU switch status is used to indicate the availability of the PRU function of the second device on the serving LMF.

[0165] In some embodiments, a terminal accessing a mobile network, such as a 5G network, via a New Radio (NR) interface shall not be used as a PRU.

[0166] In some embodiments, the data transmission mode for performing the PRU association operation may be determined by the second device, and the second device may decide to use the user plane and / or the control plane for the PRU association operation. Furthermore, the second device may make a decision based on the acquired control plane positioning capability, the protocol data unit (PDU) session state and the user connection state, pre-configured information and policy parameters, etc. Among them, the control plane positioning capability may be defined in the received 5G system mobility management (5G System Mobility Management, 5GMM) capability information element (Information Element, IE) and the 5G system (5G System, 5GS) network feature support IE.

[0167] In some embodiments, the second device may decide to use the user plane for the PRU association operation, or use the control plane for the PRU association operation, or use the user plane and the control plane for the PRU association operation.

[0168] The PRU association operation may include transmitting PRU association information and performing a positioning operation.

[0169] In some embodiments, the second device may decide to use the user plane to transmit PRU association information and perform positioning operations.

[0170] In some embodiments, the second device may decide to use the control plane to transmit PRU association information and perform positioning operations.

[0171] In some embodiments, the second device may decide to use the user plane and the control plane respectively to perform PRU association operations. For example, it may use the user plane to transmit PRU association information and use the control plane to perform positioning operations; or use the control plane to transmit PRU association information and use the user plane to perform positioning operations; or use the user plane and the control plane respectively to transmit all or part of the PRU association information, and use the user plane and / or the control plane to perform positioning operations.

[0172] In some embodiments, a first device may receive a first message from a second device through a user plane, and the first message may be used to instruct the first device to perform a PRU association operation with the second device, and the first message may carry all or part of the PRU association information transmitted by the second device to the first device when performing the PRU association operation.

[0173] In step S302, a second message is sent to a third device, where the second message is used to request the third device to perform a PRU verification operation.

[0174] In some embodiments, in response to receiving a first message from a second device via a user plane, the first message being used to instruct the first device to perform a PRU association operation with the second device, the first device may send a second message to a third device, the second message being used to request the third device to perform a PRU verification operation. If the PRU verification result is a successful verification, the first device may perform the PRU association operation with the second device; if the PRU verification result is a failed verification, the first device may not perform the PRU association operation.

[0175] For example, let's take LMF1 as the first device, T1 as the second device, and AMF1 as the third device. When T1 determines to use the user plane to perform the PRU association operation, T1 can send a first message M1 to LMF1 through the user plane. The first message M1 is used to instruct the PRU association operation to be performed with T1. In response to receiving the first message M1, LMF1 sends a second message M2 to AMF1 through the control plane. The second message M2 is used to instruct the PRU verification operation to be performed. If the PRU verification result is a successful verification, LMF1 further determines whether to perform the PRU association operation with T1. If the PRU verification result is a failed verification, LMF1 will not perform the PRU association operation with T1.

[0176] It should be noted that the embodiment shown in FIG. 3A can be implemented independently or in combination with at least one other embodiment in the present disclosure. The specific selection can be made as needed and the present disclosure does not limit it.

[0177] In the above embodiment, when the serving LMF receives a PRU association request from the second device through the user plane, it can first send a PRU verification request to the serving AMF to perform PRU verification on the second device. Accordingly, it can be determined whether to perform a PRU association operation on the second device based on the PRU verification result of the second device, thereby avoiding the LMF from performing an association operation with a non-PRU device, saving communication resources and power consumption.

[0178] In some embodiments, the PRU association operation may include an initial PRU association establishment operation or a PRU association update operation.

[0179] In some embodiments, a first device receives a first message from a second device through a user plane, wherein the first message is used to instruct the first device to perform a PRU association establishment operation with the second device; the first device sends a second message to a third device, wherein the second message is used to request the third device to perform a PRU verification operation; if the PRU verification result is a successful verification, the first device further determines whether to perform the PRU association establishment operation; if the PRU verification result is a failed verification, the first device does not perform the PRU association establishment operation.

[0180] In some embodiments, a first device receives a first message from a second device through a user plane, wherein the first message is used to instruct the first device to perform a PRU association update operation with the second device; the first device sends a second message to a third device, wherein the second message is used to request the third device to perform a PRU verification operation; if the PRU verification result is a successful verification, the first device further determines whether to perform the PRU association update operation; if the PRU verification result is a failed verification, the first device does not perform the PRU association update operation.

[0181] In some embodiments, a first device may receive a first message from a second device using a user plane positioning protocol, where the first message is used to instruct the first device to perform a PRU association operation with the second device. Furthermore, the user plane positioning protocol may include at least one of the following: a Location Service User Plane Protocol (LCS-UPP); or a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) protocol. For example, the first device may receive the first message from the second device using LCS-UPP; or the first device may receive the first message from the second device using the SUPL protocol.

[0182] In some embodiments, the first message received by the first device from the second device through the user plane may be used to indicate at least one of the following: a first device identifier; a second device identifier; first indication information; a PRU association request.

[0183] Among them, the first device identifier is the device identifier corresponding to the first device or the device identifier corresponding to the service LMF of the second device. The first device identifier can be represented by a routing identifier (Routing ID) or a correlation identifier (Correlation ID). For example, the first device identifier can be represented by a Correlation ID in a message transmitted between an AMF and an LMF, and can be represented by a Routing ID in a message transmitted between the second device and the LMF.

[0184] The second device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the second device. For example, if the second device is a terminal, it can be represented by a terminal identifier (UE ID). Furthermore, the second device identifier can specifically use at least one of the following identifiers corresponding to the second device: a subscription concealed identifier (SUCI); a subscription permanent identifier (SUPI); a generic public subscription identifier (GPSI); or an application layer identifier (Application Layer ID).

[0185] The first indication information is used to indicate that the second device can be a PRU. For example, the first indication information can be represented by a PRU indication (PRU Indication). Furthermore, the first indication information can be explicitly indicated by a specific parameter or a specific value of an existing parameter, or can be implicitly indicated by a name of a request included in the first message. For example, if the first message includes a PRU association request, it is equivalent to indicating that the second device can be a PRU.

[0186] The PRU association request may be used to request the first device to perform a PRU association operation. Furthermore, the PRU association request may include at least one of the following: a PRU association type (PRUassociationType), used to indicate the PRU association type of the PRU association request, such as PRU association establishment, PRU association update, or PRU association release; PRU positioning capabilities (positioningCapabilities), used to indicate the PRU positioning capability information of the second device; and a PRU location (locationOfPRU), used to indicate the PRU location information relative to the second device.

[0187] The above-mentioned information carried by the first message may be encapsulated in various ways in the first message. In some embodiments, a new PRU association request message may be used as the first message. The new PRU association request message may carry a first device identifier, a second device identifier, first indication information and an existing PRU association request. The PRU association request may include PRUassociationType, positioningCapabilities and locationOfPRU.

[0188] In some embodiments, the first device identifier, the second device identifier, the first indication information, etc. can be used as parameters in the PRU association request. For example, an existing PRU association request message can be used, and the PRU association request message can carry a PRU association request. The PRU association request may include: the first device identifier, the second device identifier, the first indication information, PRUassociationType, positioningCapabilities and locationOfPRU.

[0189] In some embodiments, the first device identifier, the second device identifier, and the first indication information may be transmitted together with the PRU association request.

[0190] In some embodiments, in response to receiving a first message from a second device through a user plane for instructing to perform a positioning reference unit (PRU) association operation with the second device, the first device may send a second message to a third device through a control plane, where the second message is used to request the third device to perform a PRU verification operation. Furthermore, the second message sent by the first device to the third device through the control plane may be an AMF service message of the control plane, where the AMF service message is used to trigger the AMF to perform a PRU verification operation. For example, the second message may be named a Namf_Location_PRUVerify message.

[0191] In some embodiments, the second message sent by the first device to the third device through the control surface may include at least one of the following: a first device identifier, Correlation ID; a second device identifier, UE ID; first indication information, PRU Indication; and a PRU association request.

[0192] In the above embodiment, after the first device receives the first message sent by the second device through the user plane to instruct the PRU association operation, it can send the second message for instructing the execution of the PRU verification operation to the third device through the control plane, so that the PRU verification operation can be performed on the second device before the PRU association operation is performed, so as to avoid the first device from performing the association operation with a non-PRU device, thereby saving communication resources and power consumption.

[0193] In some embodiments, the first device can receive a first message from the second device through the user plane; then send a second message to the third device through the control plane, so that the third device performs a PRU verification operation in response to receiving the second message and obtains a PRU verification result; then the first device can receive a third message from the third device through the control plane, and the third message is used to indicate the PRU verification result obtained after the third device performs the PRU verification operation.

[0194] In some embodiments, the third message may be an AMF service message of the control plane, which is used to inform the first device of the PRU verification result obtained by the PRU verification operation. For example, the third message may be named Namf_Location_PRUVerify message.

[0195] In some embodiments, the third device, in response to receiving the second message, performs a PRU verification operation, which may include verifying whether the device corresponding to the second device identifier, that is, the second device, is a PRU, and the obtained PRU verification result is used to indicate whether the device corresponding to the second device identifier is a PRU. If it is determined that the device corresponding to the second device identifier is a PRU, the obtained PRU verification result may be a verification success; if it is determined that the device corresponding to the second device identifier is not a PRU, the obtained PRU verification result may be a verification failure.

