Sidelink positioning charging method and system, and terminal, NF network element and storage medium

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a sidelink positioning charging method and system, and a terminal, an NF network element and a storage medium. The sidelink positioning charging method is executed by a terminal, and the sidelink positioning charging method comprises: collecting charging-related information; determining whether the charging-related information meets a report standard; when the report standard has been met, generating a usage information report on the basis of the charging-related information; sending the usage information report to a network function network element to trigger the network function network element to generate a charging data request, and sending the charging data request to a charging function (CHF) network element, thereby completing sidelink positioning charging. The present disclosure can implement the charging of sidelink positioning by simply using of a UE operation.

Description

Side chain positioning and billing method and system, terminal, NF network element and storage medium

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application is based on the application with CN application number CN202311270984.0 and application date September 28, 2023, and claims its priority. The disclosed content of the CN application is hereby introduced as a whole into this application. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates to the field of wireless communications, and in particular to a sidelink positioning and charging method and system, a terminal, a NF network element, and a storage medium. Background Art

[0004] Ranging-based services and sidelink positioning can be widely used in commercial, V2X and public safety services.

[0005] Ranging / sidelink positioning operations can be implemented in three ways: (1) network-assisted operation, (2) network-based operation, or (3) UE-only operation. In UE-only operation, both service request processing and result calculation are performed by the UE (user terminal).

[0006] Summary of the Invention

[0007] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a sidechain positioning and charging method is provided, wherein the sidechain positioning and charging method is executed by a terminal, wherein the sidechain positioning and charging method includes:

[0008] Collect billing-related information;

[0009] Determine whether reporting criteria are met;

[0010] generating a usage information report based on the billing related information when the reporting criteria are met;

[0011] The usage information report is sent to the network function network element, triggering the network function network element to generate a charging data request and send the charging data request to the charging function CHF network element, thereby completing the side chain positioning charging.

[0012] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, collecting billing related information includes:

[0013] In the case of performing side chain positioning of a target terminal using a positioning terminal for terminal-only operation, charging related information is collected.

[0014] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, when performing terminal-only sidelink positioning of a target terminal using a positioning terminal, collecting billing related information includes:

[0015] When the client terminal sends a request to the target terminal to locate the target terminal, the absolute address of the target terminal is obtained using the positioning terminal, and the target terminal returns the absolute address of the target terminal to the client terminal, billing related information is collected.

[0016] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the reporting standard is positioning at every predetermined time interval or every predetermined number of times.

[0017] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the charging-related information includes at least one of a terminal identification and a terminal role, wherein the terminal role includes at least one of a client terminal, a target terminal, a positioning terminal, and a positioning server terminal.

[0018] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the billing-related information also includes at least one of an identifier of a public land mobile network, location information of a target terminal, coverage information, radio resource indication information, and transmission data, wherein the public land mobile network is a home public land mobile network and a visited public land mobile network of the terminal.

[0019] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a sidechain positioning and charging method is provided. The sidechain positioning and charging method is executed by a network function network element, wherein the sidechain positioning and charging method includes:

[0020] receiving a usage information report sent by a billing metric collection terminal, wherein the usage information report is generated by the terminal based on the collected billing related information when the terminal meets reporting criteria;

[0021] generating a billing data request upon receiving the usage information report;

[0022] The charging data request is sent to the charging function CHF network element to complete the side chain positioning charging.

[0023] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the side chain positioning and charging method further includes:

[0024] The charging data response returned by the CHF network element is received, wherein the CHF network element generates a charging data record when receiving the charging data request.

[0025] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a terminal is provided, including:

[0026] An information collection module configured to collect billing related information;

[0027] a standard judgment module, configured to judge whether a reporting standard is met;

[0028] a report generation module configured to generate a usage information report based on the billing related information when the reporting criteria are met;

[0029] The report sending module is configured to send the usage information report to the network function network element, trigger the network function network element to generate a billing data request and send the billing data request to the charging function CHF network element to complete side chain positioning billing.

[0030] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a terminal is provided, including:

[0031] a memory configured to store instructions;

[0032] The processor is configured to execute the instruction so that the terminal performs operations to implement the side chain positioning and charging method as described in any of the above embodiments.

[0033] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a network function network element is provided, including:

[0034] a report receiving module configured to receive a usage information report sent by a billing metric collection terminal, wherein the usage information report is generated by the terminal based on the collected billing related information when the terminal meets the reporting criteria;

[0035] a billing request generating module configured to generate a billing data request upon receiving the usage information report;

[0036] The charging request sending module is configured to send the charging data request to the charging function CHF network element to complete the side chain positioning charging.

[0037] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a network function network element is provided, including:

[0038] a memory configured to store instructions;

[0039] The processor is configured to execute the instruction so that the network function network element performs the operation of implementing the side chain positioning and charging method as described in any of the above embodiments.