[0196] For example, AMF1 receives a second message M2 from LMF1, and the second message M2 is used to instruct a PRU verification operation, and the second message M2 includes a second device identifier ID2 corresponding to the terminal T1. AMF1 can verify whether the device corresponding to ID2 (terminal T1) is a PRU based on the obtained PRU subscription information or local policy to obtain a PRU verification result. The subscription information of the PRU can be obtained from a unified data management entity (UDM); the local policy can maintain a device identifier list, which includes the device identifiers corresponding to each PRU. If it is determined that the terminal T1 is a PRU, the obtained PRU verification result is a successful verification; if it is determined that the terminal T1 is not a PRU, the obtained PRU verification result is a failed verification.

[0197] Furthermore, AMF1 can also determine whether the device corresponding to ID2 (terminal T1) is a static PRU based on the obtained PRU subscription information or local policy. If it is determined that terminal T1 is a static PRU, the obtained PRU verification result is verification success; if it is determined that terminal T1 is not a static PRU, the obtained PRU verification result is verification failure. For the sake of simplicity, the following embodiments are all illustrated by verifying whether the device corresponding to the second device identifier is a PRU.

[0198] In some embodiments, the third message may be used to indicate at least one of the following: a first device identifier Correlation ID; a second device identifier UE ID; first indication information PRU Indication; and the PRU verification result.

[0199] In some embodiments, if the PRU verification result obtained after the third device performs the PRU verification operation is a verification failure, the failure reason of the verification failure can also be determined; accordingly, the third message received by the first device from the third device through the control plane can also include the failure reason of the verification failure.

[0200] Furthermore, the first device may receive a third message from a third device via a control plane, and the third message may include at least one of the following: a first device identifier, Correlation ID; a second device identifier, UE ID; first indication information, PRU Indication; a PRU verification result; and a failure reason for verification failure.

[0201] In the above embodiment, the first device can send a second message to the third device, causing the third device to perform a PRU verification operation and send the obtained PRU verification result back to the first device. The first device can then determine whether to perform a PRU association operation on the second device based on the PRU verification result. This can prevent the first device from performing an erroneous PRU association operation with a non-PRU device, saving communication resources and power consumption.

[0202] In some embodiments, the first device may receive a first message from the second device through the user plane to indicate a positioning reference unit PRU association operation with the second device; the first device may send a second message to the third device through the control plane to indicate the third device to perform a PRU verification operation; the first device may receive a third message from the third device through the control plane to obtain a PRU verification result; in response to receiving the third message, the first device may determine whether to perform a PRU association operation between the first device and the second device, obtain a PRU association result with the second device, and then send a fourth message to the second device, where the fourth message is used to indicate a PRU association result with the second device.

[0203] In some embodiments, the first device may send the fourth message to the second device through the user.

[0204] In some embodiments, the first device may send the fourth message to the second device using a user plane positioning protocol. Furthermore, the user plane positioning protocol may include at least one of the following: a Location Services User Plane Protocol (LCS-UPP); or a Secure User Plane Positioning (SUPL) protocol. For example, the first device may send the fourth message to the second device using LCS-UPP; or the first device may send the fourth message to the second device using the SUPL protocol.

[0205] In some embodiments, the fourth message sent by the first device to the second device through the user can be used to indicate at least one of the following: the first device identifier Routing ID; the second device identifier UE ID; the first indication information PRU Indication; and the PRU association response.

[0206] The PRU association response is used to indicate the PRU association result between the first device and the second device. Further, the PRU association response may include at least one of the following: a PRU association update timer PRUassociationUpdateTimer; and a location change PRU association update locationValidityPRUassociationUpdate.

[0207] The above-mentioned information carried by the fourth message can be encapsulated in various ways in the fourth message. In some embodiments, a new PRU association response message can be used as the fourth message. The new PRU association response message can carry the first device identifier, the second device identifier, the first indication information and the PRU association response. The PRU association response can include PRUassociationUpdateTimer and locationValidityPRUassociationUpdate.

[0208] In some embodiments, the first device identifier, the second device identifier, the first indication information, etc. can be used as parameters in the PRU association response. For example, an existing PRU association response message can be used, and the PRU association response message can carry a PRU association response. The PRU association response may include: the first device identifier, the second device identifier, the first indication information, PRUassociationUpdateTimer and locationValidityPRUassociationUpdate.

[0209] In some embodiments, the first device identifier, the second device identifier, and the first indication information may be transmitted together with a PRU association response, and the PRU association response may include PRUassociationUpdateTimer and locationValidityPRUassociationUpdate.

[0210] For example, when the terminal T1 determines to use the user plane to perform the PRU association operation, it can send a first message M1 to the LMF1 through the user plane, and the first message M1 is used to indicate the PRU association operation with the terminal T1; in response to receiving the first message M1, LMF1 can send a second message M2 to AMF1 through the control plane, and the second message M2 is used to indicate the PRU verification operation; in response to receiving the second message M2, AMF1 performs a PRU verification operation on the terminal T1 to determine whether the terminal T1 is a PRU; after obtaining the PRU verification result, AMF1 sends a third message M3 to LMF1 through the control plane, and the third message M3 is used to indicate the PRU verification result; LMF1 indicates according to the received third message The PRU verification result indicated by the LMF1 determines whether to perform the PRU association operation with the terminal T1; if the PRU verification result is a successful verification, it is further determined whether to perform the PRU association operation with the terminal T1, and a fourth message is sent to the terminal T1 through the user. The fourth message can be used to indicate that the PRU association is successful; if the PRU verification result indicated by the third message M3 received by the LMF1 is a failed verification, the LMF1 may not perform the PRU association operation with the terminal T1, and send a fourth message to the terminal T1. The fourth message can be used to indicate a PRU association failure, and the fourth message can also be used to indicate a reason for the association failure.

[0211] In the above embodiment, the first device can determine whether to perform the PRU association operation with the second device based on the PRU verification result received from the third device, thereby avoiding the first device from performing the association operation with a non-PRU device, saving communication resources and power consumption.

[0212] In some embodiments, in response to a third message received from a third device through a control plane, the first device may determine whether to perform a PRU association operation with the second device based on a PRU verification result carried by the third message to obtain a PRU association result of the second device, and send a fourth message to the second device.

[0213] In some embodiments, if the PRU association result obtained by the first device is successful, and the PRU location provided by the second device has been obtained, for example, the first device can obtain the PRU location of the second device from the first message sent by the second device, then the first device can choose to use the PRU location provided by the second device. Furthermore, before using the PRU location provided by the second device, the PRU location provided by the second device can be verified. There are various ways to verify the PRU location, for example, by checking whether the acquisition time of the PRU location is within a preset time range, or whether the PRU location is within a preset area range, etc.

[0214] In some embodiments, if the PRU association result obtained by the first device is successful, but the PRU location provided by the second device is not obtained, the first device can perform a positioning operation with the second device to obtain and use the PRU location of the second device. Furthermore, the first device and the second device perform the positioning operation through the user plane; or can perform the positioning operation through the control plane; or can perform the positioning operation through both the user plane and the control plane.

[0215] If the user plane is used for positioning, the PRU position of the second device may be obtained by transmitting a positioning message of the user plane positioning protocol between the first device and the second device and performing measurement calculations.

[0216] In some embodiments, if the PRU association result obtained by the first device is successful, the first device may store relevant information received from the second device, for example, relevant information carried in the first message received by the first device from the second device via the user plane.

[0217] In some embodiments, if the PRU association operation performed by the first device with the second device is a PRU association update operation, the PRU association result obtained by the first device is a successful association, and the PRU association update operation only includes a status update and does not update the new PRU position of the second device, then it can be considered that the previously stored or verified PRU position is still valid.

[0218] In the above embodiment, when the first device successfully performs the PRU association operation with the second device, the first device may choose whether to perform a positioning operation on the user plane and / or control plane, thereby obtaining or updating the accurate PRU position of the second device in a timely manner.

[0219] FIG3B is a schematic flow chart of a positioning reference unit association method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG3B , the positioning reference unit association method may include the following steps:

[0220] S310: Determine the Connected Management (CM) state of the terminal T1. If the terminal T1 is in the CM_IDLE state, it is necessary to trigger a service request to convert the terminal T1 from the CM_IDLE state to the CM_CONNECTED state.

[0221] S311. Terminal T1 may decide to use the user plane and / or control plane for PRU association operations. If the terminal decides to use the user plane to transmit all or part of the PRU association information, steps S312a-S316a are executed; if the terminal decides to use the control plane to transmit all or part of the PRU association information, steps S312b-S316b are executed. Furthermore, if the terminal decides to use the user plane to transmit all or part of the PRU association information, if there is no available user plane connection, terminal T1 may first trigger the user plane connection establishment process.

[0222] S312a. Terminal T1 sends a first message via the user-facing LMF, where the first message is used to instruct the execution of a PRU association operation for terminal T1. The first message may include: a Routing ID, a UE ID corresponding to terminal T1, a PRU Indication, and a PRU association request. The PRU association request may include: a PRUassociationType, positioningCapabilities, and a locationOfPRU.

[0223] S313a. In response to receiving the first message, the LMF sends a second message to the AMF, where the second message is used to request the third device to perform a PRU verification operation. The second message may include: a Correlation ID, a UE ID, a PRU Indication, and a PRU association request; the Correlation ID is the same as the Routing ID in the first message.

[0224] S314a. In response to receiving the second message, the AMF performs a PRU verification operation to determine whether the device corresponding to the UE ID, that is, the terminal T1, is a PRU; if the terminal T1 is a PRU, the obtained PRU verification result is a successful verification; if the terminal T1 is not a PRU, the obtained PRU verification result is a failed verification.

[0225] S315a. After performing the PRU verification operation and obtaining the PRU verification result, the AMF may send a third message to the LMF, where the third message indicates the PRU verification result. The third message may include the Correlation ID, UE ID, PRU Indication, and the PRU verification result. If the PRU verification result is a failure, the third message may also include the failure reason.

[0226] S316a. The LMF sends a fourth message to the terminal T1 through the user. The fourth message is used to indicate the association result with the second device. The fourth message may include: Routing ID, UE ID, PRU Indication, and PRU Association Response. The PRU Association Response is used to indicate the PRU association result between the first device and the second device. The PRU Association Response may include PRUassociationUpdateTimer and locationValidityPRUassociationUpdate.

[0227] S312b. Terminal T1 sends an uplink non-access stratum transport (UL NAS TRANSPORT) message to the AMF through the control plane to send a PRU association request as a supplementary service. The PRU association request may include PRU association reason, PRU positioning capability, location information, and PRU switch status.

[0228] S313b. AMF performs a PRU verification operation to determine whether terminal T1 is a PRU and obtains a PRU verification result.

[0229] S314b. The AMF selects a serving LMF based on a preset protocol or the Routing ID received from terminal T1, and sends a PRU association request to the serving LMF using the Namf_Communication_N1MessageNotify service operation. The Namf_Communication_N1MessageNotify service message may include third indication information, which is used to indicate the PRU verification result, as well as the SUPI, Tracking Area Identity (TAI), and cell identity corresponding to terminal T1.

[0230] S315b. If the PRU verification result is successful, the LMF further determines whether to perform an association operation with terminal T1. If the PRU association result is successful, the LMF returns a PRU association response as a supplementary service message and a Correlation ID to the AMF using the Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer service operation. The Correlation ID is assigned by the LMF and can be used to identify the LMF and terminal T1.

[0231] S316b. AMF sends a downlink non-access stratum transport (DL NAS TRANSPORT) message to terminal T1 through the control plane to send a PRU association response and Routing ID.

[0232] S317. If the PRU association result is successful, the LMF may choose to verify the provided PRU location of terminal T1 or perform a positioning operation via the user plane and / or control plane to obtain a more accurate PRU location of terminal T1. The LMF may also store the relevant information received from terminal T1. If the PRU association operation is a PRU association update operation, the previously verified PRU location may be considered to be still valid.

[0233] S318. If the PRU association operation is a PRU association establishment operation and the PRU association result is a successful association, or if the PRU association operation is a PRU association update operation and the PRU association result is a successful association, and the PRU information of terminal T1 has changed, the LMF may choose to send a fifth message to the Network Repository Function (NRF), wherein the fifth message carries fourth indication information, and the fourth indication information is used to indicate that a PRU associated with the TAI corresponding to terminal T1 exists. The fifth message may be a message requesting a service operation Nnrf_NFManagement_NFUpdate. If there is no longer a PRU associated with the TAI among the PRUs associated with the LMF, the LMF may instruct the NRF to delete the fourth indication information.

[0234] S319. The NRF returns a confirmation response to the LMF.

[0235] S320: If the PRU association result is association failure or association rejection, and the PRU association response received by terminal T1 also includes the routing ID corresponding to the new LMF, terminal T1 may trigger a PRU association operation with the new LMF. The number of failed attempts and / or duration for the terminal to perform the PRU association operation may be pre-configured. When the number of failed attempts and / or duration are reached, terminal T1 may trigger a connection termination.

[0236] It should be noted that the embodiment shown in FIG. 3B can be implemented independently or in combination with at least one other embodiment in the present disclosure. The specific selection can be made as needed and the present disclosure does not limit it.

[0237] In a second aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a positioning reference unit association method. Figure 4 is a schematic flow chart illustrating a positioning reference unit association method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The positioning reference unit association method illustrated in this embodiment can be performed by a second device. The second device can be a terminal or network device that supports PRU functionality.

[0238] As shown in FIG4 , the positioning reference unit association method may include the following steps:

[0239] In step S401, it is determined to use a user plane to perform a PRU association operation with a first device.

[0240] In step S402, a first message is sent to the first device via the user, where the first message is used to instruct the first device to perform a positioning reference unit PRU association operation with the second device, so that the first device sends a second message to a third device, where the second message is used to request the third device to perform a PRU verification operation.

[0241] In some embodiments, the first device may be a network device having a location management function, for example, an LMF in a core network device.

[0242] In some embodiments, the third device may be a network device having access and mobility management functions, for example, an access and mobility management function (AMF) in a core network device.

[0243] In some embodiments, the second device may determine the data transmission mode for performing the PRU association operation, and the second device may determine whether to use the user plane and / or the control plane for the PRU association operation. Furthermore, the second device may make the decision based on the acquired control plane positioning capability, the Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session state and the user connection state, pre-configured information and policy parameters, etc.

[0244] In some embodiments, the second device may decide to use the user plane for the PRU association operation, or use the control plane for the PRU association operation, or use the user plane and the control plane for the PRU association operation.

[0245] The PRU association operation may include transmitting PRU association information and performing a positioning operation.

[0246] In some embodiments, the second device may decide to use the user plane to transmit PRU association information and perform positioning operations.

[0247] In some embodiments, the second device may decide to use the control plane to transmit PRU association information and perform positioning operations.

[0248] In some embodiments, the second device may decide to use the user plane and the control plane respectively to perform PRU association operations, for example, it may use the user plane to transmit PRU association information and use the control plane to perform positioning operations; or use the control plane to transmit PRU association information and use the user plane to perform positioning operations; or use the user plane and the control plane respectively to transmit all or part of the PRU association information, and use the user plane and / or the control plane to perform positioning operations.

[0249] In some embodiments, when the second device decides to use the user plane to perform a PRU association operation, it can send a first message to the first device through the user plane. The first message can be used to instruct the first device to perform a PRU association operation with the second device. The first message can carry all or part of the PRU association information transmitted by the second device to the first device when performing the PRU association operation.

[0250] In some embodiments, in response to receiving a first message from a second device via a user plane, the first message being used to instruct the first device to perform a PRU association operation with the second device, the first device may send a second message to a third device, the second message being used to request the third device to perform a PRU verification operation. If the PRU verification result is a successful verification, the first device may further determine whether to perform the PRU association operation with the second device; if the PRU verification result is a failed verification, the first device may not perform the PRU association operation.

[0251] For example, let's take LMF1 as the first device, T1 as the second device, and AMF1 as the third device. When T1 determines to use the user plane to perform the PRU association operation, T1 can send a first message M1 to LMF1 through the user plane. The first message M1 is used to instruct the PRU association operation to be performed with T1. In response to receiving the first message M1, LMF1 sends a second message M2 to AMF1 through the control plane. The second message M2 is used to instruct the PRU verification operation to be performed. If the PRU verification result is a successful verification, LMF1 further determines whether to perform the PRU association operation with T1. If the PRU verification result is a failed verification, LMF1 will not perform the PRU association operation with T1.

[0252] It should be noted that the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 can be implemented independently or in combination with at least one other embodiment in the present disclosure. The specific selection can be made as needed and the present disclosure does not limit it.

[0253] In the above embodiment, when the serving LMF receives a PRU association request from the second device through the user plane, it can first send a PRU verification request to the serving AMF to perform PRU verification on the second device. Accordingly, it can be determined whether to perform a PRU association operation on the second device based on the PRU verification result of the second device, thereby avoiding the LMF from performing an association operation with a non-PRU device, saving communication resources and power consumption.

[0254] In some embodiments, the PRU association operation may include a PRU association establishment operation or a PRU association update operation.

[0255] In some embodiments, the second device sends a first message to the first device through the user, and the first message is used to instruct the first device to perform a PRU association establishment operation with the second device, so that the first device sends a second message to the third device, and the second message is used to request the third device to perform a PRU verification operation; if the PRU verification result is a successful verification, the first device can further determine whether to perform the PRU association establishment operation; if the PRU verification result is a failed verification, the first device does not perform the PRU association establishment operation.

[0256] In some embodiments, the second device can send a first message to the first device through the user, and the first message is used to instruct the first device to perform a PRU association update operation with the second device, so that the first device sends a second message to the third device, and the second message is used to request the third device to perform a PRU verification operation; if the PRU verification result is a successful verification, the first device further determines whether to perform the PRU association update operation; if the PRU verification result is a failed verification, the first device does not perform the PRU association update operation.

[0257] In some embodiments, the second device may send a first message to the first device using a user plane positioning protocol, where the first message is used to instruct the first device to perform a PRU association operation with the second device. Furthermore, the user plane positioning protocol may include at least one of the following: a Location Service User Plane Protocol (LCS-UPP); or a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) protocol. For example, the second device may send the first message to the first device using LCS-UPP; or the second device may send the first message to the first device using the SUPL protocol.

[0258] In some embodiments, the first message sent by the second device to the first device through the user can be used to indicate at least one of the following: the first device identifier; the second device identifier; the first indication information; and the PRU association request.