[0040] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a side chain positioning and charging system is provided, comprising a terminal as described in any of the above embodiments and a network function network element as described in any of the above embodiments.

[0041] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminal is any one of a target terminal, a positioning terminal and a positioning server terminal.

[0042] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the network function network element is any one of a gateway mobile positioning center, a location management function network element, and an access and mobility management function network element.

[0043] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminal is configured to execute the side link positioning and billing method as described in any of the above embodiments; the network function network element includes a first billing trigger function device, wherein the first billing trigger function device is configured to execute the side link positioning and billing method as described in any of the above embodiments.

[0044] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminal includes a billing metric collection device, wherein the billing metric collection device is configured to execute the side link positioning billing method as described in any of the above embodiments; the network function network element includes an accounting data forwarding device, wherein the accounting data forwarding device is configured to execute the side link positioning billing method as described in any of the above embodiments; the billing collection device and the accounting data forwarding device constitute a second billing trigger function device.

[0045] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the side chain positioning and billing system further includes a converged billing system, wherein the converged billing system includes a billing function network element.

[0046] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the side chain positioning and billing system further includes a billing account domain device, and the converged billing system further includes at least one of a pricing function network element, a billing gateway function network element, and an account balance management function network element.

[0047] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions, and when the instructions are executed by a processor, the side chain positioning and charging method as described in any of the above embodiments is implemented.

[0048] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer program comprising:

[0049] Instructions, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to execute the side chain positioning and charging method as described in any of the above embodiments. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0050] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present disclosure or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. 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.

[0051] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of some embodiments of the side chain positioning and charging method disclosed herein.

[0052] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of other embodiments of the side chain positioning and billing method disclosed herein.

[0053] FIG3 a is a schematic diagram of some further embodiments of the side chain positioning and charging method disclosed herein.

[0054] FIG3 b is a schematic diagram of some further embodiments of the side chain positioning and charging method disclosed herein.

[0055] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of some embodiments of the terminal disclosed herein.

[0056] FIG5 is a schematic structural diagram of other embodiments of the terminal disclosed herein.

[0057] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of some embodiments of the network function network element disclosed herein.

[0058] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of some other embodiments of the network function network element disclosed in the present invention.

[0059] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of some embodiments of the side chain positioning and billing system disclosed herein.

[0060] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of other embodiments of the side chain positioning and billing system disclosed herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0061] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present disclosure, rather than all the embodiments. The following description of at least one exemplary embodiment is actually only illustrative and is in no way intended to limit the present disclosure and its application or use. Based on the embodiments in the present disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

[0062] Unless specifically stated otherwise, the relative arrangement of components and steps, the numerical expressions and numerical values ​​set forth in these embodiments do not limit the scope of the present disclosure.

[0063] At the same time, it should be understood that for the convenience of description, the sizes of the various parts shown in the drawings are not drawn according to the actual proportional relationship.

[0064] Technologies, methods and equipment known to ordinary technicians in the relevant art may not be discussed in detail, but where appropriate, such technologies, methods and equipment should be considered part of the authorization specification.

[0065] In all examples shown and discussed herein, any specific values ​​should be interpreted as merely exemplary and not limiting. Therefore, other examples of the exemplary embodiments may have different values.

[0066] It should be noted that like reference numerals and letters refer to like items in the following figures, and therefore, once an item is defined in one figure, it need not be further discussed in subsequent figures.

[0067] The inventors have found through research that the related technologies can implement LCS (Location Service) charging. However, the related technologies do not solve the problem of sidelink positioning charging using only UE operations.

[0068] In view of at least one of the above technical problems, the present disclosure provides a sidelink positioning charging method and system, terminal, NF network element and storage medium, which can implement charging of sidelink positioning using only UE operations.

[0069] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of some embodiments of the sidelink positioning and billing method disclosed herein. Preferably, this embodiment can be performed by a terminal disclosed herein, an AMC (Accounting Metrics Collection) device disclosed herein, a second CTF (Charging Trigger Function) device disclosed herein, or a sidelink positioning and billing system disclosed herein. As shown in FIG1 , the method of the embodiment of FIG1 may include at least one of steps 11 to 14, wherein:

[0070] Step 11: Collect billing related information.

[0071] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, step 11 may include: collecting billing-related information when performing side-link positioning of a target terminal with terminal-only operation using a positioning terminal.

[0072] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, step 11 may include: collecting billing-related information when the client terminal (client UE) sends a request to the target terminal (target UE) to locate the target terminal, the positioning terminal (positioning UE) obtains the absolute address of the target terminal, and the target terminal returns the absolute address of the target terminal to the client terminal.