[0259] The first device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the first device or a device identifier corresponding to the service LMF of the second device, and can be represented by a routing identifier (Routing ID) or a correlation identifier (Correlation ID).

[0260] The second device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the second device. For example, if the second device is a terminal, it can be represented by a terminal identifier (UE ID). Furthermore, the second device identifier can specifically use at least one of the following identifiers corresponding to the second device: a subscription concealed identifier (SUCI); a subscription permanent identifier (SUPI); a generic public subscription identifier (GPSI); or an application layer identifier.

[0261] The first indication information is used to indicate that the second device can be a PRU. For example, the first indication information can be represented by a PRU indication (PRU Indication). Furthermore, the first indication information can be explicitly indicated by a specific parameter or a specific value of an existing parameter, or can be implicitly indicated by a name of a request included in the first message. For example, if the first message includes a PRU association request, it is equivalent to indicating that the second device can be a PRU.

[0262] The PRU association request may be used to request the first device to perform a PRU association operation. Furthermore, the PRU association request may include at least one of the following: a PRU association type (PRUassociationType), used to indicate the PRU association type of the PRU association request, such as PRU association establishment, PRU association update, or PRU association release; PRU positioning capabilities (positioningCapabilities), used to indicate the PRU positioning capability information of the second device; and a PRU location (locationOfPRU), used to indicate the PRU location information relative to the second device.

[0263] The above-mentioned information carried by the first message may be encapsulated in various ways in the first message. In some embodiments, a new PRU association request message may be used as the first message. The new PRU association request message may carry a first device identifier, a second device identifier, first indication information and an existing PRU association request. The PRU association request may include PRUassociationType, positioningCapabilities and locationOfPRU.

[0264] In some embodiments, the first device identifier, the second device identifier, the first indication information, etc. can be used as parameters in the PRU association request. For example, an existing PRU association request message can be used, and the PRU association request message can carry a PRU association request. The PRU association request may include: the first device identifier, the second device identifier, the first indication information, PRUassociationType, positioningCapabilities and locationOfPRU.

[0265] In some embodiments, the first device identifier, the second device identifier, and the first indication information may be transmitted together with the PRU association request.

[0266] In some embodiments, in response to receiving a first message from a second device through a user plane for instructing to perform a positioning reference unit (PRU) association operation with the second device, the first device may send a second message to a third device through a control plane, where the second message is used to request the third device to perform a PRU verification operation. Furthermore, the second message sent by the first device to the third device through the control plane may be an AMF service message of the control plane, where the AMF service message is used to trigger the AMF to perform the PRU verification operation.

[0267] In some embodiments, the second message sent by the first device to the third device through the control surface may include at least one of the following: a first device identifier, Correlation ID; a second device identifier, UE ID; first indication information, PRU Indication; and a PRU association request.

[0268] In the above embodiment, after the first device receives the first message sent by the second device through the user plane to instruct the PRU association operation, it can send the second message for instructing the execution of the PRU verification operation to the third device through the control plane, so that the PRU verification operation can be performed on the second device before the PRU association operation is performed, so as to avoid the first device from performing the association operation with a non-PRU device, thereby saving communication resources and power consumption.

[0269] In some embodiments, the second device can send a first message to the first device through the user plane, so that the first device can send a second message to the third device through the control plane, so that the third device performs a PRU verification operation in response to receiving the second message and obtains a PRU verification result; the first device can receive a third message from the third device through the control plane, and the third message is used to indicate the PRU verification result obtained after the third device performs the PRU verification operation.

[0270] In some embodiments, the third message may be an AMF service message of the control plane, which is used to inform the first device of the PRU verification result obtained by the PRU verification operation.

[0271] In some embodiments, the third device, in response to receiving the second message, performs a PRU verification operation, which may include verifying whether the device corresponding to the second device identifier, that is, the second device, is a PRU, and the obtained PRU verification result is used to indicate whether the device corresponding to the second device identifier is a PRU. If it is determined that the device corresponding to the second device identifier is a PRU, the obtained PRU verification result may be a verification success; if it is determined that the device corresponding to the second device identifier is not a PRU, the obtained PRU verification result may be a verification failure.

[0272] In some embodiments, the third message may be used to indicate at least one of the following: a first device identifier Correlation ID; a second device identifier UE ID; first indication information PRU Indication; and the PRU verification result.

[0273] In some embodiments, if the PRU verification result obtained after the third device performs the PRU verification operation is a verification failure, the failure reason of the verification failure can also be determined; accordingly, the third message received by the first device from the third device through the control plane can also include the failure reason of the verification failure.

[0274] Furthermore, the first device may receive a third message from a third device via a control plane, and the third message may include at least one of the following: a first device identifier, Correlation ID; a second device identifier, UE ID; first indication information, PRU Indication; a PRU verification result; and a failure reason for verification failure.

[0275] In the above embodiment, the first device can send a second message to the third device, causing the third device to perform a PRU verification operation and send the obtained PRU verification result back to the first device. The first device can then determine whether to perform a PRU association operation on the second device based on the PRU verification result. This can prevent the first device from performing an erroneous PRU association operation with a non-PRU device, saving communication resources and power consumption.

[0276] In some embodiments, the second device can send a first message to the first device through the user plane to indicate a positioning reference unit PRU association operation with the second device, so that the first device sends a second message to the third device through the control plane to instruct the third device to perform a PRU verification operation; the first device can receive a third message from the third device through the control plane to obtain a PRU verification result; the second device can receive a fourth message from the first device, and the fourth message is used to indicate a PRU association result obtained after the second device performs the PRU association operation in response to the third message received from the third device.

[0277] In some embodiments, the second device may receive the fourth message from the first device through the user plane.

[0278] In some embodiments, the second device may receive the fourth message from the first device using a user plane positioning protocol. Further, the user plane positioning protocol may include at least one of the following: Location Service User Plane Protocol (LCS-UPP); Secure User Plane Positioning (SUPL) protocol.

[0279] In some embodiments, the fourth message received by the second device from the first device through the user plane may be used to indicate at least one of the following: a first device identifier, Routing ID; a second device identifier, UE ID; first indication information, PRU Indication; or a PRU association response.

[0280] The PRU association response is used to indicate the PRU association result between the first device and the second device. Further, the PRU association response may include at least one of the following: a PRU association update timer PRUassociationUpdateTimer; and a location change PRU association update locationValidityPRUassociationUpdate.

[0281] The above-mentioned information carried by the fourth message can be encapsulated in various ways in the fourth message. In some embodiments, a new PRU association response message can be used as the fourth message. The new PRU association response message can carry the first device identifier, the second device identifier, the first indication information and the PRU association response. The PRU association response can include PRUassociationUpdateTimer and locationValidityPRUassociationUpdate.

[0282] In some embodiments, the first device identifier, the second device identifier, the first indication information, etc. can be used as parameters in the PRU association response. For example, an existing PRU association response message can be used, and the PRU association response message can carry a PRU association request. The PRU association request may include: the first device identifier, the second device identifier, the first indication information, PRUassociationUpdateTimer and locationValidityPRUassociationUpdate.

[0283] In some embodiments, the first device identifier, the second device identifier, and the first indication information may be transmitted together with a PRU association response, and the PRU association response may include PRUassociationUpdateTimer and locationValidityPRUassociationUpdate.

[0284] In the above embodiment, the first device can determine whether to perform the PRU association operation with the second device based on the PRU verification result received from the third device, thereby avoiding the first device from performing the association operation with a non-PRU device, saving communication resources and power consumption.

[0285] In some embodiments, in response to a third message received from a third device via a control plane, the first device may determine, based on a PRU verification result carried in the third message, whether to perform a PRU association operation with the second device to obtain a PRU association result of the second device. The second device may receive a fourth message from the first device indicating the PRU association result.

[0286] In some embodiments, if the PRU association result is successful and the second device has provided a PRU location, the first device may choose to use the PRU location provided by the second device. Furthermore, the PRU location provided by the second device may be verified before being used.

[0287] In some embodiments, if the PRU association result is successful, but the second device does not provide a PRU location, the second device may perform a positioning operation with the first device to obtain the PRU location of the second device. Furthermore, the second device and the first device may perform a positioning operation via a user plane; or a control plane; or both a user plane and a control plane.

[0288] If the user plane is used for positioning, the PRU position of the second device may be obtained by transmitting a positioning message of the user plane positioning protocol between the second device and the first device and performing measurement calculations.

[0289] In some embodiments, if the obtained PRU association result is successful, the first device may store the relevant information received from the second device.

[0290] In some embodiments, if the PRU association operation is a PRU association update operation, the obtained PRU association result is a successful association, and the PRU association update operation only includes a status update and does not update the new PRU position of the second device, then it can be considered that the previously stored or verified PRU position is still valid.

[0291] In the above embodiment, when the PRU association operation is successfully performed, the first device may choose whether to perform a positioning operation on the user plane and / or control plane, thereby obtaining or updating the accurate PRU position of the second device in a timely manner.

[0292] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a positioning reference unit association method. Figure 5 is a schematic flow chart illustrating a positioning reference unit association method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The positioning reference unit association method illustrated in this embodiment can be performed by a third device. The third device can be a network device having access and mobility management functions, for example, an access and mobility management function (AMF) in a core network device.