[0073] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the request is a ranging / sidelink positioning request for the target terminal, wherein ranging refers to the process of determining the distance between two or more UEs and / or the direction between one UE and another UE through the PC5 interface; sidelink positioning refers to obtaining absolute position, relative position or ranging information through the PC5 interface, and the PC5 interface is a direct communication interface, that is, a communication interface between terminals.

[0074] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the billing-related information includes at least one of a terminal identification and a terminal role, wherein the terminal role includes at least one of a client terminal (SL Positioning Client UE), a target terminal (Target UE), a positioning terminal (SL Reference UE) and a positioning server terminal (side link positioning server UE, i.e., SL Positioning Server UE).

[0075] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminal identifier may include at least one of a client terminal, a target terminal (Target UE), a positioning terminal (SL Reference UE), and a positioning server terminal (sidelink positioning server UE).

[0076] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the target terminal refers to a UE whose distance, direction and / or position is measured with the support of one or more SL (sidelink positioning) reference UEs using a sidelink in ranging-based services and sidelink positioning.

[0077] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a positioning terminal refers to a sidelink positioning reference UE, the position of which is known or can be known using positioning based on a Uu interface. The positioning UE can be used to determine the position of a target UE using sidelink positioning, where the Uu interface is the interface between a base station and a terminal.

[0078] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the client terminal refers to a sidelink positioning client UE, which is a third-party UE other than the sidelink positioning reference UE and the target UE, and initiates a ranging / sidelink positioning service request on behalf of an application resident thereon.

[0079] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the positioning server terminal (sidelink positioning server UE) is a UE that provides method determination, auxiliary data distribution, and / or position calculation functions based on sidelink positioning and ranging services. It interacts with other UEs through PC5 when necessary to determine the ranging / SL positioning method, distribute auxiliary data, and calculate the position of the target UE. If any function is supported, the target UE or SL reference UE can act as the SL positioning server UE.

[0080] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the billing-related information may also include at least one of an identifier of a PLMN (Public Land Mobile Network), location information of a target terminal, coverage information, radio resource indication information, and transmission data, wherein the public land mobile network is the terminal's HPLMN (Home PLMN) and VPLMN (Visited PLMN).

[0081] Table 1

[0082] Table 1 shows the specific content of the charging-related information in some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in Table 1, the charging-related information may include at least one of a terminal identifier, a terminal role, a PLMN identifier, location information of the target terminal, coverage information, radio resource indication information, and transmission data.

[0083] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, as shown in Table 1, the terminal identification (UE identity) includes at least one of a client terminal identification, a target terminal identification (Target UE identification), a positioning terminal identification (SL Reference UE identification) and a positioning server terminal identification, wherein the client terminal identification is the identity identification of the client UE, the target terminal identification is a link layer identifier that uniquely represents the target UE, the positioning terminal identification is a link layer identifier that uniquely represents the positioning UE, and the positioning server terminal identification is a link layer identifier that uniquely represents the SL positioning server UE.

[0084] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, as shown in Table 1, the public land mobile network identifier (PLMN ID) may be the HPLMN identifier and VPLMN identifier of a terminal such as a client terminal, a target terminal (Target UE), a positioning terminal (SL Reference UE), and a positioning server terminal.

[0085] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, as shown in Table 1, the coverage information provides information about the coverage status (i.e., whether the UE is served by the NG-RAN) and the time when the coverage status changes to its current state.

[0086] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, as shown in Table 1, the radio resource indicator is used to identify whether the radio resources provided by the operator or the configured radio resources are used for SL positioning.

[0087] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, as shown in Table 1, the fields of the transmission data container store containers associated with trigger conditions on specific SL positioning communications (eg, leaving coverage, returning to coverage, etc.).

[0088] Step 12: Determine whether the reporting criteria are met.

[0089] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the reporting standard may be positioning every predetermined time interval T, or every predetermined number of times N.

[0090] Step 13: If the reporting criteria are met, generate a usage information report based on the billing related information.

[0091] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, step 13 may include: when the AMC determines that a reporting criterion is met (the reporting criterion may be, for example, every N positioning times or every time T), the AMC creates a corresponding usage information report according to pre-configuration.

[0092] Step 14: Send the usage information report to the network function element, triggering the network function element to generate a charging data request and send the charging data request to the charging function CHF element, completing the side chain positioning charging.

[0093] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the steps of the embodiment of FIG. 1 may be executed by a terminal.

[0094] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminal may be any one of a target terminal, a positioning terminal, and a positioning server terminal.

[0095] In some other embodiments of the present disclosure, the steps of the embodiment of FIG. 1 may be performed by an AMC device.

[0096] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the steps of the embodiment of FIG. 1 may be performed by a second CTF (Charging Trigger Function) device.