[0293] As shown in FIG5 , the positioning reference unit association method may include the following steps:

[0294] In step S501, a second message is received from a first device, where the second message is used to request a positioning reference unit (PRU) verification operation. The second message is sent by the first device in response to receiving a first message from the second device through a user plane. The first message is used to instruct the first device to perform a PRU association operation with the second device.

[0295] In step S502, the PRU verification operation is performed.

[0296] In some embodiments, the first device may be a network device having a location management function, for example, an LMF in a core network device.

[0297] In some embodiments, the second device may be a terminal or a network device that supports the function of the PRU.

[0298] In some embodiments, the second device may determine the data transmission mode for performing the PRU association operation, and the second device may determine whether to use the user plane and / or the control plane for the PRU association operation. Furthermore, the second device may make the decision based on the acquired control plane positioning capability, the Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session state and the user connection state, pre-configured information and policy parameters, etc.

[0299] In some embodiments, the second device may decide to use the user plane for the PRU association operation, or use the control plane for the PRU association operation, or use the user plane and the control plane for the PRU association operation.

[0300] The PRU association operation may include transmitting PRU association information and performing a positioning operation.

[0301] In some embodiments, if the second device decides to use the user plane and the control plane to perform PRU association operations, it may use the user plane to transmit PRU association information and use the control plane to perform positioning operations; or use the control plane to transmit PRU association information and use the user plane to perform positioning operations; or use the user plane and the control plane to transmit all or part of the PRU association information respectively, and use the user plane and / or the control plane to perform positioning operations.

[0302] In some embodiments, when the second device decides to use the user plane to perform a PRU association operation, it can send a first message to the first device through the user plane. The first message can be used to instruct the first device to perform a PRU association operation with the second device. The first message can carry all or part of the PRU association information transmitted by the second device to the first device when performing the PRU association operation.

[0303] In some embodiments, in response to receiving a first message from a second device via a user plane, the first message being used to instruct the first device to perform a PRU association operation with the second device, a third device may receive a second message from the first device, the second message being used to request the third device to perform a PRU verification operation. If the PRU verification result is a successful verification, the first device may further determine whether to perform the PRU association operation with the second device; if the PRU verification result is a failed verification, the first device may not perform the PRU association operation.

[0304] It should be noted that the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 can be implemented independently or in combination with at least one other embodiment in the present disclosure. The specific selection can be made as needed and the present disclosure does not limit it.

[0305] In the above embodiment, when the serving LMF receives a PRU association request from the second device via the user plane, it can first send a PRU verification request to the serving AMF to perform PRU verification on the second device. Accordingly, based on the PRU verification result of the second device, it can determine whether to perform a PRU association operation on the second device. This can prevent the LMF from performing an association operation with a non-PRU device, saving communication resources and power consumption.

[0306] In some embodiments, the PRU association operation may include a PRU association establishment operation or a PRU association update operation.

[0307] In some embodiments, the second device sends a first message to the first device through the user, and the first message is used to instruct the first device to perform a PRU association establishment operation with the second device; the third device receives the second message from the first device and performs a PRU verification operation based on the second message; if the PRU verification result is a successful verification, the first device can further determine whether to perform the PRU association establishment operation; if the PRU verification result is a failed verification, the first device does not perform the PRU association establishment operation.

[0308] In some embodiments, the second device can send a first message to the first device through the user, and the first message is used to instruct the first device to perform a PRU association update operation with the second device; the third device can receive a second message from the first device, and the second message is used to request the third device to perform a PRU verification operation; if the PRU verification result is a successful verification, the first device further determines whether to perform the PRU association update operation; if the PRU verification result is a failed verification, the first device does not perform the PRU association update operation.

[0309] In some embodiments, the second device may send a first message to the first device using a user plane positioning protocol, where the first message is used to instruct the first device to perform a PRU association operation with the second device. Furthermore, the user plane positioning protocol may include at least one of the following: a Location Service User Plane Protocol (LCS-UPP) or a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) protocol.

[0310] In some embodiments, the first message sent by the second device to the first device through the user can be used to indicate at least one of the following: the first device identifier; the second device identifier; the first indication information; and the PRU association request.

[0311] The first device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the first device or a device identifier corresponding to the service LMF of the second device, and can be represented by a routing identifier (Routing ID) or a correlation identifier (Correlation ID).

[0312] The second device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the second device. For example, if the second device is a terminal, it can be represented by a terminal identifier (UE ID). Furthermore, the second device identifier can specifically use at least one of the following identifiers corresponding to the second device: a subscription concealed identifier (SUCI); a subscription permanent identifier (SUPI); a generic public subscription identifier (GPSI); or an application layer identifier.

[0313] The first indication information is used to indicate that the second device may be a PRU, for example, the first indication information may be represented by a PRU indication (PRU Indication). Further, the first indication information may be explicitly indicated by a specific parameter or a specific value of an existing parameter, or may be implicitly indicated by a name of the request included in the first message.

[0314] The PRU association request may be used to request the first device to perform a PRU association operation. Further, the PRU association request may include at least one of the following: a PRU association type (PRUassociationType), used to indicate the PRU association type of the PRU association request; PRU positioning capabilities (positioningCapabilities), used to indicate the PRU positioning capability information of the second device; and a PRU location (locationOfPRU), used to indicate the PRU location information relative to the second device.

[0315] The above-mentioned information carried by the first message may be encapsulated in various ways in the first message. In some embodiments, a new PRU association request message may be used as the first message. The new PRU association request message may carry a first device identifier, a second device identifier, first indication information and an existing PRU association request. The PRU association request may include PRUassociationType, positioningCapabilities and locationOfPRU.

[0316] In some embodiments, the first device identifier, the second device identifier, the first indication information, etc. can be used as parameters in the PRU association request. For example, an existing PRU association request message can be used, and the PRU association request message can carry a PRU association request. The PRU association request may include: the first device identifier, the second device identifier, the first indication information, PRUassociationType, positioningCapabilities and locationOfPRU.

[0317] In some embodiments, the first device identifier, the second device identifier, and the first indication information may be transmitted together with the PRU association request.

[0318] In some embodiments, in response to receiving a first message from a second device via a user plane indicating that a positioning reference unit (PRU) association operation should be performed with the second device, a third device may receive a second message from the first device via a control plane, wherein the second message is used to request the third device to perform a PRU verification operation. Furthermore, the second message received by the third device from the first device via the control plane may be an AMF service message on the control plane, wherein the AMF service message is used to trigger the AMF to perform the PRU verification operation.

[0319] In some embodiments, the second message received by the third device from the first device through the control plane may include at least one of the following: a first device identifier, Correlation ID; a second device identifier, UE ID; first indication information, PRU Indication; and a PRU association request.

[0320] In the above embodiment, after the first device receives the first message sent by the second device through the user plane to instruct the PRU association operation; the third device can receive the second message from the first device through the control plane to instruct the execution of the PRU verification operation, so that the PRU verification operation can be performed on the second device before the PRU association operation is performed, so as to avoid the first device from performing the association operation with a non-PRU device, thereby saving communication resources and power consumption.

[0321] In some embodiments, the second device can send a first message to the first device through the user plane; the third device can receive a second message from the first device through the control plane; the third device can perform a PRU verification operation in response to receiving the second message to obtain a PRU verification result; the third device can send a third message to the first device through the control plane, and the third message is used to indicate the PRU verification result obtained after the third device performs the PRU verification operation.

[0322] In some embodiments, the third message may be an AMF service message of the control plane, which is used to inform the first device of the PRU verification result obtained by the PRU verification operation.

[0323] In some embodiments, the third device, in response to receiving the second message, performs a PRU verification operation, which may include verifying whether the device corresponding to the second device identifier, that is, the second device, is a PRU, and the obtained PRU verification result is used to indicate whether the device corresponding to the second device identifier is a PRU. If it is determined that the device corresponding to the second device identifier is a PRU, the obtained PRU verification result may be a verification success; if it is determined that the device corresponding to the second device identifier is not a PRU, the obtained PRU verification result may be a verification failure.

[0324] In some embodiments, the third message may be used to indicate at least one of the following: a first device identifier Correlation ID; a second device identifier UE ID; first indication information PRU Indication; and the PRU verification result.

[0325] In some embodiments, if the PRU verification result obtained after the third device performs the PRU verification operation is a verification failure, the reason for the verification failure can also be determined; accordingly, the third message sent by the third device to the first device through the control surface can also include the reason for the verification failure.

[0326] Furthermore, the third message sent by the third device to the first device through the control surface may include at least one of the following: the first device identifier Correlation ID; the second device identifier UE ID; the first indication information PRU Indication; the PRU verification result; and the failure reason of the verification failure.

[0327] In the above embodiment, the third device can perform a PRU verification operation in response to the second message received from the first device, and send the obtained PRU verification result to the first device. Based on the PRU verification result, the first device can then determine whether to perform a PRU association operation on the second device. This prevents the first device from erroneously performing a PRU association operation with a non-PRU device, saving communication resources and power consumption.

[0328] In some embodiments, the second device may send a first message to the first device through the user plane to indicate a positioning reference unit PRU association operation with the second device; the third device may perform a PRU verification operation in response to the second message received from the first device through the control plane, and then send a third message to the first device through the control plane to notify the first device of the PRU verification result; the first device may send a fourth message to the second device, and the fourth message is used to indicate the PRU association result obtained after performing the PRU association operation.

[0329] In some embodiments, the second device may receive the fourth message from the first device through the user plane.