[0097] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the second CTF device is divided into an AMC device and an ADF (Accounting Data Forwarding) device.

[0098] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the charging metric collection device may be provided in any one of a target terminal, a positioning terminal and a positioning server terminal.

[0099] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the accounting data forwarding device is arranged in an NF (Network Function) network element, wherein the network function network element is any one of a GMLC (Gateway Mobile Location Centre), an LMF (Location Management Function) network element, and an AMF (Access and Mobility management Function) network element.

[0100] The present disclosure provides a method for charging sidelink positioning using only UE operations. The above-described embodiments of the present disclosure use only UE-operated sidelink positioning to calculate the absolute position of a target UE by positioning the UE. Once the target UE meets the reporting criteria, a corresponding usage information report is created and then sent to the CTF in the NF. Upon receiving the usage report, the CHF creates a CDR for the UE and returns a charging data response.

[0101] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of other embodiments of the sidelink positioning and billing method disclosed herein. Preferably, this embodiment can be performed by the network function element disclosed herein, the ADF device disclosed herein, the first CTF device disclosed herein, or the sidelink positioning and billing system disclosed herein. As shown in FIG2 , the method of the embodiment of FIG2 may include at least one of steps 21 to 23, wherein:

[0102] Step 21: Receive a usage information report sent by a terminal, wherein the usage information report is generated by the terminal based on collected billing related information when a reporting standard is met.

[0103] Step 22: upon receiving the usage information report, generate a billing data request.

[0104] Step 23: Send the charging data request to the charging function CHF network element to complete the side chain positioning charging.

[0105] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG2 , the side chain positioning and charging method may further include step 24, wherein:

[0106] Step 24: Receive the billing data response returned by the CHF network element, wherein the CHF network element generates a billing data record when receiving the billing data request.

[0107] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the steps of the embodiment of FIG. 2 may be performed by a network function element.

[0108] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the network function network element may be any one of a GMLC, an LMF network element, and an AMF network element.

[0109] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the steps of the embodiment of FIG. 2 may be performed by a first CTF device.

[0110] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first CTF device is set in a network function network element.

[0111] In some other embodiments of the present disclosure, the steps of the embodiment of FIG. 2 may be performed by an ADF device.

[0112] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the steps of the embodiment of FIG. 2 may be performed by a second CTF (Charging Trigger Function) device.

[0113] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the second CTF device is divided into an AMC device and an ADF device, wherein the AMC device is set in the terminal and the ADF device is set in the network function network element.

[0114] The present disclosure proposes a charging solution for sidechain positioning in a scenario where only UE operations are used.

[0115] Figure 3a is a schematic diagram of some further embodiments of the side-link positioning and billing method disclosed herein. Figure 3b is a schematic diagram of some further embodiments of the side-link positioning and billing method disclosed herein. Preferably, this embodiment can be executed by the side-link positioning and billing system disclosed herein. The side-link positioning and billing system of Figure 3a includes a target terminal (target UE) and a first CTF device provided in a network function element (NF). The side-link positioning and billing system of Figure 3b includes a second CTF device, and the second CTF device is divided into an AMC device and an ADF device, wherein the AMC device is provided in the target UE and the ADF device is provided in the network function element (NF).

[0116] As shown in FIG3a and FIG3b , the method of the embodiment of FIG3a and FIG3b may include at least one step from step 1 to step 8, wherein:

[0117] Step 1: The client UE sends a message to the target UE requesting the absolute location of the target UE.

[0118] Step 2: Use the positioning UE to obtain the absolute position of the target UE.

[0119] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, step 2 can be implemented using relevant technical solutions.

[0120] Step 3: The target UE sends a response message to the client UE, which includes the absolute location of the target UE.

[0121] Step 4: When the target UE determines that the reporting criterion is met (the reporting criterion may be, for example, every N positioning times or every time T), the target UE creates a corresponding usage information report according to pre-configuration.

[0122] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG3 a , step 4 may include: when the target UE determines that the reporting criteria are met, the target UE creates a corresponding usage information report according to pre-configuration.

[0123] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, as shown in Figure 3b, step 4 may include: when the second CTF (AMC) determines that the reporting criteria are met, according to the preconfiguration, the second CTF (AMC) creates a corresponding usage information report, wherein the second CTF (AMC) is set at the target UE.

[0124] In step 5, the target UE triggers the usage reporting process by sending a usage information report to the CTF located in a certain 5G NF (such as LMF, AMF or GMLC, etc.).

[0125] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG3a , step 5 may include: the target UE triggers a usage reporting process by sending a usage information report to a first CTF located in a certain 5G NF (e.g., LMF, AMF, or GMLC, etc.).