[0330] In some embodiments, the second device may receive the fourth message from the first device using a user plane positioning protocol. Further, the user plane positioning protocol may include at least one of the following: Location Service User Plane Protocol LCS-UPP; Secure User Plane Positioning SUPL protocol.

[0331] In some embodiments, the fourth message received by the second device from the first device through the user plane may be used to indicate at least one of the following: a first device identifier, Routing ID; a second device identifier, UE ID; first indication information, PRU Indication; or a PRU association response.

[0332] The PRU association response is used to indicate the PRU association result between the first device and the second device. Further, the PRU association response may include at least one of the following: a PRU association update timer PRUassociationUpdateTimer; and a location change PRU association update locationValidityPRUassociationUpdate.

[0333] The above-mentioned information carried by the fourth message can be encapsulated in various ways in the fourth message. In some embodiments, a new PRU association response message can be used as the fourth message. The new PRU association response message can carry the first device identifier, the second device identifier, the first indication information and the PRU association response. The PRU association response can include PRUassociationUpdateTimer and locationValidityPRUassociationUpdate.

[0334] In some embodiments, the first device identifier, the second device identifier, the first indication information, etc. can be used as parameters in the PRU association response. For example, an existing PRU association response message can be used, and the PRU association response message can carry a PRU association request. The PRU association request may include: the first device identifier, the second device identifier, the first indication information, PRUassociationUpdateTimer and locationValidityPRUassociationUpdate.

[0335] In some embodiments, the first device identifier, the second device identifier, and the first indication information may be transmitted together with a PRU association response, and the PRU association response may include PRUassociationUpdateTimer and locationValidityPRUassociationUpdate.

[0336] In the above embodiment, the first device can determine whether to perform the PRU association operation with the second device based on the PRU verification result received from the third device, thereby avoiding the first device from performing the association operation with a non-PRU device, saving communication resources and power consumption.

[0337] In some embodiments, in response to a third message received from a third device via a control plane, the first device may determine, based on a PRU verification result carried in the third message, whether to perform a PRU association operation with the second device to obtain a PRU association result of the second device. The second device may receive a fourth message from the first device indicating the PRU association result.

[0338] In some embodiments, if the PRU association result is successful and the second device has provided a PRU location, the first device may choose to use the PRU location provided by the second device. Furthermore, the PRU location provided by the second device may be verified before being used.

[0339] In some embodiments, if the PRU association result is successful, but the second device does not provide a PRU location, the second device may perform a positioning operation with the first device to obtain the PRU location of the second device. Furthermore, the second device and the first device may perform a positioning operation via a user plane; or a control plane; or both a user plane and a control plane.

[0340] If the user plane is used for positioning, the PRU position of the second device may be obtained by transmitting a positioning message of the user plane positioning protocol between the second device and the first device and performing measurement calculations.

[0341] In some embodiments, if the obtained PRU association result is successful, the first device may store the relevant information received from the second device.

[0342] In some embodiments, if the PRU association operation is a PRU association update operation, the obtained PRU association result is a successful association, and the PRU association update operation only includes a status update and does not update the new PRU position of the second device, then it can be considered that the previously stored or verified PRU position is still valid.

[0343] In the above embodiment, when the PRU association operation is successfully performed, the first device may choose whether to perform a positioning operation on the user plane and / or control plane, thereby obtaining or updating the accurate PRU position of the second device in a timely manner.

[0344] In some embodiments, the names of information, etc. are not limited to the names described in the embodiments, and terms such as "information", "message", "signal", "signaling", "report", "configuration", "indication", "instruction", "command", "channel", "parameter", "domain", "field", "symbol", "symbol", "codeword", "codebook", "codeword", "codepoint", "bit", "data", "program", and "chip" can be used interchangeably.

[0345] In some embodiments, terms such as "moment", "time point", "time", and "time position" can be replaced with each other, and terms such as "duration", "period", "time window", "window", and "time" can be replaced with each other.

[0346] In some embodiments, the terms "component carrier (CC)", "cell", "frequency carrier", "carrier frequency" and the like can be used interchangeably.

[0347] In some embodiments, "obtain", "get", "get", "receive", "transmit", "bidirectional transmission", "send and / or receive" can be interchangeable, and can be interpreted as receiving from other entities, obtaining from protocols, obtaining from higher layers, obtaining by self-processing, autonomous implementation, etc.

[0348] In some embodiments, terms such as "send", "transmit", "report", "download", "transmit", "bidirectional transmission", "send and / or receive" can be used interchangeably.

[0349] Corresponding to the aforementioned embodiments of the positioning reference unit association method, the present disclosure also provides embodiments of a terminal and a network device.

[0350] An embodiment of the present disclosure further proposes a terminal, comprising: one or more processors; a memory coupled to the processor, the memory storing executable instructions, wherein when the executable instructions are executed by the processor, the terminal executes the positioning reference unit association method described in the above embodiment.

[0351] An embodiment of the present disclosure also proposes an access network device, comprising: one or more processors; a memory coupled to the processor, the memory storing executable instructions, wherein when the executable instructions are executed by the processor, the access network device executes the positioning reference unit association method described in the above embodiment.

[0352] An embodiment of the present disclosure also proposes a core network device, comprising: one or more processors; a memory coupled to the processor, the memory storing executable instructions, wherein when the executable instructions are executed by the processor, the core network device executes the positioning reference unit association method described in the above embodiment.

[0353] FIG6 is a schematic block diagram of a first device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG6 , the first device 600 may be a positioning reference unit association device, and the device includes a transceiver module 601 and a processing module 602 .

[0354] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 601 is used to receive a first message from a second device through a user plane, where the first message is used to instruct the positioning reference unit association device to perform a positioning reference unit PRU association operation with the second device; the transceiver module 601 is also used to send a second message to a third device, where the second message is used to request the third device to perform a PRU verification operation.

[0355] In some embodiments, the PRU association operation includes a PRU association establishment operation or a PRU association update operation.

[0356] In some embodiments, the first message is a message using a user plane positioning protocol; wherein the user plane positioning protocol may include at least one of the following: Location Service User Plane Protocol LCS-UPP; Secure User Plane Positioning SUPL protocol.

[0357] In some embodiments, the first message is also used to indicate at least one of the following: a first device identifier, the first device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the positioning reference unit association module; a second device identifier, the second device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the second device; first indication information, the first indication information is used to indicate that the second device is a PRU; a PRU association request.

[0358] In some embodiments, the second message is an access and mobility management function AMF service message of the control plane.

[0359] In some embodiments, the second message is also used to indicate at least one of the following: a first device identifier, the first device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the positioning reference unit association module; a second device identifier, the second device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the second device; first indication information, the first indication information is used to indicate that the second device is a PRU; a PRU association request.

[0360] In some embodiments, the second device identifier may include at least one of the following: a subscription hidden identifier SUCI; a subscription permanent identifier SUPI; a general public user identifier GPSI; or an application layer identifier.

[0361] In some embodiments, it is characterized in that the method further includes: receiving a third message from the third device, the third message being used to indicate a PRU verification result, wherein the PRU verification result is obtained by the third device after performing the PRU verification operation.

[0362] In some embodiments, the third message is an AMF service message of the control plane.

[0363] In some embodiments, the third message is also used to indicate at least one of the following: a first device identifier, the third device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the module associated with the positioning reference unit; a second device identifier, the second device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the second device; first indication information, the first indication information is used to indicate that the second device is a PRU; the PRU verification result.

[0364] In some embodiments, the PRU verification result is verification failure, and the third message is further used to indicate the reason for the verification failure.

[0365] In some embodiments, the PRU verification result is used to indicate whether the device corresponding to the second device identifier is a PRU.

[0366] In some embodiments, the processing module 602 is used to determine the PRU association result between the first device and the second device in response to receiving the third message; the transceiver module 601 is used to send a fourth message to the second device, and the fourth message is used to indicate the PRU association result between the first device and the second device.

[0367] In some embodiments, the fourth message is a message using a user plane positioning protocol; wherein the user plane positioning protocol may include at least one of the following: Location Service User Plane Protocol LCS-UPP; Secure User Plane Positioning SUPL protocol.

[0368] In some embodiments, the fourth message is also used to indicate at least one of the following: a first device identifier, the first device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to a network device with a positioning management function associated with the second device; a second device identifier, the second device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the second device; first indication information, the first indication information is used to indicate that the second device is a PRU; a PRU association response, the PRU association response is used to indicate the PRU association result between the first device and the second device.

[0369] In some embodiments, the fourth message indicates that the PRU association result between the first device and the second device is successful, and the processing module 602 is used to: use the PRU position provided by the second device; perform a positioning operation with the second device to obtain the PRU position of the second device; and store relevant information received from the second device.

[0370] In some embodiments, the processing module 602 is configured to perform a positioning operation with the second device via a user plane and / or a control plane.

[0371] In some embodiments, the positioning reference unit association module is LMF.

[0372] In some embodiments, the third device is an AMF.

[0373] It should be noted that the modules included in the first device are not limited to the modules described in the above embodiments, and may also include other modules, such as a storage module, a display module, etc.

[0374] FIG7 is a schematic block diagram of a second device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG7 , the second device 700 may be a positioning reference unit association device, and the device includes a transceiver module 701 and a processing module 702 .

[0375] In some embodiments, the processing module 702 is used to determine the use of the user plane to perform a PRU association operation with the first device; the transceiver module 701 is used to send a first message to the first device through the user plane, and the first message is used to instruct the first device to perform a positioning reference unit PRU association operation with the positioning reference unit association module, so that the first device sends a second message to the third device, and the second message is used to request the third device to perform a PRU verification operation.