[0126] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, as shown in Figure 3b, step 4 may include: the second CTF (AMC) triggering the usage reporting process by sending a usage information report to the second CTF (ADF) located in a certain 5G NF (e.g., LMF, AMF or GMLC, etc.).

[0127] In the embodiment of FIG3b , the second CTF (AMC) is set at the target terminal.

[0128] In some other embodiments of the present disclosure, the second CTF (AMC) may also be set in any one of the positioning terminal and the positioning server terminal.

[0129] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, as shown in Figure 3a, steps 4 and 5 are performed by the target UE. In other embodiments of the present disclosure, steps 4 and 5 may also be performed by any one of the positioning terminal and the positioning server terminal.

[0130] In step 6, the 5G NF triggers a charging data request to the CHF in the HPLMN and forwards the charging data request to the CHF (Charging Function) network element.

[0131] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG3a , step 6 may be performed by a first CTF located in a certain 5G NF (e.g., LMF, AMF, or GMLC, etc.).

[0132] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG3b , step 6 may be performed by a second CTF (ADF) in a certain 5G NF (e.g., LMF, AMF, or GMLC, etc.).

[0133] Step 7: CHF creates a CDR (Charging Date Record) for the UE.

[0134] Step 8: CHF returns a billing data response.

[0135] The present disclosure provides a side chain positioning and charging method using only UE operations, which mainly includes: (1) a charging framework; (2) a charging process; and (3) charging parameters.

[0136] This disclosure proposes a new charging solution for side chain positioning operated only by UE.

[0137] The present disclosure designs a charging framework for sidechain positioning of UE-only operations, providing effective support for the actual operation of this technology.

[0138] The present disclosure innovatively constructs a billing process for side-chain positioning operated only by UE, ensuring efficient operation of positioning services.

[0139] The present disclosure introduces charging collection parameters for sidelink positioning operated only by UE, providing operators with an accurate data basis.

[0140] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of some embodiments of the disclosed terminal. As shown in FIG5 , the disclosed terminal may include an information collection module 41 , a standard determination module 42 , a report generation module 43 and a report sending module 44 , wherein:

[0141] The information collection module 41 is configured to collect billing related information.

[0142] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the information collection module 41 may be configured to collect billing-related information when a positioning terminal is used to perform side-link positioning of a target terminal with only terminal operations.

[0143] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the information collection module 41 can be configured to collect billing-related information when the client terminal sends a request to the target terminal to locate the target terminal, uses the positioning terminal to obtain the absolute address of the target terminal, and the target terminal returns the absolute address of the target terminal to the client terminal.

[0144] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the charging-related information may include at least one of a terminal identification and a terminal role, wherein the terminal role includes at least one of a client terminal, a target terminal, a positioning terminal, and a positioning server terminal.

[0145] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the billing-related information may also include at least one of an identifier of a public land mobile network, location information of a target terminal, coverage information, radio resource indication information, and transmission data, wherein the public land mobile network is a home public land mobile network and a visited public land mobile network of the terminal.

[0146] The standard determination module 42 is configured to determine whether the reporting standard is met.

[0147] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the reporting standard is positioning at every predetermined time interval or every predetermined number of times.

[0148] The report generating module 43 is configured to generate a usage information report according to the billing related information when the reporting criteria are met.

[0149] The report sending module 44 is configured to send the usage information report to the network function network element, trigger the network function network element to generate a charging data request and send the charging data request to the charging function CHF network element to complete the side chain positioning charging.

[0150] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminal of the present disclosure may also be configured to execute the side chain positioning and charging method described in the above embodiments of the present disclosure (eg, any one of steps 4 to 5 of the embodiment of FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 ).

[0151] The present disclosure can implement charging for sidelink positioning using only UE operations.

[0152] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another embodiment of the terminal disclosed herein. As shown in FIG5 , the terminal includes a memory 51 and a processor 52 .

[0153] The memory 51 is used to store instructions, the processor 52 is coupled to the memory 51, and the processor 52 is configured to execute the side chain positioning billing method described in the above embodiments of the present disclosure (for example, any step from step 4 to step 5 of the embodiment of Figure 1, Figure 3a and Figure 3b) based on the instructions stored in the memory.

[0154] As shown in Figure 5, the terminal further includes a communication interface 53 for exchanging information with other devices. Meanwhile, the charging metric collection device further includes a bus 54 through which the processor 52, the communication interface 53, and the memory 51 communicate with each other.

[0155] The memory 51 may include high-speed RAM memory or non-volatile memory, such as at least one disk storage device. The memory 51 may also be a memory array. The memory 51 may also be divided into blocks, and the blocks may be combined into virtual volumes according to certain rules.

[0156] Furthermore, the processor 52 may be a central processing unit (CPU), or may be an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or may be configured to implement one or more integrated circuits of the present disclosure.

[0157] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of some embodiments of the network function network element of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG6, the network function network element of the present disclosure may include a report receiving module 61, a charging request generating module 62 and a charging request sending module 63, wherein:

[0158] The report receiving module 61 is configured to receive a usage information report sent by a billing metric collection terminal, wherein the usage information report is generated by the terminal based on the collected billing related information when the terminal meets the reporting criteria.

[0159] The charging request generating module 62 is configured to generate a charging data request upon receiving the usage information report.

[0160] The charging request sending module 63 is configured to send the charging data request to the charging function CHF network element to complete the side chain positioning charging.

[0161] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the network function network element of the present disclosure may be further configured to receive a charging data response returned by a CHF network element, wherein the CHF network element generates a charging data record upon receiving the charging data request.

[0162] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the network function network element of the present disclosure can also be configured to execute the side chain positioning billing method described in the above embodiments of the present disclosure (for example, any one of steps 5 to 6 and step 8 of the embodiment of Figure 2, Figure 3a and Figure 3b).

[0163] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of other embodiments of the network function element disclosed herein. The structure of the network function element in the embodiment of Figure 7 is identical or similar to the structure and function of the terminal in the embodiment of Figure 5 . The accounting data forwarding device in the embodiment of Figure 7 differs from the terminal in the embodiment of Figure 5 only in that: in the embodiment of Figure 7 , processor 52 is configured to execute instructions stored in memory to implement the sidelink positioning and billing method described in the above embodiments of the present disclosure (e.g., any of steps 5 to 6 and step 8 in the embodiment of Figure 1 and Figure 3 ).

[0164] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of some embodiments of the sidelink positioning and billing system of the present disclosure. Figure 3a also shows schematic diagrams of some other embodiments of the sidelink positioning and billing system of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 8, the sidelink positioning and billing system of the present disclosure may include a terminal (UE) and a network function element (NF), wherein:

[0165] The terminal may be a terminal as described in any of the above embodiments (eg, the embodiment of FIG. 4 or FIG. 5 ).

[0166] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminal may be configured to send the collected usage information report to the accounting data forwarding device 82 .

[0167] The network function network element 82 may be a network function network element as described in any of the above embodiments (eg, the embodiment of FIG. 6 or FIG. 7 ).

[0168] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the network function element may be configured to generate a charging data request after receiving the usage information report and forward the charging data request to the CHF.

[0169] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG3 a , the terminal may be any one of a target terminal, a positioning terminal, and a positioning server terminal.

[0170] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the network function network element is any one of a gateway mobile positioning center, a location management function network element, and an access and mobility management function network element.

[0171] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a first charging trigger function device (first CTF) is set in a network function network element, wherein the network function network element is any one of a gateway mobile positioning center, a location management function network element, and an access and mobility management function network element.

[0172] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminal is configured to execute the side link positioning and billing method as described in any of the above embodiments (for example, any of steps 4 to 5 in the embodiment of Figure 1 and Figure 3a); the network function network element includes a first billing trigger function device, wherein the first billing trigger function device is configured to execute the side link positioning and billing method as described in any of the above embodiments (for example, any of steps 5 to 6 and step 8 in the embodiment of Figure 2 and Figure 3a).

[0173] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG8 , the side chain positioning and charging system of the present disclosure may further include a CCS (Converged Charging System).

[0174] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG8 , the side chain positioning and billing system may further include a billing domain (BD) device.

[0175] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, as shown in Figure 9, the converged billing system includes at least one of a charging function (CHF) network element, an RF (Rating Function) network element, a CGF (Charging Gateway Function) network element, and an ABMF (Account Balance Management Function) network element.

[0176] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of some other embodiments of the side-link positioning and billing system disclosed herein. FIG3b also shows a schematic diagram of some other embodiments of the side-link positioning and billing system disclosed herein. As shown in FIG9 , the side-link positioning and billing system disclosed herein may include a terminal (UE) and a network function element (NF), wherein:

[0177] The terminal may be a terminal as described in any of the above embodiments (eg, the embodiment of FIG. 4 or FIG. 5 ).

[0178] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminal may be configured to send the collected usage information report to the accounting data forwarding device 82 .

[0179] The network function network element 82 may be a network function network element as described in any of the above embodiments (eg, the embodiment of FIG. 6 or FIG. 7 ).

[0180] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the network function element may be configured to generate a charging data request after receiving the usage information report and forward the charging data request to the CHF.

[0181] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG9 , the sidelink positioning and charging system of the present disclosure may include a CCS (Converged Charging System) and a second charging trigger function device (second CTF), wherein:

[0182] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG9 , the second CTF is divided into an AMC device and an ADF device, wherein the AMC device is set in the UE and the ADF device is set in the NF.