[0376] In some embodiments, the first message is further used to indicate at least one of the following: a first device identifier, the first device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the first device; a second device identifier, the second device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the positioning reference unit association module; first indication information, the first indication information is used to indicate that the positioning reference unit association module is a PRU; a PRU association request.

[0377] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 701 is used to receive a fourth message from the first device, and the fourth message is used to indicate the PRU association result obtained after the positioning reference unit association module performs the PRU association operation in response to the third message received from the third device.

[0378] In some embodiments, the fourth message is a message using a user plane positioning protocol; wherein the user plane positioning protocol may include at least one of the following: Location Service User Plane Protocol LCS-UPP; Secure User Plane Positioning SUPL protocol.

[0379] In some embodiments, the fourth message is also used to indicate at least one of the following: a first device identifier, the first device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to a network device with a positioning management function that is associated with the positioning reference unit association module; a second device identifier, the second device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the positioning reference unit association module; first indication information, the first indication information is used to indicate that the positioning reference unit association module is a PRU; a PRU association response, the PRU association response is used to indicate a PRU association result with the positioning reference unit association module.

[0380] In some embodiments, the fourth message indicates that the PRU association result is successful, and the method further includes: performing a positioning operation with the first device to obtain the PRU position.

[0381] It should be noted that the modules included in the second device are not limited to the modules described in the above embodiments, and may also include other modules, such as a storage module, a display module, etc.

[0382] FIG8 is a schematic block diagram of a third device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG8 , the third device 800 may be a positioning reference unit association device, and the device includes a transceiver module 801 and a processing module 802 .

[0383] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 801 is used to receive a second message from a first device, the second message is used to request to perform a positioning reference unit PRU verification operation, the second message is sent by the first device in response to receiving a first message from the second device through the user plane, and the first message is used to instruct the first device to perform a PRU association operation with the second device; the processing module 802 is used to perform the PRU verification operation.

[0384] In some embodiments, the second message is also used to indicate at least one of the following: a first device identifier, the first device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the first device; a second device identifier, the second device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the second device; first indication information, the first indication information is used to indicate that the second device is a PRU; a PRU association request.

[0385] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 801 is used to send a third message to the first device, where the third message is used to indicate a PRU verification result obtained after performing the PRU verification operation.

[0386] In some embodiments, the third message is also used to indicate at least one of the following: a first device identifier, the third device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the first device; a second device identifier, the second device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the second device; first indication information, the first indication information is used to indicate that the second device is a PRU; the PRU verification result.

[0387] In some embodiments, the PRU verification result is verification failure, and the third message is further used to indicate the reason for the verification failure.

[0388] It should be noted that the modules included in the third device are not limited to the modules described in the above embodiments, and may also include other modules, such as a storage module, a display module, etc.

[0389] For the device embodiment, since it basically corresponds to the method embodiment, the relevant parts can be referred to the partial description of the method embodiment. The device embodiment described above is merely illustrative, wherein the modules described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components displayed as modules may or may not be physical modules, that is, they may be located in one place, or they may be distributed on multiple network modules. Some or all of the modules can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the scheme of this embodiment. Those of ordinary skill in the art can understand and implement it without paying any creative work.

[0390] An embodiment of the present disclosure further proposes a communication device, comprising: one or more processors; a memory coupled to the processor, the memory storing executable instructions, wherein when the executable instructions are executed by the processor, the processor calls the executable instructions so that the communication device executes the positioning reference unit association method described in the above optional embodiment.

[0391] An embodiment of the present disclosure also proposes a communication system, including a first device, a second device and a third device, wherein the first device is configured to implement the positioning reference unit association method described in the above optional embodiment, the second device is configured to implement the positioning reference unit association method described in the above optional embodiment, and the third device is configured to implement the positioning reference unit association method described in the above optional embodiment.

[0392] An embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a storage medium storing instructions. When the instructions are executed on a communication device, the communication device executes the positioning reference unit association method described in the above optional embodiment.

[0393] The embodiments of the present disclosure further provide an apparatus for implementing any of the above methods. For example, an apparatus is provided, comprising units or modules for implementing each step performed by a terminal in any of the above methods. For another example, another apparatus is provided, comprising units or modules for implementing each step performed by a network device (e.g., an access network device, a core network function node, a core network device, etc.) in any of the above methods.

[0394] It should be understood that the division of the various units or modules in the above device is merely a division of logical functions. In actual implementation, they may be fully or partially integrated into a physical entity, or they may be physically separated. In addition, the units or modules in the device may be implemented in the form of a processor calling software: for example, the device includes a processor, the processor is connected to a memory, and the memory stores instructions. The processor calls the instructions stored in the memory to implement any of the above methods or implement the functions of the various units or modules of the above device, wherein the processor is, for example, a general-purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU) or a microprocessor, and the memory is a memory within the device or a memory outside the device. Alternatively, the units or modules in the device can be implemented in the form of hardware circuits, and the functions of some or all of the units or modules can be realized by designing the hardware circuits. The above-mentioned hardware circuits can be understood as one or more processors; for example, in one implementation, the above-mentioned hardware circuit is an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), which realizes the functions of some or all of the above units or modules by designing the logical relationship of the components in the circuit; for example, in another implementation, the above-mentioned hardware circuit can be realized by a programmable logic device (PLD). Taking a field programmable gate array (FPGA) as an example, it can include a large number of logic gate circuits, and the connection relationship between the logic gate circuits is configured by configuring the configuration file, thereby realizing the functions of some or all of the above units or modules. All units or modules of the above devices can be realized in the form of software called by the processor, or in the form of hardware circuits, or in part by the form of software called by the processor, and the rest by hardware circuits.

[0395] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the processor is a circuit with signal processing capabilities. In one implementation, the processor can be a circuit with instruction reading and execution capabilities, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a graphics processing unit (GPU) (which can be understood as a microprocessor), or a digital signal processor (DSP). In another implementation, the processor can implement certain functions through the logical relationship of the hardware circuit. The logical relationship of the above-mentioned hardware circuit is fixed or reconfigurable. For example, the processor is a hardware circuit implemented by an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a programmable logic device (PLD), such as an FPGA. In a reconfigurable hardware circuit, the process of the processor loading a configuration document and implementing the hardware circuit configuration can be understood as the process of the processor loading instructions to implement the functions of some or all of the above units or modules. In addition, it can also be a hardware circuit designed for artificial intelligence, which can be understood as an ASIC, such as a neural network processing unit (NPU), a tensor processing unit (TPU), a deep learning processing unit (DPU), etc.

[0396] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 9100 proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. Communication device 9100 can be a network device (e.g., an access network device, a core network device, etc.), a terminal (e.g., a user device, etc.), a chip, a chip system, or a processor that supports a network device to implement any of the above methods, or a chip, a chip system, or a processor that supports a terminal to implement any of the above methods. Communication device 9100 can be used to implement the methods described in the above method embodiments. For details, please refer to the description of the above method embodiments.

[0397] As shown in Figure 9, the communication device 9100 includes one or more processors 9101. The processor 9101 can be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor, for example, a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor can be used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processing unit can be used to control the communication device (such as a base station, a baseband chip, a terminal device, a terminal device chip, a DU or a CU, etc.), execute programs, and process program data. The processor 9101 is used to call instructions to enable the communication device 9100 to perform any of the above methods.

[0398] In some embodiments, the communication device 9100 further includes one or more memories 9102 for storing instructions. Optionally, all or part of the memories 9102 may be located outside the communication device 9100.

[0399] In some embodiments, the communication device 9100 further includes one or more transceivers 9103. When the communication device 9100 includes one or more transceivers 9103, the communication steps such as sending and receiving in the above method are performed by the transceiver 9103, and the other steps are performed by the processor 9101.

[0400] In some embodiments, a transceiver may include a receiver and a transmitter, which may be separate or integrated. Optionally, the terms transceiver, transceiver unit, transceiver, and transceiver circuit may be used interchangeably; the terms transmitter, transmitting unit, transmitter, and transmitting circuit may be used interchangeably; and the terms receiver, receiving unit, receiver, and receiving circuit may be used interchangeably.

[0401] Optionally, the communication device 9100 further includes one or more interface circuits 9104, which are connected to the memory 9102. The interface circuits 9104 can be used to receive signals from the memory 9102 or other devices, and can be used to send signals to the memory 9102 or other devices. For example, the interface circuits 9104 can read instructions stored in the memory 9102 and send the instructions to the processor 9101.

[0402] The communication device 9100 described in the above embodiments may be a network device or a terminal, but the scope of the communication device 9100 described in the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the structure of the communication device 9100 may not be limited by FIG. 9 . The communication device may be an independent device or may be part of a larger device. For example, the communication device may be: 1) an independent integrated circuit IC, or a chip, or a chip system or subsystem; (2) a collection of one or more ICs, optionally, the above IC collection may also include a storage component for storing data or programs; (3) an ASIC, such as a modem; (4) a module that can be embedded in other devices; (5) a receiver, a terminal device, an intelligent terminal device, a cellular phone, a wireless device, a handheld device, a mobile unit, an in-vehicle device, a network device, a cloud device, an artificial intelligence device, etc.; (6) others, etc.