[0183] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminal includes a billing metric collection device, wherein the billing metric collection device is configured to execute the side link positioning and billing method described in any of the above embodiments (for example, any of steps 4 to 5 of the embodiment of Figure 1 and Figure 3a); the network function network element includes an accounting data forwarding device, wherein the accounting data forwarding device is configured to execute the side link positioning and billing method described in any of the above embodiments (for example, any of steps 5 to 6 and step 8 of the embodiment of Figure 2 and Figure 3a).

[0184] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the AMC device may be provided in any one of a target terminal, a positioning terminal and a positioning server terminal.

[0185] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the ADF device is set in a network function (NF) network element, wherein the network function network element is any one of a gateway mobile positioning center, a location management function network element, and an access and mobility management function network element.

[0186] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the AMC device is configured to send the collected usage information report to the ADF device; and the ADF device is configured to generate a billing data request after receiving the usage information report and forward the billing data request to the CHF.

[0187] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG9 , the side chain positioning and billing system may further include a billing domain (BD) device.

[0188] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, as shown in Figure 9, the converged billing system includes at least one of a charging function (CHF) network element, an RF (Rating Function) network element, a CGF (Charging Gateway Function) network element, and an ABMF (Account Balance Management Function) network element.

[0189] The above-mentioned embodiments of the present disclosure belong to the field of wireless communication and terminal technology.

[0190] The above-mentioned embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to indoor positioning billing in museums, positioning billing in Internet of Vehicles, and positioning billing in drones.

[0191] The above-mentioned embodiments of the present disclosure provide operators with a billing solution that uses only UE sidelink positioning, thereby promoting the commercialization and practical application of this technology.

[0192] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions, and when the instructions are executed by a processor, the side chain positioning billing method as described in any of the above embodiments (for example, any of the embodiments in Figures 1 to 3) is implemented.

[0193] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the computer-readable storage medium may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium.

[0194] The above embodiments of the present disclosure propose a new charging solution for side chain positioning operated only by UE.

[0195] The above embodiments of the present disclosure design a charging framework for sidelink positioning of UE operations only, providing effective support for the actual operation of this technology.

[0196] The above-mentioned embodiments of the present disclosure innovatively construct a billing process for side-link positioning operated only by UE, thereby ensuring efficient operation of the positioning service.

[0197] The above-mentioned embodiments of the present disclosure introduce charging collection parameters for sidelink positioning operated only by UE, providing an accurate data basis for operators.

[0198] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that embodiments of the present disclosure may be provided as methods, apparatus, or computer program products. Therefore, the present disclosure may take the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present disclosure may take the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable non-transient storage media (including but not limited to magnetic disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0199] The present disclosure is described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of the methods, devices (systems) and computer program products according to the embodiments of the present disclosure. It should be understood that each process and / or box in the flowchart and / or block diagram and the combination of the processes and / or boxes in the flowchart and / or block diagram can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device generate a device for implementing the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0200] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce a product including an instruction device that implements the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0201] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device so that a series of operating steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process, so that the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable device provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0202] The billing metric collection device, information collection module, standard judgment module, report generation module, report sending module, billing metric collection device, report receiving module, billing request generation module, billing request sending module and billing trigger function device described above can be implemented as a general processor, programmable logic controller (PLC), digital signal processor (DSP), application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware component or any appropriate combination thereof for performing the functions described in this application.

[0203] The present disclosure has been described in detail so far. To avoid obscuring the concept of the present disclosure, some details known in the art have not been described. Based on the above description, those skilled in the art can fully understand how to implement the technical solutions disclosed herein.

[0204] Those skilled in the art will understand that all or part of the steps to implement the above embodiments may be accomplished by hardware, or may be accomplished by instructing the relevant hardware through a program, and the program may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and the above-mentioned storage medium may be a read-only memory, a disk or an optical disk, etc.

[0205] The description of the present disclosure is provided for purposes of illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the disclosed form. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The embodiments are selected and described in order to better illustrate the principles and practical applications of the present disclosure and to enable those skilled in the art to understand the present disclosure and design various embodiments with various modifications suitable for specific applications.

Claims

1. A side chain positioning and charging method, wherein: The side chain positioning and charging method is executed by a terminal, and the side chain positioning and charging method includes: Collect billing related information; Determine whether reporting criteria are met; generating a usage information report based on the billing related information when the reporting criteria are met; The usage information report is sent to the network function network element, triggering the network function network element to generate a charging data request and send the charging data request to the charging function CHF network element to complete the side chain positioning charging.

2. The side chain positioning and charging method according to claim 1, wherein: The collection of billing related information includes: In the case of side chain positioning of a target terminal using a positioning terminal for terminal-only operation, charging related information is collected.