[0403] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a chip 10200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. If the communication device 9100 can be a chip or a chip system, reference can be made to the schematic diagram of the structure of the chip 10200 shown in FIG10 , but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0404] Chip 10200 includes one or more processors 10201, and processor 10201 is used to call instructions to enable chip 10200 to execute any of the above methods.

[0405] In some embodiments, the chip 10200 further includes one or more interface circuits 10202, which are connected to the memory 10203. The interface circuit 10202 can be used to receive signals from the memory 10203 or other devices, and can be used to send signals to the memory.

[0406] 10203 or other devices to send signals. For example, the interface circuit 10202 can read the instructions stored in the memory 10203 and send the instructions to the processor 10201. Optionally, the terms interface circuit, interface, transceiver pin, transceiver, etc. can be used interchangeably.

[0407] In some embodiments, the chip 10200 further includes one or more memories 10203 for storing instructions. Alternatively, all or part of the memories 10203 may be outside the chip 10200.

[0408] The present disclosure also proposes a storage medium having instructions stored thereon, which, when executed on the communication device 9100, causes the communication device 9100 to execute any of the above methods. Optionally, the storage medium is an electronic storage medium. Optionally, the storage medium is a computer-readable storage medium, but is not limited thereto and may also be a storage medium readable by other devices. Optionally, the storage medium may be a non-transitory storage medium, but is not limited thereto and may also be a temporary storage medium.

[0409] The present disclosure also provides a program product, which, when executed by the communication device 9100, enables the communication device 9100 to perform any of the above methods. Optionally, the program product is a computer program product.

[0410] The present disclosure also proposes a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform any one of the above methods.

Claims

1. A positioning reference unit association method, characterized in that: Executed by a first device, the method includes: receiving a first message from a second device through a user plane, where the first message is used to instruct the first device to perform a positioning reference unit PRU association operation with the second device; A second message is sent to a third device, where the second message is used to request the third device to perform a PRU verification operation.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The PRU association operation includes a PRU association establishment operation or a PRU association update operation.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The first message is a message using a user plane positioning protocol; The user plane positioning protocol includes at least one of the following: Location service user plane protocol LCS-UPP; Secure User Plane Location SUPL protocol.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The first message is further used to indicate at least one of the following: A first device identifier, where the first device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the first device; A second device identifier, where the second device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the second device; first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the second device is a PRU; PRU association request.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The second message is an access and mobility management function AMF service message of the control plane.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The second message is further used to indicate at least one of the following: A first device identifier, where the first device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the first device; A second device identifier, where the second device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the second device; first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the second device is a PRU; PRU association request.

7. The method according to claim 4 or 6, characterized in that: The second device identification includes at least one of the following: Sign the hidden logo SUCI; Sign the permanent logo SUPI; General Public User Identity GPSI; Application layer identifier.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The method further comprises: A third message is received from the third device, where the third message is used to indicate a PRU verification result, wherein the PRU verification result is obtained by the third device after performing the PRU verification operation.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The third message is the AMF service message of the control plane.

10. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The third message is further used to indicate at least one of the following: a first device identifier, wherein the third device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the first device; A second device identifier, where the second device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the second device; first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the second device is a PRU; The PRU verifies the result.

11. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The PRU verification result is verification failure, and the third message is also used to indicate the reason for the verification failure.

12. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The PRU verification result is used to determine whether the device corresponding to the second device identifier is a PRU.

13. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 12, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Determine a PRU association result between the first device and the second device; A fourth message is sent to the second device, where the fourth message is used to indicate a PRU association result between the first device and the second device.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that The fourth message is a message using a user plane positioning protocol; The user plane positioning protocol includes at least one of the following: Location service user plane protocol LCS-UPP; Secure User Plane Location SUPL protocol.

15. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that The fourth message is further used to indicate at least one of the following: A first device identifier, where the first device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to a network device with a positioning management function associated with the second device; A second device identifier, where the second device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the second device; first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the second device is a PRU; A PRU association response is used to indicate a PRU association result between the first device and the second device.

16. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 15, characterized in that: The fourth message further indicates that a PRU association result between the first device and the second device is successful, and the method further includes performing at least one of the following: using the PRU position provided by the second device; Perform a positioning operation with the second device through a user plane and / or a control plane to obtain a PRU position of the second device.

17. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, characterized in that: The first device is a location management function LMF.

18. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 17, characterized in that: The third device is AMF.

19. A positioning reference unit association method, characterized in that: Executed by a second device, the method includes: Determine to use the user plane to perform a PRU association operation with the first device; A first message is sent to the first device via the user, where the first message is used to instruct the first device to perform a positioning reference unit PRU association operation with the second device.

20. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that The first message is further used to indicate at least one of the following: A first device identifier, where the first device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the first device; A second device identifier, where the second device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the second device; first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the second device is a PRU; PRU association request.

21. The method according to claim 19 or 20, characterized in that The method further comprises: A fourth message is received from the first device, where the fourth message is used to indicate a PRU association result obtained after performing the PRU association operation with the second device.

22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that The fourth message is a message using a user plane positioning protocol; The user plane positioning protocol includes at least one of the following: Location service user plane protocol LCS-UPP; Secure User Plane Location SUPL protocol.

23. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that The fourth message is further used to indicate at least one of the following: A first device identifier, where the first device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to a network device with a positioning management function associated with the second device; A second device identifier, where the second device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the second device; first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the second device is a PRU; A PRU association response is used to indicate a PRU association result between the first device and the second device.

24. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 23, characterized in that: The fourth message indicates that a PRU association result between the first device and the second device is successful, and the method further includes: Perform a positioning operation with the first device to obtain a PRU position of the second device.

25. A positioning reference unit association method, characterized in that: Executed by a third device, the method includes: receiving a second message from a first device, where the second message is used to request to perform a positioning reference unit (PRU) verification operation, where the second message is sent by the first device after receiving a first message from the second device through a user plane, where the first message is used to instruct the first device to perform a PRU association operation with the second device; The PRU verification operation is performed.

26. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that The second message is further used to indicate at least one of the following: A first device identifier, where the first device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the first device; A second device identifier, where the second device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the second device; first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the second device is a PRU; PRU association request.

27. The method according to any one of claims 25 or 26, characterized in that: The method further comprises: A third message is sent to the first device, where the third message is used to indicate a PRU verification result obtained after performing the PRU verification operation.

28. The method according to claim 27, characterized in that The third message is further used to indicate at least one of the following: a first device identifier, wherein the third device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the first device; A second device identifier, where the second device identifier is a device identifier corresponding to the second device; first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the second device is a PRU; The PRU verifies the result.

29. The method according to claim 27, characterized in that The PRU verification result is verification failure, and the third message is also used to indicate the reason for the verification failure.

30. A positioning reference unit association device, characterized in that: The device comprises: a transceiver module, configured to receive a first message from a second device through a user plane, wherein the first message is used to instruct the positioning reference unit associating apparatus to perform a positioning reference unit PRU associating operation with the second device; The transceiver module is further used to send a second message to the third device, where the second message is used to request the third device to perform a PRU verification operation.

31. A positioning reference unit association device, characterized in that: The device comprises: A processing module, configured to determine to use a user plane to perform a PRU association operation with a first device; The transceiver module is used to send a first message to the first device through the user, where the first message is used to instruct the first device to perform a positioning reference unit PRU association operation with the positioning reference unit association device.

32. A positioning reference unit association device, characterized in that: The device comprises: a transceiver module, configured to receive a second message from a first device, where the second message is used to request to perform a positioning reference unit PRU verification operation, where the second message is sent by the first device after receiving a first message from the second device through a user plane, where the first message is used to instruct the first device to perform a PRU association operation with the second device; A processing module is used to perform the PRU verification operation.

33. A terminal, characterized in that: include: one or more processors; A memory coupled to the processor, wherein the memory stores executable instructions, wherein when the executable instructions are executed by the processor, the terminal executes the positioning reference unit association method described in any one of claims 19-24.

34. An access network device, characterized in that: include: one or more processors; A memory coupled to the processor, wherein the memory stores executable instructions, wherein when the executable instructions are executed by the processor, the network device executes the positioning reference unit association method described in any one of claims 19-24.

35. A core network device, characterized in that: include: one or more processors; A memory coupled to the processor stores executable instructions. When the instruction is executed by the processor, the network device executes the positioning reference unit association method described in any one of claims 1-18 and / or the positioning reference unit association method described in any one of claims 25-29.

36. A communication device, characterized in that: include: one or more processors; A memory coupled to the processor, wherein the memory stores executable instructions, wherein when the executable instructions are executed by the processor, the processor is used to call instructions so that the communication device executes the positioning reference unit association method described in any one of claims 1 to 18, and / or the positioning reference unit association method described in any one of claims 19 to 24, and / or the positioning reference unit association method described in any one of claims 25 to 29.

37. A communication system, characterized in that: The method comprises a first device, a second device and a third device, wherein the first device is configured to implement the positioning reference unit association method described in any one of claims 1 to 18, the second device is configured to implement the positioning reference unit association method described in any one of claims 19 to 24, and the third device is configured to implement the positioning reference unit association method described in any one of claims 25 to 29.

38. A storage medium storing instructions, characterized in that: When the instruction is executed on a communication device, the communication device executes the positioning reference unit association method described in any one of claims 1 to 18, and / or the positioning reference unit association method described in any one of claims 19 to 24, and / or the positioning reference unit association method described in any one of claims 25 to 29.

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