3. The side chain positioning and charging method according to claim 2, wherein: In the case of using the positioning terminal to perform terminal-only side chain positioning on the target terminal, collecting charging related information includes: In the case where the client terminal sends a request to the target terminal to locate the target terminal, the absolute address of the target terminal is obtained using the positioning terminal, and the target terminal returns the absolute address of the target terminal to the client terminal, the billing related information is collected.

4. The side chain positioning charging method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The reporting standard is positioning at every predetermined time interval or every predetermined number of times.

5. The side chain positioning and charging method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: The charging related information includes at least one of a terminal identification and a terminal role, wherein the terminal role includes at least one of a client terminal, a target terminal, a positioning terminal, and a positioning server terminal.

6. The side chain positioning and charging method according to claim 5, wherein: The charging related information also includes at least one of an identification of a public land mobile network, location information of a target terminal, coverage information, radio resource indication information, and transmission data, wherein the public land mobile network is The terminal's home public land mobile network and visited public land mobile network.

7. A side chain positioning and charging method, the side chain positioning and charging method being executed by a network function network element, wherein: The side chain positioning charging method includes: Receiving a usage information report sent by a billing metric collection terminal, wherein the usage information report is generated by the terminal based on the collected billing related information when a reporting standard is met; upon receiving the usage information report, generating a billing data request; The charging data request is sent to the charging function CHF network element to complete the side chain positioning charging.

8. The side chain positioning and charging method according to claim 7, wherein: Also includes: The charging data response returned by the CHF network element is received, wherein the CHF network element creates a charging data record when receiving the charging data request.

9. A terminal, comprising: An information collection module is configured to collect billing related information; A standard determination module is configured to determine whether a reporting standard is met; A report generation module, configured to generate a usage information report based on the billing related information when the reporting criteria are met; The report sending module is configured to send the usage information report to the network function network element, trigger the network function network element to generate a billing data request and send the billing data request to the billing function CHF network element to complete the side chain positioning billing.

10. A terminal, comprising: a memory configured to store instructions; The processor is configured to execute the instruction so that the terminal performs the operation of implementing the side chain positioning and charging method according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

11. A network function network element, comprising: a report receiving module configured to receive a usage information report sent by a billing metric collection terminal, wherein the usage information report is generated by the terminal based on the collected billing related information when a reporting standard is met; a billing request generating module, configured to generate a billing data request upon receiving the usage information report; The charging request sending module is configured to send the charging data request to the charging function CHF network element to complete the side chain positioning charging.

12. A network function network element, comprising: a memory configured to store instructions; The processor is configured to execute the instruction so that the network function network element performs the operation of implementing the side chain positioning and billing method as described in claim 7 or 8.

13. A side chain positioning and billing system, comprising the terminal as claimed in claim 9 or 10 and the network function network element as claimed in claim 11 or 12.

14. The side chain positioning and charging system according to claim 13, wherein: The terminal is any one of a target terminal, a positioning terminal and a positioning server terminal.

15. The side chain positioning and charging system according to claim 13 or 14, wherein: The network function network element is any one of a gateway mobile positioning center, a location management function network element, and an access and mobility management function network element.

16. The side chain positioning and charging system according to any one of claims 13 to 15, wherein: The terminal is configured to execute the side chain positioning and charging method according to any one of claims 1 to 6; The network function network element includes a first charging trigger function device, wherein the first charging trigger function device is configured to execute the side chain positioning and charging method as described in claim 7 or 8.

17. The side chain positioning and charging system according to any one of claims 13 to 16, wherein: The terminal comprises a charging metric collection device, wherein the charging metric collection device is configured to execute the side chain positioning charging method according to any one of claims 1 to 6; The network function network element includes an accounting data forwarding device, wherein the accounting data forwarding device is configured to execute the side chain positioning and charging method according to claim 7 or 8; The charging collection device and the accounting data forwarding device constitute a second charging trigger function device.

18. The side chain positioning and billing system according to any one of claims 13 to 17, further comprising a converged billing system, wherein: The converged billing system includes a billing function network element, wherein: The network function network element is configured to send a charging data request to the charging function network element; The charging function network element is configured to create a charging data record in response to the charging data request and return a charging data response to the accounting data forwarding device.

19. The side chain positioning and billing system according to claim 18 further comprises a billing account domain device, and the converged billing system further comprises at least one of a pricing function network element, a billing gateway function network element and an account balance management function network element.

20. A computer-readable storage medium, wherein: The computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions, and when the instructions are executed by the processor, the side chain positioning and charging method according to any one of claims 1 to 8 is implemented.

21. A computer program comprising: Instructions, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to execute the side chain positioning and charging method as described in any one of claims 1-8.

Images